I had wanted to speak of this earlier, but I had to have a personal conversation with E.B. before I made it public. I obviously wanted him to hear it from me instead of through here, or from another friend. The good news is; he's fully supportive of my decision. The better news is; I'm almost half-way done the first draft of Episode IV.
I've renamed the episode, changing its direction dramatically. It was previously titled "Nostos", which comes from the Greek for a return journey in a story. The episode was meant to be about Derek's return to Toronto to face the consequences of all that had happened and prepare himself for the trials ahead. I've abandoned the need for him to return to Toronto to accomplish those things.
The episode is now titled "Burn the Fleet", which is a song by Thrice, but inspired by the story of Hernan Cortes. Cortes was a Spanish explorer who first travelled to what is now Haiti as a teen and gained favour with the local governors. After amassing a small personal wealth, Cortes sought to travel to Cuba and Mexico, but his personal relationship with the governors was waning. He disobeyed orders to travel Mexico and was labelled a mutineer. Aware of his situation, he ordered the ships his crew had arrived in destroyed to rally his men to arms. What followed was one of the most bloody and well-fought campaigns of the Spanish Inquisition, leading to the acquisition of much land in the Mayan-held Yucatan Peninsula.
While Derek isn't going to burn Riley's van to the ground to motivate his crew, it illustrates the desperation of his cause. With the entire band fugitives labelled from the law, the hopelessness of their situation is what drives them forward. There is no turning back for them. Their return journey can not happen yet. This puts the crew on a roadtrip East to St. John's, Newfoundland, seeking evidence against conspiracy mastermind, Danielle Parsons.
The plot in Toronto hasn't been abandoned. Episode III saw the beginning of the alliance between Derek and Dana Steele, Nathan Davis' former partner. With someone on the inside of the investigation, Derek manages to stay one step ahead. Furthermore, safely inside the city, Steele can attend to the things Derek can not - including warning Eveleigh Dawn to leave town.
With the police closing in on both Derek and Eveleigh, Steele races against the clock to get Eve to safety before she's caught by Parsons' agents.
The episode is flowing wonderfully so far. I've struggled with starting Episode V without a concrete ending to IV. The dialogue is flowing naturally and the situation with the main crew confined to the van for most of the episode provides an excellent opportunity for the viewer to get to know these characters. Episodes III and VI have higher budgets, but this episode requires few sets, and no special effects or fight choreography - thus, its a necessary cheapy.
With the characters firmly established, this is essentially the time to switch gears, allow for some character interaction and let background characters take the reigns for a while. Though never the intention, this is turning out to be Steele's episode - and I think it's absolutely perfect that it merged in this direction. Steele's not necessarily going to make it to the very end of the series, but her contributions to the story are going to be some of the more important ones of any character besides Derek and Danielle Parsons.
There have been lots of jobs popping up on media job search canada so I'm remaining optimistic about finding a full-time position in a reputable production company. Keep your fingers crossed for me!
Winter's approaching fast and I'm living in denial. It's hard to face the fact that it's just going to get colder and darker from here on out. Here's looking forward to March. I hope you're all having a great week, and I'll be talking to you all soon!
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Writing. Show all posts
Monday, October 26, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
Ready Three, Take Three
You say the title of this post a lot when you direct a show - which I've been doing a lot of lately. It's pretty fun, though a little overwhelming. It requires a tremendous amount of concentration and the ability to hear selectively. You also have to communicate with a team of about six people. Some of the people at Rogers TV make it look easy, but trust me, it's not. I now have a new found respect for directors.
I've been doing quite a bit of writing on Episodes 4 and 5 but their progress isn't coming along nearly as fast as 1 through 3's. I feel like I have something to explain there. I didn't just sit down one day and write the script for an idea I had. It came from a tremendous amount of scribbles and notes. The first three episodes exist in pencil and paper form dating back to April of 2008. Episode 6 is rather fleshed out as well, but these two bridging episodes were always pretty vague. It's taken me a lot of time to try and formulate something that would be a substantial contribution but also allows for me to connect the first three episodes to the finale. The finale is what conceived the idea of Soundtrack and everything before that is just the path. Episode 5 has its direction, but it doesn't have the substance yet to be anything but a bridge right now. It needs work. Needless to say, there now exists a large pile of paper notes that detail the progression of Episode 5.
An idea I've been struggling with lately is the concept of freedom. What is true freedom? Are we really free to do whatever we want? Though it wasn't my deliberate intention to do so, I feel like this theme is very present in Soundtrack. Riley and Cain both struggle with the notion to be free. Riley eventually has to deal with the fallout of her adventure with Derek in her personal life. Cain, though a powerful man, wasn't free to do whatever he wanted and now has to deal with the consequences of his new found self-liberation. Does freedom always come with a cost? Hunter S. Thompson said that without the freedom to commit suicide at any time, he would always feel trapped. He later committed suicide in his study with his family in the next room.
