Storytelling Seminar at AdWeekEurope

What a week!
I was lucky enough to be sponsored to attend Advertising Week Europe and rub shoulders with huge agencies and amazing creatives.

I attended several conferences which I'll blog about here.
This one was my favourite, the title was 'ITV presents Chapter and Purse turning stories into sales'
Wow - what a title. Honestly my mind said 'boring but perhaps ok,' there wasn't much else going on so I decided to attend with my trusty friend Hanna the Marketing Whiz (yes thats her real title - to me at least!) at DHP Studios.

It was a great panel discussions lead by Tom Bradby who just the day before had been reporting on the budget cuts in parliment - so he was quite happy to be talking storytelling instead.

The panel consisted of (from the right):

Kate Brooke (screenwriter Mr Selfridge), Kieran Roberts (ITV Creative Director and Exec Producer of Coronation St), Warwick Cairns (Author), Enyi Nwosu (MD of M&C Saatchi) and Tom Bradby (political editor ITV News)

Please be aware these views are my own and based on my notes, I'm biased and listened to the stuff I found interesting!

So we started off with a great point from Warwick Cairns that all societies tell stories even if they haven't invented the wheel. I believe he was quoting someone, not sure who.

To this Kate added that 'We see the world through stories'. Totally agree on this point, which obviously is where the marketeers come in and say that brand stories is what they get paid the big bucks for!

Tom then asked, Why do people like stories?

My favourite answer was from Kate who said: Entertainment, myth, truth

Interestingly enough they all agreed that truth played a fundamental part of any story, whether it be advertising, a made up tv show, a novel or a screenplay. The truths of our lives is what calls to us.

I believe this is what Antonin Artaud talked about in his essay Theatre of Cruelty. From my vague student years at university I remember a theory he proposed about once the truth is seen on stage it lights up a beacon inside the actor, which in turn lights up the audience so you have this wonderful picture of a single light inside a being, which in turn makes other lights come on like a wave through the crowd.

Warwick - (who was quite verbose) then talked about the writers/authors test of a concept:

1 Do I believe it

2 Do I care and 

3 will I go on caring?

Very good advice for budding screenwriters. 

In fact each week I'm getting script submissions from writers, some who do not seem to care about their characters, and some highly unbelieveable. They also do not seem to care who they are submitting their work to, what the company has previously produced and whether their script is right for that company. (This is a whole other rant for another day - needless to say please do not submit your kitchen sink comedy to my company. Unless it is sci fi based.)

Talking about screenplays, Kieran of Corrie St, believes character should come first in a story- but it needs a hook.

Oh I cannot agree more, too often the scripts might have one interesting character but no hook whatsoever. Something that defines this story from others. 

Enyi from M&C Saatchi who is well practised at creating a story you will engage in, in a very very short amount of time (30 sec spot on tv) believes that each story needs:

Truth, 

Compelling insight, 

and a fact about the brand 

He is currently hooked on the Gatorade replay campaign which has been developed into a series and is going to be a feature film.

http://www.replaytheseries.com/

He also mentioned their work on Coke Zero campaign Street Striker. They realised the brand ambassador for Coke Zero, Wayne Rooney, was not pin up material. So instead of putting him on a poster the needed to come up with a ad campaign that would promote him and Coke Zero to 16-25 year old boys. Using truth, insight and brand values, they created a tv show that reflected Rooney's roots, finding young street footballers around the UK by Rooney, who were then put to their test at trails and get to perform in front of Rooney. He himself was discovered as a street footballer so this had truth in it, he was also passionate about this and it aligned with the Coke Zero brand values of creating opportunities for young people. In short it was a hit show with Sky buying the series for 5 years.

An interesting side note to this was that unlike a book, commercial or feature film tv shows can  respond immediately to audience feedback

Recently Enyi tells us the 30 sec spot is so short, the trend in advertising is to have intrigue rather than straight out there in your face type advertising.

He mentions all the big brands tell stories and these stories are what we remember about them.

Tiger Woods deal with Nike was not affected by his infidelity because the brand had their own story that people remembered.

They talked about the John Lewis Xmas ad http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0N8axp9nHNU

and how it has become a bit of an institution each year!

