Easter Eggs…
Congratulations! You've found the secret page!
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This page is basically bits and pieces of stuff from over the years, as well as excerpts from scripts that I am working on or have worked on in the recent past. Enjoy!
Woodbury Scene
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I stumbled across a document I submitted a fair few years ago to BBC Radio 4's 'Small Scenes' programme. I remember when I wrote it how I imagined it would sound, and having read it again, I could still hear it clearly in my mind.
So, I thought I'd see if I could turn that into reality!
I've never done this before, so I'm really pleased with how well it has actually tuned out. Apart from the dodgy acting of course! There are probably a few issues with some parts of the sound, mostly the voices as I recorded them on a microphone in my front room, but overall I think it sounds okay for my first real effort at this kind of thing.
Anyway, enough blather, enjoy!
I used Audacity to record the audio, and to edit it all together. I also used a couple of effects from the BBC's Sound Effects website.
The Waiting Room
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Those that have followed me on Twitter may have heard me bang on about The Waiting Room from time-to-time. This is the comedy/drama (not a sitcom, sorry Dave, sorry James) that I wrote a while ago and occasionally tinker with every now and then.
I did submit a version to the Sitcom Geeks' sitcom competition in 2020, but I shouldn't have really as it is definitely not a sitcom in the traditional sense.
Following some fantastic feedback and ideas from Fiona Faith Ross, I rewrote the entire script and I definitely think it flows a lot better now, so thanks Fiona!
I am now very close to getting it ready to head out into the big wide world!
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If you think you might like to read it, drop me a line at mike.cooper@allmediapm.co.uk and I'll send it you. Operators are standing by.
Backpackers
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Long-time followers, and now more-recent ones may have also heard me talk about 'Backpackers'. This was a project I got involved in with a couple of friends. They had written some scripts that they wanted feedback on. Following my feedback I worked with them to rewrite all six episodes.
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It was great working on something as a team and I definitely learnt a lot helping to write it. I was also really chuffed that a lot of my new material made it into the final scripts.
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We ended up submitting two episodes to several production companies. Incredibly, we had feedback from a few!
Mark Talbot, who was at Hat Trick Productions at the time, said he liked them and that they had some good gags, but ultimately he wouldn't be interested in taking it any further. But he told us to keep in touch and send him any further scripts down the line. Unfortunately, he then changed jobs, so we never got to send him anything else. (Curse you Dennis the Menace!).
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Michelle Farr, who was at Expectation Entertainment at the time, also gave us some great feedback, but again, wasn't in a position to take it any further.
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We then got a phone call out of the blue from Clerkenwell Films. They really liked the scripts and were interested in talking to us. So on the 8th May 2019, we found ourselves on a train on the way to London for a meeting with a bona fide production company! This was possibly one of the most surreal experiences of my life so far! We met with Rachelle Constant - thanks to Maria Odufuye, her assistant at the time, who was the one that really liked the scripts and set-up the meet. Thanks again Maria! As a side note, the WhatsApp group I am in with Adam and Jamie, the creators of Backpackers, is still called TEAMMARIA4LIFE! Sorry, I digress! Anyway, we chatted to Rachelle for almost an hour talking about Backpackers as well as a couple of other project ideas we were working on. Unfortunately again, they weren't in a position to take the project any further forward as they felt it was a little too close to Tom Basden's "Gap Year" which had recently been made. Personally, having now watched Gap Year, we believe it wasn't really that similar, but can fully understand why companies would feel this way. Rachelle again said to keep in touch and also that Backpackers wasn't completely dead, she recommended sticking it in a drawer for a while and then maybe come back to it down the line. She also said she really hoped that she would one day be in another meeting discussing a project of ours that had been made! Us too Rachelle, us too!
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Shortly after a decision was made to rewrite Backpackers, and I'll be honest, I wasn't completely on board with the direction the guys took it, and as it was their story, they were perfectly in their rights to do that, so I stepped aside. They sent the new version out and unfortunately I don't think they got much feedback.
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It's only through writing this post that I've remembered how much I enjoyed writing Backpackers with Adam and Jamie, and how much I loved those characters. The last few years have all been a bit different what with the pandemic and everything, and I'd not thought about all this in that time. Jamie has subsequently had two children so finding time to write has been nigh on impossible, but we do talk about getting the gang back together more and more, so hopefully soon, we will…