BASIC - A WRITER´S DREAM COME TRUE

Prior to BASIC (https://fb.watch/n-0QuCcF4-/ ) I had already worked with several production companies and Directors who hired me to help them brainstorm, develop, write a story and

turn it into a script. These were all paid gigs, which for a writer is a huge plus, but none of them

ever made it to TV or the big screen. But Basic became my first broadcasted project. Like I

mentioned in my previous blog, it took a long time, about 10 years for this to happen.

And what a project it was! But let me start from the beginning because there are several

components to the story. And that´s why this blog is about those specific life events that

give us writers an opportunity to grow, a chance to show our talents.

First, it was KOGUI ( https://youtu.be/Wd8I3ihWbK0 ). An animated feature film developed

by only two people. A marathon of a project, hand drawn by Andrés Valdez. (Click on the picture below, see him on slide 11 of PDF)

Yes, you heard that correctly, hand drawn. Oh my God, we were really stupid, or a pair of real dreamers that thought that once we were finished with it we would be recognized all over. 😂😂 Anyway, Andrés signed up to do it, and it was grinding work that took us 2 years to complete. (I will tell the story about Kogui also in a later blog.) Either way, Kogui was my first BIG project, a 115 page screenplay that I wrote in Spanish to prove to myself that I could do it. For me, it was a great challenge that I was able to overcome. Check that off the bucket list.

We had done it! We could see it! Color, sound, voice overs. Kogui looked great. So, we decided to let it compete. One of the places we sent it to was the BAM, Bogotá Audio Visual Market, the most important audiovisual market in Colombia. It brings together production and distributing companies with creators in order to foster alliances that can promote projects like Kogui. And we were accepted. Once there, we shared the project with several distribution companies and Local and foreign TV Channels. We networked, we met so many people that later ended up becoming friends. And one of those new friends later introduced me to SIGNOS STUDIO . A small production company with big dreams.

There I met Jairo Arcos, the production Director. He had an idea for a project that, although he had tried to develop it with other writers, somehow the results were not what he had in mind. So, I came into the picture, we talked, I let him read some of the things that i had written (In Spanish, of course), he liked what he saw, and he decided to give me a chance.

But there was one more factor that created the perfect storm for this project to happen; my kids. By that time my boy was 8 and my daughter was 5. And they watched a lot of cartoons on TV! Guess who was watching all that stuff with them? Yup, me! From We Bare Bears to Sponge Bob to Ben 10 to My Little Pony to Gumball etc. Man, I was an expert!

So I was ready. I knew what kids like. But much more important, because I am a good listener, I knew what Jairo wanted. So I delivered. 6 months later we had a project where I was the creative director, where I was able to demonstrate my ability to control and guide a project from a limited, first idea to a completely developed Animated TV series, with all the characters, a unique style and content, and 10 written episodes 10 pages each, that Signos then presented to several TV networks. One of them liked the project so much that they decided to become co-producers. It was a done deal! A year later the show had its premier on TV.

I remember so well, it was a beautiful Saturday morning. I never told my kids that Basic was gonna be shown on TV. They knew I was working on something, but the end result I wanted it to be a secret. That morning I invited them to watch a new cartoon that I told them, I knew they would love. I prepared the popcorn, the juice, we sat down on the big sofa and turned on the TV. What a surprised it was for them to see my name on the credits. ¨Daddy, is that you?¨ Aah, my smile was a mile wide, full of pride, full of love as I responded ¨Yes!¨ To be able to share with my kids that moment. ¨Wow! You are on TV¨ said my little daughter. Are you kidding? That is ´living´. That is experiencing life to the fullest. Thank you Basic for that incredible gift, for that amazing memory that I will carry with me forever.

This is what I mean when I use the word LIFE in the title of my blog. Those pure moments that we must , as writers, be aware of that we then can use to create a narrative, that help us have a goal, an objective to strive for. We all have those moments, those experiences, and we need to tap into them in order to give life to our imagination. So don´t be afraid to write, to experience, to learn and to connect. As writers, these are the things we need to do to be able to make our craziest of ideas become a reality for everyone to see, including our own kids.