Friday, December 31, 2010
Beware the Mullet... of Doom!
Dear sweet Grud in Heaven. Apparently this was a TV series in the early 1980s, before Patrick Swayze [a.k.a. Bandit] broke out in movies. This is crying out for a DVD release. Fluff those mullets, boys!
Genius: Idiot With a Tripod
Here's a short film shot, edited and uploaded in a day by NYC filmmaker Jamie Stuart. It's a tribute to Dziga Vertov's 1929 silent classic "Man With a Movie Camera." Read more about Stuart's short and see the original at Roger Ebert's online journal. [Thanks to Scott Meyers at Go Into The Story for the linkage.] Enjoy!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Feliz Navidad art by Joan Boix
One of the privileges of working in comics is that artists create special festive artwork for their xmas message. Above is one of my favourites from this year, a mix of Santa and the Phantom by Joan Boix. You can see more Boix art at his blog - enjoy!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Genius: Mash-Up of 2010 movie trailers
You've probably seen this. If not, you're in for a treat. Happy xmas!
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
My report card for 2010 - part 2
There's a lot of things I didn't do, or choose not to do this year. I stopped writing prose fiction after getting mucked about royally for much of 2008 on two proposed novels. To be honest, I haven't missed it. Teaching has filled that space, perhaps. I still have novels I want to write, but for now I'm enjoying other media too much.
I've also gotten out of the comics writing habit. Must be nearly two years since I scripted a new adventure for the Phantom. It got lost in the shuffle, thanks to teaching and TV drama commissions. But I'm working on a couple of story pitches this week, so it's likely I'll be squeezing some comics writing into 2011.
Didn't do a lot of non-fiction during 2010. The publisher of The Complete Inspector Morse sold its list to another company and I've been in discussions with them about an updated edition. There's been a lot of Morse activity, with eight new eps of Lewis [plus four more next spring], and a Morse stage. So that's another project for 2011.
I started a new TV drama calling card script, but it got sidelined by pressing deadlines for paying gigs. That has to change next year. My present calling card isn't bad, but needs rewriting. Plus it's a period piece. Downton Abbey may have taken the curse off period drama, but only if you've got big name talent attached to it.
My new spec is a contemporary piece, a project I'm really passionate about. Being away from it for several months has given me a clearer perspective [as is often the case]. Suspect that when I revisit it, I'll find it's over-stuffed with storylines and needs paring back to give the characters some room to breath, to establish themselves.
I marked a lot of student work in recent weeks. Nothing like seeing the flaws in somebody else's story to make you think on the niggling issues of your own. When in doubt, I've a tendency to add extra plotlines and story threads, rather than digging deeper into the characters I've got, their attitudes, their needs, wants and flaws.
So I have to keep that at the forefront of my mind when I return to my spec. Happily, it's got no further than the scene by scene. I can take it back to treatment stage, strip away the extraneous crapola and get to the heart of my characters. That's where I need to make the writing shine for the calling card to work on my behalf.
What else didn't I do in 2010? Didn't apply for the BBC Writers' Academy. Agonised long and hard about that decision. I knew I needed a new writing sample and didn't have one that felt good enough to submit, for a start. My knowledge of Holby, Casualty and EastEnders was a bit rusty, so that was another factor against going for it.
Getting in the academy is one in 100 odds. In the unlikely event I ever did get in, it would mean three months living hundreds of miles away from home with no chance of commuting. It would mean giving up family, friends and teaching. It would mean writing Doctors, Holby, Casualty and EastEnders - and nothing else. Total commitment.
The academy route isn't the only way forward. I got on to Doctors without it, and am making progress with my career goals, my ambitions. But I'm taking the long, slow route. Getting in the academy effectively turbo-charges parts of your writing career, offers shortcuts that circumvent the long, slow route. It's an alluring option.
In the next month or two I need to make my decision again - go for the academy in 2011, or stick with my own path. Guess that's a watch this space not. In the meantime, I need to set myself some goals for the coming year. Can't guarantee they'll all be specific, measurable and the rest of the SMART acronym, but I'll do my best.
So, what are my key objectives for 2011?
1. Write a new calling card TV drama script.
2. Get at least one new commission for Doctors.
3. Secure a commission for children's TV.
4. Write a feature screenplay.
The calling card TV drama script and screenplay are done to me. The commissioned-based goals do rely on other people for the vital yes, but will only happen if I devote time, wit and creative energy to preparation and securing opportunities. All these are achievable, but require hard work and discipline. Twas always thus. Onwards!
