NOTES

proper writing format:

1)present tense

2)3rd person (so tt a person can visualize)

*a character is narrating the story is it is happening

e.g. mark picks up a gun and holds it in his hand.it began to tremble,as if alive

*gives an immediate and urgent feel

*use in screenplays

*thriller and suspense

3)visual voice

-passive voice(dont use it to write a story)

*weak verb

*whats happening in the characters head

*dist reader from story

(e.g the sky was blue with a lot of fluffy white clouds

vs e.g fluffy white clouds drift lyk cotton in the ocean blue sky)

-active voice

*strong action verb

*shows action

*immediate action structure

active vs passive

• mark slams the door and stalks across the chamber(active)
• mark is angry with jane(passive)
• the sky was blue with a lot of fluffy white clouds(passive)
• fluffy white clouds drift lyk cotton in the ocean blue sky(active)

tips 4 writing:

1)never stop 4 the night

2)always solve problems and go on

3)come up with words

4)thing and move in own pace

exercise 1A,opener:

wearing  a banana suit,johnson walks towards the botanic gardens with a banana in his hand.

he let out a sigh and rest his hands on his laps,head spinning around looking for her.

“why must this happen to me?”he sigh again.

he roll his eyes and try to force a smile when a kid points out

“mum!that’s a freaking banana!”

*NOTE DOWN QNS YOU WERE ASKING YOURSELF AS YOU WROTE IT

-whose story am i telling?

-what’s the point of this story?

-how can i engage the attention of the audience?

**(assignment:write 12 opening phrases in your blogs under openers page!!)

(assignment:write 1 blog post)

(30th of april)

He stands against the wall – sweating. Picking up an ounce of courage, he looks over his shoulder to see who was following him.He saw nothing.Taking a deep breath,he ran his hand over his forehead to wipe off his perspiration.It was such a close shave,he thought.

Closing his eyes,he heard the sound again.It sounded like a footstep.No.It was more of something brushing against the bushes.As his heartbeat became more prominent to his ears,he decided to pluck up his courage to deal with the whatever stuff that was following him.With hands trembling,he picked up a piece of  wood found on the floor.As he slowly approached the bushes,he heard a faint “meow”.

He dropped the piece of wood in his hands and let out a smile.

ELEMENTS OF DIALOGUE

• dialogue reveals character will talk bout himself and other  ppl will talk but him.
• establishes relationships between characters -once you’ve established main character, pov,can use dialogue with other character to show they have other att,creates opp/alternate povs
• good effective dialogue will move the story forward.
• dialogue communicates faces and information to the audience

-conveys essential exposition(means expose.e.g “hey!some1 fighting outside”)

-characters talks bout what happened,establishing the story line.

• dialogue comments on the action.
• ties script together-one of the devices you can use to expand and enlarge your characters.

*”if you can see it or hear it,don’t write it   ” by Neville Smith

• used sparingly
• never tell the audience what they can see or hear!!

*story boarding = translating story into pictures.

• common mistakes-conventional spoken language ,long statements of’ “REAL TALKING”,and defend their decision by telling us that:

“it’s how the character speaks”

• good dialogue not= somebody’s ability to write authentic speech as heard in real life
• god dialogue is the illusion of reality-edit without losing any of the spirit.

• common mistakes-create radio shows with images(!!screenplay is a story told in pictures)

EXERCISE:WRITING DIALOGUE

• A MIDDLE-AGED MAN RETURNS HOME FROM WORK.
• STOPS FOR A FEW DRINKS WITH HIS FRIENDS AND FORGOT TO PHONE HIS WIFE TO TELL HER HE’LL BE LATE.
• THE DINNER IS RUINED.

THE EXERCISE:

WRITE A SHORT SCENE COMPOSED OF DIALOGUE BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE.

wife:”Hey dear,you’re home.”

husband:”erm…sorry hon,i don’t mean to not call you”

wife:”it’s okay dear.By the way,you reek of alcohol,that’s smells great man!”

husband:”hmm..are you okay hon?you’re not angry?”

wife:”of course not!because i’m going out with a hot guy tonight.”

husband:”hey you bitch!”

wife:”she’s outside.did you feed her today?”

