1. Most of writing a screenplay (about 65% is done in planning and prewriting.)
2. Writing a screenplay is a succession of breakdowns: moving from the general to the specific.
3. Don't write a script for a movie you yourself wouldn't go see.
4. Remember the goal of every writer is to get an "emotional" response from your audience. Scripts that are too bland or boring or cliche, only anger an audience (and don't usually get made in the first place).
Writers think in different ways:
1. Inductively: from specific to the universal
2. Deductively: from the universal to the specific
3. Logically: How one thing causes another thing to happen
4. Non-logically: Absurdity or mere coincidence (Will's writing, for example)
5. Creatively: discovering hidden connections or relationships between two unrelated things (i.e. metaphorically)
It's okay to think in any of these ways. No one way is the right way. You, of course, can also combine these ways of thinking too.
Get ideas from:
1. Experience (personal or from those around you)
2. What you overhear (conversation)
3. News/Advertising
4. Photographs, paintings, visual art
5. Mind-mapping on a specific subject
6. Speculative brainstorming: asking: What if...?
7. Dreams and/or visualization
8. Free association
9. Adaptation (novels, short stories, poems, memoirs, etc.)
10. Intertexuality (stealing similar ideas from other sources)
After coming up with an idea, test its strength by asking:
1. Who, what, where, when, how, why?
2. Does it have "legs" - is it dramatic and interesting?
3. What's at stake for your character/protagonist?
4. Is the situation understandable or filmable?
5. Is the story too personal or vague?
Always play the devil's advocate when considering the validity of your writing/story/characters/plot, etc. What weaknesses are in your script? Try to fix them.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Screwball Comedy Script Project
Please make sure you have read the chapter on screenwriting. It gives you a plethora of information about how to write a screenplay, the format a screenplay needs to include, and advice about collaboration and getting started.
Today, alone or with your partner, write your script.
Remember:
Screwball Comedy includes:
1. Mistaken identities or misunderstandings
2. Secrets
3. Male characters cross-dressing, further contributing to the misunderstandings
4. A romantic story, usually in which the couple seem mismatched and even hostile to each other at first. (Often this mismatch comes about because the man is much further down the economic scale than the woman--but yours can include two unlikely people from different majors/teen groups/etc.
Before you write, brainstorm (alone or together) ideas for a scenario. Your film will be simplistic, in that it is meant to be a short, short film (approx. 5 pages or so).
Today, alone or with your partner, write your script.
Remember:
Screwball Comedy includes:
1. Mistaken identities or misunderstandings
2. Secrets
3. Male characters cross-dressing, further contributing to the misunderstandings
4. A romantic story, usually in which the couple seem mismatched and even hostile to each other at first. (Often this mismatch comes about because the man is much further down the economic scale than the woman--but yours can include two unlikely people from different majors/teen groups/etc.
Before you write, brainstorm (alone or together) ideas for a scenario. Your film will be simplistic, in that it is meant to be a short, short film (approx. 5 pages or so).
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Screwball Comedy
Screwball Comedy gained prominence in 1934 with It Happened One Night, and, although many film scholars would agree that its classic period ended sometime in the early 1940s, elements of the genre have persisted, or have been paid homage to, in contemporary film.
Like farce, screwball comedies often involve mistaken identities or other circumstances in which a character or characters try to keep some important fact a secret. Sometimes screwball comedies feature male characters cross-dressing, further contributing to the misunderstandings (Bringing Up Baby, I Was a Male War Bride, Some Like It Hot). They also involve a central romantic story, usually in which the couple seem mismatched and even hostile to each other at first, and "meet cute" in some way. Often this mismatch comes about because the man is much further down the economic scale than the woman (Bringing Up Baby, Holiday). The final marriage is often planned by the woman from the beginning, while the man doesn’t know at all. In Bringing Up Baby we find a rare statement on that, when the leading woman says, once speaking to someone else than to her future husband: "He’s the man I’m going to marry, he doesn’t know it, but I am"
Class issues are a strong component of screwball comedies: the upper class tend to be shown as idle and pampered, and have difficulty getting around in the real world. The most famous example is It Happened One Night; some critics believe that this portrayal of the upper class was brought about by the Great Depression, and the poor moviegoing public's desire to see the rich upper class brought down a peg. By contrast, when lower-class people attempt to pass themselves off as upper-class, they are able to do so with relative ease (The Lady Eve, My Man Godfrey).
Another common element is fast-talking, witty repartee (You Can't Take it With You, His Girl Friday). This stylistic device did not originate in the screwballs (although it may be argued to have reached its zenith there): it can also be found in many of the old Hollywood cycles including the gangster film, romantic comedies, and others.
Screwball comedies also tend to contain ridiculous, farcical situations, such as in Bringing Up Baby, in which a couple must take care of a pet leopard during much of the film. Slapstick elements are also frequently present (such as the numerous pratfalls Henry Fonda takes in The Lady Eve).
