Vimi Bauer
I got hooked into writing for film when I realized the enormous creative possibilities that rest in the hands of the writer. How the seed of an idea becomes a script which then gives voice to the story and becomes the blueprint for the director, editor, actors and a world of creative people and technicians. And how from that very seed - if you’re lucky a full feature film emerges, which then goes on to engage complete strangers who follow you, YOU, on a two-hour journey in a darkened theater.
That’s impact!
Fifteen years ago I took a course in screenwriting which changed my life. Up until then I had been an actor and singer in the theater. I had done my share of commercials and small roles on television and film and also voiced several audible books. One of the stage productions I was in, playing the role of Jacqueline, was a revival of Beverly Cross’s adaptation of Boeing Boeing, which played across the United States. At an even earlier stage I worked at the United Nations and before that in broadcasting. Both my love of words and music came together in one of my first jobs in New York, which was as an announcer on the classical music radio station WQXR and it is there that I got the opportunity to write an episode about Federico Fellini, for Jac Venza at WNET, for their series, The Artist and Their Influence.
However it was actually at the impressionable age of fourteen that that I found myself completely enthralled by the magic of film when I happened to see Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal. Though you can be sure at the time, I could not have told you why. My imagination was captured and it has remained so ever since.
Film has always excited me. The sheer scope of the storytelling. The beauty and adventure of the visual that can transport you across vast spaces as well as immediately into the crevices of horror, or the sweet pleasures of intimacy. And the ability to take you backwards and forwards in time instantly and so vividly. The punch and power of violence. Characters, that are experienced up close at such a private and personal level that you feel their every emotion. Jokes that you share in the telling, in what feels like real-time, as you relish the reactions of the other characters. But honestly…
…it wasn’t until I took a class myself, and actually had to do the homework... ...DO THE EXERCISES, PUT PEN TO PAPER...that I knew I must write for film.
“You couldn’t ask for a more passionate writing coach than Vimi Bauer. Her vast knowledge of cinema and her inspired understanding of the craft of screenwriting will benefit any student of film.”
Shelly isaacs: film lecturer/founder - cafe cinemematheque
My first film was a twenty minute short The Count and the Corkscrew for the Italian Tourist Office. The second, Pancredi, was also placed in Italy and written for animation. That then led to being one of the writers on Hey Diddle Diddle, an animated series for television. My husband Irv Bauer was a screenwriter and playwright so naturally I was aware of his approach to writing and teaching. Already a full partner with Irv involved in his producing projects, after the screenwriting bug bit and I gained my own experience, I also worked in the capacity of assistant teacher. Subsequently, together we wrote the book Screenwriting Fundamentals: The Art and Craft of Visual Writing.
In the last six years I have been hired to rewrite several writer's screenplays as well as give my written critique on many scripts. I am currently working on two scripts, one is my own and has a tentative producer, the other is a rewrite for a company in Los Angeles. To read more about some of those scripts and projects go to the Teaching and Script Consulting - Script Analysis pages.
Read my blog for more insights into the world of screenwriting.
Let’s Get Started.
Tell me a bit about yourself, your interest in writing and how I can help you.
As with anything worth doing, knowing how to do it combined with hard work, is the path to success.