Quick re-write

I wrote up the first couple scenes of my script, and overall am pretty happy with them. There is one big issue though. In the latest scene where Braden goes to his Grandfather's workshop I wrote in a big contradiction that I have to fix, where Jerome (the grandfather), vents his frustration with modern technology and tells Braden to contact him through magical means, and then Jerome gets angry with Braden for accidentally using magic in a fight earlier. So, yeah, my poor main character got some mixed messages and I need to tweak the scene to make  it play out a little more logically.

What is Missing?

The last week has been pretty crazy. Unfortunately a lot of stuff for senior project and also a nice bought of sever stomach flu has made me less productive than I would like. However i have been making more progress in figuring everything out.I have been working on writing my opening scenes and have also started thinking about later in the script. I have come across a problem. The way I have it, the main character's grandfather, who turns out to be the main antagonist, disappears for a good amount of the second act. Basically, it means there is no visible character or opposition to my protagonist, and most of what he is involved in throughout the second act is his training and finding his niche in the circus and its magical performers. So I need to think of obstacles and other things to put into his way.

So it begins

last night saw the completion of the first scene of my movie, a framing device in which Merlin fights and is imprisoned by the Sorceress Viviane. It was so much fun to write, and also will probably be the easiest part of the script as the characters were basically already formed based on my research of Arthurian legends. I depart from the current legends in the fact that I make Viviane pregnant with Merlin's child (thus starting the line of predecessors leading up to my main character). Now it gets tricky because I have to transition from an epic magic battle on the coasts of England to modern day NYC where a teenage magician is trying to find his place in the world. I have been working on my character bios more lately and have who Braden is lock down much more, so it should be fun to write out the scenes I have planned for him.

slow and steady progress

So the last few weeks have been very hectic trying to balance everything with my screen writing workshop, senior project, and a big independent project as well. However progress is being made. I met with Prof. Bronte last week and discussed my treatment and character bios and the main thing I had to work on was really locking down who these people were. I had a decent sense of their personalities, back story, and relationships, but it wasn't concrete. I was given several suggestion and character variations to think about and have also come up with a few more when I sat down and really thought stuff through. I was able to come up with a nice recipe of traits and quirks for each character and do a much better job of locking down who they were. Now I have started writing and doing a more detailed outline of the beginning scenes and will be typing them out this weekend.

Well this week went to hell....

Not really, but I am fast learning the limits of what I am capable of doing in terms of my workload. I just took on too many projects this weekend. I am in the process of writing my opening scene and it mainly consists of hand-writing it out in a little notebook i carry around with myself for little times when I have a little chunk of time free between bouts of running around like a chicken with its head cut off. So, yeah, this week has not been the best for writing, but I am going to stick it out and just have several near sleepless nights up till sunday. After these little projects I am working on are all wrapped up I'll have several days of the week where at least 6 hours a day to devote to this script. I am starting to make more progress on developing what I wrote in the treatment. A lot of the stuff in the second half after the midpoint felt rushed and incomplete when I wrote it, so I am going back with the scene card method and writing, re-writing, changing, and re-arranging scenes into an order that tells the story I want to.

So, about that ending in my treatment

I finished what I think was a decent 4 page treatment for my script. One of the issues I had when actually writing it out was realizing that I had yet to find a location for the final battle to take place in. Since this battle will determine whether or not the modern world will be destroyed in a firestorm of magic I wanted it to take place in a popular, high elevation building or site in New York City. Instantly my mind went to the Empire State Building, and I chose it as my setting for the final fight. Afterwards though I was describing my story to a friend and her response was "oh god you're writing Percy Jackson." I have never read the books or seen the movie but she assured me that the final fight takes place in the Empire State Building. So, yeah, now I am back to searching for a possible location for the final fight to take place.

what is up with blogspot?

Ok just an odd observation. When I tried going to my blog directly at mgthompson.blogspot.com it comes up with a blank page with a big "NADA" written across the top for my content. However when I log onto my profile and then click "Matt Thompson's Blog" at the bottom, it brings me to the same URL but now all my posts are up. Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon?

Treatment Trials

So while endeavoring to write out my treatments and character Bios for "The Last Archmage" I discovered several things I need to figure out for my script. First, I need to figure who is in the circus as minor characters and what their talents are. Second, while I have the first half of the movie mostly figured out I fell into the second act trap. While trying to write out what goes on after the midpoint I realized I did not have enough stuff to fill it out when I started. I tried several methods to plot out my script, mainly writing scene descriptions of what i want to happen out on cards and arranging and re-arranging them into a sequence that makes sense. Even so I feel that the second half of my treatment is thin. Another issue I had when writing it out was trying to get everything across that I wanted to. For example Braden, the main character, is pretty tech savvy, and that plays a big role in the movie as he uses electronics and video his grandfather can't understand to his advantage. Another thing that plays a huge role is Braden's heritage and bloodline, which grants him various powers and abilities. In writing the treatment I feel I didn't get that across well or didn't have compelling ways to show why his heritage was so important.

Anywho, I at least have a more complete skeleton to start building my script around, though granted once I get into it I may have to do some re-arranging and find out I am missing parts and have to fill in. Overall though I am confident about actually sitting down and beginning to write this movie out.