Lately I have been feeling stagnant and unable to get back into the flow of things. This semester has had a good start, I am interested in my subjects, I am motivated to learn, however I can’t help feeling a little off beat, as though I am behind in some way. This may be a by-product of returning to a different education system after studying in Canada on exchange, or it is simply just taking me some time to adjust. Regardless, I have found it difficult to write about my experience so far.

Stayci’s classes have been enjoyable and when asking myself about them, I came up blank. Then I remembered the Bloore chapter “The Script Meeting” and it became a lot easier. The most useful piece of advice on critiquing writer’s work was to “try to ask questions rather than to provide answers” (Bloore 177). In the second class, we also undertook several creative exercises which helped to get the juices flowing. I find that my biggest obstacle when it comes to screenwriting is getting started. The most helpful thing to me is a deadline, and setting time in class to brainstorm possible characters and situations based on our own likes and hates really helped break the creative ice.

Furthermore, collaboration was a useful exercise because when it came to developing a story, it was a lot easier when you could bounce ideas off other people and also understand and feed off their ideas. This process was helpful because I was able to visualize a clear idea of what the project could be, rather than just writing words on a page, just to erase them if a better idea popped up.

Both exercises helped get me back into the groove of things, and has helped me get started on some creative projects that I have been putting off. I really enjoy screenwriting and discussing ideas, especially when I have a clear idea of the characters and situations. I always value the input and criticisms of others. As mentioned in class, sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees and that is certainly true for my screenwriting and also video editing processes. Sometimes the best thing that you can do is just step back and let someone else look at it.

Reference

Bloore, Peter. The Screenplay Business: Managing Creativity and Script Development in the Film Industry, London & NY: Routledge, 2013.

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