Chris Jones's Blog, page 15

London Screenwriters’ Festival Ultra Early Bird £28 a month Ending

This weekend the Ultra Early Bird offer for LondonSWF will end – that offer is £28 a month for ten months, or buying you pass outright for £280.

CLICK HERE

Now the dust is settling on what we have heard has been our very best festival yet, we have fixed our sights on the future and topping it in September 2018. Is that even possible? YOU BET!

You can expect around 1,000 like minded screenwriters in attendance, world class teachers, hugely successful screenwriters, producers and actors, pitching, performances, legal advice and more … It will be like rocket fuel for screenwriters!

And if you get your pass now, you can, as a bonus, get access to all the sessions filmed at this years festival. We will be making the Sherlock session with Mark Gatiss, Steven Moffat and Sue Vertue live very soon for instance. So you get both festivals!

And yes it’s a long time away and none of us really know if something will creep up before then, so if you need to cancel, so long as you give us 45 days or more notice, you can get a full refund. Or we can roll your pass over to the following year if you want. So you have total peace of mind.

OK, commit and come, it will change your career, writing and maybe, just maybe, even your life.

Get your pass HERE.

Whatever you choose, choose to write, choose to take the terrifying risk, choose peers that elevate you, and dream BIG!

We have one life. Make it magnificent.

Chris Jones

www.LondonSWF.com

 

Create50, Twisted50, Impact50 and Singularity50 Updates

As many of you will know, the whole team has spent the last few months running the London Screenwriters’ Festival. We have now wrapped and are about to take a short break before returning to Create50.

Right now we are doing some much needed web maintenance and migrating servers as the ones we are on are way too expensive. Create50 runs on good will and thrifty economics, so do bear with us as we make the move.

By the end of October we will have announced clear timelines for all three active Create50 initiatives with book launches for Singularity50 and Twisted50 and closing dates and editing timelines for Impact50.

If you are still redrafting your Singularity50 story, you can upload when we have moved servers. It likely wont let you do it just now. I will mail when we have moved home.

Twisted50, you may still get notes from our editing team, so if you do, take action and follow instructions.

Singularity50 contracts have not yet been issued but will by the end of the month.

Impact50, we will be uploading and updating www.Impact50film.com over the next couple of days. If your production or information have slipped through the cracks, send us an email and we will get it fixed. Again feel free to write a blog with any on set photos attached.

OK… We are coming out of hypersleep! Buckle up!

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones

My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com

My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker

My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix

Sign up to my mailing list for updates on events, books and free film making tools

 

Joseph Lidster & Louis Savy: Top Tips For Writing Great Sci-Fi #LondonSWF

Science Fiction has, perhaps above other genres, developed a reputation for polarising audiences. But it’s true that some of the largest grossing film and TV properties (not to mention books and games) are in the Sci-Fi genre and have expanded their reach into the global psyche. It’s been said that those Science Fiction ideas which have become reality were more inspiration than prediction and there’s a truth to that. Well written Sci-Fi is stimulating the future of our society by holding a mirror up to who we are, where we might be headed, and what we could become instead.

At this year’s Screenwriters’ Festival TV/Radio writer Joseph Lidster (who writes Sci-Fi titles for all ages inc. Torchwood, The Sarah  Jane Adventures, Wizards Vs Aliens and Hetty Feather) joined producer & Sci-Fi London Film Festival founder Louis Savy and screenwriting professor Bob Schultz for an in depth chat about how well crafted Sci-Fi can resonate with audiences of all kinds and to tell us their top tips for making our Science Fiction writing meaningful.

 

Make it Relevant

One of the most important elements in the Science Fiction Genre is that we reflect the world as it is now. In the wake of two world wars, the space race and the rise of nuclear power sci-fi films with themes of mutants, annihilation, world destruction and mind control became a way to express public anxiety without directly criticising powerful often controlling regimes. The cold war ushered in a golden age of Science Fiction movie making with over 500 Hollywood flicks being released between 1948-1962 and in the Eastern Bloc where many genres of film suspected of anti-communist sentiments were being suppressed Sci-Fi found itself to be fun escapism which also had a social voice about an uncertain future. As times change so too can the themes of a story. Different adaptations of the Invasion of the Body Snatchers have different themes based on the era in which each was created.

Use Distance To Be Objective

To get an open minded view of the present it’s often very helpful to distance ourselves and futuristic and technological settings are a great way to get perspective. Looking back from an imagined future or looking forward to the future we may be creating, gives us a safe space to examine our actions. Similarly topics of our world that may be difficult to speak to children about can find expression and resolution by cloaking ideas that are a little too gritty for young minds within supernatural or technological explanations. For adults too, things that happen in a galaxy far, far away don’t keep us awake at night but we can certainly identify with notions of oppressive regimes and the freedom fighters that oppose them.

