I’ve been following an animator and filmmaker on YouTube for some time now named Patrick Boivin. In terms of creativity and talent, he’s the real thing.
Patrick just posted a short video called IRON BABY. In just over one minute he packs in more fun, action, and wonder than IRON MAN 2 did in over 2 hours. CLICK HERE to watch and be amazed. And then if you really want to be inspired, watch the rest of his videos, particularly the ones where he shows you how he does what he does.
Patrick…thanks for showing us what one guy with creative vision, style, talent, and a cute baby can do!
I had the good fortune today of interviewing the very gracious Chris Stevens, co-founder of Atomic Antelope, the people who have single-handedly ushered in a new era in digital media with the release of the Alice for the iPad book app.
On the podcast, Chris and I chat about finding success as a writer in unexpected ways, satisfying the creative urge, and what it’s like to see Oprah Winfrey interact with something you created just a few weeks ago. You can hear the podcast by CLICKING HERE.
Thanks again, Chris. Sorry about the crack about wanting to milk you…
– Jeffrey Alan Schechter
P.S. As the podcasts are new, if you felt like rating them on iTunes and even saying a few kind words in a review, that would greatly appreciated.
Sure, I like film and television writing as much as the next guy, however the guys over at Atomic Antelope may have just shown us a glimpse of things to come for those of us who love the written word (aka “writers”), media (aka “screenwriters”), and technology (aka “geeks like me.”)
If you haven’t seen the video of the Alice for iPad app, CLICK HERE and check it out. I know it’s an iPad app and not a film or a television show or a YouTube series, but it IS another way for people who are creative to create content and get into the hands of an appreciative audience. And once the audience gets really appreciative, well, who knows where that will lead one’s career?
It plays like a spoof, but it’s a brilliant move by George Lucas at keeping the Star Wars universe fresh, surprising, memorable, and relevant; everything you want your creativity to be!
I SO can’t wait for my GPS to break so it needs replacing…
Wasting no time, the geniuses (and all around good guys) over at Mariner Software have shared with me their plans to push a Contour for iPad app through their development process. This will be in addition to the very, very, very forthcoming Contour for iPhone app.
The above is just a taste of what the iPad version might look like, but one thing’s for certain…it’s exciting times!
After waxing poetic about my antique typewriter, I got a message from a fellow here in Toronto who makes me look like the real piker I am.
Martin Howard is a collector of antique typewriters and has even gone so far as to have a beautiful, custom display cabinet made to show off his stunning collection:
You can (and should!) check out his website — the Martin Howard Collection at www.antiquetypewriters.com.
Why was it that I simply HAD to own this typewriter when I saw it at the antique mart? It’s old, yet incredibly still works perfectly (needs a new ribbon).
I wrote one, 120 page script on a typewriter and the subsequent several dozens of thousands of pages since were all done on computers. I joke — at least I think I’m joking — that if I had to go back to a typewriter again, I’d quit screenwriting and go to medical school. Using typewriters only served to make me NOT want to use typewriters.
So why did this typewriter need to be mine? Maybe, as I get older I feel a link to those writers who came before me and the tools of their craft. Maybe as get older I get swept up in useless sentimentality.
Maybe it’s a reminder to me of an age when writing was a physical activity. Each letter was deliberately pressed. An accidental brush of a key cap and the Model 12 will hardly know that you’re alive. You wanna “b?” You had best press that key like you mean it!
And even the exclamation mark required effort. You feel like shouting your point? First you hit the single-quote key ( ‘ ) located on the Model 12 as SHIFT 8. Then you hit the backspace key and add a period under the quote. Voila! An exclamation mark.
On a computer shouting’s as easy as whispering, so why whisper? Not so with the Model 12. You wanna make a point? You better wanna MAKE that point cause the Model 12 is going to make you work for it. Four keys worth of effort; it better be good.
Ahhh…I’m sure I’m romanticizing, and maybe that’s the point. The clack-clack of a manual typewriter holds an appeal. The sound means that someone is doing something. Not the soft little “squish-a-chiclet” of a computer keyboard. It’s a primal sound, like something out of the iron age. Something transformative. Like dozens of little hammers pounding hot ideas on the anvil of the platen in the hope that something beautiful will be beaten onto or out of the blank sheet.
Until I figure out the appeal, there my Remington Model 12 sits between my Epson RX680 and my Brother DCP7080. One can’t help but feel a tad sorry for my Epson and Brother for they can’t appreciate the real significance of this ancient piece of writing magic that’s now at rest between them; what the Model 12 is really saying to them: “Boys? When you’re time is up and your technology is abandoned, nobody — NOBODY — will love you the way I am loved. I may be from 1926, but it’s your days that are numbered.”
This blog looks at films -- current and past, in the theatres and on DVD -- and analyzes how they measure up to the Four Questions and Four Archetypes; two components of Mariner Software's new story structure program CONTOUR. Invariably, in each analysis there will be SPOILERS.
If I may suggest...please see the movie first and then read the analysis on this blog. Or don't. But don't say I didn't warn you!
-- Jeffrey Alan Schechter
4 QUESTIONS? 4 ARCHETYPES?
Not sure what these terms mean? These are important concepts you'll need to know in order to understand these posts.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited.
Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jeffrey Alan Schechter and CONTOUR AT THE MOVIES with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
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Posted by totallywrite
Why was it that I simply HAD to own this typewriter when I saw it at the antique mart? It’s old, yet incredibly still works perfectly (needs a new ribbon).
Maybe it’s a reminder to me of an age when writing was a physical activity. Each letter was deliberately pressed. An accidental brush of a key cap and the Model 12 will hardly know that you’re alive. You wanna “b?” You had best press that key like you mean it!
