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Zoetifex Blog
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- 21 August 2019 /
- by Zoetifex /
Well, it's been a super busy last few weeks. Lacey, Josh and myself have not been able to meet due to scheduling conflicts, but we knew this would happen before we started. That doesn't mean that we are not progressing. We have been in communication and in fact, it looks like primary writing of the first draft could be completed as early as this week. But don't get too excited, we still have a lot of work to do in order to shape this script up into a screenplay that can be used to make the movie. So we still need your prayers that God continues to guide us to the finish line with the best story that we can tell that will do Lacey's story justice.
That being said, there is still some excitement about getting to this point. It's been a lot of writing. Without a doubt, the longest script I've ever written. So that also means that there is going to be a lot of tough decisions made in order to cut the script down to a usable feature-length film. And that's not going to be easy. But I'm confident it will get done soon. I know "soon" is ambiguous at best, but it's the best word I can offer up right now.
The biggest challenge to writing this story so far has been trying to make it different and getting creative with making it flow in a way that will keep the audience engaged. We set out to make sure that the story we tell will not be like other biopic movies that have been told. So it has to be creative, but the viewer has to also be able to follow the story and in the end, root for Lacey. But I've always said that I love a challenge. Succeeding will just mean that we have created something very special for people to enjoy as much as we will enjoy watching it when it's produced.
We have to work in-between some busy schedules again this week. But after 9 weeks we have made so much progress from putting the story together and writing the script that it just feels like a huge accomplishment. But we need you to hang in there a little while longer. Although I can't wait to write the words "The End" in the script, those words hardly signify that the work is over. In fact, that just signifies that we are about to begin the next phase.
Until next time...
- 05 August 2019 /
- by Zoetifex /
Changes, rewrites, additions. In the scriptwriting phase, these words can seem negative. Because it could mean that the writer was off the mark. But that's not how I see it. If the writer is off the mark, there would be only one word that would apply - DELETES. And so far, there has been no deleting to this point. Changes and rewrites just mean that the story is there, it just needed to be refined. And additions could mean many things. It could mean that some part of the story needed to be enhanced, or a part of the story needed to be bridged or it could mean that a part that you thought should be left out, now seems relevant to add back in.
We went through all of this over the last week and I have to say that as a result - the story got better. You can make changes for the sake of making changes. But the only real reason to make a change is to make something better, not just different. This week also saw a few breakthroughs with the scriptwriting process. Mainly in regards to how we move through this movie. How we tell Lacey's full story but in a timeframe that works with a feature film. Often times this means you have to get creative to work it all in. That's typically a challenge if you are telling a straight-forward Biopic movie. But I will tell you this much - this is not your straight forward Biopic movie. And because of that, we have to be a little extra creative to navigate through the years. So it's been challenging, but it's been a lot of fun.
90 pages into the story and there is so much more writing to do. But the direction this story is taking, I think the first pass of the script will be long, but it will be a good base for the story. What I mean by that is, the first draft is never "the story". It gets you from point A to point B and so on. It tells "A" story, not "THE" story. That comes with more Changes, rewrites and additions. And yes, at that point in time, it will include deletes as well. But only because the story will need trimmed down or because it's not needed to complete the story.
All this said, the scriptwriting is on schedule still and the deeper we get into this story, the more clear the picture is becoming to how this movie is flowing.
God is AWESOME!
Until next week...
- 29 July 2019 /
- by Zoetifex /
You know, one of the greatest joys I have in working in this industry is collaborating with creative people. I get really excited when ideas from one person become greater ideas because of other people‘s input. Going into this project, I had no idea what it was going to be like working with Lacey. I didn’t know whether I was going to have to carry the heavy load, or whether she would be controlling the whole situation (since this is her story), and I didn’t know how much input, if any, Josh would have. But let me tell you, this has been an absolute joy to work with this couple. And I know I've said this before, but this has been a true collaborative effort. Everybody has something to bring to the table and I have really enjoyed this journey so far.
Schedules were once again very tight this week but we were all able to get together and had what I would call a very, very productive meeting. A lot of creative ideas that were a little up in the air became defined. We figured that some other scenes needed a rewrite. And even thought to add yet another scene that was pretty instrumental to the story. So overall, very good meeting.
I’m up to about page 65 in the script which might not sound like it was as productive as the first week, however I had to go back and re-write a few scenes based on our discussions at our last meeting. But I still think for we are in really good shape for where I anticipated we should be by now. We have one little problem that’s actually a good thing. We have way too much story to fit into a feature length film. I would much rather have that issue than not enough story.
A lot of times as you are writing a script, you need to pay attention to a balance of emotions and moods that the scenes take on and what the viewing audience experiences. This often leads to trying to create scenes to break up moods that carry on for too long in the film. However, so far there is a great mix and a great balance with this story as it is. As it stands right now, I’m not seeing anywhere that we need to shift things around so that we’re not stuck in a pattern of emotions that are just lingering too long. And that again is a good thing.
There are going to be some challenges on executing this script as it is written when it comes time for production. However, that’s very typical of any script. You kind of just have to write the best story you can and then deal with the logistics afterwards. But if there are no challenges going from script to screen then you probably didn’t make the story interesting enough or you might not have put enough thought into the journey of the main characters through the movie. So I'm not worried about this.
So as you can see, things are going great and I can’t wait to see what this next week brings.
Until next time…