Hi folks.
It's me again and this time I'm after some help.
Today I had a brainwave.
I want to turn one of my stories into a screenplay.
The story concerned is only short, but I figure it might be able to be adapted to a screenplay, since there aren't too many actual scenes, few special effects and well, I'm sure you get the picture.
Even though I'm no Steven Speilberg or John Carpenter, I'd still like to give it a go and since I have absolutely no experience with plays--even those made for TV, I wondered if any of you good people may be able to give me some pointers.
The story I'm hoping to adapt may not be the kind of genre many of you are that interested in, but if there's anyone out there who has any experience at all writing plays or screenplays, I'd be very interested in hearing from you.
PM me if you can give me any pointers at all and all donations will be gratefully received.
Many thanks.
Hugs,
Nick B
Comments
Scriptwriting
Go to the library or online and READ a bunch of scripts. After you have read 30 or so, you'll begin to get the idea of how to do that. Write a few, read some more and compare what you've written to how actual scripts that have been used work. Get some scriptwriting software, there are some cheap, even free ones that do a fair job of making formatting a script easy.
I write and have written comic book scripts. These are similar to movies or plays but have their own quirks. But a script for anything, stage, radio, screen or page is essentially similar. The information is presented not to a reader but to someone who will interpret and translate your words to another medium.
No script survives the interpretation and translation process intact. Just as no work of prose survives being translated into a script. Each medium has its own requirements, quirks and possibilities. In my case, I've found that artists have nearly always improved my scripts when they do their part of the job.
Quillian is an example. I write five or ten pages of script at a time for Daniel to read and begin the process of thinking how to interpret and translate words into images that are melded with words to communicate a story in a way that just words cannot do. In this process, he rearranges, redacts and amplifies my words in ways I never thought of. When he's done the art, I take it and my original script and do my own job of translation and interpretation to fit the script to the art. It always ends up being a better story than the one I originally wrote.
Sometimes Daniel and I sit down and do sketches of possible panels or page layouts in order to think through the difficulties of translation and interpretation that my script presents to the artist. I've actually had a lot more experience in doing this part than Daniel has but it amazes me how intuitive he is on the best way to do things. Mostly, I stand back and let him work with just a suggestion from me now and then.
Sometimes, I have to leave out some good lines when it gets right down to producing the page to put on the screen. But for every time I've had to leave out part of my script because the art does not support it, I've five or ten opportunities to do with the final script things I would not have thought of without the art in front of me.
I've written and produced some short films (I took film production in college back in the seventies). The process is similar. The script is a recipe but the interpretive and translative skills of artists, actors, cameramen and directors always create something more than a script can ever be.
Professional comic books involve about a dozen people in producing a 22 page comic, plus cover and other pages. Stageplays, movies and television shows sometimes involve hundreds of people contributing their art, science and craft to a celluloid or digital production. One or more of those wrote the script. It's where it all starts and it may be the most important part but it ain't done until it's done. :)
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
Well, I spent a while
Well, I spent a while working in university theatre, including the Albee Workshops (Edward Albee taught playwrighting and directing classes. I was in charge of running sound for _all_ of them. Talk about burnout).
All I can suggest is pick up a couple of the theatrical guides to playwriting - not screenplays, but regular plays. You can also find information on blocking, scripting, etc, for theatre more easily than for the screen. That gives you a start.
BW
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
There's a book you should get.
by J. Michael Straczynski, The Complete Book of Scriptwriting (http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Scriptwriting-Michael-St...).
While it's not a "how to write a screenplay" or tell you how to adapt your writing to the stage, screen,etc., it tells you how it needs to be presented, formatted, what to do, what to leave out, and so forth. It will get you well on your way. And reading it, studying it, using it, will tell you if you need further help, from a book or a collaborator...
My son, who just finished his Theatre Arts degree has been lusting after my copy, even after writing and producing several plays.
Janice
Thanks girls
I just needed pointing in the right direction.
Sadly, I can't afford the purpose-built software that's on the market, so I've set Word up to mirror the example screenplays I've found and am now working feverishly on my first one.
Thanks to all who offered helpful advice.
Hugs
NB
I don't just look it, I'm totally into this new direction