There is a real skill in creating a 30 sec ad/story which not only that, has to stand multiple viewings, wheras television shows are only aired once

However as Kate pointed out, ads work by condensing everything into 30secs. The skill of telling a story in a very short time, probably why a good short film is hard to find.

Kate quoted this wonderful quote from Ernest Hemingway. 

The saddest story in least amount of words "For sale, baby shoes, never worn"

Enyi reminded us that Brands can tell stories about what they believe in, but they cannot tell stories about their products

 

I then asked Kieran about branded content and how that is going for ITV and Coronation street in general. He mentioned they have a deal with

National Bank for ATM's, and brand associations are on the rise in television programmes. But he assured everyone that brand associations should

 not and would not get in the way of the programme or change the programme. Phew and there I was worried Corrie st might...get...worse?

It was a brilliant panel, chaired wonderfully and I really enjoyed it. Hope you gained something from reading my notes and perhaps some insight into

the similarities of writing whether it be for screen, books, commercials or any other format.

Happy writing.

2013 Begins...

Happy New Year!
Well after a brilliant restful trip in Barcelona I've come back to the grey and cloudy London!

Pic : Greg and I in La Familia Segrada Church, Barcelona

Today seemed a good day to begin the 2013 blog as I had my first audition today (commercial) and possibly because of that it started to feel like the beginning of the year!

At this point I've got several projects that are lined up for 2013 both acting and producing wise.
The most exciting one being 8 The Series which has just signed with Koldcast.
Read the exciting news below:
http://blog.koldcast.tv/2013/koldcast-news/5-reasons-to-discover-internet-tv-in-2013/

http://blog.koldcast.tv/2013/pov/the-promise-and-peril-of-having-your-very-existence-erased/

In the next few weeks we hope to have more information on when you can start to watch 8 The Series as we sort out production dates!
For more info see:
www.facebook.com/8theseries
www.littlejadeproductions.com

In other news there are several long term projects that I am beginning to focus on now including the ones below. Its exciting to start a fresh page in a new year and I hope to finalise some of these projects in 2013!

Short Film: A Perfect Soldier: 
A Soldier, A Scientist and A Turncoat meet in a room. This short film is based around the recent development of experimental DNA based toxins and their impact upon the world

Feature: Amazons

Book: P City
Providence City is a cyberpunk novel centred around Providence the daughter of a high ranking Mob Boss Alkemides. 
Set on a distant planet where extreme heat from the sun literally bakes a person dry, the cities are protected by Atomoshields. Which keep temperatures similar to those of Old Earth. However this system is run by The Council in A City, who have totalitarian control of these colonies. When P City's protection is revoked Alkemides takes over the running of the survivors in P City. However The Council does not approve of them surviving. The Council wants P City destroyed, and send in armed forces to destroy whats left. Pressures from southern gangs and the original inhabitants of the planet all start to combust within the city limits and its up to Providence to figure out how to save her city.....

Collaboration

Inspiration, Dedication, and consistency. These are the things that get projects done. Get films made, shows put on, deals created and so forth.

As I venture further into producing projects as well as being an actor or facilitator, I realize how essential it is to have a supportive team around you. To have people you work with who are an inspiration to you and the project!

Several projects of mine have lagged, due to financial problems, lack of time and lack of resources. As much as I'd like to be a one man band it's difficult!!

So I'm looking for collaborators constantly, people to work with and get inspired by.

In the end isn't this why we do what we do?
So if this is you please get in touch! I'd love to work with you.

Gratefully creating

Tonight I was invited to the Lost Short film night held at LBi each month.
What a fantastic line up! Including previews of documentaries, most expensive music videos from partizan, a meditation on the integer between numbers 3 and 4 and French grad animations.

It was afterward in the pub that things really got started, and then influenced this blog post.
Chatting to Orlando Wood from Biscuit about his latest documentary Revisionaries (winner of Tribecca Film Fest).
http://www.therevisionariesmovie.com/

We were (as producers inevitably do) talking about funding and how shorts are a pain as harder than features. It's always a slog, long hard battle to get money, keep it, do you're tax on it...etc.

And incidentally we both realised we had previously been pretty bad at Maths!! He'd had an ex-classmate say to him "but you were terrible at maths!"
Glad I'm not the only math-phobic producer out there. (thank god for excel!)

