Notes
Week 1
Introduction
how storytelling fits into the “big picture” of fms?
Writing format
- present tense
- 3rd person
- visual voice
3rd person/Present tense
a character is “narrating” the story as it is happening.
Commonly used in:
• screenplays
- the story/film is unfolding as we read it.
- foster a more urgent and immediate feel to the story.
• thriller & suspense genres
Passive vs. Active voice
Passive:
- uses weak verbs
- tells what’s happening in the character’s head.
- distances the reader from the story
Active:
- uses strong action verbs
- shows the actiom
- uses an immediate sentence structure
- conveys the story in a lively manner
the sky was blue with a lot of fluffy clouds - passive voice
fluffy white clouds drift like cotton in the ocean blue sky – active voice
mark was angry with jane for tricking him into helping her – passive voice
mark slams the door and stalks across the chamber. he shouts, “bitch!” – active voice
Tips for writing
- if you have a work in progress, NEVER stop for the night if you are stuck.
- always slove 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 you can’t get started on a project, start writing anyway. to do this, you need to have some words to type.
- it doesn’t matter what you write, you’ll soon begin to think and move in your own rhythm/pace.
Exercise 1A: Openers
Write with this opener:
Li walks into bukit timah police post wearing nothing but a hula skirt. He attracts a lot of attention from the people in the police post. One of the old woman in the police post screams and cover her eyes, and laugh out in a weird voice. A police officer walks towards Li and lend him a jacket to cover his body. While trying to wear the jacket, a young girl, around 16 years old, walks into the police post and see Li half naked. She thinks he is a flasher, so runs towards him and gave him a kick at the ‘most important part’. Li screams at a high pitch while another lady officer came to calm the young girl down. The young girl tremble with fear while Li trembles with pain and fell to the ground. The owner of the jacket quickly run towards Li and help him up. His face is as white as sheet, so the police officer help Li to put on the jacket. Then, they ask the young girl and Li to sit down for the interrogation.
Note down questions you were asking yourself as you wrote it.
- whose story am i telling?
- what is the point of the story?
- how can i engage the attention of the audience?
Exercise 1B: Openers
Write 12 opening phrases in your blogs under the openers page.
examples:
- sally keeps glancing at her watch…
- Joe opens the bottle and takes a whiff …
- May closes her eyes and jumps off …
- James paces around the empty hallway …
- Mel opens the envelope. Her hand shakes …
Week 2
Jimmy tries to hold his breath for what seems like ages under the swirling tide. Everything happens so fast, just in a blink of eye. It was suppose to be a birthday party for Mary on the yatch. But, happiness soon turn to a nightmare for Mary who is suppose to be celebrating her 18th birthday. Jimmy is an introvert guy who has a crush on Mary. Mary is the most popular girl in class and always have guys
The Role of Conflict
• Conflict is the central feature of the screenplay
- man against man
- man against environment
- man against self
• It’s variations of sex, age, religion and culture which provide variety to the Conflict.
Conflict = Change
- change is common to everyone
- change is universal!
- bodies change
- seasons change
- lives change
- relationships change
- feelings change
- locations change
- technologies change
• As universal as change may be, 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
- Definition
- (Opposition of persons or forces)
- It is the interaction of opposing ideas, interests, or wills, and creates the plot
- Plot cannot be constructed without coflict
- 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 the antagonist approach their goals and the conflict rises to generate maximum suspense and excitement
The call home
• Man vs Man
- Kasi vs Supervisor
- Kasi vs Roomates
- Kasi vs Wife
• Man vs Environment
- Phonecard
- Kasi vs Singapore
• Man vs Himself
- Self-Esteem Problems
Main Conflict: Man vs Environment.
The Secret Heaven
• Man vs Man
- Mom vs Daughter
- Teacher vs Daughter
• Man vs Environment
- Daughter vs Piano
- Daughter vs Home
• Man vs Himself
- Play time vs Piano time
Main Conflict: Man vs Himself, Man vs Environment.
Writing for an Audience
• Screenwriter = Storyteller
- The cinematic experience is not just made up of words you might put on paper, but the audiences’s emotional reaction to that information.
• Director to People?
• Writer to People?
• Camera to People?
• It’s People to People!
What is the writer’s purpose?
- To connect:
- Themselves
- Their unique vision
- The material
- The drama
- Others
Audiences want to transported by a screenplay.
Where do you look for story?
Inside yourself.
Everything to learn about other people is already in you.
