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SCENE insiders PARTICIPANTS QUOTES
Here's what previous SCENE insiders have to say about the programme.
'SCENE insiders opens the door; it makes you feel as though you are part of the business - making contacts, pitching ideas and gives the momentum to keep moving forward.’
Mark Jackson – Writer, Journalist, SI Edinburgh 2006
‘SCENE insiders has been highly instrumental in my growth as a writer - the lessons I have learned and the contacts I have made have already proved invaluable in my further development in the industry. The advice is practical, precise, helpful and honest. The trip in itself was excellent, and I was treated like royalty. Not only is my writing improving, but my confidence has skyrocketed!’
Robert Parker – Writer, Director, Actor, SI Warsaw 2006
'Valuable above and beyond the great workshops and tutors is the opportunity to build relationships with like-minded filmmakers and professionals. The most useful thing I'll take away with me is a great group of people that, thanks to our shared experience on SCENE insiders, I'll be able to work with in creatively rewarding ways.'
Anna Higgs – Producer, SI Gothenburg 2007
‘Writers who are scared of development hell should try SCENE insiders - it's development heaven. The programme added depth to my work, boosted my confidence and introduced me to lots of great people.’
Paul May – Writer, SI Gothenburg 2007
'Filmmakers are surrounded with training opportunities which offer lots of promises, some of them deliver, few of them are excellent. SCENE insiders is not just a training programme, it’s different, it’s an exceptional learning experience for all film professionals.
Its unique setting (in a film festival) and programme allows industry professionals to bring their passion and wealth of experience to you. In this manner SCENE insiders can create a blue-print for a successful projects or even kick-start your career (it did to mine)'.
Robert Cassar - Writer, Director, Producer, SI Edinburgh 2006
‘I found attending SCENE insiders in Warsaw to be an extremely enjoyable and valuable learning experience. The course managed to fit in an enormous amount of content over the 3 days by being well structured and with excellent tutors. Apart from the obvious benefits of the course as a learning experience, I found the networking aspect to be really invaluable. I made some great contacts that have since blossomed into ongoing professional connections. The SSCENE insiders website is also a great tool that really allows these contacts to be maintained and broadened.’
Lindy Taylor – Producer, Script Editor, Script Developer, SI Warsaw 2006
‘The Script Factory opened my eyes to the possibilities of my own projects, as well as making friends with other scriptwriters from around Europe whom I'm now working with. And being in the surroundings of Gothenburg & their film festival only made it more memorable’
Gawain Morrison – Producer, Writer, Production Manager, Gothenburg 2007
‘SCENE insiders - It’s about meeting great people, in a learning environment which inspires and stimulates. An insightful experience that will leave you wanting more, instilling you with new found energy to get out there and do things, write, create it’s all there for your taking!’
Pierre Ellul – Assistant Director, Director, Gothenburg 2007
'SCENE insiders gives practitioners a well needed shot in the arm. It’s an intense few days that helps you get back on track with your script. It’s practical and inspiring'.
Bruce Goodison, Director, Edinburgh 2006
'SCENE insiders was a fantastic course, which not only offered me some new ways of looking at script development, but it also brought into focus a lot of what I know instinctively - gave it a name and showed me how to put it to use most effectively. I continue to use the supporting material for reference nearly a year on. In addition to script theory the course provided invaluable and rare guidance on how to do my job. The tools I gained from that have made me a better, more confident script editor. It's also a great opportunity to meet new people in the industry and build up a network across the UK and into Europe. I will be working with at least two of the writers I met on the course. The Script Factory team couldn't have been friendlier, more informed or more helpful - it was a pleasure to spend those few days in their company and hear what they had to share. Their passion was infectious. As an experience it delivers on all its promises. Enjoyable, fun, engaging and informative - what more could you ask for?'
Ciara Conway – Script Editor, BBC Scotland, SI Edinburgh 2005
'As a producer/director SCENE insiders fuelled my confidence and enhanced my skills as a script developer so that now I can give my best to the writers I work with.'
Rosemary Boateng – Producer, Direcor, True Corner Productions, SI Edinburgh 2005
'What an opportunity...to come to London, to be immersed in a script lab, to be in the company of other writers, directors and producers and to hone a craft in this environment is awesome. As I was embarking on a very challenging adaptation of a novel by an internationally renowned writer, I was feeling a great need to focus and delve into the script process with a group of colleagues. I needed that encouragement, that challenge and that knowledge. And I left London feeling inspired, excited and ready to adapt.'
