Towards the finish line (and what I’ve been up to)

Well, it’s just over a week until my final major project is handed in and I’m imagining that my classmates share the same tension and stress of perfecting our final scripts for the deadline. Since moving back to Hertfordshire I’ve had a very busy summer and finding some time to relax and work on my script has been a challenge but it’s still my number one priority of course.

A few weeks ago I went to Germany and Amsterdam for sights, scenes and sounds. And beer of course. Although a small holiday isn’t always the best time to do some writing, I found some time to work on my script on the train journey between Cologne and Amsterdam which was about 4 hours and in a first class cabin which was pretty special. I find writing on a train very unwinding and it’s when my mind is most creative as I don’t have to concentrate on anything else so it’s the ideal time to scribble down ideas or even write a full story. Also, first class in Germany is ridiculously cheap so why not, eh?

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Ffarwel Caerdydd (Farewell Cardiff)

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Goodbye

Two weeks ago I was looking into an empty, blank room with just a bare bed, wardrobe and desk. This was once my writing domain and office (and on some occasions a bedroom) and now I’m closing the door one final time and leaving the key behind. This was the room I wrote the majority of my scripts in during my stay in Cardiff since September of last year. It was in a quaint little terraced house that was converted from a grocery store to a house (god knows when) and I shared it with two other students who attended another university.

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Short Script Complete! Now what?

Short Script Complete! Now what?

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Mr. Wrongright focuses on online broadcasting platforms such as Youtube and the desperation for attention.

Mr Wrongright, my short script and cautionary tale about acceptance, attention as well as the wonders and dangers of technology was finally completed last Friday and sent away to the powers that be for marking. I will be uploading my short script here for all to see very soon but one thing is for sure I did enjoy creating Roger’s world and exploring many of the modern issues we face in today’s online society including anonymity and need for attention. If I were to give an initial postmortem of it though, I’d have aimed for something simpler and abide by the law of ‘less is more.’

I’ve written short scripts before with minimal locations and characters with an intent to film and edit at a later date – which I’ve done – but I went into Mr Wrongright with more of an open mind so I could concentrate on the story more than the convenience of shooting. Of course, it’s ideal to nail both those aspects in one single short script but I became too attached to the story I initially created for this and didn’t want to change or sacrifice too much. Overall though, I’m happy with the final product.

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Gregynog – A Weekend of Writing, Winning* and Wine

So last weekend, myself along with my MA Scriptwriting classmates and tutors departed to Gregynog Hall, a large country mansion in the old county Montgomeryshire, Mid Wales. It was a writing weekend, an opportunity to receive group feedback on our first drafts (which in my case is my TV series Lemonhead) and use that feedback to start rewriting it into something… well better! As for the location, I had read up a bit about it and it looked like a beautiful, secluded getaway which would be ideal for writing and brain storming, as well as collaborating with my fellow writers, some of whom I may not see for a long time unfortunately. Though let’s not get into that right now. As we departed to Gregynog with our suitcases in the back and Primal Scream blaring in the front we began our two hour journey to our fabled destination.

Gregynog Halls - the famous picture that everyone might use on their blog.
Gregynog Halls – the exterior shot that everyone will probably use on their blog.

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First Draft of Lemonhead Complete

First Draft of Lemonhead Complete

script-lemonheadLast week I reached a personal milestone and wrote the first three episodes of my television series ‘Lemonhead’. Each episode is about 30 pages which of course totals to 90 pages overall, which to me is a great achievement. As it’s a draft there is still plenty to do but I look forward to it. This weekend, myself and the rest of my university classmates are taking a weekend trip to mid-Wales where we will stay at Grenygog Hall and will assess each other’s work with feedback and use that to improve our scripts.

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