Make it Accessible

Loss of logic, paradox, etc. are some of the things Sci-Fi is widely criticised for but only when a story fights against it’s own setting or has an impenetrable plot. World building needs to have a solid internal logic to be respected by it’s audience. Quality of production alone won’t sell an unbelievable story or character action. Far more interesting science fiction is created when we get into the trials of our society instead of merely relying on computer graphics.

Keep It Simple Sci-Fi!

Often the simplest of ideas can be something an audience, particularly a young audience, can latch onto. In Wizards and Aliens a hand marking written into the plot was a small simple thing that the schoolkid audience could draw on their own hands if they wanted. In a Sarah Jane plot about facing fears, instead of lots of boring anxty talk preaching ‘issues’ actual characters were created as a physical metaphor for those fears. A simple thing like making character names and places easier to pronounce makes a story far easier to read, write or talk about. Sci-Fi audiences, all audiences, want to be absorbed into new universes without having to struggle, so even with new languages, the less technobabble the more you will engage and the more the fans will promote the worlds and characters they love by sharing them.

Be Aware of The Zeitgeist

Writers of Science Fiction tend to be huge consumers of the genre also, and one thing to take care about is the quality of production, a lot gets made and it’s not all high calibre all the time, so it’s easy to pick up bad habits from watching too much trash TV, even if that trash TV is hugely popular. On the flipside, knowing and having seen poor TV helps you to avoid the poor bits and habits in your own work. You have to work harder to avoid falling into the easy/lazy/expected way of resolving issues.

Budget Need Not Restrict You

We all enjoy a great bit of computer graphics or special effects, especially as techniques become more realistic. But not every film that’s financed stretches to blockbuster proportions, particularly for emerging writers. However a lot of good sci-fi can and has been made on a budget and sometimes the best Sci-Fi stories are ones that people who are not fans of the genre can still relate to. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind didn’t need a lot of big effects to wow audiences. Alternate realities are great as they can be filmed in the here and now, just changing the world changes the boundaries of story, and for lower budgets, clever framing can suggest connections of imagery without showing both robotics and movement in the same shot. Sound too is a tool that can add a great deal of emotion as well as introducing elements that could be more expensive to visualise. Tony Stark maybe said it best when Steve Rogers asked him what he was without his robot suit of armour and answered, “A genius billionaire playboy philanthropist.”

 

To explore Science Fiction is to build your own boundaries and make up universes, it lets you play with any idea you can conceive of, sometimes from multiple angles. It can entertain and engage and amaze, it can tackle big ideas and small ones because the world fits around and serves and enriches the story themes. Telling a good sci-fi story that you want to tell is all that’s needed. Go forth and prosper!

The British Screenwriters’ Awards 2017 #LondonSWF

This year or the fourth time the writing community gathered together to celebrate the best and brightest among us and laud our craft, without which not much good film or TV would exist at all.

This night is ours, it’s our time to cheer great writing and laugh together at the blood sweat and tears that goes into creating it, a torturous, gruelling, and delightful, rewarding, fulfilling process that only someone else who’s attempted it can even begin to comprehend. It’s a weird thing that we do but together in our weirdness we find ourselves at home.

Hosted by screenwriter and comedian Deborah Frances-White who liberally entertained us with her Hollywood war stories and long path to breakthrough and a fine night was had by all.

I suppose in the forth year the event can no long be called a fledgling awards, but in terms of changing the zeitgeist of writers, we’re really just beginning. As we continue to edify great work we empower and inspire new work and new writers to share the magic inside them through the medium of screen.

This year is the second year of the, the ‘Fucking Awesome Award’ for incredible achievement in writing and outstanding contribution to the industry. Created last year for writer/director Simon Fitzmaurice who after becoming paralysed with Motor Neuron Disease (ALS) used only the gaze of his eyes to write and direct his first feature. The accolade this year continues and goes to an equally stellar writer who’s incredible works have made him a household name and inspired devotion across the seven continents.

The 2017 Fucking Awesome Award is given to George R R Martin.

As no dragons were available a proxy collected the award on George’s behalf and delivered his heartfelt speech. The crystal trophy will be winging it’s way to him shortly by raven and we are assured by Chris Jones that it will, at a push, definitely kill a white walker.

