My name is Pika Lee, a writer and filmmaker. I am always learning, so my content is always evolving so that I can share everything I learn about writing, with you. Every video is to help you build the foundation of a successful writer and give you knowledge about the business of writing (and filmmaking.)
I hope you join my community of scribes and I will see you in the future!
Well mam i write scripts for plays. So I've this question in my mind like i need a platform or a way to make my script reach the production. Is there any way for me to reach my story to someone who trusts beginners and how to do it
Thanks for this. I've written several scripts (two of which were placed) but find it hard to outline anything... I delve into the story. I know I should outline but my brain just doesn't let me. I am trying some different outlining methods now but not without challenge. Usually, what I do is, I'll watch a show similar to the genre I'm writing about and then follow those beats with my story. It's very visual but for me, it works.
Congrats on placing!! I know outlining wasn’t my thing at the beginning either because when I would try, I would give up and just start writing the script. 🤪 Then I started small, just a quick logline before I started writing. Then just the major beats. Now I’m fully beat by beat of the whole script because UCLA made us outline. It took me years to finally mold it to the way my brain works haha. Maybe since you’re visual you can try creating AI images of the major beat scenes and add it to an outline doc with a quick sentence about the beat? Could be fun but time consuming tho. 😅
this is SO helpful. i realized last year that i want to do screenwriting, so ive been trying to build more consistent habits to get into it and build a portfolio. for me, something that helps my writers block a lot is watching a movie and analyzing it, but for the longest time i thought i was just "being lazy" but it really is great for getting me to think about my story structures and how to get through writing character arcs
Welcome to screenwriting!! It really does help internalize the structure when you watch it. It’s my favorite thing to do before or after I read the script! I try to pinpoint beginning and ends of the acts and any major beats and I’ve started teaching my family story by pointing it out too. It becomes a fun game.🤭
@@PikaLeeMedia thank you so much!! yesss i've gotten my writer friends to analyze movie beats with me and i think its helping us all improve our craft a lot!
Yay for the same brains! I have never tackled a 100K project before, so I am rooting for you! I have friends who write Sci-Fi and Epic Fantasy primarily and I admire the heck out of them for it.
I love Final Draft. And I don't know anyone who has ever said you NEED Final Draft in order to write well. It also happens to save a ton of time to have an industry-standard software.
Thanks for your comment! I did much soul searching previous to releasing this video with thoughts of using this term. It is still quite frequently used by the industry trades although becoming less common with the introduction in recent years of Diversity and Inclusion departments to solve this problem. The departments were created because audiences wanted more diversity away from a specifically white stories or only using white actors. I made the choice to use the term because of its definition as set by Miriam Webster, and the history that Hollywood in America has with this term: “to alter (something) in a way that favors, features, or caters to white people a: to portray (the past) in a way that increases the prominence, relevance, or impact of white people and minimizes or misrepresents that of nonwhite people.” I understand many may not like the term or find it taboo because it has negativity attached to it. This is why I think we should talk about it. But I do think that people with objective minds will understand the context I used to explain why I wrote stories the way I did influences from growing up watching and working in American Cinema. As well as gain perspective on their own writing. 💞
@@PikaLeeMedia Well you wouldn't say "blackwashing" or "yellowwashing" or "colorwashing" would you? Would you say we're gonna get it all colored up in there? So what's the difference? Racism is racism. I don't care what it says in some dictionary.
I loved this take, love the transparency and the creative growth that'll come from it! I watch any and everything but I can say when I see a poc in a show or movie, it does make it more interesting to me!
Thank youuuu!! I learned so much from those old Hollywood movies and their actors 💕 YES! I love reminding myself I have the option to bring some POC into a story to see what that story looks like.
Try movie soundtracks. They are designed to not be to overt and yet create a mood over time. Choose full soundtrack albums and don't shuffle the music, let its progression of songs build up. Lord of the Rings soundtrack, Harry Potter, and anything by John Williams start off smooth and you end up writing like you are being chased by wolves. The length is often convenient to a good writing session, helping us ND writers stay to the end. You don't want lyrics confusing the verbal part of your brain so stay the the melodic and soundscapes. The Blade Runner soundtrack makes me imagine I write like Hemingway, a drink in one hand, pecking at a manual typewriter. The Batman soundtrack will make your brooding much more intense... And it will make you write like Batman. Cheers and good writing.
Yes!! I just went to the LA Phil for the first time and heard the Harry Potter scores and it was magical and moving. I will definitely be writing to it when I rewrite my fantasy. I definitely do get distracted with the lyrics sometimes in my music while writing, it’s a good point that instrumentals help so much and the length makes it that much better.
Damn you done got me fr though! Great work, great concept. Excellently crafted micro short in all writing terms. My only thought is to have played with the ring more, but that's not really a critique it's just an idea I ran with in my own head lol. It's really clever, and execution is great. Really happy to see this, honestly made my day better and I totally perked up seeing this pop up in my feed. Thank you for being brave and putting your art out there. I hope you continue to do so because I am a fan and I selfishly want more 😄
This is so cool. I've literally just finished a novel where one of the main themes is pretty much this to the most extreme extent, that separation from your culture, from your heritage. Because I wasn't raised in mine at all. Though specifically, I'm Ukrainian Jewish, so it's about that. But it's nice to see someone else talking about this sort of thing, about how hard it is to try to do any of that representation accurately. 'Cause you're right. We DON'T talk about that. And we should.
