Hey folks. This year has been full of transition. I’ve seen my fair share of film and TV production all over the country. From  pilots to commercials (I spent a day as a stand-in for Bruno Mars on a Khaki commercial, true story) to micro-documentaries, I’ve seen almost 30 states in the last 10 months! If you want to catch-up, I interviewed Academy Award winners, video game producers and designers, and helped build websites for some really cool films.

So what’s the latest and greatest in the world of Merrel?

This week, I’ll be speaking along with Xandy Sussan at the Baltimore Chapter of Women in Film and Video  — this Thursday December 8th, at their annual Christmas extravaganza party. The networking fun starts at 6 pm and the meeting begins at 7 pm. The event will be at CBS affiliate WJZ 13, on TV hill, 3725 Malden ave, Baltimore, Md 21211. Come on out and enjoy what local filmmakers of Baltimore have to offer!

In other news, I’d love to share my new online store Mister Thirty Sixer’s Vintage Curios & Oddities — a store full of  vintage strange, weird and kitsch. We collect interesting items that tell a story in history, from hand painted Russian dolls to vintage camera accessories to hand bound cookbook from upstate New York!

Sometimes these items make it into photoshoots, many of them make their way into our in-development web-series. Along with Xandy, we ferret out the coolest pieces of history and their stories to share with you. Check it out!

It’s been a busy couple of months. I’m recently back from producing a docu-reality pilot, but before I left, I spent sometime over at video game publisher Atari to interview game producer Michael Fahrny about the upcoming video game Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale.

Read the whole article over at Wizards.com. Hey, that’s exciting, the 12 year old version of me just totally got jealous!

Over at Regrifters.com, I have a new article up, The Thrifter Who Played God. Where I take the reader on a CSI journey to uncover just what kind of script I found at a yard sale in Los Angeles. Turns out, I found a winner!

Regrifters isn’t an entertainment magazine, but rather a lifestyle mag. Their about page says it all

A REGRIFTER (noun): someone who can spot a treasure in the trash, see its potential, get it for a song, spruce it up with a little bit of flair, and send it back out into the world, upcycled and ready for a new life. Your magnificent new gift will be filled with charm, whimsy, and be the perfect conversation piece that looks like it cost bread, son.

Read the whole article after the jump!

The Thrifter Who Played God
By: Merrel Davis

I’m never one to pass up a yard sale or a “junk-in-a-box-on-a-curb” opportunity. Hunting for really cool items, which resonate with me on a personal level, is rewarding and something I’ve done since I was a child. By the second grade, I was secretly amassing collections of culture – it started innocuously with coins and post-cards, then spiraled into obscure advertisements and periodicals. I had German copies of Spider-man, a Japanese translation of the King James Bible, an Italian children’s book in Braille. Yeah, I like weird shit.

Exactly what constitutes Hollywood memorabilia is really in the eye of the beholder and depends on what someone is willing to pay for an item. Film is such a personal thing and movies touch us all differently, on many emotional levels. Growing up worshiping at the alter of cinema, honestly, most of the “traditional” memorabilia (collectible photos, autographs, props) I find to be such a pedestrian bore. I work in production, so that stuff doesn’t excite me. But what I do love, is how L.A. offers you a unique opportunity to thrift and find treasures from Hollywood nights past, like you can in no other city.

There is a tangibility to an old bound script that you just can’t get with a sleek 120-page PDF. I read a lot of scripts. There’s a comforting feeling that accompanies a type-written script, even if it’s not a good one. That’s at least partly why I am enamored by “The Man Who Played God,” a 1974 script starring Martin Sheen and produced by the Emmy-winning company Bob Banner and Associates. They are best known for producing the Carol Burnett Show.

How did I end up with a vintage copy of this random script? I was walking on a Sunday afternoon around my neighborhood, when I passed by a man named Jim, who was loading up his van. I spied a Paramount call sheet from Monday December 9, 1974, stuffed in between a stack of bound scripts and I had to investigate.

After a little bit of chit-chat, Jim gave me free reign to rummage, and rummage I did! I found several scripts but most alluring to me was the call sheet that had a familiar name on it. “Martin Sheen. Part of: Holmes.” Okay, so with a Paramount call sheet, name producers and talent, what else could possibly add to the legitimacy of this super-cool find?

I opened the spine of the script and from the center fell a staff and crew list from the production. Full with title, name, address and phone number of everyone involved in the production from the director all the way to kraft services. Note: Most of these numbers are disconnected. To date, it’s been 36-years since this script was made. Jim wanted them gone, so I greedily grabbed the whole box of scripts and skipped home like Charlie with his golden ticket, theme song and all.

When I got home, I wasn’t able to find anything about this film on the IMDB. All I had to go on was the Paramount production number and the title page which stated “Based on: The United States vs. Holmes #15382.” A short legal lesson later, I made my way to the origin of the story, the sinking of the American Ship the William Brown in 1841.

Wikipedia sums it up nicely: The William Brown was an American ship that sank in 1841, taking with her 31 passengers. A further 16 passengers were forced out of an overloaded lifeboat before the survivors were rescued. In the case of United States v. Holmes, crewman Alexander Holmes was charged with murder and convicted of manslaughter for his actions.

But still no “The Man Who Played God” anywhere to be found! Was this a theatrical release? Was it only released overseas? Never released at all? Back to the IMDB-mobile!

