Script for Sale (OBUM)

"OBUM" is a feature  screenplay of adventure and childhood curiosity and fate...a cinema story that will lobby the emotion of our audience...fate, superstition and reality, a revelation of the lives of an average child in a tropical savanna...


In September 1989, it was all rains in my village, a bad moment for obum and i. we were stocked in the house because of rains. the new bow that we bought were not experimented, not until this Saturday aft noon, the weather was bright and little birds were singing.

   Though obum's father warned us against the mountain python, we had no choice but to compromise and haunt the mountain grass eaters.
  nevertheless, with our chirpy chirpy haunting style, we pursued an antelope to the base of the obalagu mountain. at one time, we were looking for our victim's hideout, at the second look around, we discovered that we could actually view some new structures in the university of Nigeria Nsukka which is not up to two miles from our village. we actually took some time out to appreciate the topography and structures. obum told me more about the inside as he has been allowed to tour the campus in search of pipe born water. i jealous him and regretted why my own parents would not allow me to tour the campus in search of water too.
  As we were standing around with our back towards the rest of the mountain, we heard an intruding noise that shuffleded the grasses and an alarming yell of an antelope. i concluded that our target antelope has been captured by the python. i was startled to my hairs so i wanted to pick to my heels but obum drew me back and signaled me to squat with him to the lowest base of my ability. i accepted though strictly in confidence to obum's bravery in haunting; from the angle we were squatting, we could feel the python roar on the grasses till the noise faded away. obum explained to me in whisper, how squat-still-acts, is the proved way  to conquer mountain pythons. the python sees anything still  as an ant-hill, though with it's clean sight, it could barely distinguish colors. so we assumed the still position of an ant-hill.
  As the reaction calmed down, we slided down to the base of the mountain with caution, to create less distraction to the python and it's pray.

  I was following obum's crawling style, until  we got to the extreme base which was more grassy, obum  stood still , he was staring at something on the ground, i tapped him to move on but he turned to me with tears on his face. i was overwhelmed with  curiosity as i asked why he was crying and he pointed to me eight black eggs in a nest. it was actually a bird's nest and that was no reason for obum to cry. i told him that, but he whispered to me with a voice full of sorrow that he will die soon.

Chasing the Sun

Screenplay Marketplace in Nollywood
Script Title:  Chasing the Sun
Type:            Screenplay
Fomat;          Feature Lenght
No of pages: 116

I got used to facebook chat that I could not let a day pass by without saying a word to my close friends online. Anna-Tomasson and I met online as I asked a physics question on my wall; She said she had a journey to make to Africa and it’s a physics expedition.



I was reluctant at first to tell her that I’m in Africa but the physics she mentioned compelled me to open up. I told her that I was a final year student of Astro-physics and may assist her with information about physics in Africa, the idea I thought would make her stay but she simply told me that she’s got information enough to bring her down and may need my assistance only if I’m somewhere close to Jos in Nigeria. The coincidence appeared pre-arranged so I kept my location a secret and decided to know her story first.


We shared physics ideas and as time went by, we developed something close to love. I was not confused when she told me on phone that she was coming to chase the sun in Africa though I playfully asked her if sun was hiding here. She told me about her effort to develop a coordinate system which she would use to map a super-nova remnant. I knew what she wanted and I jealoued Africa for that. I knew it was a good thing to take autumnal equinox into consideration too and I was glad she did. I told her it would take place somewhere in Jos during the middle of September and that it will last for twelve hours. She then assured me that she was coming by September with a Schmidt telescope. She said it belonged to her father and when she mentioned that, her voice became low and sober so I suspected a hidden story about her father and I suspended my interest to know more.

Ugwuja George Chasing the sun at Ugwu Obalagu, Olivet junction, Uwani in Nsukka

On the 27th of august 2008, Anna arrived Nigeria and I was at the airport as we arranged. That was the first time I independently had a female guest from outside the country. I did hang out with girls in school but the arrival of Anna gave me a feeling of physics and emotions.


She did not see the idea of lodging with me in the same hotel to be wrong, she saw it as an opportunity for us to get acquainted to each other and before we moved to Jos from Abuja, we have really had a nice time together.


Anna was twenty one, tall, with  French hair. She confessed her feelings that Nigerian guys would not be romantic but I proved her wrong when I gave her a posy and a kiss. Along the line, I bought another line for my phone as I realized that Anna was getting jealous about the other girls that call me from school. On the other hand, I needed some privacy with this naturally attractive blond girl.


