24th June ( WEEK 9 )
Review Exercise 3: Dialogue
PURPOSE OF THE EXERCISE
- WE WRITE BEST WHAT WE KNOW WELL
DYNAMIC ACTION
Story is action
- Action compasses any kind of movements, activity and interaction between the characters and also between, the characters and their surroundings.
- Talking about how one feels is not as powerful as illustrating why one feels the way they do through action.
Film is behaviour
- Action is the manifestation of behaviour.
- The complexity of the human psyche and interaction is better understood when it is possible to watch the actions, nuances and reactions of the characters.
Dynamic action
- Has the potential to enrich the experience of the audience
MOVING PICTURES
THE POWER OF NY STORY LIES IN THE NARRATOR’S ABILITY TO PROJET A MENTAL PICTURE
3rd June ( WEEK 8 )
elements of dialogue
DIALOGUE REVEALS CHARACTER
- a character will talk about himself and other people woll talk about him.
DIALOGUE ESTABLISHES RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CHARACTERS
- once you have established your main character’s POV, you can use dialogue with other characters to show that they have other attitudes, creating opposite/alternative POVs.
- this helps to create and sustain the element of CONFLICT between characters.
GOOD EFFECTIVE DIALOGUE WILL MOVE THE STORY FORWARD
DIALOGUE COMMUNICATIONS FACES AND INFORMATION TO THE AUDIENCE
- it conveys essential exposition (present tense)
- characters will talk about what happened, establishing the storyline.
DIALOGUE COMMENTS ON THE ACTION
DIALOGUE TIES THE SCRIPT TOGETHER
- it is one of the devices that YOU as a writer can use to expand and enlarge the characters.
“if you can see it or hear it, don’t write it.” – neville smith
DIALOGUE SHOULD BE USED SPARINGLY
NEVER TELL THE AUDIENCE WHAT THEY CAN SEE FOR THEMSELVES!
DIALOGUE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR ACTION
- good dialogue is the illusion of reality.
- you’ve got to know how to edit what people say without losing any of the spirit.
EXERCISE!
Woman: WHERE DID YOU GO!
Man: erm erm.
WOman: i knew it, you stink.
Man : i’m soooooooo soooooo sorrry, love . . . . i wanted to ..
(interrupt) Woman: stop giving excuses. just a call away from me, and why is it so difficult to do so.
Man: but …
(interrupt) Woman: No but! you can don’t drink with your colleagues and instead come home straight! why didnt you!
Man: im really sorry, i promise there won’t be a next time.
Woman: you ruined the whole dinner, now the food is cold. i think i just have to throw them into the bin. and keep your tummy empty.
Man: what is wrong with you! i can just heat up! i just drink abit and it’s just awhile!
Woman: who cares when you don’t even give me a call back.
Man: ah ah ah, then who cares when someone don’t want to contribute in trying to have kids with me!
Woman: WHAT!
The REAL EXERCISE :
- Repeat ” THE EXPERIMENT” but:
- Husband and Wife are YOUR own parents
- Get two people to read the dialogue
- Record the reading
- Post it to your blog ( using youtube, multiply, etc)
26th May ( WEEK 7 )
REVIEW EXERCISE: TRUE AND FALSE STORIES
- purpose of the exercise
- A true story is not necessarily a good story.
- True life stories do not offer neat and relevant endings
- Life is unpredictable
- In a story, we can and must control the events and sequences so that it gives the appearance of being like life
Characterization: Defining the character
- every story starts with a characte
- The character is the heart, the soul and nervous system f your story
- It is through your characters that the viewers experience emotions
- It is through your characters that they are touched
- Without a character, there is no action
- Without action, you have no conflict
- No conflict, no story
- No story, no screenplay
Developing Character
When developing a character, ask yourself:
- Who is the character?
- What does he want?
