Packaging

"Package" - film term for whatever you put together into a production entity to make it attractive to potential investors, financiers, etc...

We are now packaging Exposed!

The screenplay's completed. Just freshly out of the oven, really. It's the 5th draft. I know, I said in a previous post that we've got to get the production off the page asap but a story is not set in stone. It shouldn't. If there's room of improvement, we'll go for it. This version will be the one that's locked in for production. Of course, I'll be expecting some changes along the way.

So the screenplay is element number #1 in the package. Just let me repeat the 1-liner:

[Amended as of 24 September 2005 -
"A reporter becomes the subject of scrutiny when an assignment takes her back to the neighbourhood she ran away from 10 years ago."

This new 1-liner has just been thought of this morning. Sort of like an "Eureka!" moment for Eng Tiong and I. We know the importance of getting the 1-liner right.

Till we find a better logline, this is it!]

"In a neighbourhood she ran away from 10 years ago, a TV reporter has to keep her own skeletons in the closet while unearthing a most shocking story. "

Element number #2 - the producer
Jen Nee (yours truly) will be the producer. The credit is important because we want to own major rights to the movie. It's also a great opportunity to learn the ropes. If not now, when?

Element number #3 - the director
Eng Tiong will be the director. Similarly, we've to put to use what we learn in school and all those years of slogging out in the wedding videography industry thinking on our feet. The time to perform is now.

(As a side note, we may switch roles for the next movie. Yes, we've more story ideas in the pipelines. That's why it's important that this project is not going to be our first and the last!)

Element number #4 - main cast
Female Lead for Renee Donovan, TV reporter
We've long had our female lead in mind. When we first seriously sit down to draft out the treatment early this year, the first actress we've thought of is her. In a way, the story is written with her very much in mind.

We've contacted her and just sent her the script this morning. We're definitely keeping our fingers crossed.

Male Lead for Old Teo, old neighbour
There's also 1 particular actor we have in mind for some time now. We've yet to approach him.

Male Lead for Damien, cameraman
Finding a suitable actor for Damien is harder. Originally, Damien's character is very much in the shadows but sometime in the 2nd or 3rd draft, we flesh him up and he got "promoted" to a leading role.

We're still searching for Damien. If anyone's interested, give us a call! (Damien needs to be lean-built and about 36 years old.)

Element number #5 - budget
I've just completed breaking down the script and a preliminary shooting schedule. We're giving ourselves 10 shooting days at an average of filming 9 to 10 screen pages a day. It's quite a lot to accomplish in 10 days but remember - we only have 1 location. Most of the scenes take place in the same block of flats or a couple of metres away.

I'll be working on the budget today. We will be pumping in our own money. It's probably not going to be enough but let's see what's the shortfall. That's what packaging is mostly about anyway - finding more money.

To be perfectly honest, a lot of things are not working in our favour. Nobody's heard of Lim Jen Nee or Teo Eng Tiong. We're wedding videographers. We've never garnered any prestigious awards in short films like the others do. We've not much money. The story genre's a drama, not the hottest favourite of Asian horror.

But what the heck. We have to start somewhere. And nobody's going to tell us what we can't do. At this point in time, nobody believe in us. But we do. We're not going to give up.

We'll create our own destiny.