Danielle Parsons/Lidless represents the other side to this argument. Through clairvoyance, she yields to determinism and makes no attempts to stop things from happening - only turning them to her advantage. Following determinism, Parsons has found herself within reach of becoming Prime Minister, while Rhett, walking the free path, is slipping into the underworld of his city.
To be honest, I think it was great to find this unintentional theme in the subtext of the show. In episodes 4, 5 and 6, the characters are going to have to face the decisions they have made so far. I'm hoping that it will feel like an honest transition when some of these characters resolve to change the way they're living.
Anyway, a friend of mine is leaving for the West coast tonight so we're having a goodbye party for her. I hope you all have great weekends and don't let the bad weather get you down.
Dustin
I've been doing quite a bit of writing on Episodes 4 and 5 but their progress isn't coming along nearly as fast as 1 through 3's. I feel like I have something to explain there. I didn't just sit down one day and write the script for an idea I had. It came from a tremendous amount of scribbles and notes. The first three episodes exist in pencil and paper form dating back to April of 2008. Episode 6 is rather fleshed out as well, but these two bridging episodes were always pretty vague. It's taken me a lot of time to try and formulate something that would be a substantial contribution but also allows for me to connect the first three episodes to the finale. The finale is what conceived the idea of Soundtrack and everything before that is just the path. Episode 5 has its direction, but it doesn't have the substance yet to be anything but a bridge right now. It needs work. Needless to say, there now exists a large pile of paper notes that detail the progression of Episode 5.
An idea I've been struggling with lately is the concept of freedom. What is true freedom? Are we really free to do whatever we want? Though it wasn't my deliberate intention to do so, I feel like this theme is very present in Soundtrack. Riley and Cain both struggle with the notion to be free. Riley eventually has to deal with the fallout of her adventure with Derek in her personal life. Cain, though a powerful man, wasn't free to do whatever he wanted and now has to deal with the consequences of his new found self-liberation. Does freedom always come with a cost? Hunter S. Thompson said that without the freedom to commit suicide at any time, he would always feel trapped. He later committed suicide in his study with his family in the next room.
Danielle Parsons/Lidless represents the other side to this argument. Through clairvoyance, she yields to determinism and makes no attempts to stop things from happening - only turning them to her advantage. Following determinism, Parsons has found herself within reach of becoming Prime Minister, while Rhett, walking the free path, is slipping into the underworld of his city.
To be honest, I think it was great to find this unintentional theme in the subtext of the show. In episodes 4, 5 and 6, the characters are going to have to face the decisions they have made so far. I'm hoping that it will feel like an honest transition when some of these characters resolve to change the way they're living.
Anyway, a friend of mine is leaving for the West coast tonight so we're having a goodbye party for her. I hope you all have great weekends and don't let the bad weather get you down.
Dustin
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Nostos
episode IV is going to be a little bit different than the previous episodes so far.
'nostos' is a latin word that roughly translates to 'the journey home', and that's exactly where Derek and the band find themselves in episode IV.
the journey home never goes quite as planned. some of the greatest stories ever told are about the journey home (i'm looking at you, the odyssey and star trek IV). there are certain moments in the show that i look back on and say "did i know this when i wrote that?" - i think that moment where we try to associate ourselves with a familiar anchor in time or space is where we really start to notice how far we've come. realizing that home, and that anchor no longer exists is going to be the pivotal point of no-return for the band.
on a side note, i'd like to start properly referring to the protagonists of the show as 'the band' or 'derek and the band'. buffy had the scoobies, derek has his band. i hope the affectionate nickname catches on.
i'm going to try and involve you all in my writing process for this particular episode. i try and approach every episode with a question and answer session. there are naturally looming questions from the previous episode and i try to tear apart the script to find what needs to be resolved. what follows is what i've worked up for episode iv so far.
i hope that gives a satisfactory preview to the next episode without spoiling the whole bit.
i make constant notes on the details of the episode and i try to keep everything i write down. there's actually a folder with soundtrack notes that date all the way back to april of 2008. though i can never shake that feeling that i'm on the right path and this is my passion - it's great to look back on all the hard work and thoroughness that actually went into it.
though the scripts are the product of all that hard work - that file folder represents the shaping of a story. i'll be sure to hang on to it for as long as possible.
hope you're all having a great week everybody!
