The time to knuckle down on our final projects has arrived! The other week we formed groups and Squadron was born, featuring Bonnie, Sarah, Jackson, Alex and myself.
I think it’s interesting that in this subject the aim of our final piece is ironically not to complete something final. Our tutors are less concerned about seeing a complete and perfected short film, but are more interested in our processes of production. I think this approach is valuable as we can really focus on developing our skills and knowledge of writing and filming, and not be held back by the need to complete something whole. This class is all about experimentation and challenging the conventional means of production and film tuition, after all.
It does present a challenge however as an undefined brief grants endless options. However, our group deemed it was important to be realistic in terms of resources, time and funds. We hope to produce something of a high quality, but understand that in order to do this we must not bite off more than we could chew. Thus, we thought it would be a good idea to start off our brainstorm as a group with resources in mind.
I suggested that we film in my hometown, Warrandyte, as it is very visually aesthetic with its vast bushland, trees and greenery. Alex then mentioned that she had an actress friend who was willing to participate. These formed a solid basis for the development of our project.
With a foundation in place, we decided that we would produce a sequence of suspenseful/thriller-esque scenes. From these, we intend to take the highlights from the footage and cut them into a trailer for our ‘film.’ We went away from this meeting with the task of writing prose for four unique scenes to meet these constraints, of which we would compare and determine which would be the strongest/most achievable.
Here’s what I came up with:
- Emily walks along river with fiancé Damien. They talk about simple things like how their day was, what to cook for dinner. Emily is quiet and distracted as she is having doubts about their future together.
- Emily goes for a run to clear her head – internal monologue may run, questioning her relationship. Exhausted and emotional, she decides to take a new route through the state park. She asks a passing male bushwalker if this cuts her through to where she needs to be – he says yes.
- Emily wakes up on the forest floor covered by a blanket, unknowing of what has happened and confused by how she got there. She sees the same bushwalker sitting on a log across from her, drinking from a thermos. Scrambling to her feet in fright, Emily questions him what is going on. He ‘reassures’ her that everything is okay, that he wants to look after her. He refuses to let her leave.
- Emily is still being held captive in the bush. Bushwalker is in the distance gathering wood. Emily sees the flickering light from torches and hears footsteps, followed by her name being called. It is Damien. Bushwalker claims he’ll “take care of it” and goes after him. Emily screams and runs after him.
In our next group meeting, we will discuss all group members’ written prose and the strengths and weaknesses of each. This will then lead us to fairly agree on one (or a combination, assuming that they mesh) story concept that we are all happy with. Stay tuned for more production updates – exciting things to come!
While I was searching for inspiration for this week’s initiative post, I found myself spending hours reading scripts of my favourite TV shows and films. There’s something almost nostalgic and oddly satisfying about seeing early production documents when you’ve only ever known their completed form. It’s kind of like seeing baby photos of someone you love but never knew as a child – you take notice how they’ve grown, developed and changed from when they were ‘young.’
After reading a script or watching a read-through, I would then seek the completed version of the product for direct comparison. I think making these comparisons is especially fascinating as we get an idea of the stylistic choices made in order to adapt the script onto the screen. While ‘action’ in a script may tell us what the character is doing, it doesn’t tell us how it will be shot, cut or the specific details of the mise en scène. After reading a script, we become more aware and focused on these stylistic qualities, as we already know what dialogue is to come.
It is also interesting to note how the dialogue of scripts translates onto the screen. I was curious to read a script for one of my favourite TV shows, Skins, to see if I would engage with it as much on a textual level. As the show is set in Bristol, UK, the characters speak with an extensive amount of local slang and cuss words. Through reading a transcript (couldn’t find an original script or screenplay), I was surprised by how differently it delivers on paper. In fact, given the language used, it was much less comprehendible and engaging without the tone, body language and actions of the characters.
Obviously the writers of Skins knew what they were doing would translate to screen, but by reading the script alone, people might question whether or not it would appropriate. Of course, it must be realised that a script is a film in its earliest stages, and the complete picture will not come together until it is executed visually and aurally, complete with performance and mise en scène. This essentially reiterates the need for writers to have an aptitude for filmmaking – they must understand what type of text will work on screen and what will not. Alas, being a skilled writer alone is simply not enough.
Image source: HD Wallpapers
This led me to think about how novels differ to scripts and screenplays. Novelists do not have a visual component to fall back on, and thus rely entirely on their descriptive language to paint a picture in the readers’ mind. They must describe their characters thoughts, feelings, whereabouts, actions and dialogue in a way that is both compelling and engaging for readers. Scriptwriting however is concise and straight to the point, with a rule of thumb being to only describe what is seen or heard in addition to dialogue. According to Brian Klems, “clever dialogue is found in quick back and forth exchanges, not prose-y speeches.” He recommends that 95% of dialogue is kept to three lines or less.
Interestingly there is in fact a novel adaptation of the show Skins. Although I have not read it myself, I’d be interested to see how the style of writing differs to that of the dialogue in the script.
All in all, I think it is a valuable exercise to compare scripts to completed films and make observations. I will endeavour to do this throughout the course as it is not only fascinating, but also teaches me a lot about the interdependent relationship between writing and filming.
