My script is done.
I say that as someone who feels like a massive weight has been taken off of their shoulders and I don’t mean in the negative sense.
The underlying struggle I have faced (and faced oh so often) when trying to write something, can best be explained in 5 steps:
- Come up with a great idea
- Start to write
- Progress past Act 1
- Never touch the piece again
- Repeat
When I set out to write the script that would ultimately lead to this blog post, I knew the cycle I had fallen into would have to end and end it did.
For me, the whole purpose of writing screenplays and writing in general was to make something that would spiral me into a…. J.K Rowling/Tolkien status of fame (I know, they wrote novels, not screenplays but you get what I mean). In other words, I lost touch with what was supposed to be an enjoying process of immersion and self-discovery and instead, settled for wanting to make something that would somehow propel me to the holy grail of the industry. A work so great that I would never have to write another script again!
Oh boy, can you imagine that.
When I started my script ‘Water Talk’ however, I knew I didn’t have the time for do-overs or idea’s so out-of-this-world that they would end up with 20 pages that would never see the light. Instead, I found myself actually being realistic about what I could achieve in such a small time frame. I thought, ‘What’s a simple idea that would allow me to focus on my studio’s aims to explore audio-visual storytelling but also, allow me to write something that I will actually care about’.
That thought is exactly what lead me to my script.
I forced myself to go “to the heart of the scene” and build it “visually through a set of actions and reactions” Pg. 137 (Waldeback, Batty, 2012). In this sense, I was able to treat my Studio script with much more care (even if that meant not having it be as long as I would like).
The course initially introduced me to to a more industry style approach to writing scripts and when the rules and conventions started to become clear, everything was turned on its head. Basically, those rules were rules that were begging to be be broken and Stayci showed us how in the case of the ‘Nightcrawler’ script; screenwriting guidelines are the least of our concerns. Instead, it’s about how far we’re willing to take our scripts (with conventions or not) and enjoy the process of just writing and exploring.
The limited time to complete such a task is what I praise about my Uni Studio as it gave me a better understanding of the constraints industry professionals may sometimes endure (especially when more of often then not, they work to a deadline).
While I’m not an industry professional, I can definitely say that the process of writing a screen
play and enduring the drafting process has been a beneficial and insightful one. I’ve found myself wanting to start a new project and actually stick to it and trust that the drafting process will help clear up any uncertainties that may arise i.e. whether a particular motif should be included or a particular scene, excluded.
Until next time.
Arnie D
Reference/s:
Waldeback, Z. and Batty, C. (2012). The Creative Screenwriter. Methuen Drama, pp.137-139.