If the script doesn't work, even best actors won't help ;-)

List of all written assignments in II semester

Everything I needed from you this semester to give you signature for the course:

1. Tick Tock homework (character defining moment + "casting game")

2. Dialogue - part 1
- examples of real life dialogue you have overheard (in any language, focus on informal language)
- examples of "manipulative" dialogue (speakers not saying what they really think or speakers manipulating their listeners - either overheard real life conversations or dialogue you remember from favourite films/TV shows)

3. Dialogue - part 2
- Polish subtitles for the scene from Red Dwarf

4. Dialogue - part 3
Short review of Polish subtitles from your favourite film - are they done according to the rules, how many lines are displayed on screen at a time, length of lines, font, size, omission of unnecessary expressions etc. (special attention to songs)

5. Storyboard for the first two scenes in The Bridge (+ active participation in discussion on the script next Thursday)



If someone is late with one of these I need to get a PRINTED copy on Tuesday morning the latest!

*

Sequence approach and some final tips

3:30 minute mark up to 4:30

STORYBOARDING - where writing meets filming

We have done all planned work on dialogue so for the remaining part of the course we are going to concentrate on differenf ways of finessing your script.


As you have probably noticed writing action description is way easier than writing good, natural dialogue. But there are still some tricks that can be applied to make your writing leaner, and your narrative brisk and alive.


One of them is drawing storyboards either before describing the scene, or after - before editing it down during a rewrite.

Think of it as if you were drawing a comic. Not all elements of the action are necessary to be shown. Because the artist is restricted by a limited number of panels per page, he needs to show only the key moments - the ones which are absolutely vital for the purpose of storytelling.


Have a look at the panels below and notice which elements are highlighted.

Sequence 1 (even without dialogue you have a pretty good idea what is going on)







(Artist: Greg Tocchini)

Sequence 2 (relying on reader's background knowledge - loading bar on a computer)



(Artist: Greg Tocchini)


The same principle applies to action description. In our class tomorrow we'll be drawing storyboards for a sequence from an unproduced script The Bridge (pages 1-2).

folder: screenplays
password: tick tock

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Dubbing - how to do it?

Promised link to a short article on dubbing (and the role of a screenwriter).

"Translator, Adapter, Screenwriter: Translating for the audiovisual"

Pay attention especially to chapters: "phonetic synchronism" and "dramatic synchronism".





And here you can read about the most awkward job in the world of translation ;-)


Because I we will not have classes on Thursday (Open Days)
I would like to ask for your help on Wednesday afternoon.

Between 1 - 3 pm I'll be in rooms 207, 209 and 210. I need help with moving tables, putting up posters, preparing equipment etc. Nothing too difficult and it won't take you too much time.

Thanks in advance! :-)

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Subtitles - songs and word play

We'll be working on some passages from Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)














script link

*

Subtitles

Red Dwarf - episode: Meltdown

Watch the episode first, please. :-)








I would like you to translate and prepare subtitles for the passage marked in yellow:

PLEASE REMEMBER ABOUT THE RULES: NUMBER OF LINES OF TEXT, NUMBER OF CHARACTERS PER LINE, SIMPLIFICATION, ELIMINATION OF SOME PRONOUNS/REDUNDANCIES etc.

See previous note for details.
===========================================
11 Int. Prison Cell.

LISTER and CAT are in a prison cell with bars on the window, one bed and
a large metal cabinet in the corner.