Outstanding Newcomer for British Feature Film Writing

100 Streets by Leon Butler
Eddie The Eagle by Sean Macaulay
WINNER: The Girl with all the Gifts by Mike Carey
The Pass by John Donnelly
Prevenge by Alice Lowe
Under The Shadow by Babak Anvari

Best British Children’s Television

The Amazing World of Gumball by the writing team
Class Dismissed by the writing team
Counterfeit Cat by the writing team
Eve by the writing team
WINNER: The Worst Witch by the writing team

Outstanding Newcomer for British Television Writing     

Apple Tree Yard by Amanda Coe and Louise Doughty
Damilola, Our Beloved Boy by Levi David Addai
WINNER: Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge
The Hollow Crown by Ben Power
NW by Rachel Bennette (Based on novel by Zadie Smith)

Best British TV Drama Writing

WINNER: Three Girls by Nicole Taylor
The Crown by Peter Morgan
Little Boy Blue by Jeff Pope
The Moorside by Neil McKay
National Treasure by Jack Thorne

Best Crime Writing on Television (Series/Single Drama)    

Broadchurch by Chris Chibnall
Born to Kill by Kate Ashfield, Tracey Malone and Kate Gartside
Broken by Jimmy McGovern, Shaun Duggan, Colette Kane and Nick Leather
WINNER: Line of Duty by Jed Mercurio
The Missing by Harry Williams and Jack Williams
Unforgotten by Chris Lang

Best Comedy Writing on Television

Camping by Julia Davis
This Country by Charlie Cooper and Daisy May Cooper
WINNER: The Durrells by Simon Nye and Gerald Durrell
Flowers by Will Sharpe
People Just Do Nothing by Asim Chaudhry, Steve Stamp and Allan Mustafa
Upstart Crow by Ben Elton

Best British Feature Film Writing

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie by Jennifer Saunders
American Honey by Andrea Arnold
Free Fire by Amy Jump and Ben Wheatley
T2 by John Hodge (Based on the novel by Irvine Welsh)
WINNER: A United Kingdom by Guy Hibbert (Based on the novel by Susan Williams)

Christopher Vogler on Making an Introduction #LondonSWF

One person who needs little introduction at the London Screenwriters’ Festival is Christopher Vogler, author and story consultant known around the globe for his expertise on The Hero’s Journey.

Among the detailed advice he had to give us today about creating fresh and dynamic characters from ancient mythological archetypes, Christopher shared his top tips for making a character introduction for the first time.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS:

Making a character introduction is like when an actor walks out onto a stage, what actor doesn’t like to make a dynamic entrance. Left to their own devices your character will be like an actor without direction and swagger in making the most of their moment.

BUT WHAT SORT OF CHARACTER ARE THEY?

Strong impressions are good if that’s who your character is but what if strength and dynamism are not really their thing? How we first see a character can set up expectations that can engage or disengage us from the character and story later on.

USE THEIR SCHTICK TO SHOW US WHO THEY REALLY ARE. 

All characters (all people) have their method of dealing with life. Their tricks, their traits, their coping mechanisms. Maybe they mumble when they’re shy or always try to please. Characters will have a set of behaviours that they repeat as they go through their life experiences. That’s known as their schtick (an old Vaudevillan term) and that”s what you can use to show us who they are the minute we meet them on screen.

And with a whole ream of ways we can shift our characters journey it’s only right that we should take some care in knowing who they are in the first place and being able to identify with them. For me, in what was a complex session, putting the characters best foot forward seems like a great place for writers to begin.

Seeing Him Picks Up First Award at New Renaissance Film Festival

Last week in Soho London, at the New Renaissance Film Festival, Vanessa Bailey collected our first award for best actress. Well deserved too and for everyone involved, we all know that this is the most fitting award to star what we hope will be  a fun and successful festival run.

We also just got into the Canadian Creation International Film Festival and got a rather glowing review in their guide…

“When assigned a film to review, I’ll typically scan the synopsis, wince and force my way to the credits. This time I decided to look a little deeper.

Chris Jones and his producers knew what they’re doing. This project wasn’t made by a group of weekend warriors. So, I began watching with expectations. True, a director with a resume doesn’t guarantee a great movie, but it doesn’t hurt. Seeing Him is a wonderful little film. There’s not much to it. It’s simple. And it will probably make you cry.

The pace is easy and the dialogue draws the viewer in. Vanessa has a commanding on screen presence.

The lighting and color treatment are rich and vibrant. And the sound is clear and natural. Overall, the entire project is beautifully put together. The lighting, pace and subject matter reminded me of Cary Grant and Deborah Kerr in An Affair to Remember. My advice (for what it’s worth) is to leave the handheld stuff to action flicks and keep the romance smooth!

With an award winning director and power house actress, why stop at eight minutes? You left me wanting so much more!

Seeing Him is an excellent film.”

Blimey!