I've also gotten out of the comics writing habit. Must be nearly two years since I scripted a new adventure for the Phantom. It got lost in the shuffle, thanks to teaching and TV drama commissions. But I'm working on a couple of story pitches this week, so it's likely I'll be squeezing some comics writing into 2011.
Didn't do a lot of non-fiction during 2010. The publisher of The Complete Inspector Morse sold its list to another company and I've been in discussions with them about an updated edition. There's been a lot of Morse activity, with eight new eps of Lewis [plus four more next spring], and a Morse stage. So that's another project for 2011.
I started a new TV drama calling card script, but it got sidelined by pressing deadlines for paying gigs. That has to change next year. My present calling card isn't bad, but needs rewriting. Plus it's a period piece. Downton Abbey may have taken the curse off period drama, but only if you've got big name talent attached to it.
My new spec is a contemporary piece, a project I'm really passionate about. Being away from it for several months has given me a clearer perspective [as is often the case]. Suspect that when I revisit it, I'll find it's over-stuffed with storylines and needs paring back to give the characters some room to breath, to establish themselves.
I marked a lot of student work in recent weeks. Nothing like seeing the flaws in somebody else's story to make you think on the niggling issues of your own. When in doubt, I've a tendency to add extra plotlines and story threads, rather than digging deeper into the characters I've got, their attitudes, their needs, wants and flaws.
So I have to keep that at the forefront of my mind when I return to my spec. Happily, it's got no further than the scene by scene. I can take it back to treatment stage, strip away the extraneous crapola and get to the heart of my characters. That's where I need to make the writing shine for the calling card to work on my behalf.
What else didn't I do in 2010? Didn't apply for the BBC Writers' Academy. Agonised long and hard about that decision. I knew I needed a new writing sample and didn't have one that felt good enough to submit, for a start. My knowledge of Holby, Casualty and EastEnders was a bit rusty, so that was another factor against going for it.
Getting in the academy is one in 100 odds. In the unlikely event I ever did get in, it would mean three months living hundreds of miles away from home with no chance of commuting. It would mean giving up family, friends and teaching. It would mean writing Doctors, Holby, Casualty and EastEnders - and nothing else. Total commitment.
The academy route isn't the only way forward. I got on to Doctors without it, and am making progress with my career goals, my ambitions. But I'm taking the long, slow route. Getting in the academy effectively turbo-charges parts of your writing career, offers shortcuts that circumvent the long, slow route. It's an alluring option.
In the next month or two I need to make my decision again - go for the academy in 2011, or stick with my own path. Guess that's a watch this space not. In the meantime, I need to set myself some goals for the coming year. Can't guarantee they'll all be specific, measurable and the rest of the SMART acronym, but I'll do my best.
So, what are my key objectives for 2011?
1. Write a new calling card TV drama script.
2. Get at least one new commission for Doctors.
3. Secure a commission for children's TV.
4. Write a feature screenplay.
The calling card TV drama script and screenplay are done to me. The commissioned-based goals do rely on other people for the vital yes, but will only happen if I devote time, wit and creative energy to preparation and securing opportunities. All these are achievable, but require hard work and discipline. Twas always thus. Onwards!
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Dietrich does Gregory Peck [so to speak]
Growing up in NZ, I watched shows most people in the UK don't know well. I suspect the death of Steve Landesberg won't get much coverage here, but he was a gem as Dietrich in a great US sitcom called Barney Miller. Enjoy this clip of him channeling Gregory Peck.
My report card for 2010 - part 1
After a frenzy of deadlines, marking and life-related stuff, the year's now winding down for me and I've got a chance to think. So it's about time for my annual report card, and some thoughts about the way forward in 2011. Feel free to move on if there's nothing for you to see here. This is me, thinking out loud [via the medium of typing, natch].
Last December I was making progress on several fronts. I'd completed my first TV drama commission, writing an episode of Doctors for broadcast in February 2010. I was having fruitful discussions with an agent who was interested in my work. And I'd had some positive feedback about my writing from a significant person within BBC Drama.
So I set myself the following key objectives for 2010: 1) Write a feature screenplay. 2) Get another TV drama commission. 3) Secure representation. 4) More radio drama. Let's see how reality played out in comparison to my goals for this year, shall we?