CAT: What do you think these guys are gonna do to us?
LISTER: What ever it takes to find out about the paddle.
CAT: Hey, if you mean torture, then say the word torture -- I can take
it!
LISTER: OK, then, they'll torture us.
CAT: Waaaaah! Torture us! Waaaaaah!
LISTER: Probably won't, man. They're probably not even interested in the
paddle. They'll probably just take us outside and execute us.
CAT: You're just saying that to make me feel better. It's just those
guys are fiends. They instantly know your weak spots. As soon as they
see me they only have to force me into platform shoes and flared
trousers and I'll sing like Tweety Pie.
LISTER: Dunno what the smeg went wrong. Kryten never said anything about
the paddle taking us back in time. Just supposed to transport us to
the nearest planet with a breathable atmosphere. How the smeg did we
wind up in the middle of the Third Reich?
CAT: What are those guys doing out there?.
LISTER: Building something.
CAT: What?
LISTER: Oh nothing, nothing. Just a sculpture, you know, a modern art
job. The kind you get in shopping malls.
CAT: What's it made of?
LISTER: Wood. It's a sort of inverted L shape in wood.
CAT: Does it have a kind of rope motif?.
LISTER: There's a sort of noose theme to it, yeah.
CAT: Its gallows, right? Look, if it's gallows, say it's gallows -- I
can take it.
LISTER: OK, it's gallows.
CAT: Waaaaah! They're building a gallows! They're hanging us! Waaaaah!
LISTER: Look man, don't panic. We're gonna escape.
CAT: How?
LISTER: Just... hijack the guards when they come in, nick their uniforms
and stroll out.
CAT: Are you insane? Do you seriously expect me to wear grey out of
season? I'd rather hang.
LISTER: Hang on, hang on. Something's happening. Some kind of parade or
drill but...
CAT: But what?
LISTER: Hang on. These guys aren't Nazis -- they're all wearing
different period costumes. There's one looks like Al Capone, there's
another like Mussolini, Richard III, Napoleon. Smeg, it's like all the
worst people in history have been brought together in one place. Oh my
God, there's James Last! I recognize him from Rimmer's record
collection.
CAT: What are they doing?.
LISTER: Well, just lining up in ... in some kind of firing squad. Woah
Woah! Hang on, hang on. Someone's being brought out, they're tying
him to a stake. It's Winnie the Pooh.
CAT: What?
LISTER: Winnie the Pooh, I swear! He's refusing the blindfold.
CAT: They're tying Winnie the Pooh to a stake?

Sound fx of gun shots.

LISTER: That's something no one should ever have to see.

Door opens and LINCOLN is thrown in the room.

LINCOLN: My God, sirs, you may break our bones but you will never break
our spirits! Good day, good sirs, the name's Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln.
========================================

LINK TO FULL SCRIPT

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Translating dialogue - part one: subtitles

Some reading for you.

First off is the text we had in class:

O tłumaczeniu filmów


Here you'll find different types of mistakes present in film translation.

And finally a few words about cultural context and problems it may pose.

*

TROPES...

... or how to waste good number of hours reading this WEBSITE ;-)

Tropes are devices and conventions that a writer can reasonably rely on as being present in the audience members' minds and expectations. On the whole, tropes are not clichés. The word clichéd means "stereotyped and trite." In other words, dull and uninteresting. Tropes, on the other hand, are fun.

Tropes are the easiest to spot in action films. Look for them in both plot and dialogue.

TOP 5 ACTION MOVIE DIALOGUE TROPES

Always present in US films - Rousing Speech




B movies: What real-life scientists do every day. Exactly like this. Exactly.



*

Funny reading for Wednesday

Change of plans - tomorrow we were supposed to be talking about translating dialogue lists but it's too large a topic to begin just before Easter break. So instead we'll be looking at MOVIE TROPES.

In the meantime here is an amusing tutorial on making your characters speak with distinct voices.

Funny reading for Tuesday

Came across this article today. Have a read :-)

What If Your Characters Don’t Want Anything?

Dialogue - unique voice: accent, cadence, phrasing and lingo

Oh boy, we're going to have so much fun with this one ;-)

Action films and comedies do not rely that much on character development. Still we want to make our characters memorable and colourful. The simplest way to achieve it is with the way they speak.

1. ARCHETYPES AND VOICE

- The PROTAGONIST is the one who we want our audience to associate with. We try to make him/her the most relatable, therefore the protagonist should speak in the most "neutral" way. Unless it's a biopic, the main character almost never speaks with a distinctive accent. If he/she did, we would run into the danger that some viewers who don't understand or don't like a given accent could feel alienated.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule:
1) In certain genres the protagonist is expected to speak accented English (eg. westerns).
2) Protagonists who are presented as the underdog may speak with an accent which is perceived as inferior (rural accent of Clarice in Silence of the Lambs) or have a speech impediment (Bertie in King's Speech)

In action films the leading man is usually a guy of few words, but when he says something, it's stingy and ironic. Language-wise, action film protagonist is usually characterised by one-liners.


