Week #3 completes....First Drafts and Locations.

Week #3 completed: I know a lot more about securing and scouting locations, my 6 months of FCP a la community college, editing my own short (some) just got a face lift - so cool - what a great teacher E is -- so clear!! Today - screenwriting with F. Fred is a gentle man with a mind like a laser. We heard more character bios, learned more about structure, and table read scripts - first drafts. At the table read for my draft, I (with great ego - I admit) went in thinking, "oh mine is so good hardly anything to change". Ha. double Ha. Pride before the fall. I've forgotten how painful it can be to hear your words in draft form - the redundancies, the missing words, weird words, the choppiness. God make me invisible now - or at least my words. I had a flashback of shame from childhood sweep through me. I felt naked and not in a good way. I'm still blushing 2 hours later and there is headache brewing. I am reassured however that P said at the end, don't let your draft stop you from moving forward and don't miss class because you don't have it - just come and bring it. I'm not quoting and it's not complete but I was able to take a breath after his reassurance. It will get better. Exponentially better is what I'm hoping. So kids - writing scripts takes tenacity and it takes a lot of guts. You must strip yourself down to your soul and thought and then show your half baked unfinished baby to others. Uncomfortable. As all growth experiences usually are. That's it. Stick a fork in me I'm done for today Homework: Scout locations, take pix 2nd draft for Saturday and there's more but I can't remember right now! Cut...print...and out. ~Heather

8:14 Am Sunday Day 4, Weekend #2

OK. I've slept on the 2 ideas. I want to do both! One is more of a festival piece the other part of a feature with some cool possibilities. I've decided on door #1 (or it was actually my second idea pitched). Little girl vs. mermaid. Little girl wins out cause it has caught my imagination and run off with my heart right now. Molly is scrappy, smart and wiley - the anti-brat. The anti-2011 overfed, over coddled, less understood via childhood education parenting. She is more real and less precocious than our darlings of today because - she is my hero and who I would have wanted to be at 8. Watch out world, here she comes. OK. Now I have to do my homework. And I have to figure out who Molly's nemesis will be.

Day 1; Weekend #2

Heading into Day 3 of 7 week intensive @ BDFI. Instruction is top notch and I'm both inspired and a kind of realistic blended hope is quite thrilling. We pitched 3 ideas each today. Patrick listens closely to what we are saying and what we are attempting to communicate and then asks questions to help us refine our idea. Very instructive. I'm "sleeping on" two diverse ideas - both which excite me and offer interesting challenges. Character bios due to morrow - guess who is getting up early (uh-hem 6:30 am) to write them and review script formatting? - Moi! more to come...Heather

Going to Filmmaking School!

I'm home. First weekend down in a 7 weekend filmmaking intensive at the elite school, BDFI (Berkeley Digital Film Institute) housed in the Zaentz (as in Saul) Media Center - known to many as the home of Fantasy Records. After moving through secure gates and parking in the private lot, you walk towards a beautifully planted garden with a sculpture of a woman next to an old time film camera. WOMAN. Must I say more? You are buzzed in by security. You sign in. Your host comes and gets you to be escorted to the second floor whose walls are filled with Fantasy Record - Hit records in gold and platinum framed and then these move into framed movies you will recognize for their awards and accolades lining the halls - The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Amadeus to personal films - Stacks, Fly Away Home, Nina Takes a Lover, Jacob's Ladder, Stacks...and on and on. The impressive halls lead to Studio Two - the studio used to mix over 64 audio tracks to Amadeus. Wow. My blood tingles inside and my belly jumps and I am pinching myself - "I am here - really here". Today marks the completion of weekend #1. Weekends that are filled with cutting edge information and guidance towards writing, directing, producing a 3 to 5 minute piece. Zero to 70 baby. I bring a little experience with me but I am still in the hot seat along with my 8 other cohorts. Listen to this....next week - week #2 - we are to bring in 3 pitches (ideas) to share - one to be developed into our piece. Saturday - we will develop our character bios -- explorations of our 2 key characters - what moments changed their lives - who are they under the skin and bone? These will share on Sunday - our full day workshop with Fred Ritzenberg - our amazing teacher. The producer of The King's Speech - is Fred's producing partner for the project he is now developing. Along the way we will learn about FCP (Final Cut Pro 7) from the perspective of the director - which means some understanding and experience of the program - in order to provide the feedback to carry out her vision (our vision) of our project - 3 min film to 120 feature - it's the same. We'll also learn about Cinematography and what the director must know to guide and work with her DP. And on and on. My head is a but full and tired. But I am excited. Stay tuned for more posts. Here is the link to the school: Singing out.....signing out.... Making films Heather