We got to Jos on the 29th of august and Anna wanted us to lodge in the town again to familiarize her with the cold weather but I objected with a clear interest to get to Barki-Ladi on time.


Even though we were chasing the sun, we did see mysteries because  we got to Barki-Ladi, life was really a kind that we read in ancient stories. Virgins were seen naked with their breasts pointing at a straight line angle. I was embarrassed to see my father land in such a distant situation.


We stayed two days with them while I ate roasted yam and  oil; Anna did taste it though she had her packaged foods. In Barki Ladi, we lived like different creatures because we lacked unity in language. Anna loved the sights though as we prepared to advance deeper where we will establish our observer’s point in the local horizon, Anna’s new friend insisted to come with us.


Sani was between twelve to thirteen though what I jealous most was his sense of adventure. He was the one villager that did not see Anna as a ghost. He came into our tent severally to play local chess with Anna. Even though I was jealous, I pardoned him because he was the only hunter that had eight varieties of bush meats and I tasted all within our two days stay with them.


I needed Sani and so it was, at every point in time, we diverted because of just some dung he saw in the bush. Some dung was from dangerous animals while some were the Fulani Herdsmen and their Cattle, Both were dangerous. We traveled for six days pursuing the base of a cloudy mountain that was when Anna conveniently revealed to me that her father came for the same mapping eight years ago but was killed in a fight between the Christian and Muslims in Jos. I pitied Dr Tomasson for dying. I told Anna that our country will never fight again.


On our way, we haunted and we killed, I had a handgun which I hid all the way from school and I thought Sani how to use it. When we got to the base of the mountain, I was mounting our telescope while Sani was resting our tent. I looked towards the valley and saw two children on animal skin. One had a blond skin and a long hair, We pursued them…As we followed their track, we advanced into the forest where great secrets were discovered...

we are looking for Executive producers, funding companies, producers to produce this feature lenght
contact +234-803-884-304-1

Shooting a Film in africa.

For Africans and non Africans that may wish to produce a home video, documentary or a music Video, i may have to point out to you that shooting in Africa is quiet different from Hollywood. here in Africa, using Nigeria as a case study, Nolly wood has not been built yet. there are no studios where you walk in with a sketch of your locations and every thing is done. here, you must have to bear it in mind before conceiving your story. adding fictitious locations to your screenplay may be a problem later during the shooting.
   if you are writing  from Africa, you should know the locations that are obtainable here. we have overwhelming sites here and that is actually what we should be making use of. in most cases, if you are writing from outside Africa, you must consult us here to give you an insight of what we have here before you make your shooting script...
 To make shooting easy for you, follow this steps
 
Write/Buy your screenplay story.......... Get the Crews..... Run the Costing..... Casting.....SCRIPT Conferencing....Shooting script......Search for Locations...Fix shooting Date........ACTION.
  Most times, shooting in Africa is not as expensive as people imagine, more especially if you invite the right people to help you look at your script.

TIPS TO SCREENPLAY STORY WRITING



STORY/PLOT
A story is the series of casual events as they occur in chronological order, presumed duration and frequency. The relationships are directly implied as a cause and effect relationship; and a temporal relationship. The natural order of a story is for the events that constitute it to run from the beginning, through the middle, to the end.


The plot, on the other hand, is the order in which the story events [i.e. the event that constitutes the story] are presented in the work. The plot orders need not to be the natural order of beginningàmiddleàend. More often than not, it could be any of

Beginning-->end--> middle.
Middle-->end-->beginning
Middle-->beginning-->end
End-->middle-->beginning
End-->beginning-->middle

In other words, story events are juggled out of their chorological order. From the plot order, we can always work out the natural/story order.

In structuring story/plot, the critical areas of focus are causality, temporal relations, motivations, parallelism, and patterns of development.

Causality; the agents of cause and effect are;
[a] human characters.
[b] The supernatural [wizards/witches, vampires. God, as in ten commandment; gods as in ose sango]
[c] The natural [earthquakes, landslides, tidal waves as in volcano]
[d] Animals [jaws, King Kong]; and
[e] Social causes [as in one flew over the cuckoo’s nest and economic depressions; in the grapes of wrath].