- The VILLAIN. Usually has a speech impediment, or speaks with a distinct accent. Or both. In the past bad guys almost always spoke British English - unless it was a war movie in which case they spoke with a German accent, or a Cold War one when the accent would be Russian. Nowadays they tend to be more clourful. The best way to check which accent is currently most popular for the villain is to watch the newest BOND film ;-)

Goldeneye




- The MENTOR/ORACLE almost always speaks in a unique voice. Mostly because this character is usually played by an actor of ethnicity other than Caucasian or is not (entirely) human.

The unique tone may result from the accent...

Tia Dalma (POTC)



...or phrasing

Yoda (Star Wars)




- The SIDEKICK (especially if he/she is also the COMIC RELIEF) speaks in accented English. Because their role is to be liked by the audience, the accents they speak are usually ones that appeal to majority of people.

Brewer (Rambo - First Blood 2, James Cameron's draft )

EXT. TAXI STAND - STREET - LATE AFTERNOON

Rambo emerges into the stifling humid heat of Bangkok in May
and stands, scanning for a cab.

D-MINUS 51 HRS
BANGKOK, THAILAND

Bangkok is a city of fervid motion and the street is chaotic
with traffic.

Stepping through throngs of Asians and tourists Rambo reaches
for the door of a beat-to-hell Citroen taxi hunkered low at
the curb like some metal lungfish.

He spins as a hand lightly touches his shoulder.

MAN
Sorry old buddy, I saw it first.

An American in his late twenties, the man speaks with one of
those hard-to-dislike Southern accents. Probably North
Carolina.

He is lanky but muscular, with boyish good looks and hair cut
so short it barely qualifies as stubble. Though dressed in a
loud Hawaiian shirt and Madras slacks, it is painfully
obvious the man is military.

(...)

Rambo grabs the man brutally by his collar.

RAMBO
That’s enough, Brewer.

The American freezes at the sound of his name. Turns slowly.

BREWER
(realizing)
You’re Rambo?
(pause)
Ker-rist!

If the sidekick is a child, s/he's either damn cute...

Short Round (Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom)



... or mute

Feral Kid (Mad Max II)




- You've probably noticed that we haven't analysed the ATTRACTOR yet. It's because usually the same rules apply as with the protagonist.

Of course there are some exceptions again:
1) Stereotyping - Americans like the British accent in females, so sometimes the love interest is a shy girl from England. Similarly, male love interest may speak with French accent.
2) In "bridging the gap between cultures" movies, the (usually female) character may speak accented English.

Luc (French Kiss)



Neytiri (Avatar)

JAKE
Slow down a second will you. I just want
to thank you for killing those --

He makes the mistake of grasping her shoulder and --

WHACK! She WALLOPS him upside the head with her bow in a
fierce backhand swing, laying him out flat.

He looks up to see a FURY standing over him. A Fury who
speaks English -- accented, halting, angry English.

NEYTIRI
Don’t thank! You don’t thank for this!
This is sad. Very sad, only.

2. VOICE IN COMEDY



Accents are fun and serve to strengthen stereotypes and mutual animosity among some social groups.

Just a couple of examples from my favourite films and TV shows:

1) Cockney vs Scouse (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels)



2) French vs stereotypical Englishman who can't speak local language (Allo, allo)



3) German vs Italian



4) Scouse vs Brummie





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Dialogue - getting under someone's skin

Today we'll have a look at how one character can awake negative emotions in another (and, consequently, in the audience).

In the class we'll also analyse the principles of Schopenhauer's "Eristic Dialectic" and see how we can use them to our advantage.


1. The Picnic (TROPFEST winner 2007)



Pay attention especially to the opening scene in which Lily is being introduced to the group.



2. Teasing and taunting.

Such exchange is the body and soul of each revenge film. The villain is teasing the hapless protagonist. It usually happens at the end of Act 2.

Rob Roy (1995)

Cunningham raped Rob's wife and has taken Rob prisoner.

Archibald Cunningham: What did you do with that bag of guts Killearn? Vex me not, McGregor, or I shall have you dragged a while. And I am a man of my word.

Robert Roy MacGregor: You're a thief, a murderer and a violator of women.

Archibald Cunningham: Aah... I had hoped you'd come to me long since on that score.

Robert Roy MacGregor: If I had known earlier you would have been dead sooner.