'nostos' is a latin word that roughly translates to 'the journey home', and that's exactly where Derek and the band find themselves in episode IV.
the journey home never goes quite as planned. some of the greatest stories ever told are about the journey home (i'm looking at you, the odyssey and star trek IV). there are certain moments in the show that i look back on and say "did i know this when i wrote that?" - i think that moment where we try to associate ourselves with a familiar anchor in time or space is where we really start to notice how far we've come. realizing that home, and that anchor no longer exists is going to be the pivotal point of no-return for the band.
on a side note, i'd like to start properly referring to the protagonists of the show as 'the band' or 'derek and the band'. buffy had the scoobies, derek has his band. i hope the affectionate nickname catches on.
i'm going to try and involve you all in my writing process for this particular episode. i try and approach every episode with a question and answer session. there are naturally looming questions from the previous episode and i try to tear apart the script to find what needs to be resolved. what follows is what i've worked up for episode iv so far.
Q: where did we last leave off?
A: following a semi-successful rescue of Nathan Davis, Derek's band has found itself the target of unwarranted police investigation. Davis makes contact with officer Dana Steele and asks her to help Rhett whenever she can with the investigation. Derek, Eddie and Riley are all wanted in murders they didn't commit and Steele catches on that at least Eddie and Riley are innocent. following Davis' death, she makes the decision to warn Rhett of the danger of returning to Toronto and helps him stay one step-ahead of the investigation.
Q: what needs to be addressed this episode?
A: the most important event in this episode is the kidnapping of Eveleigh Dawn by Lidless/Parsons. Eddie's been leafing through Davis' files and comes across information that suggests Evee is the fifth, final and most powerful superhuman. while Eddie scours files which were meant for an intelligence much higher than his own, Steele reluctantly takes Derek into the city to extract and protect Evee from Danielle Parsons.
Q: what is Riley doing this episode?
A: Riley is hit hard by the news that she's now a wanted fugitive. i'd like to think she was initally carefree, but the toll of her actions is now dawning on her. retreating from the centre of attention, Riley lets Derek and Steele run off on their adventure while she tries to put her life back together. upon contacting her employer and landlord she finds out she's been both fired and evicted as a result of the murder charges. by episode's end she realizes she walked away from that life and reaffirms her commitment to the new one with Derek.
Q: how does the episode end?
A: in broad daylight, Evee is kidnapped from Derek's protection by Lidless' associates. severely beaten, Derek watches as Evee's kidnappers speed away until Riley shows up unexpected and the chase commences.
Q: what is Eddie doing this episode?
A: As a philosopher, Eddie finds himself deeply immersed in the wealth of knowledge Davis left behind. among his findings are; chemical compounds that shouldn't exist; advanced research on pathology; alchemical formulae; and most importantly files on five superhumans currently residing in Canada. these files are to form the foundation that everything in the series will be based on. hidden within the tomes is information that will eventually assist Derek in his vendetta against Lidless. not only that, but these files are the only lasting legacy to Davis' intelligence - and Eddie will grow from that legacy.
Q: what is Cain doing this episode?
A: Derek delegates Cain to sorting through all the equipment found at Davis' lockup. i think by this point Cain's sorted through his personal shit and has more or less resigned to helping Derek for the moment. Cain may not be at Derek's side by series' end, but for now, he's a fully fledged member of the band.
Q: the Timeline of the Episode:
A: Picking up two days after the last, we find Cain, Derek, Eddie and Riley eating breakfast in a small dinner when Dana Steele walks in. Awkward conversations and mistrust aside, Derek and Steele immediately establish a repoire after he agrees to accompany her to Davis' grave. At Davis' grave, she decides she will honor her dead partner's wishes and help Rhett stay a step ahead of the police.
Q: how do they get Evee out?
A: first and foremost Eveleigh is most likely unaware that she harbors anything extraordinary about her at all. her power has been manifesting in ways that could be explained by any number of other phemoneon. though this is the reason that Eveleigh isn't initally inclined to do superhuman things, it's also the reason she's avoided Parsons' attention in the past. ultimately getting into Toronto and making contact with Eveleigh is the episode's plot and needs some work.
i hope that gives a satisfactory preview to the next episode without spoiling the whole bit.
i make constant notes on the details of the episode and i try to keep everything i write down. there's actually a folder with soundtrack notes that date all the way back to april of 2008. though i can never shake that feeling that i'm on the right path and this is my passion - it's great to look back on all the hard work and thoroughness that actually went into it.
though the scripts are the product of all that hard work - that file folder represents the shaping of a story. i'll be sure to hang on to it for as long as possible.
hope you're all having a great week everybody!
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