What is a location?

-A physical place (created or real)

**location must allow events to take place.

-The place in your story where events occur and characters interact.

-May also represent the ‘villain’ in the story

-what elements make the location interesting? E.G geographical position, climate, rules (spoken & unspoken)

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

- Threat of being in the location.

-Impact of a newly introduced character/element E.G Norma Rae

-Jurassic park is a zoo located on an island off the coast of america—–Interactive location: the island is completely isolated, and anyone on it will be trapped until assistance from the mainland arrives.

- Purpose of the Exercise.

- We write best what we know well.

DYNAMIC ACTION

<Story is Action>

No Action-> no interaction -> no conflict

- Action encompasses any kind of movement and interaction between 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

-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 any story lies in the narrator’s ability to project a mental picture for the audience.

movie one

- Story about how hand made procedures are more fun, enjoyable, and reliable as compared to mechanical manufacturing.

>>Exercise

- Addresses the problem many newbies have to screenwriting

How to Convey visually any sense of inner conflict of emotion

Review: Inja

- emotion felt by Thembile when he realises the Boss is having a heart attack: Panic and Fear. So he tries to get to the boss and help him. He frantically rushes to the backpack and gets the medication and then rushes back to try and pass it to the boss by dodging the dog. he eventually kills the dog in order to save the boss because the boss ordered him to. this is a sense of desperation. in terms of saving the boss.

-thembile’s reluctance to open the bag after the the dog has been hit by the boss. this is because thembile is scared that the dog might think he was the one that attacked and leave him and hate him.

- boss was fearful of the dog being more loyal to thembile. so he got thembile to put the dog in the bag and kicked it and made it look like thembile did it when he eventually was asked to take the dog out. this would create the sense of distrust between the dog and thembile and the dog eventually hating thembile.

ASSIGNMENT!!!!

PRINTED COPY IN CLASS, SOFTCOPY ON SAFEASSIGN. FORMAT: COURIER 12, SINGLE SPACING. 1ST DRAFT WED 6 JANUARY, 2010

-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 exposition

>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 and hear it, don’t write it.”

>DIALOGUE SHOULD BE USED SPARINGLY

>NEVER TELL AUDIENCE WAD THEY CAN SEE FOR THEMSELVES.

<<DIALOGUE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTION>>

- if there is too much dialogue and not enough actions, not enuff visual elements to convey the message across.

>COMMON MISTAKE

- students sometimes never achieve the 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”

>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 collect ur Oscar.

>Good Dialogue is the illusion of reality

-you’ve got to know how to edit what people say without losing any of the jist/spirit

>COMMON MISTAKE

-Students tend to create radio shows with images.

<<FILM IS A VISUAL MEDIUM>>

A SCREENPLAY IS A STORY TOLD IN PICTURES

Purpose?

True story 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, Soul, and the nervous system
• it is through your character that the viewers experience emotions

<without a character, there is no action>

<without action, you have no conflict>

<without conflict, you have no story>

<without story, you have no screenplay>

Developing Characters

-who is your character?

-what doe he want?

- what is his quest?

-what drives him to the resolution of the story?

1. establish main character

-characters should have 3D structure.(Physiology, Sociology, Psychology)

a). Physiology

-sex

-age

-height and weight

-colour of hair, eyes, skim

-posture

-Appearance

-Defects, abnormalitites, deformities, birth marks, diseases

-hereditary

b) Sociology

-class (lower, middle, upper)

-Occupation : tyoe of work, hours of work, income, condition of work, attitude towards organization, suitability for work

- Education : amount, kind of schools, marks, fav. subjects, poorest subjects, aptitudes

- home life: parents living, earning power, orphan, parents seperated / divorced, parents habits, parents’ mental development , parents’s 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

-Frustrations, chief disappointments

-Temperament : Choleric, easy-going, pessimistic, optimistic

-Attitude towards life: resigned, militant, defeatist

-complexes: obsessions, inhibitions, superstitions, phobias

-personality: extrovert, introvert

-abilities: language, talents

- qualities: imagination, judgement, taste, poise

-I.Q./ E.Q

***-what is the dep and personal secret this character has which he is desperate to protect/ hide?

1.) Seperate the components of his life into 2 basic categories:

a)interior

b) exterior

INTERIOR – takes place from birth until where the story begins. (its is a process that forms the character. when u start formulating ur character from birth, you see your character build in body and form)

-how old is he when the story begins?

-where does he live?

-does he have siblings? wad kind of childhood? his r/ship with parents? wad kind of child? married? single? etc….

EXTERIOR- where the story begins to the conclusion.

-It is a process that reveals the character.

-who are they and wad do they do?

-are they sad, happy with life? do they wish their life was different? another job, another wife?

You must create your characters in relationship to other people or things.

all dramatic characters interact in 3 ways:

1. They experience conflict in achieving their dramatic need.(eg. Need money- 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 u invent characters?

-turn them upside down.

eg. a monk who is devoted to his religion…….but is a football fanatic

eg. a serial killer…….whose obsession is to kill other serial killers

eg. a common street rat…….who loves to eat and cook only fine food.

quiz

-3 storytelling tools

-memory

-observation

-experience

-aristotle’s storytelling techniques

-developing 3 dimensional characters

-writing for an audience.

what wa hs flaw and how did it cause his fall from grace?

what lessons did he learn from his mistakes?

how did he change and how did he change others?

