Have you been itching to learn how to write a screenplay? Maybe you already have one you wanted to pitch to a director. Or perhaps you just want to view films and videos by notable media artists, and learn more about their creative process.
If so, you'll find some ideal opportunities in town this weekend.
It starts today with Representing the Personal, a two-night symposium hosted by MediaNet and Open Space Arts Society, and SpeedPitching, Cinevic Society of Independent Filmmakers' new event that is to pitching projects what speed-dating is to hooking up.
Representing the Personal, through a series of screenings, artist talks and the launch of Crossing Channels: Essays on Contemporary Media Art in British Columbia, focuses on three artists who incorporate their own lives into their artworks.
Films and videos by Toronto's Deirdre Logue, Victoria's Farheen HaQ and Montreal's Lysanne Thibodeau will be screened tonight and Friday at 7, followed by a discussion in which the artists expand on the process behind their creations.
The launch of MediaNet's new publication on B.C. media art, featuring essays by Jennifer Cane, Marie Prince, Bracken Hanuse Corless and Catlin Lewis, takes place Friday at 5: 30. It will be followed by a screening of short works by Thibodeau.
All symposium events are at Open Space, 510 Fort St.
At CineVic's SpeedPitching, which gets underway tonight at 7 at The Office, 759 Yates St., writers will get the chance to, in five minutes or less, pitch ideas for shorts, features, TV projects and more to directors and producers one-on-one.
When the cowbell rings, you move on to the next one.
The only condition is you must register by calling 250-389-1590 or emailing [email protected]. And be prepared to leave the details of your pitch on a sheet of paper to be left with prospective dreammakers.
Advance tickets to this 19-plus event that concludes with a social mixer are $10, or $5 for CineVic members.
If you haven't reached that stage yet, screenwriter Michael Giampa will show you how in his Sunday workshop.
As well as enlightening participants on such mysteries as why potentially great ideas can make lousy movies, Giampa will cover the fundamentals - narrative structure, plot, characters, themes, dialogue and more - during the intensive class.
Lectures, video clips and creative exercises will be combined to cover the basics of screenplay structure, the dos-and-don'ts of storytelling and comparisons of different schools of thought on screenwriting.
His workshop takes place between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at CineVic headquarters, 1931 Lee Ave. Admission is $30, or $20 for CineVic members.
On the web: CineVic.ca, openspace.ca, media-net.bc.ca
