Dear All,
I just blogged about the recent Words & Images conference. There are some photos on there too.
(You may be in some of them... I hope I got your good side.)
My Writing Blog: http://on-writering.blogspot.com/
Also, I realized (when I saw David's post, below) that I have never actually formally introduced myself here.
So: I'm a filmmaker, and currently doing my first year of a DCA in Film/Screenwriting, at the University of Western Sydney. My research/thesis looks at: The common Story, Screenplay elements, and Storytelling patterns in the Top 20 audience-reach films of the last 70 years.
(Or - in other words - what are the 20 most `viral' films, when the Audience numbers of a film, is divided by the production cost of the film - and what is in the story/screenplays of all of those `super-viral' films?). Most of these films are independent, and very low budget. I am using some of Pierre Bourdieu's and also Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi's work, to contextualize/theoretically frame all this. (So in a way, I am drawing on some of Eva Novrup Redvall's papers, and also some of Ian Macdonald's PhD thesis/research work, and combining them.)
I have also built an agent-based online simulation model, to try and help explain what I am doing/researching/looking at. If you get a chance, I would love to hear your thoughts/feedback on the online simulation:
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/55175351/DIFI%20model%20112/DIFI%20Screenplays%20Velikovsky%20V113.html
(It runs in a web browser. To run the model, press "RESET" and then press "GO".)
And by all means, read the explanation, under the model.
And - if it's of interest, the list of "the top 20 audience-reach films" that I am studying (for their common story, and screenplay elements) are:
1. Paranormal Activity (2009)
2. Mad Max (1980)
3. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
4. El Mariachi (1993)
5. Night of the Living Dead (1968)
6. Rocky (1976)
7. Halloween (1978)
8. American Graffiti (1973)
9. Clerks (1994)
10. Once (2007)
11. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)
12. Open Water (2004)
13. Friday the 13th (1980)
14. Saw (2004)
15. Primer (2004)
16. The Evil Dead (1983)
17. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
18. The Full Monty (1997)
19. Star Wars (1977)
20. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
As part of my research on this, I've also written an 888-page (196k-word) screenwriting manual, which is currently being considered by some publishers. Next year, I also hope to make a micro-budget 90 minute feature film, that uses all the film storytelling techniques I have discovered. The genre of that proposed film/screen idea is: a Sci-Fi Slacker Existential Horror-Comedy Musical.
And, I am always very interested to hear from anyone who may have similar research interests.
Best,
JT
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JT Velikovsky
Research Student & Filmmaker
Doctorate of Creative Arts - Feature Film / Screenwriting
School of Humanities and Communication Arts
University of Western Sydney
Email: [log in to unmask]
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