The Reluctant Blogger

Dennis Kelly is a British scriptwriter, playwright and producer who is perhaps best known for writing the TV series Utopia (2013) and Black Sea (2014). Last Friday, a group of Year 2 Film Production students were given the opportunity to talk with Dennis Kelly over Skype, specifically focusing on script-writing. Dennis shared his writing experiences with the group, and gave tips and advice on how to better their writing skills. Here are some of the notes I jotted down from the conversation: I'm not interested in what other people want me to do. Part of the (scriptwriting) process is not doing anything and messing around. If you sit in front of a piece of paper for two hours, eventually something will appear on it... I think. I tend to hear character's voices. I don't know a character until they start speaking. Sometimes the situation determines who the people are. Each character needs to be bespoke, not stereotypical. You write accordingly to what the characters s...

What is Coverage? The original storyboard In professional filmmaking, 'coverage' is a term used to describe the shooting of a scene from various different angles and perspectives. This gives the post-production editor a variety of options when putting a film together. If a scene does not have enough coverage it becomes difficult to make a sequence work. The less footage one has, the less options there will be. Creating a scene with a broad amount of angles is far more likely to keep it's audience engaged than one with just two. In general, good coverage includes a variety of close ups, medium shots, wide angles, establishing (setting the scene) and cutaway shots. The assignment criteria was as follows: "Shoot a short scene of your own devising that will last for around 30 seconds. This must involve 2 characters and must involve a small narrative between them. S hoot the scene with enough coverage that you can provide 2 totally different edits of th...

A look into the use of lighting and colour to create emotion. Originally published in 1937, The Hobbit was written by J. R. R. Tolkien. It has since been made into a Trilogy by the film director Peter Jackson consisting of: The Unexpected Journey The Desolation of Smaug The Battle of the Five Armies What is most notable about these films is that they are very different to the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Although set in the same universe of Middle Earth, there is a tangible contrast between them.  The Hobbit, some might say, is lighter, funnier and more suitable for children when compared with The Lord of the Rings. This being said, J. R. R. Tolkien did write the book for children and it was aimed at young readers around the ages of 9 and 10. One difference, for example, is the use of lighting and colour - which is used as a n extension of a particular character -  to provoke an emotional response from the audience. In general, the film is brightly lit,...

David Warner, best known for his roles in Titanic, The Omen, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Planet of the Apes and TRON, shared his experiences, acting history and his opinions on competing for acting roles with the audience at Comic Con in Cardiff earlier in 2014. Q:‘Who do you admire most out of your fellow actors?’ “What I admire about my fellow – I’m in a very interesting group, of my age group, of competition, (which is not the question you asked) but my competition at the moment when we compete for parts – and that’s why I don’t do so many anymore – are, my age group: Patrick Stewart, Ian Mckellen, Michael Gambon, John Hurt… well, you know what I mean? As we get older there aren’t so many parts for people like us. But these are all people that I know and I admire. I have no problem with admiring my contemparys even though they might get the jobs that I might want, cause I’ve been round long enough to know that that’s how business works. They’re the t...

Nicholas Briggs, known particularly for his role as 'The Voice of the Daleks', shared a few experiences with the audience at Comic Con in Cardiff earlier in 2014. Nicholas Briggs - On Re-watching Episodes of Doctor Who and Jon Pertwee: “I watch them all regularly on DVD. I’m just having a bit of a renaissance with Jon Pertwee, actually, at the moment, and he’s a much underrated Doctor. I was particularly down on him as a kid, because, when he left Doctor Who, the headlines read: Jon Pertwee – ‘I-can’t-stand-the-Daleks’- quits Doctor Who. And I thought, because he’s – and I love the Daleks – so I thought, ‘The man’s an idiot! He’s rubbish! He’s a terrible Doctor Who!’ But of course I think it’s the best performance of Jon Pertwee’s career actually; it’s a beautiful piece of subtle, naturalistic acting. I think he did a tremendous job, and I’m watching some of these old episodes again and there’s a beautiful, reassuring quality about him." Nichol...

