PLAYDIGM Entertainment Licensing & Branding

Democracy has been stamped on Iraq but can it be forced on the region?  Will it spread into neighboring dictatorships, monarchies and questionable religious controlled states?  Or will it be snuffed out as soon as western nations pull out in 2011?

The Iraqi government named June 30 National Sovereignty Day and declared it a public holiday. Israel is not alone any more. Will democracy thrive in the Middle East?  We should all hope it does. So on Canada Day or America’s 4th of July, raise a drink to freedom, human rights and the right to vote in fair elections.

In some countries doing so is still just a dream, a fictional story or a real good movie plot.  Dreams do come true!

Sandford

Okay. You have a great idea for a story/script and characters.  Now what?

The first thing is to protect it by registering copyright.  Well the fastest way to obtain copyright is to write a short story.  a one or two page synopsis.

The next thing I do is write a 90 to maximum 120 page screenplay and register that with the copyright and Writers Guild.  Then I start shopping the script to the film and television industry.  Luckily, I landed an agency and one of the best entertainment lawyers in Canada, plus optioned two screenplays.

Meanwhile, I then copy the screenplay and paste it into a word processing file and develop the detail more, which expands the story to over 200 pages and perfect for a novel.  Now I have diversified the same concept into two separate markets.  Quick and fast.  Then marketing it commences.

Heck, why not copy and past the screenplay or novel into another file and rewrite the text into a comic series or graphic novel or video game format?  I did and Galactic Gladiators was optioned and published as a comic series throughout North America and Europe.  Still seeking publishing and distribution throughout Asia and the rest of the world.

The point I am making is that the more you diversify your writing the better chance you have of getting a sale or option.  Through query letters into multiple markets I have managed to catch a break for one of my projects via the comic industry, when I had yet to obtain interest from the book or film or television industries.

The more versions you have of your intellectual property, the more opportunities you will gain by word of mouth throughout the entertainment industry.  Trust me – this works!   Good luck branding your idea!!!

Sandford Tuey

info@Playdigm.com

PS: I am a self motivated, hard-working, committed writer and creator of entertainment properties. I blog to continue my give-back to the world community as I once did locally in Vancouver, Canada at the Alliance of Arts and Culture Searchgrad program. My hopes are that my information and knowledge will assist in creating and selling your intellectual material and one day be produced. I have had feature scripts optioned, written for hire, and have made comics, novels and games. I love movies and am dedicated to the art and business of screenwriting and licensing/branding.  Ask me whatever you want and I will try and get answers for you.

I attended my first Meetup and it was a fun and great way to network.  This was a meetup that included many Meetup groups for the Vancouver, Canada region and was a full house.  Standing room only.

The prizes were better than expected, the pub staff were great and I recommend everyone to attend the next event.

Well done to all the organizers and I look forward to the next one!

Cheers!!!

Sandford

How to develop a brand using Galactic Gladiators as an example:

Stage 10

I called Diamond Comics Distribution while the process of choosing which artist, colorist and graphic designer was ongoing.  After this company merged with Capital, it became almost a monopoly distributor of comics and related merchandising to mom and pop, hobby, comic and pop culture stores throughout North America and Europe.  One powerful corporation.

What I learned was that if Diamond did not pick up your comic book, you were not going to get sales into the comic retail stores very easily.  So negotiations started and the first thing I was told was that management would need to see a full color sample of the first issue and a total of three more issues synopsis laid out and described in writing.

I explained that the Galactic Gladiators story was based on my screenplay and that there were only three issues marking the three acts.  They said it was their policy that a minimum of four issues had to be committed to and they needed to know that the story was ready or they would not handle the product.

One of the hardest writing assignments I have ever had to do was turn a three act screenplay into four parts and make it tell the same story.  Each comic ending had to be a climax to ensure readers would want to buy the next issue.  This was a longer and harder process than I expected.

Next Report will be #7.

==============================================

FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKE – Pre-Order this ebook by sending an email to info@Playdigm.com (put title of book in the subject line).  This ebook is expected to be available in late 2009.  Reserve an issue with no money down. Payment to be required later.

(c) Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.

The ongoing development of a brand.

Stage 9

Learning how to write a comic was the hard part compared to finding artists, colorists and lettering people. I took a three act sceenplay and broke it down into three comic issues of 22 pages each (this is the standard amount of story pages per comic these days).  Everything seemed fine.

I then searched the net and asked everyone I knew to recommend people to develop the screenplay into my comic book/story boards.

After compiling a list of potential candidates and reviewing their portfolios and previous work, it came down to three excellent artists.  There was a female who drew manga style (good for international markets but not what I really wanted), there was an unknown guy who drew very well but normal super hero style (which I knew would not translate well into the Asian markets)  and Scott Lee, who’s artwork was excellent and unique (might even go global if given the chance).

