NewsJack

So some good news… I wrote a sketch that got broadcast on BBC 7’s topical news sketch show NewsJack last night. Apparently not many non-commissioned writers get sketches on, they mainly get one-liners or Vox Pops on so its good news really.

I have to say my sketch got edited slightly to replace some of my gags with some of their’s, but we all have different opinions when it comes to comedy and it was well-received so I won’t complain (much).

Its good to keep getting these radio credits whilst working on the longer form (sitcom/film). I wonder what it take to be a commissioned writer given that I’ve written for nearly all the non-comm shows on the BBC in the last two years? Shit. That was almost a complaint, sorry.

Anyway, a weekend of writing ahead, I’m getting a lot more time to write these days so things are progressing. Who would have thought that would happen?

The Proposal

The Cheltenham Screenwriters Festival is in October and I’ve fortunately secured three five-minute speed dates with both agents and producers. Nothing focuses the brain more than that! My target for the event is to have the following:

Two completed comedy pilots (one is in draft 5, one is in draft -5)

The sketch show pilot (already done – tweaks required though)

Two movie treatments (high-level outlines have already been completed on about four)

I would like to have more to chose from but I’m setting my targets low unlike my New Year ones which would have me holding an Oscar by now. Also, I can’t pitch them all so I’d hope one or two of them would be a shining light by then.

I haven’t written a feature yet and purposely didn’t try to write one yet whilst I was concentrating on the thirty minute format. However, I’ve got the structure that I would like to follow for it so I won’t be going into it blind-folded – like I did with my first attempt at sitcom which is still lying in the corner of my room scorched round the edges and incomplete.

Back to writing…

De Terminator

Yeah, I’ve noticed every time I include the name of a TV show or a film in my title I get a huge rise in hits. Its an atom-sized victory but they all count. Anyway, my rewriting is a bit like going to the dentist. I know I have to do it, but I know its going to be painful and if I’m a good boy I’ll let myself have a treat at the end of it (work on something else).

I don’t know if its the same with other writers but whenever I have a new idea to work on I envision it as something glorious and expect it to give me the buzz I get when I first see something new and brilliant. Of course, the closer I get to writing it the less brilliant it feels and then misery ensues. When is a first draft ever going to be like an episode of The Office?

So I’m trawling through draft after draft of a script, losing confidence it it, gaining confidence in it. Writing blog posts instead of concentrating on it. When will it all end??? Page 53 I think.

May Contains Nuts on ITV!

This week a dream came true when I was watching Benidorm (that wasn’t my dream) and during the adverts I finally got to hear ITV promote May Contain Nuts, the show I created and co-wrote. It was jubilation in my living room, only slightly soured by the fact that this wasn’t actually the same May Contain Nuts that I created and co-wrote.

It was a comedy-drama that had nothing to do with me, but I’m probably just being pandantic. The celebrations continue. I’m now writing my new sketch show called The News at Ten. I can almost hear it now…

Subliminal Subliminal

The week shot by with not much actually writing words but lots of plotting and planning. I’m working on a script that I’m on the 3rd/4th write-through on and its time to add extra layers to the scenes such as symbolism and subliminal shots. This is something the experienced writer might do quite early on in their script but I’m fairly new to the 30 min+ world so I had left it until now.

I needn’t have bothered though. By some freak coincidence the quirks I had given certain characters were prefect symbols or metaphors of their stories. So, basically, I had been subliminally putting in subliminal messages and symbols in my script all along (!?)

I’m writing subliminal a lot because I have trouble saying it, and this thing has spell check. In fact, I don’t think I’ve actually spelt it correctly in this piece without requiring spell check. That’s just how I roll. (I spelt spell check wrong too – it isn’t one word.)

Meanwhile, I’ve been trying to buy a car which is exciting, scary and depressing all at the same time. A bit like getting married. This weekend I’m looking forward to watching (friend of the blog) Chris Regan’s Ten Dead Men, which I now own on DVD. (Subliminal linkage alert).

