Lecture 1
PROPER WRITING FORMAT.
· 3rd person
· present tense
· visual voice
THE “3RD PERSON/PRESENT TENSE”
· A character is “narrating” the story as it is happening.
Example :
· “Mark picks up the gun and holds it in his hand. It begins to tremble, as if alive.
It presents a more immediate and urgent feel to the material.
Commonly used in:
1. Screenplay;
· The story/film is unfolding as we read it.
· Fosters a more urgebt and immediate feel to the story.
2. Thriller & Suspense Genres
Passive vs. Active voice
Passive voice
· uses weak verbs
· Tells what’s happening in the character’s head
· Distances yhe reader from the story.
Active voice
· uses strong action verbs
· Shows the action.
· Uses an immediate sentence structure
· Conveys the story in a lively manner.
“The sky was blue with a lot of fluffy white clouds” (passive)
“Fluffy white clouds drift
TIPS for writing.
Everyone WILL NOT HAVE PROBLEMS coming up with a list of excuses for procrastination.
The BIGGEST PROBLEM is GETTING STARTED.
TIPS FOR WRITING:
· 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 u cant get started on a project, start writing anyway. To do this, u need to have some words to type.
· It doesn’t matter what u write, you’ll soon begin to think and move in your own rhythm/ pace.
Exercise 1a: openers
Hannah walks into the library wearing a wet suit and a clown nose. Evryone was staring at her but she ignored all of them as if there weren’t there. Out of the blue, Hannah switched on a clowny song from her handphone and started to dance in the middle of the library. She continued her dancing craze by dancing around the library until the security officer grapped her arm.
NOTE DOWN QUESTIONS YOU WERE ASKING YOURSELF AS YOU WROTE IT.
Whose story as I telling?
What is the point of this story?
How can I engage the attention of the audience?
- Write 12 opening phrases in your blogs under openers page.
Elements of dialogue
· Dialogue reveals character
- A character will talk about himself and other people will talk about him.
· Dialogue establishes relationships between characters
- Once you have established your main character’s POV(points of view) you can use dialogue with 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
· Good effective dialogue will move the story forward.
· Dialogue communications faces and information to the audience.
- It conveys essential exposition.
- Characters 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
· Never tell the audience what they can see for themselves!!!
In Hollywood when they look at apage and it’s got too much black, too much ink on the paper, they say:
“SHIT! IT’S FREEZE THE CAMERA TIME!!!”
· COMMON MISTAKES
- Students sometimes never achieve 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 : “ITS HOW THE !@#$#@ CHARACTER SPEAKS”
- 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.
- Students tend to create radio shows with images
<<FILM IS A VISUAL MEDIUM>>
A SCREENPLAY IS A STORY TOLD IN PICTURES
WIFE: Where did you go?
HUSBAND: I had a few drinks with my buddies and I forgot to give u call I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you.
W: You think I’m stupid?! I bet you were out with some cheap woman!
H: what the hell? That’s all you can think about after so long being married to me?
W: How would I know? U tend to forget things now especially me when u get busy.
H: That’s not true, I just forgot to give u call, I’m sorry.
EXERCISE B
DAD: Hi, I’m home.
MOM: Where did you go? Why didn’t you call?
DAD: I met my friends on the way back and we had a few drinks at the coffeeshop.
D: remember Omar and Fazil? I haven’t met them for ages!
M: Oh, all of us have not eaten dinner yet, thanks to you.
D: I’m sorry, maybe I was too engrossed in chatting with them till I forgot what time it was.
M: Its okay. Hurry up and bathe. The kids are starving.
Purpose of the exercise:
We write best what we know well.
STORYTELLING TOOL 1:
OBSERVATION
· Adopt a KEEN EYE
· Develop a natural SENSE OF CURUIOUSITY
· An observed event, when subject to simple questions, can set up a sequence of possibilities that will develop into a story worth telling.
· WHOM AM I WRITING ABOUT?
· WHO IS MY CHARACTER?
· WHAT IS HE/SHE/IT LIKE?
· WHAT DOES HE/SHE/IT DO?
· WHAT HAPPENS TO HIM/HER/IT IN THE STORY?
Exercise: Awareness level
- People rarely observe familiar people or things closely.
- Most people pass through the day with 20-30 awareness
MINDLESS OBSERVATION vs TRUE OBSERVATIOM
- Observe in a conscious way
- DEVELOP the ability to SEE and RECORD people:
· Their movements
· Their physical characteristics
· The setting/ places they’re in
Exercise: People-watch
1. Walk into the canteen/library, 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 ypu will create on your blog.
Lecture 3
Defining a Character
The character is the heart, soul, and nervous system of a story. It is through characters that the viewers experience emotions and are touched. Without a character, there is no action. Without action, there is no conflict. Without conflict, there is no story. Without a story, there is no screenplay.
Developing a Character
Ask yourself the following when you develop a character:
- Who is your character?
- What does he want?
- What is his quest?
- What drives him to the resolution of the story?
When establishing a main character, he should have a three-dimensional structure, consisting of physiology, sociology and psychology.
Physiology comprises of…
- Sex;
- Age;
- Height;
- Weight/Mass;
- Hair colour;
- Eye colour;
- Skin colour;
- Posture;
- Appearance;
- Defects/Abnormalities/Deformities/Birthmarks/Diseases; and
- Heredity
Sociology comprises of…
- Class (i.e. lower, middle, upper);
- Occupation: type of work, hours of work, income, condition of work, attitude towards organisation, suitability for work;
- Education: amount, kind of schools, marks, favourite subjects, poorest subjects, aptitudes;
- Home Life: parents living, earning power, orphan, parents seperated/divorce, parents’ habits, parents’ mental development, parents’ vices (bad traits), neglect, character’s marital status;
- Religion;
- Race;
- Nationality;
- Place in the Community: leader among friends, clubs, sports;
- Political Affiliations; and
- Amusements: hobbies, books, newspapers, magazines he reads
Psychology comprises of…
- 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: extrovert, introvert;
- Abilities: language, talents;
- Qualities: imagination, judgement, taste, poise;
- Intelligence quotient; and, most of all,
- What is the deep and personal secret this character has which he is desperate to protect/hide?
Separate the components of his life into two basic components.
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. The following are some questions worth asking yourself when you create a character’s interior life:
- 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?
The exterior life takes place the moment your story begins to its conclusion. It is a process that reveals character. Some questions to ask:
- Who are they and what do they do?
- Are they sad or happy with their life?
- Do they wish their life was different, or do they wish they had, say, another job or wife?
You must create your characters in relationship to other people or things.
All dramatic characters interact in three ways:
- They experience conflict in achieving their dramatic need (e.g. Need money? Rob a bank, store, person).
- They interact with other characters (either in an antagonistic, friendly or indifferent way).
- They interact with themselves (e.g. He overcame his fear of being caught by pulling off the robery successfully).
When creating characters, try to turn them upside down (e.g. A monk 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).
The Role of Conflict
Conflict is the central feature of the screenplay. It is either:
- man against man;
- man against environment; and/or
- man against self
It varies in terms of sex, age, religion and culture which provide variety to the conflict.
Conflict = Change
Change can be more or less explained in four sentences:
- Change is common to everyone.
- Change is universal.
- As universal as it may seem, 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. The definition of conflict is the opposition of persons or forces. It is the interaction of opposing ideas, interests, or wills, and creates the plot. Plots 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.
Creating Conflict
The protagonist and antagonist must be locked together with no possible compromise between them. This is done by having characters of strong conviction and purpose who will fight for what they want. The more evenly matched they are, the stronger the battle will be and the more suspense will be aroused.
