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Mapping and scribbling

December 1, 2014 News

As part of their Creative Spark series, The Academy shot a video with me talking about my [creative process](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbngAEH5Lis&list=PLsruNZel-SDQj6OIG7M8uFzSGX6SMa3iS).

Man, I talk with my hands a lot. But overall, I’m happy with how the video turned out.

The [whole series](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsruNZel-SDQj6OIG7M8uFzSGX6SMa3iS) is terrific. As an Academy member, I love this increased focus on showing the process of filmmaking, and the faces that go with the names.

My hope is that videos like these not only inspire new filmmakers, but also help film fans appreciate how many talented craftspeople work to make their favorite films come to life.

Finishing a script, and the Perfect Studio Executive

Episode - 171

Go to Archive

November 18, 2014 Film Industry, News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, Writing Process

What are the odds that fivethirtyeight.com’s statistical analysis of screenplays will make Craig angry? Always bet on umbrage. Fortunately, he just finished a script, so we talk about that, and John’s new gig writing Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (which was the project he described phone-pitching the past few episodes).

Then we talk about what makes for the perfect studio executive. It’s a series we plan to continue, looking at the prototypical awesome person in various categories.

Our December 11th live show is likely to sell out, so don’t delay getting your ticket. And Thursday at noon is the last chance to get a Writer Emergency Pack. Links to both below.

Links:

* [Get your tickets now](https://www.wgfoundation.org/screenwriting-events/scriptnotes-holiday-show/) for the Scriptnotes Holiday Show
* [The Book with No Pictures](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0803741715/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by B.J. Novak
* [Writer Emergency Pack](http://writeremergency.com) is [on Kickstarter until Thursday](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/913409803/writer-emergency-pack-helping-writers-get-unstuck)
* [How Data Can Help You Write A Better Screenplay](http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-data-can-help-you-write-a-better-screenplay/) by Walt Hickey
* [Heritage turkeys](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heritage_turkey) on Wikipedia, and the [Heritage Turkey Foundation](http://heritageturkeyfoundation.org)
* [Transparent](http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-HD/dp/B00I3MNF6S) on Amazon Prime
* Get premium Scriptnotes access at [scriptnotes.net](http://scriptnotes.net/) and hear our 1,000th subscriber special
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) submitted by Scriptnotes listener RJ Sampson ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_171.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_171.mp3).

**UPDATE 11-25-14:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-171-finishing-a-script-and-the-perfect-studio-executive-transcript).

Toxic Perfection Syndrome

October 7, 2014 Film Industry, Follow Up, News, Scriptnotes, Transcribed, WGA

Craig and John discuss that delusional period in which you’re convinced your script is the best thing ever written — and the inevitable heartbreak when someone tells you it isn’t. (TPS is close cousins to the Oscar Speech in the Shower.)

Also this week: SF terms and tropes, Adam Sandler’s Netflix deal, and what the WGA should focus on.

Links:

* Get your [flu shot](http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/flushot.htm)!
* [Get tickets now](http://www.slate.com/live/la-culturefest.html) for tomorrow’s live Slate Culture Gabfest with guests John and Craig
* John and others [on their favorite Simpsons episodes and moments](http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2014/09/29/the_simpsons_daniel_radcliffe_amy_schumer_fred_armisen_and_other_celebrities.html?wpsrc=fol_tw) from Slate
* John’s schedule at [the 2014 Austin Film Festival](http://austinfilmfestival2014.sched.org/speaker/john_august.1sssegfs?iframe=no&w=i:0;&sidebar=yes&bg=no#.VDMKbCldVjc)
* Business Insider on [the Adam Sandler/Netflix deal](http://www.businessinsider.com/why-netflix-did-adam-sandler-deal-2014-10)
* [Turkey City Lexicon](http://www.sfwa.org/2009/06/turkey-city-lexicon-a-primer-for-sf-workshops/)
* [Drone delivery has begun](http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/dhl-drone-start-making-deliveries-german-island/)
* [Blade Buddy](http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NIPQ0VW/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) on Amazon
* Get premium Scriptnotes access at [scriptnotes.net](http://scriptnotes.net/) and hear our 1,000th subscriber special
* [Outro](http://johnaugust.com/2013/scriptnotes-the-outros) by Scriptnotes listener Betty Spinks ([send us yours!](http://johnaugust.com/2014/outros-needed))

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_165.m4a) | [mp3](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_165.mp3).