THE REAL EXERCISE:

• REPEAT”THE EXPERIMENT” BUT:

• HUSBAND AND WIFE ARE YOUR OWN PARENTS

wife: where have you been?

husband:the kids are here,you wanna go to the room to talk?

wife:no.can’t be bothered with you.

WE WRITE BEST  WHAT WE KNOW WELL

WRITE GOOD DIALOGUE=BE NATURAL AND UNATURAL!

STORYTELLING TOOL 1:

OBSERVATION

• adopt a keen eye

• develop a natural senses of curiosity-an observed event,when subject to simple qns,set up a sequence of possibilities tt will develop into a story worth telling.
• who 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 he story

MINDLESS OBSERVATION vs TRUE OBSERVATION

• observe in a conscious way
• develop the ability to see and record people

-THEIR MOVEMENTS ETC

-PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTIC

-SETTINGS/PLACE

EXERCISE:PEOPLE WATCH

1. WALK INTO CANTEEN/LIBRARY,ETC AND WATCH PEOPLE PASS BY
2. EVENTUALLY,ONE WILL CATCH YOUR ATTENTION
3. WRITE DOWN AS MANY DETAILS AS POSSIBLE THROUGH OBSERVATION
4. REPEAT STEPS 1-3 FOR A SECOND CHARACTER
5. TRANSCRIBE ALL THESE DETAILS INTO “PEOPLE WATCH” PAGE THAT YOU WILL CREATE ON YOU BLOG.

FRI,7/5

• story stars with character

1. heart and soul and nervous system
2. tru characters tt viewers experience emotions.ru character tt viewers are touched

• DEFINING CHARACETRS

1. no character=no action=no conflict=no story=no screenplay

• DEVELOPING CHRACTERS

1. who is your character?
2. what does he wants?
3. what is his quest?
4. what drives him to the resolution of the story?

1. ESTABLISH OYUR MAIN CHARACTER-character should have a 3D structure

a)physiology

• sex

• age

• height

• weight

• colour of hair

• eyes

• skin

• posture

• appearance

• defects

• heredity

b)sociology

• class
• occupation
• education
• home life
• religion
• race/nationality
• place in the community
• political affiliations
• amusement

c)psychology

• sex life/ moral standards
• personal premise
• ambition
• frustration
• chief disappointment
• temperament
• attitude towards life
• abilities
• qualities
• I.Q
• What is the deep and personal secrets this character has which he is desperate to protect or hide

1. SEPARATE THE COMPONENTS OF HIS  LIFE IN TO 2 BASIC CATEGORY

• interior -birth until story begins
  

-process tt forms character

• how old is he?
• where does he live?
• does he have siblings?
• what kind of childhood does he have?
• what was his relationship to his parents?
• what kind of child was he?
• is he single,widowed.married,separated or divorced?

• exterior -process tt reveals character

• who are they and what do they do?
• are they sad or happy with their life?
• do they wish that they are different?another job?another life?

• you mus create your characters IN RELATIONSHIP to other people or things.
• all dramatic charac interact in 3 ways:

1. EXPERIENCE CONFLICT in dramatic needs
2. INTERACT with other CHARACTERS
3. INTERACT with THEMSELVES.

CONFLICTS

1. definition
2. (opposition of persons or forces)
3. it is THE INTERACTION OF OPPOSING IDEAS,INTEREST, OR WILLS, and creates the plots.

THE ROLE OF CONFLICT

• conflict is the central of the screenplay

-man against man

-man against environment

-man against self

• variations of sex,age, religion and culture tt provides variety to the conflict.

conflict=change

• ppl resists it for fear of the unknown
• ppl must learn to cope with change if they want to survive.
• action in drama depends on a conflict.

