Prior to this studio I hadn’t really read too many screenplays before, I mean sure I’ve come across a few online, been handed out some in class, even had to write and use some on projects before, but nothing extreme or anything that delved into the craft that much. However during this assessment, despite having read far more now,  I was prompted to go back and look at some of my favourite films’ screenplays: The Lord of The Rings trilogy. One thing I had concerns about in my own writing was my vagueness/lack of description in accurately conveying character action and emotion, but to my surprise The Lord of the Rings screenplays did exactly the same thing rather often, leaving many actions open to interpretation to the actors, (then again I’m sure at that level you’re not going to tell Ian McKellen what to do when it comes to portraying a much-loved emotional character – he’s got that down-pat). I suppose what I’m trying to say is that I now See that it’s okay for screenplays to employ a sense direct-ambiguity, aiming towards an action/emotion but allowing for a greater range/scope.
One idea that I found further reinforced in reading these was that whilst there are rules and guidelines with screenwriting, there are no set laws that are compulsory for a writer to abide by. There’s much more wiggle room than I had previously thought, thus opening up a new realm of possibilities and writing styles when it comes to creating my own screenplay. Yet I fear that that could become dangerous for me; as someone who likes to vary style and meander with concepts, I worry that having too many options will ironically restrict me and damage my style, whereas in having a more set structure that I can follow I’d be able to enforce rules on myself. Then again, I guess that such a choice is up to me in the end, I need to decide if I want to be more rigid with my writing, or open up myself, but more importantly; what style will suit the subject matter of my writing best. The Lord of The Rings is a lore heavy fantasy written by a literary and lingual genius, it would make sense for the screenplay of such a text expand on the same elements and expression, whereas you wouldn’t expect the same level of detail and passion in a screenplay say the likes of Sharkboy and Lava Girl: for a film that took two weeks to film, I doubt that someone would put THAT much effort into making the screenplay overly descriptive or to be emotionally invested as much.
All in all, one of my major observations is that there’s a major divide within the world of screenwriting in terms of writing style, nor for better nor worse, but merely in terms of what style suits what film and subject. What my writing style will be when it comes to the final assessment will be determined on what exactly I have to say and the tone of the ‘film’.