Despite a lack of comment at the progress, much was achieved during my self imposed exile, my holiday to the next room as it were. I was rather pleased with one script, and then got started on the other, the one that I am meant to be writing with Chris. We had done lots of fat chewing, ideas throwing and pretty got the scene by scene sorted. The scene by scene. Ah that wonderful thing that gives scripts their start, middle, end and how to get from one to the other, in easy baby steps.
I've done some 'thought showering' today. Funny really, as like a lot of other people, I sometimes come up with things in the shower/bath, on the loo or whatever. Usually in a place where you have no means by which to capture the idea.
But I've thrashed out a little to do with 'Retro Rocket' this idea that I had about purposefully recreating the look and feel of 70s & 80s scifi shows, with wobbly sets, the big shoulderpads, the even bigger hair. The eye-liner (and that was just the men). The really naff and unbelievably shallow female characters.. the special effects shots, where you could so easily see the wire pulling the model spaceship along. Did we care ? No. Did it spoil our enjoyment ? Not one bit. It was only when those nasty Hollywood types threw all their money at things that we started to feel ashamed about home grown scifi. Scifi like the original Dr Who, Blakes 7, Saphire & Steel, Space 1999. You only have to look at the collective works of Gerry Anderson to know that the odd string here and there doesn't dent the entertainment value of the show.
Somehow, back then, the sets were unstable, the performances had more ham than Waitrose at Christmas, but somehow, we were glued to the screen, we were absorbing the nature of science fiction. The 'believability' having absolutely nothing to do with how many carefully drawn CGI characters or spaceships there were. The baddies all looked like people in awkward poses with coloured cling film on them.. but it didn't seem to matter to us.
The imagination was the thing that was fired. That was allowed to grow and run amok. Today, everything is done for us. The scene is set, and given to us, we don't have to do any work at all. We're not involved in the ways we were in the 70s & 80s.
Have we, in making scifi mainstream, dumbed it down to the point that it fits into 'Hello' but has lost both the sci & the fi that gave the genre its name ?
Anyhoo... just to completely ruin my idea.. I've attached a scan of my scribblings.
Hopefully that works.
There's not a massive amount of data there to work on, but it's hard work, creating things when Homes Under The Hammer is on.
The ideas that Helen and I are forming into something we can work on for Scriptfrenzy exist at the moment as a load of pieces of paper, which I have allowed, in my infinite (lack of) wisdom, Helen to take away with her. I did cunningly, photograph them before she went. They are on my blackberry, and I haven't been bothered to get them off and put them onto a computer. Just yet.
I have suggested, on that front, that we do blog, and Vlog our progress, and efforts. This will hopefully, draw people to our youtube stuff, but also mean we are still uploading some films, even though the month of April is going to be so gloriously, and completely given over to ScriptFrenzy.
I do.. also have a back up, backup plan, just in case this one doesn't work. But for now, the idea of that script is... well, it's called 'Network' and is pretty much a social commentary on what would happen if people were no longer allowed to work, that workplaces, and all places of congregation are banned (for health and safety reasons, or for anti terror reasons, we're not sure). The idea being that people work from home, or from the park, on their laptops, all communicating by skype. Everyone with a headset. What would happen to the economy, without anyone buying petrol, cars, using public transport. All that lost tax revenue. No schools allowed to open, no supermarkets (homeshopping allowed with severe precautions).
We want to explore this in the comical way that we have explored all the other ideas we have had. For example, imagine a couple, in their kitchen, with their headsets on, awaiting calls from colleagues / customers, and they launch into a full blown argument, but have to pause it, when one of them gets a call. About to let fly again, when the other does too. Similar comedy may be found in when couples are trying to have sex.
The whole idea about home working, pushed to the limit. You may well go to work in your slippers and nightie, (again, that was just the men), but would people want to see you do that ? Video calls, leading to people dressing their upper bodies in office-wear, while remaining in just boxers and slippers etc below the belt.
There's comedy in them there hills. I'll have to get those ideas transferred, and uploaded. In the meantime, there's someone on their way down to do some writing, so I best go get ready.... and make sure I haven't forgotten to get completely dressed after all.
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