Up Close with the Roosters
Intrepid Film Co-op Membership Services and Rooster Administrator Cat LeBlanc hopes to keep the Writer's Roost going strong for 2008.
-----------------------------------------------------
New Rooster Lead Bronwen Mosher
I have been telling stories ever since I began doing anything that wasn't purely for survival. For me, carefully crafted communication is somewhat of an obsession.
Having written for television, newspaper, a variety of business formats, and oodles of creative writing ventures, I became enthralled with writing for visual media during a recent 3 year stint in Vancouver. A picture is said to paint a thousand words, so how can one paint the thousand pictures needed to drive the progression of a movie in just 100 short pages? The screenplay format allows the writer to show complex emotional development through images and metaphors of action. While this can be challenging, when executed properly, the result is intensely rewarding.
After completing an extensive private study of the screenwriting process, I joined a Vancouver group of working writers. I learned much from this dynamic bunch and am now a firm believer that the best screenplays may be written by one, but they are always edited by many.
I am excited to be back in Fredericton and am looking forward to connecting with other storycrafters! I am thrilled about being given the opportunity to help incubate an environment where blank pages are turned into works of genius and where writers come together to find solutions and to learn from each others' strengths.
I will be spending my summer volunteering for the Film Co-op, so if you can use my skills I will be happy to help out!
-----------------------------------------------------
Britany Sparrow was born in British Columbia but relocated to Fredericton in 2004 to attend at UNB, finishing with a degree in English: Creative Writing and a certificate in Film Production in 2006. Brit got her Co-op start volunteering on Joel Thompson's feature film "They Didn't Make It" where she did continuity, production coordination, and acting. She has been production manager on 4 short films in the past year including 2 short film venture films, and has also recently completed her directorial debut "The Perfect Cliche" which was premiered at the Silver Wave Film Festival.
Most recently Brit has started work on her next film project and continues crewing on productions as production manager, script supervisor, and assistant director.
-----------------------------------------------------
Andrew joined the New Brunswick Filmmakers' Co-operative in 1982, became a member of its board of directors within the year, its vice president soon after, and then its president from 1986 until 1991.
Upon finishing his University degree, he left both the Film Co-op and
the country, and lived the cliché of an expatriate in Paris until the
millennium. Since returning, he has been involved in minor roles on
several locally shot features, "Canada-Russia '72" being the most
recent, as well as on independent productions, "Pray, My Children"
being the most recent of those.
His current interest is to work on films in capacities which he has not yet had the opportunity to fully explore. Burgundy is his favourite color.
-----------------------------------------------------
Originally from Atholville, NB. Jean Bertin, with his wife Gina and their reconstituted family of four, recently moved to Fredericton from Campbellton. A former journalist, Jean concluded that he preferred fiction writing to news writing.
More recently, Jean worked at a pulp/cellulose mill. Although work and family life took the bulk of his time he would spend most of his free time writing. During the 8 years at the mill, Jean kept up with his love for writing through a series of short stories, scripts and other projects, as well as freelancing as a writer and photographer.
In 2005, he started Gonzonistics Media Studio as a hobby/sideline where he expressed and practiced his “Gonzo perception of imagery.”
In April 2006, his short film noire “St. Patrick’s Day” was featured at the Warrington Film Festival, in Cheshire (UK), a festival that promotes new techniques in film-making. His movie was chosen as one of 12 films out of 3000 made through a computer program.
Jean is pleased and excited to join the NB Film Co-op and looks forward to helping and learning with different members. Jean is presently working on his first novel.
-----------------------------------------------------
Originally from Ottawa, where he attended Algonquin College (2 year News writing Programme) and subsequently worked in the Federal Government for over 20 years (Program Manager), Jim has been an active Co-op member since 2005.
He is currently a freelance writer and regular contributor for the weekly magazine Herenb (dist 55,000). He has had over 50 articles, including 3 cover stories published in Here as well as articles in the The Northside News and the Daily Gleaner. Many of the articles include his photos..
