Check out this great contest opportunity with the 2012 Olympics in London https://greatbritons.ba.com
I think I said in an online discussion group, that ONE completed script is just not enough.
One of the things I strongly encourage my students to do BEFORE they try to sell a completed script is to have more than one completed. I always urge my students to create a portfolio of their scripts - just like an artist wouldn't have only ONE PAINTING to sell. They'd have several.... to show they were serious about their work. The same principal applies to screenwriting.
So, to further this idea - one of the first things you can do before you start writing any script is to start making notes of story ideas that appeal to you! Have a little notebook or a file folder for keeping these ideas - just toss them in and let them accumulate. Soon you will start finding stories everywhere!! This practice trains your brain to SEE the story in nearly anything.... and that's what you want.
Start that process of collecting ideas today and continue it while you’re working on your current script. You’ll find this is a nifty way to defuse your brain’s built in propensity to get you to ‘switch tracks’ right in the middle of a project. It’s a similar process to keeping a script journal while you write. Every time your LEFT brain nags you about a FIX it wants to take time to do - you write it down. Your left brain is acknowledged, so your RIGHT brain can continue to be creative!
Once you’ve completed your current script; make some notes in your journal about what you want to FIX and set it aside. Now’s the time to wade through those story ideas you’ve been setting aside. Choose one and start to flesh it out. By the time you have 2 or 3 scripts written for your portfolio you can slow the writing process down to outlining the story and then creating a 5 or 10 page treatment for several others. NOW, you’re ready to begin to market your first script. The most chilling producer comment in the world isn’t NO; it’s what ELSE have you got! Especially, if you ain’t got nuttin else!
I hope that helps. And I wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
Showing posts with label writing movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing movies. Show all posts
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
CHOICES define you as a screenwriter and your MAIN CHARACTER too!
Writing & especially screenwriting is ALL about making choices! The choices your main character will make will define them in the audience's eye.... and you as a writer, as well.
CHAPTER ONE of the Screenwriting Essentials Online Tutorial & workbook discuss STORY CONCEPT and idea.
From the very first IMAGE you see on the screen you are telling your audience what to FEEL in this visual journey they are about to embark upon. That first image is the first step on the journey. I always say that writing is about choices and your choices for telling your story start with that very first image.
Every artist faces a similar decision making process whether it’s a oil painter, a photographer or you the screenwriter. Visually speaking, you compose each scene - you choose the location (what does it say) to the viewer? You choose the apparel of each actor (to some extent - what does that say?) You choose the WORDS they speak. What is going on beneath the words that actually come out of the actors mouth? Are they saying ‘I LOVE YOU, I love you… while they batter each other with trash from a nearby garbage can?
Now that doesn’t mean that you become a ‘control freak’ as a writer. You leave many, many choices to the director and the actor and the set designer and the locations manager. BUT, WHEN IT”S IMPORTANT to our understanding of the story or the emotional landscape of the heroine/hero you create concrete details in your script; you create choices that make that clear.
There is a power and a responsibility in every story choice you make as a screenwriter. With proper planning - you can learn to revel in the choosing - not be frozen in place - unable to act; or stymied with indecision.
I hope this helps. And I do wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
CHAPTER ONE of the Screenwriting Essentials Online Tutorial & workbook discuss STORY CONCEPT and idea.
From the very first IMAGE you see on the screen you are telling your audience what to FEEL in this visual journey they are about to embark upon. That first image is the first step on the journey. I always say that writing is about choices and your choices for telling your story start with that very first image.
Every artist faces a similar decision making process whether it’s a oil painter, a photographer or you the screenwriter. Visually speaking, you compose each scene - you choose the location (what does it say) to the viewer? You choose the apparel of each actor (to some extent - what does that say?) You choose the WORDS they speak. What is going on beneath the words that actually come out of the actors mouth? Are they saying ‘I LOVE YOU, I love you… while they batter each other with trash from a nearby garbage can?
Now that doesn’t mean that you become a ‘control freak’ as a writer. You leave many, many choices to the director and the actor and the set designer and the locations manager. BUT, WHEN IT”S IMPORTANT to our understanding of the story or the emotional landscape of the heroine/hero you create concrete details in your script; you create choices that make that clear.
There is a power and a responsibility in every story choice you make as a screenwriter. With proper planning - you can learn to revel in the choosing - not be frozen in place - unable to act; or stymied with indecision.
I hope this helps. And I do wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Experienced writers often tell you to write what you KNOW...
Write what you know is probably the oldest piece of advice there is for aspiring writers. But just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s BAD… or necessarily good, either. It all depends on your interpretation! Here’s my take on what it means.
Writing what you know doesn’t mean that if you're a janitor at night to pay the bills while you learn the craft of writing - that you only ever get to write movies about janitors. The way I interpret the phrase ‘write what you know’ regards what you KNOW is emotionally honest or true.
