CASE STUDIES
from our central character Richard’s story had generated. I would like to think it was it is. Depending on whom you ask, this
One to Watch
(which, in terms of its arc, remains pretty all down to the script, but a big part of it pastry shop was either the most ingenious
much the same in the finished film) I didn’t was the concept of ordinary men trying thing I’ve done in my life, or the most Writing
have a clue what these other stories might be. (and failing) to be heroes in their own epic
The next step was developing the script film. If there is one lesson I can take away,
through an organisation called TAPS it is that a strong central image (i.e.
(www.tapsnet.org) who provided me with an something that will stand out on a poster)
incredibly patient and astute mentor in the is never a bad thing.
form of multi award-winning producer Faintheart was then put into contention
Ruth Caleb. I also got to see my efforts for the MySpace MyMovie Mashup, an online
performed by some very fine actors. The competition for directors pitching new
end result still fell short of working as a projects. In order to apply, the director and foolish. We just couldn’t get a pastry shop
feature film (largely because I still hadn’t I shot a video pitching our project. It might that looked right, and the deadline for the
Paul May
seen that it could be one) but it was much seem a bit back-to-front, but in many ways film (we had to hand it in for class) was fast
Paul May was born and brought up in Aberdeen,
tighter and more focused than before. it helped us look at the whole thing afresh approaching.
and attended Oxford University. He is a screenwriter,
I later met several producers but nothing and clarify what the story was really about. During a walk through the Student
playwright, poet and business writer. His thriller
really happened until my agent put me When we won the competition (thanks Union on the UCF campus, we had a Ex_cute—a noir-ish siege drama set in an isolated
in touch with Slingshot Studios in no small part to votes from the re- brainstorm. There was a bathroom with the
petrol station—is optioned and in development
(www.slingshot-studios.com), a production and enactment community), it not only meant correct looking structural e
with Zeitgeist. He is currently writing two episodes
lements that we
of a new science fi ction drama series for BBC Radio
distribution company developing a slate of a bigger budget, but the involvement of had
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micro to low-budget features, all shot on MySpace, Film4, Vertigo Films and the clock ticking, we made the decision to
His short comedy Self:Assemble is in development
Unleashing Hell… Weather Permitting
HD. Faintheart was among the first UK Film Council. More producers always shoot the pastry shop in front of a with producer Ravinder Basra (Can’t Stop Breathing),
projects they picked up. Others included means more script notes, but these were bathroom. W
director Simon Pitts (B
e composited a plate that we
BC) and cinematographer
the urban crime drama Sugarhouse and kept mercifully brief and succinct as the had shot in Disney W
Christopher Doyle (Hero, In
orld for the counter
The Mood For Love
,
).
French Film. As well as having an eclectic film moved quickly into production. rotoscoped the bottom half of the actors in
What training have you received?
slate, they were also keen to actually get Seeing something you have obsessed over front, and faked the reflection. On the back
I’ve been on SCENE Insiders and a Radio Drama
films into production and out there; a for a few years suddenly drift away from wall we printed out JPEGs—from Google Workshop, both through the Script Factory. The latter
refreshing approach in an industry that can you (as it inevitably must) was a pretty images—of a menu board and some photos
led to my fi rst commissions with the BBC. I’ve also
often raise procrastination to an art form. strange experience. By the time I visited on 8.5" x 11" sheets of paper taped on the
had a lot of free training from very patient script editors,
directors and producers on several shorts and
The following months saw lots of the set with my girlfriend Rachel Garlick back.
feature projects. I did English at university so I know
discussions with the director, producers and (who also storyboarded the battles), I was The final result doesn’
what a sentence is, and how
t even get a second
to strip one down and
script editor, and the usual mix of elation pretty much a guest, and my work was done. look fservice it.rom some, but takes others out of the
when the latest draft was going well and So after living with Faintheart for film entirely. As for my personal opinion, I
complete despair when it wasn’t. I also years, is there anything I would do thi
What themes do y
nk the problem
ou like to explor
was not with the
e in your work?
I’m interested in characters who are fooling
borrowed a mini-DV camera and filmed differently? Lots, probably. It is not that composites themselves, or necessarily the
themselves and others, and the messes they create
some re-enactors to get a better idea about I am not delighted with the end result, payphone behind the counter (which some
as a result. It’s about fi nding people I want to be
what they did, and more importantly, why. but when you are still so close to something are quick to point out). My problem with with and care about, rather than lining up issues
I am not sure how much impact it really had all you can see are the bits you would like the scene is that we shot it in a way that
that I think I can illuminate. I don’t usually know
on the script, but sometimes it is the tiny to go back and have another crack at. feels like something is off. The wide master
what my theme is until a reader tells me, and then I
agree vigorously.
telling details that can make all the difference. Hopefully I will get the chance to make a with the counter and all five characters
It also gave me an excuse to get out of my whole new set of mistakes on my next see
W
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flat and into some very fetching chain mail. project. Whatever it will be, it’s safe to say shot if we were in a real four“Don’t start typing yet.” My stories ar-walled set. e better when
One thing that quickly became clear was my days among Mighty Norse Warriors are The moral of the story is, always shoot
I’ve walked them about for a while. Early drafts
how much goodwill the idea of the story behind me. ■ effects sequences as if y
often obscure what you really want to write, and
ou were on a real
then it can be hard to give up what you’ve put on
loc
the page.
ation, bu
The advice I giv
t never und
e myself
erestim
, which I learned
ate the
production value of tiled copy paper
as a freelance business writer, is to remember that
.
nobody’s obliged to waste one second of their lives
AN
on anything y
D THERE Y
ou write. Make them r
OU HAVE IT!
ead to the end
Voila! A relatively massive amount of set
of the line, make them turn the page; make them
stay till the end.
building and compositing that comes
together in such a way you would never
Most signifi cant moment in your career so far…
otherwise see in a student film shot in When a script editor said, “I don’t think Ben would
Orlando, Florida. Interestingly enough, all
do that in this scene...” It was the fi rst time I’d
of this was an afterthought compared to
heard any of my characters taken seriously outside
of my own head, and it took me a long moment to
the sci-fi visual effects extravaganza
adjust. (“You mean we’re expecting somebody to
omega
35 that we were a
walk around and say this stuff? Oh, right.”)
lso making at the same
time, for the same deadline. But the best
part is, it worked for peanuts! About 500
You’ll die happy when…
peanuts to be exact (this is going on the
I’m already happy, so I can be fl exible on dates.
What do you have in mind? ■
one peanut equals one dollar standard).
Faintheart is set to hit UK screens on September 26
Not 5000 not 500,000, not—well, you get
the point.
www.moviescopemag.com 65
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