J. Aldric Gaudet
See with your ears, hear with your eyes.
The best storytelling relies
on the power of the audience to imagine.
Author
Knighn
Imagine a young girl who befriends a warrior spider that stands taller than she does.
Imagine a walking-talking TV with a snitty attitude.
Imagine a place where an ordinary rubber ball comes alive with the energy of a puppy.
Imagine that place torn apart by civil war.
Imagine a grand adventure, an heroic quest, in a land on a cloud called Knighn.
Lug's Christmas Carol
Ever wondered what Christmas ornaments get up to when left on their own?
A whimsical celebration of the spirituality of the season rather than its theology told from the point of view of Christmas ornaments.
Ororo
The setting is Easter Island before European discovery during the genocide of the Epees (Long Ears) by the Monoko (Short Ears) when the statues were toppled by angry mobs. It is the story of the only Epee to survive the massacre. His name is recorded in history as Ororoina.
It is historical fiction about a tragedy of epic proportions based on archaeological evidence. An idealistic young man of peace faces the most violent time in his civilization.
We’en
Three young friends become lost in familiar surroundings when one of them dabbles in magic on the most unstable night of the year.
Their trek home becomes a journey of self-discovery, guided by an old man wrapped in a black cloak, an absent-minded witch named Pomona, and a pride of cats.
Rarely told folklore surrounding the legends of Halloween are woven into the fabric of the story.
Henri & Gisele
A twisted re-rendering of the Hansel & Gretel fairy tale, which pits the witch, her blood-sucking plant, and her familiar raven against the children.
Scooter
An old dog is forced to live secretly in the forest behind the new home of the orphaned children of his dead owner.
One day a raccoon sick with rabies wanders into the area. A battle of wits follows as Scooter tries to keep the tricky pest away from the children, or trap it, without becoming contaminated himself.
Editor
Decoding Shakespeare
Imogen
A 21st century revision of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline.
One of his least known works yet its story and themes
contain elements familiar from his best.
Madmen Have No Ears
A 21st century revision of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.
With the anachronistic phrasing updated, this version
of the eternal tale more clearly reveals the passion of
youth in all its variations: love, hate, bravado, fear, etc.
English has gone through 400 years of evolution since Shakespeare.
Archaic words, unfamiliar phrases and antiquated references make comprehension difficult on first exposure and require serious study.
I began this project simply to clear up the thees and thous that cluttered the text in order to make the lines flow more smoothly for the 21st century ear. Whenever the experts disagreed, which was often, I used the meaning which best suited my understanding of the author’s intent.
The poetic imagery was favoured always, although verse and metre were sacrificed for clarity.
In the spirit of the original, it celebrates the use of words and phrases to evoke unique images and dynamic characters in stressful situations.
Which of Shakespeare's plays would you like to see revised next?
Decoding Scripts
Script Mechanics
Script format rules are quickly and simply demonstrated using format explanation as part of the document and dialogue.
StoryTelling_OnScreen Glossary
Common terms storytellers need to know in order to understand what producers and directors are referring to.
Budget Easing Tips for Filmmakers & ScreenWriters
Being budget conscious often leads to creative improvements in a script instead of fights with producers.
5 Ways to Dynamic Dialogue
Dialogue is more than conversational exposition.
ScreenWriting by Mistake
A collection of the most common errors found in scripts submitted to me
for analysis.
ScreenWriting Documents
Premise, Logline, Synopsis, Beat Outline, Outline, Treatment; defined.
The Paradigm
A graphic illustration of the storytelling dynamic of time based media.
script mechanics - j aldric gaudet
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budget easing tips - j aldric gaudet
by mistake - j aldric gaudet
documents - j aldric gaudet
paradigm
ScreenWriter
Present Projects
Flight to Oblivion
(Anatomy of a Hijacking)
The true story of a mad nightmare that begins when a Cairo bound airplane leaving Athens' airspace is hijacked by three armed terrorists.