Francine Zuckerman – Director, Writer, Producer, Z Films Inc., SI London 2005
'I re-read a screenplay I'd been writing on the flight home from SCENE insiders. It was an eye-opening experience, and although it was initially depressing, SCENE insiders had given me the tools to be able to analyse its weaknesses and improve it radically. It's a privilege to be able to spend time with like-minded creatives from all over the world all focused on making better screenplays and making screenplays better. I would recommend the three-day programme of masterclasses, screenings, discussions, lectures and parties to anyone who was serious about writing. The tutors were very strong and the company was great. I'm still in touch with several of the people I met on the course.'
Max Pugh – Director, Yeast Films, SI Warsaw 2005
'The SCENE insiders programme has inspired me to go out there and Do. It boosted my passion for Doing. That is invaluable. On a more academic level, yet equally as important, the programme confronted all the classic issues writers often hope they can get away with - lack of direction, lack of form, structure, etc. These problems were addressed effectively and in detail. I, at last, was taken out from my habitual haziness into clarity and focus. A great thing!'
Candelaria Saenz Valiente – Writer, SI Warsaw 2005
'I spent three intensive, extremely productive days in a genuinely friendly atmosphere. Exchanging opinions with filmmakers from other countries and with different occupations along the chain of the filmmaking process (producers, writers, developers and other directors) gave me a decisively broader view on the filmmaking process and especially on development, which was a new level for me.
I find the approach of the SCENE insiders to writing pragmatic in the best sense of the word, away from the aesthetically-philosophical one that I had only experience with until then, during my university studies and later on.
It certainly worked for me. During the sessions I was immediately capable of drawing parallels with my own work and managed to pinpoint all the weak spots in it and the origins of the problems I previously encountered. SCENE insiders helped me overcome systematic errors in my approach to writing and get rid of a good deal of prejudices related to the writing process and the nature of scripts.
It gave me the courage and the determination to pursue my goals to good effect and with a clearer and much more realistic vision on filmmaking. On the whole it was a liberating experience and I hope the fruits of it will be seen on screen soon…'
Ioana Pankova – Director, SI Warsaw 2005
'Being one of the SCENE insiders in Warsaw 2005 has been a great honour to me. And I am sure I will remain a SCENE insider forever! 3 days spent working hard and having good fun with people who were like me, part of the industry, scriptwriters, readers, producers and definitely film lovers!
I don’t want to focus only on the workshops, which were all held in an excellent, professional, concrete and useful way. I need say no more. But the masterclass with Wim Wenders? Oh, my god! I still remember every single word he said, it doesn’t happen everyday that you meet a great director who shares with you his tips and experiences! This could only have happened thanks to The Script Factory and its fantastic crew!'
Maria Cristina Mosca – Writer, Script Reader, Consultant, Sintra Productions, SI Warsaw 2005
'If you want to know what the business of scriptwriting and film making is about and how to give yourself the best chance of succeeding, then I suggest you sign up to the SCENE insiders programme now. If you want to find out how to waste a lot of time and money running around wondering why your projects aren't getting interest, then I suggest you don't!'
Christopher Lowden - Writer, Producer, Director, Fearless Films Ltd., SI Gothenburg 2006
'It’s funny how three days together with The Script Factory’s SCENE insiders changed the way I think about script development. I have found a much clearer view on structure, the way I am working with a script today has a lot more focus than before. I can actually analyse my own work and find a way to know what I am really doing. The workshop is a fabulous forum for both experienced and new script developers to meet others with the same vision. I think this kind of event is crucial to becoming a better scriptwriter or developer.'
Jörgen Pettersson – Director, SI Gothenburg 2006
'SCENE insiders is a great place to find refuge, warmth and enlightenment in the often cold and harsh environment of Independent Filmmaking'
Zam Salim – Writer, Producer, Director, SI Edinburgh 2004
‘SCENE insiders gave us the invaluable opportunity to explore scriptwriting and development with like-minded filmmakers from across Europe. We met Cailin Harrison, a talented writer who is now working with us on the feature film project 'Turning the Pages'.
Susan Jacobson and Alex Boden - Director & Producer at Pistachio Pictures, SI Edinburgh 2004
Paul Moody‘SCENE insiders is a first class script development course, offering superb networking opportunities and professionally delivered to a very high standard. Most importantly The Script Factory team has a sense of mission and a stress on innovative, powerful content in stories that is a refreshing change from the formulaic approach to script development. All round an extremely good investment.’
Paul Moody - Writer, Director, International Media Productions, SI London 2004
‘SCENE insiders was an inspiring experience. Both, participants and lecturers were all professionals very passionate about film and -as a writer- I felt that for once, I was in company of people that really grasped the issues and challenges of creative writing! A very good way to learn more and to put into perspective, what you already know.'
Mary Kolonia – Writer, Producer, SI London 2004
‘SCENE insiders was like being given a new tool-box. I immediately used my new skills at work and was met with great respect from the writer’.