Archibald Cunningham: I will tell you something, to take with you. Your wife was far sweeter forced than many are willing. And truth put to it, I think not all of her objected...



3. Egging on.

We've already had this scene but it's so good we can watch it again. The Joker needs the guard to approach him. He does it by merely talking.

Dialogue - playing cat and mouse

Before we start:

1. Make a list of 3 best/most memorable film conversations. Don't put down what critics say, this list should be very personal.
2. Make a list of 3 writers/directors who make "talkie movies" - films in which characters talk rather than act or dialogue is particularly memorable.


THE GRADUATE (1967) - "Mrs. Robinson, if you don't mind my saying so, this conversation is getting a little strange."



Directed by Mike Nichols, screenplay by Buck Henry
Script link: The Graduate


HANNAH AND HER SISTERS (1986)

e.e. cummings

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond
any experience,your eyes have their silence:
in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,
or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look will easily unclose me
though i have closed myself as fingers,
you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens
(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and
my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly,
as when the heart of this flower imagines
the snow carefully everywhere descending;
nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals
the power of your intense fragility:whose texture
compels me with the color of its countries,
rendering death and forever with each breathing

(i do not know what it is about you that closes
and opens;only something in me understands
the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)
nobody,not even the rain,has such small hands

Written/directed by Woody Allen
Script link: Hannah and her sisters

Dialogue - "walking the minefield"

1. Fresh, authentic dialogue is... NOT saying what we mean.

If your characters say flat out what they are thinking the dialogue becomes too predictable and reader senses that you're feeding him exposition. It's on the nose.

People love mystery, they love sensing what is going on, their minds need a challenge, a chance to do some intellectual work deducing the characters' true agendas.

This requires real art. And since we usually learn the best when we are (cough*stealing from*cough) looking up to professionals, let's have a look at dialogue decomposition done by Scott Myers. This month he is looking into ways of saying "I love you" without actually uttering these words.

HIGH FIDELITY



JERRY MAGUIRE



10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU




2. Sometimes you may be using great language, but the very problem is that you basically have a group of people sitting round a table and talking.

To remedy that make sure that there is some conflict involved. Someone doesn't want to be there. Someone is lying and is sweating bullets that others may call the bluff. Someone realises that if he says one word too many, the listener will blow. You get the idea ;-)

Watch this "poker game from hell" scene from Training Day (2001):



Script link: Training Day (David Ayer, 1999 draft)

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Questions on Tick-Tock - part 2

1. THREE ACT STRUCTURE

- Where do the acts begin and end?
- What is the inciting moment (transition from Act 1 [exposition] to Act 2 [action])?
- What is the function of the "singing to the muzak" scene?
- What is the function of the "disarming training bomb" scene?
- How is the information about Crosby's condition fed to the reader?

2. TRANSITIONS AND EDITING

Can you visualise what the following would look like on screen?

- bridge



- transition










3. LOOKING FOR MEANINGFUL VILLAIN

The main problem with this script is how late James in introduced. All we know about him for the bulk of the story is the following:





and later this:




And then we learn that he has been behind the explosions. Why? He is kind enough to explain:



It doesn't work because we need to give the reader/audience exposition on:
- why he is doing it
- how he managed to do it
- how Crosby got caught in the events

Here it is done in the most unimaginable way possible - dialogue or rather his monologue which offers the explanation.

To make matters worse his motive is cliched and rather boring. Instead of an extremist terrorist doing it because of his radical beliefs or a psycho on a revenge mission, we have a boring stalker with mental problems. Too tame.

And on top of that the audience learns the truth too late and doesn't have enough time to grow to hate the villain. We don't have any feelings for him, so we don't really care.


YOUR TASK: Think of one of the following alternatives:

1) James IS the villain, but he's introduced earlier. All the exposition about him needs to be planted throughout the script, and ideally by showing, not telling.

This can be your inspiration:

ONE OF THE BEST SCENES YOU CAN WRITE
One might argue that the most memorable scene in Die Hard is when Hans pretends to be a hostage. Part of the reason we love this scene so much is because it’s such a clever move by our villain. But this is actually a setup for a scene that works almost every time you use it in a screenplay: We the audience know something that our main character doesn’t - that he’s in danger - and there’s nothing we can do to help him. The tension this creates in a scene – the helplessness we feel - works on an audience almost every time, so if you have the opportunity to use it, do so. Just make sure we like your hero. Obviously, if we don’t, we won’t be too worried when he’s seconds away from getting a bullet in the chest.