THE NARRATIVE
The narrative occurs immediately before or after the dialogue. For practical purposes, we can define it as what the camera or audience sees-as opposed to what the camera/audience hears. Thus, the narrative is the description of the action, the setting and the character. The narrative is to the screen play what the stage direction is to stage play. The format of the narrative has been standardized.
1. The narrative is always written in present tense “as though the writer were describing an action that is actually taking place”.
2. Phrases/incomplete sentences may be used in the narrative. In fiction writing, the writer can be as discursive and prolix as he desires. He can afford to characterize action by use of similes, tropes and poetic comparisons. But in screen play writing, the purpose of description is not to give reading pleasure but to impact information. There fore, all descriptions must be absolutely direct. The narrative should be brief and to the point; it needs not be a complete sentences.
3. The narrative should be confined to only what appeals to the eye not the ear or the mind. Whatever the camera cannot record has no place within the narrative. Thus, whereas the playwright in writing his directions could go into his character’s mind only where it is possible for such thoughts to be shown on the screen.
4. A character making his/her first appearance in the narrative should be briefly described. Such a description should of course, tap on his/her physical appearance and his character.


CHARACTERIZATION

We think of characters in a screen play in terms of their actions and the consequences of their actions, which is to say that we think of them as major or minor characters; as well developed or not. All this is from the point of view of the audience, i.e. when we encounter such characters on the screen. A different situation arises when the screen play writer builds up or packages the characters in his play. True action and character become indistinguishable, meaning, that for all practical purposes, the best way he can portray character is by illustrative action. However, he works essentially with character traits. When such traits are put in a cause-effect relationship with illustrative or revealing actions, a real and interesting character is born, a character with whom the audience can empathize.

The screen character is an aggregate of three broad traits; body, voice and motivation.
BODY VOICE MOTIVATION

Control accent age
Costume intensity education
Facial expressions pitch environment
Gestures range ethnic background
Hair style rhythm expertise
Make up singing habits handicaps
Walk speaking habits illness
Tempo physical size
Timbre religion
Self image

DIALOGUE
A writer should write a scene as the camera’s eye or audience will see it.

Every dialogue on the screen must do at least one of the following;
1 presents an immediate problem
2 reveal character
3 advance the plot and
4 provide exposition


SETTING
Setting has been graphically defined as a container for the action, which is to say that the story, the characters, their dialogue do not occur in a void. They occur in [specific] places, in a setting.
On the screen or stage, setting becomes much more than a mere container for the action. It becomes an indistinguishable part of the action. The human being is all important in the theatre. The drama on the screen can exist without actors. A banging door, a leaf in the wind, waves beating on a sea shore, can heighten the dramatic effect. Some film masterpiece use man only as an accessory, like an extra, or in counterpoint to nature, which is the true leading character

FUNCTION OF PLACE/SETTING;
Placed setting has four important functions;

[a] lends credibility to the story
[b] Creates the proper mood and atmosphere.
[c] Reinforces the significance of whatever is being said/done

In the film adaptation of Shakespeare’s merchant of Venice, Anthony and shylock contract of a pound of flesh is played out against a busy row of butchers’ stalls. The impact was simply stunning.
[d] Setting can be used to create props, perhaps the best example of this remains the murder scene in psycho, the shower curtain is at first an innocuous part of the setting but it serves as a scene for the murderer and as a wrap for the victim’s body.

UGWUJA GEORGE
+2348038843041

The Birth of Zowetho

SPEECHLESS; it’s an epic fiction about love and unity. It potrays an inexisting names and a rich cultural ingenuit based in an African context. Two brother cities ZOWEN AND LOSATHO were separated over the years. They now have separate kings and celebrates occasion separately. Not withstanding their originating from the same father. Zibara has been struggling for thirty four years to reconcile the affairs of this brother cities, but to no avail. He was getting old and it sounds to him as an unachievable task. He shed his tears and prayed to the god of their fore fathers.
The prince of [prince jimmy dean] of ZOWEN returns from Spain where he went to read foreign arts and got engaged to the beautiful princess of LOSATHO [ princess ketuya].now, the prime minister from the government town wants to marry princess ketuya. but, it is an abomination for a man without a royal background to mary a princess in LOSATHO. It was an ugly situation because the prime minister was desperate to inherit ketuya’s beauty so,he planned for abduction.
Now, the two kings had to come together to send their worriors to the government town. Is it an answered prayer to Zibara? or are there going to be tragedies as even the prince of ZOWEN prince jimmy dean escaped to the government town in search of his love………did the two cities come together to become ZOWE-THO or did Zibara die before the next season of sherry tyrell festival? [georgeoadverts@yahoo.com. +2348038843041]

Condy's Mistake

NOVEL WRITING; this is where we talk about publications. Book reviews are done here and publishers are invited to come to this category and pick interesting stories and talented writers to work with. You can also write in your view in publication business as articles in this category could be forwarded to publication houses.