The mid-air gunbattle leaves the leader of the hijackers dead and forces the plane to land in Malta.
Still in control, the two remaining hijackers demand fuel from the Prime Minister of Malta. When refused they begin shooting passengers.
The nightmare ends hours later when armed Egyptian commandos storm the plane claiming the lives of 56 passengers and one hijacker.
IN DEVELOPMENT by The Producer’s Creative Partnership.
The Piper
A darkly twisted re-working of the Pied Piper legend set in a post-apocalyptic landscape: The Future Past. A horror story with a different kind of monster. The Piper commands an army of vicious dogs. He steals the children and marches them to his slave ship, having set fire to most of the village buildings. Only a handful of rescuers can be spared from firefighting.
Closely Guarded
A cynical cop and a naive wife struggle to expose a medical hazard cover-up while running from a psychotic killer with orders to stop them at all costs.
Chases & Races
A quirky character comedy about working-class Canadians pursued by an American killer because they overheard a dying man's confession.
Pit & Pendulum
Poe's classic story of a Prisoner who has become the toy of his torturers is given an unusual visual treatment.
In Development
Available
Please complete the contact form below to request scripts for reading:
Your Name:
Your Email:
Title(s) of Interest:
Briefly explain your
interest in the project:
Go Back
Past Projects
Baltic Storm
Based upon true events, this speculative action drama examines the suspicious circumstances surrounding the sinking of the public ferry The Estonia and the subsequent loss of 852 lives. One of the survivors tries to find out what happened to his boy.
The Hijacking of Studio 4
When his estranged daughter is unjustly imprisoned for crimes against the state in the African nation of Kanzaal, her desperate father devises a scheme to take Kanzaal's dictator hostage during his North American TV tour.
With a bomb and a gun, he holds everyone in the studio captive, waiting for proof that his daughter is safe.
What he doesn't know is that she died in Kanzaal and the police can only stall while they devise a way to rescue the innocents in the studio.
When he discovers the studio cameras are broadcasting live, the man begins detailing the collusion between the owners of the TV station and the Kanzaal dictator.
Deadly Pursuit
A friendly fire incident wipes out a troop of soldiers and sends the only survivor on a trail of vengeance against the artillery unit involved.
During a reunion weekend dedicated to paint-ball games the disguised survivor substitutes a real gun and goes after the unit members one by one.
Struggle Beneath the Sea
A documentary series about underwater life. 31 Episodes.
The Littlest Hobo
Rabies - London tries to trap an infected raccoon before it can hurt anyone.
Released
Director
A Day On James Street South
A Day On James Street North
Part1
Click HERE for an article about this project.
The Commando Game (Deadly Pursuit)
Contact
110 One-hour magazine shows with host Debbie Van Kiekebelt.
Don't Stop Now
Segments for this half hour teen magazine series as Line Producer.
Script Doctor
ScreenWriting by Mistake - J Ald
Inquiries:
For more information about script services please fill in the request form:
Page count and project title:
Briefly explain your needs
and timeframe:
SAMPLE SCRIPT DOCTOR NOTES
Davis
Clark
JAG N
Instructor
StoryTelling_OnScreen
Of interest to anyone who wants to tell stories with time based media.
Media Literacy
StoryTelling_OnScreen provides a basic introduction to the grammar and syntax of screen media.
Introduction
Course Outline
Videos
StoryTelling_OnScreen_1ON1
An abridged online version of StoryTelling_OnScreen without the collaborative dynamic.
Single Seminar Topics
-What's So Different About Writing Scripts?
-How to Interpret a Script
-Translating From Page to Screen
-Decoding a Script
-Movie Structure for Filmmakers
-Cutting Costs, Not Pages
-Rules Were Meant to be Broken
-First and Ten
-Genre and High Concept
-Tips, Tricks and Traps: Learning From the Movies
-Ten Pages Crucial
-Documentaries are Stories Too
______________
123 OUTLINE.pd
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Single Seminars
Please fill in the contact form to enquire about availability.