Then, I checked out “The Man Who Played God,”written by Douglas Day Stewart; did you know he wrote “The Boy in a the Plastic Bubble” and “An Officer and a Gentleman,” along with a slew of other memorable scripts? I know, me neither! But one title stood out, I must have glossed over it since I didn’t know the context of the story of the William Brown, but now it all made sense. “The Man Who Played God” was in fact entitled The Last Survivors

Booya! This film does exist, it was a made-for-TV movie and aired on March 4th 1975; a quick 4-months after the call-sheet date. Armed with all this info, I went back to the box of scripts, to see if I could find anything else. What I found was a real treat, or should I say treatment. “Abandon Ship” is the treatment for “The Man Who Played God.” It’s not uncommon for scripts to have working titles, especially in the outline or treatment phase. But I’d be hard pressed to tell you I’ve ever been given a window made for TV movie starring Martin Sheen from the treatment phase all the way to broadcast. As some dude who opened up a storage locker once said: “This is the ‘wow’ factor.”

There are so many instructional and scholarly articles out there about the writing and filmmaking processes. Hell, I write some of those too. But, I’m just a dude who loves his craft(s), and has his hand in 15 little fires at any given moment. I’m out to learn from the world. What does it take to keep my engine running? I’m excited to share some of the things I’ve been working on, will be working on, and where you can see me in LA this month:

APRIL 2011

RT Booklovers Convention

HOLLYWOOD: From Page to Screen : Script Consultants Give You the Goods
Date: Wednesday April 6, 2011 01:00 pm – 02:00 pm
Event Type: Writer Industry Workshop
Location: The Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, 404 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Phone: 213-624-1000

RT Booklovers convention is hosted by RTBookReview.com and is a focused community of romance writers across several sub-genres. Though I’m not working on the next “Twilight-killer” I do know what makes for good story, and I’m delighted to be joined by fellow panelists and writers Xandy Sussan (imdb), Melinda Snodgrass (imdb) and moderator Vivi Anna.  We’ll sort you out. Romance lovers, hope to see you there.

LA Comedy Shorts Film Festival

CoverMyScript.com will be out at the LA COMEDY SHORTS FILM FESTIVAL:

The L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival and Screenplay Competition is dedicated to introducing the newest and hottest comedic talent to the industry, and helping them make the connections they need to take their careers to the next level.

In fact, the winners of the LA COMEDY SHORTS screenplay competition will also win a gracious CoverMyScript.com BRANDING AND NEXT STEPS CONSULTATION PACKAGE with myself and CoverMyScript.com owner, Xandy Sussan. Check it out, it’s going to be awesome, I mean Gary Anthony Williams people!  He’s very pretty (source: bio.)

Script Frenzy

Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants take on the challenge of writing 100 pages of scripted material in the month of April.

Along with Xandy Sussan over at  CoverMyScript.com, I’ll be co-writing a stoner comedy script, based on an outline we hashed out (pardon the pun) last year. Script Frenzy is an excellent tool to keep yourself accountable. My goals with this draft are simple; get it on the page, beat it up, slap it around. Many other will be pushing themselves to hit the 100 page mark this April too. Follow me on twitter @UncompletedWork and the hash-tag #scriptfrenzy for my progress and others. You can also sign up and track your progress on ScriptFrenzy.org

SCREENWRITER KARAOKE

Screenwriter Karaoke is going through some exciting changes in the coming months to include a NEW VENUE and NEW SPONSORS! Stay tuned for upcoming news about the when and where  and what special conventions and conferences you’ll see Screenwriter Karaoke attend. If you’d like to suggest your favorite karaoke joint in Los Angeles, tweet at @SWKaraoke.

ARTICLES

There are a million topics I’d love to be writing for and about. One of my most obsessive is probably video games. Last year I was able to indulge  with the sound design team on Medal of Honor.  This year,  I’ll be writing more content for other games. I can’t say which games just yet, but they are cool, well known franchises that fans definitely love.   I will also be contributing an occasional article over at Regrifters.com a new site about taking things old and making them new on the cheap.

WEBSITES

As part of the overall branding of individuals, I often do web development and design for my filmmaking clients. This month I finished the site of accomplished special effect make-up person Scott Conner (imdb). His website is EvilgrinFX.com.

If you are thinking about making a website for your film, or as a portfolio of your work as a filmmaker, reach out to Uncompleted at MerrelDavis.com.

2010 was a wild year of personal sacrifice and amazing professional growth. I’ve endeavored to live a life that seems glamorous to the arm-chair filmmakers. (It’s not.) I’ve emerge embattled the last year with the following thoughts and reflections on life in Los Angeles and the entertainment industry at large:

1. Desperation looks ugly on you.
There is nothing more noticeable than the stench of desperation in the room. Los Angeles is the city of  “keeping up appearances” and the way you carry yourself is as important as the message you carry. That’s not news, but be very careful not to confuse candor and aspiration for desperation, or the other way around.

This past year, I took what I thought was a mutual meeting with a peer. But as it turned out, he was “meeting with me.” He showed up,  resume in hand and instead of approaching me like a person, he begged me for a job. I had hoped for a meeting of the minds. I was testing the waters for a new collaborative partner. But his demeanor was so needy, he talked about how little money he had, how his old man cut him off.