Screenplays are driven by the ups and downs of the main characters quest. The ups and downs refer to both the storyline (or action) but also your heroine/hero’s emotions. And this is where many new writers come up short. They often side-step tackling the really BIG EMOTIONS that naturally ensue in a really dramatic incident. Oh sure, we see death scenes, sex scenes, pillage scenes, car chases & maiming from car chases - but what we don’t see is REAL, GENUINE heart-felt emotions that arise from these events.
Often, the new writer doesn’t show us the ‘fallout’ from these big events in our hero’s life - WHEN it’s exactly that exploration of emotional subtext that makes film REAL to us the audience. It’s that bond of shared emotional experience that connects us to the heroine/hero in the end. So, ‘write what you know’ means write from a place of emotional honesty. Either take the risk to write from your very own place of emotional experience or take the time to understand and EMPATHIZE with someone who has lived the experience you are going to write about.
LIVE it, (the emotion you’re writing about)- FEEL it if you’re hoping to write it and ultimately convince an audience to believe it... and then WRITE it! We all have a 6th sense concerning emotional honesty… discover yours, and write from that place for really compelling screenplays. That’s my take on what the phrase - 'write what you know' is really advocating to new and aspiring writers.
I hope this helps. And I do wish you luck with your screenplay - let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
FOLLOW ScriptTips on TWITTER
Writing what you know doesn’t mean that if you're a janitor at night to pay the bills while you learn the craft of writing - that you only ever get to write movies about janitors. The way I interpret the phrase ‘write what you know’ regards what you KNOW is emotionally honest or true.
Screenplays are driven by the ups and downs of the main characters quest. The ups and downs refer to both the storyline (or action) but also your heroine/hero’s emotions. And this is where many new writers come up short. They often side-step tackling the really BIG EMOTIONS that naturally ensue in a really dramatic incident. Oh sure, we see death scenes, sex scenes, pillage scenes, car chases & maiming from car chases - but what we don’t see is REAL, GENUINE heart-felt emotions that arise from these events.
Often, the new writer doesn’t show us the ‘fallout’ from these big events in our hero’s life - WHEN it’s exactly that exploration of emotional subtext that makes film REAL to us the audience. It’s that bond of shared emotional experience that connects us to the heroine/hero in the end. So, ‘write what you know’ means write from a place of emotional honesty. Either take the risk to write from your very own place of emotional experience or take the time to understand and EMPATHIZE with someone who has lived the experience you are going to write about.
LIVE it, (the emotion you’re writing about)- FEEL it if you’re hoping to write it and ultimately convince an audience to believe it... and then WRITE it! We all have a 6th sense concerning emotional honesty… discover yours, and write from that place for really compelling screenplays. That’s my take on what the phrase - 'write what you know' is really advocating to new and aspiring writers.
I hope this helps. And I do wish you luck with your screenplay - let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
FOLLOW ScriptTips on TWITTER
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Do you advise students to keep an 'IDEAS DIARY' ?
I think what you’re referring to was said in an online discussion group.
A second really common bit of advice for any creative person is to have an ‘Ideas Diary’. This can be as simple as a tiny spiral notebook that fits in your pocket or backpack or can sit by your bedside or your computer. Most likely you’ll find that you ‘hatch’ great story ideas at the oddest moments; just before sleep hits you is fairly common.
And one of the other most common occurrences is, just as you are sitting down to really tackle a tough piece of writing, you decide housework is absolutely critical at this moment in time! Human beings are escape artists at heart It takes discipline to put yourself in front of the computer every day that you’re scheduled to write and ‘make’ it happen on the page. Far easier to simply play the story (any story) in your head, scrolling through the action but never really writing it down. It is acquiring this discipline that makes writing hard. Everyone has great movie ideas but very few people take the time to develope the discipline to transform those ideas onto the page.
And that’s where the LIST comes into play. Often, fantastic story ideas come out of that desire NOT to be nailed down to a schedule. USE THAT; in fact learn to use all the tricks your mind will play on you to your advantage. Do take five minutes (not five hours) recording this NEW , great idea in your story diary. But DON’T GET SIDE-TRACKED from your current goal; FINISHING YOUR FIRST DRAFT.
Remember, that is the only one rule in beginning that first draft screenplay; FINISH IT. Everything else is probably fixable in a rewrite. But you really can’t fix, what isn’t on the page. So record all the new story ideas that will come your way, while you’re acquiring the discipline to finish that first great story idea that got you started! For more SCREENWRITING TIPS.... FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
Check out this VIDEO TIP HOT LINK below
I hope that helps. And I wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
A second really common bit of advice for any creative person is to have an ‘Ideas Diary’. This can be as simple as a tiny spiral notebook that fits in your pocket or backpack or can sit by your bedside or your computer. Most likely you’ll find that you ‘hatch’ great story ideas at the oddest moments; just before sleep hits you is fairly common.