Dates and times:
Explain a little about the
event and the Seminar
topic of interest:
NOTE:
You must be able to commit 10 consecutive weeks of intense writing, reading, watching and discussion.
Rate yourself as a StoryTeller:
0=novice to 5=professional
In 25 words or less explain what you hope to achieve from the course:
You must be able to commit 5 consecutive weeks of intense writing, reading, watching and discussion.
Write it
The best way to work out a scene is to write it down. That way a storyteller experiences the co-relation between mind, page and screen, gaining an understanding of what a script is supposed to be like.
Save Time and Money
A filmmaker who understands story telling on screen can anticipate problems before they reach the set.
Grocery lists
There is a growing industry of Books, Seminars, Lectures and Workshops online and in person available providing the How-To but none discuss Why-To. Most simply provide a grocery list of media standards and practices in their own particular order.
None prepare the creative storyteller for the collaborative nature of media.
Insisting on changes
Input comes from anyone who has anything to do with the project, from the producer during pre-production, to the editor during post, and all have influence on the final result. The Auteur of the project (whether that is the writer, director, actor, producer or editor) must maintain and promote a single clear vision of the story in the face of all those new ideas.
Direct conflict
Conversely, a screen project is a fluid work-in-progress as a storyteller organizes and examines the elements needed to tell the story best. You can easily be overwhelmed by the number of people advising and insisting on changes according to needs that often appear in direct conflict with yours.
ScreenWriting Reference Library
123 - SCRIPT HANICS.pd
123 - GLOSSARY.pd
BUDGET EASING TIPS - J Aldric Gaudet.pd
5 Rules of Dialogue - J Aldrict.pd
05 ScreenWriting by Mistake.pd
SCREENWRITING- J Aldric Gaudet.pd
123 Paradigm.pd
STORYTELLING_ONSCREEN
Provoking discussion
Collaboration is the very essence of the industry, yet it cant be taught. However, by placing storytellers in a group environment and provoking discussion, one can come close to familiarizing them with that process in a non-threatening atmosphere. It forces participants to experience the demands that will be made upon both their storytelling and interactive skills.
Show time
A storyteller needs to understand enough to know when a script is ready to show around and to know what is missing if it isnt.
Providing the storyteller with the necessary rules and tools of media is the backbone of StoryTelling_OnScreen, but the interactions are its muscle.
Summary
Ororo, a young Epee, claims his right to compete in the annual Egg Run
and win a place in school Orongo.
He is responding to a task set for him when he was a child by his
missing father.
He inherited a cave of secrets passed along from his ancestors written in
RongoRongo which is why he must win a place at the school so he can
learn how to read them.
During the school term, tensions escalate between the Monoko and the
Epee and war breaks out on graduation day.
Ororo becomes the last Epee.
The setting is a post-apocalyptic world struggling back to its feet without
electricity or machines: The Future Past.
A farming community has sprung up at a rare find of tillable soil where
they grow wheat but their harvest is plagued by voracious rats. They put
out a call for a ratcatcher.
The Piper arrives promising the town he can get rid of the rats for a price.
The Mayor, a natural horse-trader, convinces the Piper to accept an
embarrassing fee.
The Piper uses a sound device to drive the rats into the open, and an
army of vicious dogs to herd them to a dead end corral where the
townspeople shoot them all.
Denied compensation for wounded dogs the Piper then discovers he was
tricked into accepting the low fee and leaves in a rage.
He comes back, sets fires all over town and while everyone's busy, uses
the dogs to herd the children away.
When the townspeople find out, they are hard pressed to spare rescuers.
Five are sent but after an ambush only two remain to save the children.
In the end the unusual behaviour of the rats is explained by a disturbing revelation.
