In the last post, I gave an overview of my experience at LSF Accelerate. In this post, I'll provide a few notes on some of the speakers whose content I managed to scribble down. From memory, David Pope's slides on subtext will be circulated. And if you're a member of the LSF community, you can watch videos of the interviews/presentations online.
Rachel Patterson gave a list of Production Companies more willing to accept unsolicitored submissions. She still suggested trying to target a specific person, where possible. Here they are:
- CPL Drama
- Kudos north
- Dancing ledge
- Sister pictures
- Tiger
- Leopard
- Main Street
- Red Planet
- La Productions
I have my own list that I've been creating and so far, from the 9 or 10 researched, none except unsolicited scripts.
From David Pope's talk on subtext, I liked this handy little aide memoire:
WANTS are in the foreground, expressed as an external conflict through action
NEEDS are in the background, expressed as internal conflict through character
However, I'm not totally comfortable with the last word 'character' on it's own here. I think what he means is action or dialogue so that might be worth transplanting to avoid confusion.
Philip Lawrence had some succinct tips:
- Make connections eg peers, people on your fav shows
- Write fast
- Take notes well
Stephen Follows listed how audiences select movies
- Cast: fame, brand
- Genre: setting, content, emotion
- Lineage: sources, connections
- Identity: quality, targeted
Ann Davies evidence for the necessity of stories, why they've evolved with us:
- Stories are everywhere
- Watching and writing is pleasurable : mostly
- We invest despite it being hard
- Lot of variation in ability
- Writers are openness to experience
- Easy to engage
What problem has it solved
- G Miller - storytelling helps to attract a mate but no direct link to reproduction. Career peak is 20 years after starting so too late for real benefit.
- Survival. Practice prior to action. Make friends/allies.
- Byproduct of adaptation. Intelligence. Emotional highs and lows. Sad stories create a safe space for their examination. Social change.
In summary, build on evolved pathways eg able to to fiction. Survive. Examine sad situations. Make mark.
Jon Gilbert discussed how seamingly passive protagonists actually are not and
- Many passive protagonists actually often have multiple antagonists
- Often have supportive buddies
- Resist calls to change. By act 3 they do or they don’t eg Remains of the Day
- Are hidden eg Ethan Hawke in Dead Poets Society.
If the protagonist is passive is this becuase it's you resisting your own quest!
Well, there we are. It's not a comprehensive recording, only covering about a third of the speakers but it's helped me to review my weekend. I hope you find some of it useful.