SWAT - When Opportunity Knocks

Article written by Bulent Ozdemir
(Disclaimer: This article may contain words and phrases that some people may find offensive. Please do not continue if easily offended)


One thing I've come to realise is that opportunity presents itself in the most subtlest of ways. It doesn't (usually) pop out of thin air and go "Yo, ass face, here I am on a plate ready for you to devour!" A little OTT, but I think you know where I'm coming from.

About a week ago I came across a casting call tweet looking for an Ex US Military person living in London. I'm not an Actor, shit like that doesn't interest me. I could've EASILY scrolled along my timeline BUT, my brother-in-law to be met the criteria. He's not an Actor. I just thought, why the fuck not, maybe he'd be interested. Long story short, he asked asked If I'd help him film something to send over to the casting peeps. Of course I said yes (turns out it was for a major studio movie).

Here's what we came up with. Best to watch first (process and blooper reel below).

Write What You See

Article written by Bulent Ozdemir
(Disclaimer: This article may contain words and phrases that some people may find offensive. Please do not continue if easily offended)

The thing with click bait is that they very rarely give you the answers to the statements/questions they're posing. I call it the Politician Syndrome aka No Shit, Sherlock! This applies to a lot of filmmaking articles I come across, but a typical screenwriting example would be:

5 Things You Need To Write A Great Story

- Writing software (or pen and paper)
- A story that's worth telling
- Characters we can relate to
- Something bad that happens
- An ending your audience can remember

How you do this is completely up to YOU! At the end of the day, you're the one who's telling the story. It's your voice that counts!

Click this
Click this
Click this
Click this...

No Shit, Sherlock!

I mean, really? Do people really need to be told this stuff? It's like saying you need money to buy a house. Show me the money, mutha fackers!

I'm not sure who said it, but one of the best pieces of screenwriting advise I've personally come across in the diarrhetic bull-shit-sphere known as how not to write, how to write click bait is this:

"Write What You See" 

What A (Good) Story Means To Me

Article written by Bulent Ozdemir
(Disclaimer: This article contains words and phrases that some people may find offensive. Please do not continue if easily offended)

Hey guys, today I'd like to talk to you about story, not just any story, but good story and what it means to me.

Like many creative mediums, platforms or whatever the fuck you want to call them, story is a subjective matter. One person's Monet could be another person's euro trash. We each have our own ideals, thoughts, influences and factors that mold our definition of a good story. It's not a right or wrong thing, it's whatever resonates inside the individual. Whatever sparks that emotion inside you is what counts.

Unfortunately, we live in a society today where everything is digested and thrown away within a blink of an eye, or should I say a click of a button, or is that a slide of the finger? My point is, attention spans have reduced quicker than a diarrhetic bowl over the last (at least) 10 years. What this means is a severe reduction in good story and an increase in eye candy. The next generation of cinema goers/storytellers have been groomed into a corner where everything is geared to be generically structured without the twists, turns and surprises most of the older generation were lucky enough to grow up with. Some will argue this point, others will nod in agreement. Again, it's all subjective.

Bare with me as I rattle along and bring this sucker back.