…how appropriate is it for me to leave gaps in the Screenplay to allow space for artistic interpretation by the (potential) actors and production team. Am I required to take ownership of the look of the final product or allow the screenplay to be a shapeshifting blob where, my jobs is done and now it is up to whoever else to imprint their own mark on it?
I think that this idea may effect my end products when it comes to writing screenplays. I’m a big believer in telling stories but also that when it comes to acting, directing and production, i am not the expert (nor am I the expert at screenwriting thus far). When we read books there are specifics but we naturally come up with the gaps in our mind creating a world that is similar but different; and this is something I want to celebrate. Having said that like Ingelstrom (2014) hints, you can used language to control the camera angles and visuals by using an “fictional voice.” By using this we can explicitly draw attention to movements, actions, happenings that we believe are integral to the story telling without using camera prompts.
With this in mind I still think that it will be very interesting to see how my writing develops when I experience more screenplays and need to grow my own story or plot without overusing “we-formulations” and the “extra-fictional voice.” Will my reluctance to involve myself in this process effect my marks? Probably.
This excerpt from Rabbit Hole shows the writing of someone who is involved using a fictional voice without we-formulations rather than the heavy use of extra-fictional voices. However this says a little too much. But again! I’m still progressing and developing so it’s all subject to change.
- Ingelstrom A. (2014) Narrating Voices in the Screenplay Text: How the Writer Can Direct the Reader’s Visualisations of the Potential Film. In: Batty C. (eds) Screenwriters and Screenwriting. Palgrave Macmillan, London