UK Scriptwriters

A business focus to this episode. Is freelancing for you? And are you fully exploring all forms of funding?

Danny has a lively chat with Jo Ho, creator & writer of CBBC's Spirit Warriors. They discuss Jo's career, everything from how she got a series commissioned as a new writer, her writing insights, and what she's up to now. Enjoy!

How do you write for the low / no / micro budget scene?

Tim and Danny answer ten common questions about the industry.

Tim and Danny consider the demise of retail stores such as HMV, chat about characters and how to make them interesting and deliver some interesting news for writers on opportunities.

Tim and Danny get stuck at the airport and so discuss:
* News about film funding
* Red Planet Prize update
* Topic - time management
* Topic - being a storyteller
* Reviews - Royal Affair, Frankenweenie and Beasts of the Southern Wild

A snapshot of Tim and Danny sitting around. They chance upon:
Darrin Grimwood - feature film writer
Pilar Alessandra - podcaster and writing guru
Linda Aronson - non-linear structure legend
Nish Panchal - agent
Jonathan Newman - director

and others.

A special Skype call episode where we talk to the co-founders of the Great American Pitch Fest (who are also writers themselves) Signe Olynyk and Bob Schultz. They're in the UK promoting their new feature, Below Zero and also talking about a pitchfest spin off being held at the London Screenwriters Festival.

But we wanted to ask them about a controversial issue. Is it right for writers to charge other writers for events? Why do they cost so much? Could they be cheaper?

In the last podcast we featured an interview with Melissa where she was quizzing us on the industry and the craft. Here is the full interview. It's a longy - 80 minutes or so. That's why its a special "22a" episode as it may not be for everyone. The audio is compressed a little bit more than normal to keep the file size sensible.

It's a slightly different podcast this month. MA student Melissa Hermanny has some questions to ask for her essay and comes down in person to hear our ramblings. We include a couple of highlights here, with the full interview to come later. So in all we cover...

• NEWS - there are currently 50 opportunites for writers out there. See Kulvinders list at https://bitly.com/Opps4UKwriters2012c
• QUESTIONS - What do you get out of a festival?
• What do you do with your spec?
• How should you conduct yourself online?
• Who should you send your script to?

And remember to keep in touch. Find us on twitter and facebook. Search ukscriptwriters.

Tim and Danny discover there is little news out there so focus instead on 3 items from the mailbag.
* Show not tell, but how do you keep your script punchy?
* Historical research, how much to do?
* Working with actors, the benefits.

In this episode Tim and Danny discuss:
* Latest opportunities for writers
* Questions posed by listeners
* How to work with other writers
* What they are watching (and playing!)

We sit down with James Moran at the Southern Script Festival to talk about:
* Writing for Film and TV
* Working to a brief
* How he got started
* And his top tips for horror

* Two new UK based schemes for writers
* We answer your questions
* What work we are doing and how we got it

Mentioned in the podcast this month...

Red Planet Prize
Prequel to Cannes
BAFTA guru website

Our new(ish) facebook page
Stephen Fry's interview 
Richard Feynman
Sullivan's Travels by Preston Sturges (in fact from 1941, not the 50s)
Fleabag Monkeyface

Reviewed:
Midnight in Paris
Drive
Arthur Christmas
The Artist
Young Adult
The Descendants
New Girl
Community
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Borgen

The links are in the podcast too if you have a snazzy device that reads them.

Mirroring the Ricky Gervais podcast format this month's episode has Tim as Ricky, Danny as Stephen Merchant and guest star Johnny Griffith as Karl Pilkington. This month...

* Danny gives an update on the Red Planet prize
* We discuss why writers remain in the shadows
* Practical tips to getting more work done

* Red Planet Prize is back!
* Wise words from Jack Thorne
* Joe Cornish and Edgar Wright on doing your research
* Being more visual
* Linda Aronson on new structures
* Hard work always wins

In this dialogue-special podcast:
* Join us at the London Screenwriters Festival
* We talk about dialogue, and share some new ideas
* Things we've enjoyed recently in games, TV and film

Along with the regular competition (courtesy of Industrial Scripts) and silly bits this podcast we focus on agents.

* Do you need an agent?
* What does an agent do for you?
* How do you approach an agent?
* Are you ready?

A one year anniversary for the podcast
Competition Time - courtesy of Industrial Scripts
Writer's Block - is it real?
Script Checklist - what to do before you send out the first draft
Contact Us - ukscriptwriters at hotmail.com

In this episode we go through the mail bag and answer 3 questions. Don't forget you can mail us questions at ukscriptwriters@hotmail.com and find us on twitter @ukscriptwriters

* check out using withoutabox.com for your script competitions entries
* Liquid Lunch
* Hosting a script development day
* Mail bag question 1: using real plays and real people featured in your script
* Mail bag question 2: should you write to a budget?
* Mail bag question 3: writing a pilot; the two ways
* Reviews - a round up of the slick TV genre
* Competition Time

* Listener's Question - 1 page per minute?
* Listener's Question - films festival or online?
* Cannes reflections
* Web series - a route to success
* Reviews - the good wife
* Competition time

* Thanks to Moviescope and IndustrialScripts.co.uk

* News on BBC Writers Academy
* How do get yourself established?
* Is it worth going to Cannes?
* Review of Dr Who
* Tim goes down a Picasso tangent
* Competition time

A special edition of the podcast devoted to the subject of pitching, with special guest Chris Hill (Skins etc). Recorded live at the Southern Script Festival, so the sound is 'on location'!

* Dear Podcast - two emails from listeners; one on Gnomeo and Juliet, the other on "do you need to do research, if so, what kind?"
* Joss Whedon's 10 rules, part 1. Discussing rules 1-5.
* Reviews - online drama Persona and the game trailer for Dead Island.
* Competition - easy question, with faintly racist overtones!

* BAFTA nominations - and how they affect us
* When should you give up writing?
* Chris Ware - the comic book guy reviewed
* Being Human v True Blood
* Competition Time
* How to get in touch

Are formal courses worth doing? What qualifications do you need to be a writer? We discuss:

* NEWS - lots of new opportunities at the moment. Plus Creative England, will it work?
* DISCUSSION - what should you study in order to be a writer?
* COMPETITION - Congrats to Liz Holliday who wins goodies, plus this month's question.
* REVIEWS - The Illusionist and Rare Exports

* PLUS - Merry Christmas and Happy 2011!

Using interviews with fellow writers, who we met at the Screenwriters' Festival, we discuss:

* How should we feel about attending festivals?
* Is genre a good thing?
* Should you plan out your script before you start work?
* Does the biz really want 'good' scripts?

PLUS we talk about "Alice in Wonderland", "A Town called Panic", "Misfits" and "Walking Dead".

AND FINALLY there is a chance for you to win Movie Magic software, DVDs and Moviescope subscriptions in our new competition.

A special 'pro-active' show looking at what writers can do - more than just writing scripts and sending them out.

How to be proactive and control your own career.
Is making a short film a good idea?
How much do shorts cost?
Reviewing "The Event" and "Social Network"
See you at the London Screenwriters Festival.

News and competition round-up.
Guest spot with Jack Thorne.
Discussion: collaborating with other writers.
Craft: creating great characters.
Review: This is England '86.
Contact us.

News - London Screenwriters' Festival.
Discussion - making a living as a writer.
Craft - the first 10 pages.
Reviews - The Eighth Day, Southland, Breaking Bad.

• UK Film Council closing
• Schemes and competition to enter
• Tim's new career in Origami
• Danny does a double name drop!
• Sherlock reviews
• Are we Infamous?