Now you need to figure out how to connect to it.
Assignments
- Reflection
- 5 Stories of exactly 50 words each, posted to your blog.
Week 3
Review exercise 2: 50 words stories
- Difficulties: what were they?
- Restraints: did they help?
do constraints help you become a better writer?
Aristotle
- You are to answer the questions on the handouts
- As a group, prepare a powerpoint or keynote presentation
Storytelling tool 1: Observation
- Observe in a concious way
- Develop the ability to see and record movements, physical characteristic and settings
- Adopt a KEEN EYE
- Develop a natural SENSE OF CURIOSITY
- 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
- 2 Students
- Back-to-back
- Describe each other ACCURATELY
• 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 MOVEMENTS
• Their PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTIC
• 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 you will create on your blog.
Week 4
Review Exercise 2: People-Watch
1. Take out a phone book.
2. Point to a name at random.
3. Continue looking for an address.
4. Attach the name and address to People-Watch character on your blog.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 with your other character.
6. Now ask yourself:
“What would character A do to provoke character B to do an extreme action?”
Before Tan Lui went to the coffeeshop down her house, she had received a call from her boss telling that she doesn’t have to go to work anymore. She had been fired! She left her house with a bad mood and ordered a Kopi-O from Lee Ying. It was morning, so the coffeeshop was packed with people. Thus, Lee Ying couldn’t really get what Tan Lui wanted and she replied with a “har?” Tan Liu shouted, “Kopi-O!”. But, it was too noisy in the coffeeshop. So, Lee Ying asked again. But, Tan Liu was having a bad mood that day. So, she shouted back “Kopi-O!!!” And Lee Ying went to the counter and….
Purpose of this exercise
The world is full of potential stories!
Definition of Tragedy
It is an imitation of an action (mimesis) that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament; in the form of action not narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, where with to accomplish its kartharisis of such emotions.
6 parts of tragedy:
- plot (arrangement, action plans)
- characters (engage the audience with the people)
- thought
- diction (acting)
- melody (music)
- spectacle (visual effects, lightings)
According to Aristotle, tragedy…
- creates a cause-and-effect chain that clearly reveal what may happen
- arouses not only pity but also fear, because members of the audience can imagine themselves within the cause-and-effect chain.
PLOT is the most important feautre of the tragedy.
What is a plot?
- Plot is the arrangement of incidents
- It is not the story itself, but the way the incidents are presented to the audience
- The structure of the play
BEGINNING
- The incitive moment
- It must start the cause and effect chain.
MIDDLE
- Climax
- It must be caused by earlier incidents and itself cause the incidents that follow it.
END
- Resolution
- Must be caused by the preceding events but not lead to other incidents
- The end should resolve the problem created during the incitive moment.
EPISODIC POLTS
- According to Aristotle, the worst kinds of plots.
- The acts (episodes) succeed one another without probability or necessity
- The only thing tying together the events in such plot is the fact that they happen to the same person.
Simple vs. Complex Plots
- Simple has only a “change of fortune”.
- Complex has a reversal of intention “peripetia” and recognition “anagnorisis” connected with the catstrophe
Character
- Character supports plot
- Personal motivations are connected to the cause-and-effect chain
- The protagonist in a tragedy should be renowned and prosperous, so his change can be from good to bad.
- In the ideal tragedy, the protagonist will mistakenly bring about his own downfall–not because he is sinful or weak–but because he does not know enough.
- This lack of self-knowledge is called “hamartia”
Important Vocabulary
- katharsis (cleansing)
- mimesis (imitation of life)
- anagnorisis (sudden realisation of something)
- perepeteia (change of fortune)
- hamartia (lack of self-knowledge)
3 act structure
Advantage of working in three act structure is it breaks down the story and makes it more manageable.
1st act: set up
- story begins with a goal-oriented character introduced at a point of crisis
- the character meets roadblocks produced by the plot and antagonist
2nd act: confrontation
- action intensifies
- an event happens which forces the character to make his or her choice
3rd act: resolution
- level of effort rises to new heights
- both plot and character is resolved
- but the main character either achieves or does not achieve his goal.
Assignments
- Reflection
- 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.
- Incorporate principles of tragedy into your writing~
– That doesn’t mean that something bad happens and the story ends. It means something bad happens as a result of a flaw in your character, and you show how this tragic fall forces your character to learn something about herself or himself.
