Session 8 - Alternative Media

For you assignment we would like you to source another three contacts in each area. Choose one area of particular interest to you and present a more detailed profile of the organisation and the opportunities if any, they offer newcomers such as yourselves.

As you embark on your writing careers the more industry contacts and information you have the better. No one can do this for you, it is up to you to establish a viable, useful contacts file. Be discerning, there is little point accumulating information about areas of the industry that are of no real or useful interest to you.

These are the areas we are going to cover this week:

• Advertising.

• Comedy sit-com and sketch writing.

• Micro budget features.

• Short film opportunities.

• On line.

• Children's drama & young people's drama.

• Non broadcast campaigns working for commercial organisations or charities.
   

1. Advertising

Working in advertising is certainly lucrative but also very competitive. There are directors dedicated to making commercials.  However, many use directing commercials as a method of earning money and then in their 'down' time.  They develop their own feature projects or try to break into directing television dramas. Very well known directors like Shane Meadows and Ken Loach direct commercials. So where do writers fit in?

Let's first look at the chain of command: The client wants a commercial made for their fair trade coffee.  The client gets in touch with advertising agencies and invites them to tender for the job. The advertising agency, working with in-house or freelance copywriters and freelance directors, will develop the concept for the commercial and 'pitches' the idea to client. Sometimes directors employ ghost writers to work for them on the concept for the commercial. If you are strong on simple and effective concepts that are highly visual, then copyrighting in advertising could be for you. Contact: bikini.com

2. Comedy – Situation Comedies and Sketch Writing.

Everybody loves a good comedy.  If you have a well polished funny bone this could be a wonderful area for you.

Situation Comedies.

It all began with radio comedy that had audiences giggling in their sitting rooms, cheering them up during the Second World War and spawning rebellious radio comedians such as Spike Milligan and his ground breaking The Goons Show. Spike Milligan is arguably the grandfather of modern British comedy.  Without Spike Milligan there would be no Monty Python and in turn, no Little Britain. Spike Milligan devised surreal sketches and scenarios that ridiculed the status quo with his radical imagination and extraordinary sense of the bizarre. Spike Milligan wrote one script per week which was recorded in front of a live audience on Saturdays, a gruelling schedule by anyone’s standards.

In the 1960s television comedy really took off with giants of comedies such as Tony Hancock and the satirical sketch show, That Was the Week That Was. This show was the first comedy show that teased and provoked those that trod the corridors of power. It was televised amongst other huge audience pleasers such as The Rag Trade and On the Buses.  So it is here that we can begin to compare two distinct approaches to comedy: Comedy, it appears, either reaffirms the status quo or it debunks it. It seems in the 1950s and 1960s, it was the working class comedies – the rag trade was set in a factory and eponymous On the Buses that celebrated British society whilst their university educated colleagues challenged authority.

In the 1970s we relied on Monty Python and Alf Garnett and to a much lesser extent The Goodies to shake things up. The schedules were awash with lower middle class, conservative with a big and small 'C' comedies such as Man about the House, Love Thy Neighbour and Terry and June. There were absolute classics such as the inimitable Dad's Army and Steptoe and Son, but we had to wait till the 1980s for The Young Ones and Not the Nine O’clock News to change things for good.

The Young Ones was first broadcast on the newly launched Channel 4 television in 1982. As its title suggests, it was specifically aimed at a youth audience and the very first of its kind. Before it came along, teenagers were expected to watch television comedy made for their parents. From now on, comedy audiences were divided with youth audiences wanting their own comedies that spoke to them about their lives. Since The Young Ones hit British television, situation comedy has fragmented into shows aimed at specific audiences, never more so than in the digital age we find ourselves in now. Look at the variety of comedies currently broadcast. BBC Three specialises in younger audiences with the long running show Two Pints of Lager leading the way. Meanwhile, on the BBC One there are still the family formatted shows such as 2point4 Children with Zoe Wanamaker and Robert Lindsay, but the Outnumbered takes a new look on the contemporary family. Channel 4 really pushes the youth audience boat out with amazing comedies such as the Mighty Boosh, the IT Crowd, and The Green Wing.

It is very difficult, almost unheard of, for new writers to have their own original scripts picked up, developed and broadcast. New writers can, however, find themselves writing jokes, scenes and whole episodes for existing comedy dramas.

Sketch Writing

This is a really interesting area because very often writers start their comedy careers writing sketches for the theatre and radio. Incidentally, some of our favourite British  comedies of recent years such as Goodness Gracious Me and Alan Partridge began life on radio. As we mentioned before, sitcoms and sketch shows on both radio and television rely on the talents of a pool of sketch and joke writers. Once those writers have cut their teeth writing sketches and jokes they will be encouraged to develop their own show formats. So, how do you get a job on an existing show? There's one answer for that – be funny! Practice writing sketches and scenarios and then find a way of getting your material seen and heard. Script editors and producers trawl the major comedy festivals such as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival which is rammed full of every type of comedy show. We would highly recommend visiting such a festival to find inspiration and make contacts. So many comedy writers and performers used to and still do perform at the festival. What about putting a show together yourself and taking it to Edinburgh?

