Xasti Media

Screenwriting by Gerry Mendoza

Consult producers and ask them what they’re looking for.  Producers and distributors would like a say in the development phase of the script.

Writing a screenplay and hoping that it’ll somehow find a market is 99% a fairy tale.

Slate deals is the studio system and has been for decades for very good reasons and now in T.V. producing the new buzz word is Multi format.  This basically means that producers are developing numerous projects simultaneously

Our formula

80 – 88 pages.  This allows the actors and filmmakers room to breathe.  Syd Field’s screenwriting books is still one of my favourites but at 120 pages how do you run commercials on tv.

SHOW IT DON”T TELL IT.  Film is a visual medium.  It’s not theatre where you’re compelled to reveal everything in dialogue.

Brand In/Product Placement is very attractive to Producers.

A handful of actors

A juicy role for celebrities who are trying to break into acting

A juicy cameo role for a Bruce Campbell, Christopher Walken,..etc. This will give you that bankable actor to help secure that ever elusive distribution deal.

As few locations as possible.  Locations can kill your movie.

Avoid animals and children.

We love Slate deals and multi formats.

My name is Mendoza not Bruckheimer.  Write as if even a producer with a miniscule budget can producer your film.

The new Coffeehouse site is launching in a few days. Massive effort to get this working just right. And this will only be the start of a long journey. The new site featured the latest technologies that have been breaking over the past year and as early as January 2010. What this means is that taking advantage of all the breakthroughs requires content being developed on these new platforms.

For example the front end of the site utilizes the new Flash Player 10 architecture which is natively 3D.  So to start a touch of 3D was leveraged to give users a taste of what’s coming. We’re only showing the front door of a journey. You might think of Alice in Wonderland but only at the mirror before her journey begins.

So it’s all very exciting.

Toronto Folk Hero Peter Verity

This Tuesday March 30th, Gerry Mendoza and Michael Marian will be video taping legendary Toronto Folksinger Peter Verity. The shoot will utilize 3 DV Camera’s. The audio will be digitally recorded to a laptop. Michael and Gerry will be doing the edit.

This video shoot marks Gerry and Michael’s long awaited collaboration and the first of many.

The show is at the TKO Lounge at 1600 Danforth Ave. at Coxwell in Toronto. This is a regularly scheduled Coffeehouse Cabaret and also happens to be hosted by Michael Marian.

The Rules for staying warm can be remembered by the acronym
C O L D

C lean keep your clothes clean

O verheating Avoid overheating

L oose and layered wear your clothes loose and layered according to your body temp

D ry stay dry

These are some of the things that we teach soldiers during adverse weather condition training

A set ditty by Gerry Mendoza

What you carry will be dictated by time of year and global location of set

A set ditty bag is your survival bag that you bring to set that has

Water bottle
Granola bars
Dry fruits/veggies
Biz cards
Pens
Pocket knife
Flashlight
Demo reel
Map book or GPS

Little first aid kit
Spare socks
Spare undergarment
Spare shoe laces
Gortex socks

Rain suit
Scarf
Gloves
Hat
Bug spray
Sun block
Tiger Balm
Hand lotion
Hand Satinitizer

Parka that is water & wind proof
Snow Boots

In the bush add mountain stove, candles, windproof matches, magnifying glass, water purifier, toilet paper, map & compass, Cup that you can boil water in

The best bug repellent
Avon’s skin so soft

A good crossbow/sling shot minimum if wild animals are around and always a knife, flashlight on your body

When travelling do some research on the set’s location

You may never need them but I’m always one of the driest or warmest person on set

I see ppl dehydrated, sunburned, cold or wet on set and I wonder why are they so ill prepared

Only fools need be uncomfortable on set

Makin movies is like going to war
You can’t do the job if you don’t have the tools.  Your body is part of your tools  so take care of it.

What I learned this decade

by

Gerry Mendoza

Safety nets are good.

David Bach’s grandma was right.  When the going gets tough, the tough have cash.

Change can happen in an instant.

Good friends will help you survive.

Pay attention to people’s action. Action defines character.

Honour is our word.

What we say NO to is equally as important to what we say YES to

Those who know less need the ability to listen.

Temper is a commodity.  Don’t lose it.

Information is the best commodity.

Make innovation your business.

Hope is turning crisis into opportunity.

We only see two things in people.  What they want us to see and what we want to see.

Perception is as important to REPUTATION as is reality.

Great men have always manipulated the media.

History was written by conquering warriors.

Faith is to believe that there is something greater than our own pain.

Remember the strength of your ancestors.

It’s the narrative voice that carries us into the story

“Bella” is a wonderful story about adoption intertwined with themes of family,redemption and the ability of the human spirit to triumph against adversities.  If trailers can connect with me then I’m compelled to seek out the movie.  If you believe that there is beauty in simplicity and truth then Bella is one of those films.   “Bella” is a beautiful story perhaps surpassed only by the true life drama that fuelled the making of the film.

If you’re looking for distribution stick to one sales agent who’ll shop you around
There is an UNWRITTEN RULE that you deal with one distribution company at a time.
Stick to giving the sales agent what they need from you.
Refrain from long winded boring synopsis.
If your film deserves distribution it will speak volumes for itself

I will be speaking about the topic above on Sept 4th from 2:30 – 5pm at Innis Town Hall

2 Sussex Ave, Toronto ON Canada.  

www.brafft.com

Received: Thursday, December 11, 2003 11:14 AM

Subject: Interesting facts

 If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

(Hardly seems worth it.)

If you farted consistently for 6 years and 9 months, enough gas is produced to create the energy of an atomic bomb.

(Now that’s more like it!)

The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet.

(O.M.G.!)

A pig’s orgasm lasts 30 minutes.

(In my next life, I want to be a pig.)

A cockroach will live nine days without its head before it starves to death. (Creepy.)

(I’m still not over the pig.)

Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

(Do not try this at home…… maybe at work.)

The male praying mantis cannot copulate while its head is attached to its body. The female initiates sex by

ripping the male’s head off.

(“Honey, I’m home. What the….?!”)

The flea can jump 350 times its body length. It’s like a human jumping the length of a football field.

(30 minutes… lucky pig… can you imagine??)

The catfish has over 27,000 taste buds.

(What could be so tasty on the bottom of a pond?)

Some lions mate over 50 times a day.

(I still want to be a pig in my next life…quality over quantity)

Butterflies taste with their feet.

(Something I always wanted to know.)

The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.

(Hmmmmmm……..)

Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people.

(If you’re ambidextrous, do you split the difference?)

Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.

(OK, so that would be a good thing….)

A cat’s urine glows under a black light.

(I wonder who was paid to figure that out?)

An ostrich’s eye is bigger than its brain.

(I know some people like that.)

Starfish have no brains.

(I know some people like that too.)

Polar bears are left-handed.

(If they switch, they’ll live a lot longer.)

Humans and dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.

(What about that pig??)

Now that you’ve smiled at least once, it’s your turn to spread the stupidity and send this to someone you want to

bring a smile to (maybe even a chuckle)…in other words send it to everyone.