Amy's Eton Mess - a quick video guide to making the perfect Eton Mess. In the height of summer the best dessert is considered to be  strawberries and cream, however this alternative is without a doubt a popular favourite.   ( https://vimeo.com/103262182 ) Eton Mess is a classic British dessert made up of a mixture of strawberries, meringue and cream. The dessert has been known since the beginning of the 19th century, and is traditionally served at Eton College's annual cricket game. "I always thought that the Eton Mess was 'invented' around the 1920's when, during the annual cricket match at Eton College, a rather giddy labrador sat upon the picnic blanket containing the strawberry pavlova, squashing it. The plum-mouthed boys didn't care a single jot that their dessert had been essentially ruined (and probably covered in dog hair) and ate the thing anyway, preferring it to the pavlova. And so the Eton Mess was born and served up as a summertim...

"The Angels are coming and they are fast! Faster than you could ever believe! Don't turn away, don't turn your back and don't blink!" Doctor Who is perhaps one of the best TV shows of all time - 50 years in the running is by no means an easy feat. But one of the best episodes as rated by the fans  is 'Blink' - known to most as the Weeping Angels episode. The Weeping Angels have been considered one of the most scariest enemies of all the Doctor Who villains and monsters,( http://onepopz.com/doctor-whos-top-20-scariest-monsters-get-behind-sofa/4/ ) n ever moving when you look at them, but as soon as you blink or turn away they are at liberty to move. And they are fast. As part of an editing experiment, I was given an idea by Lifeline which was to make a short video edit of the Weeping Angels to the music of ' The Blue Danube ' in an attempt to see if the creatures were still just as scary when accompanied by ridiculously contrasting musi...

"When his peaceful life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last ditch effort to survive and uncover his assailants". Directed by Robert Schwentke and written by Erich Hoeber, RED is an action-packed adventure, full of mystery, suspense and comedy.  Although t his movie may not be the action-packed film one might expect, it still manages to shine with its undeniable wit, classic style and a star cast including Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich and Morgan Freeman.   RED is not a fast-paced film, but neither is it slow; in comparison with the characters, the film is set at a steady speed with insane action sequences that intertwine throughout and leave the audience wondering where the story line will take them next. As for the characters themselves, they are all brilliantly written with a good dose of humour, wit, romance, regret and sobriety . For some, the comedy may make up for t...

'A short film about how, when the world seems a dark place, and the weight of your sorrows are on your shoulders, there is always hope'. http://vimeo.com/91173313 This idea came from looking into what people do when life gets rough. Some take it on the shoulder, others to heart, but when all else fails there seem to be only two options: You chose to live, or you die. But there are too many deaths in the world today, and far too many suicides.  “Did you really want to die?" "No one commits suicide because they want to die." "Then why do they do it?" "Because they want to stop the pain.” ― Tiffanie DeBartolo, How to Kill a Rock Star If one is willing to look for it, 'hope' is not far away from any of us. This film looks into this, but there is no narration or speech. The film starts with a black screen and a cupboard door is opened. This is the introduction to the main character, (who happens to be the only...

'Here today. Gone tomorrow. Rain doesn't last forever'. This is a short video I made by experimenting with a Canon EOS 7D. It was shot within the space of 2 hours, and mainly concentrated on focusing techniques. https://vimeo.com/82570588 Due to lack of experience, many of the shots that were taken were not smooth. Difficulties arose in focusing from one object to another. However, over a short period of time, the focusing became easier and relatively smooth transitions could be made.   The footage was not colour graded or changed in any way because - even though some of the shots are a little on the dark side - the video was then able to retain a natural look. I also like the soft edges that the camera was able to achieve, and found that turning the contrast up would  sharpen that effect. Rain and raindrops are perhaps difficult to capture because they are so small and fragile, but what was most interesting was the abilities of not only the camera, ...

Nordicana - a live celebration of Scandinavian crime thriller fiction and film. Whether you are a fan of crime fiction, danish pastries, Scandi dramas or even Swedish meatballs, there is something for everyone at this extraordinary event. Nordicana is held in the UK up to two or three times a year, and is hosted by NordicNoir (which is a sub-label of Arrow Films ). It was held at the Truman Brewery , which was a spacious warehouse and not at all cramped - even though the event received around 3000 visitors over the two days . Nordicana 2014 lived up to all of it's expectations. As much as we love British and American crime drama, there’s just something special about a Scandinavian series. An extra something. Perhaps it’s the culture, perhaps it’s the moody landscapes, perhaps it’s the unrelenting darkness. Perhaps it’s even the language. - http://thekillingtimestv.wordpress.com/ Nordicana had much to offer: premieres for new TV series and films, discussion ...