By Hipolito Munoz, Managing Editor/Publisher
When you live in Los Angeles, every one is involved in film as an actor/producer/writer; actually that is not true. Most folks that live in LA are just working folks who have no clue on how to access the film/tv industry. Most folks working in the industry come from all over the world to their “Hollywood” in order to follow their dreams and they are woefully unprepared. Growing up in Los Angeles does afford many unexpected insights and opportunities. As you drive, walk or ride the bus in LA, at some point and time, you will see filming happening and you will also find someone within your circle that works at or for a studio, not in the artistic end, but may be in the service or business aspect of the industry. Someone has to clean the lots.
Breaking in to this industry is especially hard as it is an impossibly secretive space to access. The evidence of the work is very public but who works in those studios and how they got those positions is a mystery worth an Agatha Cristie novel.
One way that anyone can break is into this industry is by writing a story, that sounds simple, but like anything else filled with deception the “just write something,” advice is deceptive and misleading. Writing in general is tough, writing for film, is incredibly difficult so, over the years a cottage industry has developed to guide those that are willing to do the work of learning how to write for film or Television, for a fee. Here are some free resources to get a budding writer to at least get an idea of the type of skillsets necessary to get a jumpstart on your new endeavor, just like Diablo Cody, Quentin Tarantino or Barbara Marshall, here are some tools that may help.
Blake Edwards was a celebrated screenwriter and educator. Several folks that I know do use his techniques to tell the story. Take a listen and take notes. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/save-the-cat!/id884651026?mt=2
And you can also listen to Blake Snyder in this interview; https://youtu.be/DBcpzaamGYQ.
Good luck on pursuing your passions…
