#and there's a reason he has to work with hyden of all people | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chocodile · 2 years

Photo

“You didn’t do too badly at all, you know.”

Theo shivered, his nose wrinkling in disgust. He had to be lying.

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” He replied, his tone defensive and terse.

Hyden paused what he was doing and turned his pale gaze upwards toward Theo, his eyebrows raised. “No, I meant it. The positioning is correct. The implant healed well. The veins are active and flush with blood… and you can channel spells through it, yes? That would not be possible if the procedure had not been broadly successful.”

Theo couldn’t argue with that.

He looked down at the table. Hyden took his small hand again and turned it over and over in his massive paws, delicately tracing over veins and scars with his thick, black nails, each one nearly the size of Theo’s own fingertip. Ugh, it was so embarrassing. Showing his hands to somebody—there was reason enough not to do so under normal circumstances, but now, showing his faulty catalyst stone—to Duke Hyden, of all people—it was downright humiliating.

“I can tell you are struggling to believe me, North. But, all things considered—it really is quite impressive work, do you understand? Really.” Hyden was still looking at him. Theo could feel the older man’s uncanny, piercing gaze boring into the side of his head, but he still didn’t meet it. “You did not have the proper resources, but you improvised. Lost technology, yes… always a complication… but I can tell that you were quite thorough in your research. It truly is commendable… to do something that nobody has done in decades… centuries, perhaps! Very commendable indeed.” Hyden gently palpated the back of Theo’s hand with his fingers, trying to get a feel for what was beneath the skin. Theo shivered again.

“In fact… I dare say your foray into forgotten magic has caused orders of magnitude fewer negative repercussions than my own.” Hyden added, a wry note in his voice. At this, Theo did look up, but now it was Hyden who wasn’t meeting his gaze. He was staring at Theo’s catalyst stone, his mouth drawn in what could be the hint of a smile, or the hint of a grimace. Theo wasn’t sure.

“Eh-hrrm... kkkh. I… I suppose. But I was only—I mean… you shouldn’t speak ill of yourself, Your Grace. You… you couldn’t have known about the Shadow’s…”

“Oh, don’t worry. It was only a joke.” Hyden smiled, showing teeth. “Let’s not dwell on such things right now. We have work to do here, yes?”

“E-hrk.. W-we do?” Theo’s eyebrows raised.

“Of course! Commendably ambitious as you were, to one so experienced as myself, your mistakes are plain to see. You certainly have the skill, but I possess the knowledge you were missing. We can right this, yes? Just a simple adjustment to the containment charm that keeps the energy backflow from seeping out into the surrounding tissue. Do you understand?”

“Are you… are you saying you can fix it?”

“Certainly. Perhaps not undo the damage already done… healing is not my forte. But I—we—can stop the contaminant from spreading any further into the tissue. No need for you to continue suffering, yes?”

“I…” Theo trailed off, unsure how to respond. It was quite an offer. “You—we… we would be… altering the containment charm only, correct? Not… not removing the stone?”

“Correct.” Hyden confirmed.

“Good. I- I wouldn’t want it removed.”

“Of course not… of course. I understand completely. Parting a wizard from his catalyst stone would be a terrible crime indeed.” This time, Hyden’s wry smile was clear as he tapped the visibly cracked gemstone on his own forehead. “I would never dream of inflicting such a cruelty upon a companion. And besides, a bonded stone like this would be quite useless once separated from its host. Tissue damage or no, it would be a terrible shame to destroy such a rare and valuable artifact by removing it. Best to just reseal it as needed… wouldn’t you agree?”

Hyden leaned back, the antique chair creaking ominously under his considerable bulk. “Now, my joints are acting up… and I’m certain that poor Miss Alex would experience a fatal brain embolism were she were to come in here and see me sifting through your spell ingredients besides. So, North, I will require you to retrieve… ah, let’s say, a milligram of powdered ruby, five... mm, five and a quarter milliliters of animal blood, and… do you have wyrmroot? Fantastically easy to work with, wyrmroot… always a favorite of mine! Failing that, a different specimen from the dragonsbane family would suffice.”

“Of course, Your Grace.”

Theo scooted off of his own chair and dropped to the floor with a soft tap. Leaving Hyden to his back pain, the rat made his way over to the chest of drawers that housed his spell ingredients, peering at the faded labels in search of what his mentor had requested. He found the ruby and animal blood easily enough, but the dragonsbane root… that one, he wasn’t so sure of. It was something he hadn’t used in a great many years, and even the lower quality trimmings from that genus were often prohibitively expensive. He was just beginning to fear that he might have to admit that he didn’t have it when his eyes fell upon a faded label that made his heart skip a beat. On the very edge of the bottom row, in an elegant but shaky cursive script: “Wyrmroot”—his mother’s handwriting.

Theo paused to tenderly run his fingertip over the peeling label before opening the drawer. Sure enough, there was a small, dusty, shriveled piece of root inside. It must have been there for nearly a decade at minimum. He carefully picked it up and turned it over in his hands, examining it. Even now, one end of it bore a clean, well-measured cut—one that had undoubtedly been made by her hands. It almost seemed a crime to use it… but he knew she would have wanted this.

“Ah, wyrmroot! You found some after all! You know, I’d half-feared that it may have gone extinct like so many other useful botanical strains from my era. Excellent work, North! Excellent indeed!” Hyden’s jovial words jostled Theo out of his fog. “Well, hurry up now, my boy, bring it all over here! Let’s go on and get started!”

Hyden craned his long, shaggy neck over the back of his chair, watching Theo as he made his way back to the table. Noting a change in the rat’s demeanor, his eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly.

Theo began to arrange the ingredients and tools while Hyden took a piece of parchment and began to carefully draw a spell circle. Though his hands seemed stiff and somewhat shaky, the rabbit moved with a slow, practiced confidence, clutching a tiny, Theo-sized piece of chalk between two enormous, beringed fingers as he laid out several concentric rings and a few simple runes. With the groundwork complete, he pushed the parchment back toward Theo. “Now, North, I will require you to do the rest. The runes for blood and gemstone here, and a rune for captivity here and here. Then, connect them each with the symbol of bonding. My hands are not what they used to be, as you know… and given the nature of what we are attempting, it would behoove us to write neatly.”

Hyden watched as Theo laid out the remaining runes, nodding approvingly to himself as he watched the younger wizard work.

“You know, North… I’ve been wondering. Deciding to implant a catalyst stone… that is a curious choice for one such as yourself, is it not? Given their relative scarcity in the present day and the lack of technical documentation… the benefits of direct implantation seem marginal, from my perspective. If I might ask, what compelled you to attempt it? Intellectual curiosity? Or something else?”

Theo glanced up at Hyden. The rabbit was looming over him, his thick arms crossed over his wide body and his pale blue eyes boring into him yet again. Theo immediately turned his gaze away, looking back down at his paper.

“The stone… it was my mother’s. After she… passed… I… wanted to keep it… safe. Close.”

“I see. So, concerns of theft, then? I understand. They are quite valuable.”

“…Partially. But also, I wanted her to be… nngh. Never mind.” I wanted her to be with me forever, Theo thought. But he didn’t say it. He pointed turned his nose downward, determined to get back to work on his runes.

Hyden was left to watch in quiet, silently puzzling over Theo’s words. After a few long moments, he spoke again.

“I did notice that some of your ingredient labels… the older pages in your spellbook… portions appeared to be written by a different hand. That would be your mother, then?”

“…Yes.”

“She was quite a knowledgeable witch in her own right, it appears.”

“Yes… exceptionally. She was… she was wonderful.”

