Week 8

Functions of Dialogue

 

-Effective

 

main character’s POV is established. ushers dialogue with other characters to show their inferring attitudes on the same subject matter.

 

Dialogue is no substitute for action

 

If you can see or hear it, don’t write it. – Neville Smith

 

Silence is powerful.

 

Writing Tips

 

1. Eavesdropping

 

2. genuiniely Fake

 

3. Reveal information sparingly

 

4. Paunctuated Dialogue with Action

 

5. Avoid stereotypes, profanity and slang

 

-cliche stereotypin (widely fixed but oversimplified view)

- Profanities (vugaritires/ obscene langauge)

- Slang (informal phrases/ words e.g blur like sooting)

 

6. Read (scripts) Widely

 

7. Punctuate Dialogue Correctly

know when to stop pause

 

Elements of Dialogue

 

GOOD DIALOGUE is the illusion of reality

 

You’ve got to know how to edit what people say without losing any of the spirit.

 

 

Common Mistake: students tend to create a radio shoes of images

 

Film is a visual Medium

 

A screenplay is a story told in pictures

 

 

Guy:  eh, i think we should break up

 

Girl: huh what did you say

 

Guy: eh you deaf ah? I THINK WE SHOULD BREAK UP.

 

Girl: huh breakup again ah? okay lo.

 

Guy: okay lah set. can find someone better than you also.

 

Girl: yah find someone better ok. in the end also come back to me.

 

Guy: Have you seen your own face?

 

Girl: have YOU seen your own face? like kana ram by lorry ten thousand times but i still date you ok.

 

Guy: yes i have actually. its actually not as bad as yours.

 

Girl: wlao you hurt me. i hate you.  mental problem. you think you very handsome is it. even the Saw psycho see your face also run away ),: break up break up lor.

 

ASSIGNMENT SCENARIO:

 

A lady returns home late from work and finds that her husband who is supposed to look after their kids has not done what she expected.

 

They are still watching TV, their homework undone, the messy takeaway leftovers have been left on the finding\, dishes are unwashed and their pet dog has soiled the carpet

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Week 7

Week 7: Characterization: Defining the character

 

The character is the heart, the soul, nervous system

 

It is through your characters that the viewers experience emotions.

 

- Without a character, there is no action

- Without action, you have no conflict

- Without conflict, you have no story

- Without store, you have no screenplay

 

Ask yourself

- who is your character?

- What does he want?

- What is his quest?

- What drives him to the resolution of the story?

 

Characters should have a 3 dimensional structure

- Physiology

- Sociology

- Psychology

 

Phyiology

Defined as the physical appearance of a person

- Gender

- Age

- Height/Weight

- Color of hair, eyes, skin

- Posture

- Appearance

- Defects, abnormalities, deformities, birth marks, diseases

- heredity

 

Sociology

Defined as the social status of a person:

 

- Class (lower, middle, upper)

- Occupation, type/hours of work, income, condition of work, attitude towards organization, suitability or work.

- Education: amount , kind of schools, marks, laborite subjects, poorest subjects, aptitudes.

- Home Life: parents living, earning power orphan parents separated / divorced, parents’ habit, parents’ mental development, parents’ vices neglect, character’s martial status

- Religion

- Race, Nationality

- Place in the community; leader among friends, 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 LifeL resigned, militant, defeatist

- Complexes: obsessions, inhibitions, superstitions, phobias

- Personality: extrovert, intorvert

- Abilities: languages, talents

- Qualities: imagination, judgement, taste poise

- I.Q.

- What is the deep and personal secret this character has which he is desperate to protect/ hide?

 

Separate the components of his life into 2

 

a) Interior

(This takes place from birth until the moment your story begins)

 

a) Exterior

(This takes place the moment your story begins to it’s conclusion)

 

Interior

 

 

INTERACTION BETWEEN CHARACTERS

- your characters’ personalities and traits are revealed through their interaction with other characters in the story world

- Audiences must see your characters in relationships with other people or things.

 

ALL DRAMATIC CHARACTERS INTERACT IN 3 WAYS

 - They EXPERIENCE CONFLICT in achieving their dramatic need.

(eg, Need money – Rob and bank, rob a store, rob a person)

 

- They INTERACT with other CAHRACTERS.

(Either in a antagonistic, friendly or indifferent way)

 

- They INTERACT with THEMSELVES

(eg. He overcame his fear of being caught by puling off the robbery successfully.)

