Day 15 of my diary for Ciara

Hey babe!

Well today was an interesting day indeed! I awoke to call you, but of course you didn't answer as usual, so after trying again I resided in the fact that you probably won't pick up.
So I went back to sleep, but not long after, I was awoken suddenly by the ringing of my phone!
I quickly snatched it up, thinking that it was you calling, but alas it was not... It was my manager (sigh) asking me to cover a shift at work this afternoon.
Of course, I said yes, I need all the money I can get!

So because of that, my plans to meet up with some mates in Rosebud we're cancelled because by the time I went down there I'd have to turn around and come back home!

So I sat around, played some playstation and wrote some more! I then looked on the Hoyts cinema website and booked tickets for my dad and I to go and see the advanced screening of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol on Wednesday night after my work Christmas party.

So I'm very excited to see that film!
I then headed down to work this arvo, my first shift on my own! It went pretty smoothly, apart from the computer crashing several times... Stupid thing.
Holly from work and her boyfriend came in to help me with closing up later tonight, which was good just to make sure I hadn't missed anything!

And then I headed home where I started my Mission Impossible marathon before seeing the new one on Wednesday!

That's about it really for me today!
How's Milan babe? What's it like there? How's your host family and Pietro? Hope you're having an amazing time over there girl!

I love you and miss you lots! I'll call at the normal time on your mobile, but let me know if I can call his home and I'll call there instead if that works better!

Well I'm off, beddy byes for Josh!

Love always,
from
Your Josh xxx

Day 14 of my diary for Ciara

Two weeks... Two whole weeks you've been away in Europe! Geez I miss you Ciara. Like you wouldn't believe! So you're in Milan now, how exciting! I can't wait to hear from you and hear all about the exchange family!

Anyway today started off like any other. I woke at the usual time and tried to call you, but yet again it didn't work. Starting to wonder whether you just don't want to talk to me... hahaha I kid I kid :P
I went back to sleep and didn't wake until 11.15. I must've needed a sleep in!

The rest of my day was spent helping the family with putting up Christmas decorations and writing more on my screenplay.
Then later this afternoon we headed off to Dandenong for indoor hockey. We won 13-8 which was very exciting! But dear god was the umpiring bad! I mean it always is in our competition, but this was just atrocious! Oh well hey, we won!

Then tonight I had dinner and set about trying to get some editing done on my screenplay. I'm over half way now, so not too long I'll see where I can take it and hopefully get it looked at properly by a professional reader!

But that's all for today, a pretty cruisy and relaxing day all in all.
I hope to hear from you soon babe, I'll call tomorrow at the same time as usual. Let me know if I can call the home phone where you are, but until you do, I'll just call your mobile in case I'm not allowed to for whatever reason.

I love you so much Ciara, I know love is a big word, but I really do.

I'm heading off to bed now so good night my beautiful girl and I'll talk to you in the morning!

Love always,
from
Your Josh xxx

Day 6 of my diary for Ciara

Hey gorgeous girl,

Well today started off incredibly well, I was awoken at 6am to the sounds of my mobile ringing. I picked up the phone and saw it was from you and for the next ten or so minutes I chatted with the most amazing girl I know. She told me about Europe and the magic of the place, and I just listened in awe of her travels and experiences :)

For the rest of the day, I really didn't do much. No that's an understatement. I did bugger all! I wrote more on my film for a while and tweaked parts of my older one, trying to fix up the terrible sections, which is the majority of the screenplay... But yet I persist!

Later in the afternoon I got a phone call from Tayla at work saying that I needed to come in early, so I rushed to get ready and bolted out the door. For the next six hours I worked at the video shop, helping out customers and generally working. Ali taught me how to close, so not too soon I'll be working by myself. How scary..!..

When I got home I tried to call you, but got no answer, so I'll call again at the same time as you called me this morning. So 6am Australian time :) can't wait to hear your voice Ciara, I miss you so so much!

After that I crashed and watched a DVD before heading to bed to write down my diary for you.
And that's about it really, a very, very bland day for me! Except for the phone call from you that is :)

How's Italy? I hope you're feeling better and the tummy bug has gone away :) I imagine you're having the absolute time of your life over there!
I can't wait to talk to you tomorrow babe, but until then, stay safe and I love you beautiful girl.

Love always,
from
Your Josh xxxxxxx

Untitled Sequel

In late 2009 to early 2010 I set about writing my epic action film 'Liquid State' which was based on an idea that I had.
A year and a bit later, I finished Liquid State and took a break from writing to pursue my year 12 VCE (final year of high school in Victoria) studies.

During this time I wrote and directed a short film titled 'The Golden Rule' (which can be found on my YouTube page) for media class. I got an A+ for it and was very happy with myself!

But now I've decided to take up the pen once again! Well when I say pen, I mean the CeltX screenwriting software on my laptop.

My latest project is an untitled sequel to 'Liquid State' where we see the return of the main protagonist, but this time he's a wanted man.

That's all I'm going to say about it for now!


Josh.

P.s. Below is the link to my short film 'The Golden Rule'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0Vn0aAo4Qg&list=PL177E9C88E7A3F434&index=1&feature=plpp_video

Quentin Tarantino's 'Five Keys to Telling An Engaging Story'

In my entry Inspiring Film Makers - Part 2 - Quentin Tarantino I mentioned an article about his 'Five Keys to Telling An Engaging Story', so here they are!

