Notes

Week 15

Script Format.

Why do we need special format for scripts?

Ultimate goal is to make the script easy to read.

Intended as a blueprint for production- must meet the needs of the various departments.

Format has been designed so that the flow of the story is not interrupted by extraneous details on the page.

Only use plain, white paper.

Rewrites done on different coloured pages.

Scene numbers on the left and right hand side.

Don’t put correction, liquid paper, arrows, smiley faces, etc. on the page.

Action description- describes what can be seen on screen. -Streches across entire page.

Narrative style, 3rd person and present tense.

“what can be seen” includes actions as well as descriptions.

Good idea to suggest shot sizes and content through writing (WS, CU, MS)

-This is the director’s job.

-This doesn’t mean writers don’t like to do he director’s job.

Characters -First appearance and dialogue in CAPS. -All other appearance normal.

Character name followed by V.O indicates voice over.

Character name followed by O.S indicates Off Screen.

Week 14

Revision and Rewriting

-Rewriting is not just rewriting.

-It’s rethinking, reconceptualizing and approaching new things.

Writers always try and rewrite their stories 5 times.

You will never find out what is really in you until you write and rewrite.

This doesn’t mean just polishing phrases.

TIP

-Study your story, see it with a new vision and changed values.

-Write it afresh.

-Then maybe scrap it, start it all over again- don’t be afraid to do this!

-After this, then you can begin polishing.

-Finding expressions with character, dialogue that has rhythm.

-It may take 2 or more versions to bring out the full colour of the characters or yourself.

The inclination of the egoist is to get as much as he can, but at the same time not to change. (be honest with yourself)

The Final Draft

1) Read with a fixed eye.

-Re-read through your story carefully

-Focus on a particular aspect each time. eg, character, location, action.

Ask yourself:

-Is the protagonist always the focus of the story?

-Is he/she doing anything or is everyone else always doing stuff around him/her?

-Is he/she even there?

2) The chainsaw is your friend.

-Now is the time to look at script economy.

-Why have your reader dying to finish after 4 pages when they could be craving for more after 2?

Ask yourself:

-Where do my scenes begin?Where do they end?

-Can six lines be said in three?

-Can i trim the fat? Can i cut the exposition? Can i tell it visually instead?

3) Crank it up!

-The stakes are high- can they be higher? Would Andy Dufresne’s plight be as bad if he was only in jail for 2 years instead of for LIFE?

More to lose= More dramatic tension.

Ask yourself:

-Does everything matter enough? Can everything matter more? (does the situation matter enough to the characters? If it matters more to the characters the characters will matter more to the audience.)

-Am i giving my characters hell? Is it fun to see them squirm and satisfying enough when they get out of it?

Final draft due next friday, 5pm. Timestamp it. Safe assign.

Name, student no, tutorial group, title it final draft, date it.

Week 12

-Vivid Action

-Dynamic Action

-Interactive Location

What is a location?

-A physical place

-The place in your story where events occur and characters interact.

Interactive Location:

-A setting and surrounding that interacts with the characters of the film by adding importance to their actions.

-An environment which impacts the action and heightens the stakes

Location: Jurassic Park is a zoo/amusement park located on an island off the coast of Central America.

Interactive Location: The island is completely isolated, and anyone on it will be trapped until assistance from the mainland arrives.

Week 9

Purpose of Dialogue Exercise

Good dialogue captures the spirit and essence of “real life” conversation without all the unnecessary chatter that would otherwise make it boring.

ACTION

<<Story Is Action>>

-Action encompasses any kind of movement, activity and interaction between the characters and also between the characters and their surroundings.

-Talking about how one feels is not as powerful as illustrating why one feels the way they do through action.

<<Film Is Behaviour>>

-Action is the manifestation (takes the form) of behaviour.

-The complexity of the human psyche and interaction is better understood when it is possible to watch the actions, nuances and reactions of the characters.

<<Dynamic Action>>

-Has the potential to enrich the experience of the audience by heightening the stakes and increasing the tension.

Moving pictures- The power of any story lies in the narrator’s ability to project a mental picture for the audience.

Characters must behave in reaction to the action.

Purpose of exercise (2 person acting):

Addresses the problem many newbies have to screenwriting: How to convey visually any sense of inner conflict of emotion.