I’m no job fairy. Whilst we, collectively, are a woefully underemployed bunch at times, this was most definitely the wrong way to approach anyone. And honestly, if I did have a job to give him, I wouldn’t have. Awkward and desperate when cultivating new work partners = see ya later! Everyone can smell fear. Which brings me to my next point…

2. Shut up and listen if you ask for help.
I recently had lunch with an Emmy award winning fellow who was re-evaluating his “legacy.” After the writers’ strike, work dried up, and he, like most others in Los Angeles, is still looking for a new way to make a living. Teaching workshops, he asked, was it viable? Could he do it?  I was enthusiastic and know people on the filmmaking workshop circuit and offered my help.

Much to my chagrin, he shot me down immediately; he gave me a litany of logistical and personal reasons why the solution, I hadn’t even offered, wasn’t viable. Not all who wax poetic about jump-starting their future are actually interested in getting on the bike. He wasn’t interested in networking to get on the workshop circuit or collecting his knowledge into what could be a publication. His impression: Someone would  descend from the heavens, orchestrate and pay him top dollar for workshops based on his body of work. That’s as solid a plan as I had ever heard. I mean sure, that would be ideal and the least amount of work in man-power and time (and awesome!) it is also the least likely to ever happen in any universe, even Dr. Who.

If you really want options and ideas ask for them. If you’d rather be jaded about your success or lack thereof, check it at the door and keep it to yourself. Good advice is not for deaf ears. It’s for the bright-eyed individual who’s willing to take the tools and do the work.

3. Los Angeles: “Fuck Yo steady paycheck. Seriously.”
The sheen of L.A. is the most fabricated and heralded social ecosystem of the entertainment world. Expectations, “Hollywood Bullshit,” and cost of living exist on different planes.

Chances are you aren’t independently wealthy. I’m not. But if you ask me “Merrel how did you make a living in 2010?” I’d respond: “With every bit of love, sweat and pain I had.”

Living in Los Angeles is exciting and tough. But in this current economic climate, but it’s harder making a living solely on one craft. So you want to know the real deal? You got to pay the bills, with more than said skills.

During the week, I might be working at a production sound shop. At night, I do coverage or development clients.  Early morning, it’s a bit of editing or graphic design work. Lunch time, I polish a magazine article for syndication. The scripts I sold last year were animated overseas,  so yes, I am a “paid screenwriter.” But that’s not what brought the bread. In a game of keeping up appearances, this town is hard work. Check your company-man hat at the door, because the only way you will survive is to synthesize all your strong skills.

4. “Yes” Means “No”, “No” means “No”
So,  you meet a  “big producer” for lunch. Maybe you are looking to compare notes, test the waters, partner with him, pitch to him. You had a wonderful lunch, great conversation. You gave him your card, some materials, everyone smiles, “we’ll be in touch!” he says.

On the surface, that seems like a pretty great interaction. But the reality of the passive-aggressive, hyper-polite “yes” is aggressively aggravating! The producer said “yes” outloud to interest, but  in his view, it’s the least confrontational way to pass on material or you. Xandy over at covermyscript.com calls it “aggressive obsequiousness” or when everyone is so hyper-polite because no one wants to accidentally tell off the next Scorsese.

The passive aggressive “yes” is like a sneak attack, especially if you have East-coast sensibilities. A meeting like that in NYC may have ended with a “thanks, no thanks” hand shake. At least you know where you stand. But, know that “yes” means “no” all the way to the bank. Be receptive and in the back of your mind know, most people will say “yes” but likely mean “no.”

5. Nepotism / Favoritism thy name is the studio system. Don’t take it personally.
In another life, I worked in the Washington D.C. corridor. The amount of inbreeding between government contractors and various agencies there is astounding (and makes for terrible oversight.) Every single person is somebody’s brother or cousin, close family friend. I once worked at a sixty person contractor — where all the team leads and middle management were cousins.  Interns? Forget about it, we’ve got middle management’s children for that.

I asked Xandy if she could elucidate this phenomenon:

When I first moved out here, my uncle (a prominent and important television producer) made a call on my behalf to a production company and “asked” them to hire me. I put the “ask” in quotes, because when you come recommended from someone like my uncle, you fall into the “must hire” category; like being a legacy at a college. So, I went to the prod co for my, what I was lead to believe was  just a perfunctory meeting, prior to an offer, but what I walked into was an ambush. The hiring manager was so annoyed that I was a “must hire” that she made me jump through a series of unnecessary hoops. I played along, knowing my uncle’s reputation was on the line. Over the course of the next six weeks, I was called back in to interview four more times. By our last meeting, I had lost interest in the hiring manager’s games and flat out asked her what the deal was. She laid it out for me. She didn’t like “must-hires” and she would never hire me. But she had to make it look like she was doing her job. She had already staffed the position with someone more qualified. And by “more qualified” of course I mean, her friend from Cornell. Ah the nepotism trump card; nepotism!  The bottom line, being someone’s relative doesn’t always pave the way for your advancement, it usually opens the door for somebody else’s friend.

You  must constantly navigate people. They all have their own motivations, and most people are acting to elevate, not your interest, but their own. Don’t take it personally.

6. The Dunning Kruger effect
I’d always been aware of this principal in sort of a storied sense, but it wasn’t until this past year that someone shared that there is a formal way to categorize “Dumb people are succeeding at an alarming rate, and smart people are languishing.”

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled people make poor decisions and reach erroneous conclusions, but their incompetence denies them the metacognitive ability to realize their mistakes. This leads to the situation in which less competent people rate their own ability higher than more competent people. It also explains why actual competence may weaken self-confidence.^{(Courtesy Wikipedia.com)}

When you see dumb people succeeding, don’t let it get you down. It’s not because they’re better than you, it’s because scientifically, they are so dumb they fail upwards.  Remember this on every production on set, during every pre-production, during development meetings and when you park your car at Target. Trust me.