Week 5
Assignments
- Reflection
- Letter to the past:
- Select a person that meant something to you in your past, but who 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 in the past, and how your time spent together has made you a different person now than you were before.
Week 6
Review Exercise: Letter To The Past
- PURPOSE OF THE EXERCISE
• The letter is a practical, personal example of how a character – YOU – undergo an inevitable
• In dramatic writing, the very essence is character change.
Storytelling Tool 2: Experience
1) Observation
2) Experience
3) Memory
- 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.
TIP:
- If you don’t know what to do with a character, make him yourself for a while.
- See how he relates to the world he has been thrown into.
• PLUNDER YOUR OWN PERSONAL BACKGROUND!
The things that happen to you as you grow up and the things that are currently happening to you make terrific story sources.
- 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
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
TIP:
- WRITE what you do not know because you will find some part of you that does know.
- THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR PERSONAL DISCOVERY!
- What is the difference between memory and experience?
• Memory can be selective. It can be make up by yourself. Experience is what you have gone through.
- How do we use memory to build creative content?
FILM SCREENING
Les Mistons (1957)
Dir: Francois Truffaut
“A virginal heartbeat has its own juvenile logic.”
Exercise: True & False Stories
- Write 2 short stories
- One is completely TRUE
- One is completely FALSE
Only the author knows which is True and which is False!
Assignments
- Reflection
- True and False stories
- Post these on your blogs under a page called True or False
- Go into redpants.wordpress.com and choose the 3 classmates below you on the blogroll and say which of their stories is true, which you think is false.
Week 7
Review Exercise: True & False Stories
- PURPOSE OF THE EXERCISE
• A true story is not necessarily a good story
Good stories have to be worked and re-worked.
• True life 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.
Characterization: Defining The Character
- Every story starts with a character
The character is..
the heart, the soul, and nervous system of your story.
It is through your characters that the viewers experience emotions.
It is through your characters that they are touched.
<WITHOUT A CHARACTER, THERE IS NO ACTION>
<WITHOUT ACTION, YOU HAVE NO CONFILCT>
<WITHOUT CONFLICT, YOU HAVE NO STORY>
<WITHOUT STORY, YOU HAVE NO SCREENPLAY>
Developing Character
• WHEN DEVELOPING A CHARACTER, ASK YOURSELF:
- Who is your character?
- What does he want
- What is his quest?
- What drives him to the resolution of the story?
1. ESTABLISH YOUR MAIN CHARACTER.
Character should have 3 Dimensional Structure.
a) Physiology – physical makeup
b) Sociology - social makeup, ie. background
c) Psychology - how he/she thinks
a) PHYSIOLOGY
- Sex
- Age
- Height, Weight
- Colour of hair, eyes, skin
- Posture
- Appearance
- Defects, abnormalities, deformities, birth marks, disease
- Heredity
b) SOCIOLOGY
- Class (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 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
- Sex Life, Moral Standards
- Personal Premise, Ambition
- Frustation, Chief Disappointments
- Temperament: choleric, easy-going, pessimistic, optimistic
- Attitude Towards Life: resign, militant, defeatist
- Complexes: obsesions, inhibitions, superstitions, phobias
- Personality: extrovert, introvert
- Abilities: language, talents
- Qualities: imagination, judgement, taste, poise
- I.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
b) Exterior
- Interior
The interior life takes place from birth until the moment your story begins.
It is a process that forms character. [when you starts formulating your character from birth, you see your character build in body and form]
- How old is he when the story begin?
- 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 singles, widowed, separated, divorced?
- Exterior
The exterior life takes place the moment your story begins.
It is a process that reveals character.
- Who they are and what do they do?
- Are they sad or happy with their life?
- Do they wish their life was different? Another job, another wife?
FILMS
TAXI DRIVER
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Written by: Paul Schrader
USA, 1976
TRAVIS BICKLE
- 26
- education: here, there
- goes to porno theaters
- workaholic
- insomnia
- anti-social
- prejudiced
- potentially psycho
- marines
- indifferent, numb
“One day, a real rain will come and wash the scum off the streets”
• YOU MUST CREATE YOUR CHARACTERS IN RELATIONSHIP TO OTHE PEOPLE OR THINGS
ALL DRAMATIC CHARACTERS INTERACT IN 3 WAYS”
1) They EXPERIENCE CONFLICT in achieving their dramatic need.
[eg, Need momey - Rob a 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
REVIEW
- 3 storytelling tools
- memory
- observation
- experience
- Arostotle’s storytelling techniques
- Cause & Effect
- Reversal of fortune
- Why is an episodic bad?