And one of the other most common occurrences is, just as you are sitting down to really tackle a tough piece of writing, you decide housework is absolutely critical at this moment in time! Human beings are escape artists at heart It takes discipline to put yourself in front of the computer every day that you’re scheduled to write and ‘make’ it happen on the page. Far easier to simply play the story (any story) in your head, scrolling through the action but never really writing it down. It is acquiring this discipline that makes writing hard. Everyone has great movie ideas but very few people take the time to develope the discipline to transform those ideas onto the page.
And that’s where the LIST comes into play. Often, fantastic story ideas come out of that desire NOT to be nailed down to a schedule. USE THAT; in fact learn to use all the tricks your mind will play on you to your advantage. Do take five minutes (not five hours) recording this NEW , great idea in your story diary. But DON’T GET SIDE-TRACKED from your current goal; FINISHING YOUR FIRST DRAFT.
Remember, that is the only one rule in beginning that first draft screenplay; FINISH IT. Everything else is probably fixable in a rewrite. But you really can’t fix, what isn’t on the page. So record all the new story ideas that will come your way, while you’re acquiring the discipline to finish that first great story idea that got you started! For more SCREENWRITING TIPS.... FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
Check out this VIDEO TIP HOT LINK below
I hope that helps. And I wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
I've got a GREAT movie idea - but don't know HOW TO START!
EVERY HERO WINS THROUGH PERSISTENCE
Every writers journey starts with the FIRST STEP and then concludes through persistence. No movie hero or heroine wins their goal by STOPPING. You won't either.... so START writing - but START SMART.
We see all around us, every day, the end result of screenwriters work - on TV, at the movie theater and when we rent a DVD. But very few people have actually READ a screenplay. And frankly that is where every aspiring screenwriter should begin; by reading.
The best way to go about this is to visit a website like my www.wordsmythe.ca/links/ page or www.Simplyscipts.com and download the scripts for a couple of mainstream movies. Then read them from cover to cover.
Now go to your local video store and rent the DVD of the scripts you just finished reading. With script in hand, put the disc in to play and STUDY the first 10-15 minutes of the film. Actively compare it to the script. Pay particular attention to the OPENING IMAGE that sets the story in motion or signals ground zero for the storyline.
Next, pay close attention to the way the script moves the action from scene to scene. NOTICE the slug lines on the page(INT: APARTMENT - DAY) and the ‘brief’ descriptive text that follows it. In the movie,that's called an Establishing Shot - and simply shows you the house, business or place the hero will enter; so that we the viewer/reader have a strong sense of place.
Give your full attention to the DIALOGUE as it’s delivered by the actors - AND as it’s written on the page. What surprised you about the nuance the actor brought to the lines? What was delivered exactly as you heard it 'in your head' when your read the lines?
How much direction is in the text of the screenplay and how much seems to be the result of collaboration between actors and the director? And finally, pay attention to PACING - how quickly the film and script move the action along as they ‘set up’ the story and the main character’s QUEST.
The more screenplays you read - the more comfortable you will find yourself with the strict formatting structure involved, once you're ready to sit down and put you own great idea on paper.
Good luck with it; be persistent - and let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
TIME waits for no man - nor woman either, for that matter!
Another year is set to unscroll right before our eyes; the count-down is beginning. It’s a long-standing habit of mine to find some quiet time between Christmas and New Years to assess the year that has past. What worked; what didn’t. What do I wish I had done that I never started and conversely… What did I START that I wished I hadn’t!
Who was it that said an ‘unexamined life is not worth living?” I wouldn’t quite go that far - but it’s worth pausing a moment to acknowledge the joy we find in life. And, the first step to changing what does NOT work in your life is to acknowledge that, as well. If you meant to spend time writing this year and didn’t - maybe it’s time.
At www.Wordsmythe.ca I find tremendous joy in both writing scripts and in helping adults, teachers and even kids around the world figure out how movie stories work. It’s so cool to explain the basics of structure, show a film clip and then watch the ‘light’ go on in someone’s eyes as they start piecing together their own movie idea from the info I've just given them!
It’s really neat to listen to a student explain their story idea, and then watch as they begin to storyboard it right in front of my eyes. Writing stories for film is just so thrilling… but it’s work too. If you’re thinking of beginning your screenwriting career with a feature-length film (roughly 120 pages); don’t let the page count scare you though. EVERY single writer, famous or not so famous, stood exactly where you stand now - KNOWING NOTHING, but wanting to LEARN. Not knowing how doesn’t have to be a life sentence; you just have to tackle the learning in a way that works for you.