7. No one has scruples. Protect yourself.
Story time, again: For over a year and a half now, I’ve hosted Screenwriter Karaoke, a fun filmmakers network event that puts people together in a room with just a little bit of booze, a microphone and tambourine. I’m grateful, this past year was a boon for my baby event. It went from small bars in NYC, to regular dives in LA, to two major screenwriting conferences the Great American Pitchfest and the Creative Screenwriting Expo 2010. These were amazing opportunities to reach to a whole new crowd about my mantra of connecting to peers with a bit of song and drink.

So, you’d might imagine my out right anger when a script doctor that was attending one of these conferences, falsely represented himself as part of my organization. He created a slew of false and misleading website postings / pages, all claiming to be a premiere sponsor of my event while never once speaking to me. One page with an “official website” link lead to his own website and services page! All this, while I do have real  premiere sponsors.

Standing up for yourself by protecting your blood and sweat equity from vultures is the only way you’ll set yourself apart. How do you respond to an astroturfer who unabashedly pretends to be part of your hard work? I sought him out, called him at 10:30 on a Sunday morning and laid out just how unacceptable his behavior was. Don’t let random people encroach on your success. Who the hell is he to come in, swoop up all my hard work and pretend he was there from square one in a lame attempt to drive sales in his own business?

I made it very clear who I was, and even introduced myself when I saw him at Screenwriter Karaoke. For the record, he stayed for one song before he bailed. But my mark is made, I protected myself and he will never pull this shit with me again.

8. Don’t write checks your ass can’t cash / Let people assume.
The two sided coin of entertainment work: you must at once not over promise, whilst still leaving an air of wonder in the room. You may have heard the adage “talk the talk, until you walk the walk” and while there is certainly some truth to presenting yourself well, don’t overstate who you are. We’ll know you’re lying. We always do.

People assume lots of things. Let them. There was a time in my early twenties where I felt the need to correct the real or perceived assumptions people made about me or my work. The correction never yielded more work. Usually, I’d just make more of an ass of of myself in the process.

If you talk a big game you better have the goods. For example, if you are pitching scripts, you should probably have it written. Sure, we all know the stories of pitches on napkins for millions, but what happens when you pitch, and they like it? Will you run home and do your vomit pass and hope for the best? That’s what I call a pay-day loan with strings attached versus writing your own checks.

Maybe the perception others have of you will be flattering, and perhaps not factual. People love to fill in the gaps, so let them. And just like a writer and mental spackle, people spackle their assumptions and personal experience over their view of you. If you find this happening, let it flow, people are going to think what they are going to think regardless if you correct them.

9. Being #2 on the list is like being an understudy. You never know when you have your opening night, so be prepared.
Building a support system of friends and peers is a slow process. It begins with letting people know who you are and what your about. There are ways to be well positioned. For example, seek out professionals you admire and cultivate a relationship with them. Exultation or demands for work won’t get you very far, but an earnest interest might.

In my travels this year I met a great fellow with a boutique production company. I made a good impression and we hit it off. We traded emails and then months later I got a call: “So and so dropped out, you were the first person who came to mind.” Ah, yes, music to my ears! I had an opportunity to meet with a great crew and DP on a top TV show in it’s seventh season and teach a workshop. Things lined up. It’s because I wasn’t bashful in letting him know who I am or what I do.

I was prepared and delighted to be able to try my hand at a new gig. The workshop went well, but I really did feel like an understudy. I knew all the lines, I’m just amazed I’d have a chance to recite them.

10. Opportunities aren’t presented, they are created.
Last story, I promise: I was staffed on a NAT GEO TV series. To get on, I contacted the executive producers, through a friend of a friend. The production company told me outright they weren’t hiring, they didn’t know the next series they were doing either. Basically, “go fly a kite, thanks.”

Most people would have stopped there. I was persistent. I landed a different gig in the interim, then called the following month and asked if I could come in to see the production offices. They obliged me, I went in and met the whole team. It was “Thanks for stopping by and seeing our digs!” and they sent me on my way.

By this point, I had made my intentions clear. It was a little discouraging to repeatedly hear “sorry, we got nothing for you.” But I kept in contact. Never overbearing, just a “hey this is what I’m doing now.” When the NAT GEO show came through, I was high on the list, and they staffed me for six months.

Even though I knew somebody personally who had done work for this production company and they referred me, I made this opportunity myself. Getting in front of somebody is the easy part, creating the opportunity for yourself is only way you’ll ever see success.

Check out my new article “It’s Okay To Say No” that’s up over at screenwriting magazine The Story Department

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World was unleashed last weekend. The $60 million, Edgar Wright directed video game romp is a strange foray into nostalgia, contemporary manga style fiction and stylistic filmmaking, so, when I went to see Pilgrim at the Arclight opening night, I had only an expectation: the film would be fun. Why then, did this collision of my beloved interests: manga, anime and video games feel slightly off mark?

It’s weird to see the very things I cherished in my youth being synthesized into a major studio releases. I was born in 1980′s and now my generation is now a prime target for 80′s nostalgia. From “pre-worn” graphic t-shirts to the resurgence of 2D side-scrolling platform games and 80′s action and ski flicks, us 20-something guys (and gals!) are getting it from every side.

