Directors often write their own scripts. Jean Cocteau, Eisenstein, Bergman, Herzog, Allen, Spike Lee, John Huston, D.W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Eric Stroheim, Orson Welles, Billy Wilder, Preston Sturges, Francis Ford Coppola, etc. to name a few. Some writers collaborate on a script (as you might be doing), while others are brought in at a later draft to "fix" a script. Other times directors or producers will take up the pen, although they are not always listed as "screenwriters"--for example Frank Capra and Alfred Hitchcock.
Some scripts are talky, while others hardly use dialogue to tell the story. Some writers use a direct narrator (usually in the form of a VO), but others include multiple perspective, telling the story from a variety of characters' points of view (POV). Usually, a story or script will include a theme and/or a message. American filmgoers usually prefer a happy ending with a lesson that "goes down smoothly" or is as unobtrusive as possible, as we generally hate to be told what to think or do, although we might not be the best at doing those things.
The mise en scene is usually up to the director, but description in script writing remains an important element. The more detailed a script, the less the director has to do in a manner of thinking.
Scripts are often modified by actors (who change lines) or directors who encourage a script to be rewritten to fit a certain movie star or actor. Certain actors are very good at certain things or portraying certain characters. Matching the right kind of actor to the right kind of part is an important job.
Good dialogue is a result of having a good ear, says your homework article. The right choice of words, the length or syntax of human speech, the diction and what characters say helps to define them and builds characterization. As character is king in contemporary writing, it is important to really nail your characters right and depict them accurately, in such a way as to make them at once unique--and also a vehicle for the viewing audience. In other words, we need to identify with characters. If they come across as too pedantic, too glorious, too infallible, or too rigid, we lose interest as we cannot always define ourselves by watching them.
As you watch films, consider who you ultimately identify with in the story. Then think "Why"? What is the screenwriter, actor/director, etc. doing to manipulate me into "liking" or "hating" this character...
Some scripts are talky, while others hardly use dialogue to tell the story. Some writers use a direct narrator (usually in the form of a VO), but others include multiple perspective, telling the story from a variety of characters' points of view (POV). Usually, a story or script will include a theme and/or a message. American filmgoers usually prefer a happy ending with a lesson that "goes down smoothly" or is as unobtrusive as possible, as we generally hate to be told what to think or do, although we might not be the best at doing those things.
The mise en scene is usually up to the director, but description in script writing remains an important element. The more detailed a script, the less the director has to do in a manner of thinking.
Scripts are often modified by actors (who change lines) or directors who encourage a script to be rewritten to fit a certain movie star or actor. Certain actors are very good at certain things or portraying certain characters. Matching the right kind of actor to the right kind of part is an important job.
Good dialogue is a result of having a good ear, says your homework article. The right choice of words, the length or syntax of human speech, the diction and what characters say helps to define them and builds characterization. As character is king in contemporary writing, it is important to really nail your characters right and depict them accurately, in such a way as to make them at once unique--and also a vehicle for the viewing audience. In other words, we need to identify with characters. If they come across as too pedantic, too glorious, too infallible, or too rigid, we lose interest as we cannot always define ourselves by watching them.
As you watch films, consider who you ultimately identify with in the story. Then think "Why"? What is the screenwriter, actor/director, etc. doing to manipulate me into "liking" or "hating" this character...