**UPDATE 10-11-14:** The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2014/scriptnotes-ep-165-toxic-perfection-syndrome-transcript).

Dressing like a screenwriter

September 16, 2014 Highland, Los Angeles, News

Scriptnotes is a proudly money-losing podcast, with no ads or sponsors to defray the cost of editing, hosting and transcripts. So once a year we offer t-shirts to help fill both our coffers and your closets.

In past years, we’ve sold the Scriptnotes t-shirts in various colors. They’re lovely shirts, but three colors is plenty. This year we wanted to do something different.

So we made the [Scriptnotes Tour shirt](http://store.johnaugust.com/products/scriptnotes-tour-shirt).

scriptnotes tour shirt

Illustrated by Simon Estrada, it’s the stadium rock band shirt made for people who listen to weekly podcasts about screenwriting. ((…And things that are interesting to screenwriters.)) For the first time ever, there’s printing on the back: a list of all the live shows, past and near-future.

scriptnotes-tour-back-detail_1024x1024

Although the artwork is hard rock, it’s actually the softest shirt we’ve ever made. Stuart Friedel, our resident t-shirt expert, describes it thusly:

> The softest shirt I ever touched was the American Apparel gray-tag tri-blend from 2007. Nothing has come close until this. It’s like wearing a daydream.

Stuart’s sense of softness led us to an entirely new garment: our [first-ever hoodie](http://store.johnaugust.com/collections/frontpage/products/brad-hoodie). It’s spun from the downy tri-blend threads.

brad hoodie

We were originally going to make it a Scriptnotes hoodie, but the complicated typewriter logo translated poorly to embroidery. A much better choice was this blog’s brad icon: simple, iconic, and specific.

Hoodies are the fundamental outerwear of the modern screenwriter: dressy enough to wear to a water-bottle general meeting, casual enough to wear while walking your dog at Runyon Canyon.

We deliberately picked a lightweight fabric, perfect for an over-air-conditioned coffeeshop when it’s 100 degrees outside.

Our final bit of new schwag came to us from an email by George Gier:

> You may never know how much I appreciate Highland, but it turned reformatting hundreds of pages of garbage into two clicks of perfection. It rules. If you make a Highland T-shirt, I will be the first to buy one and wear it proudly.

George Gier, [this is your shirt](http://store.johnaugust.com/collections/frontpage/products/highland-t-shirt) (but everyone else can get them too):

highland shirt

For the Highland shirt, we went back the same tee we used for the Karateka shirts: strong and simple, 100% cotton. It’s a deep indigo, reminiscent of [Dark Mode](http://johnaugust.com/2014/secrets-of-highlands-dark-mode).

Making the Highland icon work on a t-shirt was an interesting challenge. The “real” icon uses gradients and shadows that wouldn’t translate to screen printing, so Ryan Nelson flattened everything down.

Highland icons

I kind of love it. Mac icons are still supposed to have [depth and shadow](http://martiancraft.com/blog/2014/07/inspecting-yosemite-icons/), but don’t be surprised if future versions of Highland move a bit in this flatter direction.

If you’re wearing the Highland t-shirt, you’re not only promoting a great screenwriting app. You’re literally wearing the future.

### Getting the gear

Both the t-shirts and the hoodie are available for pre-order starting today. **Pre-orders end September 30th.** We only make enough to cover orders, so if you want one, *you have to get your order in*.

Note: Hoodies are a special case. Because the embroidery setup costs are higher, we can only make hoodies if we hit a minimum. If we don’t reach the threshold, we’ll give refunds to anyone who ordered one.

All orders ship beginning October 8th. You should have them in time for the Austin Film Festival.

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