Answers :

1. He has been tragically put into an institution not by choice which completely ruins his life outside. Further more, he is the main character and while he is in the prison, he is made to do corrupt work for the warden which is similar to criminal behaviour. At the end, he also finds a way to escape from prison and gets out eventually. these are all things that a criminal would do but we feel for the character and sympathise with him when he breaks out. there is this sense of relief and happiness about his escape because he was never meant to be there in the first place. that is why, although his actions cannot be condoned, his purpose is felt within the audience and the deeds do not seem appalling anymore to the audience.

2. His flaw, ironically was also his gift. His confidence in the courtroom, showing a lack of remorse and witty behaviour pushed the judge to believe that he was the murderer. the other flaw was his banking knowledge. He was so good at it that the warden exploited him in many ways in the prison to do his corrupt deeds. because of this, Andy was made to live in the prison longer. The warden eliminated all the possible witnesses that could testify and exonerate Andy.

3. He learnt that at the end of the day, it is a do or die situation. to get what you want, you have to go all the way and it most of the times mean that death could be a probable cause in this pursuit.

4. He became someone who believed in hope and redemption. this was passed on to his fellow mate played by Morgan Freeman who eventually came out on parole feeling lost but because of Andy’s words and actions, developed that hope and went to find Andy in order to find new meaning and happiness in life.

- Observe in a conscious way—> observe minute details (their behaviour, attire, speech, stance/gait, posture, mannerism/gestures, physical looks/attributes)

- Train yourself to see and record: — movements, physical characteristics, settings

- Adopt a KEEN EYE

- Develop a natural sense of curiosity ( the way u phrase and ask questions is very important.)

*An observed event, when subject to simple questions, can set up a sequence of possibilities that will develop into a story worth telling.*

Some Questions.

- who am i writing about?

- who is my character?

-what is he/she /it likes?

-what does he/she/it/do?

-what happens to him /her/it in the story?

Mindless Observation vs True Observation

-true observation is when u ask qns regarding ur observations. make u think about what u see.

Exercise

-Develop the ability to see and RECORD people

–their movements

–their physical characteristics

–the setting / places they’re in

- Serious disagreement

- Hostile Encounter

- Struggle (mental, emotional, physical)

* this is an important component in all scripts/movies. adds interest. movie does not become boring.

- Can result internally or externally

- Opposition of persons or forces

- it is the interaction of opposing ideas, interests, or wills that create the plot.

Types of conflict

Dramatic conflict is the protagonist’s struggle against something or someone.

- MAN VS MAN ( Mortal Kombat)

- MAN VS ENVIRONMENT ( Day after tomorrow)

- MAN VS SYSTEM ( politics) (V for Vendetta)

- MAN AGAINST SELF ( Fight Club)

- variations of conflict can arise from gender, age, religion and culture.

Causes & Effects of Conflict

- conflict arises when there is CHANGE.

- changes may be major or minor.

- while change is universal and common, it is not always accepted.

Examples of changes : Seasons, lives, relationships, feelings, bodies, locations, technologies.

- Conflict arises when people resist changes

- The intensity of conflict depends how people react to the change

- People must learn to cope with change if they want to survive

- The action in drama depends on conflict

Importance of Conflict

- Plot cannot be constructed without conflict

- Central feature of the screenplay

- As ur characters attempt to reach their goals, they come into conflict with each other.

- the end of the story nears when the protagonist and antagonist approach their goals and the conflict rises to generate maximum suspense and excitement.

***** touch the audience. play to their emotions. get the cinematic experience******

Writer’s purpose

To connect the audience :

- themselves

- their unique vision

- the material / issue

- the drama

- others

Audiences want to be transported by a screenplay.

Where do u look for a story?

- personal exp. memories, emotions

- observation. pick up body language of people. listen and observe.

-figure out how to connect to audience.

Assignments

-5 stories of exactly 50 words each, posted to your blog.

-whole point of writing a story is to get the movie started! NO STORY, NO MOVIE!

Proper Writing Format

• Present Tense
• 3rd Person – narrating the story as it is happening. Eg “Mark picks up the gun and holds it in his hand. It begins to tremble, as if alive.”
• A Visual Voice – paint an illustrious image through writing. bring in vivid detail to the writing. movement and expressions of characters, description of place etc

3rd Person/Present Tense

• Commonly used in Screenplays – the story unfolds as we read. Fosters a more urgent and immediate feel to the story
• Thriller & Suspense

Passive VS Active Voice

Passive

-uses weak verbs

-tells whats happening in the character’s head

-creates dist. between the reader from the story

Active

-uses strong action

-shows the action

-used an immediate sentence structure

-conveys the story in a lively manner

Tips for Writing

• Begin with a short description of your story
• when u have a writer’s block, take a break, find inspiration then continue until you derive a solution
• All writers sleep better when they solve the problem in their stories. Sleeping on the job is a no-no.

Exercise 1A: Openers

-Whose story am i telling? what is the point of the story? how can i engage the audience?

Leonard walks towards the box . . COMPLETE IT!!!

Exercise 1B: Openers

-Write 12 opening phrases in your blogs under the Openers Page