Here Carson is talking about a situation when the reader is omniscient. Could work in Tick Tock, but you have to remember that it cannot diminish in any way the character journey of Crosby - so we can't have such scene too early in the script.

2) James is not the villain; or he is, but he's not the MASTERMIND behind the bombs.

Remember this bit?



Maybe something could be done with this mysterious character? Revenge is a good motive. And it is more plausible that he would know enough about Claire's job to prepare this complex plan.

3. Or we could go for the most risky (and ambitious) option in which Crosby IS the bomber...


*

Tick-Tock revisited. Homework...

...or rather a few more aspects of this script I'd like you to think about.

1. Character defining moment - at which point (if at all) did you develop an emotional link to a given character? What was the thing that she/he did or said that awoke some emotions in you: pity, sympathy, admiration, understanding?

The underlying question is: has any of the characters become a compelling, "human", three-dimensional person for you, why and when?

2. "Casting game"

Imagine that you are the producer of this film.
- Who of contemporary actors and actresses would you cast in it? In which parts?
- Who would you choose to direct and why?

*

Questions on Tick-Tock

*

Here is a rough checklist of points we'll be discussing.

1. CHARACTERS:

- Who is the protagonist? Are you sure?
- What archetypes do the characters represent?
- Character arc - is there any? (hint: in action films the main focus is on plot, not character development)
- Character dynamic - how do they interact? What relationship do they have at the beginning? How does that change? When?


2. PLOT:

- What is the "high concept" (the original angle) of the script?
- What is the main driving force (the main goal for the character(s))?
- What is the "ticking clock" element? In other words - what threat is looming if the main character(s) fail to achieve the goal?


3. EXECUTION:

- Suspension of disbelief - was there anything you thought was implausible (or too unlikely to happen)?
- Plot holes - was there anything that didn't quite make sense? Were any "rules of the universe" broken at any point?
- Character consistency - was there any action/line of dialogue that seemed "out of character"?


4. STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:

- What did you like about the script? What did you find lame?


5. "MONEY SHOTS"

- Were there any spectacular action pieces that would definitely be shown in a trailer for the film? Which sequence did you find the most visually impressive (if any)?
- Were there any "holy s***! moments" that would appeal to the audience but which would spoil the film if put in a trailer?


*

Welcome to the new semester!

Just two really quick updates:

1. We'll have classes on Thursdays again.

2. Please remember to read Tick-Tock (link in previous post) - we'll be analysing the script in detail and I'm counting on your active participation. Tomorrow I'll post some topics you may want to take notes about, so watch this space.

Playing against stereotypes

TICK TOCK (unproduced screenplay)

Premise: A terrorist has planted a series of bombs inside several malls in Los Angeles. Although they capture the man before the bombs go off, a bout of amnesia prevents him from remembering where he put the bombs, or if he’s the terrorist at all.

folder: screenplays
password (as above, use small case letters)


1. Kidnapping a baby

RAISING ARISONA (undated draft)

Another baby starts crying. Florence looks up at the ceiling.

    NATHAN
  That sounds like Larry.

Close on the crying baby as Hi bounces it, gently but
desperately.

    HI
  Shhhh! Shh! Nice baby...

He starts to lower it back into the crib. The crib is
unpainted with the name of each baby burned Bonanza-style
into the headboard: Harry, Barry, Larry, Garry, and Nathan
Jr. Instead of quieting as he is lowered into the crib, the
squalling baby only sets off one of his brothers. Hi hurriedly
lifts him back out.

He looks desperately around the room.

The room is wallpapered with nursery rhyme characters.

There are toys strewn around. There is one adult-sized easy
chair in the corner.

Hi carries the baby over to the chair, stepping on and
reacting to the squeal of a squeeze-me toy on the way. He
sits the baby deep in - the chair and then returns to the
crib to deal with the second crying baby.

He lifts the baby out of the crib and gently bounces it.
This baby stops crying.

Another one in the crib starts bawling.

Hi sets the second baby down on the floor and gives it a
rattle to keep it pacified. He reaches for the third baby in
the crib. Sweat stands out on Hi 's brow. He is desperately
chucking the third baby under the chin when we hear a muffled
 PTHUMP!