1. Make people care. Think about any Tarantino film. Even if you’ve never watched one, you’ve probably heard of some of his characters. Maybe you’ve heard of Hattori Hanzo from Kill Bill, or maybe you’ve heard of Mr. Pink and Mr. White from Reservoir Dogs. In all of his movies, Tarantino creates characters that make you care, even if that caring surfaces as you really hoping that character gets what’s coming to them. If people are indifferent about your film, they won’t stick around to hear more about it.


How are you making people care about your story? What can they hold on to and tell others about?


2. Interweave lots of stories together. Pulp Fiction is probably the best example of how Tarantino can take the stories of characters from all over the place, fully develop each story, and then majestically bring them all together to form the punchline of the whole story. The audience is always aware of each individual story, but it’s never entirely clear, till the end or the climax (which aren’t always the same in Tarantino films) how it will all pull together.

Is your film cohesive, put together, and clear? Are you wrapping all of your stories together or are there some loose ends? How can you tie them up?

3. Don’t give away the whole story all at once. Just as Tarantino keeps his audience on edge about how all of these individual tales will mesh together, he also waits awhile to reveal details about the story or his characters that end up revealing a great deal about the overall story. For example, we don’t find out till quite late in Pulp Fiction that the time line is completely off. That’s pretty important. We don’t find out till pretty late in Kill Bill what Uma Thurman’s story is. Also very important. This late reveal keeps the audience engaged because they can’t wait to see more of the backstory.

How can you leave some space for your audience to finish your story and make it their own? How can you wait for the big reveal?

4. Every idea is fresh, and every idea is yours. Tarantino excels at creating very different movies. Reservoir Dogs doesn’t really bear much resemblance at all to Inglorious Basterds, which in turn doesn’t really bear much resemblance to Pulp Fiction. However, you can always kind of tell when you’re watching a Tarantino film. His trademark violence, ultra dark humor, and method of storytelling are dead give-aways.

What makes your film YOUR film?

5. Know thy audience. Tarantino is kind of like a stinky cheese. Not everyone likes his work, and in fact some people find it revolting. The people who like Tarantino’s work have very specific reasons for liking it, and they would likely fight you if you called their allegiance stupid. So far, Tarantino has not tried to bring radically different people into his office. He hasn’t approached Disney, for example, nor has he ever tried to do a kid’s film. In fact, I can’t recall many kids even showing up in his movies. He knows his audience, he knows what they want, and he delivers it to them.

Do you know who you’re marketing to? Are you talking to your audience the way you talk or the way they talk? Who is your audience? If you can’t answer this question, the other 4 keys will not work for you. You can’t engage someone you don’t know on some level.

You can find the original article at http://www.margieclayman.com/the-five-keys-to-telling-an-engaging-story-from-quentin-tarantino

Josh

Inspiring Film Makers - Part 2 - Quentin Tarantino

The second writer/director who has really inspired me to make films is, of course, 

Quentin Tarantino.

I hear many young film makers say this, but they don't really give a reason as to why. It's almost as if they throw in his name to sound like they know what they're talking about, but in reality, they don't have a clue!

Tarantino has been a major influence on me, and I'll give you the reasons as to why.

The first film of his I saw was 'Reservoir Dogs'. This film is by far his best work, and ironically was his debut film as a director.

From then on, I was hooked! 

I purchased all of his films on Blu Ray and had a massive marathon from Reservoir Dogs all the way through to Inglorious Basterds at the cinema when it was first released!

The way Tarantino creates a story and works with his characters is like no other in the industry. Unlike Besson, Tarantino's stories are complex and often interweave lots of stories together. But he does this in a way that doesn't confuse the audience or detract from the overall story.

I read an article once by Tarantino about his 'Five Keys to Telling an Engaging Story' and I will post this in my next blog entry, but this really sums up how he creates his films.


Another reason why he inspires me so much is that he hasn't had any formal training at all. He didn't go to film school or university to study film, but instead he was a video store clerk and a major cinefile (like me!) who just wrote and wrote and wrote. He tried to get some of his earlier screenplays made, but none of the production companies wanted him to direct them, so his first few feature films such as 'From Dusk Til Dawn' were directed by others like Robert Rodriguez. 
But finally Tarantino got his break as a director with 'Reservoir Dogs', and he hasn't looked back since! 


It's this never give up attitude of his that really inspires me, and it shows all film makers out there that no matter what, if you love what you do, just do it!


For these reasons, Quentin Tarantino is one of my favourite and most inspiring film makers.






Josh.

Inspiring Film Makers - Part 1 - Luc Besson

The first and most important film maker that I think has inspired me is the French writer, director and producer, 

Luc Besson. 

He directed some absolutely awesome movies such as 'La Femme Nikita', 'The Professional', 'The Big Blue' and many more. His style is very simple, he doesn't try and cram in lots of plot lines etc, and his films can either be a slower pace, but build up towards the end (especially the films directed by him) or no holes barred action from the word "GO!"

But the film by Besson which has inspired me most is the film he wrote which was directed by another Frenchman, Pierre Morel (who happens to be one of my favourite directors), called 'Taken'. It stars Liam Neeson as Bryan Mills, a retired spy who has to rely on his old skills to save his daughter, who has been kidnapped by sex-slave traders on a holiday in France.

This film is utterly amazing, from the superb writing by Besson, to the fantastic direction from Pierre Morel, to the beautiful cinematography by Michel Abramowicz which blends Bourne-esque violence with a more elegant, fluid style of shooting, to Liam Neeson's brilliant performance as Bryan Mills.

I highly suggest that if you haven't seen this film, go and rent it from the video store now!


It is because of these reasons that Luc Besson is one of my favourite and most inspiring film makers.




Josh.