1) Write a feature screenplay. Epic fail here, I'm afraid. I've got two projects I'm developing as potential features. Well, when I say developing, I think about them a lot and talk about them sometimes. Words on paper or pixels on screen? Not so much. [Sorry, Lucy at Bang2write!] Let's call this one a rollover for 2011, okay?
2) Get another TV drama commission. Win! A double win, in fact. Not only was my first ep of Doctors watched by two million people in February this year, I was commissioned to write two more eps. My second effort was broadcast last month, and my third will tx in March 2011. That proved a lot to me, and has given me a lot of confidence.
Make no mistake, the more I learn, the more I realise how little I know. My craft skills can only improve and the best path to achieving that is experience. I don't have any more stories banked with Doctors, so I need to keep pushing there. Sitting back and basking in what I've achieved isn't an option. More work required.
3) Secure representation. Another win! The agent who was liking my work at the end of 2009 was still liking it at the start of 2010. Katie Williams at Blake Friedmann took me on as a client and has already done some significant work on my behalf. Having an agent doesn't get you work - good writing does that - but it opens many doors.
4) More radio drama. Win, but bit of a pyrrhic victory. The last three years I failed to build on my only success in this field, a 15-minute play for Radio 4. But 2010 changed that as myself and Louise Ironside wrote a two-part conspiracy thriller called Legacy for BBC7 [and an online audio adventure game that complemented the radio play].
I wasn't 100% happy with my efforts. I could blame a lot of external factors, but the simple fact is I didn't pull it off. I learned an immense amount from the experience, particularly about how visual my writing has become. I was seeing the radio play in my head as I wrote it, when I needed to be hearing it - a significant disconnect.
I'm not ready to give up on radio drama yet, but next time - if there is a next time - I need to get my head in the correct writing space. I would like to do more radio drama, but it deserves and requires more commitment than I've been able to give it. I suspect finding the time could be an issue during the first half of 2011.
So, not a bad report card in terms of my major objectives for 2010. But what else have I been doing this year? Teaching part-time on the MA Creative Writing course at Edinburgh Napier University. This takes up 2.5 days a week, a significant chunk of time and energy and creativity. But it can be immensely rewarding and illuminating.
We're now into our second year of teaching the course, armed with the experience gleaned from our first year. Things are running far smoother, we know much more what to expect and the current students are raising the bar above the levels achieved by our first cohort. Hard to believe I've been in the job two years already.
What else? Wrote what proved to be my final script report as a reader for Scottish Screen. I hated the project so much that my report got rejected, and Scottish Screen stopped asking me to read. [Soon after they got folded into Creative Scotland.] It was an interesting sideline for me, but bit of a time-suck so I don't mourn the loss.
Ran quite a few workshops and seminars in festivals, schools and libraries, ranging from 100 adults in Greenock to a dozen 5-year-olds in Bonnyrigg. [If you ever need a current film to cite as an example of story structure, I recommend Shrek - almost everybody over 4 and under 54 has seen it.] Burbled on radio a few times as well.
What else? Got back into computer games writing after several years' absence. First there was dialoguing the Legacy game for the BBC. Then I won the job of writing text for the strategy game Fate of the World. That's an ongoing project which will run into 2011. Few writers make their living from games, but it's a fun medium to visit.
My epic quest to get a writing gig on BBC Scotland continuing drama River City came back to life this year. After past heartbreaks I'd pretty much given up, but that changed in November 2009. BBC Scotland's Head of Drama Anne Mensah read my Red Planet Prize finalist script and urged me to contact RC series producer Morag Bain.
I watched the show for the next three months, so I'd have a better sense of where it was now, before contacting Morag. She was positive and put me in touch with one of her producers. And then River City underwent regime change for the second or third time in recent years, and I was back to square one again. Oh dear. How sad. Never mind.
But I've kept plugging away at the show and watching it faithfully. Having an agent and my ability to secure commissions with Doctors makes me a more credible candidate, should the chance of a trial script ever arise. I'm keeping in touch with people who work on the show. One day this will happen. Let's put it on the list for 2011.
[An aside: there was a great TED lecture a few years back by a guy with a terminal illness. He said lots of life affirming things, and I wrote a few on them on post-it notes that stay in plain sight near my computer. Whenever I despair of cracking a show like River City, I have a look at those notes to remind myself why I keep going.
