About

Since 2003, I have been working as a contractor in the visual effects industry, working on such shows as Fringe, Raising Hope, Outlaw, Flash Forward, Pushing Daisies, Lost and Alias. I’ve also worked on a couple of movies, both made-for-TV and theatrical. I have an online journal (LeeGabel.com) if you want to take a look. It’s visual effects-centric. Before that, graphic design was my area of expertise.

But I really want to make a break into screenwriting. I want to write the scenes for those shows and movies for a change. I’m self-taught, using books and the Internet as my classroom. I taught myself visual effects this way and figured I could follow the same route to screenwriting.

I’ve always been a fan of film. I try and watch at least one movie every day, and break down the story elements as I watch. I’ve probably seen thousands of films. As a kid I would make my own Super8 movies. I guess I’ve always thought visually. I often wonder what I would have done if I had access to the same kinds of technology that kids have today. It’s inspiring.

I wrote my first feature script in 1997. It was quite an accomplishment at the time. Ten years pass and I dig out this screenplay and reread it. I even get some outside critique. It is terrible, as all first screenplays are. I do a page one rewrite on it and surprise myself with a much better screenplay

I now have completed three feature scripts, all of which have been through the rewrite process numerous times, and have ideas for a few more. I had the good fortune to meet a professional writer/producer who has been kind enough to read and give notes on my scripts. It’s been really great. And thanks to books and Internet resources, it’s finally getting to the point where I can actually see myself breaking through.

I used to wonder if I was any good at this. Now I realize that I have developed screenwriting skills, and as with critique, if enough people with the right credentials say that the script was a good read, then it likely is. Do anything enough times and you get good at it.

I’m closer to breaking in, but still a ways away. It’s just a matter of time and screenplays.

All the best,
Lee Gabel