Assignment: Write a 1st draft of an 1-2 page story. (with title)

3rd person narrative and present tense. 12-pt and single spaced. No less than 1 pg,no more than 2 pgs.

Name, student number and tutorial grp. label as 1st draft. Due on week 12.

Remember film as a visual/ aural medium.

Show vs telling.

Week 8

Elements of dialogue

Dialogue reveals character.

A character will talk about himself and other people will talk about him.

Dialogue establishes relationships between characteristics.

Once you establish your main character’s POV, you can use dialogue with each other characters to show that they have other attitudes, creating opposite/alternative povs.

This helps to create and sustain the element of conflict between characters. Conflict is caused by the things we say.

Good effective dialogue will move the story forward.

Dialogue communicate facts and information to the audience.

It conveys essential exposition.

Characters will talk about what happened, establishing the storyline.

Dialogue comments on the action, ties the script together and it is one of the devices that you as the writer can use to expand and enlarge your characters.

“If you can see or hear it, don’t write it” -Neville smith.

Dialogue should be used sparingly.

Never tell the audience what they can see for themselves.

<Dialogue is not a substitute for action>

Common mistake:

Students sometimes never achieve a levl of competence as they tend to reproduce conventional spoken language, long statements of “real talking”, and defend their decision by telling us that. “It’s how the character speaks.”

Good dialogue is not somebody’s ability to write authentic speech as head in real life.

Bad dialogue- Unfocused, Long winded, Too real.

If that was all there is to it, you can just push a button on the tape recorder and go collect your oscar.

Good dialogue is the illusion of reality.

You’ve got to know how to edit what people say without losing any of the spirit.

Common mistake: Students tend to create radio shows with images.

<Film is a visual medium>

A screenplay is a story told in pictures.

Exercise: Writing Dialogue.

Wife: Where the hell did you go? I waited so damn long for you.

Husband: Oh shit, i’m so sorry, Jamie. I forgot to phone.

Wife: Aren’t we suppose to have dinner together? Why did you go somewhere else?

Husband: I’m sorry, okay? We can always heat the fish up again..

Wife: Don’t you know i’m waiting for you? Can you spare a thought for me?

Husband: I told you, I’m sorry. I just forgot. Ben just got a pay raise and he called me out..It’s no big deal.

Wife: Fine. And now i’m telling you that i’m pregnant. No big deal.

Husband: What-? Is it a boy or a girl?

Wife: how i know when the doctor don’t even know?!

Husband: This is great! Mother is going to be so happy.

Wife: i’m going to sleep. go heat the fish up yourself.

Husband, Wait, have you called Mom? She’s going to flip!

Wife: Tomorrow.

Week 7

Purpose of true/false story – A true story is not necessarily a good story.

Good stories have to be worked and re-worked.

True life stories do not offer neat and relevant endings.

Life is unpredictable. In a story, we can and must control the events and sequences so that it gives the appearance of being like life.

CHARACTERISATION: Defining the character.

-Every story starts with a character.

The character is the heart, the soul and the nervous system of your story.

It is through your characters that the viewers experience emotions. It is through your characters that they are touched.

Without a character, there is no action. Without action, you have no conflict. Without conflict, you have no story. Without story, you have no screenplay.

Developing characters.

When developing a character,ask yourself :

-Who is your character?

-What does he want?

-What is his quest?

-What drives him to the resolution of the story?

1. Establish your main character.

Characters should have a 3 Dimensional structure.

a)Physiology – Sex, Age, Heigh and Weight, Colour of hair/eyes/skin, Posture, Appearance, Abnormalities/birth marks,diseases, Heredity.

b)Sociology – Class (lower,middle,upper) Occupation: type of work, hours of work, income, condition of work, attitude towards organization, suitability for work. Education: amount, kind of schools, marks, favourite subjects, poorest subjects, aptitudes. Home Life: parents living, earning power, orphan, parents separated/divorced, parents’ habits, parents’ mental development, parents’ vices, neglect, character’s marital status. Religion, race, nationality. Place community; leader among friends, clubs,sports. Political affiliations. Amusement: hobbies, books, newspapers, magazines he/she reads.

c)Psychology – Sex life,Moral standards. Personal premise, Ambition. Frustrations, chief disappointments. Temperament: choleric, easy-going, pessimistic, optimistic. Attitude towards life: resigned,militant,defeatist. Complexes: obsessions, inhibitions, superstitions, phobias. Personality: introvert, extrovert. Abilities: languages, talents. Qualities: imagination, judgment, taste, poise. I.Q.

