20100827 Print On Demand

ROAD KILL is now out there in a physical form on Amazon.
Does this mean I'm finally a novelist?
We can all dream...

20100823 ROAD KILL is Published in Paperback

A banner day, today. I arrived home to find a box of 5 proof copies of ROAD KILL the novel available for my review. The cover image is now light enough to see that it’s a girl lying naked at the bottom of the image, and all the corrections I made from the first proof are complete.
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE A LARGER PICTURE)

So I logged into CreateSpace, clicked the Approve Proof button, and got the confirmation.

ROAD KILL in paperback form is now available as print on demand from here: https://www.createspace.com/3472518

It might be up to 2 weeks before it becomes available on Amazon, and there is potential for it to be picked up by other booksellers and libraries.  Smaller royalty, there, but every sale is going into my ROAD KILL movie budget fund.

So, if you are interested in reading the book, before the movie gets made, here’s your chance.

It’s a hell of a good read…

Mark E. Poole

20100816 Filling the Pipeline

A creative person is like a shark.  We have to move forward or die. I was preparing the final proof edits for ROAD KILL when the idea for a cover for its sequel popped into my head.

I have only a title, outline and tagline, but I haven’t put one word to paper except for a few snatches of dialog. But bouncing about the back of my head was the cover idea. I just didn’t have any time to execute it. So one morning, at 4 AM, I got up and used the few minutes of “me time” to craft a mock up of the cover, using the same template as ROAD KILL (RK).

I did all the work in Photoshop(PS). I know just enough to do basic tasks in PS. I know a lot more about After Effects(AE), so I try to adapt the workflow I know there into PS. AE is meant for video, and I’ve used it extensively. PS is for stills, and I’ve not had much need for it. But it is a standard, so I’ve taught myself how to use it. One day I might take a full course, but I doubt I’ll ever have the time. I just bother Bill Spangler, my favorite photographer, and worry him with questions until I get the result I want. He made the mistake of helping me in the past, so now he’s stuck with me.

Quite frankly, I think it's more effective than the RK cover. The ice blue tone and pale white skin match the title and theme so well. The background is a backlit shot of an ice-cave. I did some careful cropping and logo placement on the model.

(CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO SEE LARGER COPY)

I have made a Black & White copy to go in the back of ROAD KILL, as a teaser for the next novel. It is to reinforce the message that this is a series.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Mark E. Poole

20100813 Lucky Day

"It is written, so shall it be done."


ROAD KILL script has been entered into two screenplay contests just this morning.

• 2010 American Zoetrope Screenplay Contest (Francis Ford Coppola's production house)
• 2010 Expo Screenplay Competition 

Janice and I met on a Friday the Thirteenth almost 18 years ago, so we consider those our lucky days. I hope it grants me readers who are not too jaded or overworked to appreciate my script.


Give my work a fair shake, and I feel I've got a good shot at least the semi-finalists spots.  We all have our dreams...


Mark E. Poole

20100812 Horse Races

If you are independently wealthy, or doing a micro-budget film, you can produce your screenplays without additional funds from an outside source. I am not the former, and the latter almost caused me to go bankrupt.

So for my next film, I vowed (to myself & Janice) that I would find the money before I even started pre-production.  To do that, I wanted to write a story in the vein of the Coen Brothers ( who’s quirky films I have admired since their first in 1984, BLOOD SIMPLE.  They interject their films with a wry bit of dark humor, and they are a fun romp all –around.

So I wanted to write a simple script that had that feel. By the time I was finished, I sink a Cadillac in a creek, blow up three more cars, knock the windows out of a small downtown, and destroy a bridge. Toss in a car chase, an actress tossed about in a moving truck bed, and dangling off the side of a bridge. So now I’ve got myself a load of stunts and practical effect elements that takes it into a big budget. Silly me.

As a director with one low-budget film under his belt, it is hard to attract money to something as chancy as movie-making, especially in this economy. So I have to resort to some other means.

I am talking marketing.

The novelization of the script helped me resolve some issues, but it also allows me a way to generate audience interest in the film. I am also entering the script into screenplay contests.

I am choosing the contests carefully:

2010 Expo Screenplay Competition

From their site:

The Expo Screenplay Competition is one of the industry's most prestigious screenplay contests.  Since its inception, it has offered some of the biggest cash prizes of any screenplay competition in the world.  The Grand Prize includes $20,000 plus a publicity campaign and multiple forms of access to the industry.  In all, the contest offers more than $33,000 in cash prizes.

