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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
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.
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.
today has been a particularly rewarding day … as i’ve finally finished my FINAL assignment with the ex-company. PHEW!
therefore, if this is approved, they no longer have a hold on me. i’m FREE, FREE, FREEEEEEEEEEE!
now, i can concentrate on my script. YES, YES, YES … my secret little script. yes, yes, yes …
God! i sound like Gollum. incidentally i was mimicking Gollum with the YES, YES, YES!!
anyway, this morning, i was a little bit miserable. i shan’t explain why. a bit of a misunderstanding with the roomie … or is it hooomie (as in housemates? heheheh … ok, i’m just deliriously almost-happy).
so, bought payless card and called my bf from a phone booth. he was very insightful.
i guess, it’s good to have a boyfriend, huh? only … now, that i’m on the other side of 35, should i still be calling him my BOYFRIEND? he’s not exactly a boy, yo!
that’s what the young boys in my office say, yo! YO! YO!
heheheh.
i think it’s upbringing also. there’s this other boy ( i call him boy coz he’s on the younger side of 25), who’s dad is in the army and he doesn’t say YO! or any of that american homey gangsta stuff. he’s just … normal. heheh.
oh, speaking of which … today is the brunei’s defense team anniversary Royal Brunei Armed Forces, it’s called. yup. so, tomorrow’s a holiday.
am thinking of going to the shahbandar forest park, but on second thoughts, maybe not. coz there’s gonna be lots and lots of people out there.
YO!
p/s: i’ve not gotten my period at all this month. stress i guess, but i feel a pimple coming up on my chin. maybe very soon. hmm. sigh.
it has been the craziest most awful month for me. had to move house and the movin’ process was really killing me. am now renting a room on the top floor of a walk-up apartment. groaan. okay, it’s only 3 floors, but feels like 5. from a serviced apartment to a walkup flat. hmmm … i’m really movin’ on up! VERTICALLY and PHYSICALLY. if i don’t get toned legs out of this, sigh … i’m gonna be really disappointed!
anyway, have finally moved my bike to this place. singlehandedly stuffed the bike into my friend’s car. amazing. it fits nicely!
this car which im kinda renting from my friend is really a character. she must have bought it from a guy. the aircon’s busted, so most of the time i feel like i’m in a sauna. but the great thing is the DVD touch screen player! whooooaaa, feels like i’m pimpin’ … oh yeah, oh yeah!
and i’ve discovered that there’s a natasha bedingfield video on one of the dvds. coool. my favourite artiste. i love that song, Unwritten. i can listen to it again and again.
on another sadder note … my bf told me his brother is getting engaged yesterday. i don’t why he only told me last minute. prob to him it’s not important that i know. but i got really upset … with him – about US!!
i went on a text messaging tirade. like how im tired of this relationship, and he’d better do something, ie we’d better progress the next time i come home. i want to go to the next level. i want to be engaged. if he’s still in his “i don’t know where this relationship is going” … duh! then, he’s gonna lose me. i’m not kidding. after five years, he should know whether he wants me or not in his life. if he still doesn’t know, then … sayonara.
i’m serious.
the past week has been bad, like i said. i just feel so down about everything … abt being in a dead end job, about having to move, about being here, about not being married, about not having a LIFE!!
plus, i haven’t been praying. the room had been in such a MESS, that i couldn’t find my qiblah compass (or i wasn’t looking hard enough) that i just didn’t get around to praying, except at the office. and i felt really disorientated and heavy because of this. the time i actually got to pray, i felt such a relief. now, i feel God is truly the One who listens.
last night i was so miserable, i think i went to sleep crying. then, i had a dream. my research proposal or project or something like that, was accepted by the swedish embassy (i don’t know why swedish) and i felt so good about myself, i felt that now im sooo raring to go.
when i woke up, i realised that i do have something to give, i do have something to do.
so today, i went around settling some stuff. bought some things to make my life here a bit better, so that i can concentrate on my work.
oh … and a girl’s next best thing … RETAIL THERAPY!!!
i went to explore the city in the sauna on wheels, and found the way to Plaza Athirah, and of course … heheh … bought some kain (fabric), for my aunts. so now i have enough already for everyone. well, except my other aunt, but i don’t think im gonna give her anything. she’s got rich kids. hahahahhaha.
i bought a little kettle for my room coz i’m just too lazy to go all the way to the kitchen to make my green tea.
i find that the way i can create is to be pure. even the food i take. by pure i mean, not organic etc … coz hey, they are too expensive. but not to eat too much rice and meat.
so, today, i stocked up on tuna spreads so i can eat with crackers while im working. and also, some ginger tea to give me that boost. and bought wholemeal linguini and pesto to eat with tuna in oil. i just want to eat simple stuff.
hopefully things will get better.
i know that i will only feel on top of things when reading and writing and doing research … generally making the wheels turn, etc.
Insyallah, things will be better.
it’s so … interesting … that the other day, i felt so grateful for the food that i ate, and I really thanked God for His bounty, his rezeki.
amin.
FINALLY!
found this interesting and very useful blog for malaysian wannabe scriptwriters:
http://zainikosnin.blogspot.com/
the blog is in malay. it’s got some really good tips and guides on how to write scripts as well as how to prepare a proposal for submission to local tv stations. i think he’s great for sharing his knowledge. semoga Allah akan membalas jasanya berlipat ganda.
just a note: Bidadara Kota (okay the tv is on!!) is an interesting series about 4 ladies. written by Rina Khan. i think she might be THAT Rina Khan who also acted in the nineties. i think. yup. i’m right. found her on sinemamalaysia.com. thought she was interesting as an actor, but she’s also very insightful as a writer. and i found her blog which she does not seem to have updated since jan 2008 … err, kinda like my other 3 blogs. LOLOL! anyway, this is the link to her blog:
my, bf, who had been involved in a tv show when he was younger, said that my earlier unfinished scripts were lots better than the local ones that he has read. but then, he’s biased.
what i’m concerned about is format, structure … coz i write in english. do malay scripts follow the same format, or does it have to be in malay? zaini kosnin confirmed what my bf said. there was no real difference. they also use INT. EXT. etc and they didn’t use malay terms for this. so, my confidence level is slightly raised.
zaini also cited syd field … and incidentally i have a dogeared paperback copy of syd field’s guide: The Screenwriter’s Workbook. it was in the loo of my PJ apartment for a few months and survived the damp. yes. i do read in the loo. but mostly mags and trashy novels. hahahahhaha. ok. i confess. sometimes i read milan kundera and biographies also. i don’t advise students to do this though. books are sacred. shouldn’t read them in the loo.
anyway, i digress.
better go back to my script. still at Act I.