- 6 parts of tragedy.
- 3 act structure
3rd person present tense.
I picked up a stone and throws it at the cat.
He picks up the stone and throws it at the cat
- Developing 3 dimensional characters
- Writing for an audience
Week 8
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, 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 COMMUNICATES FACES AND INFORMATION TO THE AUDIENCE
- it conveys essential esposition
- 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!!!
<<DIALOGUE IS NO SUBSTITUE FOR ACTION>>
In Hollywoord when they look at a page and it’s got too much black, too much ink on the paper, they say:
“SHIT! IT’S FREEZE THE CAMERA TIME!!!”
- COMMON MISTAKE
- student 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:
“It’s how the character speaks.”
When giving characters a voice, think about:
- age
- gender
- educaional qualifications
- races
- …
- 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 and 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.
- 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 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.
Man: Dear, I’m back… (drowsy and scratching head)
Woman: (sit infront of the tv, keeping quiet)
Man: Dear, I said, I’m back!
Woman: (continue to keep quiet)
Man: Dear…
Women: Where have you been? (angry tone)
Man: I…
Women: (walk towards the man and realise that he had the smell of liquor)
Woman: What?! You went to drink?!
Man: I just saw some of my friends when I’m on the way home. So…
Woman: (interupted) So you went have a drink with them and totally forget about me?!
Man: Sorry dear. My phone ran out of battery…
Woman: Oh? Ran out of battery? Why can’t you just go to the public phone and call me?
Man: I…
Women: Speechless?! You’ll sleep in the living room tonight!
Women: (Went back to her room, slam the door and lock it.)
Exercise: Writing Dialogue
ROLE-PLAY:
- 2 students to play the roles from the 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.)
Week 11
Review Exercise 3: Dialogue
- PURPOSE OF THE EXERCISE
• WE WRITE BEST WHAT WE KNOW WELL
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.
- Talking about how one feels is not as powerful as illustrating why one feels the way they do through action.
<<FILM IS BEHAVIOUR>>
- Action is the manifestation of behaviour.
Manifestation – Action takes the form of behaviour.
- The complexity of the 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 experience of the audience by heightening the stakes and increasing the tension.
MOVING PICTURES
THE POWER OF THE ANY STORY LIES IN THE NARRATOR’S ABILITY TO PROJECT A MENTAL PICTURE FOR THE AUDIENCE.
EXERCISE: Translating emotional responses into actions.
- PURPOSE OF THE EXERCISE
• Addresses the problem many newbies have to screenwriting:
How to convey visually any sense of inner conflict of emotion.
FILMS
STEVE PAVOLSKY’S
“INJA” (Australia, 2001)
17 minutes
“The dog has to learn.”
STORY ASSIGNMENT
- Write a 1st draft of an original 1-2 page story. (Note: Give your story a title)
- Write it in 3rd preson narrative/present tense
- Use 12pt courier/single space
- No less than 1 page and no more than 2 page
- Besides writing your Name, Student Number and Tutorial Group, also label your story as “1st draft”.
- Due Week 12 (next week!!!) at Tutorial
- *Remember Film is a visual/aural medium*
- “SHOW” VERSUS “TELLING”
Week 12
Location
- Setting
- Shooting place
What is a location?
- A physical place
- The place in your story where events occur and characters interact
Interactive Location
- a setting and surrounding that interacts with the characters of the film by adding importance to their actions
- an environment which impacts the action and heightens the stakes
- Location: Jurassic Park is a 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.
“The Heisenberg Principle”
Written and Directed by Chris Jones
Australia, 8:00
Interactive Location in “Heisenberg”
- Desert (give the feeling of being trapped)
• Isolation – think, think, think
The Godfather, Part II
- Written by Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo
- Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
- USA, 3:20:00
Start of the scene to leaving the cafe
VC – Vito is calm, slient ; F – arrogant
IL – Cafe (separates them)
DA – The slap/pinch ; The offer ; Fanucci is higher rank, Vito lower rank
The Festa
VC – F among people (blatant), V not. (cautious)
IL – Rooftop – separation ; (cover) stalk
DA – Planting the weapon
The Killing
VC – Vito is powerful, F not
IL – Dark (bulb), nobody, fireworks
DA – Killing
Vito leaving the scene of the crime and rejoining his family
VC – V more powerful, F less powerful
IL – Hides weapon
DA – Rejoining his family