If you wish to read this script please fill in the request form:
Title(s) of interest:
Written
by
Read The Story
A crystal Hummingbird is put into position on the Christmas tree of her
new home and discovers all the other ornaments are damaged in some
way.
Lug, the sketch of an elf on a medallion with nicks, scratches and
gouges, speaks for all the others as her Greeter. He tells Hummingbird
their story which is also the story of the Kelley family seen from the
ornaments’ once-a-year point of view.
Beginning when Mr. Kelley was a boy watching his father carve wooden
ornaments for the tree, progressive Christmas pasts take us to when Mr.
Kelley’s father, an old man, passes away.
Mr. Kelley, unable to carve, carries on the tradition by finding
something very special to suspend in the tree, mending an estrangement
between himself and his daughter.
Last year Ballerina was the new arrival. Drummer Boy was her Greeter
and they fell in love at first suspension.
Last year an accidental spark raged into an inferno and the ornaments
had to wake the family.
Last year Ballerina sacrificed herself to save them all.
Lug’s story explains the damages that had bothered Hummingbird and
she feels honoured to be in the tree.
The Proposal
Mixing stage and screen techniques, this fantasy introduces Lug, the sketch of an elf etched on a brass medallion with nicks, scratches and gouges. He serves as both Master of Ceremonies and participant in a series of vignettes that recount the family’s history seen from the ornament’s once a year POV.
Read Script Preview
Full Script
When a husband hires a guy in a bar to kill his wife he doesn't realize he
has made the deal with an undercover cop. The cop, Vince, convinces
the guy's wife, Karen, to be made up to look gunshot for a photo he'll
show Hubby at the payoff. During the makeup application Vince and
Karen give off sparks of attraction.
Meanwhile Hubby forges ahead with the rest of his plan to change his
life and blackmails a powerfully dangerous man . The man agrees to pay
and Hubby goes to fetch the file.
On the way he stops at the bar to pay off Vince and gets arrested. A
psychotic killer working for the blackmailed man, Burn, arranges
Hubby's release on a technicality and takes him away for interrogation,
via car battery.
Vince goes to check on Karen and is there to foil Burn's attempt to steal
a security box key. Vince and Karen discover a computer disk in the box
at the bank and are nearly caught by Burn who shows up there with the
traumatized Hubby in tow.
During their desperate escape Vince is wounded and disarmed.
They lay a false trail to throw off their pursuers, then take refuge in an
isolated cabin on a lake, unaware Burn has seen through their ruse.
Karen treats Vince's wound as best she can and the two prepare
some homemade defenses while repairing their differences. They read
the computer print outs and realize their only hope is to expose the story.
Burn jumps them at the cabin but the pair escape in a speed-boat leaving
the cabin ablaze. A boat chase leads to a climactic fight at a closed-for-
the-season lift-lock.
A person imprisoned for unspecified crimes awakes in darkness and
explores the boundaries of the dungeon by feel. A fortuitous accident
prevents the Prisoner from plunging into the pit, a trap in the floor.
Staring down into the bowels of the pit, the Prisoner sees what he fears
most and realizes he is the subject of torture games and is being
observed.
He falls unconscious and wakes to find himself on his back securely tied
to a platform. The lights are now on and he can see. What he sees is a
huge pendulum swinging in the rafters above him and discovers that each
swing brings it closer and closer to him, slowly.
After agonizing hours of the razor-sharp blade's descent to his chest, the
Prisoner manages to enlist the aid of the loathesome rats who infest the
pit by coating his bonds with remnants of food.
They eat apart his bonds just as the blade slices his clothing. He slithers
sideways and escapes. He is elated. Deflated, when the pendulum
machinery stops and is drawn up into the ceiling and reset for the next
victim.
Then the walls of the cell grow red-hot and start to squash inward,
scorching the Prisoner toward the pit which contains what he most fears.
Just as he falls in, he is rescued by a soldier who has come to destroy the
dungeon masters.
Production Notes
This project is designed to create an unusually intense viewing
experience.
