Student Alan de Pellette with John Furse, Moonstone 2005
With Student Alan de Pellette, Moonstone 2005
quote startA week with the mentors like John Furse at Moonstone, the gold standard for European developing filmmakers and writers, was worth a year of development on one’s own. I wanted to raise the bar with my writing and sought John as my script editor for my film Absolute. He made me realise the importance of the subconscious in cinema. Realising that it’s often more important what characters don’t say to each other has been a fundamental lesson for me. quote endAlan de Pellette, Moonstone Film Labs 2005 student, TV and film writer/director

Script/Project Consultant

My experience as director, screenwriter, producer and in production management gives my expertise unusual breadth. (see Biography).

Most of my work has been on projects which I have initiated. As their creative producer as well as screenwriter I've been involved in purchasing rights, raising development finance, approaching directors (on those not intended for me to direct), developing 'packages' of screenplay and cast, bringing in key personnel, forming relationships with producers to progress their financing and production, and working on their marketing (see News/Info: A Film Project & Its Marketability).

Prior to being selected as one of the UK's 'most promising' screenwriters I'd been an associate producer/production manager/1st assistant director working on the nuts-and-bolts of feature film and TV drama production, including budgeting and scheduling, giving me valuable knowledge and insights for screenwriting.

I ask the same questions of other screenwriters or filmmakers as I do of myself. What are your intentions? How are you trying to fulfil them? And, whether or not it fits with prevailing textbook thinking, does the material work? If not, how might it?

Then, beyond the creative questions - could it be makeable? And why, and how?

This range of engagement with projects and ideas - from whatever source, non-professional as well as professional - is what interests me as a Project and Script Consultant.

Screenwriting Advisor on the Moonstone Screenwriters’ Lab in Scotland 2005.

Screenwriting Mentor at the London International Film School 2006.

Visiting Lecturer in Production at the Danish Film School in 1988/9.