Analysing the scene, Russian hats and my favourite script site

So I've got your attention:

We'll start light, at the moment I've got into the habit of wearing hats whilst writing, OK doesn't sound that strange but I've adopted this as my writing companion:



YES a Russian hat, the floppy ears are great!

Anyway it helps me write so I'm wearing it... as we speak

Analysing the scene

Screenplays are made of ACTS which in turn are made of sequences, and those are made of scenes. So the scene is God right?
Well I think so, after all, if the bricks are weak the house falls down. In my opinion it goes 1) Story/plot 2) Character 3) Scene 4) Dialogue... blah blah 155) Extras - sorry extras

Which got me thinking ANALYSE THE SCENE - too many people just watch TV shows and go "oh that was nice" - "It killed half an hour" or "that show was crap!" - If you don't want a job in this industry then you can afford to do that, otherwise you should be doing more than just watching TV shows. Even the horrible god awful period dramas BBC 1 loves so much can improve the way you write scenes. Learning what not to do is obviously a step forward.

So next time you watch a show THINK:

1) What was the purpose of that scene? The person who wrote it spent a lot of time on it, what was it supposed to mean in relation to the whole plot? Does it do this well?

2) How does the scene start? Does it go straight to the point? Does it linger? Are other things served within the scene, exposition or other parts of the plot commented on?

3) And then in turn How does it end? With a laugh? Relating to the next scene? How would you of ended it?

4) Time and pacing - Was it a 5 minute boreathon? Was it too snappy and you wanted more from it?

Most importantly:

5) Think about everything above and compare it to scenes you write. Are yours too long, take to long to get to the purpose or when you read them back you struggle to find the purpose. If you watch a great show or film and analyse it's scenes compared to yours you will automatically be able to write your scenes better. Therefore improving the scenes, acts and the screenplay as a whole. It will obviously read better.

My favourite site for screenplays

http://pdfscreenplays.com/

Wow, what a site, new scripts added everyday and I know most script sites do that but these guys get some very good stuff in. Unproduced, alternative drafts and the other day I even managed to get Charlie Kaufman's audioplay 'Hope Leaves the Theatre'

Anyway they are strict on membership and basically people coming in and taking and not giving. So if you want to join send them a nice message and add to the forum now and then.

Happy writing, with or without a Russian hat.

Perfection is only in the mind and dialogue in shoe boxes

Jean Renoir is known to have said "Perfection is only in the mind" and only till last week did I realise what he meant.

A few weeks ago I was shooting/editing a film and writing constantly, some of my own stuff but mostly screenwriting assignments I was way behind on. Anyway I edited my film and I was very disappointed, it wasn't how I imagined it and It wasn't very good - Perfection is only in the mind, but how does this relate to screenwriting?

Well at the time of writing I'm definitely more interested in screenwriting as opposed to filmmaking and a huge part of it is to do with what Renoir said. I don't like the idea of what you wanted to make isn't what you ended up making, it's horrible, it's as if someone else made it! The film I made finished and I was like "is that it!" - "that's not what I imagined 3 months ago"

With screenwriting if you want a car chase you write a car chase if you want it to take place in a school gym you put INT. SCHOOL GYM - It's that easy but with my film so many things went wrong, I wanted a scene by a lake and due to it being freezing outside and actors not showing up it was annoyingly shot in a dining room. It doesn't make a difference to the narrative but it made a difference to me, it wasn't the film I imagined.

I've read that some directors love this process and how the film evolves by itself: from what you thought up into what it becomes - to me it wasn't a nice experience and that was only on a 3 minute film! God knows what it's like when you don't get the cast you wanted or the studio demands re-writes.


Dialogue

At the moment I'm writing a TV pilot. It's a family drama with a twist and I said to a good contact I'd hand it to them by the end of January and at the moment I feel behind (on another thing!) so I've taken inspiration from a writing activity Shane Black does.

He takes a shoe box and writes on it what script it refers to: For example "Crime thriller" "Rom-Com", "TV pilot for HBO" etc and when he thinks of an idea or line of dialogue he writes it down and throws it in. He'll keep on doing this for a good part of the 'thinking up' time. Then when the time is right he'll empty the box, there will be pieces of dialogue, characters, sub-plots, main plots and even locations. So I'm using that and it's helping so I advise you to try it out

*Also if interested here's my box:



Three quick tips on dialogue if it doesn't sound right

1) Think back if you've heard anyone else say it or anything remotely like it
2) Stand up and act it out/say it aloud and see how it feels (make sure no one is watching)
3) If you still can't see why it's not right carry on writing, something might come to you or after the first draft you'll realise it was right with that specific character or maybe, just maybe you were an insecure writer for that split moment (it's allowed)

* If you're a fan of the Office, "that's what she said"