He whirls to look across the darkened room.

The first baby has dropped off the easy chair and is
energetically crawling away toward a shadowy corner.

 LIVING ROOM

Nathan and Florence are sitting stock-still, staring at the
ceiling. After a moment, another baby starts crying.

    NATHAN
  What're they, playing telephone?

They stare at the ceiling.

 NURSERY

Loose babies are crawling everywhere. Hi is skittering across
the room in a half-crouch, a baby tucked under one arm,
reaching out with the other as he pursues a crawling baby
across the room.

He hefts the other baby with his free arm and brings the air
back to the crib.

He turns to look frantically around the room.

The other three babies have disappeared.

There is perfect quiet.

Hi goes over to the closet door, which is ajar, and swings
it open.

He reaches under a moving pile of clothes on the floor and
pulls out a baby.

He returns it to the crib and freezes, listening.

The sound of a rattle.

He drops to the floor to look under the crib.

 WIDE ANGLE UNDER CRIB

A baby holding a rattle leers into the camera in the
foreground. Behind him Hi, on his stomach, is reaching in to
grab at his leg.

Hi is pulling the baby out, away from the camera, when with
a plop! a baby drops onto Hi 's back from the crib above.

Hi twists one arm back to grope for the baby crawling on top
of him.

He is straightening up, a baby in each arm, when he reacts
in horror to something he sees across the room.

 HI'S POV

The hindquarters of a diapered baby are just disappearing
around the corner of the nursery door into the hallway.

 LIVING ROOM

Florence and Nathan are staring at the ceiling. After a beat
we hear a muffled plop! on the ceiling. A beat later, the
bleat of the squeeze-me toy.

    NATHAN
  ...Whyn't you go up and check on
'em?

They sound restless.

 UPSTAIRS HALLWAY

The floor-level wide-angle shot shows a baby crawling toward
the camera in the foreground. Behind him, in the background,
just rounding the open door from the nursery, yet another
baby is making a mad dash for freedom.

Hi emerges from the nursery and, stepping around the
background baby, trots toward the baby in the foreground. By
the time he reaches it the low-angle cropping shows us only
his feet and calves.

 CLOSE ON HI

Perspiring as he tiptoes the last two steps to the baby.

 HI'S POV

The baby and, beyond it, the stairway down to the main floor.
We hear footsteps approaching.

 BACK TO HI

He scoops up the baby and hurriedly tiptoes away toward the
nursery.

 LOW-ANGLE REVERSE

The baby at the nursery door in the foreground; the staircase
in the background. As Hi reaches the baby we hear footsteps
climbing the stairs.

Hi's free arm comes down into frame to scoop the baby up and
out of frame just as:

Florence's head appears, bobbing up as she climbs the stairs.

She approaches the nursery, still clutching the Dr. Spock
book.

 NURSERY

As Florence enters from the hallway door.

We track back into the room, on her, as she approaches the
crib. Halfway there she freezes, staring, in shock.

 HER POV

All of the babies have been replaced in the crib but not
lying down: They are seated in a row, staring back at her,
lined up against the far crib railing, like a small but
distinguished panel on "Meet the Press."

2. Death of a mother

ANIMAL KINGDOM (shooting script)

INT. J'S AND JULIA'S APARTMENT / LOUNGE - DAY

JOSHUA 'J' CODY (17), wearing one oversized rubber dishwashing
glove, sits on the couch beside his mum, JULIA CODY (35), who is
asleep, chin on her chest, in front of game-show TV. J watches
the TV intently.
Two paramedics appear at the open door with kit bags. They rush
in and go straight to work on Julia.

PARAMEDIC
What's she had?

J
Heroin.

The paramedic draws Narcan into a syringe and administers. The
other checks her pulse. J watches the game show.

PARAMEDIC
Not responding. We'll need a MICA.

INT. J'S AND JULIA'S APARTMENT / LOUNGE - NIGHT

J is on the phone. He waits for an answer, strangely blank.

