Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara

By Adrienne D. Wilson

Let’s just say that the Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara in March was one of the coolest yet. First, there was an exhibit up at Brooks Institute downtown where we meet monthly. Monumental images in sepia tone of Elephants lined the walls as very strong political statements. I was reminded of the power of the Ashes and Snow exhibit I had seen in Santa Monica several years ago. These images are really worth the visit to Brooks, in addition to the other things lining the walls. So much talent there. The photographer was Nick Brandt, and here are the elephants!

What is the power of film? It’s the power to make things monumental. In movies and in stills. James Khan is quietly monumental. The meeting opened with everyone going around the room and giving their names and what they were working on, for Mr. Khan. Once you see the kinds of films he worked on? We were in the presence of monumentality. And he has done something monumental in our city too. It’s all about making films right here in Santa Barbara. Here is a brief bit of his bio:

“James Kahn is the author of Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Goonies, and numerous other novels and novelizations, as well as writer-producer on television shows such as Melrose Place and Star Trek: Voyager. He will discuss his career and some lessons learned, plus tell us what CFSSB is and how to participate in it. Come learn how to formulate a story for a script that could be shot entirely in Santa Barbara with limited cast, location, and budget.”

The meeting shifted to Lisa Angle, President as she mentioned a whole new site for the screenwriters that is being developed to replace the Blogspot page. Lisa mentioned that people will be able to log in as users of the new site and interact with others. Also, it was mentioned that Syd Field will be up at the Ojai Wordfest.

You can’t get much more monumental than Syd Field. A very powerful evening all in all for everyone this March at our meeting. Lots of new faces in the room too, that Brooks graciously provides. But this is Magic! Mr. Khan has launched something called the Community Film Studio of Santa Barbara.

From CCSB’s webpage: “Welcome to the your Community Film Studio Santa Barbara. We are the world’s first not-for-profit, community-operated, feature motion picture production studio. Imagine the traditional community theater…neighbors getting together, volunteering their time to put on a show to entertain the community. Now, take that same idea and instead of putting on plays we’re shooting an original feature motion picture. Community Film Studio. And there IS a role for you to play no matter your background or level of past experience. Even if you’ve never been near a movie set before, we will help you learn to become a vital part of this Community Film Studio. If you think this will be fun and want to be a part of movie-making history, then join us (Tommy Lee Jones would support that choice).”

Can you imagine how fun this is for not just writers but everyone in Santa Barbara? In a word? Monumental. And? An Indiana Jones type deal for the creative community we have here. Lisa also mentioned the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and info about that was passed around. Fantastic for all writers, but the screenwriting classes there are excellent.

Mr. Khan gave the audience a huge back story about how he fell into films by accident. A writer since age nine, he became a medical doctor instead. By sheer luck he was consulted on how to save an alien’s life for the film E.T. — well you can imagine! After that he worked in film and television for all sorts of things. He talked about writing “novelizations” of movies. He talked about being in a writer’s room for television. He claimed TV writers “rule.” It’s really different for film writers. “They can be discounted,” he said. He talked about “writer’s rooms” where three to five writers bounce ideas around together in a giant brainstorm session that can last up to 15 hours. He talked about his work on Melrose Place.

“Novel writers have it easiest,” he claimed. “Scripts are so demanding because they are only 120 pages at most. “TV started as a playwright’s medium.”

“The Community Film Studio is looking for a building. Our mission is to make feature films educational. There will be workshops on writing, editing, direction and sound. As a volunteer you will be working alongside professionals in the industry.” All of this is to debut April 29. But you can read all about it at the link above. Sitting in Brooks, looking at the elephants — it couldn’t have been a more monumental evening to hear about this new film studio here in Santa Barbara.

Because? That is the power of film. Monumentality. Isn’t it?

Author and editor Shelly Lowenkopf spoke to the Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara in February 2012. He used examples from literature to explain how characters in modern day stories need to be multidimensional.

Presents

Nationally Renown Book Editor

Shelly Lowenkopf

“How to Unfriend Your Characters”

Thursday, February 9, 7 pm

Brooks Institute
27 East Cota Street
Downtown Santa Barbara
(805) 617-4503
FREE and open to everyone!

Shelly Lowenkopf has held major editorial positions with general trade, mass market paperback, literary, and scholarly book publishers in addition to executive editorial participation in special interest, literary, and genre fiction magazines. Those companies include: Sherbourne Press (Editor-in-Chief); Dell Publishing (Director, Los Angeles office); Clio Books (Editor-in-Chief); Ross-Erickson (Editor-in-Chief); and, Capra Press (Advisory and Acquisitions Editor). He has seen over seven hundred book projects and hundreds of short story and essay projects through the publishing process.

Currently a freelance consultant and teacher, his clients include novelists, retired and active academics, and the humorist creator of one of the most popular television series of all time.Lowenkopf taught courses in short story, novel, dramatic writing, editing, genre fiction, and revision at the graduate level in one of the most prestigious writing programs in America at University of Southern California, where he was given a Lifetime Teaching Award.