Channel Four and the BBC's Writers Room often run comedy sketch writing competitions and I think they are well worth entering, even if you don’t get selected for production, it will be great practice.

Contacts: hattrick.co.uk

3. Micro budget feature film making.

What do we mean by micro budget?  What are its definitions? Micro budgets can mean making a film on your credit card, to securing funding from £100,000 to £300,000. There are two avenues to pursue to make your own micro budget feature film; make it yourself or apply for one of the micro budget schemes available.

If you decide to write and produce your own feature film there are things to consider - especially if you don't have a handy trust fund to tap into! Firstly, write a good script! Again, sounds obvious but it is by far the cheapest part of the film making process so don't rush it in your eagerness to get into production. It has to be good. Not only for your creative integrity but also, practically speaking, it is much easier to cast your actors, recruit your crew, beg favours from equipment higher companies and secure distribution if your script is good. If it is good everyone will want to be associated with it and they won't mind taking a cut in their fees or even work for free.

Secondly, don't do it on your own, find a good producer. Remember how we said in our first session, your producer is your best friend?  This certainly applies to micro budget film making. Your local film council office will be able to help you with sourcing producers. The type of producer you are looking for will have an affinity and understanding of the script and rock solid industry contacts so she or he can secure the very best deals in equipment hire, stock purchase and post production and so on.

Think very, very carefully before putting your own money into a film production. The chances are you will not recoup your investment in monetary terms. With a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, the finished film might indeed launch your career. There are many precedents such as Shane Meadows (there's that name again!) and the makers of London to Brighton. Jane also knows of a documentary maker who makes his films using his credit card and then recoups the costs and indeed makes a profit through world wide, audience specific, dvd sales. This is an excellent model to follow and so it stands to reason that the lower your costs, the quicker you will recoup.

There are a few very useful and very positive schemes that fund micro budget feature film finance. in Britain, Film London offer one such opportunity called Microwave, an annual scheme that funds features to the tune of £75,000 with the expectation that the producer will find £25,000 in in-kind contributions. This is an annual scheme, with an Autumn deadline for applications. Whilst a cash budget of £75,000 is absolutely tiny, the scheme provides ongoing support, mentoring and training so you are not alone out there.

The interest thing about microbudget film making is you have some opportunity to be bold and independent. The bigger the budget the greater the financial risk, the more the financiers want control. Turn away from the Hollywood output and explore European films such as Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days and see how different their films are, very visual, very character led with much less emphasis star vehicles and high-concept ideas.

Contact: filmlondon.com

4. Short film opportunities.

Personally, Jane absolutely love writing short films. She is currently writing her third feature script with every hope that it will go into production. She thinks she'll always want to write short film scripts and see them brought to the screen. Little gems, which is how she sees them, an art form in themselves. It is not possible to make money from short films.  They are distributed through online short film websites, national and international film festivals and television broadcasters.  None of these routes offer money to show your film apart from possibly television broadcasters, and then it is a tiny amount such as £150. But the important thing is your film gets seen. Festivals are a wonderful opportunity because you are showing your film to an audience that appreciates the form. Internet websites are wonderful because the audience size can run into the hundreds of thousands.

Furthermore, short films are a very effective 'calling card' used to illicit interest in their work and their feature film ideas. It is extremely rare, although not impossible, for writers, directors and producers to secure finance for a feature film without first proving their abilities by making at the very least one short film.

Short films, like micro feature films, can be made through a variety of schemes and opportunities or by funding it yourself – and the same rules apply.

If you have never written or made a short film before Jane would advise you to attend a practical short course on the subject. Even if it is only your intention to write short film scripts, by finding out how a short film gets made, what is possible and what isn't really helps when writing a short script. She would also recommend watching as many short films as possible, preferably on the big screen at a festival because you'll get to meet the film makers too.

ukfilmcouncil.co.uk for short film opportunities and contact details for your local film development agency

skillset.co.uk for courses.

5. On-line content

The beauty about online content is it's cheap to make and easy to upload. One of the most talented and celebrated online film makers, Tiffany Shlain, made her award winning film The Tribe using Barbie dolls and archive footage. Most exponents are writer-directors or work in writer / director teams. They use cheap and readily available cameras and lights, edit using domestic software and upload easily on to the web, setting up their own websites or using You Tube or My Space or dedicated film sites as a means of showing their productions. They make money through sponsorship deals and for selling links to other websites. Online content is hugely popular with more people looking at their computer screens than their television screens today. Film makers can and do enjoy a high profile, are included at the major international film festivals and have a lot of interest from the industry, the critics and the viewing public.