Erica Jensen - Director, Script Editor, SI Gothenburg 2005
‘The Script Factory SCENE insiders was a great opportunity to meet with like-minded professionals from all over Europe, discuss the challenges of script development, and all that in an international festival environment. Inspiring and motivating!’
Kathryn Willens – North by Northwest Manager, SI Edinburgh 2004
Wojciech Lepianka‘I think that the modern film industry in United Europe needs standards; SCENE insiders teach standards in scripts analysis, writing reports and developing ideas. Participating in SCENE insiders has taught me to think about storytelling in a new ways. My producer noticed a new style in reports that I write for him and I must admit that I learned all these skills in the Edinburgh workshops. I use the training material that I received during lectures everyday like a bible’.
Wojciech Lepiank - Screenwriter, Assistant Director, SI Edinburgh 2004
‘An excellent three-day immersion into the world of screenwriting and development. I found the course extremely inspiring, challenging and stimulating. I studied English Literature at A'Level and loved the analysis. Breaking down a film script into its various thematic and dramatic components reminded me of this and through the tutors relaxed but intelligent approach I found myself completely engaged with the work on all levels. The course was well structured and very well organised. We were looked after by The Script Factory team and the lunches, coffee and cakes were a delightful bonus. I had the most exciting four days in a long time - almost as exciting as my wedding!’
Penelope Solomon - Writer, Director, Producer, Actor, SI Gothenburg 2005
‘Three days of focus and clarity, invaluable and enriching for all aspiring filmmakers. When it comes to scripts and script writing SCENE insiders have got it down to a fine art.’
Cassius Matthias - Screenwriter, Director, SI Warsaw 2004
Darren Bender‘Powerful and passionate belief in writing better scripts is what drove every session and nothing felt like the cold science the 'Hollywood script gurus' tend to offer. This was the real thing, the structure, the story, the characters laid bare and most exciting were the questions the writers and developers were asked, not of their work, but of themselves, because if you don't know why you are doing it or what you are trying to say then you will never say anything in any way that anyone else wants to hear. I think as a producer I would read something by a writer just because they went on SCENE insiders, because I would know that they were strong to get in there in the first place and any potential they might have had going in will have been exponentially increased coming out. If knowledge about writing great screenplays is what you want to stick to you, then SCENE insiders is like being sellotape and discovering Christmas - make yourself useful - you just need stamina.'
Darren Bender – Producer, SI Edinburgh 2004
'The Script Factory’s script development seminars ought to be compulsory for any decision maker in the film industry. Finally somebody puts the finger on the biggest problem in the European film business. And not only that, Script Factory also gives the solution. The film industry would make so much more money if all script-readers and producers looked for potential instead of problems. And Script Factory definitely knows how to squeeze out that potential. There are very few good script developers around who can really make the writer comfortable enough to reach his/her best potential. But Script Factory knows how to do that. So don't miss their seminars if you get the chance. As a writer I found Script Factory’s seminar invaluable. Now I can develop both my colleagues and my own scripts in a much clearer and constructive way.'
Ola Höglund - Writer, Director, Script Editor, Script Developer, SI Gothenburg 2005
Zornitsa Sophia‘SCENE insiders gives a profound understanding and knowledge, not only on the subject of writing, but also on the whole process of film project development, using some great filmmakers' lectures as an inspiring example. The best part for me was indeed the inspiring, sometimes controversial examples of the filmmakers involved in SCENE insiders programme. And the smart way The Script Factory lecturers use all of it: the directors, the writers, the films shown and ourselves as a training tool, giving us a strict frame of the successful writing/development process and the liberty to choose your own way of escaping it.’
Zornitsa Sophia – Director, Producer, Writer, SI London 2004
‘The Script Factory is an enterprise, which you do not see on a front page of a magazine, but which may help you get there yourself. If you are a new filmmaker like myself, The Script Factory provides you with useful and informative materials. I took part in the SCENE insiderstraining programme and particularly enjoyed the part that dealt with screenplay pitching, as it gave me insight into a subject I didn’t have much idea of. Moreover, The Script Factory has this nice skill of inviting clever people you can network with. It was a delight to meet filmmakers from other European countries and share ideas on writing screenplays, film production and quality of beer. Thanks to The Script Factory I got this lovely opportunity to attend a masterclass with Oscar-winning screenwriters, Jim Taylor and Alexander Payne who co-wrote Sideways. Extremely interesting. To make long story short, I felt I was taking part in a well-thought-over event that was executed with expertise and sense of humour. I hope The Script Factory grows bigger to help other filmmakers grow too.'
Jan Kulig – Writer, Director, SI Gothenburg 2005
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