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suddenly i seem to have a lot of time on my hands … now my script is finished. i’ve actually wanted to send it to a few producers, but i am waiting from feedback from that one producer that i had already sent my script to … but of course there’s no contract or anything … it’s just i prefer to send it to one person at a time.
she said the story is interesting … but the thing is … is it good enough to be turned into a production!!!
anyway, after a few days of twiddling my thumbs … i’ve decided to move on to my next project … a MALAY NOVEL!! yes! eventhough i haven’t written in malay (formally) since SPM 1990 … i have to try to break into the lucrative ( i guess … i don’t have the numbers) malay young fiction romance whatsit genre. hahaha.
oh, and i intend to send my poems to one of my dad’s ex college mate who’s also a renowned poet (but his name shall be a secret). my poems are not that fantastic or clever … but i think it’s got heart … and i intend to self-publish it … so that it can be shared. poems must be shared, i feel. a few lines can make someone feel better about themselves and life.
anyway, bf gave me a belated birthday present … a LAMY pen. it’s not exactly the ring that i’m hoping for … but it’s good enough for me (for now!!) coz i’ve always wanted a LAMY pen (like almost 20 years!) but never got around to buying it for myself. and the fact that someone gv it to me … well, that, as they say, is SWEEET! 
got this from stormforce pictures website:
In a nutshell, a treatment is a detailed outline of your film from start to finish – including all of your clever twists and turns. Some writers love them whilst others (usually the lazy ones) loathe them.
No matter what your view on treatments is, there is no mistaking that they are an immensely powerful tool for scriptwriters that force you into thinking about the path your story will take rather than focusing on the “cool scenes”.
For the writers that prefer to skip this step and dive straight into the 1st draft of the screenplay, they tend to write really shit scripts which in turn make god-awful movies. It makes good sense to have a good, long think about your story before writing a script for your story.
Treatments are a very popular way of attracting attention from studios or people in the industry when you haven’t got a completed script ready. Your treatment should be short and snappy so that it grabs peoples attention. The jury is still out on what is an ideal length for a treatment, but as a guide you should keep it down to 7-pages maximum (computer type) if you are writing a feature. If you are writing a short, you should be able to condense this down to one page. > read more
from: movieoutline.com
Writing a treatment is a skill that can help any screenwriter succeed, at any point in the creative process.
There are at least three parts of getting a screenplay sold or financed. Learning to write a treatment can jumpstart a writer’s career because it allows a screenwriter to communicate his or her screenplay idea in a brief but compelling way. It also can be a powerful diagnostic and creative tool.
I am often asked if a writer has to actually write a screenplay, or can they just sell ideas?
You can’t copyright an idea, only the execution. If you have a great idea, the only way to own it is to write it. Writing a treatment is a fast way to test out an idea before the screenwriter commits to writing a script. If it isn’t terrific, move on. > more
apparently, these are the ‘hot’ production companies that gets their foot in the door with the tv channels … groan. whatever.
Metrowealth (David Teo), Filmscape (Kabir Bhatia), Pena Creative (Ziela Jalil), Orangetree (Dato’ Jaspal Singh), Asia Media Content (JS Foo), Suhan Movie (Rosyam Nor), ACE Motion Pictures(Aziz M Osman), Excellent Pictures (Ahmad Idham), JS Pictures (Shiela Rusly), Radius One (Shahrul Ezad), Zeel Production (Fadzil), Global Station (Zaitun Mohd Jiwa a.k.a. kakak ipar Siti Nurhaliza).
took the info from: tangisan bulan madu
stumbled across this: projek skrip astro shaw. deadline june 22.
do i dare submit a synopsis? ulps.
PROJEK FILEM ASTRO SHAW SDN. BHD.
Elemen filem yang ingin diterbitkan:
1. Cerita mesti berkenaan kebudayaan atau sejarah Malaysia, atau kombinasi antara kedua-duanya. Namun cuba elakkan isu berkaitan politik dan perkauman.
2. Filem dalam Bahasa Malaysia, namun sinopsis/treatment/skrip boleh ditulis dalam Bahasa Inggeris.
3. Cerita yang boleh meninggalkan impak kepada industri perfileman Malaysia serta mampu memperkenalkan identiti Malaysia ke pentas antarabangsa.
4. Cerita juga perlu mampu menembusi pasaran luar negara.
5. Cerita perlu mempunyai unsur komersial yang mampu memberi pulangan kepada pelaburan yang dibuat Syarikat.
6. Tidak ada genre tertentu yang ditetapkan, ianya terpulang kepada penulis.
Bagaimana?:
1. Penulis hendaklah menghantar sinopsis tidak lebih daripada tiga (3) mukasurat.
2. Penulis boleh menghantar sebanyak mungkin sinopsis, namun hanya satu yang terbaik akan dipilih untuk ke peringkat seterusnya.