“How interesting. I would have liked to meet her.”

#furry #furry art #anthro #worldbuilding #dark fantasy #my ocs #hyden #others' ocs #theo #verse: amaranthine #body horror //#fully aware that this is really long and most peeps don't want to read that much... thank goodness for read mores #full piece

205 notes · View notes

chadnevett · 7 years

Text

Books I read in 2016

This a list of books that I read this year -- or, more accurately, finished. I have at least four other books began in 2016 that are in some stage of reading. Maybe more. I've included a few brief thoughts on each...

1. Fish in the Dark by Larry David (January 2): I vaguely recall this. It had its funny moments. I wish I'd gotten a chance to see David in this.

2. The Power of the Dog by Don Winslow (January 9): Goddamn... this picks up pretty much where Ellroy's stuff stops and shifts gears just enough. Not as much mixing of historical figures, but it's the same broad strokes -- the same nasty sort of people. Really fucking good.

3. Stories I Tell Myself: Growing Up with Hunter S. Thompson by Juan F. Thompson (January 29): I got this for my birthday and read it that day. Funny book... a little surprising in parts... and ends with some bits of barely disguised bits about his issues with Anita. The Hunter/Juan stuff is something that had never really been explored too much anywhere and to have a whole book detailing one side of that relationship was cool.

4. The Man Who Sold the World: David Bowie and the 1970s by Peter Doggett (February 13): A bit of a chore after a time. It goes through every song Bowie recorded in the '70s and that sort of approach can grow tedious. But, there's a reason why I read it when I did and that's fine enough.

5. Baseball Prospectus 2016 ed. Patrick Dubuque, Sam Miller, and Jason Wojciechowski (February 18): A new yearly tradition. 2017's edition is already pre-ordered. My strongest memory of this one is sitting in this tiny Starbucks connected to the Indigo in Tecumseh while Michelle was at the gym (and Ryan at the daycare there). As it was around Valentine's Day, I had some raspberry chocolate coffee thing. I also got a croissant. It was overpriced and undergood. I do love reading the team essays. A nice primer on the upcoming season.

6. The Cartel by Don Winslow (March 6): The Power of the God was sprawling, while this was more contained. But, it covered more ground in its own way. It was heartbreaking in a larger way. This book hammers you. I don't know what a third one will bring, but I'm there.

7. Gone with the Mind by Mark Leyner (March 15): I liked The Sugar Frosted Nutsack, but that felt like a warm-up book. A bit tedious; a bit too involved with itself. This was the return to the Mark Leyner I know and love with himself as the protagonist. What surprised me was how fucking good his mother's section was. How affecting it was and how much it added to the book. Probably the best new book I got in 2016.

8. Et Tu, Babe by Mark Leyner (March 19): Still one of my favourites... always.

9. My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist by Mark Leyner (April 10): So hit and miss. You have to find a lot in the small moments and sentences. I'm not sure if this has aged well.

10. Launching a Leadership Revolution: Developing Yourself and Others Through the Art and Science of Leadership by Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward (May 3): This year, I began a leadership development program at work. It's a two-year thing and one of the homework assignment is reading books. This was the first that I picked and it was a good place to start. It was very hit or miss with regards to things you probably already knew. But, kind of like what I said about Bendis's book last year: it's good to have it all in one place. Plus, there were some things that I learned.

11. Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success by Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty (May 8): I bought this to contribute to the leadership program's library. As my company/industry is, in many ways, female-dominated, I saw a lot of "woman's rise to the top of business in a man's world" type of books available and, hey, that's great, but I wanted something that seemed a bit more like a book I would choose to read. I also thought about the sort of leaders that I respect and anyone who can make a pro sports team with all of the egos and money and shit work -- 11 times! -- is someone I was interested in hearing from. My biggest takeaway is that coaches have one advantage: the shared goal. All of the players want the championship and I've been struggling to carry that over to my profession where there is no inherent goal like that. But, it's a good book.

12. Your Favorite Band is Killing Me: What Pop Music Rivalries Reveal about the Meaning of Life by Steven Hyden (May 29): Such a fun read. I love stuff like this. I can't wait for Hyden's next book. He fills a bit of a void that Klosterman has left as he's moved, with each book, to more high concepts and less about specific popculture. Not that that's a bad thing... it just leaves a void and I'm glad someone with Hyden's talent and smarts is able to fill it.

13. But What If We’re Wrong? Thinking About the Present As If It Were the Past by Chuck Klosterman (June 22): Speaking of which... A really interesting read that goes in some unexpected directions. I'm not sure it carries as strongly through the finish, sometimes becoming a little repetitive. Some chapters really had me going...

14. Imperial Bedrooms by Bret Easton Ellis (August 18): A spur of the moment reread. No new thoughts really.

15. Predators by Jim Starlin and Daina Graziunas (August 27): This took forever to read. Lots of putting it down to read other things. It's an odd book that feels like book five in a series about this telepathic hunter of serial killers. The plot doesn't go anywhere you'd expect. Not as good as their first novel; way better than their second.

16. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami (September 18): My first time rereading this completely since it first came out. I'd reread some stories here and there over the years, but never the whole thing. I love the simplicity of his stories. And the variety.

17. Wicked and Weird: The Amazing Tales of Buck 65 by Rich Terfry (September 24): Picked this up from the bargin table. It was $4-$6. Not sure what exactly. The first two-thirds are great; entertaining and engaging. The final third just goes off the rails. I wish he'd make another album.

18. Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami (September 24): Another that I hadn't reread in a while. Not sure what I think about it.

19. What I Talk about When I Talk about Running by Haruki Murakami (October 2): I got the mind to read this after different people in the leadership program talked about running. I was also gearing up for the new Murakami book and the two seemed to intersect.

20. The Greatest Albums You’ll Never Hear: Unreleased Records by the World’s Greatest Artists edited by Bruno MacDonald (November 6): Informative in places. Books like this suffer a bit, because, if you know about a musician well, then you probably know about the album(s) discussed and learn little new. If you don't know about a musician a lot, then you learn lots, but don't necessarily care. Good book for what it is.

21. Absolutely on Music by Haruki Murakami and Seiji Ozawa (November 28): I'm surprised at how much I liked this. It definitely put me in the mind to want to listen to this type of music. My only complaint is that they didn't touch on topics I would have liked them to (orchestras playing with rock bands, for example), but that's not a fair criticism at all. This was two guys having some conversations with a purpose, but also because they enjoyed it.

22. Who Moved My Cheese? By Spencer Johnson (November 29): Another leadership book. It was alright. I read it while Ryan napped. It took half an hour.

23. Normal by Warren Ellis (December 3): Depressing and fun. I read this in one shot on a Saturday with the house empty. Ellis probably could have gotten more of the concept, but why push it? The brief flirtation with the campers take over the corrupt camp plot was fun. The final revelation is slightly disappointing at first, but it stayed with me. It sunk in a bit. Hmm...

24. Triggers by Marshall Goldsmith (December 5): Another leadership book. I really liked this one and have been working to implement some of its concepts into my daily life.

And that's it. I've finished one book in 2017 already.

#books #larry david #haruki murakami #mark leyner #warren ellis #chuck klosterman #steven hyden #jim starlin #bret easton ellis #don winslow

2 notes · View notes

vescoisland · 4 years

Text

Daybe's Thoughts on The New Jason Isbell Record, Without Research

H/T to Mr. Thoughts on The Dead

I wanted to like this album. Well, at first I was wary, but by the time they FINALLY released it, after holding it for 8 weeks during national quarantine, the whole time which the record had been finished, mastered and pressed, I had talked myself into wanting to like it.

