Due: 06-24-10
Research for Script
The goal of this is to learn how to first research a unique topic that you know nothing about and second to incorporate it into a five page short script of your creation. I’ll give you an example.
One night many years ago I got a call from a friend who had just gotten a short contract to be one of the writers on a “Like Water for Chocolate” American version rip off. It’s based on a Mexican novel about a girl that is such an amazing cook that when people taste her food it brings tears to their eyes.
Now my friend, who is a good writer, unfortunately knew absolutely nothing about cooking and in this day and age not knowing how to cook is like not knowing how to fuck. My humble opinion at least.
So I got the call at about 2 AM and she frantically confesses she doesn’t know anything about even the simplest of dishes accept that some things taste better than others. The next day she needed to have a small 2-page scene on how to make an omelet, which of course was something she had never done.
Easiest recipe you can start with. Take 3 eggs, add a splash of milk or whipping cream, grind a dash of pepper into it and toss a sprinkle of salt on top. Beat vigorously for 3 minutes at least. Set your stove top to medium low, grease the bottom of a pan with a stick of butter, pour the mixture over the butter, once it foams, place a lid on. Then grind some cheese, shred some thin sliced sandwich meat, add to one side of the omelet, and cover with a lid. Once it looks cooked through and the cheese is melted, spank the pan on the burner to loosen the bottom of it while slide it around a bit. Flip one side, let seal for a few seconds and then serve. Garnish as you wish. Simple enough.
She makes one mistake though. She uses olive oil instead of milk. Disaster ensues and she looses her contract for that project later the next day. Her contract was for two weeks but she lost it about two days in. Not a bad person, not a bad writer, but she just didn’t do her homework and the sad thing is she had about a month to get ready for it. It’s not like she had to become Julia Child overnight. She just didn’t put in that extra bit of effort and that two week job, ten days total actually, was worth $5,000. In the end she only got a $1,000 from it. Way it is…
So learn how to do this now. Take one of the three choices you selected in class and run with it.
Good luck!
Derek:
1.) Fly Fishing
2.) Car Maintenance
3.) Football Play Calls
Iden:
1.) Backgammon
2.) Proper Military Lingo
3.) Wilderness Survival
Jeanette:
1.) Build a Dog House
2.) How to Build Theater Sets
3.) Internet Radio Broadcasting
Kassandre:
1.) History of Halo
2.) Stock Market
3.) How a Car Engine Works
Vera:
1.) Canning Food
2.) Baccarat
3.) How Close Captioning Works
Top places to do research:
http://www.wikipedia.org/
http://www.howstuffworks.com/