The sketch show is still getting good reviews and interest and I’m preparing to write for another BBC radio sketch show in the next few weeks.

Subliminal.

Writing Pitfalls Advice

Great advice from Tony Jordan (if you’re thinking ‘who?’ – get out!) via Jason Arnopp.

Don’t get sucked in by the idea of craft, and the industry which poses as gatekeeper to some Great Big Secret Of Successful Writing. Tony’s never pretended to be Robert McKee’s greatest advocate. He illustrated just how simple storytelling is, by putting two tea cups a fair distance apart on the table, representing Your Character and Their Dramatic Goal. He then put a few random objects between them – including a cafetiere and a sugar bowl, fact fans – representing Obstacles. He picked up the first Obstacle and allowed, “You can call this the Inciting Incident, if it makes you feel happy and all warm inside!”. Whatever works. But in a nutshell, that line-up of objects encapsulated Storytelling: The Tony Jordan Method. Wouldn’t make much of a book, or even fill out a pamphlet, but it’s all you need.

http://jasonarnopp.blogspot.com/2009/05/tony-jordans-red-planet-workshop.html

Don’t take that tone…

OK, I seem to be finding as many new tricks to hinder my writing as to improving it. This is a first: I’ve planned out all my characters and got a good plot for the first episode of a sitcom idea I really like. I’ve even got a theme to it.

What’s stopping me go any further is I’m struggling to get the tone right. If that’s even the right word. Hell, I can’t even get the problem names right!

I’ve got two other pilots at various ages of development and I had no problem finding the style of comedy (is that the word?) that I wanted. The theme came after at least one draft. One of them is quick-paced, reality based, ensemble humour, another is medium-paced, reality-mixed with farce. Yeah, I’ve gone cross-eyed too.

I haven’t planned this enough have I? Bollocks, ignore this post…

Slog Line

The latest news on the sketch show ‘Contains Nuts’ is that another production company who liked the YouTube sketches (http://www.youtube.com/user/containsnutstv) are also interested in the show and we’ve submitted a pilot script to them.

These are still early stages, mind you, and we aren’t expecting any more news from them for a couple of weeks. Overall, the feedback has been great, especially from writers and actors alike (one of whom I won’t embarrass by naming but is a top TV comedy actor).

Anyway, I’ve been moving on with other projects. Everyone wants sitcoms at the moment so I won’t cream my pants over a bit of interest I’ve received in a few pilots I’m working on.

The BBC have also, kindly, alerted me to a new sketch show called Newsjack that they want writers for. Its going to be open submission anyway but I need something to cream my pants about.

There is no doubt about it, you do get better the more you write and I am finding that out to my benefit at the moment. Although the thing about doors is that they close as well as open. How do you stay in the room? Its there a studio flat layout somewhere?

There is a pilot on the plane

So today, I’ve hit that wall where I can no longer blog what I wish to as I know people read this who know people who would be mentioned. My secret identity is about as secret as Clark Kent’s thanks to the sketches which are online and doing very well – feedbackwise.

What can I say? A production company want to make a pilot episode to pitch to the networks. But there are conditions. That’s all I can say.

We’ll probably be changing the name ‘Contains Nuts’ as I don’t like the idea that because I blog/post under that title people might think this show is all about me. It certainly isn’t and can’t be all about me, I’ve just always liked the name hence… you get the idea.

Sketches Online!

Ok so we’re rolling out some edits of our sketch show on Funny or Die and already the good people there have featured one of them as their clip of the day.

http://www.funnyordie.co.uk/

However, we are a bit suspicious as we were 80% funny for most of the day until a flurry of DIES in about half an hour evened us out abit. hmmm… Also the feedback from the forums were very positive about the clips so I don’t know what to make of it. So see what you make of it and click FUNNY… please.

http://www.funnyordie.co.uk/containsnuts

Overall, given the fact it was my debut as director and editor without any training, I’m pleased with the outcome although I know what I can and will do a lot better in the future. Hopefully we’ll get the chance to do more and a production company are following this all closely. Our best sketches are still to come!