What is the deep and personal secret this character has which he is desperate to protect/hide?

The interior life takes place from birth until the moment your story begins.

It is a process that forms character. [when you start formulating your character from birth, you see your character build in body and form].

-How old is her when the story begins? Where does he live? Does he have siblings? What kind of childhood did he have? What was his relationship to his parents? What kind of child was he? Is he married, single, widowed, separated or divorced?

The exterior life takes place the moment your story begins to it’s conclusion. It is a process that reveals character.

Who are they and what do they do? Are they sad or happy with their life? Do they wish their life was different? Another job, another wife?

You must create your characters in relationship to other people or things.

All dramatic characteristics interact in 3 ways:

1. They experience conflict in achieving their dramatic need. [eg,need money-rob bank]

2. They interact with other characters. [Either in an antagonistic, friendly or indifferent way]

3. They interact with themselves. [eg, He overcame his fear of being caught by pulling off the robbery successfully.

How do you invent characters?

-Try turning them upside down.

A monk who is devoted to his religion…but is a football fanatic.

A serial killer…whose obsession is to kill other serial killers.

A common street rat..who loves to eat and cook only fine food.

Week 6

In dramatic writing, the very essence is character change.

Storytelling tool 2: Memory.

-Your memory is a wonderful cabinet of past incidents which you have experienced or been told.

-These memories are points of reference to your own past existence.

TIP: Write what you do not know because you will find some part of you that does know. (suppressed memory. You think that you don’t know, but when you start writing it, it comes back.)

-There is always room for personal discovery.

How do we use memory to build creative content?

What is the difference between memory and experience?

Storytelling tool 3: Experience.

A storyteller should be concerned with the potential of every experience.

Everything about you-where you were born, what food you eat, the bump on your forehead-your experiences are unique and irreplaceable.

Many of our experiences are universal and translatable and can be used in any location.

TIP: If you don’t know what to do with a character, make him yourself for a while.

-See how he relates to the world he has been thrown into.

-Plunder your own personal background.

The things that happen to you as you grow up and the things that are currently happening to you make terrific story sources.

-All people have fragments of stories.

-These potential ideas prompt you desire to know more

-Respond emotionally and intellectually to what you heard.

-Good stories are born in the heart, not the head.

-Remember the role of an audience.

-After all, you ARE the audience.

Week 4.

Aristotle

What is tragedy?

Imitation of action(mimesis) that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude; in language embelllished with each kind of artistic ornament; in the form of action not narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear. wherewith to accomplish its kartharsis of such emotions.

6 parts of tragedy:

Plot-arrangement of incidents

Characters

Thought-amount of thoughts that goes into it

Diction-how someone delivers a line

Melody-music that makes you scared,happy,hopeful..

Spectacle-smoke, sand, special effects..

Tragedy creates a cause-effect chain that clearly reveals what may happen. Arouses not only pity but also fear, because numbers of the audience can imagine themselves within the cause-effect chain

What is plot?

Plot is the arrangement of incidents.

It is not the story itself, but the way the incidents are presented to the audience.

The structure of the play.

Beginning

The incitive moment

It must start the cause and effect chain.

Middle

Climax

It must be caused by earlier incidents and itself cause the incidents that follow it.

End

Resolution

Must be caused by the preceding events but not lead to other incidents.

The end should resolve the problem created during the incitive moment.

Episodic plots

According to Aristotle, the worst kinds of plots.

The acts (episodes) succeed on another without probability or necessity.

The only thing tying together the events in such a plot is the fact that they happen to the same person.

Simple plot

Has only a “change of fortune”

Complex plot

Has a reversal of intention “peripeteia” and recognition “anagnorisis” connected with the catastrophe.

Character

In the ideal tragedy, the protagonist will mistakenly bring about his own downfall- not because he is sinful or weak- but because he does not know enough.

This lack of self-knowledge is called “hamartia”.