Jim will be the Marketing and Publicity Lead for the 2008 Silver Wave Film Festival running, November 13-16, Fredericton. Last year as publicist he arranged and coordinated media coverage for Silver Wave including newspaper, radio and television.
Jim is also an actor who last year was a co-lead in NBFC member Joel Thompson's film short "Waiting for Myra" and a principal actor in Joel's feature film "They Didn't Make It". He has been an extra in CTV's "Sticks and Stones" and for CBC's "Canada/Russia 72" briefly as PM Pierre Trudeau. He has been a production assistant on a number of commercial shoots. He was the publicist for TDMI and arranged for intensive coverage by the media including being featured on CTV's Live at Five . He has appeared on radio and television where he has promoted Film Co-op activities and has been a strong advocate for the NB film industry.
He is currently the publicist for grant recipient Bunthiny Nou's short film debut "A Lions Tale and will also promote Colin Smarts "Temple of the Sapphire Moon", In addition he will assist on Chaff Haddad's debut film and will be working with Brittany Sparrow.
-----------------------------------------------------
New Rooster Dennis Poirier is a writer and actor in Fredericton NB. He started writing a storyline for a compendium of drawings he made in his teens. Many years later, when Dennis got a position within the company he works for writing hundreds of e-mails daily to customers for Internet support, it rekindled his love for writing. He often writes scripts with a part for himself, and produces it, often giving emerging directors a chance to be at the helm. A Maritime Writer's Workshop alumni under Bif Mitchell's sci-fi theme, Dennis has participated in the annual "12 hour Read-A-Thon" since it's inception in 2007. His main areas of interests are writing comedy and suspense/horror, and loves doing research in mythology and the Bible for character names. Naming the character it most important for Dennis as the etymology of a name drives the characters motivations.
Dennis: (Greek origins) Variant of Dionysius. Dionysius is the mythological Greek god of wine responsible for growth of the vines and the originator of winemaking: (equivalent to the Roman god Bacchus.).
A character named Dennis makes a great cartel boss living in a vineyard with many beautiful women surrounding him (maenads). A trickster; like the Norse Loki, as Dionysus is the God that gave King Midas the "Golden Touch;" The outsider; as Hera, Zeus' wife, disapproved of Zeus indiscretion with a mortal woman, it took a long sojourn to be accepted in the realm of Olympus. The Conqueror from the East; Dionysus started his Earth bound journey from East to West, being kind to some and playing cruel tricks on others. Cleopatra called Marc Anthony her "Dionysus" as he came from the East as had an irresistible influence.
-----------------------------------------------------
New Rooster Gretchen Kelbaugh loves to write, race and rant. Currently editing
her feature doc, "Menocracy
".
-----------------------------------------------------
Joe Blades lives in Fredericton. On the editorial board of revue ellipse mag, he is Vice President-Membership Chair of the League of Canadian Poets, producer & host of Ashes, Paper & Beans at CHSR, publisher of Broken Jaw Press, and the author of five poetry collections, including River Suite and Casemate Poems (Collected).
2008 Writer's Roost
Screenwriting Resources
- Acclaim TV - Original, television scripts, and film scripts are sought.
- American Accolades Screenwriting Competition - Competition aims to find and usher emerging talent into the Hollywood mainstream marketplace.
- American Cinema Foundation - Elicits scripts which are suitable for either theatrical or television production and which tell a positive story about specific fundamental values.
- American Film Renaissance Screenwriting Contest - A contest seeking stories that reflect timeless American virtues. Judges include three Oscar-nominated screenwriters.
- American Gem Short Script Contest - The winning screenplay will be produced, with the screenwriter sharing in the gross profits.
- American Screenwriters Association Screenplay Competition - Annual full-length screenplay competition with $10,000 first prize and November 30, 2006 deadline.
- American Screenwriting Competition - Promises $50,000 in cash and prizes. Minimum entry fee: $40. Deadline: September 15.
- American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest - Offers a $5,000 grand prize. The top ten screenplays are considered for option by American Zoetrope and for representation by top agencies. Judged by Francis Ford Coppola. Reading fee: $40. Opens May 1. Deadline: September 1.
