Week 13 IMPORTANCE OF 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 Courier 12 point type.

Dos & Don’ts

– Only print on one side of the page. Only use plain, white paper. (because subsequently colour of paper change.)

– Put the page numbers, followed by a period in the upper right hand corner.

– Don’t use correction fluid, don’t draw arrows, smiley faces, etc. on the page.

Margins

1” Left Margin– hold paunch, 1” right Margin – Notes.

Slug Lines

EXT/INT-LOCATION-TIME (ALL CAPS)

ACTION DESCRIPTION

– Describles what can be seen on screen.

– Stretches across entire page.

Writing Style

– Action Description is always in Narrative Style, 3^rd Person & Present Tense.

– “What can be seen” includes actions as well as descriptions.

– It is a good idea to suggest shot sizes and content through the writing but best to leave out specific shot references (CU,WS Push In, etc.)

– This is the director’s job.

CHARACTERS

– First appearance in CAPS

– All other appearances normal.

CHARACTER DIALOGUE

– NAME in CAPS

– Left Margin at 3.5” from edge of page.

– Dialogue 2.5”

Others

– The character name followed by (V.O.) indicates Voice Over – Luke Skywalker (V.O.) – may or may not see the person.

– The character name followed by (O.S.) indicates Off Screen – Han Solo (O.S.) – phone conversation.

– A parenthetical appears in dialogue to give specific description of movement, gesture, or method of delivery.

– (sarcastically) or (waving)

Online Lecture

– post FINAL DRAFT on discussion

– comment 3 classmates’ + 2 other class T1B2

Trial

– use wan fong and analyze.

Week 12 INTERACTIVE LOCATION

A place that allows you to interact.

What is a location?

+ A PHYSICAL PLACE

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

Eg. Movies: Planet of the Apes, Witness, Billy Elliot

+ Siberia – extremely cold place

+ Someone’s mother’s house

+ Void deck where Jordus had his first kiss.

Physical Address

World created by the writer. Eg. Movies: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Golden Compass etc. Minority Report  – futuristic, etc.

LOCATION:

+ Rules

+ Address

+ Other Elements that reside within location

– challenge your character

Interactive Location

+ A setting and surrounding that interacts with the characters of the film by adding importance to their actions. < character done something which triggers responds from people around. (extraordinary in the ordinary world.)

+ An environment which impacts the action and heightens the sakes.

Harpers island.

Jurassic Park:

+ 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.

Eg. Movies: The Maid, The Others etc.

Screened: Lou Lou lives here, God father Part 2; written by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola USA, 3:20:00.

Location (interactive): Conducive/Dangerous

Characters (Vivid): Behavior

Action: What took place that prompted a reaction.

Character: Vito and his family.  Erase his evidence by dropping into different parts. Street crowded to be able to hide.

WEEK 11: DYNAMIC ACTION

<< STORY IS ACTION>>

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

CHARACTER Reaction> Environment; Author character; Action

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

Reacting to actions: happy, excited, sad, frustrated, jealous, fear, anxious etc.

<< FILM IS BEHAVIOUR>>

–       Action is the manifestation of behavior

–       The complexity of 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 experiences of the audience by heightening the stakes and increasing the tension.

THE POWER OF ANY STORY LIES IN THE NARRATOR’S ABILITY TO PROJECT A MENTAL PICTURE FOR THE AUDIENCE.

How will the writer react to the situation?

Moving Pictures

Exercise: Translating emotional response into actions.

–       2 students are to act out their emotion set by a simple narrative according to the following:

1. The couple have just met. This is their first evening spent together. He is very shy. She desires him.
2. The young man has decided to leave his girlfriend
3. The young lady has decided to leave her boyfriend.
4. He has another woman friend. She is also eating at the restaurant.
5. She is pregnant. She cant bring herself to him.

Screening

Film: Inja (Dog) Australia 2001.

Directed by: Steve Pavolsky’s

review: actions speak louder than words. boss showing jealousy by kicking the dog.

WEEK 8: Elements of Dialogue.

ELEMENTS OF DIALOGUE

• Dialogue reveals character

Good dialogue: Sounds Real, Short (relatively),

Bad dialogue: Not Concise – Long Winded, Too Real (real real = boring), Cheesy (cliche, romance),

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

Eg. The Usual Suspect.

• DIALOGUE ESTABLISHES RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CHARACTERS

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

– This help to create and sustain the element of CONFLICT between characters.

• GOOD EFFECTIVE DIALOGUE WILL MOVE THE STORY FORWARD

• DIALOGUE COMMUNICATION FACES AND INFORMATION TO THE AUDIENCE

– It conveys essential exposition.

– Character will talk about what happened, establishing the storyline.

• DIALOGUE COMMENTS ON THE ACTION
• DIALOGUE TIES THE SCRIPT TOGETHER

– It is one of the devices that YOU as a writer can use to expand and enlarge your characters.

” If you can see it or hear it, don’t write it.” – Neville Smith

• DIALOGUE SHOULD BE USED SPARINGLY

– Actions speak louder than words!

• NEVER TELL THE AUDIENCE WHAT THEY CAN SEE FOR THEMSELVES!!

>> DIALOGUE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTION<<

In Holly Wood when they look at a page and it’s too much black, too much ink on the paper, they say:

“SHIT! IT’S FREEZE THE CAMERA TIME!”

• COMMON MISTAKES

– Students sometimes never achieves a level 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.”

Dialogue is affected by:

– Age – Eg. Speed of Speech – how busy a person is. 1

– Gender,

– Social Status

educational qualifications

– Race

• GOOD DIALOGUE is not somebody’s ability to write authentic speech as heard in real life.

– If that was all there is to it, you can just push a button on the tape recorder and then 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.

