Getting notes on your screenplay is never fun. Thirty years of writing scripts for studios, producers, and directors has taught me that. The reason is simple: They only address what’s wrong with your work. Rarely do they applaud what you’ve done right. In fact, they can be so devoid of praise that by the time…
Tag Archive for Randall Jahnson
Welcome To The Producers Circle
If you caught our blog last Thursday, then you know we gave our five finalists one last task: to rewrite their short script. With notes they received from the Celebrity Judges, and with FiLMLaB mentor Randall Jahnson to guide them, they were given five days to improve their scripts, with a deadline of midnight tonight.…
Randall Jahnson Talks Short Scripts
For those of you who couldn’t join us for the workshop, Randall has provided a few notes for you to think about as you work on your short script. Distill your story down to the essentials – the salient moment/scene Make sure your story has conflict Grab your audience’s attention ASAP – that usually means…
Packing Up The Old Year-Hello New Year
I love this time of year; the week between Christmas and New Years. It’s so perfectly situated for reflection as we take down the tree, stow the candles and box up the ornaments–we are literally packing up the old year to prepare for the new. A fresh new year to receive dreams, ambitions, potential and…
FiLMLaB Introduces The Three Amigos!
Step Into The (FiLM)LaB (and see what’s on the slab…)
As we put the craziness of Thanksgiving/Black Friday and soon, Cyber Monday, behind us, I figure we have a week, ten days at most before a whole new craziness starts up. During those few days of relative calm, may I suggest you take time to consider your writing goals for 2014 and begin planning for 2015?…
Nailing the Turkey Down
You don’t have to observe Thanksgiving, Hanukah or Christmas to feel the press of the holidays already upon us. November has been a busy month for #FiLMLaB contest, between updating the website, planning a workshop, lining up judges and exploring greater partnership with Portland Film Festival, recently named one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals…
FiLMLaB 2015: While You’re Waiting
Although the January launch of the 2015 FiLMLaB contest is rapidly approaching; there is still plenty of time to sharpen the tools in your writers toolkit so they are appropriately honed for short scripts. Not only will it improve your odds of winning the contest (and having your script produced and filmed), it will benefit…
How to Build a Better FiLMLaB
Welcome – Willamette Writers FiLMLaB 2015
Willamette Writers FiLMLaB 2015 will be beginning its fourth annual Script-to-Screen Competition soon. In preparation, we had a brainstorming session yesterday that included myself, Ruth Witteried (last year’s FiLMLaB chair), Stefan Feuerherdt (last year’s conference chair), Martin Vavra and Alyssa Roehrenbeck (Director and Assistant Director of this year’s film, Unwelcome Guests), and the always amusing and insightful…