UNPUBLISHED; …. unlike other days, no figure would be seen in school till thirty minutes before the resume time. But today, condison heard footsteps. I believe it should be the ugly skeleton. It has been killing for generations, yet not satisfied.
Condison listened again for twenty seconds, but could not hear even a single shake. The breeze also stopped shaking the flowers. There was total calmness everywhere. He now consoled himself that he misapprehended the fall of a leaf to a footstep. He would not finish, when he heard a controlled sneeze. “should it be the ugly skeleton?” condison was at alart and so many things crossed his mind. “should it be those killers my father arrested their fellow, should it be just a thief, do I believe in ghosts?. All these and lots more was in his mind when he unintentionally made an audible statement “I must know what this may be” when he finished, he realized he has made an implicating move. He blinked his eyes, to beat away sweats from his eyebrows. As he raised his leg to walk, he uncontrollably brought it back to it’s origin. He was still in that state when suddenly the footsteps increased and a cry was heard.
“condison..condison! where are you?” the caller, no doubt has been crying for long; for the voice is filled with fear and terror. Maybe that ugly skeleton has victimized someone. That ugly fool, or was it about doing so?. Then, codinson must act fast to save a life or to fall a victim. which ever………
[This is a sharp extract from my mouth gaping suspense filled 116 page high school story. for the purpose of security, I will stop here. If interested, you can write or call through georgeoadverts@yahoo.com +2348038843041

WRITING TIPS

FILM WRITING; Are you really talented?. Do you want to be a screen play story writer? Well, I can give you the tips. The plotting, characterization, setting and even the screenplaying. It’s fun. believe me, you will enjoy it. Ok, if you want to write about the master and his slave then, you will be the master and also the slave. Two people in one body. You must be what you want to write. Never mind if you raise your shoulders while writing the part of the king, and shading tears in the part of the slave. you are just possessed. You could be in such emotions for days, it’s strange. I’ll tell you more if you want.




MUSIC WRITING; It takes more than a fine voice to be a singer. Sometimes music writing could be a talent given to someone that does not have a good voice. so also, someone with a fine voice might not know how to drop music lines that could teach the listeners. so, for equilibrium to be achieved in the system, there must be mutualism. This is a category where singers can source for their lines and writers could also bake their cake here. you can translate your song to any language, you can also feat an international artiste by applying in this category.
It also has a format. The verses, refrain, chorus. There are lots of tips. You can send in your questions or views.


MUSIC WRITE UP;
VERSE.

I’VE BEEN TRYIN TO LET HER BE MY WIFE
COS SHE’S THE ONE THAT I NEEDED IN MY LIFE
EVEN AS SHE THINKS THAT I’M HERE TO PLAY HER GAMES
I’M HERE TO LET HER KNOW THAT MEN ARE NOT THE SAME
BUT SHE SAID SHE NEEDED A SERIOUSE LOVER BOY
A LOVER BOY THAT SHE CAN TRUST
I WON’T STAY TO LET HER WALK AWAY
I WON’T LET HER WALK AWAY FROM ME
EVEN AS SHE THINKS THAT I’M NOT MAN ENOUGH
I’LL DO ANY THING TO MAKE HER SARTISFIED.

CHORUS

MY BABY TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT
ANY THING YOU WANT
BABY TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED
I’LL DO ANYTHING…..FOR YOU
TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED
ANYTHING YOU NEED.

VERSE
I GUESS I SHOULD TELL YOU HOW I FEEL ABT YOU
EVEN IF YOU DOUBT IT, I’LL NEVER ARGUE
BABY YOU SHOULD HAVE TRUSTED ME
YOU SAID YOU WANTED ME TO GO AWAY
YOU NEVER THOUGHT OF ALL THE CIRCUMSTANCES
THAT I WILL FACE
IF YOU LET ME WALK AWAY
BABY WHAT AGAIN CAN I SAY
YOU BETTER GO AWAY
I DON NEED YOU NO MORE
………BRIDGE………..
YOU BETTER GO AWAY
I DON NEED YOU NO MORE
COS YOU NEVER WANA TELL ME HOW YOU FEEL
OOOOOOOOHHHHH

CHORUS AGAIN.

…………………
…………………