Find movies that have inspired you on DvD; then find the LINKS pages at www.Wordsmythe.ca (or Simplyscripts or others). Do this with several films you love and start to see the connection between the word-on-the-page and the finished movie images. Find books to read on screenwriting; read lots of them and then STOP and start figuring out how your movie idea might look IF it were a movie right now.
Take a course, IF that’s the way your brain works. Check out my ScriptTips on Twitter & subscribe. But most of all - DO IT. The movie in your head that you want to write is going to be way more FUN than anything you’ll see this year on TV. So go for it; make it happen this year. Don’t WAIT.
I do hope this helps motivate you to TRY. And of course, I’d love to see your work. Drop me a line at www.Wordsmythe.ca .
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Be CAREFUL about who you let influence your REWRITE!
One of the things you will always want to be clear about is WHO you let influence your writing. EVERYONE has an opinion… but not all opinions should be given equal weight. Once you finish your script; have worked through all the tweaks and fixes you found for yourself you’ll want to get opinions from others on it’s merits (and weaknesses).
The most important thing you should remember about feedback from others is you often get what you ask for. Most new writers start with the question ‘ WHAT do you think?” We’re afraid to ask for more. And so, you’ll often get answers like, ‘This is good. PERIOD!” That kind of feedback is nice… But not that helpful in fleshing out your script. Your uncle Arthur may be a great mechanic, but what does he know about movies and how they work?
So you’re best approach is to ask people who’s opinion on FILM and WRITING you know and respect; but don’t stop there. In addition to a hard copy of your script - give them a list of questions to answer that will provide PERTINENT INFORMATION for your next draft. The amount of effort you put into your questions will be directly related to the quality of the feedback you get. So think, What do you REALLY want to know about this draft of your screenplay?
For instance, is the OPENING SCENE gripping, engaging or off-putting? Is the MAIN CHARACTER and her/his dilemma compelling, charismatic or completely lame? Are the COMPLICATIONS the hero/heroine encounters real to the world they inhabit or pasted on for show? And finally, is the ENDING convincing and satisfying?
See what I mean, when I say that you get the kind of feedback you ask for? Simply getting solid feedback on these four questions should give you a good shot at starting your rewrite. For a more detailed critique questionnaire, write me at www.Wordsmythe.ca and I’ll send you my own script critique template for FREE. I want your script to be the best that you can make it and I’ll help as often as I can. But when you win that first important screenplay contest… mention my name!
I hope all this helps. And I wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
The most important thing you should remember about feedback from others is you often get what you ask for. Most new writers start with the question ‘ WHAT do you think?” We’re afraid to ask for more. And so, you’ll often get answers like, ‘This is good. PERIOD!” That kind of feedback is nice… But not that helpful in fleshing out your script. Your uncle Arthur may be a great mechanic, but what does he know about movies and how they work?
So you’re best approach is to ask people who’s opinion on FILM and WRITING you know and respect; but don’t stop there. In addition to a hard copy of your script - give them a list of questions to answer that will provide PERTINENT INFORMATION for your next draft. The amount of effort you put into your questions will be directly related to the quality of the feedback you get. So think, What do you REALLY want to know about this draft of your screenplay?
For instance, is the OPENING SCENE gripping, engaging or off-putting? Is the MAIN CHARACTER and her/his dilemma compelling, charismatic or completely lame? Are the COMPLICATIONS the hero/heroine encounters real to the world they inhabit or pasted on for show? And finally, is the ENDING convincing and satisfying?
See what I mean, when I say that you get the kind of feedback you ask for? Simply getting solid feedback on these four questions should give you a good shot at starting your rewrite. For a more detailed critique questionnaire, write me at www.Wordsmythe.ca and I’ll send you my own script critique template for FREE. I want your script to be the best that you can make it and I’ll help as often as I can. But when you win that first important screenplay contest… mention my name!
I hope all this helps. And I wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
How can I CREATE characters that are radically different than ME?
Your question strikes at the very heart of the writing experience....
do we only ever write ourselves into our creations or do we
consciously choose an alternative route and try to write something
other than ourselves and our own experience?
Now, many people will argue that no matter how hard you try to write outside yourself.... YOU are in every single piece you write. And I sincerely hope so... it is your creative energy that makes a piece/or character 'live' and breathe on it's own.
BUT to answer (or attempt to) your question. Whether you actively choose to write characters (& I think we're referring to main characters here) whose emotional 'toolbox' or psychological makeup is radically different than yours is really immaterial. You may write incredibly intense but self- contained characters that really challenge actors to dig deep to express ALL these characters ARE with just a few small gestures - because that's who you are. OR you may study minutely the mannerisms of people you meet that are LIKE the character you want to create.... and bring life to a character on the page that mirrors those mannerisms - even though they are not your own.