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones

My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com

My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker

My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix

Sign up to my mailing list for updates on events, books and free film making tools

 

Fifteen Feet of FEAR! Firewalk for Disabled Youth… Help us raise £3,000

Last week we ran the Talent Campus… And that included a Firewalk where everyone present would walk the embers barefoot for charity. Specifically for a charity called READY who support kids with disabilities who need special equipment for their mobility.

These are two extraordinary groups of people – the kids who want more from life, and the talent campers who committed to face what was for some, extreme fear.

You can watch the video here and please contribute anything you can afford to the campaign too… we need to raise £3k and we are almost halfway there.

CLICK HERE

Thank you in advance, your contribution validates our delegates who were NOT fearless, in fact they were filled with fear and yet STILL faced up to it. And of course the kids whose daily challenges dwarf even the fieriest of firewalks!

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones

My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com

My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker

My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix

Sign up to my mailing list for updates on events, books and free film making tools

 

Listen to the Filmmakers Podcast and get film and screenwriting tips

Yesterday I recorded this excellent podcast with Giles Alderson and Christian James for the FilmMakersPodcast – we did it in our store room at Ealing studios which is remarkable acoustically dead.

We chatted about filmmaking tips and tricks, screenwriting strategies and about being a creative. Give it a listen below.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones

My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com

My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker

My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix

Sign up to my mailing list for updates on events, books and free film making tools

 

One killer tip to make you unforgettable in any pitch or casual industry meeting (and in a good way).

This is just one tip I picked up from Bob Schultz when I was on his one day masterclass on pitching, creating relationships with producers and transforming from a writer fumbling in the dark into a writer with laser focus.

When you meet anyone powerful, and you have any kind of meaningful exchange, setup a Google Alert in their name that night (not the following day as you will likely forget).

Google Alerts are a free service from Google and will send you an email whenever this person becomes ‘newsworthy’. This could be a new job promotion, a project getting greenlit, a stand out screening etc.

Assuming you got their email when you met (and you should have), you can then just drop them an email and say ‘Hey congratulations one X Y and Z, we met at ABC if you recall.’ If you have any recent good news you could share that VERY succinctly too, ‘I just sold that project to Z producer’ or ‘My short script was produced last year’ etc.

Keep it short and focus all about THEM and the relationship.

Now imagine doing that with 200 people, or 500 or even 1,000?

Many people will write back and say thanks for the message. Many won’t. Either way you have got back on their radar at a good time in their lives and at the very least you now look media savy for knowing about their good news – and that’s a good thing.

Sometimes, they may say ‘hey what happened to that project we talked about?’ or ‘can I see your short film’ etc. That’s a win right there. And all you did was set up a Google alert and respond to their good news.

Remember, talent is great but relationships get you hired.

So… this is your final Call: One Day Pitching Masterclass This Weekend with Bob Schultz (August 5th ’17)

If you are planning on attending LondonSWF and pitching, then this one day masterclass will transform the way you present your ideas and yourself.

Consider… Why would anyone invest $millions in your idea, let alone script? Is the way you present the very best it can be? In my experience almost every writer who attends this class with Bob comes away realising how many gaps they had in their knowledge, how to fill those gaps, and perhaps most importantly, how to get people to lean into your pitch.

It’s this Saturday at Ealing Studios and there are less than ten places left – you can sign up or read more on the site HERE.

Chris Jones

www.LondonSWF.com

Low Budget Horror… You should use the Shepherd’s Tone to ratchet tension in your soundtrack

There are many ways in which a film can make huge dramatic gains without maxing out the budget. If you are making a low budget horror (and I have made two), and if everyone involved is on the same budgetary wavelength, then why not work with your composer to utilise ‘The Shepherds Tone’ so successfully exploited by Chris Nolan and Hans Zimmer?

What is it?

It’s an auditory trick whereby music or a tone seems to continually build up octave upon octave, never ending and always feeling like it’s about to peak. Of course it’s a trick where multiple rising notes or passages are layered and fade in and out rather cunningly.

This is an ideal tool for horror and thriller movies. Consider…

• It’s extremely effective at creating tension

• It’s easy to create for anyone who knows there way around sound and music

• It won’t cost a penny aside from talent and time

The video below is a great primer on what it is and how it works.

Remember, as a low budget filmmaker we have to use every trick and resource available to us. And this is one of this hidden tricks that has yet to be over used.

Onwards and upwards!

Chris Jones

My movies www.LivingSpiritGroup.com

My Facebook www.Facebook.com/ChrisJonesFilmmaker

My Twitter @LivingSpiritPix

Sign up to my mailing list for updates on events, books and free film making tools