- Art Within Labs: A Search for the Next Great Screenwriter of Faith - Annual contest offering year-long $10,000 screenwriting fellowships to Christian writers.
- The Austin Film Festival Heart of Film Screenplay Competition - Competition dedicated to recognizing the writer's contribution to the motion picture industry.
- Bare Bones - Spotlights screenplays with a budget summary of less than a million dollars.
- BlueCat Screenplay Competition - An annual search for the best screenplay in the world.
- British Short Screenplay Competition - The winning script will be produced by Kaos Films to be exhibited in UK cinemas and entered into film festivals around the world.
- Chesterfield Writer's Film Project - Writing competition open to all writers of fiction, plays, screenplays. Five winners will each receive a $20,000 fellowship, and spend 10 months completing 2 screenplays with the guidance of industry mentors. Sponsored by Paramount Pictures.
- Cinescape's Genre Screenwriting Competition - Competition to assist science fiction, fantasy, horror, and action-adventure screenwriters in becoming discovered by the film industry.
- Fade In: Screenwriting Awards - Cash prizes and industry exposure from the publishers of Fade In Magazine.
- A Feeding Frenzy - Screenwriting contest that offers feedback to all participants.
- Film Genesis: Script-to-Film Screenwriting Contest - Short script (11 pages or less) competition grants a $10,000 production budget to the winning entrant.
- Filmmakers International Screenplay Competition Awards - Full-length screenplay competition with $4000 grand prize and representation consideration for the top 50 entrants.
- Gimme Credit Short Screenplay Competition - Short script (30 pages or less) competition that grants production to the grand prize winner. Three contests each year. Entry fees vary on length and time of submission ($9-$44)
- Heat Productions - $5,000 bonus and round trip tickets each to 3 screenwriters chosen for this experience down in South Africa.
- Hollywood 27 - Independent film production company offering $25,000 in prize money.
- Hollywood Gateway Screenwriting Contest - An annual contest provides a $5,000 cash prize in addition to a number of other benefits including transportation and accommodation in Hollywood, meetings with top agents and producers, plus submissions to over 70 agencies and production companies.
- Hollywood Symposium - Features screenplay development, film production, script consultation and screenplay contests.
- Monterey County Film Commission - Three finalists will receive one-on-one consultations with jury members at the awards event in Monterey County.
- Nashville Screenwriting Competition - 1st place cash prize of $1,000 plus an all-access pass to the Nashville Independent Film Festival.
- Nevada Film Office - Annual screenwriters competition in which 75% of the script's locations must be shootable in Nevada.
- Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting - An international competition, sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, seeks original screenplays from writers who have not earned more than $5,000 for film or TV scripts. Up to five $25,000 fellowships are awarded each year.
- One In Ten Screenplay Contest - A screenplay contest dedicated to the positive portrayal of gays and lesbians in film. $1000 first prize.
- One Location Movie Screenplay Contest - A screenplay contest promoting the full-length character driven screenplay. First prize is $1000 and a one-year option for production.
- Organization of Black Screenwriters - Categories are original screenplays, half-hour and one hour television spec scripts, and half-hour and one hour television pilot scripts.
- Outfest - Recognizes and promotes screenplays that significantly feature lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered characters and/or themes.
- PAGE International Screenwriting Awards - Founded by Hollywood producers to discover new screenplays by up-and-coming writers. Cash and prizes of over $25,000.
- Pomegranate Pictures Screenplay Competition - A UK-based treatment and screenplay competition. Treatments are accepted on a monthly basis, with winners made eligible for the annual screenplay competition. Cash prizes.
- River City Write Off - Short script contest that produces the winning script and gives the writer a producer credit.
- Screamfest - Annual horror film and screenplay competition. Finalists and winning horror screenplay finalists to be read by literary agents. 0ctober 17th - 20th.
- Screenplay Festival - Feature-length screenplay contest with industry exposure and $1000 grand prizes in five categories.
- Screenwriter Showcase - An annual screenwriting contest, to find and promote talented new screenwriters, awards prizes in kind but not in cash. Entry fees are payable.