3. 10 penulis yang terbaik akan dipanggil untuk sesi pitching bersama panel penilai Astro Shaw.
4. Hanya enam (6) sinopsis akan dipilih untuk dikembangkan menjadi treatment. Treatment hendaklah ditulis dalam bentuk ‘babak demi babak’. Jumlah mukasurat tidak dihadkan. Sejumlah bayaran akan diberikan pada peringkat ini.
5. Daripada enam (6) treatment, hanya tiga (3) yang terbaik akan dikembangkan menjadi skrip.
6. Terdapat tiga (3) draf skrip bagi tiga (3) cerita yang terpilih tersebut. Setiap draf akan menerima bayaran. Ketiga-tiga skrip ini bakal menjadi hak milik Astro Shaw Sdn. Bhd.
7. Hanya satu (1) skrip terbaik akan diterbitkan. Skrip ini akan diberikan bayaran tambahan berdasarkan kepada harga pasaran.
8. Tarikh tutup untuk menghantar sinopsis ialah pada 22 Jun 2009 (Isnin).
Sinopsis boleh dihantar melalui email ke noraini_ridzuan@ astro.com.my atau melalui pos kepada:
Noraini binti Ridzuan
Penyelaras Kreatif
Astro Shaw Sdn. Bhd.
Unit 1, Tingkat 5, Blok C
Mines Waterfront Business Park
The Mines Resort City
43300 Seri Kembangan
Selangor
Sebarang pertanyaan boleh menghubungi Noraini di talian 03-95436688 samb. 3118.
STRUKTUR PEMILIHAN SKRIP PROJEK FILEM, ASTRO SHAW SDN. BHD. > more
Among the criteria to be considered:
1. Stories must include the culture or the history of Malaysia, or combination of both. It is keenly encouraged to avoid political and racial issues.
2. The film shall be in the Malay Language but the synopsis/treatment/script can be written in English.
3. Stories should give great and prolonged impact onto Malaysian Film Industry and be able to introduce Malaysian identity for the world’s attention.
4. Stories must also be able to travel beyond the Malaysian market.
5. Stories must have a degree of commercial value which can give positive return on investment.
6. No particular genre is set; it is up to the writers themselves.
How?
1. Writers must send synopses of not more than three (3) pages.
2. Writers can send in as many synopses possible, but only one will be chosen to move on to the next phase.
3. 10 best writers will be called upon for pitching sessions with Astro Shaw’s judging panels.
4. Only six (6) synopses will be chosen to be developed into a treatment. Treatment must be written in a scene-by-scene structure. The total of pages is unlimited. Payments shall be inclusive within this phase.
5. From six (6) treatments, only the best three (3) will be developed into a script.
6. For the three (3) selected stories, there will be three (3) drafts of scripts. Each draft will be paid for. These three (3) stories will be the property of Astro Shaw Sdn. Bhd.
7. A (1) best script out of the three (3) will be chosen to be produced. Additional payment will be paid to the chosen script.
8. The last day of submission for the synopses is on the 22nd of June 2009 (Monday).
Synopses can be sent via email to noraini_ridzuan@ astro.com.my, or by posting it to:
Noraini binti Ridzuan
Creative Coordinator
Astro Shaw Sdn. Bhd
Unit 1, Level 5, Block C
Mines Waterfront Business Park
The Mines Resort City
43300 Seri Kembangan
Selangor
For further enquiries, do call Noraini at 03-95436688 ext. 3118.
SCRIPT SELECTION STRUCTURE FOR FILM PROJECT, ASTRO SHAW SDN. BHD.
got the above from: bicaraskrip
i’ve finally finished my script today … at 116 pages. not too bad.
i suddenly hurtled through it … like hurtling through space. suddenly, it was fast, fast, fast. and just as i was about to get the last page … i got really nervous.
and then.
FADE TO BLACK.