• plot cannot be constructed without conflict
• attempt to reach their goals,come into conflicts
• end of story nears when the protagonist and antagonist approach their goals and conflicts rises to generate max suspense and excitement.
• protagonist and antagonist locked together with no possible compromise between them
• characters of strong conviction who will fight for what they want
• evenly match,stronger the battle,more suspense aroused

*HOMEWORK ON MEL.DUE ON WEEK 6(10%)

*5 COMPLETELY 50 WORD STORY ON BLOG PAGE.(any kind of tense you want but you must include conflicts )

Purpose of 50 words story

• breaks down myth of handling only 1 idea at a time.
• encourages precise and concise writing
• teaches basic script editing skills,to focus and reveal the essential elements

character

• dynamic action

1. movement,activities and interaction btw characters and also btw the characters and their surrounding.
2. talking bout how ones feel is nor as powerful as illustration
3. action is the manifestation of behaviour
4. has the potential to enrich the experience
5. an action that helps to “control the events that happens.

INTERACTING LOCATION

• physical setting and surrounding tt interacts with the characters of film by positively by heightening their action

• enhance impact of the action and heighten stakes

• E.g. a high rise building invokes more suspense than a low rise building if a character is afraid of height..

**TEST ON WEEK 6 ! GO ON MEL!

STORY TELLING TOOL2:MEMORY

• wonderful cabinet of past incident which you experience
• points of reference to your own past existence
• write what you do not know cause you will find some part of you that does know
• there IS ALWAYS ROOM FRO PERSONAL DISCOVERY

ASSIGNMENT:

• letter to someone whom you can no longer speak to
• could be someone you completely lost touch with
• even som1 who is dead

you should describe yourself exactly as you are in present time and then try and contrast that image with how you were earlier.when you and the recipient were together.
This weeks lesson(21 may 2010)

• in dramatic writing,the very essence is CHARACTER CHANGE.

1. memories -  is always a good thing ,created, do it. may not be true.
2. Experience-do it

• should be concern with the potential  of every experience
• everything bout you- where you were born,what food you eat,the bump on your forehead-unique and irreplaceable
• many of your experiences are universal and translatable and can be used in any location.

TIP

• if you dont know what to do with a chara,make him yourself for awhile
• see how he relates to the world he has been thrown into.
• plunder your own personal experience

The things that happen to you as you grow up and the things that are currently happening to you make terrific story sources.

EXERCISE 5: True & false stories
>>PURPOSE OF THE EXERCISE

• A true story is not necessarily a good story.
• Good stories have to be worked and reworked.
• 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.

SUMMARY – STORYTELLING TOOLS
1. Observation
2. Memory
3. Experience

REVIEW! test!!

• Week 1
  1. Writing, third person
  2. in present tense
  3. in the visual voice
• Week 2
  1. role of conflict/creating conflict
  2. Elements of dialogue
  3. Storytelling Tool#1: Observation
• Week 3
  1. Characterization: define the character
  2. Develope characters
• Week 4
  1. Dynamic action
  2. Story is action which is equal to film is behaviour
  3. Interactive location
  4. Storytelling schematized
  5. Storytelling Tool#2: Memory
• Week 5
  1. Storytelling Tool 3: Experience
  2. Summary of the 3 storytelling tools and technique

Pabrik Dodol – Ari Rusyadi (traditional vs modern;making of sweets)
The Call Home – Han Yew Kwang (construction worker)
Wet Seasons – Michael Tay (father)
The Secret Heaven – Sun Koh (piano,the girl who attempted to commit suicide)
Autograph Book – Wee Li Lin (autograph book)
Sunat – M. Raihan Halim (circumsised)

NEXT LESSON
Written Quiz, Week 7 (4th June 2010)

STORY ASSIGNMENT: (20%)

• Write name, student number, tutorial group, label story as 1st draft
• include title
• due on thursday ,27th may
• 3rd person narrative/prsent tense
• use 12pt courier/ single spaced
• print out 5 copies of our draft

• *write the final draft of original story
• write in 3rd person/present tense
• 12-pt courier/single spaced
• no less than 1 page and no more than 2 page
• besides writing name, student number and tutorial grp,also label story as final draft and date it!
• soft copy of final draft into safe assign
• hard copy at fms copy at fms office,level7, int dropbox- date and time stamped
• due week 8(11 june by 5pm!)