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By Bafta Award-winning screenwriter,
Michael Baig Clifford
1. I love it when I read something
and think 'this could only be written by someone
who has lived it'.
2. I hate it when I read the
first ten pages or so of a screenplay and know
how it’s going to end.
3. Two writers I’m working
with tell me they don’t know how something
will end when they start it. I think that’s
why I like working with them and why I don’t
know what will happen when I read their scripts.
4. A writer I know refuses to
go on training courses. I say go on them but don’t
take them literally; use only what is useful to
you, what strikes you as a good idea. Too much
training, too much processing could ruin your
voice and your work will start to look processed.
5. Try not to think about it
too much. All great works in any creative field
come from instinctive action. The same applies
to acting and directing.
Michael Baig-Clifford won the 2004 BAFTA Award
for Best Short Film with BROWN PAPER BAG, starring
Jo McInnes and Ronnie Fox. Written by Geoff Thompson
and produced by Natasha Carlish of Dreamfinder
in association with the BBC, BROWN PAPER BAG was
a prize-winner at the Turner Classic Movies/London
Film Festival Short Film Awards in 2003.
Michael's previous short film, BOUNCER, produced
by the Film Council of Great Britain/Screen West
Midlands, and starring Ray Winstone, Paddy Considine,
Shaun Parkes and Ronnie Fox, won a special jury
mention for outstanding film at Edinburgh 2002
and was BAFTA-nominated in 2003.
By Bafta award-winning producer, Natasha
Carlish
1. A film script needs to emotionally
engage an audience. Scripts that make me laugh
and cry are those that I remember and want to
produce.
2. Writing about what you know
is often a way to access authenticity and truth.
This will shine through the words.
3. The first 10 pages are the
key in a feature script. Many scripts that I read
only take-off 20 pages in. Film financiers will
generally only read first 10 pages.
4. At the heart of all good scripts
is a strong universal theme. All writers should
ask themselves this question - what do you want
to write about and why?
5. If you are able to convey
an atmosphere or mood in your writing for the
screen, this will elevate what you are writing
about to a much more convincing level.
Natasha established Dreamfinder Production in
2002. She has produced the following films: Brown
Paper Bag by Geoff Thompson (Awarded Bafta and
Turner Classics Movies prize); Bouncer by Geoff
Thompson; Broad Street, Friday Night by Natasha
Carlish & Michael Baig Clifford. Black Country
Western by Tom Nolan and Mick Yates; Three Sacks
Full of Hats by Geoff Thompson; Liberty, Oregon
by Steffen Silvis. She has also directed and produced
the following documentaries for television: Clubbing
on the Frontline; The Real Brassed Off; The Walk;
Psycho; The Man Who Wouldn’t Paint Hitler
(RTS award for Best Independent Production); Orgy;
Abba: Bjorn Again. Natasha also lectures in film.
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