I don’t hate it so much as….

I WANTED TO LIKE IT.

I have a friend who hates slow music. This isn’t the thing where I’m “asking for a friend.” She really says “even fast songs that are actually slow music are terrible.”

About 86% of the time I 100% agree with her. This is where we get to the heart of my problem with Jason Isbell solo records.

This is boring music.

I get it, it’s Poignant. Keep mining the purity of the south with a gothic twist. Tell me again how sobriety is hard.

Either that or have the courage to be a drunken buffoon – which makes you poetic.

Overall this is a boring samey-sounding album, and I would argue his second misstep in terms of music that I’ll return to, after The Nashville Sound, which is a fucking snoozer.

After his dig in the press about Ryan Adams, I learned that there is a song on The Nashville Sound called “Chaos and Clothes” which is about Ryan Adams. I had to look up the song and listen to it upon hearing the title, because I didn’t have any recollection of having heard it.

It’s not a good song.

Or a remarkable song.

Despite being about a guy he’s obviously obsessed with, amirite?

I do like the line about “Death Metal T Shirts” though.

Be better if it was The Eagles of Death Metal.

Or All Night Drug Prowling Wolves.

You were doing a good job of keeping this on track

Oh yeah, Reunions. New album by Mr. and Mrs. Jason Isbell and The 400 Units

That’s not fair. You barely mention Yoko Tammy in your song by song review bit you stole from Thoughts on The Dead after Chrid and Chaz made fun of you.

AHEM

Released to much fanfare and press ogling.

So much press ogling that I got caught up and started to ogle.

In politics there’s The Full Russert.

So what do we call Koppleman Pod, Hyden Fawning, New York Times Article and a full length story on The CBS Sunday Morning Liberal Good Time Power Hour?

“Pay attention to this one Southern guy who let’s you in on the jokes we tell about our neighbors?”

You’re such a dick

I didn’t love any of the songs I heard that were released as a teaser. I thought they were all pretty meh, for pretty much the same reasons.

They weren’t terrible but they also led me to not pre-order the album.

I pre-ordered it but you heard it before me!

Howzat?

I ordered direct from the label and it finally just got here yesterday

Shoulda ordered it from an Indie™ Record Store, from the approved list of Stores Tammy Likes

Shouldn’t the label be treated the same way? It’s direct from them. No Middleman. More change to jingle in the coin purse between her tits!

Now you’re starting to sound like me.

Quiet you. I still haven’t listened. Sorry they changed the rules on my halfway through not releasing their album. They sure weren’t in a hurry.

It’s a slower pace of life down here, Gar.

I hate you – I’m just saying they could have included people like me who ordered direct from the label and gave them more money for her Tammy Tops and his terrible sneaker habit

It’s not about MONEY, MAAAAANNN! They’re supporting indie shops. The Plandemic is wreaking havoc on the economy, and we gotta save the dudes who made enough in banking during the last crisis to open over priced record stores to sell hipster douchebags like us vinyl copies of stuff we used to own on CD.

I’m losing patience. You told me you had “some thoughts” on the new record. I accused you of having a weird obsession, to show me you don’t you stole an idea we gave you about a dumb blog…

Yeah

I only listened to three of the four songs released before the full record was put out.

I didn’t listen to Only Children. Keep reading – I guess I still haven’t.

THE POINT!

Oh yeah.

The other day, in the run up to the release, I flashed to a long forgotten review of Wilco’s “Summerteeth” from the time it was released that said something to the effect of “Jeff Tweedy still thinks repeating the name of the same over and over is a good stand in for a real chorus”

The same might be said for Jason Isbell on Reunions

What Have I Done to Help?

Jesus Christ Trump has broken everyone’s brains.

This song was written after reading the Mr. Rogers anecdote “Look to the helpers too many times”

This is better than I thought

The lyrics are better than I thought

It’s too repetitive

It’s too long

Dreamsicle

Did they make the vinyl orange because of this song?

Or is it called dreamsicle because they wanted Orange vinyl?

This is very dangerously close to being a Cracker Barrel country song.

Did granddaddy take you fishin?

Lightning Bugs??

Where’s Dave Daniels?

Only Children

I’m listening to this as I write my thoughts in real time

I forgot to write anything down here

Unremarkable

Overseas

The sound is interesting at first

This is where I can hear what he was talking about in interviews about chasing an 80s sound

Whooo boy

Lyrics bad

Chorus worse

Eyes Closed

80s Soundz!

Are we sure this isn’t produced by Ryan Adams?

Sounds like Isbell cum Kcor and Llor Era DRA

Still just repeating the name of the song as the chorus

River

He’s a slave owner?

CANCELLED!

OK he’s some kind of rich guy who did bad things to get money?

But tries to take care of his people?

Guilty Conscience Melodrama

Not the worst song on here

Is there a Spanish guitar undertone?

“Wake up staring at my wife”à Fiddle Lick is either self-awareness or a complete lack of awareness about Yoko Tammy.

I’m gonna go with B, because say what you will about them, he is very dedicated to her and that’s nice to see. Especially after she offered to by McAllan for his not quite relapse so he didn’t have to drink Listerine.

Be Afraid

What Have I Done to Help Redux?

Two sides of the same extremely repetitive recitation of the song title as chorus coin

It actually sounds a little like a Truckers song at the beginning

Morphs into that 80s/Springsteen/DRA sound

St. Peter’s Autograph

Is this in a higher key than it should be? Is that what they call it? I’m not a musician

WAY TOO SLOW. I heard him talk about this on Koppelman, so I was prepared for it to be slow. But it’s like not slow enough to be a dirge. Maybe they shoulda made it a dirge?

Nails that folk singer thing where it’s like mumbly and then clear tho.

It Gets Easier

I haven’t had a drink in almost a year. 10 ½ months. I’ve had 2 drinking dreams.

I’ve never really been tempted to drink

So this doesn’t ring true to my experience

DON’T MAKE IT ABOUT YOU

Who dreams about anything twice a week?

What adult remembers their dreams?

It’s for effect, you dummy!

OH, well, the effect it had on me is “I guess I was never an actual alcoholic. Maybe I’m just a real partier?”

This gets to the heart of my question about mining sobriety for too much?

MEH. AS FUCK

It’s been remarkably easier to not drink than to make it through this record

That’s a cheap shot!

I know.

Sometimes in reviews and in our terrible internet meme-based culture you have to stake out one side and die on that hill.

That’s a mixed metaphor

Tammy wouldn’t allow it

She was gonna be an English teacher before the rack job.

That’s made up, isn’t it?

Maybe

Where were we?

Oh yeah, I don’t hate this song, or any song on this album

I just expect more

That’s your problem

What is?

Expectations!

It’s True

I tried very hard to set the bar low, figuring it might surprise me

Then I read reviews and interviews.

The one where he talks about over producing his first album really got to you didn’t it? Celebrities – they’re try hards just like us!

I like Jason

He’s witty and funny

And a Great Musician

He’s a good ambassador

For the region

For getting cleaned up

For the Bitter Southerner Meets Stoner Dad Who Watches Southern Charm and Likes Expensive Sneakers set

You mean you?

OF COURSE!

I want to like this more

It’s very slow

And doesn’t do much for me

It’s…….. a Jason Isbell Record.

I cued it up again, trying to focus on the sound on my second run through.

Ya know The Vibe? The thing that you can’t put your finger on that makes a thing a thing.

Sure.

Anyway, my mind drifted to seeing him in concert again.

The setting was definitely more Lyric Theater than MPAC.

