U-TURN

I've just changed my MA project significantly and I'm so glad I had the guts to do it. My old idea was stuck in a rut, I couldn't see where it was going. In our scriptwriting session last week I realised that I need a story that is smaller in scope but big on attitude. A plot involving at least ten characters and nuclear war, as well as several location changes, just isn't going to work for a new writer. The research alone probably would have taken me up to September.

I was so hooked on my satirical look at the world, I didn't think about the practicalities. My new idea is a complete U-turn, a small story, character driven, and it has a feasible research time-span. It is important to make an impression, but also stick to realistic production values. There is more chance of my new idea getting produced, it can't all be island hopping and special effects. In fact, if I'd have run with my first idea, I'd probably have been laughed out of space for being a pretentious armature.

Ohh, the trials and tribulations of being a writer...

I've always been a fan of independent, obscurely original films. So I will now be watching a whole lot of these indie films for inspiration.

Class Act

I'm so glad I chose to take the Scriptwriting unit this semester. Colin is a wonderful mentor, he couldn't be less like a teacher if he tried. That's not to say he's a push over, or he's not competent. Colin has a wealth of knowledge and expertise in TV and film, he doesn't boast about his connections in Hollywood or Bollywood, but he has got more than a stadium full of stories to tell.

We all agree that Colin is going to be the perfect guide for us, as he understands our warped sense of humour and I can see our group producing some outstanding work together. I'm excited about collaborating with our small but perfectly formed set. Just from today's session, we've got a good idea of what we all want from the unit and there are some great ideas emerging already.

On a slightly different tip, feature writing is also turning out to be very rewarding. Although it is extremely time consuming, once I've settled into a routine and worked out time slots for each of the units, things should pan out nicely. I've just finished the first draft of a feature on freecycling, pitched at Country Living magazine. I've had a brief look at their website and I think there is a gap there for my piece. I'm going to buy a copy of the mag tomorrow, just to make sure I get the tone of voice right and to check they haven't already covered freecycling.

I need to think about what I'm going to write about next week, to save any panic this weekend. Thinking ahead is what it's all about with features. I'd love to think of something really original to write about - but I think everything has been done before. All you can do is regurgitate an old story, but with a fresh angle. Sounds ominous, but it is actually quite liberating. I'm finding out all sorts of facts and figures, on subjects that kind of interest me to begin with - but have ended up being quite fascinating afterwards.

Is Cornwall The New California?

I've just finished the first draft of my feature. After a few days of avid research, emails and phone calls - I was bursting with the need to write up the burning pile of notes in front of my computer. The word limit of 500 quickly ran to 700. I could have written double that, and found it difficult to hold my focus.

I found some interesting sources, including a man who moved to Helston to run a B&B after living the high life as a manager at Disney in California. That lifestyle change could have been used as a feature in itself, but there was so much more I wanted to explore. The final section centres on the Cornish Film industry, and how Hollywood has been using Cornish locations recently, bringing a lot of money into the county. Again, I'd like to write a feature taking a closer look at the effects of major film production in Cornwall.

Everyone I spoke to was extremely helpful - I found quite quickly that it's better to say you're a freelance journalist than a student, they tend to take you more seriously. We'll be churning out a feature every week, which sounded daunting last week, but having got my first draft done today, I'm fairly confident that I'll be able to keep up with the work load. It's the research that takes time, the writing part is liberating and free-flowing.

Screenwriting starts next week - I've got to watch Legally Blonde tonight, (I'm guessing it's on the list becuase it has a good structure?) I'm just over half way through one of the Resnick books, and I'm going to try and do some of the exercises in my 'Writing TV Scripts' work book. I've got a list of six possible script ideas - one of which I'll be using for my dissertation. The radio plan may have to change, I don't think it's going to be possible to record it at Tremough - so, I'll have to make a backup plan.

I had an idea for a story earlier - it's a sit-com set up, charting the trials and tribulations of a group of 'extra sensed' sufferers. By 'extra sensed', I mean they have one extra sense, they hear and see things beyond the scope of normal people. One man hears every one of his bodily functions, another sees the blood and other fluids that flow behind his eyes. I think it would be fun because the camera could get inside their bodies, adding an extra dimension to the comedy.

Little Miss Sunshine

What pleasure can be gained from such a small, seemingly insignificant dysfunctional family?
A lot. I know that Little Miss Sunshine has radiated a rapturous entrance into our lives, but I have only just had the opportunity to be exposed to the eternal rays of Little Miss S. I enjoyed it so much, I had to re-watch it three times this weekend.

Waiting to know what Olive will perform in the contest is justly satisfied from the very first beats of 'Super Freak'. A kid - the least conventionally good-looking kid of the beauty pageant line-up, stripping! It's wrong, but so right at the same time. You can see the spirit of grandpa sparkling in Olive's spectacles - she's one happy little gal. But when you watch for the second time, you think - why didn't I think of that before, of course he'd have taught her something saucy. He's a womanizer, from the start, he's telling his grandson to go get some, why not teach your granddaughter a few soft porn moves to carry on the tradition?

And when the whole family get up on stage and start flailing their limbs around, I could feel my cheeks tightening to the point of no return. Tiny, hot tears of joy sat plump at the corners of my eyes and as the family got back on the road home, I preyed that the blackened screen would open up again for another instalment.

I love the desperate dynamics of the family, how they manage to upset each other - just by looking a certain way, or saying one word out of place. But the premise of the pageant brings them colliding together, apples, pears, and queers. The yellow bus - a symbol of hope, but also (ironically) a burden and menace throughout. It beeps uncontrollably at the most inappropriate times, the clutch won't shift - but these things help entwine the family, in a way nothing else could have.

Each character is wrestling with a personal demon, and little by little, each demon is exhumed. I read somewhere in Creative Screenwriting magazine that the producer and writer of LMS were worried that the story was too small for Hollywood. I think the cast and strong characterisation make for a mammoth story, laden with trials and self-enlightenment. Sure, the scale is small, the budget is small, but small is not a compromise here.

Long live Olive, long live dysfunctional families and long live small tales big on sunshine.