Archive for May, 2009
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009
Worth a thousand Words…
Just a brief post today. As mentioned in this blog from last week, I’ve been writing some new pitches and my good and very talented friend Tom has been doing some amazing pics to go in the pitch documents.
As far as I know, there are no strict rules on attaching pictures to pitches. But whether you think it’s a good idea or not, there’s no denying that this is a good picture! Thank you, Tom.
Click here for a larger version.
Monday, May 25th, 2009
Misleading Marketing.
Which films tried (or even managed) to con you into watching them? The other night I ended up watching two films - both of which pissed off some audiences.
Granted, both are remakes and remakes are always going to piss someone off. But both of the above failed to put across what the audience were supposed to take away.
“Today is the day we fight back”?? Yeah! And our weapon of choice is some cute kid?! That’ll learn those pesky aliens 
It was almost like they hadn’t watched the original before they decided to remake it and then suddenly realised they were lumbered with a parable about man’s inhumanity to man. This was a film that seems to have had its actual point cut out from the get-go with no actual message. Like they decided to cut out all the emotional dilemma stuff… only to realise they hadn’t really filmed much else.
I’m a fan of big-budget destruction as much as I am about sci-fi soul searching. But I should think anyone heading to the pictures to see either here were grossly disappointed. I know it sounds like a back-handed compliment, but I actually thought Keanu’s performance was the most interesting thing about this movie by a mile.
Now what the hell is this all about then, eh? Now it’s a bit indulgent, but I actually quite like Vanilla Sky - but I was working in a cinema when it came out and I was definitely in the minority. But look at the poster - it doesn’t even have a tagline. Just the Cruiser’s big perturbed face.
Now, I doubt any of us will criticise the marketers for empahsising this film contains Cameron Diaz wondering around in just a sheet - but it really could have emphasised what the actual story was too. Maybe then my cinema wouldn’t have had so many people walking out when they found out what the story was. (There’s a whole other post in the works about trying to trick dubious audiences into watching Science Fiction)
…..
So one film blagged its content. The other just concealed it. But both made well over $200 million. So they were hits for the studios. Just not for the audience. Originally this post was about making sure your movie/TV ideas had a clarity not just in story but also in their appeal. But now I just want to know which films and marketing campaigns you found misleading! Or did a marketing campaign put you off a film that it turned you actually enjoyed?
Please comment which films tried it on with you…
Thursday, May 21st, 2009
Namedropping: Using other Films/TV shows to pitch your project.
It’s taken me a while to get my head around this as ‘What other films/TV shows is your project like?‘ is an often asked, sometimes difficult to answer question. It took longer still to get used to being told what films/TV shows my script was like. But then I understood. It’s not a slur. They’re not saying your project is unoriginal. It’s just shorthand. So here are some of the things I’ve been thinking about in this regard:
We’ve all heard that Ridley Scott’s Alien was pitched as ‘Jaws…in space’ and that Jaws 2 was subsequently pitched as ‘Alien…but in the ocean’ (this may possibly not be true 
) but this blog post isn’t just about coming up with your high concept pitch for the plot (ie - ‘Romeo & Juliet…but with Batman and the Joker…maybe in space’), but perhaps more about choosing the right series of films to set the appeal, audience and marketing potential for your project .
1. ONLY USE SUCCESSFUL/POPULAR EXAMPLES.
This is meant to be shorthand. If you have to explain what the example is to who you’re pitching to, you’re wasting time. It might be slightly crass, but if you’re pitching a more sensitive ghost story that explores emotional themes through the supernatural, it’s better to use the Oscar-nominated, multi-million-making ‘ The Sixth Sense ‘ rather than ‘The Orphanage‘, regardless of which film you prefer. (I love them both!)
2. IS YOUR TV SERIES AN EXISTING FILM?
Despite all of the films being made of old TV shows, I wouldn’t pitch your original film as being like a particular series (unless you are actually adapting the series). However, it does work the other way round - especially as most TV shows like to throw round that they are making a ‘mini-movie’ each week and most films are trying to be ongoing franchises these days (ie - series!). So for all its likenings to TV shows like ‘The Sweeney’ etc, I gather the writers of ‘Life on Mars‘ pitched it a different way…
3. GENRE-SMASHING BY DIRECTOR?
One of the worst scripts I’ve ever read came with the tagline (not pitch but actual tag-line) of
…like a slasher-movie directed by Mike Leigh…
This naturally meant that it was just a bog-standard slasher but set in a run-down housing estate. However, one of my favourite ever British films is Shane Meadows’ ‘Dead Man’s Shoes’.
‘Dead Man’s Shoes’ could easily use the above quote in its tag-line… But I’m kinda glad it didn’t! Instead, comparisons were made to Taxi Driver and First Blood by the press. Not only does this set tone, it also tells you we’re seeing the film from the scary person’s point of view. I would hesitate from using phrases such as ‘like ‘Happy Days’ directed by the Coen Brothers’ but describing something as ‘Coen-esque‘ would instantly give a quirky edge to your project.