The crowd was a lot of selvage denim, beards and elaborate barbershop hair cuts. Work boots, but like, $250 work boots. Belt buckles.

Like you’d dress if you were 4 inches shorter and had muscle tone?

You’re not my real dad!

A lot of dudes with their eyes closed, singing along to these songs like they’re hymns. Drinking in the “depth” of Saint Isbell.

House lights are down. Stage lighting is just a spot on him

Don’t forget the soft lighting on Tammy!

Did you notice I barely mentioned her in the review? She really takes a step back here, IMO.

Strangely that might not be a good thing?

Jesus now you’re a Tammy apologist?

She don’t gotta apologize for them titties!

GET BACK TO THE FAKE SHOW YOU CONJURED UP, YOU DUNCE

Right after he sings “It gets easier”

He says “But it never gets easy!” and the house lights come up, and his voice goes up 3 notches in volume, and the stoned dads (some of whom are sipping 1-3 canned IPAs) cheer.

Rinse Repeat

JESUS, YOU HATE FUN

Kind of

There’s another song on here

What?

Yeah – Letting You Go

Oh yeah, the bro country sounding joint about his daughter?

I actually like this and give it a pass for being a cheesy dad song.

If I still drank, I’d cue this up and get weepy!

You just said you don’t think about drinking!

I said I don’t DREAM about drinking!

You are so fucking awful

The. Worst.

Also, this sounds like something I know.

The cadence. The flow of the song.

Jesus you do this all the time

I DO NOT

Remember the time you got blotto at Springsteen and insisted that American Land was the same as The Georgia Tech fight song?

It is!

It is not!

Well, it sounded like it that night

We know, you sang it the whole way home

I was dreaming about drinking!

God you’re a dick, but I’m going to let that one pass before this ends up being 5000 words

Why does a Dawg know the words to Rambling Wreck?

We are both going to have to let some things pass if you ever want me to end this

……

(this sounds weirdly like Seven Years in Michigan in parts)

(the fiddle really ads something)

(Super 8 is still his best song)

KILL. YOUR. SELF.

Check out this episode!

0 notes

joneswilliam72 · 5 years

Text

The Great Recession of 2008, desperation, and the documentary of the Great Cocaine Treasure Hunt: meet director Theo Love & Rodney Hyden.

We love a great based on a true story flick at The 405 Film. It's one of our favorite things to cover for a variety of reasons, but above all because – quite often – truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Such is the case in Netflix's wildly entertaining, documentary tale of quintessentially American desperation, dreams of wealth, and the power of mythic storytelling: The Legend of Cocaine Island, out now on the streaming giant.

The Legend of Cocaine Island tells the true story of a Florida man (Rodney Hyden) who came into hard times – like so many – with the Great Recession of 2008. Hyden owns a construction business in central Florida (a state hit harder than most others) which was booming until the real estate bubble burst and triggered a huge part of this story.

Yet, what makes the story different is the tale Rodney was told by his neighbor Julian. You see Julian lived in Puerto Rico for a time years before, when one day he found a suspicious… package, on the beach. Inside – according to Julian – was roughly $2 million worth of cocaine. Apparently, a trafficker mistakenly dropped it either out at sea or in the air and it washed up on Julian's beach.

As Julian did not want to involve Puerto Rican police, who likely would not have believed he was innocent in all this – he generally wanted to avoid that hassle – he decided to bury the package near the trailer he was living in at the time and leave it there.

This became a "southern fairy tale" as it got passed around bonfires in Florida with each telling from Julian and others who heard and retold it. That is, until Rodney Hyden heard it, and decided he was going to try to find the cocaine and cure his post-Recession financial woes. Will he succeed? What will happen with this strange tale of desperation and the American dream? You'll have to watch the film to find out – trust me, you won't regret it.

Theo Love – the mind behind the 2013 documentary Little Hope Was Arson, about a series of 2010 church arsons in East Texas – director of Cocaine Island, took a novel approach to telling this story. Rodney Hyden plays himself in the film, with his daughter and wife also making appearances. It was a tremendous gamble which really paid dividends in Love's final product that is the film.

(L-R) Rodney Hyden and Theo Love at a 2018 event for THE LEGEND OF COCAINE ISLAND. Source:IMDb

Check out our interview with Hyden and Love below – we talk film-making, myth-making, great movies, the Florida Man Challenge and much more. And check out The Legend of Cocaine Island on Netflix worldwide now.

Hello Theo and Rodney.

RH: Hey, how you doing?

I'm great. How are you guys?

RH: Good.

TL: Doing good. Doing good. We're excited to be putting the movie out but a little nervous, too.

It was fantastic, and I just have to ask as the first question. Not totally related, but a little related. Have either of you guys done the Florida Man Challenge that's going around social media right now?

RH: No.

TL: No, I haven't. I just heard about it today. This is the second time it's come up, so I should probably do this today. Rodney, we should do it together.

[Laughs] Could be interesting.

RH: Tell me what I'm getting into first before we make that decision, Theo.

Yeah, it's googling "Florida Man", then your birthday (month and day), and you're supposed to share the first article that comes up.

RH: Oh, wow.

Like for instance, mine was Florida Man gets sent back to jail after not paying taxi that picked him up from jail.

[Both Laugh]

TL: That's a good one.

But yeah, it made me think of that with this story's very Florida-centric nature. Yeah. Rodney, what was going through your head when you finally decided to pursue Julian's story?

RH: Nothing was going through my head until I was approached about it. That's as simple as I can answer it.

Interesting. Did you ever think that something like The Legend of Cocaine Island would come out of it?

RH: Absolutely not. I mean, come on. When Theo called me, I didn't believe it would ever happen. Come on. It's surreal. Totally surreal.

TL: Yo. Yo Rodney, you said that you were waiting for somebody from Hollywood to call you when I first called.

RH: Yes. Hollyweird.

Rodney Hyden in Florida. Still from THE LEGEND OF COCAINE ISLAND. Source:Netflix

[Laughs] Well, there you go. Theo, I was curious, what was it about the story that made you wanted to do it in a documentary format versus doing it in a more conventional format like a fictionalized true story or based on a true story?

TL: I look for true stories, and I am leaning towards narrative. That's a goal of mine, but a lot of times when you are researching these true stories, the real people who lived the events are better than any actor you could get, and people like to tell their own side of the story.

Absolutely.

TL: Rodney wanted to make sure that this was accurate, and that we portrayed him the way he was. Frankly, we were a tiny little indie film, and we wouldn't be able to do it justice. But kind of doing it in the documentary form allowed this to have that anchored in realism to it.

Another interesting thing about it that I found really cool was the way that you did it almost as mythic storytelling. Mythic in the sense that it's a big story, it's what you would think would be an improbable story, and I was curious what your process was like in writing it to accent that?

TL: Yeah. Pretty early on, we realized that this was a story about storytelling, and the power of storytelling. Growing up, and honestly still to this day, a lot of times when I'm hanging out with my friends it's sitting around… and drinking, and we're smoking and telling stories. Rodney and his group of friends out there in Archer [Florida], they had the life that I wish I could have, but I'm in L.A. making movies. But just the whole atmosphere of how this came about was really attractive. Then, when I actually met the storyteller, Julian, he's this barefooted hippie. He looks like kind of like Gandalf, and he's just larger than life. Wouldn't you describe him like that, Rodney?

RH: Pretty much except ... yeah. Don't forget the bottle of wine. He loves wine.

TL: Yeah.

Gandalf if Gandalf lived in Florida [Laughs]. Yep.

RH: Mm-hmm (affirmative).

A question for both of you, I'm sure there's probably many, but any funny or memorable moments that stick out from the process of filming?

