Philip E. Odiete's Lounge Discussions

Hey Pat Savage, I'm from Peterborough, about an hour from TO.

Welcome!

Hi Michelle, welcome and enjoy your time on here.

Hello Pat:

I'm a screenwriter in Los Angeles now for almost 30 years who grew up with my parents having a summer house in Fort Erie, Ontario and still go and visit almost every summer - wonderful corner of the world.

Hope all is well.

Best,

Joe

Michelle Foster hey there that's great! Sorry it has take so long I've been on location

There are many. Most are geared towards developing diversity hiring within the networks, studios, WGA and DGA.

Here are a sample selection from ABC, NBC, CBS and the DGA.

https://www.disneyabctalentdevelopment.com/directing_program.html

http://www.nbcunitips.com/writers-on-the-verge/

https://www.cbscorporation.com/diversity/diversity-institute/writers-men...

https://www.trainingplan.org/

Almost every major entertainment organization has some form of access program and many of those are paid apprenticeship/mentor based.

Apply to everything and good luck out there!

Thank you David. I deeply appreciate this.

Now that Nigeria is a Democratic form of Government have they implemented a Film Department for funding from the State?

Hello Tony, no they haven’t. We have only independent filmmakers here. The location to most of my screenplay is the United States.

Great, I am pleased that you are in LA! First, an Actor, Sag-Aftra ID: 10050998. How are you financed? I also, have been writing for 10 years. Scripts: Sci fi, The Void: the beginning in the " War of the Worlds ", The Robert Johnson True Story Bi Pic " King of the Blues ", The Buffalo Soldiers " Medal of Honor ", and planning a Documentary on Haiti: the Untold Story and a TV Episodic Detective Story " Kidnapped " and several other Drafts. Let's stay in touch!

Start your next project.

FORE!

Build a pitch deck, extract a scene to make a short, do a table read.

Contest season is upon us. I think that is a great place to start. Building your pitch and honing it also helps to prepare you for when you get the chance to tell someone about it.

Jimmy - totally agree with a table read! Hearing dialogue, even action, read aloud can do wonders for improving the script!

Thanks, Phillip!

Good luck, Zlatan

Thank you, Sherwin!

Good luck!

Thanks, James!

I use Celtx on my iPad

Use final draft for all - easy to sync but i wish they would keep up to technology of iPad Pro and incorporate pencil.

Note - Have used fade in on both - its pretty good and cheap also.

I use Final Draft for iPad too. It's about $30. It doesn't have all the feature that FD for Mac/Win has, but it's OK. I'm not a fan of cloud writing tools. I'm super paranoid of either companies getting bought, or if I decide not to use the tool, or the company goes out of business everything could be lost. That has happened to me before. I lost several years of work.

maybe I joined the conversation a little bit too late... :-p

I agree with Kevin , cloud storage is a false hope. Many issues on synchronization, 3rd parties security could be a serious issue. I tried myself few so-called professional software, like CeltX or FinalDraft, usability on a iPad is bad, not the same experience of a laptop, plus, the functionalities are very limited.

Few months ago, I moved to TwelvePoint, it works on both iPhone and iPad and It is my current preferred choice for writing out of the office. I believe there is also a version for Mac but I haven't tried yet...

You're not going to go too far wrong with either Final Draft or Fade In. All the best with your writing, Rose. May it take you on many a journey... and not just by train. ;)

Faith based family drama, suspense and thriller movies would be mine.

Sci-Fi and drama features. I am (as I am told) really good at writing dialogue so...there you go.

Horror. Crime-detective.

History, sci-fi, drama. Trying some comedy also.

Thank you for the inviting question, Uncle Phil. I am currently finishing up an animation that I wrote. I feel comfortable writing comedy and animation. I do want to dabble in all genres as they are all a test into knowing yourself on all level. New levels, new devils. They all have a fine line. A great horror will have hilarious aspects of it. I wrote an excellent Horror that I will resurface again, as I wrote it when I lived in Amsterdam, as at the time I was going through Amsterdamage as I was there to enjoy the proclivities. If there is anyone here who is serious please contact me as I am looking to form a writers group over Skype to read our SH*&. If not, say "Hi" anyway. ALways looking to meet great people that write and I can call friend. Only genuine people :)

I posted this as my intro picture and this calls for posting it again. Don't give up, Victor. A lot of people have given great advice in these comment.

I'm a self-published author and you can certainly make enough money to support yourself, but if you have an income that supports you, then you should certainly do it for the passion and not for the money.

We writers write because we HAVE to...not because we want to. Wanting is a good thing, but not the driving force, if you ask me. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd go BONKERS if I couldn't write. Money should not be the measuring stick of your success, especially if you have an income to support yourself.

You're one of the lucky ones! There are many screenplay writers that struggle to find time to write. I don't mean to make light of your disability. I served in the USAF during Desert Shield and Desert Storm and was lucky enough to walk away unscathed, but I have friends and family in your position. You're a brave soul. It sounds like you are taking advantage of the opportunity your disability provides, so hats off to you!!

Henry Ford said: If you think you can...or you think you can't...either way, you're right.

If you'd like to know how to make money as a self-published author, check out my author website where I have a lot of links to resources and articles with a ton of tips. AND I'm available if you have any questions! I'm an ex-editor, and ex-cover designer and have self-published a half-dozen books for myself, as well as helped many friends break into self-publishing. It's another outlet for your writing.

Cheers!!

Thank you all for your concern moments on my post. It’s greatly appreciated and important for me to hear your thoughts.

You have to be a screenwriter for the long haul because you love doing it. And a backup gig is advisable. That's why I'm a realtor again.

Victor - you have a script, find out if it's any good. Polish it to a bright shinny object and take it wide. It sounds like a period docu-drama. Period pieces are a hard sell today but there are a few production companies out there - do your research. Make sure your script is not preachy. It's the market that will tell you if you're a good writer - not you. You're a military guy? - just go do it (you know how)! All the best to you.

Hi Victor, Thanks for your post. Breaking into screenwriting seems like an enormous task, so from my perspective, because I love to write, I just do it as Nike says without worrying about whether I'll make money. Thank you for your service. You mention that you are taken care of financially so make sure that whatever you do, you do what you love. Also, once you've honed your skills as a screenplay writer, the fun, and also daunting part, is getting it to the right people to read and give you notes. Stage 32 is great for that. Check out the Script Services when you think your screenplay is ready to be reviewed by professionals in the industry. If you need guidance, Jason Mirch, Director of Script Services is always there to advice you and recommend which services are right for you.. Drop him an e-mail at j.mirch@stage32.com.