- What is his quest
- what drives him to the resolution of the story
Establish your main character
Characters should have a 3 Dimension structure
a) Physiology – physical makeup
b) Sociology – social makeup i.e. background
c) Psychology – how he/she thinks
Physiology
- Sex
- Age
- Height, weight
- Colour of the hair, eyes, skin
- Posture
- Appearance
- Defects, abnormalities, deformities, birth marks, diseases
- Heredity
Sociology
- Class (lower, middle, upper)
- Occupation: type of work, income, condition of work
- Education: amount, kind of schools, aptitudes, poorest subject, marks, favourite subjects
- Home life: parents living, earning power, orphan, parents separated/divorced, parents’ habits, parents’ mental development, neglect, character’s marital status
- Religion
- Race, nationality
- Place in community: leader among friend, clubs, sports
- Political affiliations
- Amusements: hobbies, books, newspapers, magazines he/she reads
Psychology
- Sex life, moral standards
- Personal premise, ambition
- Frustrations, chief disappointments
- Temperament: choleric, easy-going, pessimistic, optimistic
- Attitude towards life: resigned, militant, defeatist
- Complexes: obsessions, inhibitions, superstitions, phobias
- Personality: extrovert, introvert
- Abilities: language, talents
- Qualities: imagination, judgment, taste, poise
- I.Q.
- What is the deep and personal secret this character has which he is desperate to protect/hide?
20th May ( WEEK 6 )
REVIEW EXERCISE: LETTER TO THE PAST
- purpose of the exercise
- The letter is a practical, personal example of how a character – YOU – undergo an inevitable process of change
- This process of change is an essential ingredient of any effective story.
- In dramatic writing, the very essence is character change.
STORYTELLING TOOL 2: EXPERIENCE
- A storyteller should be concerned with the potential of every experience.
- Everything about you – where you were born, what food you eat, the bump on your forehead – your experiences are unique and irreplaceable.
- Many of your experiences are universal and translatable and can be used in any location.
TIPS:
- If you don’t know what to do with a character, make him yourself for a while.
- See how he relates to the world he has been thrown into.
- PLUNDER YOUR OWN PERSONAL BACKGROUND!
The things that happen to you as you grow up and the things that are currently happening to you make terrific story sources.
- All people have fragments of stories
- These potential ideas prompt your desire to know more
- Respond emotionally and intellectually to what you heard
- Good stories are born in the heart, not the head.
- Remember the role of an audience
- After all you ARE the audience
STORYTELLING TOOL 3: MEMORY
- YOUR MEMORY IS A WONDERFUL CABINET OF PAST INCIDENTS WHICH YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED OR BEEN TOLD.
- THESE MEMORIES ARE POINTS OF REFERENCE TO YOUR OWN PAST EXISTENCE
TIP:
- WRITE what you do not know because you will find some other part of you that does know.
- THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR PERSONAL DISCOVERY
- What is the difference between memory and experience?
- How do we use memory to build creative content?
EXERCISE: TRUE & FALSE STORIES
- Write 2 short stories
- One is completely TRUE
- One is completely FALSE
Assignements
- Reflection
- True and False
-Post these on your blogs under a page called True and False
-Go into you’re the 3 classmates below you on the blogroll and say which of their stories is true, which you think is false.
13th May ( WEEK 5 )
Assignments
- Reflection
- Letter to the Past:
- Select a person that meant something to you in your past, but whom you no longer speak to now.
- Then write a letter which expresses all the things you wish could say to the person but can’t
- Communicate the memories of important moments you had together in the past, and how your time spent together has made you a different person now than you were before.
6th May ( WEEK 4 )
REVIEW EXERCISE 2: PEOPLE-WATCH
“what would Character A do to provoke Character B to an extreme action”
While Dennis runs down the stairs to meet his girlfriend, he accidentally bumps into Ai Mian. The book that Ai Mian was holding, fall right into a puddle of water. Ai Mian face turns blank, she bends down over at the puddle, and stares at it for a moment. Dennis did not know what to do, but to run away. Ai Mian stares at the running boy, and starts chasing him. Ai Mian flashes her ability, she jumps right onto Dennis’ shoulder. And starts whispering to Dennis’ ear : ” I feel like banging my head to yours.” and bangs hers against Dennis’. Dennis fall right down into the pool nearby, and drown himself. and DIE.