THE END.
so … there.
i’m exhausted.
i thought i’d take a break. and do my re-write on monday.
but now … sigh. dunno what to do.
look for some DVDs?
hv just realised that i have absolutely no friends here.
my cousin is away. so no one to ask out for a movie.
maybe i go alone?
hmmm. dunno.
i went to buy nasi katok mama a few nights ago. it was so funny. the indonesian guy who works there told me that he really likes the way Malaysians speak. by that i mean, Malay. he said it’s “lembut” …. hhahhahahaha…that really made my day.
becoz i actually love the way indonesians speak, ie Bahasa Indonesia, especially when i watch Safira, the way Aditya speaks … like when he says “tak ada apa apa kok … Cemburu itu tandanya sayang” … aaawwww … does not that make your heart melt? i mean, seriously?
one of the reasons i absolutely love sheila majid’s earlier songs was the lyrics …
kata demi kata, jalin dengan indah, untuk menguraikan … maksud hati … kuberanikan diri, untuk memulainya …
language is such a precious thing. that’s why i find it hard to learn a new language, coz i get impatient with the communicative aspect of it, hello, goodbye, can i buy a lemon? groaaan …
that i’d feel jealous of those who can appreciate poetry in that language like neruda’s poems are already beautiful in english, but in its original language, his poems must be sublime, an unforgettable experience!
found this interesting article which begins with a commentary on Ayat-ayat Cinta. I have yet to read it eventhough my mum actually bought me one. and i have yet to watch the movie, although i love the song by rossa.
Writing for God
Piety and consumption in popular Islam
By February 2008, the novel Ayat-Ayat Cinta (Verses of Love) had been republished 30 times since its launch in December 2004. It has sold more than 400,000 legitimate copies and an unknown number of pirated ones. In 2005, The Muslim women’s weekly Muslimah chose it as Indonesia’s ‘Favourite Book’ of the year, defeating the latest Harry Potter volume by four votes. The movie bearing the same name hit the cinemas in March 2008. It beat many Hollywood movies at the box office, gaining an audience of more than 4 million people. A special viewing was organised for President Bambang Susilo Yudhoyono and his family, who invited his cabinet ministers and members of the diplomatic community in Jakarta.
now that i am almost done with my script (well, i have about 40 more pages to go) … am already thinking about my next writing project.
stumbled across this poetry and short story writing competition, The Bridport Prize. i might send my poem. have to pay though. sucks. but well, it’s less than $10. one previous judge was tracy chevalier. so i guess they’re legit.
visited the Silverfish Books website. i went to the Bangsar outlet once or twice. i read somewhere that the owner said that don’t even think of writing a book if you haven’t read hundreds or was it thousands. ok, i’m not sure where i read this, but i did. anyway, i don’t know whether i hv read thousands, but i think if we have something to be expressed, we have to express it. don’t think about critics yet. just write.
as an editor. well, i have worked in book and magazine publishing. not a lot of people can write. they have ideas, but that doesn’t mean they can write WELL. so, that separates the talented from the not.
being an editor and being a writer is not the same. some editors also write well. some are good at editing but they are not that keen on writing. writing is hard work, i have to say.
am at the taurean cafe, clicking away on my laptop. my script is almost three-quarters done an i am getting nervous. but excited too. coz i am really going to be sending it out. rejection or acceptance, who knows?
a few years ago, when i decided that i wanted to try my hand at writing scripts, i managed to finish one. but i never did get around to sending it out because i wasn’t confident about the format. but now … i have to just do it.
anyway, i have visited taurean cafe about three times i think. for breakfast. thats when it’s quiet. the food is so-so, i mean i hvnt tried their lunch yet, but the atmosphere is great. they have this one cosy corner, just for couples or singles, so you don’t get the noisy crowd at the next table. parking is easy to find; in the mornings i mean.
for breakfast, you can order from the $2.50 set or the $3.50 set. plus a dollar for teh tarik, i think.
they have a great selection of drinks. and you get free wifi.
one of the reasons that i would consider staying in brunei is so i can continue to come here to write. it’s air-conditioned (hahaha…not very eco-friendly, but that’s the reality of the hot june weather) and cosy. i love it.
the cafe is off the gadong roundabout in a two-storey white building called The Arch.
the staff is pleasant, so it’s quite nice all around.
anyway, i hope it remains this way. bcoz sometimes you go to a place three, four times … then something happens the fifth time and you don’t want to go there anymore.
am halfway through my script. really don’t tknow whether it’s good or bad. i just hope, when i send it out, it’s not gonna be rejected.
anyway, i hv another 2 weeks to finish becoz i gotta send it out before i arrive in malaysia.
speaking of writing … i am preparing for two writing competitions.
1. the david tk wong scholarship: the winner will spend a year writing at the university of east anglia. but bear in mind, this does not give the writer a UAE MA. just writing space, i heard. heheh.
2. Man Asia prize. am waiting for next year’s application coz missed the 2009 one.
it’s so great that people like david tk wong is giving a chance for asian writers to write. it’s not easy trying to come up with something like a novel, esp when you have a day job.
i am kinda torn in this regard. do i stay on in brunei, or do i go. here, i hv enough time and money to write. if i go home … hmmm … it’s a tough juggling act, bah.
i don’t know. i really don’t know.