One subgenre of screwball is known as the comedy of remarriage, in which characters divorce and then remarry one another (The Awful Truth, The Philadelphia Story). Some scholars point to this frequent device as evidence of the shift in the American moral code as it showed freer attitudes about divorce (though the divorce always turns out to have been a mistake).
It Happened One Night (1934)Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert (Frank Capra director)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALmnUBqbhuo
The Thin Man (1934) Myrna Loy & William Powell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgpN1dWnqe0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG3NZjRv2nM
Cary Grant & Katherine Hepburn
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k88OCWjMWjQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dTBdhmvjrQ&feature=related
Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell
His Girl Friday (1940)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwnoOKmExww
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXS-Aucs7Co
Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, & Katherine Hepburn
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYJ9APs-iVg
Abbott & Costello (1946/1948)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sShMA85pv8M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg5N9FJc__Q&feature=PlayList&p=E050077F9A030CAE&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=15
Okay, it's not a screwball comedy, but:
Frank Capra was an important director of the 1930's. Here's one of his "best" films with Jimmy Stewart.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm9qaEJ3MBc
After watching these and examining the screwball format from your Marx Brothers' experience, write a 3-5 page film script in the style of Screwball Comedy or romantic comedy (your option).
Like farce, screwball comedies often involve mistaken identities or other circumstances in which a character or characters try to keep some important fact a secret. Sometimes screwball comedies feature male characters cross-dressing, further contributing to the misunderstandings (Bringing Up Baby, I Was a Male War Bride, Some Like It Hot). They also involve a central romantic story, usually in which the couple seem mismatched and even hostile to each other at first, and "meet cute" in some way. Often this mismatch comes about because the man is much further down the economic scale than the woman (Bringing Up Baby, Holiday). The final marriage is often planned by the woman from the beginning, while the man doesn’t know at all. In Bringing Up Baby we find a rare statement on that, when the leading woman says, once speaking to someone else than to her future husband: "He’s the man I’m going to marry, he doesn’t know it, but I am"
Class issues are a strong component of screwball comedies: the upper class tend to be shown as idle and pampered, and have difficulty getting around in the real world. The most famous example is It Happened One Night; some critics believe that this portrayal of the upper class was brought about by the Great Depression, and the poor moviegoing public's desire to see the rich upper class brought down a peg. By contrast, when lower-class people attempt to pass themselves off as upper-class, they are able to do so with relative ease (The Lady Eve, My Man Godfrey).
Another common element is fast-talking, witty repartee (You Can't Take it With You, His Girl Friday). This stylistic device did not originate in the screwballs (although it may be argued to have reached its zenith there): it can also be found in many of the old Hollywood cycles including the gangster film, romantic comedies, and others.
Screwball comedies also tend to contain ridiculous, farcical situations, such as in Bringing Up Baby, in which a couple must take care of a pet leopard during much of the film. Slapstick elements are also frequently present (such as the numerous pratfalls Henry Fonda takes in The Lady Eve).
One subgenre of screwball is known as the comedy of remarriage, in which characters divorce and then remarry one another (The Awful Truth, The Philadelphia Story). Some scholars point to this frequent device as evidence of the shift in the American moral code as it showed freer attitudes about divorce (though the divorce always turns out to have been a mistake).
It Happened One Night (1934)Clark Gable & Claudette Colbert (Frank Capra director)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALmnUBqbhuo
The Thin Man (1934) Myrna Loy & William Powell
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgpN1dWnqe0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PG3NZjRv2nM
Cary Grant & Katherine Hepburn
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k88OCWjMWjQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dTBdhmvjrQ&feature=related
Cary Grant & Rosalind Russell
His Girl Friday (1940)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwnoOKmExww
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXS-Aucs7Co
Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, & Katherine Hepburn
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYJ9APs-iVg
Abbott & Costello (1946/1948)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sShMA85pv8M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg5N9FJc__Q&feature=PlayList&p=E050077F9A030CAE&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=15
Okay, it's not a screwball comedy, but:
Frank Capra was an important director of the 1930's. Here's one of his "best" films with Jimmy Stewart.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm9qaEJ3MBc
After watching these and examining the screwball format from your Marx Brothers' experience, write a 3-5 page film script in the style of Screwball Comedy or romantic comedy (your option).
Monday, March 30, 2009
Color Film
Color tends to be a subconscious element in film. It has an emotional appeal which often suggests mood of the film or characters in it.
The first Technicolor film was THE GULF BETWEEN (U.S., 1917), a five-reeler made by Technicolor Motion Picture Corp. in Florida mainly for trade showings in eastern cities, to create interest in color movies among producers and exhibitors. It did not receive nationwide distribution. A lost film today, only a few frames survive.
The first Technicolor feature made in Hollywood, and the first to receive nationwide distribution, was the costume drama THE TOLL OF THE SEA (1922).
Another silent movie filmed entirely in Technicolor was the swashbuckler THE BLACK PIRATE (U.S., 1926), produced by and starring Douglas Fairbanks.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) BEN-HUR (1925) KING OF KINGS (1926)used color as a gimmick or in parts.