6 Parts of Tragedy:
- plot
- characters
- thought
- diction
- melody
- spectacle
According to Aristotle, tragedy . . .
- creates a cause-and-effect chain that clearly reveals what may happen
- arouses not only pity but also fear because members of the audience can imagine themselves within the cause-and-effect chain.
What is plot?
- Plot is a the arrangement of incidents
- It is not the story itself, but the way the incidents are presented to the audience.
- The structure of the play.
Beginning
- The incitive moment
- It must start the cause and effect chain.
END
- Resolution
- Must be caused by the preceding events but not sad to other incidents
Episodic plot
- According to Aristotle, the worst kinds of plots.
- The acts ( episodes ) succeed one another without probability or necessity
- The only thing tying together the events in such a plot
Simple vs Complex Plots
- Simple has only a change of fortune.
- Complex has a reversal of intention “peripeteia” and recognition “anagnorisis”connected with the catastrophe
CHARACTER
- Character supports plot.
- Personal motivations are connected to the cause and effect chain
- The protagonist in a tragedy should be renowned and prosperous.
- In ideal settings, the protagonist will mistakenly bring about his own downfall, not because he is sinful or weak, but because he does not know enough. No anagnorisis.
Lack of self-knowledge= “Hamartia”
Katharsis-Cleansing
Mimesis-imitation of life
Perepeteia-change of fortune
Harmatia- lack of self knowledge
Anagnorisis- sudden realisation.
3 ACT STRUCTURE
1st act-set up.
Intro character, goal oriented.
Character meets road blocks produced by the plot and antagonist
2nd act- confrontation
Action intensifies
Event happens which forces the character to make his or her choice.
3rd act-resolution
Level of effort rises to a new height
Both polt and character is resolved
Main character either achieves or does not achieve his goal
ASSIGNMENTS
- REFLECTION
- VISUAL TRIGGER
- Find an image and tell a story that comes to your mind as you see it.
- Pictures should not be taken for this purpose- use only pictures you can find
- Incorporate principles of tragedy into your writing!
- That doesn’t mean that something bad happens and story ends. It means something bad happens as a result of a flaw in your character, andy you show how this tragic fall forces your character to learn something about herself or himself.
29th April ( WEEK 3 )
REVIEW EXERCISE 2 : 50 WORD STORIES
- Difficulties – What were they?
- Restraints – Did they help?
Do constraints help you to be a better writer?
STORYTELLING TOOL 1: OBSERVATION
- Observe in a concious way
- Develop the ability to see and record movements, physical characteristics and settings
- Adopt a KEEN EYE
- Develop a natural SENSE OF CURIOSITY
- An observed event, when subject to simple questions, can set up a sequence of possibilities that will develop into a story worth telling.
- Whom am i writing about?
- Who is my character?
- What is he/she/it like?
- What does he/she/it do?
- What happens to him/her/it in the story?
- People rarely observe familiar people or things closely
- Most people pass through the day with 20% – 30% awareness
MINDLESS OBSERVATION vs TRUE OBSERVATION
- OBSERVE in a conscious way
- DEVELOP the ability to see and record people:
- THEIR MOVEMENT
- THEIR PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
- THE SETTING/PLACES they’re in
EXERCISE: PEOPLE-WATCH
- Walk into the canteen/library, etc. and watch people by.
- Eventually, one will catch your attention
- Write down as many details as possible through observation.
- Repeat steps 1- 3 for a second character.
- Transcribe all these details into “People-Watch” page that you will create on your blog.
22th April ( WEEK 2 )
REVIEW EXERCISE 1B: OPENERS
from winnie’s blog
“3. Esther feels a death grip on her right shoulder, sending shivers running down her spine.”
Esther feels a death grip on her right shoulder, sending shivers running down her spine. Trying to turn behind, but somehow her instinct is telling her not to but ignore it. She shrugs the hand away, and continues walking towards the divine statue that she wasn’t suppose to go near to. As she steps in with her right foot, hands grip on to her shoulder real tight, and soon after she realises she was fling off to one corner. The owner of the hands jumps right onto Esther, and start grabbing her neck.