You don't have to be a wildly emotional person to create that kind of character on the page. But your characters' emotions need to come from a REAL place inside of you that allows you to project all of the nuances of that person. So you make a study of people you meet that are like your character...and build on that - starting first and foremost with actual emotions - love, hate, anger, jealousy. But I want to reiterate - wildly emotional or intensely withheld doesn't matter.... write what suits the character and the STORY you're creating.
And if you choose to focus on a particular 'type' of character.... and you create a series of films about people who are bright, articulate and very considered with their emotional displays.... actors & audiences will still love them IF they are well drawn and bring us stories that illuminate for us something of our own lives.
I hope this helps. And I do wish you luck with your screenplay . I’d love to read your work at Wordsmythe.ca
Now, many people will argue that no matter how hard you try to write outside yourself.... YOU are in every single piece you write. And I sincerely hope so... it is your creative energy that makes a piece/or character 'live' and breathe on it's own.
BUT to answer (or attempt to) your question. Whether you actively choose to write characters (& I think we're referring to main characters here) whose emotional 'toolbox' or psychological makeup is radically different than yours is really immaterial. You may write incredibly intense but self- contained characters that really challenge actors to dig deep to express ALL these characters ARE with just a few small gestures - because that's who you are. OR you may study minutely the mannerisms of people you meet that are LIKE the character you want to create.... and bring life to a character on the page that mirrors those mannerisms - even though they are not your own.
You don't have to be a wildly emotional person to create that kind of character on the page. But your characters' emotions need to come from a REAL place inside of you that allows you to project all of the nuances of that person. So you make a study of people you meet that are like your character...and build on that - starting first and foremost with actual emotions - love, hate, anger, jealousy. But I want to reiterate - wildly emotional or intensely withheld doesn't matter.... write what suits the character and the STORY you're creating.
And if you choose to focus on a particular 'type' of character.... and you create a series of films about people who are bright, articulate and very considered with their emotional displays.... actors & audiences will still love them IF they are well drawn and bring us stories that illuminate for us something of our own lives.
I hope this helps. And I do wish you luck with your screenplay . I’d love to read your work at Wordsmythe.ca
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Your movie story starts with the very FIRST IMAGE on the screen.
The power of image is demonstrated over and over again in film as we use our minds to scroll back over movies that have affected us deeply. Whether it is the famous dying words of Citizen Kane - ‘Rosebud’ that sets the story in motion. Or the loop-de-loops of the flying bug at the beginning of ‘Men in Black’ or the shelf of toys at the opening of Monsters Inc. Each image starts us on our journey.
In the case of Monsters Inc, the shelf loaded with toys is a red herring. It’s put there to lull you into believing you’re inhabiting a human world. A safe world, a world where nothing scary can happen; AND then, POW. In minutes you’ve been up-ended into a world that isn’t human at all - a MONSTER world that actually preys on our most vulnerable element - our children.
So, if you’re engaged in the act of creating a screenplay, I ask you; what IS the first image that flashes onto the screen at fade up? Will it land us exactly in the middle of the world in which the story takes place? Or, will it simply be used to lure us in and have the rug pulled out from under our feet moments later.
The act of writing is all about making choices and that first image is only one in a long series of story choices that will shape your audiences reaction to the film you’re crafting. So give it some serious thought as to how you will use that first image. Is it bait? Or is it a straight forward spring board into your story. Does it set the tone, the mood or the era for us? What does that first image accomplish?
The same is true of how we (as the audience) encounter your hero/heroine for the first time. In Monsters Inc, the first time we see James P. Sullivan (Sully) he’s sleeping. Nothing could be more innocent than that. The writer’s are telling us that Sully is as innocent and likable as the little children he spends every night scaring into tears.
Those first moments are important. Use them knowingly and with care; from them springs your story!
I hope this helps. And good luck with your writing. I can’t wait to read the result!
FOLLOW ScriptTips on TWITTER!
In the case of Monsters Inc, the shelf loaded with toys is a red herring. It’s put there to lull you into believing you’re inhabiting a human world. A safe world, a world where nothing scary can happen; AND then, POW. In minutes you’ve been up-ended into a world that isn’t human at all - a MONSTER world that actually preys on our most vulnerable element - our children.
So, if you’re engaged in the act of creating a screenplay, I ask you; what IS the first image that flashes onto the screen at fade up? Will it land us exactly in the middle of the world in which the story takes place? Or, will it simply be used to lure us in and have the rug pulled out from under our feet moments later.
The act of writing is all about making choices and that first image is only one in a long series of story choices that will shape your audiences reaction to the film you’re crafting. So give it some serious thought as to how you will use that first image. Is it bait? Or is it a straight forward spring board into your story. Does it set the tone, the mood or the era for us? What does that first image accomplish?
