Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Film Making

Learning about filmmaking more and more has really given my a different look on my writing and my possible future in it that may change from the original goal of the theatre. This year, Fences, a play by August Wilson, went to the Oscars. Denzel directing this movie really inspired me to write because of my love for August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle of plays. Each setting was placed ten years apart from the previous play and characters had a rich history to presesent.

It made me asks the question, " What is it to be a writer working on world that can grow, expand beyond the original premise?"

Obviously, there is the backstory that must be present in order to pull it off but what more is needed.



A Series and it's fan base

As a lover of television series, I' afraid I must admit thatI've never watched Game Of Thrones but I have always admired the adaptation that screenwriters have delivered on HBO. With an insane budget of six million dollars an episode, George R.R. Martin's work has been one of the most watch television series thanks to the work of the team that is the show runners. During an interview that I observed, I noticed how David Benioff and D.B. Weiss recounted  their experience of starting off the first season of the show as main showrunners that had to gain the permission of Martin himself to even attempt to bring his work. I found it interesting that after talking for five hours with Martin, he simply asked them about a major detail  from  the book that only true fan of the material could only speculate.
After making an educated guess, they received Martin's approval to do the show.
The fact that both writers were  major players of Dungeons and Dragons game growing up and even shared this same hobby with George R.R. Martin seems to have been a factor in the collaboration. Perhaps Martin felt someone with detailed knowledge of his work and shared in fascination with that genre of storytelling would be perfect to adapted his books.  I think that a television series is a perfect medium to adapt novels instead of films because of the room that leaves showrunners to work in more precise details on camera.

My experience in collaboration  between other writers is always a good idea. I can understand the writers of the Game of Thrones series contempt with working separately and bringing their work together. During the interview, it was discussed that working on lines was something that was exchanged between showrunners on via email to expand the story.
It never occurred to me that showrunners working with HBO had a time frame of fifty minutes to complete and required addition production if that isn't met.

 The fact that the pilot was redone after the initial viewing shows how difficult it is to work on a production schedule for all involved in the creation process of the episode. A single flight delay or a weather issue could damage the set, causing creators to worry about making the episode work.
As a writer for short film, this is all too familiar to me, as constant issues involving budget and constant rescheduling of fellow co-writers.

In conclusion, I found that even though I've never been a die-hard fan of the series, I can truly relate to the writers dealing with average issues that others face throughout the industry. To get the approval from the original writer of the novels really  inspires me to work harder on my own material.


Going back to college

January 27, 2017

Three years ago, I made the decision to go back to college after dropping out twice. Of course, financing of such a venture cost money and for a twenty-something-year-old black man in Atlanta struggling to live independently, that was no easy task.

While working at the Atlanta airport in the first stage of my work career in the labor force, I saw somthing in every passenger that I wanted for myself,  it had to be something more than cleaning planes, more than clocking in on time and paying bills , more than living life everyday from paycheck to paycheck.


The future theme

Feb 28,2017

I began this year a student and looked back on the my life while attending college online. Truthfully, I think that I have enough to make a career out of being a freelance writer. I get nervous about the future still but look to my books and plans for reassurance. I need to remember that I choose this path for myself. I have always read and written words and I love stories. I love telling stories as much as I love hearing them, As long as I remeber that and remeber that IT IS ABOUT THE MESSAGE OF THE THEME.