RH: Yeah. The digging scene, I'll never forget it 'cause Theo makes you do it about a hundred times. That ground is solid rock, believe me.

[Laughs]

TL: That's hilarious. Rodney agreed to act, and I fully pressed him for it, and I think it wasn't ... at the end of the day, Rodney, are you glad you did it?

RH: Hey, let me say this, I work with two of the most brilliant people and their staff. Now, their crew was excellent, and the little I know about movie and film-making, I think you should call Theo "Mr. Innovation" and that's all I need to say about it.

Nice.

TL: Oh man.

RH: Who else has brought a guy in that lived it and did it, and said "look, you're gonna be a part of it if you want to. I think it was a great experience."

Absolutely. Quite the novel and effective approach.

TL: Rodney, you're gonna make me cry.

RH: I'm being serious.

Yeah.

TL: We just honestly had a blast making this film. We really did, and we got to know all the people who were involved, their friends, and yeah. I hope the audience has half as much fun that we had making this film.

Julian in Florida. Still from THE LEGEND OF COCAINE ISLAND. Source:Netflix

You know, I think they will. I had a hell of a lot of fun watching it. I'll tell you that.

TL: Well, thank you.

RH: Thank you so much.

My pleasure. Thanks for telling the story. Let's see. Looking for that next question there. Rodney, what do you hope people will take away from your story?

RH: That it could happen to anybody. This story could literally happen to anybody, Wess.

Interesting.

[At this point, we had an issue with the phone connection which was quickly resolved]

Let's see. Rodney, if you could do it over again, would you?

RH: No, absolutely not. Absolutely not. In the future, hell no. Absolutely.

TL: It's this attitude, Wess, that I heard on the very first call where I called Rodney. I just cold called the guy.

Having worked in sales I have great admiration for that approach Theo.

TL: Called him at this business, and this is how he talks. He is self-aware, and he's able to laugh at himself, and if that was the case for everybody else, it's just a good story. It's just a good story. Is something that we recommend people doing in the future? No, but we might dare you to, but we don't think that you should. But yeah, you could.

Yeah didn't mean to imply that you're recommending it because the film doesn't. There's definitely that playful suggestion at the end which worked really well with Cocaine Island considering the film's tone though.

Julian in the reenactment of the original tale. Still from THE LEGEND OF COCAINE ISLAND. Source:Netflix

Let's see. This is one I had for both of you, although you might be answering it separate. What were the challenges like?

RH: Go ahead, Theo. I want to bother you first.

TL: What were the challenges. Honestly, I think that it was the creative decisions that we were making. It was a bold choice to cast Rodney in these movie moments, these recreations, whatever you want to call them.

Definitely. That was a gamble that paid brilliant dividends.

TL: We were really gambling on that. But when we thought about it, we were like, man, I think that this is just ridiculous enough to be good. That thought that ... and we really felt like we were going out on a limb like, "Oh my gosh, man. The documentary community, they might hate us. We're not making a serious documentary."

[Laughs] the blasphemy! Wonder how many were clutching their pearls?

TL: It shouldn't be this fun making a movie in the Caribbean. It was kind of a dream scenario. As a filmmaker, I feel like I'm never gonna have a more fun set.

That's great. That's excellent you guys had that experience. Theo, one question I like to ask all filmmakers that I talk to, what movies and directors would you consider as the most prolific influences over you?

TL: I would say that ... I grew up watching just the big blockbusters. My family didn't even have a TV until I was in middle school, and we didn't live in a place where there was movie theaters. By the time I got into movies, it was just the big Steven Spielberg blockbusters. When I'm in high school, the big Michael Bay movies.

TL: But then, once I got actually into filmmaking myself, and started to break down kind of who are the filmmakers that I want to emulate, it really leads to the Coen Brothers I'd say more than anybody. I find myself just going back over and over to their movies, and with Cocaine Island, I watched The Big Lebowski quite a few times.

Well, there you go.

It's a very Coen Brothers story, too, when you think about it. Cocaine Island I mean. It's a modern tale of misadventure that does echo the Coens.

TL: Hey, if the Coen Brothers are available to do the remake of this, the narrative version, I will take that meeting [Laughs].

[Laughs] I bet.

Rodney, how about you. Favorite movies?

RH: Favorite movies. Scarface. No, just joking.

[Laughs]

TL: [Laughs]

RH: Grown Ups, Adam Sandler.

Cool.

RH: Yeah.

One that came to mind there, you guys were watching, was it The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly in the hotel suite?

RH: Yeah. When I was a young kid, that's what my dad liked. The early Clint Eastwood Italian movies, and it brought back memories when we chose that scene to watch. Seen it before. Probably seen it 50 times.

Oh, me too with the spaghetti westerns. One of my favorites as well. Let's see. Yeah, another question I'd like to ask everybody. What makes a great movie to you? Kind of a big question.

TL: Yeah. That's a good question. What makes a great movie?

Thank you.

TL: Rodney, you want to go first?

RH: Yeah, I've got a pretty quick answer that didn't take much thinking, and I'm only gonna speak specific about the genre of this movie or documentary. I think the biggest thing was that ... tell me your question again.

What makes a great movie?

RH: In this case, based on what I saw at the film festivals, it's the audiences' reaction and that's all I'm gonna say.

That's interesting.

TL: Whether the audience likes it?

RH: Oh yeah…

TL: That's actually a pretty great answer. What makes a great movie is whether the audience responds to it. We have taken it to a few film festivals, and audiences really enjoy it. That feels amazing as a storyteller and as a filmmaker. Yeah. Good answer, Rodney.

It is a really good answer.

RH: Sitting in the middle of everybody with my hoodie on, nobody knew who I was, and everybody around me was cracking up. It was just great.

Rodney, I've gotten quite the variety of answers to that question in the numerous interviews I've done, but I don't think I've ever got your answer: the audience's reaction. That's a fantastic answer.

RH: [Laughs] There's only one… Let me tell you, man.

It is fantastic. Let's see, actually the last question I had for you guys is what's next for you?

TL: Well, Rodney is gonna be an actor. Right Rodney?

RH: No. No, I'm gonna take an early retirement.

Great.

RH: Let me say for me I'm in the construction industry, and it's just booming right now. I'm just blessed with what I've got, and I never forget this memorable ... one of the most memorable things of making this movie in my life, the other memorable was getting in trouble, but this one really, really was the best. That's what I take with it.

Fantastic. Theo, how about you?

TL: I'm in post on my next feature, a future documentary. Can't talk much about it, but I've got quite a few projects in the works. But I'll let you know when I can give you more details. How does that sound?

Hey, that's great. We'll definitely be watch for it. Yeah, and even your first movie, Little Hope Was Arson is excellent. I watched that the other night, too.

TL: Oh really, wow. Thank you so much. Not a lot of people saw that one, so yeah, that means a lot. Thank you.