However, the cash prizes have always been merely part -- and, we believe, the lesser part -- of the prizes and benefits this contest offers  From its inception, the  contest focused on giving its winners publicity, visibility, and prominence. We call these services the ACCESS PRIZES.  The strongest focus of ths contest is on access to  the industry --  getting winners' and seminalists' names and scripts past the gatekeepers to the movers and shakers who turn scripts  into movies and TV shows.

Zoetrope Screenplay Contest

From their site:

The contest's aim is to seek out and encourage compelling film narratives, and to introduce the next generation of great screenwriters to today's leading production companies and agencies.

The winner and top-ten finalists will be considered for representation by William Morris Independent, CAA, The Gersh Agency, Exile Entertainment, ICM, Oasis Media, UTA, The Radmin Company, Energy Entertainment, Dontanville/Frattaroli, and The Firm.

Their scripts will be considered for film option and development by leading production companies, including: American Zoetrope, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Fox Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics, IFC Entertainment, Paramount Classics, Lionsgate, Icon Pictures, Working Title, Dimension Films, Frelaine, Michael London Productions, Number 9 Films, Next Films, Pretty Pictures, This Is That, Roserock Films, Benderspink, Astrakan Films, Industry Entertainment, Nine Yards Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Jim Wedaa Productions, Robert Evans Company, Fortis Films, Jean Doumanian Productions, FX, and Ziskin Productions.

I encourage you to follow the links to learn more.
These both have deadlines that are fast approaching, and I will enter them after one last read-through.
So it’s a big step, going up against possibly thousands of other scripts. I think I’ve got a good, tight script with punchy dialog, engaging characters, and a satisfying conclusion.
By doing this, and hopefully placing well, it will lend credibility to the quality of the work. This could also generate the level of interest required to generate the funding to make my film.


I have a two year plan to get everything in place to make ROAD KILL a reality. So this is the beginning of a series of horse races to get a shot at the big prize, the realization of my story.

Mark E. Poole

20100811 Alpha et Omega

I put the final changes on the screenplay for ROAD KILL last night, with the help of my proofreader and wife, Janice.

With that, I’ve come full circle. RK started as a screenplay, but I had some issues with it, so I shelved it for a while. I then turned to the novelization to work through those.

 By going to the long form, I could explore the motivations and get deeper into the characters a bit. I added a few extra scenes, eliminated others. The book is 99% complete, I am going through a proof copy and have marked up about every other page. The cover also came out about 20% too dark, so I fixed that with the help of my friend and photographer extraordinaire, Bill Spangler of Rose Island Photo.  I need to go back into InDesign and make the changes, reload it to CreateSpace, and order another proof. The plan is to have ROAD KILL ready in paperback by the end of August 2010, if not sooner.

Adapting it back to a screenplay took a lot less than I thought, but it still was a massive effort. I wrote new scenes to replace interior dialog. 








Below is an example of one I really like (forgive the formatting it doesn’t translate in the blog):

INT. SHERIFF’S OFFICE - NIGHT

Jax’s office is dark. Light comes from a old stereo. A blues tune plays. Jax leans back in his chair. Half empty bottle of top shelf bourbon open on the table. Tumbler in his hand.

FLASHBACK TO:

INT. JAX’S CHILDHOOD KITCHEN - DAY

Lower-class kitchen with 1960’s era furnishings.

YOUNG JAX (14,) with a buzz-cut in a white t-shirt and jeans. He eats a peanut-butter & jelly sandwich. A beat-up ball glove and a half-empty glass of milk atop the Formica table in front of him.

Jax hears something outside, walks to the back door with the half-eaten sandwich in one hand. The sun shines on the screen door, so it is hard to see out. YOUNG SOPHIE (14,) appears at first as a shadow at the screen door.

As she moves closer, Jax sees a blonde mane frame her high cheekbones and pouty lips. Faded hip-hugger jeans cut off into short shorts, a man's white dress shirt tied off below her breasts. She is barefoot.

YOUNG SOPHIE

(dreamlike, coy)

Jax Hayes, this is one fine summer day. You come on out here and play with me.

The sandwich drops to the floor, makes a mess of peanut butter and jelly on the clean linoleum, as the shadow of the closing screen door crosses it.

BACK TO PRESENT

It’s not Shakespeare, but I like it. In less than half a minute, I was able to show how long he’s known the girl, and foreshadow the destructive nature of Jax’s (the lead character) relationship with his ex-girlfriend Sophie. She left him almost 3 decades ago, but he’s still holding out a torch for her. I know it’s tough to judge out of context with the rest of the script. Jax leaves his baseball and PBJ childhood simplicity for the feminine wiles of this mysterious siren, making a mess of things in the process. Not bad for a thirty minute re-write.