As a neurodivergent screenwriter this is such an important video to see. Sometimes I feel my neurodivergence as something that holds me back but I also know it is what propels my creativity and authenticity as an artist.
Yes!! I felt like it was much needed motivation for my fellow neurodivergent writers. Sometimes you need a reminder that if others have made it with these challenges, you can too. 💌
Hey thanks for the video. I do feel I have ADHD, but I have never tested it. Can you tell me what I should do to find out whether I have the condition or not?
Thanks for watching! The filmmakers in this video noticed they had signs of ADHD struggles (or dyslexia) since childhood, into adulthood. They wrote down any potential memories of symptoms from their life and spoke to a specialist in the health space (usually, Psychiatrist) for a professional diagnosis. It’s the absolute best way to know if you might have ADHD and get support!
Congratulations Pika! It’s a big deal to get to that point. I decided to do just the TV writing program instead of the comprehensive program too. I haven’t applied yet. Can’t wait to see what you accomplish in your career 🎉
Hiii!! You get me. I was completely split. But I couldn’t be happier to graduate with this certificate first. Think about trying out for the grant in their website for financial need or applying for the cert to get 10% off. Anything helps! 🤪 I can’t wait to see where we go in this industry. Hope the stand up is going well!
I get that so much! I had some setbacks that were financial and it took me quite a while to finally make it happen. I would suggest looking into the grants they give if you qualify for making less than a certain amount, it pays a portion of the class. UCLA Ext also gives you 10% off as a candidate, on your classes. Or, Sundance Collab was a *bit* more affordable. I would never suggest private loans to anyone, ever. (This is in case anyone else comes across my comment, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t.🤪)
Hey! Why so few people watching it? How did I find you? Emotional ties: shows Anakin. That's a nice sense of humor at the very least. Well done. Cheers!!!
I’m actually not familiar with iA Writer. I’ll have to look into it! If it’s a word text editor and it has the features you’re looking for, I’d say go for it and try to customize the margins to screenplay formatting. If you want to take that work away from yourself and have a clean distraction free space, try Arc Studio or Scrivener.
Hi pika lee, this is venkat again. I have enrolled in UCLA extension online class feature film 1, found it bit vague. Do you know any online courses which offer in depth knowledge about screen writing?
Hi Venkat! I know what you mean. It is truly is a roll of the dice with instructors. I can’t tell you a better school because I think that would be universities with conservator style screenwriting programs (AFI and NYU.) Another style of teaching would be intensives with closer 1-1 teaching (Sundance Intensives, but not Sundance Collab.) Good luck on your writing and I hope that helps!
Do you NEED Final Draft? Not really, BUT, it is definitely the best one I have used. If you can get the education discount, it is definitely worth the $100.
Obviously, having industry standard software when you’re just starting out is not necessary. It does come in handy, however, if you’re selling a script that they’re paying you to do rewrites on and the studio wants you to use the same software that they have, which is almost always, Final Draft. If you already have Final Draft, you don’t have to learn a new App, but that’s about it. It doesn’t make you a better writer to use an industry standard software.
@Pika Lee : I want to enroll in feature film I UCLA extn course. It has two formats (Remote, Online). Which one is best in your opinion? These are the instructors, Remote : Ben van der Veen, Elie El Choufany, Tonya Cannon, Alys Murray Online : Ron Wilkerson, Valerie Brandy, Steven Schwartz Can you please tell me which instructor's class should i take ? I am waiting for your reply.
Online is self-paced and works best if you’re not able to schedule one day a week for class and work well reading lectures and applying it with little help. I prefer remote (live zoom meeting classes) where it’s interactive with instructors and classmates for one night a week. These classes are like workshops, so check out instructor bios to see which one you feel has good experience or has written in the genre you write in. I have a short Minisode about picking instructors on my channel!
I think AI misses the mark on the human side of stories right now, so it’s unusable by the industry as it is. But technology will advance and writers might one day use it. It won’t get rid of us. But it will impact our job, for better or worse.
What is your advice if i am stuck in the dialogues conversations and i cannot describe it as a scenes that i imagined? Because when it comes to dialogues i feel like i made it in a boring way while i imagined it in an incredible way
Some things that have helped me! 1. Read your dialogue out loud, write down what you got from it vs what you wanted the words to do, rewrite until the dialogue reveals interesting things about your characters in a subtle way. Make sure there’s tension between the two talking. 2. Watch a scene similar to your scene in a really good movie. Study the scene dialogue. You might find that less dialogue or no dialogue could make the scene more interesting.
@narutomellah6038 We don’t want to copy the scenes, just learn from them. It will take practice to learn how to watch movies, analyze what makes it a good scene, and write your own scene from what you learned. 😄 If it feels too similar, ask how you can add to it to make it different?
I bought it for formatting my screenplay. Of course, the software has nothing to do with art and imagination. Overall, if you have the money, 100% get it. If not, I'm sure there are other softwares. In my opinion, final draft has a friendly user interface.
@@PikaLeeMedia Awesome, I'm working on script series too. It's hard work. Have you seen the movie: The Creator yet? If not you should definitely check it out, very emotional. Epic in everything. Just watched it for the second time today in I-MAX, that is how you make a movie. 😀
@@EPICBLASIAN1I was so close to watching The Creator recently, but showings ran too late for a two hr movie. 🥲 I’ve heard great things about it! Yesss to meeting more TV writers. How’s your writing going?