But all this crowd finding and financing talk made me realise something on the long walk back to the station.
That no matter what, or how, no matter how you spin it, we in the film business are pretty privileged and lucky people.
We are surrounded by exciting creative energy and are supported by a whole leading cast.
I walked on realising that perhaps the homeless guy asking for cash was not or had never been in my position.

I come from a middle class family, went to a good school, had a good education, went to uni and although I never was crazy wealthy- I've definitely had lean months, hell, lean years!
But I've always been lucky enough to be surrounded by an amazing support group.

Even here in the UK, away from my best friends and family, I look around and see support from my partner, my boss, my colleagues, acting buddies and friends. It's this realization that makes me so grateful.
It's not how far I go in my career it's really about acknowledging and realizing these amazing people around me.
It made me thrice more grateful for my life, my job, my three careers and the numerous projects. Right now I'm involved in one project in pitching, one in post (sound) which needs to be in pitching, a new feature film role to learn, a long term script to rewrite, another script in development, a feature audition to tape, a newly developing feature, work shopping a cabaret, a novel and mini series to finish and other ongoing projects....hmm just realized how many different things that is!
But most importantly without my support network, doing coffees with me, helping out when I call unexpectedly and advising me in my life, I'd be nowhere.

So I want to take this time to say thank you. To be grateful to them.
Starting tomorrow. ; )

My question to you is :Who do you want to thank in your life?
Who's in your support team?

Til next time!
Xx




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Testing

On set in Jan 2012

Had a brilliant beginning to 2012 with some film work in the first 4 days!

We were filming in the New Wimbledon Studios - which used to be the home of The Bill. Downstairs is a massive hospital set that was just amazing. Real medical gear and an Intensive Care unit, even a Morgue in the basement.

Check out the videos below!



On Set

Masterclass with Ralph Fiennes

Ralph  Fiennes Master class

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend an acting ‘Masterclass’ with Ralph Fiennes.

It wasn’t so much a masterclass the usual terms(where you work with the tutor and they give you tips on technique etc) but it was really a talk.

It took place in the theatre where Ralph is currently performing The Tempest – which has an amazing set. Ralph was interviewed by the Head of Central School of Drama (I didn’t catch his name).

The interview was rather hilarious as though the Head of Central tried his best to create leading grandiose questions diving into the depths and mystery of acting, Ralph was quite blunt about his techniques (I don’t really know), and his method of getting into a character (I start by memorizing my lines)!

Here are a couple of great points he made that I wanted to share:

¨               Every project carries a different spirit of truth

¨               I don’t really know what my technique is. We were exposed to many things which was great and you just take what works for you.

¨               I guess I just use my imagination.

¨               Script – learn the lines, and latch onto certain lines that are important to the character. These help unlock the charater.

¨               What is acting? What is truth? Ralph explained his year at RADA were exposed to everything, all different types of teachers from different disciplines.

¨               You need to find a way to effortlessly slide into the truth. Which is part of letting go of the work and forgetting it once you get into the audition or the show.

¨               On directing: “Its natural, youre involved in so many things creating the piece it just seems to be natural progression”

¨               On how you keep going and keep creating in this industry. “You form these bonds, these connections - its important and sometimes things happen.” I thought this was really pertinent to the various meetups and networking events especially UK Actors Tweetup. Its about meeting your fellow collaborators and working with/alongside them. It also helps you stay connected to your truth and “keeps the hunger going”.

¨               Working with Anthony Hopkins taught Ralph “he works in immediate truth. No big discussions on character, its all about right now.”

¨               We are all in a constant state of learning.

¨               Asked about watching/performing to different language shows. “It is about the skills of actors but Im interested in the spirit of actors. Especially with non English speaking audiences.”

¨               “A performance that happens on stage no on can edit”

¨               Asked about Doubt: “Every actors wrestles with doubt. Fear of failure or fear of self belief – but you can bounce off of it. I have it in my head. Everyone has doubts and fears and if they don’t they’re suspect. Use support of other actors to help you. You can be very lonely so doubt surfaces – so community is very important.”

¨               Asked about advice for young actors:
Keep the Energy Alive
Don’t Drop the Ball

So that's it - it was lovely to hear such a great actor still talking about imagination, fun and  just getting back to the basics.

Hope you enjoyed reading it too!