the player and the advocate

Writers’ Room Event - Wellington

September 19th, 2006

I was at the Writers’ Room event in Wellington this evening at Katipo Cafe - the organiser was kind enough to let me plug the treatment reading (next Sunday, folks!) before the main course of the evening - talking to writers about their shorts.

Taika Waititi (Two Cars, One Night), Zia Mandviwalla (Eating Sausage) and Velalu Alla-Unsworth (Blue Willow) were invited to talk about all aspects of the film writing process - the (ubiquitous) “where do you get your ideas from?” right through to “how do you find a producer?”

A couple of themes came through all their responses: number 1, trust your gut instinct. They all described the notion that the film you have in your head is not the one the audience will see on screen, nor the one the reader has when they pick up the script. Taking feedback and suggestions on board is helpful, but sometimes you have to back yourself that your idea / concept is the best one for the story. Incidentally, all three writers nominated “their mum” as a inspiring source of feedback and ideas.

None of the writers actively collaborated with others on the films, which I thought was interesting. For ‘The Player and the Advocate’ I will be looking for a storyboard artist to previsualise some of the scenes (especially the big setpieces) and kick around ideas for the production design (with a period ranging from Renaissance through Victorian to futuristic, it should be an exciting job…)

More tomorrow.

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