The concept requires a bare minimum of fixtures in order to stimulate the viewer to a high emotional plane.
The quality of the production lies in presentation, not dressings.
This project is aimed at shattering traditional passive-viewer dogma and crossing into the realm of active-viewer participation and stimulation. It is an attempt to engage the mind as powerfully as radio once did. To get that kind of involvement, that kind of commitment, from the viewer requires carefully planned and precisely applied stimulation and it is the intent of this production to demonstrate this ability in the simplest possible way, to stimulate the viewer's imagination into creating 3-dimensional images from a 2-dimensional medium.
There are no expensive sets or elaborate props necessary to bring this
story to life, for the cold metal walls of the dungeon, the unmentionable horrors hidden in the bowels of the pit, and the massive razor-sharp blade of the pendulum are all constructed in the mind's eye of the viewer.
This is accomplished by the effective use of low-key lighting, camera
placement and movement, realistic sound effects, and precise editing; all aimed at giving the viewer a visual and auditory 'imprint' with which to create a personalized setting for the horrifying events of the tale.
The massive pendulum mechanism is built out of whole cloth by simply providing the framework for the viewer's imagination to work with. Poe's narrator describes his predicament and his feelings about the pendulum swinging above him while the viewer sees shadows cross his face and watch his eyes follow the blade moving closer and closer as it descends, seeing the Prisoner's head begin to rock back and forth in beat with the blade until finally he has to crane his neck awkwardly forward to see it swinging inches from his chest.
Many elements make up this sequence: a gust of air disturbs his hair, representing the blade passing close; a rhythmic whooshing sound grows louder matching the swinging movements; tilted shots of shadow regions in the ceiling where occasional flashes of reflected light betray the whereabouts of the blade; pendulum POV shots swinging over the Prisoner, etc.
These production details are designed to make full use of the unique
language of the medium, to focus the viewer's complete attention,
therefore involving them, on the words that fill in the image. Every
element works together to transport the viewer into the claustrophobic, mind-wrenching world of Edgar Allan Poe: cutting techniques create the mood, lighting effects stimulate emotions, sound effects provide a sense of presence, camera motion focuses attention and acting skills make it terrifyingly real. Yet in the final analysis it is all simply an hypnotic illusion intended, like any good magician's trick, on astounding and amazing the viewer.
Marshall McLuhan spoke of it in Understanding Media:
"The meaning of the telegraph mosaic in its journalistic manifestations was not lost to the mind of Edgar Allan Poe: He used it to establish two startlingly new inventions, the symbolist poem and the detective story. Both of these forms require do-it-yourself participation on the part of the reader. By offering an incomplete image or process, Poe involved his readers in the creative process in a way that Baudelaire, Valery, T. S. Eliot, and many others have admired and followed. Poe had grasped at once the electric dynamic as one of public participation in creativity. Nevertheless, even today the homogenized consumer complains when asked to participate in creating or completing an abstract poem or painting or structure of any kind. Yet Poe knew even then that participation in depth followed at once from the telegraph mosaic."
Screenplay
Read the Story
On an ordinary day in the ordinary life of an ordinary little girl, Sandra
finds a key attached to a necklace and puts it around her neck.
That night a young boy, Tay, frantically searches her room for the lost
key. He tells her he needs it to free his father from imprisonment.
When they can’t get the necklace clasp undone, Tay persuades Sandra to
come with him and flies her into the night sky.
They land on a cloud called Knighn where giant spiders and giant ravens
are the servants and warriors for the humans living there and all are
currently embroiled in a civil war because of the taking of Tay’s father.
Enemy ravens capture Tay, leaving Sandra stranded. Her only way
home is to rescue Tay and his father from the clutches of the Sorcerer
while avoiding capture herself.
She is being hunted for the key which the Sorcerer wants more than
anything because it controls Knighn’s mysterious power.