– Summarize what people say, take out the juice of the conversation.

• 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

THE SCENARIO:

• A middle – aged man returns home from work.
• He had stopped for a few drinks with his friends and forgot to phone his wife to tell her he’ll be late.
• The dinner is ruined.

THE EXERCISE:

• Write a short scene composed of dialogue between husband and wife.

ROLE-PLAY

2 students to play the roles from their stories.

THE REAL EXERCISE:

• Repeat “The Experiment” but:
• Husband and wife are your own parents.
• Get two people to read the dialogue.
• Record the reading
• Post it to your blog (using Youtube, Multiply, etc.)
• No acting, only dialogue – (sound effects)!

WEEK 7: Characterization.

Characterization: Defining the Character

animal characters: human trades.

the character is the heart, the soul, and nervous system.

eg. Wizard of Oz

it is through your characters that the viewers experiences emotions.

>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? 

1. Establish your main character. 

Characters should have a 3 Dimensional Structure.

a) Physiology – appearance.

– Sex

– Age

– Height, Weight

– Color of hair, Eyes, Skin

– Posture

– Apparence

– Defects, abnormalities, deformities, birth marks, diseases

– Heredity – Inheritance.

b) Sociology – background.

– 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, favorite 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 in the Community; leader among friends, clubs, sports

– Political Affiliations

– Amusements: Hobbies, books, newspapers, magazines he/she reads

c) Psychology – thinks.

– Sex Life, Moral Standards

– Personal Premise, Ambition

– Frustrations, Chief Disappointments

– Temperament: Choleric, Easy-going, Pessimistic, Optimistic

– Attiude Towards Life: resigned, militant, defeatist

– Complexes: obsessions, inhibitions, superstitions, phobias

– Personality: Extrovert, Introvert

– Abilities: language, talents

– Qualities: Imagination, judgement, taste, poise

– I.Q, E.Q

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

1) Separate the components of his life into 2 basic categories:

a) Interior 

– 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 from birth, you see your character build in body and form.]

– How old is he 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? 

b) Exterior

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 dot hey do?
– Are they sad or happy with their life?
– Do they wish their life were different? Another job, another wife?

>> YOU MUST CREATE YOUR CHARACTERS IN RELATION TO OTHER PEOPLE OR THINGS.

ALL DRAMATIC CHARACTERS INTERACT IN 3 WAYS:

1. They EXPERIENCE CONFLICT in achieving their dramatic need.
(eg, need money – rob the bank, rob a store, rob a person?)

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.

Next week

Storytelling techniques Quiz #1

WEEK 6: Storytelling Tool 3: 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.

Experience – True

Memory – Can be manufactured. eg. can be true/false.

Tip: 

– Write what you do not know because you will find some part of you that does know.

– There are always room for you personal memories.

What is the difference between memory and experience?

How do we use memory to build creative content?

Les Mistons (1957)

Directed by: Francois Truffaut

——————————-

Assignment 1

Write 2 short stories

– one is completely TRUE

– one is completely FALSE

Only the author knows which is which!

– Post these on your blogs under a page called True or False by tues, 3 june, 10am.

Assignment 2 

After posting your story, visit 3 classmates below you on the blog roll and vote for which story you think is true and which is false.

—————————–

Review exercise: True & False

-Purposes of the exercise

– A true story is not neccesarily to be a good story.

– Good stories have to be worked and re-winded.

– True 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 (it can it may happen) . 

WEEK6: Storytelling Tool 2: 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 your experiences are universal and translatable and can be used in any location.

Universal Themes:

– Friendship

– Love

– Family

– Death

– Betrayal

– Loneliness

– Hardship

– Hope

Translatable:

– Setting

_ Characters

– Languages

– Culture

TIP: 

– If you don’t know what to do with a character, make him yourself for a while = put yourself in the character.

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

PLUNDER ON YOUR OWN PERSONAL BACKGROUND!

All people have fragments of stories.

These potential ideas prompt your 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 5: Screening.

Shawshank Redemption directed by Frank Darabont.

Flaw – Andy could not express himself.

Tragic – Andy adapts the life in prison.

Amazing voice narration script.

_____________________

Assignment.

• Letter to the past:

– Select a person that meant something to you in your past, but whom you no longer speak to now.

– Then write a letter which expresses all the things you wish could say to the person but can’t.

– Communicate the memories of important moments you had together in the past, and how your time spent together has made you a different person now than you were before.

– password protect is available.

WEEK 4: Visual Trigger.

Find an image and tell a story that comes to your mind as you see it.

Pictures should not be taken for this purpose – use only pictures you can find.

Principles of tragedy

Incorporate principles of tragedy into you writing!

WHAT IT TRAGEDY?

Tragedy doesnt mean that something bad happens and the story ends.

– Shawshank. learns to have hope.

6 parts of Tragedy in a play.

Plot – events that happen.

characters, diction, thought,

melody – music; modern times – music score = mood,

spectacles – set design .

3 acts structure

act 1: Intro. Set up, characters, problems that occurs 

act 2: Obstacles. 

act 3: Resolution. morale of the story.

eg. freedom writers. 

open ended story: sequel. 

Cause and effect: theres no first, theres no second.

material cause, formal cause, efficient cause and final cause.

It is something bad happens as a result of a flaw into your character, and you show how this tragic fall forces your character to learn something about herself or himself.

WEEK3: Awareness Level.

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

MINDLESS OBSERVATION 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’re in

EXERCISE: PEOPLE WATCH

1. Walk into canteen/library – somewhere crowded, etc and watch people pass by.
2. Eventually, one will catch your attention. 
3. Write down as many details as possible through observation
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for a second character 
5. Transcribe all these details into the “People-Watch” page that you will you create on your blog.

Different gender, setting and age.