The same is true of how we (as the audience) encounter your hero/heroine for the first time. In Monsters Inc, the first time we see James P. Sullivan (Sully) he’s sleeping. Nothing could be more innocent than that. The writer’s are telling us that Sully is as innocent and likable as the little children he spends every night scaring into tears.
Those first moments are important. Use them knowingly and with care; from them springs your story!
I hope this helps. And good luck with your writing. I can’t wait to read the result!
FOLLOW ScriptTips on TWITTER!
Saturday, September 18, 2010
How do I make a character, who's kind of shy, show his emotions?
Writing really is the study of human beings and how they express
themselves. Every opportunity you can - EXAMINE (like a being from
another world) how the humans that surround you express the vast array
of emotions that color our daily lives.
You’re right, some people are withheld - the merest lift of an eyebrow says volumes about what's going on in their heads. Other are like fireworks displays - about everything; love, hate, happiness, boredom it all gets colored with some incredible display of emotion. The films that affect us the most are the films where the writer has created a VISUAL language that relays even the tiniest detail of a characters INNER landscape (emotional landscape) to us, the audience.
So, give some thought to the multitude of NON VERBAL bits of communication that are peppered throughout your day... your child opens it's arms wide for a hug when you come home; but doesn't SAY anything. Your boss merely crooks a finger in your direction and disappears into her office. You know you've been summoned. At a chai shop, a handsome fellow merely meets your eyes over the lip of his cup, which mostly hides his smile of acknowledgment.... you TELL ME what that means!!
Start cataloging in your mind the various ways people SHOW us every day what they're thinking... instead of using words. Do this for a month and you will be on your way to understanding one of the key elements of screenwriting. Show - don't TELL what the characters are thinking.
I hope this helps. And I do wish you luck with your screenplay . Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
You’re right, some people are withheld - the merest lift of an eyebrow says volumes about what's going on in their heads. Other are like fireworks displays - about everything; love, hate, happiness, boredom it all gets colored with some incredible display of emotion. The films that affect us the most are the films where the writer has created a VISUAL language that relays even the tiniest detail of a characters INNER landscape (emotional landscape) to us, the audience.
So, give some thought to the multitude of NON VERBAL bits of communication that are peppered throughout your day... your child opens it's arms wide for a hug when you come home; but doesn't SAY anything. Your boss merely crooks a finger in your direction and disappears into her office. You know you've been summoned. At a chai shop, a handsome fellow merely meets your eyes over the lip of his cup, which mostly hides his smile of acknowledgment.... you TELL ME what that means!!
Start cataloging in your mind the various ways people SHOW us every day what they're thinking... instead of using words. Do this for a month and you will be on your way to understanding one of the key elements of screenwriting. Show - don't TELL what the characters are thinking.
I hope this helps. And I do wish you luck with your screenplay . Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
Friday, July 30, 2010
BEGINNING, MIDDLE AND END: The Three Act Structure at it's most basic!
I just finished teaching at a prestigious boys school, a two-week course on filmmaking for summer term. The first week was dedicated to creating a film-story idea and creating the storyboards to illustrate the fiction. The second week was dedicated to shooting the TWO chosen film scripts from the first weeks work. I am really proud of my students work - see youtube link. In total, they really only had 3 days to craft their story and another 3 to shoot the short. They did it and the filmstories totally work! With tweaking they will work really well.
Monday was spent going over the basic story structure for film - THREE ACTS (beginning, complications and then the end). After screening & lecture, they did an in-class writing exercise based on creating fiction from a random picture, torn from a magazine, that was handed to them only moments before.
Tuesday, we talked about ‘framing the shot’ and did another writing exercise. I divided the class into writing teams, so they’d have someone to help generate story ideas. And they began to write their own film piece. We watched some Pixar shorts to see how they were presented. I gave them a sample of my storyboards for a Pixar short; and we viewed the film again - with the storyboards in hand.
By Wednesday, they were well on their way. We watched another film and talked about world building and complications! By the start of class Thursday they had their short piece written; and now it was time to storyboard it. Final storyboards were presented on Friday morning; and the class selected which two films to shoot based on the 6 questions I suggest screenwriters answer for themselves (FILMMAKING WIZARDRY) in their script.
They had the weekend to prepare their shot lists and on Monday they rehearsed actors and camera moves. Tuesday they shot their films. (One film had to completely reshoot 90% of it's footage; but made it’s deadline too). Wednesday was pick-up shots and editing. Thursday was music track, titles and glitches. FRIDAY, THE SCREENING for parents, friends and the whole school!
The students were all between the ages of 8 and 16 years old. We had ten great story ideas submitted on that first Friday; and far more than the TWO could have gone to camera. This underscores my theory that everyone really does have a movie idea in their head… And that if you ask the right questions, you can get them get it out and onto the page!