THE ROLE OF CONFLICT
- conflict is the central feature of the screenplay
- man against man
- man against environment
- man against selfl - it’s variations of sex, age, religion and culture which provide variety to the conflict.
CONFLICT = CHANGE
- change in common to everyone
- change is universal
- bodies change
- seasons change
- lives change
- relationships change
- feelings change
- locations change
- technologies change
- As universal as change may be, people often resist it for fear of the unknown
- People must learn to cope with change if they want to survive
- The action in drama depends on conflict.
CONFLICT
- Definition
- ( opposition of persons or forces )
- It is the interaction of opposing ideas, interests, or wills, and create the plot.
- Plot cannot be constructed without conflict
- As your characters attempt to reach their goals, they come into conflict with each other.
- The end of the story nears when the protagonist and antagonist approach their goals and the conflict rises to generate maximum suspense and excitement.
The Call Home
Man vs Man
- Kasi vs supervisor
- Kasi vs roommates
- Kasi vs wife
Man vs Environment
- Kasi vs phonecard
- Kasi vs working site
( THE MAIN CONFLICT )
Man vs Self
- Kasi vs self-esteem problem
The Secret Heaven
Man vs Man
- Mum vs Daughter
- Teacher vs Daughter
Man vs Environment
- Daughter vs Piano
- Daughter vs Home
Man vs Self
- Play time vs Piano time
WRITING FOR AN AUDIENCE
- Screenwriter = storyteller
- The cinematic experience is not jut made up of words you might put on paper, but the audiences’ emotional reaction to that information.
Director to People?
Writer to People?
Camera to People?
NAH!
It’s PEOPLE TO PEOPLE EH !
WHAT IS THE WRITER’S PURPOSE?
- To connect
- Themselves
- Their unique vision
- The material
- The drama
- Others
Audiences want to be transported by a screenplay
WHERE DO YOU LOOK FOR A STORY?
INSIDE YOURSELF!!!!!
EVERYTHING to learn about other people is already in you
Now you need to figure out how to connect to it.
ASSIGNMENTS
- Reflection
- 5 stories of exactly 50 words each, posted to your blog.
15th April ( WEEK 1 )
Story telling is how to engage the audience with you story
Story telling is NOT Script writing.
Story telling is a basis, pool of stories that you can use in your future.
We’
ll learnt the skills to tell stories
Writing Format.
Assignments in this class will use:
Present Tense
3rd Person
Visual Voice
3rd Person
A character is “narrating”
the story as it is happening.
It presents a more immediate and urgent feel to the material.
Commonly used in.
1.Screen play
The story is unfolding as we read it.
Fosters a more urgent and immediate feel to the story.
2.Thriller and Suspense Genres
passive vs active voice
passive voice
-uses weak verbs
-tells what’s happening in the character’s head
-distances the reader from the story
active voice
-uses strong action verbs
-shows the action
-uses an immediate sentence structure
-conveys the story in a lively manner
tips for writing
-everyone will not have problems coming up with a list of excuses for procrastination
-the biggest problem is getting started
-if you have a work in progress. NEVER stop for the night if you are stuck
-always solve the problem and keep going until you are in a safer water. A good night’s sleep is important. Sleeping on problems is a myth
-if you cant get started on a project, start writing anyway. to do this you need to have must words to type
-it doesn’t matter what you write, you’ll soon begin to think and move in your own rhythm/pace
exercise 1a: openers
- write with this opener:
Li walks into the bukit timah police post wearing nothing but a hula skirt and start throwing himself to Calvin. Li whine ” why didnt you get back to me, hot stuff?” Calvin totally freeze right on his seat, and watch li slowly moving his hand to his thigh. ” you didnt even reply my message!” - note down questions you were asking yourself as you wrote it
- whose story am i telling?
- what is the point of this story?
- how can i engage the attention of the audience? - write 12 opening phrases in your blogs under the openers page.
examples:
-sally keeps glancing at her watch
-joe opens the bottle and takes a whiff
