I worked with Wonderpuppet after meeting the director at a meet 'n greet event.
The writing process for me was:
1. Get the elements (genre = science fiction, prop = cheese, character = Gina Asplund, Barista, and line of dialogue = "There must be something in your ear.")
2. Sit down with (almost) everyone on the team and brainstorm.
3. Clear all but nine guys (and me!) out of a basement and determine the story line.
4. Kick everyone out and write.
5. Go through the script line by line with the nine guys (including the director) and determine changes.
6. Make changes and re-write the ending. Voila!
Here's what we came up with.
Thing 1: No matter how many people are on a team like this (and there were a lot on this production!), you can still be expected to be a master-of-all trades. I did a little directing, acting, costuming, whatever needed to get done. It was awesome.
Thing 2: Static shots in a script are boring in real shooting. Limit (or eliminate) them.
Thing 3: Don't be afraid to combine shots if it works. Saves time and may be more visually interesting.
Thing 4: Be confident. You might know more than you think you do!
Thing 5: Be persistent. I went to many meet 'n greets before I met someone who needed a writer, for real. So, hang tough and network, network, network, network!
We didn't win the competition, but it sure was fun! Here's a link to Seattle's winner, should you want to check it out: http://vimeo.com/70310243 (You totally should, because it's awesome!)
Enjoy!