Scott’s characters are long, sexy and lanky. Very different style then what is out there.  His artwork is interesting and good enough that he has worked with Marvel, Top Cow/Image, DC comics and presently works with Radical Entertainment (one of Canada’s premiere video game publishers owned by Universal – Vivendi).  Picking Scott was the best decision I have ever made for designing new characters for a new brand.

The same process kind of happened with choosing the colorist but once Scott introduced me to the work of Ben Prenevost, it was an instant and wise choice.  His coloring technique was perfect for my theme and story. Plus he had worked with Scott before and together their style just works.

Next I checked out graphic designers who could provide lettering and page layout for printers.  I knew from the beginning that this person should be local (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) as I would need to work closely with them prior to it being submitted to the print company.

Rachel Moffat of was introduced to me and her graphic art experience is incredible.  Not only did she pick up the comic craft instantly, but we also designed our own dialog balloons (needed a special way to transmit thoughts from one Psion character to another character).  It was a pleasure working with her as the patience she needed to put the whole project together was amazing.  Remember, both of us had never produced a comic before.

The next installment will be titled Galactic Gladiators Part #6.

=============================================

Order – FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – now.  It will be available later in 2009. Pre-order by contacting Info@Playdigm.com.

(c) Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.

Learning by example. How I developed a brand.

Stage 6

Creating a three act screenplay is straight forward once you’ve read dozens of ‘How to Write a Screenplay’  books and absorbed so many scripts and compared them to the actual films.  This is mandatory, do your homework.

If you are going to introduce your brand in a novel or graphic novel form, then seek out the information on these publications and industries and work towards creating the best product you can.

When I finished the first draft of Galactic Gladiators I was pleased with myself (as anyone would be after writing 100 to 120 pages).  I read it again and again searching for spelling and grammar mistakes and changing a word here or there to increase the emotion or action.

Then it was time to give it to other writers, film contacts and friends for their opinion.  Guess I did a pretty good job because the majority loved the story and overall concept.

Stage 7

When I pitched the Galactic Gladiators idea to my corporation’s shareholders they were impressed.  I explained that I needed about $20,000 for storyboards to attract ‘A’ list actors, producers and directors.   My shareholders however, reminded me that they were capitalists and wanted to know how I would make money from selling storyboards.

It seemed no matter how much I tried to get them to invest further funds they would not do so as they only would give money to produce something that could be sold in a store.  So I banged my head for a couple days until I came up with the idea to turn my needed storyboards into comic books.

Stage 8

I pulled out my comic collection and reread all my Frank Miller and Stan Lee books.  Everything from Superman, Batman to Ironman, Spiderman to Sin City, 300, Ronin, Spawn, Men In Black and Hellboy.  Always trying to figure out why these brands hit it big.  I read a few books on drawing and writing comic format.

Then I approached my company shareholders again, only this time with the focus of financing a comic series based on my Galactic Gladiators screenplay.  Because they recognized the fact that I might be able to sell comics throughout the world, they started investing.  The cost of creating, developing, printing and marketing the GG comic books cost ten times what the story boards would have.

The next installment will be titled Galactic Gladiators Part #5.

=============================================

Order my ebook – FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – now. It will be available later in 2009. Pre-order by contacting Info@Playdigm.com.

(c) Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.

Sandford Tuey continues to detail how to develop and market a brand by using his Galactic Gladiators brand as an example.

Stage 4

I purchased Movie Magic software after extensive research and talking with film and television industry contacts. Final Draft and Movie Magic are the most accepted software programs in Hollywood and I chose Movie Magic. I also read every screenplay I could get access to and watched hundreds of movies in the genre.

Writing a screenplay is a daunting task but since I  just finished the first draft of my first screenplay titled, ‘EXIT IN’ I was some what prepared for it. Exit IN is an immigration cop story where Richard Freedman, an immigration removals/detention officer, who during the escort of an illegal alien back to country of origin, loses his detainee and must complete the mission within three days or be fired allowing a major criminal to lead a deadly gang war in North America.

They say ‘write what you know’ and at that time I was working with Immigration Canada.  So I took everything I knew about this subject and added real life details to the fictional script to make it as realistic a story with drama and suspense.  I changed the names of the character to protect me. lol   Great practice for a first time screenwriter.  So practice by writing what you know as it is a great way to start learning the craft.

Stage 5

The main reason for writing Galactic Gladiators was due to some information I came across at the Film Forum during the Vancouver Film Festival (I’ve been attending this business conference since 1988).  One of the Studio types mentioned that for every dollar made at Box Office, there are three to five dollars made from DVD/VHS sales but anywhere from ten to twenty dollars made from the toys and merchandise associated with the movie.