Yeah. More should. I try to do that with everybody I interviewed to at least catch one more of theirs…

TL: A lot of journalists sometimes ... yeah. You're going above and beyond. That's all I'll say. That's amazing. Well, cool, I'm glad you enjoyed them. Thanks so much for doing this, and asking us all these questions.

youtube

LITTLE HOPE WAS ARSON (2013) trailer.

from The 405 https://ift.tt/2JTxJLN

0 notes

benthefilmexpert-blog · 6 years

Text

Production Diary: FMP

21st February 2018

Reg’s lecture on the importance of characterization and layout of dialogue

In today’s first session, with Reg Thompson, he gave us a lecture on how to write our project proposal and towards the end when he finished explaining what the rationale section of the proposal should entail he used examples of the specialism’s chosen by students. When he used scriptwriting, my chosen specialism, he said that the most important part of scriptwriting, and writing in general, was characterization and went more in detail by saying that dialogue is equally important. Stating that the way dialogue is written is derived by how they have characterized the characters of that screenplay. When Reg said this, I took note of it and began to think how I could incorporate what he said into my screenplay. First, I thought it through and concluded that I need to take into account the personality I wanted the two leads to have: current state of mind and attitude. Second, I thought to myself “how” and “what” I wanted my two principal characters to be talking about. After deep thought I decided, I wanted them to talk about their personal lives, professional lives and a humorous past experience. After I had thought that through, I began the planning on my screenplay with all this included in my dialogue mind map I created.

22nd February 2018

Trouble with writing up the project proposal

In class today I started the write up for my project proposal and began to write up the first section, the rationale. After half way of completing the rationale, I asked for some feedback from my tutor, Matt. After he read it, he gave me some comments that at first confused me but after better explanation I saw that said comments gave me some insight into how to write the rationale to a high standard, for the rationale and the other sections. Taking into account structure and factors that I needed to write about and would present the proposal at distinction level. Furthermore, Matt also advised me to make notes or create mind maps on the sections so I could better plan what to write about for the sections. Doing this allowed me to think thoroughly about what I was going to write and take into account minor details that I might have missed if I had just written the proposal in the heat of the moment making Matt’s idea of planning what to write about greatly beneficial. In my opinion, planning allowed me to have more confidence that the structure and factors I was writing were to distinction standard and the level I wanted.

25th February

Planning for the script. How to structure the story

I knew I wanted the genre of my original screenplay to be an independent film. Today I began planning for the screenplay and I came across a few problems, these include overall structure, how to write the opening scene and make the characters investing (all these problems can be found in my problems post above). However, I thought to myself how could I fix these problems, one at a time, so I immediately looked to a YouTube channel I revisit regularly, Lessons From the Screenplay, and watched a video titled ‘The Avengers - Defining an Act’. The reason I sought this channel and watched this video is because during the early stages of planning I did not believe that a simple act structure would suit my screenplay, I had watched this video before, in my own time, so I knew it would be beneficial for me. My impressions of it before was that it was a thoroughly thought out screenplay video. Upon viewing it for this purpose I found it even more beneficial than the first time as it didn’t just teach me about act structure but about alternative ways to structure my screenplay’s story and I took the “question and answer” structure that was in the video and decided to use it for the structure of my screenplay. Upon watching this video I managed to solve the structure problem I was experiencing and I am glad I watched it outside of my project as I think if I hadn’t then I wouldn’t have found the video as useful or fascinating for the Final Major Project.

27th February

Watching another Lessons from the Screenplay video for my screenplay

Now that I fixed the structure problem I was experiencing with my screenplay, I had to fix another problem that arose when planning for my screenplay, making the characters investing. I visited another Lesson’s From the Screenplay video entitled “Telling a Story from the Inside Out”. In the Video Michael (the channel creator) talks about the writer’s journey when preparing the screenplay of Inside Out and rounding it out when addressing the contextual side of screenwriting and in relation talks about the character arc of the film’s main character Joy. I decided that I wanted to adapt this arc as audiences were highly invested in the character of Joy during the movie and I thought that it was a good way to get audiences invested in my characters and best suited the tone of my screenplay.

5th March

Completed my project proposal

Today in college, I managed to complete my project proposal and will receive feedback from my tutors this time next week to see if it is at the level I want it to be. When I was writing the proposal I tried to be reflective as possible; trying to develop every statement and idea that I wrote to give a clear view of what I intend to do at different stages of the Final Major project. I feel that when I was in the writing process of my project proposal I managed to achieve my goals of being reflective as I developed everything that I said in the proposal to clearly and accurately explain what I intend to do. Using this approach was the best way to write the proposal as it allowed me to thoroughly think how I, myself, wanted the overall direction of my Final Major Project to go so I could have a clear idea of what I wanted to do for the modules of the project.

5th March

Began writing my questionnaire’s for target audience survey

For primary research, purposes I am going to hand out a questionnaire to a maximum of sixteen people, which contains topics that would commonly be found in a real questionnaire that the BFCI (British Film Classification Institute) would hand out to make up a target audience diagram. The reason I need to conduct this research and make up this target audience diagram is to make sure that the script I’m writing appeals to the right demographic I am aiming for. Although there a lot more topics that make up a target audience questionnaire and complete the survey, the basic demographic I hope my script appeals to are both male and female genders in the 15 - 35 age group. Other topics that will make up the questionnaire are the person’s social status, marital status and place of birth. In contrast, there is another reason I need to conduct the target audience survey, I want to make sure that what I am creating appeals to the audience I am aiming for. If I find out that the majority of the results that I received back are not what I expected then this will give me cause to review my script and include/change any aspects that will then help make my script appealing to the demographic I am aiming for.

7th March

Emailed a couple of experts for advice of professional expertise

To widen my research sources and to conduct further examples of primary research I emailed a couple of experts that I know have a wide amount of expertise in fictional writing. Those experts are YouTube creators Michael Tucker and Sage Hyden. Tucker is the creator of Lessons from the Screenplay a channel that analyses various conventions of screenplays, I have used this for research and influence for previous college projects, my own original work and for this Final Major Project. The channel analyses writing tropes but does not offer advice to writers rather Michael breaks down the conventions of the movie or TV show’s scripts and explains the various conventions the writers use in their screenplays. Sage Hyden’s another channel creator of a YouTube channel, Just Write, as opposed to Lessons From The Screenplay, the channel offers advice and also analyses writing tropes. Furthermore, Just Write analyses more than Film and TV scripts, the creator also analyses prose and while my focus maybe on screenplay writing it is still beneficial for me to learn conventions of prose. The reason I chose to email these two is because they have made a large influence on me and given me a lot of advice on screenplay writing so I felt that they could offer me advice on some writers block I have been having recently concerning characterization and dialogue.

Unfortunately, things did not go the way I anticipated as I have received an email from Micheal on 11 March telling me that he is unable to offer me any advice currently due to his busy schedule whereas Sage Hyden has not replied to me. These outcomes are disappointing for me but I will email several other experts to gain expertise and so I can use this advice to improve the quality of my screenplay up to a professional standard.

9th + 10th March

Began writing my opening scene

Even though I began writing the opening of my screenplay today I had been doing the planning the opening on 25th February, as stated above. However, then I was also planning the structure and characterization alongside the opening scene so my focus was not completely on the opening. Today however, it was and I experienced a few problems, as the opening scene is primarily a conversation the lead has over the phone with someone he works with but the purpose of this conversation was to establish the character of the lead. This proved challenging, at the start of the movie the lead is someone who seems quite obnoxious at first. Through the story, he slowly changes or the audience sees a different side of his character, I still need to decide which approach I will take. So this caused me to re-visit the Lessons From the Screenplay video ‘Telling a Story from the Inside Out’ and see how the writers manage to make Joy, whom the audience would normally find irritating, an endearing character and one they empathize with. I found out they use Joy’s upbeat and happy nature to cover up her character flaws, worry and anguish, and made the other lead character of the movie, Sadness, as annoying as possible so the audience will empathize with joy and see Sadness as a character to root against. I adapted this approach for my screenplay, I made the person over the phone, the firm employee, whiny, annoying and complaining about the job, he is doing. At the same time, I made my lead professional and sensible and tries to gives the firm employee solutions but as the person over the phone continues whining after every solution given to him the lead slowly starts to get more and more irritated but doesn’t show it outright. This shows the audience that he is professional and a sensible character, despite sounding obnoxious, while the other character is annoying and unlikable. Using this approach makes the audience sympathize with the lead and start to like him, which is the main goal of my opening scene.

