Progress report - Seer

I've reached the end of Act One of the first draft of this little screenplay I'm writing.

It's kind of a big deal--if I was going to give up on it I would not have gotten this far. So, all indications are that I'll tough it out until the end. When I finish it, finally, who knows?

I really like the characters--one in particular. I sort of identify with him. And no, I'm not talking about the serial killer.

Hopefully when it's over all of the characters will come across in shades of gray--nobody is completely good, nobody is completely evil. Just complicated and messed up. Even the serial killer has his redeeming qualities.

Anyways, I'm happy with what I have so far. Of course I'll rewrite it a few times, but that's to me easier than the first draft--it's less difficult to carve away and rework stuff than it is to make it up in the first place.

On an unrelated note, I've been listening to this song, my tune "Walks Like A Man, " a lot lately. If you've never heard my stuff this one is sort of the ultimate tune--it's sort of the type of thing I usually try to do. Heavy, dark, with a little humor of the darkest sort. Click the link, give it a listen, download it if you like it. Play it for your friends. That's why I made it downloadable. Just be sure to tell people where you got it from.

And while you're there you can listen to the other stuff, too--you'll see the list of tunes over to the right. I'd love to hear that you think!

Was it good for you?

I reached a sort of milestone just now--finished the first draft of my spec script, Mythophobia.

I've mentioned how concerned I was about the ending, about how I was afraid I wouldn't be able to pull it off. Re-reading what I've done I think I managed it. It certainly affected me, and I'm not a sucker for my own stuff in that regard. Normally I underestimate the impact of what I've written, so if this hits me this hard then it might be lethal . . . heh.

Actually I doubt it, though my hope is, if this thing ever gets produced, you'll have some tears in your eyes at the end. And your throat will be raw from screaming, too. It is, after all, a horror movie . . .

What I've learned is a good sign, as I've mentioned before, is my complete immersion in it--it took a couple hours for me to write what I did today, which was the finale and the coda, and I felt like it was only a few minutes. Plus, I worked up a good sweat, too. Another good sign. It's hard work, making up stuff like this!

Anyways, I hope I'm not fooling myself with how good it is. It does need a rewrite--there's some stuff I need to tweak, some things that need to be edited, and I want to add a couple short scenes, stuff like that. Plus I need to work on the pacing--my most common complaint with a lot of films is herky-jerky pacing. It should flow, like a symphony--some faster tempo sections, some slower, some moderate . . . a good mix, working towards an overpowering finale. And a sweet, satisfying coda, to finish it off. Let's hope the music I'm making with this thing is something people will want to hear!

Now I need to take a day or so off from it. Gonna watch a movie or three, listen for a few dozen tunes, maybe record something new. I need to get some distance from it so I can be a little detached and approach it with a fresher perspective.



Speaking of music, I found a bit of inspiration in Sirenia's 13th Floor CD. Lots of mythical imagery and interesting dreamscapes to be found in this one. Very helpful soundtrack to assist with creative thought. Check it out!