Note #1: luck is where preparation meets opportunity. This is so true. Plenty of times I've have opportunities and blown them because I wasn't ready, I wasn't prepared. Note #2: brick walls let us prove how badly we want things. Also true. If you really want something, you'll find a way - no matter how many brick walls stand in your way.]
What else? I've discovered the joys of TV writing for children. CBeebies Scotland and the Scottish Book Trust ran a lab over several weeks in May and June this year, giving more than a dozen writers based north of the border a chance to learn about creating shows for pre-schoolers. I was lucky enough to be selected for the lab [win!].
It was challenging, exciting and plenty of hard work - especially since it happen simultaneously with writing my second ep of Doctors, plus the Legacy radio play and game projects. But I discovered the joy of creating material for a younger audience and it's definitely an area I'll be exploring more during the year to come.
No doubt there are other things, but I need to get on. In part 2 of my report card I'll look at the areas I didn't venture into during 2010, and set myself some goals for 2011. In the meantime, keep warm. Onwards!
Last December I was making progress on several fronts. I'd completed my first TV drama commission, writing an episode of Doctors for broadcast in February 2010. I was having fruitful discussions with an agent who was interested in my work. And I'd had some positive feedback about my writing from a significant person within BBC Drama.
So I set myself the following key objectives for 2010: 1) Write a feature screenplay. 2) Get another TV drama commission. 3) Secure representation. 4) More radio drama. Let's see how reality played out in comparison to my goals for this year, shall we?
1) Write a feature screenplay. Epic fail here, I'm afraid. I've got two projects I'm developing as potential features. Well, when I say developing, I think about them a lot and talk about them sometimes. Words on paper or pixels on screen? Not so much. [Sorry, Lucy at Bang2write!] Let's call this one a rollover for 2011, okay?
2) Get another TV drama commission. Win! A double win, in fact. Not only was my first ep of Doctors watched by two million people in February this year, I was commissioned to write two more eps. My second effort was broadcast last month, and my third will tx in March 2011. That proved a lot to me, and has given me a lot of confidence.
Make no mistake, the more I learn, the more I realise how little I know. My craft skills can only improve and the best path to achieving that is experience. I don't have any more stories banked with Doctors, so I need to keep pushing there. Sitting back and basking in what I've achieved isn't an option. More work required.
3) Secure representation. Another win! The agent who was liking my work at the end of 2009 was still liking it at the start of 2010. Katie Williams at Blake Friedmann took me on as a client and has already done some significant work on my behalf. Having an agent doesn't get you work - good writing does that - but it opens many doors.
4) More radio drama. Win, but bit of a pyrrhic victory. The last three years I failed to build on my only success in this field, a 15-minute play for Radio 4. But 2010 changed that as myself and Louise Ironside wrote a two-part conspiracy thriller called Legacy for BBC7 [and an online audio adventure game that complemented the radio play].
I wasn't 100% happy with my efforts. I could blame a lot of external factors, but the simple fact is I didn't pull it off. I learned an immense amount from the experience, particularly about how visual my writing has become. I was seeing the radio play in my head as I wrote it, when I needed to be hearing it - a significant disconnect.
I'm not ready to give up on radio drama yet, but next time - if there is a next time - I need to get my head in the correct writing space. I would like to do more radio drama, but it deserves and requires more commitment than I've been able to give it. I suspect finding the time could be an issue during the first half of 2011.
So, not a bad report card in terms of my major objectives for 2010. But what else have I been doing this year? Teaching part-time on the MA Creative Writing course at Edinburgh Napier University. This takes up 2.5 days a week, a significant chunk of time and energy and creativity. But it can be immensely rewarding and illuminating.
We're now into our second year of teaching the course, armed with the experience gleaned from our first year. Things are running far smoother, we know much more what to expect and the current students are raising the bar above the levels achieved by our first cohort. Hard to believe I've been in the job two years already.
What else? Wrote what proved to be my final script report as a reader for Scottish Screen. I hated the project so much that my report got rejected, and Scottish Screen stopped asking me to read. [Soon after they got folded into Creative Scotland.] It was an interesting sideline for me, but bit of a time-suck so I don't mourn the loss.
Ran quite a few workshops and seminars in festivals, schools and libraries, ranging from 100 adults in Greenock to a dozen 5-year-olds in Bonnyrigg. [If you ever need a current film to cite as an example of story structure, I recommend Shrek - almost everybody over 4 and under 54 has seen it.] Burbled on radio a few times as well.