11th March

Watched Lost In Translation for Influence

A few weeks prior, I was thinking of several films that I could watch for influence and I decided that Lost In Translation was good film to gain influence from so I decided to watch the film and analyze it from a scriptwriter’s perspective and a little from a directors perspective. The reason I analyzed Lost in Translation is because the large amount of similarities to my screenplay. These similarities are the genre and tone as both Lost in Translation and my screenplay are indie films and styled as such, as I feel there is no “plot” to the film, meaning that a large amount of the story is character driven due to character action(s) mostly impacting the story. That is how I wanted my screenplay to be styled from the start as I wanted the story to be driven due to character action and like Lost In translation, there is a large amount of character development for the two lead characters in my screenplay. Furthermore, I also like how the first few opening shots of the movie manage to communicate how the characters are feeling and establish their characters/state of minds with no or minimal dialogue, laying the foundation for the rest of the movie. After I finished watching the film, I managed to fulfill my goal of analyzing the movie from a scriptwriter and director’s perspective to gain influence. I also managed to learn something from Lost in Translation in managing to convey to the audience how the characters are feeling without an over excess of dialogue which is something that I will adapt and use in my screenplay.

12 March

Learned how to write dialogue for an opening scene

When I say above that “I learned to write dialogue for an opening scene” what I mean is that as I was experiencing problems with writing the opening scene I came across this video on YouTube entitled The Social Network - Designing Dialogue this video taught me the significance of dialogue and how to use dialogue for my opening scene. The video looks at Quentin Tarrantino’s Reservoir Dogs and shows how the dialogue in the opening scene foreshadows and establishes the character they will remain for the rest of the movie. After watching this clip I will use it as influence in my screenplay and for the opening scene. This has taught me how to write an opening scene and achieving the goals an opening scene should do: establishing the principal lead, an investing scene and keeping audiences/readers invested. The video was extremely beneficial and has taught me when looking for research and influence in the future that I should try to find other sources of research and not to rely one previously looked at research source.

22 March

Writers Block

This day was a bit of rollercoaster and turbulence for me in my journey of writing my screenplay. It started by me previously having troubles with forming an impactful questionnaire that would help me write the screenplay. I had already formed a questionnaire with the aim of trying to form a target audience survey. My tutor, Matt, drove me however to use the questionnaire that would teach me something and help me improve my questionnaire. Even after this, though I was still having trouble creating an impactful questionnaire so I again asked matt for more guidance. This led however that to Matt pointing out that I did not have a solid foundation for my screenplay. Why were my principal characters in need of a friend? Did they have history? What conflict was there? This led to a talk that every movie has a message and this message is presented through conflict and the characters that cause the conflict this in turn then draws the audience in and keeps them invested in the characters. All of this I did not have or had thought through; I did not have a solid foundation for my screenplay. This has caused me to slow down and reexamine a few areas (look at new sources for influence and make a better plan) the aim and result of this is to improve the quality of my screenplay. To document this experience I will create a separate diary post above.

22nd March

Trying to overcome writers block

At the start of the day, I had experienced writers block as it had been pointed out to me that there were a few significant holes in the story of my script. In light of this being pointed out to me I decide to two things 1) look up controlling idea and premise 2) Watch a movie that I knew that would be beneficial for me and help me gain influence to give a better tone and more precise story for my screenplay.

The movie I decided to watch was A Silent Voice an anime movie about a student who tries to seek forgiveness and redemption from his peers and a deaf girl after he bullied her in their youth. The movie was beautifully animated and did make consider whether I should pitch my screenplay as an animated feature (still undecided). What I will be taking away from this movie for influence is the movie’s controlling Idea which in my opinion of watching it is redemption and forgiveness can be found when you have made up for your previous mistakes. This entire controlling idea is the result of the character arc the main character goes through and the story of a boy who previously bullied a girl but ends up helping him overcome his own flaws, due to his troubled history. The three things above are aspects that I would like to take influence from A Silent Voice and to make my screenplay typical material audiences would expect from a professionally written story.

28th March

Making blog colorful as advised by Matt

Today in class, I asked my tutor, Matt, to see if my blog was up to the standard they expected to be; made sure it had the right analysis and critical perspective that was needed to reach the level I wanted. Matt said it was but then he game me advice on how to further improve my blog. He said that I should try and more “color” to my blog or add visual splendor to my blog. I think what he means by this is add more pictures and videos and not just of images taken from the internet like posters or scenes from a movie. Personally, I think what Matt meant is add pictures of my own making (photos I’ve taken, diagrams I have made up myself and a few recce and on-set shots of the reading I am planning to film once I’ve created the screenplay). For me this was amazing advice as I think it is a valid point as well as good advice. The reason being is that my blog does seem a little plain and overbearing due to the large amount of writing in my blog posts the reason for that being that in my blog posts I am highly critical and want to show analysis in my posts. This isn’t a bad thing but I can see that it may seem plain so in order to try and make it look more appealing so I will add in a bit more colorful content and make it seem more authentic

2nd April

Finished my guide to write my character arc

As stated above, I had been experiencing writer’s block due to me realizing that my original was and would not work which caused me to have rethink my entire idea. Fortunately, I have thought of a new idea that is completely new while still enabling me to include the character arc and retain the same tone I wanted. My main source of me being able to overcome my writer’s block was the anime film ‘A Silent Voice’ as it features a character arc and has the tone that I want for my screenplay.

This is also in conjunction with K.M Weiland’s book Creating Character Arcs and I composed a ‘guide’ of what A Silent Voice does that the book specifies to help me when I begin writing. All that I need to do at this stage is create my plan, which will include the premise, controlling idea, the story and characters. In addition, I need to visit the Dignitas page as my story is about a dying man who after being enlightened by another character (name unknown) tries to write the wrongs of his past mistakes. I feel that if I look at this page and get a small amount of research then I will be able to write the story in a sophisticated way and so people can see that I attempted to do the theme justice by writing it in a respectable manner.

8th April

Began writing my screenplay

Today I began re-writing my screenplay with my new idea about a young adult who discovers he has cancer and this has caused him to develop isolation from his family and minimal contact with other people. In my opinion, the writing of my screenplay went really well and I am proud of the progress I made. I feel this is because of the planning I made when I experienced writers block a couple of weeks ago. However, I realized that I had to make a change to my characters because I am planning to record a reading and using drama students as the readers and originally the characters were in their late forties, early fifties so I had to change the character’s age range to young adults to better suit the drama students for the reading.

More about this in my ‘Journey of Writing my Screenplay’ post above

9th April

Heard back from Sage Hyden

A month ago, I emailed two you tubers, Sage Hyden and Michael Tucker, who regularly create videos about screenplays (TV and Film) and novels. I heard back from Tucker about a week after contacting him but unfortunately could not offer me any advice. In contrast, due to the amount of time I thought that Hyden would not get back to me but today I discovered he did get back to me and unlike Tucker offered me advice by pointing out two resources that he thought would be beneficial for me. One of those sources was the YouTube video ‘The Social Network - Designing Dialogue’ that was a video that I visited previously to help me with the problems I was facing concerning characterization and dialogue. Though, at first, I was disappointed that it was a video I had watched before, I was proud that I had watched a video a professional writer recommended and watched it of my own initiative which to me showed that I was capable of searching for relevant sources of research of my own accord. Another resource Hyden recommended for me was Dialogue by Robert McKee. The description of the book says that McKee ‘teaches how to craft effective speeches for characters’ and also refers to classic and modern films and contemporary TV shows for references. After the recommendation and reading the description, I decided to buy the book in the hope, for two reasons: gaining influence when it comes to writing the second draft of my screenplay and secondly, would display my dedication of writing my screenplay, to show I tried to write the screenplay to a professional level.

