The second piece of crewing that I did for third years was for Max Ryles. He had written a script called ‘Topical Blend’ but didn’t feel like he was a capable script writer and wanted someone to help him improve his script. I gladly said yes as I always jump at the chance to improve my skill in writing, and the fact that I was already friends with Max made it easier.

The way he asked me to help with his script, with no self confidence in his abilities, meant that I was completely stunned when I first read through his script. Considering Max doesn’t enjoy scriptwriting and claims he no skill in it, it was of surprisingly high quality. It had a great premise and story, and interesting characters. The only thing I felt he really needed help with was making the dialogue more natural and developing the characters further.

For this script Max wanted to work together on it instead of letting me do it on my own, which is usually something I insist on when I am writing. Luckily myself and Max are very similar in our world views and our sense of humour so this makes working with someone much easier. When something was suggested we usually automatically knew why instead of us having to waste time explaining or defending ideas.

‘Topical Blend’ is about three characters going for lunch in a café, Trad is a traditional Christian, Prog believes in technology and progression as a religion, and Pac is more of a passive and doesn’t want to argue, he is more of a lovable loser and gives the audience someone to root for. The most interesting character in the film, I feel, is Trad who is a member of the religion ‘The Connected’. ‘The Connected’ is based on the idea that social media, like Facebook, or Twitter, is essentially god and how people worship technology and will live their lives based on what people say on social networking sites or what is currently ‘trending’. I think this concept is incredibly clever and also very true in today’s society. Even as I am writing this I am looking at what people are saying on Facebook every 10 minutes; it is a part of my life, and I don’t consider myself as addicted to it as others that I know. The fact that Max is bringing this to light is a very clever observation and will make people think about themselves.

 

As me and Max are very similar, editing this script was a very fun and productive process, as both of us were working together to improve his script instead of me doing it on my own. This is the first time I have ever done it this way so I learnt a lot about working with someone and doing what they want, whilst also having to discuss different aspects of their film and not being afraid to tell them when something doesn’t work, but at the same time remembering that it is their film and not mine so it is more important that they are happy with it. That being said, if my name is on the script as well then I want it to be a high quality as a good script is going to enhance my reputation.

 

In part 3, Daniel Daley and his script ‘Cake Break’…