Pilgrim shines with every  lovingly hand-crafted sound effect and video game call-out. It’s as though Edgar Wright kidnapped video game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Hironobu Sakaguchi and forced them to work in a bunker deep under Los Angeles for Xbox Live points. Elements of every genre are present, just take a look at “Every Video Game Reference in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World” Pilgrim takes all my fun quirky, formerly niche interests and synthesizes them, and surprisingly for me, the sum is not as great as its parts.

Story with Character?

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, adapted from an award-winning comic by Bryan Lee O’Malley, takes some tenants of video gaming to heart. But perhaps not the right ones. In seeking to emulate a video game style, many of the characters seemed flat, literally one-note “non-player characters” (NPC’s) in a light-on-story fighting game. It felt more like I had been playing an hour or 2 of Tekken than watching a proper story.

What happens between the awesome over-the-top fighting? Sadly, it’s where things really fall apart. Many geeky movie goers may be willing to forgo the flicks apparent lack of motivation or depth (more on that in a second.) For what it’s worth, this is a beat-em-up style movie, it has a story as deep and transparent as beat-em-up games like Streets of Rage II.

In fighting games, the story serves the gameplay, it (often clumsily) sets up the next chance encounter and then you fight!  That’s a tough trick to pull off seven times in a 112 minute feature. But as exciting as each battle was, the fun was ephemeral, the enjoyment fleeting. Like a ride at a theme park, we’re “on rails” until it’s over.

The love story between Scott Pilgrim and Romona Flowers runs on auto pilot. Love stories have to be authentic, to keep me invested, even in silly or fun movies. The “on-to-the-next-one” mentality of Scott, where his friends and loved ones are concerned, makes it difficult to reconcile his apparent infatuation with Romona. The Romona character never does anything worthy of being fought for. Yeah she’s cute, aloof, totally-hip but really she’s kind of a dick. And as a result, I never once cheered for Romona and Scott to be together.

It’s disappointing to see the story machinations so clearly in play. Can you recall the names of seven of the evil exes? How about their back story or motivation? I wasn’t looking for gold, but I just don’t know enough about any character to truly care about why they needed to be vanquished. This coupled with the anemic relationship between Scott and Romona left so much to be desired.

Visual / Sound

Edgar Wright has always been good with the visual details (check out my Shaun of the Dead breakdown) and he mixes it up with a clever visual vocabulary. I was initially drawn to the energy and visual execution of Pilgrim. Despite this, it’s hard for me to peg why this familiar synthesis isn’t a home run.

In a recent Popular Mechanics article, VFX Supervisor Frazer Churchill explains how they distilled the video game juice:

The film is informed by video-game style, but it’s not like we looked at games and thought, ‘We’ve got to put that in there,” – Frazer Churchill

And there’s plenty of video game mythos and fanboy gems to go around. Observant listeners may perk up when they hear the theme for Nintendo’s Zelda, ring chimes from Sonic the Hedgehog,  the explosion of coins out of a defeated enemy, or literally the hundreds of other small handcrafted audio cues that, no doubt, took time to design and execute.

The onomatopoeic manga-style typography adds some whimsy. By the second hour, I’ve seen as many “action words” as I’m willing to to bear. And perhaps that’s part of the problem. Pilgrim is filled with visual flourishes that are delightful, in small doses.  If Pilgrim was 15 minute YouTube video it would likely have 80 million views. There are constant split screens, over-layed text, power-ups, all with fast paced quick cuts interspersed with cheeky visual jokes. A.D.D. theatre at its best. But how do you do long-form A.D.D.theatre?

Insert Coin to Continue

I’d put the performances in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World into the same category as movies like Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children or Resident Evil: Degeneration. With goofy delivery of lines like “I’m a little bi-furious!” the movie misfires with a quirky, strange Japanese-esque smile.

Pilgrim’s strength is with style and flash. Its depth will be a matter of much debate. Still, I like the universe in which Scott Pilgrim lives. In fact, I look forward to the Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World video game. The nostalgia crowd is already eating it up. And why not? After all, as I left the movie theater I thought to myself, “I wish I could have played that game instead of watching it.”

Back in May, I had the opportunity to meet with comedian Tom Green at his home / studio and talk about his web TV show  Tom Green’s House Tonight.

The article, for a pro-audio/video industry mag, talks about the unique production considerations for running a broadcast style talk show on the web. (Article copy below / High Quality PDF )

Imagine if you will, you’re at the helm of a live internet TV show with high production values that bucks
the precise ratings driven format of television. The show is streamed in real time on the web, celebrity guests chat on a couch, a band performs and most certainly hundreds of callers Skype video chat with you. Oh, and it happens at a flip of the switch, all from the comfort of your living room.

If you’re Tom Green, that’s a reality. Quietly (and not so quietly) over the last five years, Tom Green has amassed an impressive internet following with Tom Green’s House Tonight one of the first, and longest running internet-call-in shows. One only needs to Google “Tom Green and Xzibit Freestyle Rap battle” and take a look at the nearly 3.4 million YouTube hits to see his reality is well watched.

Armed with the mantra “content over form,” Green makes a show on his terms. He calls it Guerrilla TV. But that doesn’t mean sound or production become afterthoughts. Guests are mic’d with Lectrosonics wireless lavalieres and surrounded by nine HD cameras, all set to various shot lengths and placed everywhere from the living room, front door, bookcase and even the refrigerator.