He is a past regional president of the Mystery Writers of America; his book reviews have appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The National Catholic Reporter, The Los Angeles Times, the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, Publishers’ Weekly, the Santa Barbara News-Press, and the Santa Barbara Independent. He has been the weekly reviewer for the Montecito Journal since 2005.

Lowenkopf has had over 35 books published, along with short fiction, pulp novels, essays and reviews. His most recent book, The Fiction Writer’s Companion, is a guide to terms, concepts, and forms related to storytelling.

Screenwriters Association of Santa Barbara met again at Brooks Institute on Cota Street. A stunning exhibit of student work, mostly documentary photography lined the walls as the group made their way to hear Candace Schermerhorn speak about making documentary films.

Lisa Angle opened asking for any announcements. Chuck Kent mentioned an upcoming film called The Secret Ingredient directed SASB Past President Rashi Bahri Chitnis. It will be shown February 2 at the Metro 3. as part of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Maria announced the upcoming play The Jaguar’s Nest by Synergy Entertainment Group.

Members were asked to donate $25 so visiting speakers can be taken to dinner before the lecture and to help with expenses. It’s so little, let’s all chip in because the speakers are world class. Such was the experience of listening to Candace Schermerhorn. As a producer, director, and writer her expertise and passion lie primarily in first person narrative and documentaries addressing contemporary issues. Her credits include work for Children’s Television Workshop, the National Park Service, Massachusetts Council for the Humanities, Harcourt Brace Publishers, American Masters, and Turner Broadcasting. She directed, with Bestor Cram, the independent award-winning documentary You Don’t Know Dick, an intimate film about female-to-male transsexuals. For many years she has taught documentary film making at Santa Barbara City College and was the Director of Programming for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

It was amazing to watch clips of the films after listening to the lecture. Candace told the group that documentaries start with footage and more footage. “That’s what the film will become,” she said. “You won’t know what you have till you go back over it.” And even then it might not be what you expect. She explained the process of writing the story from the transcripts. Every single line, every single expression, every sound are painstakingly recorded, and in this way, the story is culled from the masses of footage a documentarian shoots.

She showed the group an immense idea board made of tiny different colored Post-it notes that was the organizing principle behind her film of women in Nigeria called The Naked Option.

“Documentary film making is about what truth is going to evolve,” she told the audience. “Observe as much as possible.” On truth, she cautioned the audience “Whose truth are you telling? All documentaries are exploiting on some level, and what is truth shifts and varies.” Always be prepared to defend your choices. “You are challenging truth and it is challenging you at the same time.”

The bigger story in a documentary is made up of all the little stories, she said. Sometimes it just takes one little line from the transcripts to tie everything together. The lines and the shots of expressions act as bridges to tie the greater whole of the story together. “Train yourself to be moved by stories, to look for them and be moved by them.” What the audience wants is for you as a writer to tell them things, so they can follow you as the writer. “Stick to what you know, if you love something stick to that,” she said. There are basically three questions to ask: What is my story, why do I want to do it and what am I trying to achieve?

Most impressive was watching the film You don’t know Dick. The music, the cutting and the lighting really add to this documentary in ways that show just how masterfully a story can be told in small stories that add up. You can see how this comes together at this link: http://www.myspace.com/video/northern-light-productions/you-dont-know-dick/27328935

It’s just seamless the way this flows as a documentary. The audience was rapt watching too. “Set things up so you can tell the story,” she said. Watch the above and you will see a master storyteller at work. This is how to make the footage flow seamlessly with the music, tapping all the little stories within stories that add up to the bigger picture.

Screenwriters Association
of Santa Barbara

Presents

Documentary Filmmaker

Candace Schermerhorn

Thursday, January 12, 7 pm

Brooks Institute
27 East Cota Street
Downtown Santa Barbara
(805) 617-4503
FREE and open to everyone!

Candace Schermerhorn got her start at Northern Light Productions in Boston, MA where she became a staff producer. As a producer, director, and writer her expertise and passion lie primarily in first person narrative and documentaries addressing contemporary issues. Her credits include work for Children’s Television Workshop, the National Park Service, Massachusetts Council for the Humanities, Harcourt Brace Publishers, American Masters, and Turner Broadcasting. She directed, with Bestor Cram, the independent award-winning documentary You Don’t Know Dick, an intimate film about female-to-male transsexuals. For many years she has taught documentary filmmaking at Santa Barbara City College and was the Director of Programming for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. She wrote, produced and directed The Naked Option: A last resort, celebrating the grassroots mobilization of women in the Niger Delta and their struggle against the multinational oil corporations. She is currently in preproduction of her third independent feature documentary, The Last Utopia, about the ancient seafaring Lapita Navigators and their migration due to sea level rise.