Well it takes the same amount of time to write a drama or love story (without a toy line), as it does to write a screenplay or novel with the possibility of toys and mass merchandise branching off of it.  It made sense to come up with a concept with toy potential.

One day my son (age 8 at the time) asked me, “Dad, if aliens exist, why do they always abduct hillbillies and not the President?”  I didn’t have an answer to that but I came up with one, and that is how Galactic Gladiators was born.

The next installment will be titled Galactic Gladiators Part #4.

=============================================

Order my ebook – FROM THE MIND TO THE MARKET – now. It will be available later in 2009. Pre-order by contacting Info@Playdigm.com.

(c) Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.

If you haven’t reserved your personal name or Trademark on Facebook yet, now is the time.   Facebook has changed their policy and now allows users to protect their name and other handles they are using.  Present users/members get to protect themselves now, where new users will soon be allowed to apply for user names that present users wanted to use but may not have reserved them yet – so do so now!

There are people who are concerned that Facebook needs to spell out whether or not there will be an alternative option for legitimate brands who have their names taken by Facebook users.  I personally believe Trademark laws will over ride any private social media companies use of government protected Trademarks. Just like ICANN does with internet domain names.

Ensure your brand name is controlled by you by reserving it now (even if you will develop a Facebook profile later, at least secure it with a minimum presence).  New users to Facebook will start reserving their user names June 28, 2009.

Facebook has a direct link for those Trademark owners to fill out to over turn someone already squatting on your brand’s title. Go to the Facebook site and fill out the form if your name/Trademark is alrady seized and request removal, as this will prevent individuals from using your trademarked name  after the fact. It will be interesting to see how this actually plays out, but when in Rome…

The worse-case scenario is that you have to hire a lawyer to file against the party that is infringing upon your Trademark, so save yourself some money and do the above at every social media site on the world wide web.  Then you can rest assured that only authorized Trademark owners are using  their brand names .

=============================================

(c) Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.

Writers and Creators of stories, characters, novels, comics or any other intellectual property must not just think about the industry they are in.  A brand is much larger than the initial concept and how it is introduced to the public.

The original one page short story you write may be expanded into a 90 to 120 page screenplay, which in turn could be copied and pasted into word processing software and then reformatted and expanded with more details into a 300 page novel or non-fiction book. You can also reformat all this into a comic series or graphic novel (like I have done) or reformat the text into a video game script.  This allows you to diversify your one idea into many separate markets and saves a lot of time and work in gaining brand awareness.

The short story can be submitted to magazines, the screenplay to film and television producers, while the novel version can be sent to book publishers. The comic/graphic novel and video game script can be sent out to comic and video game publishers

This is a great way to move your writing project further if it is not selling or being optioned in another medium.  Diversify your brand for better sales, interest and awareness.

Multiple markets are the way to go.

=============================================

(c) Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.

Every time I finish typing a screenplay, I crack a smile of
accomplishment, even though it is just another 110 pages to be
added to the growing pile of scripts on my shelf. Yet there is
something about writing 'FADE OUT' that makes it more than an
average day at the office.

Excitement and a feeling of accomplishment overcomes me every
time, just like when I finished my first script. Remember, many
people never finish a screenplay. Heck, I have several unfinished
screenplays waiting for me to complete in my computer. I guess
I put them aside when the initial creative energy faded and
something new and more interesting at the time drew my attention.
So when I finish a script it is with a little relief and
knowledge that I am a professional writer who has pushed through
the tough spots, diversions and things that life throws at you
to keep you from your task of getting to the end. So when you
type 'FADE OUT' you have accomplished something important.
Enjoy the moment and celebrate. 

Do something you love and treat yourself. Go to your favorite
restaurant, do something you never do, but wish you would. Or
relax, take a vacation at home or visit family you haven't seen
in a while. Even if it is only something like calling an old
friend to meet for a coffee and talk about the latest movies
you both have seen.  You don't have to spend a lot of money
(save that trip around the world for when you sell your
screenplay). 

Since writers work alone, we are the ones who have to pat
ourselves on the back, remind ourselves that it is time to
eat (oh did I forget again?) or realize that it is 4am and
you started writing the day before at 6am. I don't recommend
 that kind writing schedule. 

So focus on the goal of writing 90 to 120 pages(at one page
a day you will be finished in four months). Celebrate. Rewrite.
Celebrate. Send query letters. Celebrate and repeat!

Soon you will find that you can't wait to start the next
screenplay and write 'FADE IN'...
===============================================================
2009 Sandford Tuey All Rights Reserved.