The before air set-up for Tom Green’s House Tonight resembles a pre-flight check. The control system of such an advantageous set-up looks a bit like the cockpit of a Boeing 747. At the center, a Yamaha 01V 96 VCM mixing console. Unique, are three Apple Mac computers each running a separate instance of Skype, and each running audio out through M-Audio Fast Track boxes into the board. In real time, director and web producer, Tony Corella, uses a Panasonic AG-MX70 video switcher to swap from various sources, and cues on-screen text from yet another computer, this one running Newtek VT[5].

When a band visits the studio, Green’s team rolls out a second Yamaha 01V 96 VCM and a second engineer. Just take a look at the previous show guests.  And no, that isn’t a laugh track you hear, the studio is equipped with bleachers to house twenty-some people to see the show in action.

That’s part of the fun of Tom Green’s House Tonight; two way interaction. Green wants to give unprecedented access and his viewers respond in kind. This attitude is reflected in just about everything he does. “I’m looking for good people to come out, have a little fun, and help run the show,” says Green. Feel like you have what it takes to run the rig at Tom Green’s house? If you’d like to get involved, post to the forum at TomGreen.com.

When the show comes together, the result is impressive. A live band jams, then switch on-the-fly to a Skype call, cut to the front door as guests arrive, then back to the couch. All seamless, all with the great care all direct to your computer in a show that could last twenty minutes of 4 hours.

But the action isn’t limited to inside of Tom Green’s teched and decked-out home. For high quality audio on the go, he uses a DXA-SLR active DSLR Adapter along with a MixPre Field Mixer and with two Sennheiser wireless lavs, turning his Canon EOS 5D Mark II into a formidable mobile sound package.

Ultimately, Tom Green’s House Tonight has built something unheard of in the world of internet entertainment; consistent, well-produced content that doesn’t sacrifice quality. So, when are you making a house call?

Tom Green is currently on tour, and will be performing  at the DC Improv on July 30th/August 1st. Stay tuned for more articles from me on screenwriting, filmmaking, editing, and more. They’re just around the corner, as soon as the dust from good ol’ Comicon settles!

Over the weekend at The Great American Pitchfest I hosted Screenwriter Karaoke. Debra Eckerling of Write On! Online of wrangled me for a couple of moments during the Screenwriter Karaoke set-up and posted this video.

http://writeononline.com/2010/06/28/speaking-with-merrel-davis-creator-screenwriter-karaoke/

Unlike novels, a script has implications far beyond the imagination of the reader. It is the document blue-print for an ultimately collaborative endeavor. In order to be an effective screenwriter, you need to be hyper aware of the production process and post-production process. I say aware, since you don’t have to do those tasks, you just need to know what is required of someone who does.

A couple of months ago at Screenwriter Karaoke, I was chatting with a writer about script dialogue. He was insistent that “real authentic dialogue is exactly like conversation.”  I responded that dialogue wasn’t actual conversation, but only gave the impression of conversation for the the sake of story. It is condensed and streamlined. After all, not everything we say in real life is interesting or even poignant. As we shared the exchange about a what dialogue needed to be,  he pulled the “well where did you learn how to write?” line. He’d gone to USC, was extolling the virtues of McKee or someone.  I simply said: “post-production.”

Pull the needle from the record! What, does the (mostly) solitary act of writing have to do with, say, cutting together a film? Quite a bit actually. Time and time again, I read scripts by writers who are woefully unaware that production and post process even takes place. For example: I often see scenes begin awkwardly with somebody walking into the room, simply to begin small talk, when the meat of the scene is a 30 second dialogue exchange on the couch later, where Jimmy tells Jane he’s joined a Poison cover band to avenge the death of his gerbil “Mikey.”

In a quest to mimic actual conversation, writers actually create the kind of stilted and obvious dialogue that makes most people groan. Film editing taught me to get in late and get out quick. Through my work, I’d spent so much time editing other people’s (bad!) dialogue, I began to gain a sense of what “good” dialogue sounded like to me. Part of a film editor’s job is to further finesse the dialogue, cut it so it sounds and feels natural, while maintaining the essence of the scene.  In many ways, the last cut of a film is the final draft of the script, or as Oscar nominated Director/Actor Peter Riegert said last year at the Southampton Screenwriting Conference: “Your script isn’t finished until opening night.”

As an editor, I was reverse engineering how to write a good scene.  I am able to recognize good dialogue when I read it in a script because I can see the semblance and pacing of “real” conversation, without all the boring parts. I am able to write good funny visual jokes that pop at the right moment, because I have an idea of when to get in and get out.

I put a call out to several writing and screenwriting communities for some comments on how their editing backgrounds have impacted their ability to write:

Xiaoniu (via reddit)

… I think it’s all part of what makes my film sense together, so it might have subconsciously influenced my writing.

Merrill Barr (Another Merrel?!)

You learn the idea of pacing early… when you bring that knowledge to writing, you end up pacing it the way you would edit something… It’s also helped the way I write movie/tv reviews. Reviews are written like a trailer almost. Short(ish), sweet, and to the point. I hate reviews that spend 4 paragraphs on nothing important. Most of my reviews never pass 700 words. You really shouldn’t need more than that.

Millstone99 (via Reddit)

I’ve spent a lot of time watching editors cut my extraneous dialogue (and sometimes entire scenes). So, I’m always thinking about the editor as I write. Is he just going to cut this bit anyway? Why do I think it’s so important, anyway?