- Screenwriting Expo Screenplay Competition - This annual competition is affiliated with Creative Screenwriting Magazine and the world's largest tradeshow for screenwriters, the Screenwriting Expo. Over $25,000 is offered in cash and prizes. Minimum entry fee: $40. Last deadline: August 15.
- Screenwriting Showcase Awards - $10,000 in cash and prizes for full-length screenplays.
- Script Magazine Open Door Contest - Cash prizes, script notes and consideration from a legitimate management company, production company or agency.
- Script PIMP Writing Competition - Offers $10,000 in cash, plus $8,000 in other prizes. 203 companies have requested the winners for their consideration.
- Scriptapalooza Screenplay Competition - Annual Screenwriting Competition offers a $10,000 cash prize, plus promotion for the best thirteen scripts submitted.
- Scriptapalooza TV - Semi-annual competition that accepts pilots and spec scripts for sitcoms and one hour episodics.
- Set in Philadelphia Screenwriting Competition - Annual screenplay competition open to writers of screenplays set primarily in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area. $10,000 grand prize.
- Slamdance Screenplay Competition - Indie-oriented competition aims to promote and support talented new writers.
- Spec Scriptacular Contest - Television competition for TV episode and movie scripts and original pilot teleplays. $8000 in prizes.
- Split-Screenplay Contest - All contestants must register as a member of the Screenwriters Community.
- TalentScout TV Writing Contest - Winners are submitted to the networks and production companies to help find them work.
- Warner Bros. Writers Workshop - The Warner Bros. Writers Workshop maintains an annual program geared towards helping aspiring television writers obtain representation and work.
- WinFemme - Monthly and annual film & screenplay festival in Los Angeles. Winners receive staged readings and screenings in Hollywood on a monthly basis with top industry executives who discuss the artist's work.
- WriteMovies.com Writing Competition - Offers a $2,000 cash prize (plus representation, and possible option money), plus submission of the top three entries to studios, production companies, and agencies in Hollywood.
- Writer's Arc Screenwriting Fellowship - 10 week fall fellowship program focused on re-writing an existing script. $3,000 stipend for 5-10 winners.
- WriteSafe Writing and Art Contest - Quarterly competition for all material registered with WriteSafe for public view.
Canadian
Film Centre
Screenwriting
Program.
Canadian
Screenwriter Magazine
Selected articles available on
their website.
CTV
Drama Development
A $5 million program exclusively for professional Canadian
screenwriters.
Dead Things on Sticks
Blog from The Tragically Haired Toronto Screenwriter Dennis McGrath.
CAO Writerz Discussion Board: moderated discussion board for screen/script writers, playwrights and those interested in writing
Periodical Writers Association of Canada - Toronto Chapter - List seminars and workshops in and around Toronto
www.wordplayer.com - "hot" site for screenwriters (recommended on the CAO discussion board several times)
The Mad Screenwriter Site - A chocolate éclair for the mind. Fabulous resources. Selected links for Women in film. The best Canadian links and information, plus the ongoing adventures of Landyn Parker, burnt out Hollywood screenwriter with never-ending ability to bounce back before sinking deeper
Screenplay Formatting Software for Both Mac/Windows:
Final
Draft
Regular version $299 CDN. Educational
version $199 CDN.
Direct
download $229 USD.
Movie
Magic Screenwriter
$249 USD. Direct
download $229 USD.
Hollyword
Under $100 USD.
Dr. Format
Under $100 USD.
Review of Final Draft vs Movie Magic Screenwriter.
Screenplay Formatting Software for Windows Only:
Script
Wizard
Under $100 USD.
Screenplay Outlining Software for Both Mac/Windows:
FrameForge 3D Studio
Replace the 3x5 cards you've
pinned up on your office wall with a series of FrameForge 3D shots
that depict
your
scene as you envision it.
Find other writing software here
Screenplays
Published Scripts available in book form.
Screenwriting
Assistance Program
Telefilm fund providing financial support for feature-length projects.
Script
Links
With a Canadian Bias.
Writers
Guild of Canada
Resources for writers, agents listings, funding, news
etc.