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British Special Mention Award 2011
Michelle Arbon Winner's Diary
The development continues – Part 1
31 March, 2012
After initally developing my idea and taking it to a first draft, I realised that there were some basic structural and story elements that weren’t quite working. I decided to go back to the bare bones of the story to rectify these problems. I completed the latest draft and having resolved several issues, I now have a fully fledged skeleton to flesh out.
Fresh from my mentoring session with Sue, I am now in a position to take the script to a third draft and to continue the development process. I will keep you updated with how I get on.
‘Above as Below’ was screened at the Birmingham Flatpack Festival as part of the Film Bug Festival on March 15th @ The Old Joint Stock.
Michelle Arbon
DepicT! ’11 British Special Mention Award Winner
Evolution of an Idea
26 February, 2012
An idea always starts out in it’s simplest form, a small spark of brilliance. This small spark then sets in motion the need to turn the idea into a fully fledged story. However, this is the easy bit, everything very quickly becomes more complex, when you have to develop this idea and ensure that it has a perfectly formed beginning, middle and end.
My first mentoring session with Sue has been fantastic and a great learning experience for me. It is very easy to see your own project through rose tinted glasses and it is great to be given advice from a fresh pair of eyes. I now realise that one of the arts to being a good storyteller, is the ability to cull your own work. You have to learn to let go of aspects that aren’t working or don’t move the story along. Whilst developing my short film with Sue, I have become conscious of the fact that I was getting far too preoccupied with un-necessary details, that were only wasting valuable screen time. With this in mind, the evolution of my idea has led me back to the bare bones of the story. I am just about to start developing the second draft script and will continue to develop this idea further with Sue.
‘Above as Below’ is currently in consideration with several UK and European Film Festivals and so fingers crossed that I will have some good news in my blog next month.
Michelle ArbonDepicT! ’11 British Special Mention Award Winner
Prologue : BAFTA Mentorship
28 January, 2012
‘Above as Below’ started out as a very small idea to capture a WWII soldiers first horrific confrontation with war but, to do this in a way that would reflect the beautifully haunting poetry of that era. With the help of Zosienka’s charming illustrations and Craig Smith’s fantastic animation skills, together we created a non-dialogue 90 second short film. I entered ‘Above as Below’ into the DepicT! competition and have been very fortunate to win the DepicT! British Special Mention Award 2011. The prizes that accompany this award are incredible and I am already taking full advantage of these. A huge thank you to all of the individuals and organisations that have so generously given their support towards the DepicT! British Special Mention Award.
I am very pleased that BAFTA Member, Sue Breen, has agreed to be my Mentor. Sue has a fantastic CV and has worked on a huge variety of projects, she has Script Edited TV Dramas, spent four years as Head of Feature Development at Aardman Animations and is currently working as a Freelance Producer and offering Script Consultation services. A big thank you to Sue Breen for giving her time and support during my Mentorship and of course to Niyi Akeju of BAFTA for her role in organising and facilitating my BAFTA Mentorship.
My next step is to speak with Sue about a couple of ideas that I have been developing, both of which are animated projects. After the subject matter of ‘Above as Below’ I wanted my next film to be a little more light hearted and fun. The first of my ideas is a short stop motion animation that is a simple tale about finding love in unforeseen circumstances. The second idea is for a family animated feature film, set during the Industrial Revolution. With Sue’s help and advice, I hope to choose one of these ideas to develop further over the course of our Mentorship. I will keep you updated on our progress…
Michelle Arbon
DepicT! ’11 British Special Mention Award Winner
About Michelle Arbon
Michelle Arbon's film Above as Below won the DepicT! British Special Mention Award 2011. Michelle's award is a year-long package of career development support from BAFTA, the National Film and Television School, The British Council and Shooting People.
Michelle completed her MA in Screenwriting at the Northern Film School in 2008. Immediately after University, Michelle trained as a Camera Assistant and now works as a Clapper Loader in the Film and Television Industry. Throughout this time Michelle has continued to pursue her passion for writing and directing and has both written and directed several of her own short films and promos.
Depict is a Watershed Project as part of the Encounters Bristol International Film Festival