So, the next time you write excruciatingly slow small talk, or have characters inexplicably enter the room at the beginning of the scene, think about how that scene will play visually, and how there would  be no way in hell, it would ever make it out of the editing room.

I encourage every writer to learn how to cut. I learned to cut on an AVID, and in recent years have moved to Final Cut Pro. There are many options out there. But, once you get a sense of how to assemble a scene visually, you’ll notice your writing will become more succinct. And even if you never work professionally as an editor, it is a skill and knowledge set which in no way can do harm to your ability to tell a story effectively. Get out there and be aware. Your story will be thankful for it.

This weekend I was glad to be a part of the ongoing and ever-growing Script Chat as a guest for their professional reader panel. In the past year, I’ve watched this small twitter chat go from real life colleagues and friends, and then sky rocket into six degrees of Twitter.

Twitter chats aren’t new, just take a look at the long list of Twitter chats about writing compiled by @inkyelbows and you’ll see what I mean. I entered the Twitter chat pool as a participant of #WriteChat but found the discourse was specific to fiction novel writing. I even lazily maintain my own chat #ScreenwritingSaturday. It’s an informal hash tag for causal weekend discussion. (Stop by!)

I have many peers that scoff at the idea of using Twitter. They complain they don’t care what I eat for breakfast.  But to be clear, I’ve staffed projects, met people, and received work through the magic of Twitter. I just smile when someone is excessively pessimistic about such things.

Community is important. I started Screenwriter Karaoke for this very reason. We, collectively, as a new era of filmmakers are carving out the attitudes and business models of tomorrow. It starts in the ground floor of dedicated professionals who are striving to make their work shine. It starts in communities like Script Chat.

My appearance as a panelist on Script Chat culminated with a special announcement — Double Feature: a new joint venture with CoverMyScript.com owner Xandy Sussan. We have harnessed our years of experience to provide simultaneous coverage and development services at a value to our clients. It is only with the support community can we try such enterprising things. So, thanks!

Last month I posted about some unsavory job listings for screenwriters on Craigslist. The article was picked up by a couple of blogs. So it comes as a disappointment, though not a surprise, that the same unprincipled individuals are at it again.

Same M.O. — this ad is directed towards novice screenwriters. It intends to exploit them.

Like the earlier ad this one:

• $1000 to be piecemealed as payment over six weeks. [Never allow anyone to give you payment this way.]
• Must meet with “team members” 90 minutes per week this time in Hudson Valley.
• Work to be done on an existing script. This time it’s Horror instead of a “Dark Comic Thriller”
• You must waive any right to the work you create upfront.
• The ad uses disposable Gmail addresses to conceal identity.

New Twists:

• “Writer must also understand that if we edit the script we will share a writing credit.” [Translation, we will edit the script to the point where we will claim we wrote it, and you will get no credit.]
• “We may be willing to pay a little more to the right person and only upon the delivery of a project that is so good it simply leaves us breathless. So think of it as a generous bonus to an amazing job well done!” [The Gall! They hope to rope and make writers slave with some whimsical idea of a "bonus."]

Remember folks $1000 is way below the rate for a re-write or development of existing material. Never write material for free unless you are spec-ing your own show or feature or have a personal investment in the outcome.  You have no way of knowing who these individuals are or what they intend to do with your work. This is not how real writers and producers do business. Avoid at all costs.

The pictures are in. October’s Screenwriter Karaoke was the largest one yet. Screenwriters and filmmakers filled out the entire bar from end to end. The place was filled creative energy.

Check out the pictures. (Yes, I’m the guy in the hat.)

And be sure to come to November Screenwriter Karaoke. This will be the last Screenwriter Karaoke in New York City for a little bit while I set up shop in LA.

Time: Wednesday, November 4th, 8 p.m.

Location: Baby Grand
161 Lafayette Street at Grand
New York, NY 10013
212.219.8110

It is quite possible that you’ve landed on my blog and you aren’t aware that I also organize a filmmaking network event called Screenwriter Karaoke. Right now the events are NYC based, but I hope soon to have an LA counterpart.

What is Screenwriter Karaoke? Think of it as a way to let your hair down, step up, wail on Super Tramp’s “The Long Way Home,” and then talk about your latest romantic comedy script. Looking for a collaborative writing partner with a knack for 17th Century English? You just might find one at Screenwriter Karaoke.

The event aims to be an informal way to meet your writing and filmmaking peers. Sometimes network events are just awkward, so why not try to loosen up have a couple of drinks and sing?

When: October 15, 2009 8:00 PM
Where:
Baby Grand
161 Lafayette Street at Grand
New York, NY 10013
212.219.8110

Please RSVP: http://www.meetup.com/Screenwriter-Karaoke/

To prove there is nothing to be afraid of, here I am on the right, rocking out to some Build me up Buttercup!

Avoiding Mental Spackle

Recently I worked with a friend, Emery, on the seventh draft of his romantic comedy. He had been toiling away for the better part of a year and he was positive that his opus was now finally ready to send out. When he asked me to give it a once over, before he sent out his queries, I was excited to see where he had landed with his script.

What I encountered, unfortunately, is a very common pitfall. There were gaps in his character development that could only be explained through backstory; they never made it onto the page. He had a handful of obvious typos, and worse still, in a pivotal scene between three main characters, he misused one of the character’s names for all the dialogue, a character that no longer existed. Emery was usually so fastidious about his work, so how could he have missed so many crucial details? The answer was simple: Emery had applied a thick coat of Mental Spackle and he could no longer see even the most minor of infractions.

