Being a good producer takes a lot of guts. Generally speaking, I think film and TV producers get a bad wrap. We envision them as ruthless, mercenary sharks with no respect for the creative process, just the bottom line. But good producers couldn’t be further from that stereotype. (And that’s not to say there aren’t …
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If writing is re-writing, scriptwriting is script editing. And one of the most basic tools of script editing is the One Liner, which focuses you on POS (point of scene). As a bright-eyed, bushy-tailed trainee script editor, my boss assigned me some practise. After I’d mangled my way through a set of off-balance notes, …
Continue reading "What’s The Point (Of Scene)? How The One Liner Changed How I See Stories"
The first big production company I worked for cultivated its own mythology, which included tales of the heady, freewheeling 80s when TV budgets were beyond generous, and so too the bosses. Christmas parties were spared no expense. I remember the technical director reminiscing, in genuine awed reverence, about the CEO literally descending from the rafters of …
Towards the end of last year, I was in a bit of a state. I was still coming to terms with being a freelancer, I wasn’t being productive as a writer or as a filmmaker, and a couple of personal projects kind of fell apart. Things felt stuck. As someone who needs to always be …
Continue reading "How Would You Describe Yourself? An Incidental Discovery"
About a year ago, I came across a group called NYC Midnight that run a slate of online writing competitions. I’m usually pretty suspicious of these sorts of things, and to be honest I’m not someone who regularly enters competitions. But after poking about their website, I thought, why not? I’ll try it once, and …
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Let me start by getting a small confession out of the way – I have read the Twilight books at least five times all the way through. While I am somewhat embarrassed, I am not ashamed. And no, this is not going to be a post all about Twilight, so relax. I tell you this …
In my twenties, the television reality series So You Think You Can Dance Australia took the country by storm, and my housemate Erika and I were swept right along with it. We were not dancers, and would never even imagine to be, but we were obsessed. While we enjoyed all of it enormously, there was …
Continue reading "Review: Nothing To Lose, Dance Performance (2015)"
I have been on a book-buying spree of late. More so than usual. And it's of note because my bank balance is abysmal. But see how I laugh in the face of bankruptcy!? Ha! Anyways. There's two Neil Gaiman's in this pile, and also one book happens to be a gift. Colour Me Girl Crush …
In which I review/speculate on/suffer mild anxiety about the books piling up at home. In this edition: a picture book, a poetry collection, a modern classic, a book on creativity and business and a local novel by a guy called Paddy. Boy oh boy, are …
So you may well have seen my previous post where I shared the five Christmas movies I'm looking forward to re-watching these holidays. Well, I have a terrible confession. There are a LOT of Christmas films I've never bothered with, but I think I probably should. Like I've said before, I love the festive …
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I love the festive season. It’s always a good time of year to catch up on reading, movies, sunshine and cheese-eating. Or, of course, to reacquaint yourself with some old favourites – books, films, relatives, etc. Here are my five favourite festive flicks that I heartily look forward to re-viewing over the holidays. …
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I came across this fantastic podcast the other day via Tin House and featuring writer Ann Hood who shares her ten rules on how to write a 'kick-ass' essay. It is excellent and I urge you to listen to it immediately! The podcast is a recording of Hood's lecture given during Tin House's 2014 Summer Writer's Workshop. Hood is …
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