So, I always feel that there has never been anything like my project before EVER. But this is, of course, rubbish. What’s your project like?
Tuesday, May 19th, 2009
How do you take your TV Drama? (Poll)
What are you in the mood for tonight? Something with aliens smacking the crap out of each other? Or something a little more thoughtful. If only there were a third way… 
Love that picture. I remember being at a conference several years ago where a bloke from Channel 4 drama said:
Yeah, everyone loves ‘The West Wing’ and ‘The Sopranos’. But no bugger actually watches them!
Around that time, both series were being aired just before midnight on a Monday and Tuesday night on Channel 4. Hardly peak viewing time, but I presume that when they were in a headier slot they weren’t doing too well either. Similarly, I would say that most of the UK audience for ‘The Wire’ have seen it on DVD rather than watching the daily, very late airings on BBC 2. But maybe that’s where Sky+ and other PVRs have come into play? But had the core audience already found and seen it by then anyway?
You can also see that after a hard day at work, people aren’t necessarily interested in focussing on watching a drama when you can just laugh at all the oddballs on ‘Come Dine with Me’ (I use this example specifically because it’s certainly what I do!)
Another habit I have is that if I miss an episode of a series I’m really enjoying (as nearly happened with BBC 3’s fantastic ‘Being Human‘) , I sometimes stop watching altogether and wait for the DVD box-set rather than watch an episode out of order. Slightly extreme. But in trying to create my own series ideas, I am interested in how audiences watch their drama. I do think it’s a different thing than watching entertainment or factual programming. Maybe in some ways it’s slightly less passive?
Loading ...So please pick ONE favourite drama that’s either on now or has been in the last few years and let me know how you watched it (and if you want to tell me which series it was in the comments box, that’d be interesting too).
Monday, May 18th, 2009
Trying to Create New TV Series Ideas
I’ve got some notes on what various drama commissioners might be looking for so I’m going to scribble a few pitches in the next few weeks. I’m not going to go into detail for now, but you might get a gist of what sort of genre avenues I’m heading down from this sample cover artwork I’ll be using below…
(Artwork by my best buddy Tom. Check out his blog where he is doing a new picture or painting every day - give or take - for the next year.)
It never seems difficult coming up with ideas for shows that *I* would like to watch on TV, but obviously I am aiming for a slightly larger audience than just me and my mates. Often I’m not even sure it’s down to story or content - rather a show’s success is down to the way the story is told. I’m talking here about the balance of series and serial elements, tone, character dynamics and how the audience finds their way into a series.
With a glut of US series being cancelled just as they start screening here in the UK, it puts me on edge that plotting a lengthy ongoing story-arc might be a waste of time if you get axed before you get to the good stuff. I read this article on Newsarama by two US writers concerned about the decline of fiction on TV but which makes me worry that creators are seeing their audiences divide:
“Comic book readers are the best audiences. They’re audiences who love with their whole heart, who pay attention with both sides of their brain, and when they get into a show, they give it their all,” Green said. “They almost rely on the idea of ongoing storytelling. It’s what they’re there for.”
As a comic book fan (no no, really! ;) I don’t really like the segragation of audience here. As mentioned, I don’t think CONCEPT turns off sections of an audience necessarily - just the execution. On the comic book front again, while the comic book is facing struggles as a medium, our summer box office receipts prove that mass audiences don’t mind watching people dressed up as Bats or acting like spiders 
But then a friend was telling me about a colleague slagging off all of the Star Wars films - not because of George Lucas’ crappy dialogue or Jar-Jar Binks generally but simply because:
“Well it’s never gonna happen, is it!”
You can’t really argue with that, can you! So I guess the first thing to consider when trying to come up with series ideas is that I’ll never please everyone. So how hard should I try?
Sunday, May 17th, 2009
Where am I?
Or more specifically, ‘where have I been’? Dear blog, it has been four weeks since my last confession. All sorts of depravity has occurred (mostly while in London). Myself and Heather attended the Arthur C Clarke Awards where Heather was Composer in Residence And I admit it, while I’ve been away, ever so briefly for fancy-dress purposes, I had a moustache.
The shame. But what have I been doing other than that? It’s something I’ve been asking myself. I’ve worked hard on my application for the BBC Writer’s Academy. Another writer I know said recently they’d rather
slit their wrists than slum it writing an episode of Eastenders.
Gosh. Personally, I’d rather blow an audience’s socks off with a me-written episode of Eastenders, hope it caught producers’ attention so they had me back AND get paid for the pleasure at the same time. Does that make me an idiot? 
I have also been chasing various competitions and schemes a bit much and definitely trying to second guess what I think people want when writing. So over the next few months I’m going to take some time to write me-specific stuff again and getting it right just for me. Even if it means letting schemes or competitions fly past me.
Maybe I’m just inspired by the lovely fun new Star Trek movie - boldly going where no one has gone before and so on. Then we’ll see where that takes us. Fingers crossed.
