John August

John

Prepping for the Directors Close-Up panels

Directors, Indie, Los Angeles

Tonight and next Wednesday, I’ll be hosting the [Directors Close-Up](http://filmindependent.org/content/directors-closeup) panels for Film Independent.

Tonight’s director is Jason Reitman, joined by cinematographer Eric Steelberg, editor Dana E. Glauberman and composer Rolfe Kent. We’ll be talking about Up In The Air, Juno and Thank You For Smoking.

Next Wednesday’s director guest will be announced tonight. We’ll be talking about casting and working with actors.

Word from the organizers is that it’s almost sold out, but “a limited number of passes” will still be available at the door if you want to try. It’s at the Landmark Theater in West LA, beginning at 7:30pm.

Film Independent is recording these panels, so if you’re living outside Los Angeles, don’t despair: I’ll pass along the info when I have it. In preparation for the series, they shot a bunch of short interview pieces with me, which you can see [up on YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a0zVJxaiPY).

The Twitter hashtag for the series is #DCU2010. If you have questions for anyone on the panel tonight, tweet it ([@johnaugust](http://twitter.com/johnaugust)) and I’ll try to ask.

10 hints for index cards

Story and Plot, Writing Process

I’m outlining a project right now, and thought it would be a good time to review best practices for [index cards](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2003/index-cards).

1. Keep it short. Maximum seven words per card.

2. A card represents a story point, be it a scene or a sequence. You don’t need a card for every little thing.

3. Keep cards general enough that they can be rearranged. (“Battle in swamp” rather than “Final showdown”)

4. Horizontal (a table or counter) often works better than a vertical (a corkboard).

5. Post-It notes make good alternative index cards.

6. Consider a letter code for which characters are featured in the sequence. Helpful for figuring out who’s missing.

7. Most movies can be summarized in less than 50 cards.

8. Cards are cheap. Don’t hesitate to rework them.

9. Consider a second color for action sequences. Helps show the pacing.

10. Write big. You want to be able to read them from a distance.

Update on the job

Follow Up

I’ve gotten a lot of terrific candidates for the [Director of Digital Things job](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2010/hiring-a-new-person). I’ll be narrowing down my top choices beginning Thursday, so if you’re considering applying, make sure I have your stuff by this Thursday morning, February 4, 2010.

How screenwriters will use the iPad

Geek Alert

A few thoughts on Apple’s new tablet, and how we’ll be using it in a few months.

1. **It should be terrific for reading scripts.** Right now, the big Kindle DX does a credible job with screenplays. It’s $489. The iPad is only $10 more, and can handle mail, web, video and a lot more. A few weeks ago, I wrote about reading scripts on [laptops turned sideways](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2009/read-scripts-book-styl). The iPad is the elegant version of this solution.

2. While you probably won’t *write* write a screenplay on it, you could **easily make minor changes to a script** right on the iPad. If Pages and Numbers can run on the iPad, a credible screenwriting app should be possible. (There’s already a poky one for the iPhone that can handle Final Draft files.)

3. **It will be useful for pitches.** A few weeks ago, I was in a meeting and wanted to show the team what I envisioned for a specific monster. I passed around my iPhone. An iPad would have been ideal.

4. The touch screen feels ripe for an **index card/outlining application.** Virtual corkboard, virtual cards. Go.

5. One TV show will use it **on-camera by the end of the season.** I suspect it will be one of the CBS crime procedurals. We’ll notice it the first few times it shows up, then it will become commonplace, the way TV characters are always on iPhones.

6. While it’s never going to have the detail of a Wacom tablet, I can envision a lot of **storyboarding and shot-planning** happening on the iPad. A touch interface is a very natural way to approach angles and spatial composition.

7. **Scaling up blows.** While you *can* run any iPhone app on the iPad, things with text look pretty crappy. Most developers will want to do a new version for the iPad.

8. **Comic books.** They’re going to look great on it. Marvel and DC need to offer subscriptions and all-you-can-eat plans. (Update: Marvel [already does](http://marvel.com/digital_comics/unlimited/).)

9. I don’t know that the iPad is going to save print media in general, but many **film-focussed magazines** would probably work as well or better in this format. Right now, I read [DV Magazine](http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/newbay/dv0210/) in its online, Flash-based form, and it’s a surprisingly good experience.

10. **There’s still room for the Kindle.** The Kindle’s e-ink screen is great for reading traditional, linear books. Amazon’s selection for the Kindle is great, and the fact that they already make a good Kindle reader app for the iPhone means they’ll be able to bring that selection through to the iPad. I like that there’s going to be competition right from the start.

11. **”Fine, but I’ll wait for version 2.0.”** That’s great. I’ll enjoy using version 1.0 for a year, then get the new model when it comes out. Particularly since you don’t have to buy it with a wireless contract, there’s no penalty for upgrading.