I hope this helps. And I wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
Monday, May 17, 2010
I ALWAYS get side-lined fixing stuff; and never seem to finish a script!
I took a screenwriting class with a buddy and while he just kind of plowed through his first draft I got kind of side-lined by fixing stuff. I still haven’t finished and he’s on to his second script. What gives… am I just slow?
Writing is one of the strangest undertakings. We are seduced by a story idea in our head and practically driven crazy until we succumb and begin to put it on paper.
And then, the real torture begins. We write a scene or two, or even a whole first act. And then inevitably we begin to second guess ourselves as we soldier on through the next tough scene sequence. The main characters name isn’t strong enough. The villain isn’t evil enough. The opening scene isn’t fresh enough. The scene transitions aren’t transity enough; and so on, and so on, and so on.
Some of these comments are quite accurate. Your main character does have a dumb name at the moment. And maybe those scene transitions really do need work. But guess what - NOT NOW. Your only job in the FIRST DRAFT is to FINISH. Repeat this to yourself over and over again when that little inner CRITIC would have you go back and putter with the first act. Resist the temptation and keep moving forward; that’s the only way to finish your first draft... Never look back!
But, don’t lock up that inner critic and throw away the key. Just throw him or her a bone. One of the best gimmicks you can implement for yourself is to station a clipboard and pen next to your computer. EVERY SINGLE TIME your inner critic even whispers a suggestion - mollify her by writing it down on the clipboard right next to the keyboard. VOILA! your inner critic ‘feels’ heard…and then deigns to leave you alone for a while so you can actually write. AND, in addition to finishing your script - you also wind up with a dandy blueprint for your first REWRITE by the time you type, The End.
I hope this helps. And I do wish you luck with your screenplay - and let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
Writing is one of the strangest undertakings. We are seduced by a story idea in our head and practically driven crazy until we succumb and begin to put it on paper.
And then, the real torture begins. We write a scene or two, or even a whole first act. And then inevitably we begin to second guess ourselves as we soldier on through the next tough scene sequence. The main characters name isn’t strong enough. The villain isn’t evil enough. The opening scene isn’t fresh enough. The scene transitions aren’t transity enough; and so on, and so on, and so on.
Some of these comments are quite accurate. Your main character does have a dumb name at the moment. And maybe those scene transitions really do need work. But guess what - NOT NOW. Your only job in the FIRST DRAFT is to FINISH. Repeat this to yourself over and over again when that little inner CRITIC would have you go back and putter with the first act. Resist the temptation and keep moving forward; that’s the only way to finish your first draft... Never look back!
But, don’t lock up that inner critic and throw away the key. Just throw him or her a bone. One of the best gimmicks you can implement for yourself is to station a clipboard and pen next to your computer. EVERY SINGLE TIME your inner critic even whispers a suggestion - mollify her by writing it down on the clipboard right next to the keyboard. VOILA! your inner critic ‘feels’ heard…and then deigns to leave you alone for a while so you can actually write. AND, in addition to finishing your script - you also wind up with a dandy blueprint for your first REWRITE by the time you type, The End.
I hope this helps. And I do wish you luck with your screenplay - and let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
What's so special about WRITERS. I hear great stories everyday at my local coffee house!
Well, maybe I’m the wrong person to ask why writers are so special! I mean, I am biased…
And you’re right, I bet you DO hear fabulous stories every day at your coffee house. I mean we all do, don’t we. We both tell great stories to our friends and listen raptly as they tell stories back to us. It’s so cool, that process. But writers take the process one step further and WRITE it down and polish the telling of it.
And if you believe the Aborigines of Australia we’ve been doing this as human beings for probably 100,000 years. I tell my students that human beings have story telling practically hard-wired into their DNA. And this is a really important point for every writer on the planet to remember.
That story telling hard-wiring means that your audience inherently knows a good story from a BAD ONE - it’s in their genetic coding. So don’t try to bullshit your audience with a half-baked piece of storytelling pie that none of them will buy. They’re too smart to be bamboozled. They may not have $2 words to tell you why a story isn’t compelling; but their story radar spots a fake just as easily as… well, you would!
At the same time, don’t be discouraged at this news. Just recognize that IF your audience comes equipped with this fantastic array of biological story detectors - SO DO YOU. Where writers get into trouble is when they get lazy. Their bio detector is telling them what they just wrote is crap - and they waffle about fixing it. It’ll DO. I can pass it off. NO ONE will notice… NOT! Everyone will notice. IF you’re radar is telling you it needs fixing - FIX IT. (after you’ve completed the first draft, mind you!). Don’t whimp out on us, give us a story that really FRYS all that built in radar. That’s what we really want in movies is stories that make us sit up and take notice; stories that surprise us!
