Posts Tagged ‘Scripped’

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myspace goes primetime

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Hey everyone, check out this article on VentureBeat.

For those of us on MySpace, it’s a terrific example of how social networks are influencing the way multimedia is consumed. Why leave the computer to watch the Simpsons? Well, that’s old news, actually. Better yet, why close your MySpace page to watch that episode when you can get it on the same screen? And through viral effects, your friends will quickly see what you like to watch.

Want to see what we watch? The Scripped MySpace page is at http://www.myspace.com/scripped. Come on, be our friend. Can you think of any cool applications for screenplays on Scripped?

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real-life action heroes

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

I’m writing about the Kennedy School not because it’s relevant at all to screenwriting, but because it’s kinda fun to write about. It is Harvard after all.

In the early mornings in the Harvard Kennedy School forum the tables are filled with mid-career students. They study Dutch labor markets, development in Niger, and leadership failures. They come from around the world: one mid-career I met recently holds office in Nairobi, another is a woman from Pakistan had a staff of 1,400 when her office suffered a suicide bombing.

Before I enrolled here I knew that people like this existed. I knew somewhere in the world there were those who risked their lives to eliminate corruption and have to convince their employees to come back to work after a 17-year-old boy detonated himself in the lobby. It’s the stuff of movies, but it’s also real life.

My favorite mid-career student is someone I sat behind on a small bus on a field trip to West Point. She is a photographer named Laura Rauch and her work is beautiful. Each picture she showed told a story. She knew the subjects and gave the context that led her to that particular village or hospital. She was embedded with troops in Iraq and followed Hillary Clinton and John Kerry around during the election. She also took some great pictures of Las Vegas. I’d guess she’s in her 40s. A real-life steely action hero journalist. Again, the stuff of movies. So maybe there’s a tie-in after all.

I was on the phone yesterday with Steve Schwartz of Chockstone Pictures. He searches for stories that have real meaning, perhaps the kind of film that would fly under the coverage radar. Participant Media, the company that brought us Syriana, Thank You For Smoking, and Good Night and Good Luck might be the closest big firm to Steve’s vision.

In seeking his projects, Steve looks for scripts that are unique and based off of real experiences by real people. I can’t help but think he should survey my older classmates. Or better yet, I’ll get them to write their stories on Scripped and tell him to search for loglines (when we get that function up… soon!)

It’s what we’re here for, after all.

Ryan

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Movies are being made EVERYWHERE

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

I read the other day that Youtube is going to start to stream feature length films. If studios hope to make DRM work, they’d better act quickly. People are starting to believe that the amateurs can make things happen, and the net is the way to go… Here’s yet another example of that:

http://www.cinematical.com/2008/10/28/details-magazine-wants-your-movie-pitches/

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EmTech at MIT

Thursday, September 25th, 2008

Hey folks, back with another post. Hopefully I’ll be more frequent with these now that the rhythms of school and Scripped have settled into a steady, up tempo beat.

I write my first correspondence from our Cambridge office about EmTech, the emerging technologies conference at MIT.

Click here and scroll to the bottom. Yes, there we are, your favorite screenplay software startup, playing with the big boys. I met some great people and learned about some fun companies. My favorite is EvenHere, a really innovative web video product placement company.

Ever wanted to buy that Burberry sweater worn by your favorite sitcom star? Now with the advent of flash overlays and contextual video ads, you can click and buy as soon as that character walks in the room.

Pretty cool, and it’s good news for Scripped.

Why? Because as soon as people figure out how to make money from online video, there will be a gold rush for good content. And where will they look for this content? They’ll come here, and they’ll pay you for your script.

The answer to this monetization riddle hinges largely on the work now being done by companies like EvenHere. They’re not the only ones. YouTube itself is another, with their yet-unmonetized billion video streams a day. I’m just saying that as soon as online retail shops start to see dimes and dollars rolling in from video ads and overlays, the game is going to change. Ad rates will go up, online producers will make money, and you, the writers, will hold the keys to the castle.

Until then, it’s a waiting game. At least it’s fun to keep writing in the meantime.

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san francisco treat

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Hey everyone,

Sorry for being out. If you follow the blog regularly, you got a full dose of Sunil and newsletter archives. Charming as they both are, I thought I’d add my own splash of prose now that the fog has rolled in.

Ghiradelli chocolate, clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl, triangles in the skyline, mist in the August air, and fog horns in the distance. It must be summer in San Francisco. And while San Francisco offers some of the finest in views and ethnic eats, it is also a hotbed for entrepreneurship. It made sense for one of the Scripped Guys to plant here for the summer.

Summer has gone by quickly. The days and weeks spent in this little breakfast nook with my computer, sipping on coffee bought at the marina mart down the street, working out the finer details of our scrappy screenwriting startup, have been lovely. I guess that’s why I wasn’t posting; it’s as though I didn’t even notice the time going by. It actually wasn’t until this morning when my very pretty roommate, the one who took me in for the summer, reminded me I haven’t posted in a month. Crazy, I thought. A month.

But that’s what happens between phone calls and drafts of PowerPoint presentations. Even companies promoting art need a business plan and investors. Nothing is cheap about starting a company, and when your founders are recent grad students under the age of 30, and not some 40 year old millionaires (like a few other startups we know), it’s tough. You sometimes get anxious. You sweat. And then you remember why you did it. It’s fun. You love your partners. The chase is a thrill. And maybe, just maybe, you’ll start to get paid.

But right now it’s not about the money. Not here with my coffee, looking out onto Scott and Chestnut. Not later today with my uncle and cousin on our way up to the family cabin. I am a firm believer that hard work and passion eventually pay themselves off. And Scripped has its share of millionaire friends, chipping in as needed.

So follow your heart and follow your art. The rest will take care of itself.

Cheers,

Ryan