23rd April

Doing Online Course

While I have conducted secondary research (books, films and YouTube videos) and primary research (Contacting experts) plus a questionnaire I plan to hand out once I have finished my screenplay. I decided to conduct some experimental research in where I can practice screenwriting I decided that I would sign up for a free online course that teaches the topics of screenwriting. So far, after completing the first hour I have learned one particular topic that I feel will really help me when it comes to the final presentation at the end of the course: the five-finger pitch. It is a picture of a hand and the five major topics of a screenplay (genre, protagonist, story goal, story obstacle and story message) written into the five fingers. The reason I want to use this in my presentation is so I can grab my tutor’s attention and not bore them with explaining the concept of my Final Major. Another part I found enjoyable was their further development of how to use story structure to ‘trick’ the audience. When I say ‘trick’ I mean defying their expectations and creating a story twist that ends an act. To give an example, while most audiences won’t notice the act structure in a movie, they will notice a decision that a character, usually the protagonist, makes and then changes the story in a significant way. To change and defy the audiences expectation, have the act end in a shocking moment that changes the entire stories dynamic and when I say ‘dynamic’ I mean the presumed premise of the movie’s story. I really like the approach that the tutors took to defy audience expectations, as I had watched a YouTube video on how to defy audience expectations but the video only explained and showed how the Film and TV shows use the trope whereas, the course showed me how to defy expectation which is why I liked learning about it. While I am unlikely to use this in my screenplay due to the nature of the trope not fitting well with my screenplay I will be sure to use it in future projects and bare it in mind if the opportunity arises in my Final Major Project screenplay.

2nd May

Writers fatigue

Like on the 22nd march, where I experienced writers block I had a similar experience today as Reg had told me that I was experiencing writers fatigue which is where I had lost a little motivation and the clogs weren’t turning in my head. He gave me advice on how to overcome the fatigue by telling me to pause writing my screenplay and do some other work, like blogging, and carry on working when I have regained some creativity and thus allow me to further carry on writing and come to completing my screenplay. How I have chosen to prevent myself from experiencing this fatigue again is by creating a daily schedule that I will adhere to. This will allow me to structure my time and at the end of the day I will be able to review the progress of my screenplay and see whether I will be able to include any other work that will contribute to the FMP around my screenplay. I got this idea from this website (https://goinswriter.com/how-to-overcome-writers-block/) in its how ‘creative solutions’ section. The reason I went with this idea out of the other thirteen is because I feel it offered me a solution that did not allow me to completely stop writing and lose any time also it allows me to complete any other sections of college work that needs to completed

10th May

Sent out my questionnaire

Today at college, I sent out a questionnaire asking general questions about people’s opinions on friends and family and the relationships they share with their friends and families. Originally, I was going to make the questionnaire a survey to see if my predictions on target audience for my screenplay were correct however, after a discussion from my tutor I decided to change the format and instead chose to make the questionnaire a general data collector to see what people’s opinions on topics like family, friends and relationships. At first I found the idea pointless but after much thought I liked the idea for multiple reasons. Firstly, I knew that if I saw what people’s opinions were on the themes that my screenplay mostly covers then the next time I write a screenplay with a similar premise then I know what people’s opinions are going to be. Secondly, this was a point brought up by my tutor, I know what my target audience is going to be so it seemed more logical to make the questionnaire more relevant and thought provoking for the people answering that questions also being relevant for them as well. Conclusively, what I plan to do is put the results on my Tumblr Blog and comment on them. I will also use the data that I collected as a “look back” source to draw upon when I write a similar story in the future thus allowing me to improve the quality of a screenplay and further allowing me to make the relationships more relevant and realistic for the audience, as they will find the relationships relatable.

13th May

Completing the Online Course

As I had to do some experimental research for my Final Major Project, which is a form of research where I gain experience to help improve the quality of my project. I decided that my best option was to register for an online course with Future Learn that was created by the University of East Anglia and was written by University lecturers. The course’s content were topics like, writing characters, story structure, dialogue and the process of writing a script. I found the course extremely beneficial the reason being because it offered me both insight and experience into how I should successfully write my screenplay. What I found most beneficial for me and helped me successfully write one of my finishing conversations is the use of beat sheet. In one of the course’s videos, the lectures discuss their own personal best method of writing a screenplay and most of them agree that a beat sheet helps them massively. I wanted the conversation I am currently writing, which is an argument between two characters to be dramatic and so I decided to create a sheet that lets me track every dramatic beat of the conversation and allows me to increase the drama of the conversation. Furthermore, another section I found beneficial was the five-finger pitch, which gave me an idea of how to present my project to my tutors as the method would allow me to give the five central things needed to explain my project, which would allow presentation to not be boring.

15th May

Publishing Questionnaire Results

Today I decided to share the results I gained from sending it the questionnaire. The reason I decided to send out the questionnaire just before finishing my screenplay is because I wanted to test my screenplay, what I mean by this is when I have finished writing my first draft I plan on printing out the finished version and marking it over to give myself notes on how I could improve the quality. From the data I have gathered I will use this as a guide as I am making the marks on my screenplay and will help me improve the quality. Also, how I sent out the questionnaire was a new skill I acquired and one that I will definitely use again. I was told by my tutor that a good method to send out the questionnaire was using google where I could create an online questionnaire and then share it on Facebook so that people aside from my classmates to answer the questions. I will definitely use google again to send out questionnaires as I feel it is a very efficient resource and extremely useful and sophisticated.

18th May

Finished my Screenplay

Today I managed to complete my screenplay above I wrote about how I felt after I finished my screenplay and the disbelief I felt when I finished it. In this entry, I would like to talk about the feelings I have upon finishing my screenplay and what I plan to do now that I have finished the screenplay. Minor my disbelief of completing the screenplay I was quite relieved as I had been working on this screenplay for over seven weeks and now that I have finished I feel like a lot of pressure is off my shoulders. My tutor had given me a lot of support and he has said that my project would be tough to complete as it always required me to be creative and academic and this caused me fatigue and stress which had a great impact on me. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed writing the screenplay and there is another reason I am relieved that I’ve finished my screenplay the reason being so that I know I can write a feature length screenplay and this does give my confidence that I can peruse this career in the future.

4th June

Finished annotating my screenplay

Today I managed to complete annotating my screenplay, which is when I wrote notes on my first draft that would help me if I came to write a second draft. The notes primarily consist of influence and information I have gathered from my many research sources that come from primary, secondary and experimental research I conducted or undertook. Annotating my screenplay is why I decided to do some sources of research like the questionnaire and online course mid-way through writing my screenplay. Originally I was going to write a second draft but couldn’t due to time restrictions but I still wanted to proof that I could demonstrate my prowess to go through the writers process. I decided to write notes and felt that if I conducted this research a little while before completing screenplay I could use that information to write notes on how to improve the screenplay. For the most part, I feel this worked as then I used the data to help me improve the quality of my screenplay although I do think that I maybe could have at least completed the online course before or just after I started writing. I have stated this above, the course spoke about beat sheets, dialogue and characterization all skills I could have used when writing and this has led me to believe that if I had known the content that was going to be in the course them I would have gone through with this action amend done the course before writing.

0 notes