Since the last time we talked, I graduated college and moved home to read and write screenplays all day. Okay, like a floundering fish in the net of a pro bass master, I’ve been caught. I try to read and write all day but my eyes get very tired and not doing tough work can be very appealing to me. (Another fish in the net). Fine, maybe it’s not tough work but work is work after all. I am planning on moving to LA pretty soon so that I can be close to production jobs but in the meantime I think it’s a good idea to keep working while I can. And screenplays just don’t require an entire crew and cast to make.
My writing time has been spent on the second episode of The Maillard Reaction. I’ve only written the first five pages (which are action heavy so probably 6 minutes long if I directed) of the episode over the past week but hear me out. It required tons of research and even more staring out the window as the clouds lazily float by. The opening is completely separate from the rest of the series and it’s set in the French Pyrenees and concentrates on a sheepdog and her flock. I wanted to get the details right so I had to figure out exactly where in the Pyrenees this was set and which kind of Pyrenean sheepdog and which kind of sheep. Some Pyrenean sheep are used for wool and others for meat, which meant I had to then choose between different sheep used for the same purpose. I also found some other interesting tidbits.
Here is the majestic Tarasconnais sheep. I chose this breed mostly because they’re real cuties!
This is a Pyrenean sheepdog. There are various breeds of sheepdog but I needed a white dog which eliminated some breeds and once again, what a cutie pie. Her name is Aubin in the screenplay.
Finally, this bad boy shows up for some flavor and period piece-y goodness. The Pyrenean Ibex is now extinct which I’m sure they’re not happy about but it does help add some depth to the show for the .01% of people who know they’re long gone. Anyways, I’m plotting out the act structure for the rest of the episode and I’ve settled on a basic plot but I need to do a lot of research into Friars, Spain during WW II, and Spanish cuisine during that time. Whew!
Besides that, I’ve read some interesting screenplays and seen some good movies. Many professional screenwriters say you need to read other screenplays constantly to learn which is why I’m doing it. I feel like I’ve mostly learned about what I can get away with in terms of technique and prose. I refer back to some in order to see how they formatted certain descriptions and whatnot. G.I. Jane has been surprisingly helpful in that regard. I’ve watched 10 films since I’ve graduated and surprising to no one the best have been Kurosawa’s Hidden Fortress and Ran which are just so so good. The duel in Hidden Fortress was perhaps one of the most tense scenes I’ve ever watched and it’s incredible because of how little set up there is for it. I also watched From Here to Eternity which was awful but I convinced the director of a short film I edited to rename it to “From Beer to Eternity” so I thought I had to watch the original. Not even Burt Lancaster can make me watch that again.
So here we find ourselves again. Me with a blinking line urging me to go on and you with the rest of your life ahead of you. I’ll be sure to keep you updated on all the wackiness in my life. Thanks for reading.
Keep in touch,
Austin
Listened to During Writing – Habit by Snail Mail
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A Bigger Boat 