Image Creative Commons Licensed / CC BY-NC 2.0

Mental Spackle is a term I’ve coined to describe what the mind of a writer does when revising. As you go through each change, shift scenes, consolidate characters, details inevitably fall through the cracks. With each minor adjustment, with each new scene, even the most dedicated and observant writers will miss minutiae that could ultimately cause their excellent, thoughtful script to be a pass. While a story may exist fully in the writer’s mind, it almost never exists entirely on the page – certainly not in the first couple of revisions. It is very easy for a writer to gloss over holes or problems in story as they revise because as the old saying goes “you can’t see the forest for the trees.” Writers, like Emery, unwittingly become blind nature walkers and every additional revision seems to solidify a layer of spackle somewhere.

Am I Spackling?

It is so easy to get lost “too inside your own head” during the writing process and forget there is a difference between subtext and nothing there at all. You won’t know you are spackling until after you have put away the putty knife. As you write, you’ll gain a sense of depth and breadth of your character. After all, you are living with them every revision. But is it on the page? If you write like I do, then you have likely created detailed backgrounds for all your characters. 98% of this detail will never make it into the script outright. If when you receive notes and you find yourself explaining how your protagonist needed that chocolate ice cream as a child in order to set up his current job loss as a engineering contractor at the end of Act Two, but the ice cream scene isn’t in there, nor mentioned, it is likely you are Mental Spackling.

An example from one of my scripts: My protagonist must make a pointed decision at the age of eight, one which will forever change the direction of his life. In the first two revisions – this decision took place off screen. I knew the decisions, based on the backstory I had developed so, in retrospect, I believed that the different lives he would lead as a result of those decisions would contrast enough. It didn’t. In the next revision, the decision took place on screen, but it still didn’t pronounce in a truly effective manner. Even though I knew what was going on, there was a disconnect between what I knew in my head about the character and what was actually on the page. Mental Spackle struck at the most important incident of the first act! It happens to the best of us, but if you follow a few simple steps, this won’t happen to you.

How do I combat Mental Spackle?

As you are the closest person to your own work, it will always be hard to ferret out things that may seem obvious to others. That’s why it’s always important to have a group of readers whom you trust. I have a friend that is excellent with grammar and typos. I have another who can critically deconstruct even the most challenging plot arcs with ease. I have actor friends who help me make dialogue more authentic.

• Don’t fly solo. Discuss your work with your trusted peers. The simplest of spackle jobs can be addressed with a read through by someone other than you. Send it out for a round of informal notes. This will catch the top level stuff; grammar, wording, formatting and spelling problems.
• Have professional coverage written on your script. Getting coverage on your script can really help you make your story a concise, precise and marketable piece of work. A good analyst will deconstruct your story, find your mistakes and missteps and tell you what may be holding your script back. It is through this analysis that you’ll know what works, if your highs are where they belong, and if your characters’ arcs read correctly. Learn a bit more about script reading and how it can help greatly in my other post Script Reading and Analysis: Why?
• Organize a table read with real actors. There is nothing more helpful than hearing the words you’ve written coming form the mouths of actors. A table read is not for performance sake, it is to hear your dialogue and action text spoken aloud. Does it seem natural? Does it make sense? Does the pacing work? I personally like to have the actors read the script cold. If my characters and their voices are strong, the actors will be able to find their groove easily, and spot embarrassing mistakes, such as Emery’s.
• Revise, Revise, Revise! Each pass through of your script you’ll find something new to adjust, sweeten and tweak. I know writing is an eager process and instant gratification is the solution for excited writers. And while it may feel like it’s done at the end of revision two or three, it probably isn’t. Space out your revisions. Editing back to back will increase the likelihood that you will accidentally spackle right over major problems because you’re too close to your project to notice.
• Workshop your script. Workshops provide an immediate, collaborative environment to vet your work. If you are able to get into a workshop with a strong workshop leader and committed participants you’ll find it a worthwhile endeavor. Plus, you never know what comment will spark that “Eureka!” moment that will help you fix your script.
• Most importantly, Step away for a bit. If you have the luxury, let the work breathe. You can’t eat a pie straight from the oven, and you can’t finish a script and shoot it out to the world before really making sure that every detail, every character, every scene is perfect. For every writer there is a want, a need to finish a revision and share it with the world. That urgency is healthy. But being hasty can be your downfall.

Avoiding Mental Spackle altogether is impossible. Your mind will always fill in your character’s gaps, confuse removed scenes from five drafts ago with your current version and think like they are still a part of the script.

So, after Emery and I finished our consultation, he was astonished he had overlooked such obvious items. I explained to him that Mental Spackle afflicts even the best of us. But the only real way to make sure that doesn’t happen is diligence, patience and a solid core group of trusted friends, readers and peers to help keep you on track. While writing a script is a solitary business, taking your script to the next level is only possible when you get good, thorough and thoughtful feedback.

Instead of succumbing to mind-numbing Mental Spackle, plan ahead and be methodical. Lest you end up like Emery. While his script used to take place in Kansas, it was moved to outer space. Apparently, Emery didn’t catch that when he changed the meet-cute from the Wichita Wal-Mart to his new location planet Merrilia, he left the stage directions the same. But who knows, maybe Emery knows something about inter-stellar retail that we don’t.

(Article written with contributions from Xandy Sussan at CoverMyScript.com.)