"I like putting stories together, I like taking other people's stories apart"

Horror is a very specific genre. It relies not so much on dialogue, as on building the atmosphere of dread with clever editing and planting/pay-off technique. Of course this has to be established in the script first. (Remember the corridor scene from The Shining?)

Watch the TV film below and see if you can find out how the viewer is being manipulated.

Pay attention to movement and camera angles , cuts between scenes, editing, and planting certain ideas quite early on.

Tips from TROPFEST winner

I think they apply not only to directing but also writing.

ADAPTING EXISTING MATERIAL

Picking a favorite script to retype is one of exercises recommended to young writers who are serious about learning their craft. It helps to understand the structure and gives practice in describing action in lean paragraphs and writing authentic, snappy dialogue.

Another technique, which is slightly more demanding, is adapting a short story and turning it into a script. The writer can use some of existing action and dialogue but has to fill in the blanks with the rest. The key is to match the tone and blend existing and new scenes seamlessly.

But the most creative approach is to adapt a story by PUTTING A SPIN ON IT. That approach will inevitably result in the change in characters' motivation, their mutual relationship, alteration of the plot, and different feel to the dialogue.


Below are few examples (taken from different media):

1. RARE EXPORTS INC. (short film)




2. LEGENDS: THE ENCHANTED (graphic novel)




3. HOODWINKED! (feature film)





... and a Christmas BONUS ;-)

Writing session 1 - start with the basics

Elaborate stories with multiple characters are really difficult to execute. But "more" doesn't always mean "better". Sometimes it's the "little" that counts.

Below you have three TROPFEST shorts. Each of them may serve as an illustration of what "little" you may employ to arrive at a very satisfying result.



1. HIGH CONCEPT (or changing ONE rule in the exisiting universe)

An Imaginary Life (concept: "imaginary friends are real")




2. SINGLE CHARACTER

The Story of Bubble Boy (focus on one character only, quirks, full character arc)




3. PLANTING & PAY-OFFS (implementing a twist into a very simple story)

The Lighter (single character, single location, simple action + a twist)

CHARACTER ARCHETYPES

I. CHARACTER ARCHETYPES

An archetype is a model of a person or personality. Generally, it's possible to assess the characters in a screenplay and 'assign' an archetype to them. There are literally hundreds of archetypes in stories and literature, but five primary character archetypes appear in most movies:

- Protagonist

* Anti-Hero

- Nemesis (antagonist)

* Shadow
* Threshold Guardian

- Attractor (romance)

- Mentor (wisdom)

* Herald
* Oracle

- Trickster

* Shapeshifter
* Comic relief

They are natural extensions from a story's central character - the Protagonist:

* Who is the story's Protagonist?
The first, most basic question of any story.

* What does the Protagonist want?
This is the Protagonist's External World goal and is tied to the plot's end point.

* What does the Protagonist need?
This is the Protagonist's Internal World goal and is tied to their transformation end point.

* Who is trying to keep the Protagonist from their goal?
This is the story's Nemesis who functions in opposition to the Protagonist.

* Who is connected to the Protagonist's emotional growth?
This is the story's Attractor who functions in connection with the Protagonist's 'heart.'

* Who is connected to the Protagonist's intellectual growth?
This is the story's Mentor who functions in connection with the Protagonist's 'head.'

* Who tests the Protagonist to deepen the Protagonists 'heart' and 'heart' transformation?
This is the story's Trickster who functions sometimes as Protagonist's ally, sometimes as his/her enemy.

These five are the primary character archetypes, present in most movies, and they function as integral parts, both in the plot and in the Protagonist's psychological journey, what can be called the 'transformation arc.'

(From Zimbio)


1) Jack Sparrow



2) Gandalf

3) Trinity



4) The Joker

5) Andy Dufresne




* Jessica Rabbit



** Hannibal Lecter


The Silence of the lambs deleted scenes - part 1 of 3
Załadowane przez: at79. - Zobacz więcej filmów i wideo



II. THE HERO'S JOURNEY (Joseph Campbell's model, taken from Go Into The Story)























Star Wars: A New Hope / Martix - break-up:

I: Departure
The call to adventure	Princess Leia's message	"Follow the white rabbit"
Refusal of the call	Must help with the harvest	Neo won't climb out window
Supernatural aid	Obi-wan rescues Luke from sandpeople	Trinity extracts the "bug" from Neo
Crossing the first threshold	Escaping Tatooine	Neo is taken out of the Matrix for the first time
The belly of the whale	Trash compactor	Torture room
II: Initiation
The road of trials	Lightsaber practice	Sparring with Morpheus
The meeting with the goddess	Princess Leia (wears white, in earlier scripts was a "sister" of a mystic order)	The Oracle
Temptation away from the true path1	Luke is tempted by the Dark Side	Cypher (the failed messiah) is tempted by the world of comfortable illusions
Atonement with the Father	Darth and Luke reconcile	Neo rescues and comes to agree (that he's The One) with his father-figure, Morpheus
Apotheosis (becoming god-like)	Luke becomes a Jedi	Neo becomes The One
The ultimate boon	Death Star destroyed	Humanity's salvation now within reach
III: Return
Refusal of the return	"Luke, come on!" Luke wants to stay to avenge Obi-Wan	Neo fights agent instead of running
The magic flight	Millennium Falcon	"Jacking in"
Rescue from without	Han saves Luke from Darth	Trinity saves Neo from agents
Crossing the return threshold	Millennium Falcon destroys pursuing TIE fighters	Neo fights Agent Smith
Master of the two worlds	Victory ceremony	Neo's declares victory over machines in final phone call
Freedom to live	Rebellion is victorious over Empire	Humans are victorious over machines
Common Mythic Elements
Two Worlds (mundane and special)	Planetside vs. The Death Star	Reality vs. The Matrix
The Mentor	Obi-Wan Kenobi	Morpheus
The Oracle	Yoda	The Oracle
The Prophecy	Luke will overthrow the Emperor	Morpheus will find (and Trinity will fall for) "The One"
Failed Hero	Biggs	In an early version of the script, Morpheus once believed that Cypher was "The One"
Wearing Enemy's Skin	Luke and Han wear stormtrooper outfits	Neo jumps into agent's skin
Shapeshifter (the Hero isn't sure if he can trust this character)	Han Solo	Cypher
Animal familiar	R2-D2, Chewbacca	N/A
Chasing a lone animal into the enchanted wood (the animal usually gets away)	Luke follows R2 into the Jundland Wastes; The Millennium Falcon follows a lone TIE fighter into range of the Death Star	Neo "follows the white rabbit" to the nightclub where he meets Trinity