I hope that helps! And I wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
And you’re right, I bet you DO hear fabulous stories every day at your coffee house. I mean we all do, don’t we. We both tell great stories to our friends and listen raptly as they tell stories back to us. It’s so cool, that process. But writers take the process one step further and WRITE it down and polish the telling of it.
And if you believe the Aborigines of Australia we’ve been doing this as human beings for probably 100,000 years. I tell my students that human beings have story telling practically hard-wired into their DNA. And this is a really important point for every writer on the planet to remember.
That story telling hard-wiring means that your audience inherently knows a good story from a BAD ONE - it’s in their genetic coding. So don’t try to bullshit your audience with a half-baked piece of storytelling pie that none of them will buy. They’re too smart to be bamboozled. They may not have $2 words to tell you why a story isn’t compelling; but their story radar spots a fake just as easily as… well, you would!
At the same time, don’t be discouraged at this news. Just recognize that IF your audience comes equipped with this fantastic array of biological story detectors - SO DO YOU. Where writers get into trouble is when they get lazy. Their bio detector is telling them what they just wrote is crap - and they waffle about fixing it. It’ll DO. I can pass it off. NO ONE will notice… NOT! Everyone will notice. IF you’re radar is telling you it needs fixing - FIX IT. (after you’ve completed the first draft, mind you!). Don’t whimp out on us, give us a story that really FRYS all that built in radar. That’s what we really want in movies is stories that make us sit up and take notice; stories that surprise us!
I hope that helps! And I wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script. I’d love to read your work!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
I Don't Know How Many Screenplays I've Started; but can never finish!
Writing screenplays is one of the easiest jobs you’ll ever do; and one of the HARDEST. It’s easy, because you get fired up by this fantastic idea that you know will be killer on the screen, and that enthusiasm makes you just jump right in and start typing.
And it’s hard because you run out of that ‘start up’ energy often long before you get to those famous words - The End. That ‘sticking point’ is the exact spot where real writers show their mettle. But they don’t survive on pure grit alone; real writers have a whole arsenal of tricks up their sleeve. The most important tool they use - is PLANNING.
Sounds kind of mundane, doesn’t it? Planning - like birth control; can’t we just ‘be’ in the moment and jump into this thing, honey? We can… and many do. I don’t how many late nights I've spent staring at a script I HAD LOVED six months before and now loathed because I couldn’t seem to tinker away all its flaws. Screenwriting has taught me patience and control.
I urge all of my students to create a number of tools while the novelty of their movie idea still has them panting to write. It’s then, when you’re desperate to get at your computer and type, that you really should rein in your enthusiasm and answer some really important questions.
Like: Who’s you main character? What is it they want? What gets in their way of acquiring/ or achieving this goal? How badly do they want what they seek? Who are the important people in their life and how do those relationships complicate their quest. Take these questions and create a logline, a 5 page treatment and a working title and you’re on your way. Throw in the opening and closing scenes for your three acts and you should be ready for any thing!
Once you’ve got this material firmly in hand, you’re ready to unleash the hounds and hit the keyboard running. With planning, and careful conservation of that ‘start up’ energy you may find yourself at ‘The End’ before you know it!
I hope this helps. And I wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script; I’d love to read your work!
And it’s hard because you run out of that ‘start up’ energy often long before you get to those famous words - The End. That ‘sticking point’ is the exact spot where real writers show their mettle. But they don’t survive on pure grit alone; real writers have a whole arsenal of tricks up their sleeve. The most important tool they use - is PLANNING.
Sounds kind of mundane, doesn’t it? Planning - like birth control; can’t we just ‘be’ in the moment and jump into this thing, honey? We can… and many do. I don’t how many late nights I've spent staring at a script I HAD LOVED six months before and now loathed because I couldn’t seem to tinker away all its flaws. Screenwriting has taught me patience and control.
I urge all of my students to create a number of tools while the novelty of their movie idea still has them panting to write. It’s then, when you’re desperate to get at your computer and type, that you really should rein in your enthusiasm and answer some really important questions.
Like: Who’s you main character? What is it they want? What gets in their way of acquiring/ or achieving this goal? How badly do they want what they seek? Who are the important people in their life and how do those relationships complicate their quest. Take these questions and create a logline, a 5 page treatment and a working title and you’re on your way. Throw in the opening and closing scenes for your three acts and you should be ready for any thing!
Once you’ve got this material firmly in hand, you’re ready to unleash the hounds and hit the keyboard running. With planning, and careful conservation of that ‘start up’ energy you may find yourself at ‘The End’ before you know it!
I hope this helps. And I wish you luck with your screenplay. Let me know when you’ve completed your script; I’d love to read your work!
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