Sandra embarks on her quest and after numerous adventures, rescues
Tay and his father. Her sidekicks include a walking talking TV with
‘tude; a rambunctious rubber ball with a puppy-dog personality; and an
heroic warrior spider as big as a horse.
At the final confrontation Sandra discovers the key’s role and the secret
to Knighn’s mysterious power. The raging battle between the ravens
and the spiders ends with a surprising result.
This ain’t your Grandma’s Fantasy Land.
Those willing to suspend their disbelief will enjoy a grand adventure.
Please write the title of the story you are interested in and indicate whether you wish to download it for free or purchase a signed copy.
Personal Note
I was hired by a producer to do research for a series of documentary
projects about the truths behind classic tales of horror, like Dracula and
Frankenstein.
Although none of them came to fruition my research into the legends
behind Halloween left me with some interesting concepts I had never
heard explained before.
Using the framework of three teens dealing with their own issues I
interwove the ingredients to tell their story within the fabric of historical
Halloween traditions and legends.
Please write the titles of the story you are interested in and indicate whether you wish to download it for free or purchase a signed copy.
This was written by my Muse.
I don't understand it myself.
Maybe that's a good thing.
After a visit to his Master’s estranged children, Scooter is enjoying the
ride home when there is a terrible crash.
Scooter is thrown out of sight, too damaged to get anyone’s attention.
His recovery takes a long time in the wilderness but Scooter struggles
every day to return to his Master’s home.
Upon arrival months later he finds strangers moving in and is chased
away.
He embarks on another journey and finally reaches the forest behind the
house where his children live, and waits there for his Master.
When a raccoon infected with rabies threatens the children Scooter saves
the day at great risk to himself.
This story is the result of typical writer’s frustration at a script turned
toothless by committee.
I wrote an episode for The Littlest Hobo about London in a battle of wits
against a rabid raccoon.
I was called shortly before the episode was to be shot and told that major
story changes had been made and was asked if I still wanted my name on
the script.
The changes were devastating to the story dynamic, but, to be fair, the
dog’s owner felt that he didn’t want London to be seen trying to get
another animal killed, however dangerous the animal might be to others.
Dramatically it’s a weak argument but he owned the dog.
The deciding factor was the extra cost of shooting my pages of
escalating tension between London and this threat to the children.
I kept my name on it for the credit but I was disappointed in the story.
The idea percolated in my mind and became the story of Scooter, a
different dog, but a hero nonetheless.
Click on the tabs for resume details
Background
WRITER
Writer Flight To Oblivion Malmer Film International
(Anatomy of a Hijacking) Sliema, Malta.
Feature Film In DEVELOPMENT.
Writer Baltic Storm Top Story Film Productions
Feature Film World Premiere - Berlin,
2003
Writer Error-2000 Top Story Film Productions
TV Movie World Premiere - SAT1
1999
Writer The Hijacking of Studio 4 Emmeritus Productions for
TV Movie CHCH-TV
1985
Co-Writer Deadly Pursuit Emmeritus Productions for
1984
Writer The Littlest Hobo: Glen-Warren Productions
Rabies for CTV
1982
Writer Struggle Beneath the Sea Jaylar Productions for
31 half-hour documentaries TVOntario
Global Television
1980-81
Writer Animal Centre Price-Burton Studios
Dramatic veterinary series Pilot & Writer's Bible
Unproduced
Researcher The Sue Lumsden Show Global Television
Researcher Magic Shadows TVOntario
Researcher Saturday Night at the Movies TVOntario
INSTRUCTOR
McMaster University 1998-2008
Personal Appearance: Magic Shadows guest of Elwy Yost
DIRECTOR
Director A Day on James Street South The Factory
for the Community
Director A Day on James Street North The Factory
Director The Hijacking of Studio 4 Emmeritus Productions for
Director Deadly Pursuit Emmeritus Productions for
Director Contact! Enterprize Screen Prods
Switcher 110 live to tape. 1-hour magazine show with
host Debbie Van Kiekebelt
PRODUCER
Producer What have you got to lose? Peel Regional Police Force
Video-drama teaching aid for campaign
against teen drunk driving.
