NBFC E-news - Thur, Aug 13, 2009
Spotlight!
A Writer’s Tale
“Write the Truth”. That’s what Robert McKee, author of Story, wrote in my copy at the June 5-7 Story Seminar in Vancouver. I took the leap and registered for the only Canadian lecture this year. Three days of intense material on the guiding principles of story design provided insight and inspiration for screenwriters to write “from the inside out”. According to McKee, there is no formula to telling a story – only form and it’s very simple.
No pampering at this lecture. Days started at 9 am sharp and ended at 8:30 pm sharp. McKee, on script throughout the day, made no provisions for distractions. If your cell phone rang once, you were required to come forward and pay him $10.00. If your phone rang again, you were booted out of the class – no refunds. My anxiety disorder kicked in high gear as I continually checked my cell phone throughout the day. Even at that I had my ten bucks ready and rehearsed in my head, my red carpet walk to the front of the auditorium. If you haven’t seen the Charlie Kaufman movie “Adaptation”, then check it out. In one scene, Kaufman, a screenwriter, played by Nicholas Cage, experiencing writers block attends a Robert McKee Story Seminar. That scene is true to McKee form; however McKee did state that nothing is as it seems!
Three days that were truly inspiring began with day 1 discussion on structure, setting, genre, character and meaning. On day 2, we learned about the principles of story design including the inciting incident, act design, scene design, composition, crisis, climax, resolution and the principal of antagonism. Day 3 continued with discussion on character, text, and writing methods. That day ended with a six hour scene by scene analysis of Casablanca applying the principles learned. McKee said Casablanca is one of the best movies ever written, which became even more evident as we dissected each scene.
Fortunately, I had taken several screenwriting courses through the Film Coop, so the terminology and discussions at this lecture were not a foreign language. Story Seminar greatly reinforced my previous writing foundation, (thank-you Tony S.)
Draft 1 is not the final draft. To get your story to perfection, you have to be willing to write, rewrite again and again and again and then be willing to flush it if it’s no good.
If you have an opportunity to attend Robert McKee’s Story Seminar, I highly recommend it. The closest venue coming up is in New York. Toronto might be on the horizon for 2010. Check the website at www.McKeeStory.com.
Nancy Lynch
NBFC member
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Spotlight!
Email NBFC member actor Gary at: gary.belding@gnb.ca
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Spotlight!
Co-operative Hero of the Month: Amanda Hachey
NBFC member Amanda Hachey, a native of Bloomfield, NB and a business graduate from UNB Saint John has just returned from an exciting year in Da Nang, Viet Nam where she worked with 25 agricultural co-operatives as part of a program of the Center for International Studies and Cooperation. Her mandate was to help build management capacity through workshops in sustainable cooperative development and marketing, one-on-one business counselling, business plan writing assistance, and by using examples of Canadian agriculture coops to rebuild confidence in the cooperative model for both the farmers and cooperative leaders.
Some of Amanda’s travels are documented in a 6 minute video that can be found on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQoSXd4xMLs or check out her blog at http://www.vistanam.blogspot.com/ for more information about Viet Nam co-operatives. Amanda says she “learned so much about agriculture and the Vietnam way of life. I also developed a greater knowledge and appreciation for the origin of our food and the relationships built during my time there will last a lifetime.”
Amanda is currently working for Enterprise Fredericton however will soon be leaving for Sweden where she will complete a graduate degree in Sustainable Development. Amanda is a wonderful example of the contributions NB youth are making to the global community and she is our co-operative hero of the month!
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Spotlight!
STILLS PHOTOGRAPHY CAMP
NBFC member Michelle Lovegrove Thomson is teaching at TNB's acting for camera camp again (Stills Photography)
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Spotlight!
FILM CAMP
NBFC staff Michel Guitard is teaching the NB Film Co-op Film Kids Camp this week. At the end of the week, the kids will have a finished short film that may get an opportunity to screen at Silver Wave this year.
Training and Development
Contact cat at: info@nbfilmcoop.com to register for all workshops please. Workshops can be paid for through PayPal, snail mail or in person, but check to ensure there are seats left before you pay by snail mail or online please.
Festivals - Silver Wave 09!
SILVER WAVE FILM FEST 2009
November 5-8 (Thursday-Sunday)
One Pass (value of $65.00)
The Deadline for Submissions has moved from August 3rd to September 3rd for Silver Wave 2009!
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SWFF SCREENED FILM ON CBC TONIGHT!
Cubers will be airing on CBC Newsworld on Tuesday, August 11th, 2009 at 10 pm ET/PT.
and CUBERS is the editor pick in TV Guide this week and http://tvguide.sympatico.msn.ca/Editor+Picks/Melissa/Articles/090810_cubers_MH.htm Cubers played at the Silver Wave Film Festival in November 2008 and the filmmakers Richard LeBlanc and Walter Forsyth were in attendance.
The Arts
FREDERICTON - UNDER THE STARS: CLASSIC FILMS IN THE PARK
Sunday, August 16 at Dusk
SHORT FILM SCREENING BEFORE FEATURE
Max O U/W
Director/Producer: Chuck Clark
Length: 4:35
Contact: chkclark@hotmail.com
Screening Format: Mini DV
Halifax, NS, Canada, 2008
The Filmmaker shot footage of wonder-boy Max Owen (who is on the Special Olympics Swim Training Team) as he swam in the pool.
Thunderball (1965) (130 mins)
Starring: Sean Connery, Claudine Auger, Adolfo Celi, Luciana Paluzzi, Rik Van Nutter.
James Bond continues on his fourth mission, with his aim to recover two stolen warheads. They have been taken by the evil SPECTRE organisation. The world is held hostage and Bond heads to Nassau. Here, he meets the beautiful Domino and is forced into a thrilling confrontation with SPECTRE agent Emilio Largo, on board his boat, the Disco Volante. Will 007 prevent the killing of millions of innocent victims?
Biz & Indie News
THE BABY FORMULA COMES TO FREDERICTON!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZF_uEah68U (trailer of the film)
First Weekend Club and Women in Film and Television–Atlantic Present…
THE BABY FORMULA, directed by Alison Reid
In the beginning... sperm came from men
Two adventurous women in love are desperate to have their own biological child. They take a chance on an experimental scientific process and make sperm from their own stem cells. Pregnant with humour and unexpected twists, their journey tailspins out of control when their families discover there is no father.
“frequently hilarious” Playback
“funny, rueful, absurd, angry, hysterical” The Gazette
Fredericton Screening:
7:00 pm Mon, August 24, doors open at 6:30 pm
Charlotte Street Arts Centre, 732 Charlotte Street - Q&A and light reception with Director Alison Reid after film. Tickets: $10/$8 WIFT-AT Members available at the door.
The Baby Formula is truly a story of life imitating art: the coincidences that occurred in the making of this film blur the line between fiction and reality.
Director, Alison Reid was on the festival circuit with her short film, Succubus – a dramedy about Athena and Lilith, a lesbian couple attempting to conceive a baby that is a true biological combination of them both – when she discovered that lead actresses,
Angela Vint and Megan Fahlenbock, were both pregnant!
Reid immediately saw an opportunity for a feature length sequel. The premise of the The Baby Formula would be that Athena and Lilith are the first women in the world giving birth to each other’s babies.
Join First Weekend Club for free and hear when Canadian films hit Canadian screens first at www.firstweekendclub.ca.
Join WIFT-AT and support the training, professional development and celebration of Women in the Atlantic film and television community www.wift-at.com
Support Canadian Film!
