Reminder: UGG Competition entries are due for submission on 20 June 2024.
UGG competition themes: Colours as emotions; Making holiday videos engaging; Death by chocolate (choose one or combine themes).
Please WeTransfer them through to brisbanemoviemaker@gmail.com
Film Bite
David decided to spook us with Dirt Devil (The Exorcist) which is an excellent example of a creative, well produced and superbly executed humourous commercial that grabs your attention from the first until the last frame. Shot with a cinematic feel and an equally impressive soundtrack, I am sure you will agree that it is memorable.
Script Writing
Glenn opened his presentation by announcing a script writing competition, with entries to be pitched at the club meeting on 4 July 2024. See below for more info! Glenn then showed Peter Allan's Lies and Love, which was a winning screenplay from a similar competition run in 2021. It was an entertaining romantic comedy screenplay that was then brought to life under the direction of former BMM member Catherine Cox with a mischievous storyline supported by great acting and a catchy soundtrack.
Glenn took us through the fundamentals of script writing as explained in this video:Anatomy of a screenplay. It gives you background history about the format, what are the elements of the screenplay format, how to use them in different ways, advice on what to do and what not to do, and examples of how some writers break the rules to show what they want us to see. Brilliant!
After the break, Glenn showed us his production of The Garden, and cited his inspiration being a real life event that he scripted into a short film to demonstrate awkward mateship formed over a common bond: to construct a garden to remember.
He went on to say his other script inspirations had equally simple beginnings:
- A Matter of Choice - green burials inspired by an article on new ideas and technologies
- The Emotion Fairy - inspired by a desire to explore the masking SFX of Davinci Resolve
Brisbane Movie Makers Script Writing Competition 2024
- Write a script on any dramatic subject (4-8mins in length)
- Scripts must be practical for BMM to produce and low budget – one (or two) location/s (you should have those in mind), less than 5 actors, no or limited sfx, limited/readily available props, no alien planets
- Use a script writing format. Suggested software is Celtx, Fade In or StudioBinder. For the fundamentals of script writing, watch this excellent video:Anatomy of a screenplay.
- To be pitched at the club meeting on 4 July 2024
- The winning script will be the major project of Brisbane Movie Makers for 2024-25. It is envisaged that the film will be shot by the end of 2024.
- Scripts can be written by a single member of collaboratively by two or more members (if you wish just to write a story and get someone from the club to assist you in transferring into a script that is acceptable also)
- There is a small prize of $1,000 that will be awarded to the winning script to go towards its production and filming, but it is a stipulation that the winning screenwriter be a current member of BMM and remain actively involved/committed throughout the production process.
Judging Criteria:
- story (25): how well does the story flow/ is there a clearly identified problem/ conflict to solve/is the opening scene and the ending effective?
- creativity and originality (15): is it unique and different / has the story been expressed in a creative manner/ does it have an interesting title?
- audience appeal (15): will audiences relate to this/ how engaging is it/ does it have broad appeal?
- characterisations (15): even though short do characters have specific qualities that are clearly demonstrated?
- emotion response (10): how well does the script elicit laughter/sadness/ or other emotions?
- Practicality (20): how practical is the film to produce/ease of production?
Film Pitch: Through Gritted Teeth
Heather then took us through her film pitch Through Gritted Teeth which you can read the synopsis of on the Upcoming Projects page on our website.
Preparing for an edit
Due to the running time of the previous presentations, Nigel's session on Preparing for an Edit was bumped to a future date and time.
Nigel
Secretary
Brisbane Movie Makers
Storytelling Through the Lens
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