Producer Racquetball Vacations National Racquets Club
Producer Just having a good time Council on Road Trauma
Promotional video
Line Producer Don't Stop Now! Appletree Productions for
Half hour on fun teen topics CTV
TECHNICAL OPERATIONS
Switcher Global-TV - freelance
Huchm Productions - freelance
VTR Productions - freelance
Avcor - freelance
TVOntario - staff
Floor Director CTV/CFTO - freelance
Camera CTV/CFTO - freelance
Operations Technician TVOntario - staff
Operations Technician Cambrian Broadcasting - staff
Operations Staff TVO / Global / CTV / CITY / CBC
A king's daughter goes against her father's wishes and marries a lowborn
gentleman instead of his oafish stepson but before they can consummate the marriage the king banishes the husband from Britain.
During his exile in Rome, the husband gets involved in a heated exchange
and commits to a wager against his wife's fidelity.
Tricked into believing the wager lost he sends word to his servant in Britain to lure princess Imogen to Wales and kill her.
The servant, knowing her innocence, provides a disguise and a plan for her
to masquerade as a boy page and hitch a ride from Wales to Rome.
The step-oaf forces the servant to reveal her destination and heads for Wales determined to kill her husband, rape and humiliate her, then drag her back to court.
What none of them count on is that actions taken years previously interfere with their plans.
Meanwhile Rome launches its invasion against Britain by way of Wales.
Shakespeare's wizardry fills in the rest.
Purchase this book
Romeo, a passionate romantic besotted with Rosaline but rejected
by her, meets Juliet. The two fall hopelessly in love before
discovering their families are mortal enemies.
They marry in secret but when Tybalt, a member of Juliet’s
family, challenges Romeo and he refuses, Romeo’s best friend
takes up the challenge and dies in the duel.
Enraged, Romeo challenges Tybalt to a duel and kills him.
Banished from Verona by the death penalty, and Juliet given by
her father to another, the lovers become desperate to be together
or die.
A plot hatched by a friendly friar goes awry and Romeo believes
Juliet is dead. He journeys to her tomb and kills himself there to
join her in paradise.
She awakes from her comatose state to discover Romeo dead and
kills herself to join him in paradise.
What happens in between is Shakespeare’s wizardry.
SCREENWRITING123
A screenplay is never finished, never solid, it is a fluid work-in-progress
with input coming from many directions. Anyone who has anything to
do with the project, from the producer during pre-production, to the
editor during post, all influence the final result.
A writer, used to working in solitude, struggling for the precise words
and phrases, can be easily overwhelmed by the number of people
advising and insisting on changes according to needs that often appear in
direct conflict with the writer’s.
Collaboration is the very essence of the industry, yet very little is said
about it. It can’t be taught. However, by placing writers in a similar
environment and provoking discussions, one can come close to
familiarizing them with that process in a non-threatening atmosphere. If
a storyteller wishes to pursue screenwriting they should understand the
producer’s needs, which means experiencing the demands that will be
made upon both their writing and interactive skills.
There is a growing industry of books, seminars, lectures and workshops
available on “How To” but few discuss “Why To.”
Most provide a grocery list of industry standards and practices in their
own particular order, yet none prepares the storyteller for the
collaborative nature of screenwriting.
Providing the storyteller with the necessary tools of the screen trade is
the backbone of ScreenWriting123, but the interactions are its soul.
That is why the course builds in three steps.
1 Format First.
An introduction, provides all the practical information necessary to
create a screenplay. The fundamental How-Tos of screenwriting.
Writing demands are basic. Short scene assignments are discussed with
classmates.
10 consecutive weeks.
2 First and Ten.
Provides those storytellers who wish to delve further, with the tools they
need to manipulate the rules in order to tell their own special stories on