J
(into phone)
Grandma. It's J [...] Josh [...] Yeah,
good. Um, Mum's gone and OD'd and
she's died and so [...] Yeah, I'm OK.
Sorry, I probably should have said it
slower and not just go and blurt it
out and that. I don't really know what
I'm supposed to do now and [...] They
took her away.
An ambulance came [...] Yeah, they
turned up and took a statement and
that, but I told them I was 18 and now
I don't really know what to do. They
didn't say anything about, you know,
like am I supposed to organise the
funeral and that? I don't really know
what I'm supposed to do now, with the
paperwork and arrangements and that. I
just remember when Grandpa Donny died
you were all over it, you know what I
mean?

*

Exposition revisited - character

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998 draft)

114

BARFLY JACK
Yeah, I know Rory.

This next section is subtitled. This is to keep everyone, even those
familiar with cockney rhyming slang up to speed with the narration, of
which even Tom is unsure. As with the police scene earlier this is a
voice-over and we cut to the relevant scenes.

BARFLYJACK
(voice-over)
Rory's got few interests in life; darky music, football, bees and honey
and kicking the shit out of anyone that interferes with that shortlist.
A few nights ago Rory's Roger iron rusted, so he has gone to the
battle-cruiser to watch the end of a football game. Nobody is watching
the custard so he has turned the channel over. A fat man's north opens
and he wanders up and turns the Liza over. `Now fuck off and watch it
somewhere else.' Rory knows claret is imminent, but he doesn't want to
miss the end of the game; so, calm as a coma, he stands and picks up a
fire extinguisher and he walks straight past the jam rolls who are
ready for action, then he plonks it outside the entrance. He then
orders an Aristotle of the most ping pong oddly in the nuclear sub and
switches back to his footer. `That's fucking it,' says the man. Rory
gobs out a mouthful of booze covering fatty; he flicks a flaming match
into his bird's nest and the man lit up like a leaking gas pipe. Rory,
unfazed, turned back to watch his game. The flaming man and his chinos
ran outside to extinguish the flames, and Rory cheered on. His team won
too, four-nil.
Script link

List of all written assignments this semester

Everything I needed from you to give you the signature:



1. Suicidal Bunny "Terminator" scene (individual/group) - a one or two page script focusing on transition and camera angles.

2. Character Arc analysis (go here to see what it was about) or Archetypes analysis (more info here) - just choose your favourite film/script and either focus on the way the main protagonist develops or see what functions (or archetypes) all main characters represent.

3. "Adopting" a character for a day - a description of a character's background. Choose a character from a film/script or invent one, spend a day imagining s/he is with you all the time, and describe what you have learned about him/her.

4. "Twist in the end" two page script. A short script that constitutes a complete story. Focus on original ideas ("high concepts") or the planting/pay-off technique. Go here to read more.

5. Putting the spin on Three Little Pigs (group). A short (up to 3 pages) original take on the fairytale. Pay attention to the way you handle exposition.


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Minimalism

Two characters. One place. One scene. No plot.

The pure power of words.




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Scripts online!

Two screenplays just went online. Both films will very likely be nominated for Oscars, and The King's Speech will probably take the trophy.

Deadline publishes both scripts today:

The Social Network (aka the Facebook film)

The King's Speech



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You Tube tip

If you've never seen this show before, check them out.

Writing session 2 - exposition

You know your STORY like the back of your hand. You understand your CHARACTERS, their motivation, quirks, where they are coming from. You know all about their childhood - the happy moments that shaped their personality and the nightmares that still haunt and torture them. You know the basic rules that govern the WORLD in which your story is set.

...but your READER has no idea about any of these.


In each script you will inevitably have to introduce your reader to some information necessary for him or her to understand what is happening and why, or why the characters are acting in a given way. This is what we call EXPOSITION.


Film script should be all about showing, not telling. Telling is always boring. Remember that. ALWAYS. If you confront your readers (and eventually the audience) with a long paragraph explaining what is going on, you will lose them.


Therefore writers (and directors) have devised some clever ways of hiding exposition.


Here are some most common:

1) PLAIN TEXT

"opening crawl" - Star Wars (1977)



Script link: Star Wars: A New Hope (1976 draft)

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away...

A vast sea of stars serves as the backdrop for the main title. 
War drums echo through the heavens as a rollup slowly crawls 
into infinity.

It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships,
striking from a hidden base, have won their first
victory against the evil Galactic Empire.

During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal
secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the
Death Star, an armored space station with enough
power to destroy an entire planet.

Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess
Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of
the stolen plans that can save her people and
restore freedom to the galaxy...

The awesome yellow planet of Tatooine emerges from a total
eclipse, her two moons glowing against the darkness. A tiny
silver spacecraft, a Rebel Blockade Runner firing lasers
from the back of the ship, races through space. It is pursed
by a giant Imperial Stardestroyer. Hundreds of deadly
laserbolts streak from the Imperial Stardestroyer, causing
the main solar fin of the Rebel craft to disintegrate.

2) TEXT CARDS + PICTURE/MONTAGE

A Knight's Tale (2000)



Script link: Inglorious Basterds by Quentin Tarantino

EXT - DAIRY FARM- DAY
The modest dairy farm in the countryside of Nancy, France (what the
French call cow country).

We Read a SUBTITLE in the sky above the farm house;

CHAPTER ONE

"ONCE UPON A TIME IN...

NAZI OCCUPIED FRANCE"
This SUBTITLE disappears, and is replaced by another one;

"1941
One year into the German
occupation of France".

The farm consists of a house, small barn, and twelve cows spread
about.
The owner of the property, a bull of a man FRENCH FARMER, brings a axe
up and down on A tree stump blemishing his property. However simply by
sight, you'd never know if he's been beating at this stump for the last
year, or just started today.

3) VO + PICTURE/MONTAGE

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) opening sequence
Clash of the Titans (2010) opening "galaxy" sequence

Script link: The Lord of the Rings (undated draft)

BLACK SCREEN

SUPER: New Line Cinema Presents

SUPER: A Wingnut Films Production

BLACK CONTINUES... ELVISH SINGING....A WOMAN'S VOICE IS
whispering, tinged with SADNESS and REGRET:

                    GALADRIEL (V.O.)
              (Elvish: subtitled)
         "I amar prestar sen: han mathon ne nen,
         han mathon ne chae...a han noston ned
         wilith."
             (English:)
         The world is changed: I feel it in the
         water, I feel it in the earth, I smell it
         in the air...Much that once was is lost,
         for none now live who remember it.

SUPER: THE LORD OF THE RINGS

EXT. PROLOGUE -- DAY

IMAGE: FLICKERING FIRELIGHT. The NOLDORIN FORGE in EREGION.
MOLTEN GOLD POURS from the lip of an IRON LADLE.

                    GALADRIEL (V.O.)
          It began with the forging of the Great
         Rings.

IMAGE: THREE RINGS, each set with a single GEM, are received
by the HIGH ELVES-GALADRIEL, GIL-GALAD and CIRDAN.

                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)
          Three were given to the Elves, immortal,
         wisest...fairest of all beings.

IMAGE: SEVEN RINGS held aloft in triumph by the DWARF LORDS.

                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)
          Seven to the Dwarf Lords, great miners
         and craftsmen of the mountain halls.

IMAGE: NINE RINGS clutched tightly by the KINGS OF MEN...as
if holding-close a precious secret.

                    GALADRIEL (V.O.) (CONT'D)
          And Nine...nine rings were gifted to the
         race of Men who, above all else, desire
         power.
                    (MORE)

4) MONTAGE

RED (2010)
The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2010)




5) EXPOSITION IN DIALOGUE

Inception (2010) - "shared dreaming sequence"


6) FLASHBACK


7) ANIMATED FLASHBACK

Ciało (2003) - character shorts




8) PICTURES, NEWSPAPER CLIPPINGS, HEADLINES

Rogue (2007) - bar sequence

Script link: Avatar (2007 draft)

INT. SHACK - DAY
      
       NORM and TRUDY assist JAKE with his chair as they cycle in
      through the AIRLOCK. GRACE is already inside, starting the
      GENNY. She turns on the lights and equipment.
      
       There are 4 bunks, a clutter of science gear, and -- through
      a short connecting corridor -- THREE LINK UNITS in the second
      module.
      
       As Grace powers up the Link equipment, Jake stops to look at
       STEREO STILL PICTURES which are taped and tacked up around
       her workstation.
      
       CLOSE ON PICTURES -- Grace posing at the school with various
       grinning children. There is one of her with two lanky girls,
       a younger Neytiri and an older girl who looks much like her.

BONUS LINKS:
- best character intro
- best film opening


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