 

HOW DO YOU INVENT CHARACTERS?

Try turning your characters upside down.

 

- A monk who is devoted to his religion…

… but a football fanatic

 

- A serial killer …

… whose obsession is to kill other serial killers.

 

- A common street rat…

… who loves to eat and cook only fine food.

 

Letter to the past

 

select a person that meant something to you in your past, but whom you no  longer speak to now OR are unable to do so.

 

Write a letter which expresses all the things you wish to 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

 

Password protect your page!

Week 6

Storytelling tool 2: EXPERIENCE 

 

- A storyteller should be able to identify the potential of every experience.

 

- Everything about you is unique – where you were born what type of food you prefer, the birthmark, bump on your freehand, etc

 

- The events in your life may be similar to others BUT your reaction to these experiences are personal to you and irreplaceable

 

- Many of your experiences are universal and translatable and can be used in any location.

 

- List some experiences that would be common & relatable regardless of the culture or country:

 

 

School Camps

Moving house

School Bullying

Friendships

Family Problems

Abused by the rich

Loss of virginity

1st day of school

 

- Why is the audience able to relate to your stories?

 

- The writer must connect to his reader/ audience through the most vital aspect of being human – EMOTIONS!

 

- People connect with emotions that are evoked in stories, (not the actors, not the location, not the camera angles/ shot sizes etc.)

 

TAP ON 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.

 

If you are unsure how to proceed with your character’s develop,met or don’t know what to do with him, imagine you ARE him.

 

How would you cope without he situation you’ve put your story character in?

 

What is the state of mind when he copes with the events in the story world? Is he afraid, angry, contented etc

 

All people have fragments of stories.

 

These potential ideas prompt your desire to know more.

 

Respond emotionally and intellectually to what you hear.

 

Good stories are born in the heart, not the head.

 

What appease to you is likely to appeal to someone out there.

 

Storytelling tool 3: Memory

 

Your memory is a delightful cabinet of past incidents which you have experienced or been told.

 

There memories serve as points of references to your own past.

 

What types of post incidents tend to be embedded in one’s memories?

 

TIPS

 

Be brave and write what you do not know as well.

 

How can writers write on topic they are unfamiliar

- Through research

- Through Interviews

- You will find some part of you that does know

 

THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR PERSONAL DISCOVERY

 

What is the difference between memory and experience?

 

- Memories can be “manufactured” depending on our state of mind and emotions during that period of time

- Experiences are deemed as ‘more authentic’ and real

 

How do we use memory to build creative content

 

- They can be use as a spark to initiate new story ideas

 

 

 

 

TWO SHORT STORIES BASED ON A PERSONAL STORY

 

1 true 1 false

 

down 3 true or false?

 

Week 5 Notes

What is Tragedy?

 

- Tragedy is NOT that something bad happens or that a character dies and the story ends.

- Tragedy means something bad happens as a result of a flaw in your character.

E.g his obsession with wealth & power leads him to neglect his family and they leave him.

Week 3: Constraints

Constraints faced by writers

- word limit

- target audience

- duration of the program

- budget

- language

BE AWARE 

 - People rarely utilize their observation skills fully. What consumes our attention?

- List some distractions that compete for our attention on a daily basis.

- Most people pass through the day with 20% – 30% awareness level.

STORY TELLING TOOL 1 : OBSERVATION

 - Adopt a KEEN EYE

- Develop a natural SENSE OF CURIOSITY.

- an observed event, subjected to simple questions, can set up a series of possible events that will develop into a tory with telling.

    QUESTIONS derived from an observed SCENARIO

 A couple a meal yet totally not taking… .. What questions come to mind?

- What is their relationship?

 - Why are theory not chatting?

- How is their relationship? Feelings onwards each other? What are actions that prove your conclusion?

- What is their social class based on their attire, manners, speech etc…

- Observe in a conscious way. How? What do we look out for when observing someone?

- What is NOT said but implied? How can a person communicate his feelings without stating it?

- A thought can manifest itself through behavior. How?

- Train yourself to see and record people’s:

- Movements

- Physical Characteristics

- Behaviour

- Does  the SETTING / PLACE affect the overall manner of the person? How? Why?

- Whom am I writing about?

- Who is my charter? Is he/she featured in most scenes?

- What is he like?

- What does he do? Occupation, etc..