I have two contest deadlines I will now meet; I will explain why they are important to me in my next blog.

Keep writing!

Mark E. Poole

20100806 No Rest for the Wicked

Community

Went to Fright Night Film Fest last weekend in Louisville. It was great to reconnect with my friends in the KY film community, and meet some new ones. 

They had many films playing that I had to duck out of. Just no time to sit through a full movie for one reason (got to talk to my friends about their projects), the other was that the majority were unwatchable.

Someone asked what movies I would be watching. I told him, “Directors don’t watch movies, we criticize them.” I know that sounds arrogant, but it’s also a curse. After making a movie, it’s almost impossible to enjoy another without picking it apart. And then there are some that aren’t worth the effort. If the filmmaker doesn’t care enough about his craft to learn some basics about story, lighting, or sound, I feel no reason to spend my time on it.

I am not being mean, I am trying to help. I sat down with a very earnest director after one screening and gave him a few pointers because he has some real potential. He’s got a good thing going and he knows he has some challenges to surmount.

So if you are planning to make a film, and want some free advice, here are some basic points to keep in mind:

Lighting

Most lacked sufficient lighting for proper registration, flat, featureless lighting, or shot actors in front of bright outside windows. 

Just because your camera can capture an image in low light, doesn’t give you the excuse to ignore proper lighting.  It just comes out looking muddy, or blown out.

If you cannot afford a full light kit, the basic item is a China Ball, which will set you back a whopping $5. It’s a 200 watt light in a paper lantern. What it provides is a nice soft light that can wrap around your actors faces. Should not be your sole lighting source, but many of the productions I saw could benefit from this addition.

Move your talent out from in front of windows on a sunny day, unless you front light them to match, or want it to look like shit.

Sound

Get an off camera mike. Pay attention to any noise in the area. Compressors, dryers, AC, anything. If that’s out of your control to turn them off, then do ADR. Cranking up some music to try to hide it will just trample over your dialog. ADR is a fact of life even on big-budget films.

Foley is your friend.

Story

Too much to go into detail about, but damn, there were so many crappy stories out there. Retreads of retreads. I saw maybe two novel ideas, only to be disappointed because it took 20 minutes to get to what should have been the 5 minute mark.

You have to wonder if the films even had a script, because they sure as hell haven’t read any books on scriptwriting. A good one is How to write a movie in 21 Days  Viki King. At a bare minimum, you need to read SAVE THE CAT by the late Blake Synder. If you follow his guidelines, you’ll at least have some structure to the piece. I am not advocating a slavish devotion, but at least have a good reason to deviate from it, besides ignorance.

And one last thing – cut the crap!  What I mean by that is we do not go to movies to see the mundane minutiae that makes up our daily lives. We do not need to see people walking, talking, driving, or sitting, unless there is something else connected to it that advances the story.

The only time watching someone just drive was hip was in 1984 when MIAMI VICE overlaid footage of Don Johnson driving around Miami in a Ferrari with Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight. So that’s it. We are so done with that. You don’t need to show your character driving from one location to another, unless they are getting serviced while driving or something INTERESTING.

Screenplay Competition

I mention this because many scenes in ROAD KILL have people driving. But I have those only to reinforce the overall theme, and move the story along. They are not on grocery runs; they hit potholes, wreck, get blown up, receive blowjobs, etc.  These car scenes move the story forward.

I am entering the ROAD KILL screenplay into the 2010 Expo Screenplay Competition. I have high hopes for this. I reached 3^rd in last year’s online short competition, so I hope to pit my script against the heavy-hitters in this year’s completion.

Wish me luck!

20100802 First Sale of ROAD KILL

This is a fun shot (click it to see larger):

It is the dashboard of my Amazon Kindle sales page, showing my first sale of ROAD KILL.
Awesome!


Got a message from the buyer (I've removed his last name in case he might have an issue with people knowing his buying habits):

Hi Mark, 

 Just purchased your book... I thought, $5, what the heck, I blow that on nothing every week of my life. 

 

I’ll let you know what I think – not that I’m a contributing member and all :)

 

Looking forward to it…. 

 

Jim

Which is why I positioned the book at $4.99.  I want the buyer to say, "It's what I spend at Starbucks for a cup of coffee. Let's give it a shot."


But hey, it's a my first SALE. Very excited.
-Mark E. Poole