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10 Screenwriting Questions

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Upon decluttering my stashed things from who knows when back then, I found a document from a Film and Television short course that I took part in early 2011. Titled “10 important questions to ask yourself”, I’d forgotten the context of this document. From glossing over the content, these questions for a writer would surely be of value to this course.

1) “What is the conflict?” Good stories have strong conflict. No conflict, no story.

2) “What’s the worst thing that can happen to this character?” Make that happen and then make the hero overcome it.

3) “What’s the opposite of what I’m thinking?” Is that an interesting event in the story? Is it better or worse?

4) “What would this character do if they couldn’t talk?” Movies are visual. It’s more important to show what a character does that hear what it is they say.

5) “Do I know the ending?” This will mean you have a goal to write towards; and you will finish the script too!

6) “Who knows what, when?” If you’re stuck, give one character a secret that another character is unaware of. This always results in conflict and tension.

7) “Do I break the story rules I’ve set up?” Consistency is important. If Spiderman can swing from a web, don’t get to the end and then say he can fly. The audience won’t believe you.

8) “Is it clear who my hero is?” The audience need someone to barrack for and identify with. This is usually the hero. There should be something about them that is like you and me. Something we can relate to.

9) “Is it clear who the bad guy is?” Just like the hero, there should be something about them that is just like you and me. Something we can relate to. This makes them real.

10) “What am I embarrassed about?” If you’re stuck for a story, ask yourself this question. The chances are it’s thrilling hilarious, tragic, or dramatic. All good things for stories!

Now try applying every single question to George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and see how effective these are.

The Creative Ones

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This is a delayed post on my first collaborative class with the Creative writing students, which actually happened last Thursday. But you can’t blame me, I spent a good part of the weekend feeling like I was dying with an illness.

Despite the initial territorial-like awkwardness between the Media and the Creatives (or was it just me?), especially with the large group number that we had, it turned out to be somewhat effective in the long run. After reading three of the four scripts we had written, they chose to work with mine as “it was the easiest to do” according to one American-sounding Creative. Surely, the task being a long take, we utilised a single back-track shot which ended with a slightly panning medium shot of Antonius, the protagonist, sitting at his favourite diner spot with June the hostess, slightly off centre on screen. By doing so, the antagonist, his mysterious stalker, can be shot within the same frame. Simple cinematography at its best.

In terms of the group dynamics, two other Creatives and I were actors in this scene, with Jen Farrow taking charge on direction, another Creative on camera and the rest having to sit out this exercise (like I said, group numbers were massive).

I suppose if there was one thing to take away from this exercise, it’s that when writing for screen, one must surely take into consideration the logistics and practicality of what is being written, on eventual production. In this case, I hadn’t included much dialogue and opted for long silences with continued muted action. But filming a scene in a location that isn’t staged nor having proper actors with physical stimuli to deal with, there was a lot of silence that had to be cut. Only because, well, there was nothing happening. Glances and slight looks aren’t useful in class exercises like this. In lieu of future class exercises, one should opt for shorter scripts so that we can play more with the technicalities of production and experiment with cinematography.

Writing for Film, Filming for Writing

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This semester, and coincidentally also the final semester of my course, I’ve chosen to take a class in screenwriting. The idea behind this class and the play on words for its name, is that those who are in Media 4 (like me) would be tasked with the writing aspect of production, which the students from the Creative Writing course would be in charge of. This is, in a way, ironic considering my background in making short films that stems from my days in high school. But my motive behind choosing this class is not to take the easy route (if there’s such a thing in university), but to correct any wrong practices I have when it comes to writing, as well as to perfect my craft in the best way possible. Even though I may not necessarily see a path in front of me towards the direction of a film career, I believe that this is an exceptional method for me to hone my skills in subtlety and emotive expression through writing. By utilising the references that I have through my tutors, Paul and Jasmine, I can hopefully increase my capacity to write against constraints like time and client demand, whereas my past written work have all just been for me. 

The prospect of collaboration with both people in my class as well as students from the Creative Writing field also sounds appealing. This is certainly something to look forward to in the real world (or for us Media 6 students, in a couple of months), particularly within the creative field. Hopefully, in conjunction with my Media 6 course, I would be able to open up to my colleagues and make connections that I can count on in the near future.