What else? Got back into computer games writing after several years' absence. First there was dialoguing the Legacy game for the BBC. Then I won the job of writing text for the strategy game Fate of the World. That's an ongoing project which will run into 2011. Few writers make their living from games, but it's a fun medium to visit.
My epic quest to get a writing gig on BBC Scotland continuing drama River City came back to life this year. After past heartbreaks I'd pretty much given up, but that changed in November 2009. BBC Scotland's Head of Drama Anne Mensah read my Red Planet Prize finalist script and urged me to contact RC series producer Morag Bain.
I watched the show for the next three months, so I'd have a better sense of where it was now, before contacting Morag. She was positive and put me in touch with one of her producers. And then River City underwent regime change for the second or third time in recent years, and I was back to square one again. Oh dear. How sad. Never mind.
But I've kept plugging away at the show and watching it faithfully. Having an agent and my ability to secure commissions with Doctors makes me a more credible candidate, should the chance of a trial script ever arise. I'm keeping in touch with people who work on the show. One day this will happen. Let's put it on the list for 2011.
[An aside: there was a great TED lecture a few years back by a guy with a terminal illness. He said lots of life affirming things, and I wrote a few on them on post-it notes that stay in plain sight near my computer. Whenever I despair of cracking a show like River City, I have a look at those notes to remind myself why I keep going.
Note #1: luck is where preparation meets opportunity. This is so true. Plenty of times I've have opportunities and blown them because I wasn't ready, I wasn't prepared. Note #2: brick walls let us prove how badly we want things. Also true. If you really want something, you'll find a way - no matter how many brick walls stand in your way.]
What else? I've discovered the joys of TV writing for children. CBeebies Scotland and the Scottish Book Trust ran a lab over several weeks in May and June this year, giving more than a dozen writers based north of the border a chance to learn about creating shows for pre-schoolers. I was lucky enough to be selected for the lab [win!].
It was challenging, exciting and plenty of hard work - especially since it happen simultaneously with writing my second ep of Doctors, plus the Legacy radio play and game projects. But I discovered the joy of creating material for a younger audience and it's definitely an area I'll be exploring more during the year to come.
No doubt there are other things, but I need to get on. In part 2 of my report card I'll look at the areas I didn't venture into during 2010, and set myself some goals for 2011. In the meantime, keep warm. Onwards!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
More Genius: Every 2000AD Cover Ever [inc. Prog 2011]
Here's the complete cover gallary for 2000AD, right up until Prog 2011 published just this week. My era as editor runs from Prog 979 to 1199, as seen during the third minute of this brilliant clip by Richard.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Genius: The first 1500 covers of 2000AD in 3.5 minutes
Amazing YouTube clip featuring every cover from the first 1500 issues of iconic British comic 2000AD. The run of covers I commissioned starts about 2:10 into this labour of love. Gives you a real sense of perspective about how long the weekly's been running. There's been another 200+ issues since Prog 1500 was published, by the way. Onwards!
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
You really should be watching Doctors this week...
...and it's not because I've got an episode on, my next one isn't broadcast until March next week. The show's on an amazing run, with a powerful story threaded through the eps. Doctors always ends the year well, and this may be it's strongest ever. Shocking events lay ahead, without any exploding pubs or trams - just great human drama.
A good friend of Vicious Imagery, Paul Campbell, has written today's episode, If You Want Something Done... It's on BBC1 from 1.45pm, or you can watch it via the iPlayer for the next week. Just go here to find out more. And then there is tomorrow's ep, The Living Gaylights, perhaps the campest thing ever. Don't miss it. Onwards!
A good friend of Vicious Imagery, Paul Campbell, has written today's episode, If You Want Something Done... It's on BBC1 from 1.45pm, or you can watch it via the iPlayer for the next week. Just go here to find out more. And then there is tomorrow's ep, The Living Gaylights, perhaps the campest thing ever. Don't miss it. Onwards!
Friday, December 03, 2010
Intellect & romance triumph over brute force & cyncism
Craig Ferguson explains Doctor Who to Americans.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Doctors does bondage: Ooo-ooh! The Living Gaylights!
At 1.45pm next Wednesday the BBC will be screening the maddest, campest episode of Doctors ever. Just the title should prove that: The Living Gaylights. If that isn't enough, I highly recommend the bonkers trailer above. Remember: 1.45pm - BBC1, Dec. 8th, 2010 - don't miss it!
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