In the summer Jane spoke with Hammer Films who have recently produced Beyond The Rave, a horror film presented exclusively on line and in twenty parts. They state that writing and shooting schedules are very fast. They need writers and film makers who can work under pressure and quickly. Horror is certainly as popular online as on the big screen, it's worth having a look at Lance Weiler's Head Trauma too. Anyone interested in writing horror scripts should thoroughly explore all online opportunities.

Online producers work quickly, organise independent screenings, are excellent at generating word of mouth interest and are quick to respond to changing audience appetites. Some producers are trying to work together to raise finance for a portfolio of projects. This has yet to really take off but it's worth tracking. They operate by everyone joining and paying a membership fee.  If enough members join then there is a big enough pot of money to fund - for example, a feature film and a number of shorts. The members then vote for the film they'd most like to see get made. For this to work the organisation needs a lot of members and the prospective film makers need to lobby hard to ensure that they win the vote.

If you are interested in writing online content, remember it must be low-budget in its concept. One of the most popular online dramas consists of a teenage girl talking to camera in her bedroom. It must be audience or genre specific. Youth programming is an absolute obvious genre to focus on, so is comedy, horror and animation. You must also remember that your work will be viewed on the very small screen.

Have a look at the following for inspiration.

• Tiffany Shlain

• MDotStrange

• Timo Vuorensola

• Lance Weiler

• All online film makers

• Hammer Films to look at Beyond the Rave

• Sundance-online for news and films

• Aniboom for animation shorts

• IndieGoGo – online producers membership group.

6. Children and Young People’s television drama

Do you have an interest in, and an affinity for, pre-school aged children, children from 7 to 11 or young adults? If the answer is 'yes', then writing drama for children and teenagers might be for you. If the answer is 'no' then do not see writing for children's television as an easy option when what you really want to do is write for Spooks. Writing children's television drama is highly competitive with the very best writers working in the field. Again, there are very few opportunities for new writers in children's drama. For a start, we're sorry to say that the British broadcasters, in particular ITV, have reduced the amount of productions and depend more on bought in product. Secondly, they might not trust a first time writer with their beloved productions.

If you are interested you have two routes: work on an existing television drama that accepts first time writers such as Doctors on BBC1 and then make contacts with children's producers. Alternatively, acquire an agent (more of this in Session Ten) and write a speculative script aimed at children and about children that your agent can show to children's drama departments of the broadcast companies. Be very aware of your target age group My Parents Are Aliens works for seven year olds and upwards.  Skins on Channel Four is for teenagers - as is the long running Hollyoaks.  Whereas one of Jane's friends has just produced Big and Small that has pre-schoolers glued. Study as many children's dramas as possible. If a producer or a script editor from an existing show is interested in you as a writer then they will expect you to know the series inside out. 

bbc.co.uk/writersroom

7. Non-broadcast campaign tapes for commercial companies and public or charitable organisations.

A good friend of Jane's works as an editor and documentary maker for Oxfam. She produces short educational or fund raising documentaries available online and for DVD distribution. These documentaries or feature items are not for mass audiences instead they are used for lobbying or educational purposes and are focused on very particular target audiences. Sometimes those audiences can be a small group of potential sponsors, sometimes they are used to encourage volunteers to raise money, sometimes they will be used as awareness raising for teachers and pupils. Organisations such as Oxfam need the talent of copywriters and documentary producers to devise documentary and factual programme ideas. If you are interested in this area you must find out if the charity you are interested in produces moving image material. Secondly, find out the editor or chief producer and send them your CV and an appropriate sample of your work. All sorts of charities use moving image material; Save the Children and the National Trust to name but two.

Working for commercial companies operates in much the same way as working for a charity. There are corporate companies that make 'infomercials' for a variety of clients. A producer here in the Southwest, for example, makes all the moving image material for the Royal Navy. Jane used to work for Oxford University Press in their video department who made very high quality videos mainly for the English language teaching tapes.

For your second assignment: Please select two alternative media. One you are most interested in and one you are least interested in. Next we would like you to write as short synopsis of 200 words describing your idea then write the opening scenes for both. You are free to choose an area not covered here, such as animation or anime.

Post your work to the forum for this session.  And critique the work of at least two of your fellow students in the anthology for this session.

Please note that any work you post to the course forum is available to the public under a Creative Commons License.

Portfolios of Ideas:

Before making your final selection, you might want to consider your second assignment worthy to pursue as your final project.

Movie of the week:

Shaun of the Dead: This was produced by the low budget wing of Working Title. Sadly this part of Working Title's company no longer exists!