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Mur Lafferty (author of Playing for Keeps and the Heaven series, amongst other celebrated works) posted a terrific article about the problem of juggling “real life” and writing*.
* replace writing with drawing, composing, editing, dancing; whatever your particular passion is.
An article about my entré into filmmaking was recently published in the Destin Log in Destin, Florida. It talks a lot about what first drew me into storytelling. Fraser Sherman penned the article, and you have to hand it to him: it has a killer opening line:
When Earl Newton was 10, he convinced his friends he was born on another planet.
The article hasn’t been posted on the Destin Log’s website, so I’m linking to a repost of it on TMCnet.com.
Read the full article here.
“True Stories” is a series of videos examining the thoughts and feelings of artists as it relates to their art. I produced this series for the Layman Group, featuring select members of the board of directors.
I thought Rachel White’s comments were especially on-the-mark. Listen close when she starts talking about “being the right puzzle piece.”
Stranger Things fans will also recognize Rachel as Madeline from Disconnect.
In my spare moments this week, I’ve been working on a logo animation for Strange RSS, LLC (the company I started to create Stranger Things).
At fourteen seconds, this is a bit longer than I want. I’ll end up cutting a few seconds out of the middle for the “long version” (8-10 seconds), and fading to black at 4-5 seconds for the short version.
I could also chop it in half and have two options for an animation.
Strange RSS LLC Logo from Earl Newton on Vimeo.
Stock footage animated in After Effects.
I’ve done a lot of VFX insertions into live footage, but this is my first attempt at completely artificial photorealism. Color choice seems to be everything in photorealism. Nothing is ever true white or true black, it’s a lot of grays and irregularities and asymmetrical details until it looks right.
As a member of the media, the unstable environment we’re in right now is both exciting and pretty unnerving. How things will shake out is still to be determined, and the only certain relief I take right now is that I didn’t blow $30K on a film school education which would be irrelevant before graduation.
I found a link to Barrett Garese’s article “Scarcity, Experience, and an Old Seat at a New Table“, via ArtfulWriter.com. A lot of what he talks about are ideas I’ve been working on since I started Stranger Things, but like any good writer, Garese really clarifies the problems and challenges we face in the new media landscape.
The entire article is worth a read, but there are several passages worth more careful attention…
Chris Miller should get extra points for having this interview posted before I’d had time to even compose the blog post linking to it. We literally recorded this interview two hours ago. Madness.
In this piece, Chris and I talk about the creative process, about what I’ve learned since starting Stranger Things, and what’s gotten me into blogging regularly (short answer: a beautiful woman).
Unquiet Desperation: Earl Newton and the Creative Process [41:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
While you’re poking around Chris’ site, check out my favorite episode of his: Conversion, about a Southern Baptist preacher who converted to Judaism. Fascinating stuff, and his interview subject is very well-researched.
MakingOf.com has an interview with John August about his screenwriting process. As always, John August demonstrates his knowledge of the craft by breaking down concepts into relatable terms, and sharing really original insight into the craft — no respun Syd Field here.
Normally I’d embed the video here, but MakingOf.com has some weird Iframe code going on, so I’m just providing the link.
John August on Breaking Storytelling Conventions
And, as a screenwriter, you should already be a regular visitor to JohnAugust.com.
Letters from fake people with real problems.
Dear Earl,
I just submitted my masterpiece to
- a reviewer OR
- a publisher OR
- an agent OR
- a producer OR
- a film festival
and I haven’t heard anything back. It’s been months. What do I do?
Signed,
Everyone Who Ever Made Anything, Ever
A few weeks back, J.C. Hutchins invited me to come on his program “Hey Everybody!” to talk about our collaboration on Disconnect, the nature of storytelling, and the process of making a low-budget film.
It runs about 45 minutes long, and is one of the more in-depth discussions I’ve ever recorded about these topics. If you’re a filmmaker or know one, it’s worth a listen.
While you’re at it, consider picking up a copy of J.C. Hutchins’ Personal Effects: Dark Art. This isn’t a paid endorsement, but I think as a storyteller it’s important to keep up with where the craft is going, and what J.C. is doing with Personal Effects is close to revolutionary. It’s worth your time, if only for a master class in storytelling.
It’s a commonly-held bit of wisdom that if you want to become a better screenwriter, you need to read a lot of screenplays.
Well, Don Boose over at Simply Scripts.com has made that pursuit a whole lot easier. Simply Scripts.com has compiled the WGA’s Top 101 Screenplays with links to nearly all of them (some with multiple drafts available). The list is a comprehensive blend of great writing from the last hundred years: Pulp Fiction stands shoulder-to-shoulder wth North-by-Northwest and Dr. Strangelove.
So get over there and start reading. There’s no better place to learn than the footsteps of the masters.
Some interesting facts…