Important Vocabulary:

Katharsis

-Purification, purging, cleansing, clarification of strong feelings or emotions, usually at the end of a film.

Mimesis

-imitation of an action; it’s art imitating life.

Anagnorisis

-moment where the character makes a critical discovery.

Peripeteia

-Reversal of intention and situation; plot twists that result in a character change.

Hamartia

Character flaw or error which is no fault of the character.

3 Act structure

1st Act: set up

Story begins with a goal-oriented character introduced at a point of crisis.

The character meets roadblocks produced by the plot and antagonist.

2nd Act: confrontation

Action intensifies

an event happens which forces the character to make his or her choice.

3rd Act: resolution

level of efforts rises to new heights.

both plot and character resolved.

but the main character either achieves or does not achieve his goal.

Week 3.

Storytelling Tool 1

-Observe in a conscious way.

-Develop the ability to see and record movements, physical characteristics and settings.

-Adopt a keen eye

-Develop a natural sense of curiosity.

An observed event, when subject to simple questions, can set up a sequence of possibilities that will develop into a story worth telling.

Questions to think about

-Whom am i writing about?

-Who is my character?

-What is he/she/it like?

-What does he/she/it like?

-What happens to him/her/it in the story?

People rarely observer familiar people or things closely. Most people pass through the day with 20%-30% awareness.

Mindless observations VS True observation.

-Observe in a conscious way.

-Develop the ability to see and record people:

-their movement

-their physical characteristics.

-the setting/places they are in.

Week 2.

Exercise 1B: Openers.

June sobs as her hands reach for Jonathan’s face and gave him a tight slap. She is furious as she sees Jonathan behaving intimately with her best friend, May, in a shopping mall. June feels as if it is her worst day in her whole life. She just lost her job, her love and a best friend.  ” You’re such a bastard!”, June shouts in his face and stomps off angrily. May runs up to her from the back and June turned around to give her a slap too. ” I still can’t believe someone who’s my best friend of 10 years is betraying me.” June runs.

The Role of Conflict.

Conflict is the central feature of the screenplay.

-man against man

-man against environment

-man against self

It’s variations of sex, age, religion and culture which provide variety to the conflict.

Conflict=Change

-Change is common to everyone, Change is universal, bodies change, seasons change, lives change, relationships change, feelings change, locations change, technologies change.

As universal as change may be, people often resist it for fear of the unknown.

People must learn to cope with change if they want to survive.

The action in drama depends on conflict.

Conflict- opposition or forces. Its is the interaction of opposing ideas, interests, or wills, and creates the plot.

Plot cannot be constructed without conflict. As your characters attempt to reach their goals, they come into conflict with each other. The end of the story nears when the protagonist and antagonist approach their goals and the conflict rises to generate maximum suspense and excitement.

Week 1.

Write in – present tense.

-as 3rd person.

-visual voice.

3rd person/present tense -> Character is “narrating the story” as it is happening.

->It presents a more immediate and urgent feel to the material.

Commonly used in screenplays

-The story/film is unfolding as we read it.

-Fosters a more urgent and immediate feel to the story.

Passive voice : Uses weak verbs, tells what’s happening in character’s head and distances the reader from the story.

Active voice: Uses strong verbs, shows the action, uses an immediate sentence structure and conveys the story in a lively manner.

* Show, Don’t tell.*

Tips for writing:

Everyone will not have problems coming up with a list of excuses for procrastination. The biggest problem is getting started.

-If you have a work in progress, never stop for the night if you are stuck.

-Always solve the problem and keep going until you are in safer water. A good night’s sleep is important. Sleeping on problems is a myth.

-If you can’t get started on a project, start writing anyway. To do this, you need to have some words to type.

-It doesn’t matter what you write, you’ll soon begin to think and move in your own rhythm/pace.

Exercise 1A: openers

Wearing a grass skirt, Lun walks into a tunnel. He looked around him and realised that everybody’s staring at him like he’s from another planet. Although he feels uncomfortable receiving those stares from those strangers, he actually feels great and comfortable in his first grass skirt which he finds it beautiful. As he continue walking down the tunnel, there were lesser people walking pass him and he started skipping around jovially as if there is spring in his steps.

Questions you ask yourself when you write -

-Whose story am i telling?

- What is the point of this story?

- How can i engage the attention of the audience?