- What happens to him in the story?

A – Attire, attitude

B – Behaviour

C – Characteristics

D – Dialogue

E – Expressions

F – Facial Features

G – Gestures, gait

H – Height

I – Idiosyncrasies

Week 2: Conflict

Definition:

“Opposition of persons or forces”

Conflict can result internally or externally?

Eg. Two lovers

Argument with friends

Conflict is the interaction of opposing ideas, interests, or wills that creates the plot.

Conflict is the core of any story.

Types of conflict

Dramatic conflict is the protagonist’s struggle against something or someone.

Man vs.

- Man

eg. Catch me if you can, Harry Potter

- System

eg. Die Hard

- Self

eg. Friday Night Lights

- Enviroment

eg. 2012, Castaway

Causes & Effects of Conflict

- Conflict arises when there is CHANGE

- Changes may be major or minor (Major : death, moving house, becoming fatter) (Minor : change in schedule, haircut)

- While change is universal and common, change is not always accepted.

- Example of changes: Seas ons, lives relationships, feelings, bodies, locations, technologies.

- Change _____ Adapt

- Conflict arises when people resist changes

- The intensity of conflict depends how people react to the change

- People must learnt to cope with change if they want to survive

- The action in drama depends on conflict

Importance of Conflict

 - Plot cannot be constructed without conflict

- Central feature of the screenplay.

- 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.

From the Short Film

 - types of conflict did the character face?

- have a lot of debts

- though he earns more in singapore, the conditions he face are harsh.

- working overtime is not enough

- how can you improve the film/visuals to evoke more sympathy from the audience?

Writing for an Audience

- The cinematic experience is not just your story on paper, but the audiences’ emotional reaction to it.

- If your audiences feel nothing or little emotion, you would have ailed as a story teller.

- Screen writer is the story teller

ITS PEOPLE TO PEOPLE

Writer’s purpose?

- Themselves

- his unique vision

- highlight the stated issue

- the drama of the plot

- other characters facing the same situation

26 April Notes

A story is a sequence of events. 

content must be something worth saying

Written Assignments Format 

 

- Present Tense

- Third person

         style of writing would appear as if a character is “narrating” the story as it is happening

               eg. “Mark picks up the gun and holds it in his hand. it begins to tremble, as if alive”

         `commonly used in screenplays

                -the story / film unfolds as we read it

                -urgent and immediate feel

                -thriller & suspense genres

- Visual

Passive writing

 

 - uses weak verbs

 - wells what the character is thinking

 - increases distances between radar and characters in the story

 - delayed or non immersion into story world

Active Writing

 - uses action verbs

 - shows the character is doing

 - reduces distance between readers &  characters in the story

 - immediate immersion into story world

 - extensive descriptive words

 - emotion is translated into a action

 - 

eg. famished students storm into the canteen to fill their rumbling stomachs during lunch 

eg. Mark storms across the room to pour himself a drink. He slams the bottle down and gulps his drink.

       When Jane steps into the room, Mark turns around and smashes his empty glass at her feet.

GO EASY ON YOURSELF

 - Don’t look for inspiration. she will come

 - be alone

 - writer’s block best handled with a break

 - always solve the problem before you sleep

 - all first drafts are bad. 2nd..3rd…4th

HW (openers)

Jeremiah walks towards the closed door……

- whose story am i telling?

- what is the next point of action?

- what is the point of the story?

- how can i engage my audience?

- is it credible?

- can i relate to it?

- stop thinking logically to allow yourself to create artificial narrative events for the viewers appreciation and enjoyment.

Tips for Writing

- Stop Procrastinating
- Think of a title
- Add a short description of your story
- Review who should be the 'star' in your story
- Task him/her with something to attain by the end of the story
- Simmer your story Idea
- Try to stop your 'star' from getting what he wants (obstacles) people like to see challenges
- Observe what would this make him/her do then
- Trust that he/she would eventually attain his goal or die trying to do so

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. After you read this, you should delete and write your own post, with a new title above. Or hit Add New on the left (of the admin dashboard) to start a fresh post.

Here are some suggestions for your first post.

1. You can find new ideas for what to blog about by reading the Daily Post.
2. Add PressThis to your browser. It creates a new blog post for you about any interesting  page you read on the web.
3. Make some changes to this page, and then hit preview on the right. You can alway preview any post or edit you before you share it to the world.