The first all-talking Technicolor feature was the Warner Bros. musical ON WITH THE SHOW (1929).
All of the color films up to this point were two-color processes, which could capture only two of the three primary colors of light.
In 1932, Technicolor perfected a three-color motion picture process (also known as three-strip Technicolor, because three negatives were employed in the camera, one for each primary color of light -- red, green, and blue).
It was introduced with the Walt Disney cartoon FLOWERS AND TREES (1932), which won the first Academy Award for Animation. Walt Disney kept a monopoly on 3-color technicolor from 1932-1935.
The first feature-length movie in three-strip Technicolor was the costume comedy-drama BECKY SHARP (U.S., 1935)
Technicolor used a three color system: red, blue, green (these colors therefore are most vivid)
Early color was used as an expression (expressionism) of the director’s or cinematographer’s story, and so early films with color tend to be ones that are formalistic, artificial, or exotic. Color was often not used for “realistic” movies.
Warm colors: red, yellow, orange (brown)
Cool colors: Blue, green, violet (white)
Please copy these addresses into your address bar and watch from Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUIWbyCGqRI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCfq-aHB3r8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-P_Ira6kgE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEaW0NX7rvc
The first Technicolor film was THE GULF BETWEEN (U.S., 1917), a five-reeler made by Technicolor Motion Picture Corp. in Florida mainly for trade showings in eastern cities, to create interest in color movies among producers and exhibitors. It did not receive nationwide distribution. A lost film today, only a few frames survive.
The first Technicolor feature made in Hollywood, and the first to receive nationwide distribution, was the costume drama THE TOLL OF THE SEA (1922).
Another silent movie filmed entirely in Technicolor was the swashbuckler THE BLACK PIRATE (U.S., 1926), produced by and starring Douglas Fairbanks.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923) THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) BEN-HUR (1925) KING OF KINGS (1926)used color as a gimmick or in parts.
The first all-talking Technicolor feature was the Warner Bros. musical ON WITH THE SHOW (1929).
All of the color films up to this point were two-color processes, which could capture only two of the three primary colors of light.
In 1932, Technicolor perfected a three-color motion picture process (also known as three-strip Technicolor, because three negatives were employed in the camera, one for each primary color of light -- red, green, and blue).
It was introduced with the Walt Disney cartoon FLOWERS AND TREES (1932), which won the first Academy Award for Animation. Walt Disney kept a monopoly on 3-color technicolor from 1932-1935.
The first feature-length movie in three-strip Technicolor was the costume comedy-drama BECKY SHARP (U.S., 1935)
Technicolor used a three color system: red, blue, green (these colors therefore are most vivid)
Early color was used as an expression (expressionism) of the director’s or cinematographer’s story, and so early films with color tend to be ones that are formalistic, artificial, or exotic. Color was often not used for “realistic” movies.
Warm colors: red, yellow, orange (brown)
Cool colors: Blue, green, violet (white)
Please copy these addresses into your address bar and watch from Youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUIWbyCGqRI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCfq-aHB3r8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-P_Ira6kgE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEaW0NX7rvc
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Marx Brothers
After turning in your homework, come view "A Night at the Opera" by the Marx Brothers, directed by Sam Wood (screenplay by George S. Kaufman...famous american playwright in comedy, particularly known for his play: 'You Can't Take it With You.'
Please read (as much as you can) of the script Duck Soup. As you read pay attention to the film script format and apply some of the important details from your homework to the script. The link is to your left, under the link page. Enjoy.
Please read (as much as you can) of the script Duck Soup. As you read pay attention to the film script format and apply some of the important details from your homework to the script. The link is to your left, under the link page. Enjoy.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
The Skill of Editing
Just for fun, take a look at the following 2 clips on Youtube.com. This is an excellent example how editing and music can alter tone in film. Enjoy! (to view, copy and paste these addresses in google.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os6raCCmAFk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T5_0AGdFic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os6raCCmAFk&feature=related
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Golden Age of Film
Please complete the note handout about film in the 1930's. You will find this information on Tim Dirks' film website under FILM HISTORY: FILMs by DECADE. Select the 1930's. Due next class.
On Youtube (particularly if you were not in class Tuesday), please view the following clips/films:
James Whale's Frankenstein (1931) starring Colin Clive & Boris Karloff (as the monster)
Tod Browning's Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi.
Merian Cooper's King Kong (1933), starring Fay Wrey, Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot.
Karl Freund's The Mummy (1932), starring Boris Karloff.
Please complete the reading article on Screenwriting by Ray Frensham. Begin to gather ideas for your own film script.
On Youtube (particularly if you were not in class Tuesday), please view the following clips/films:
James Whale's Frankenstein (1931) starring Colin Clive & Boris Karloff (as the monster)
Tod Browning's Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi.
Merian Cooper's King Kong (1933), starring Fay Wrey, Robert Armstrong and Bruce Cabot.
Karl Freund's The Mummy (1932), starring Boris Karloff.
Please complete the reading article on Screenwriting by Ray Frensham. Begin to gather ideas for your own film script.
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