Writer's Block Party

Reported by Emma Lindberg

Photographed by Kate Gray

“Writer’s Block Party” is a short film being created by students in the Advanced Production Workshop class at George Fox University. 

Senior Gaby Sipe is directing the film, which features Alexys Krogh as the lead actress. The film will be shown at the Fox Film Festival at the Cameo Theatre in Newberg in April, along with at least four other student projects. 

“Writer’s Block Party” portrays the story of a young female novelist who is writing a mystery story. When she gets to the ending, she does not know how to resolve it, so the characters help her. 

“I want [the film] to be a really fun and unique look into a creative person’s mind and their process,” said Sipe. “And to show that when people think of characters from books or stories that they’re writing, to them they’re real people, and this is just a fun way of looking at that and seeing it in
a different light.” 

This film concept came to Sipe after a long stretch devoid of ideas. One night during winter break she was trying to brainstorm, and then just decided to go to bed. 

Right when she was about to fall asleep, she thought of the title. She jumped out of bed and wrote it down, and from there started writing the script and the storyline. 

The crew bustled around Sipe as she spoke, getting ready for a full day of filming. According to Sipe, some days of filming are 12 hours long while some are just a few hours, depending on whether they are able to get the shots they need or not. 

A large amount of work goes into pre-production: scouting locations, creating a storyboard for each shot needed, and two full days of casting for the parts. Scenes may need to be reshot based on lighting, delivery of lines, or a myriad of other factors. 

The end product will be about 15 to 20 minutes long, but this could vary based on the shots filmed. 

“When I sit down with my editor, it’s gonna be a time to really find the story within everything we’ve got, and then shape the story from that,” said Sipe. 

“Writer’s Block Party” will be a lively portrayal of the creative process and a look into the interaction between a creator and her work. This film will premiere at the Fox Film Festival later this semester.