A Practical Manual of Screen Playwriting for Theater and Television Film

Preface = ⅶ 1. DRAMATURGY The screen play = 3 the screen writer, tools of the trade. Historical background = 7 Present studio procedures = 9 Screen play classifications = 12 Before we begin = 13 The story idea = 15 notebook, idea selectivity, idea development, ideas for free, idea twists, ideas by assignment, research ideas, ideas are not enough. Theme outline = 19 background locale, first act résumé, second act development, third act dénouement, write for story analysts, names are important, avoid name clichés. The synopsis = 25 personality shading, all cats are gray, conflict from complexities, puppets are not people, is it contrived?, conflict by opposition, problems breed conflicts, credible problems, universality, emphatic problems, character dossiers. Plot vs. character = 30 plot and character, what is plot?, no beginning nor ending, be chary with crises. Plot patterns = 32 love pattern, success pattern, Cinderella pattern, triangle pattern, return pattern, vengeance pattern, conversion pattern, sacrifice pattern, family pattern. Minor-character development = 34 minors are human too. Subplots = 36 integrate subplots, other subplot uses, play majors against minors, major treatment of minors, love in the minors. Dramatic values = 38 motivate actions, shock dramatics, the horns of a dilemma, structural unity, straight-line story line, telegraphing. Suspense = 40 someone to root for, write—don’t telegraph, don’t withhold, the pay-off, suspense tricks, fight against time. The chase = 45 movement in the extreme, universal application, Western chases, comedy chases, murder chases, build your chase, dialogue impedes chases, suspense chase, chase sound effects, chase direction, anything can happen, picturesque chases. The serial = 50 Westerns = 54 The gimmick = 55 integrate the gimmick, scene-tag gimmicks. Plants = 58 plant with care, plants must flow, plant without telegraphing, build your plants, pay off your plants. The running gag = 60 character and humor, running-gag pay-off, build with running gag, transition running gags, running-gag props. Comedy relief = 62 why comedy relief?, it must flow, played by minor characters, as natural reactions, relief without comedy. Humor = 64 the wisecrack is king, pictorial humor better, don’t contrive humor, real people mean real humor. The flash back = 66 flash backs impede movement, flash backs fritter suspense, flash backs lose immediacy, flash backs make money, flash-back transitions, flash-back uses limited, start at the beginning, flash backs within flash backs, tricky but unnecessary. Repetition = 71 character traits, repeat figures, avoid undue recapitulation, use dissolves, condense repetitions, when recapitulation is unavoidable. Quick conversions = 73 time is the essence, action vs. character, arguments are not enough, plant conversions, dramatized motivated conversions. Realism = 75 the omnipresent camera, candid realism, infinite details, dialogue selectivity, reel realism is not realistic, don’t gild the lily, answer? compromise, of course. Semi-documentaries = 79 Fantasy = 83 Story holes = 87 Happy ending vs. unhappy ending = 88 Treatment = 90 2. the filmic components The shots = 93 The full shot = 98 The long shot = 100 The medium shot = 101 The medium close shot = 102 The close shot = 102 The close-up = 103 Inserts = 104 Extreme close-ups = 104 Moving shots = 105 The pan shot = 106 follow action only, exit and entrance pans, pan-motivated movement, revelation pan, pay-off pan, medium to close pan, reaction pan, subjective pan, limit the pan, flash pan, transition flash pan, avoid reverse pan. The tilt shot = 112 Dolly shots = 114 trucking shots, dolly or cut-in?, pullback dolly, transition dolly shot, re-establishing dolly shot, travel vs. pan, Chinese dolly. The angles = 119 eye-level angle, low angle, high angle, side angle, boom shots, avoid too many unusual angles, point-of-view angles, change angles, reverse-angle shots, reverse-angle revelations, dialogue reverse angles, reverse-angle action. Cutaways = 127 establish cutaways, related cutaways, unrelated cutaways, cutaway action-direction, cutaway comment, cutaway to relieve tension, scene-capping cutaways, lapse-of-time cutaways. Indirection = 131 reaction cutaways, cutaway from death, fore-shadowing cutaways. Time lapses = 134 what are they, how they are used, dissolve time lapse, wipe time lapse, time lapses impede action, telescope story time, avoid time-lapse clichés, use clichés as springboard, integrate time lapse with character, use cutaways for short time lapse, dialogue time lapse, exact time-lapse realism. Transitions = 141 continuity with transitions, shot-to-shot continuity, sequence transition, direct-cut transitions, direct cut for suspense, wipe transitions, detailed transitions, detailed transitions for pay-off, Cook’s tour unnecessary, dialogue transitions, match-dissolve transition, motivate match dissolve, sign-insert transitions, stock-shot transition, title-card transitions, gratuitous title cards, fade-out, fade-in transition, run-through transitions, sound-effect transitions, dissimilar scene transitions, parallel-sound transitions, sound and visual transitions, letter transitions, simple deviceless transitions. Montage = 152 direct-cut montage, dissolve montage, montages save money, historical montage, wipe montage, super-imposed montage, time-lapse montage, procedure montage, date montage, symbolic montage, do not overuse montages. Opticals = 156 dissolves, time-lapse dissolve, out-of-focus dissolve, wipes, push-off wipes, special-effect wipes, fade-in, fade-out. Special effects = 160 trick effects, camera tricks. Process screen shots = 162 3. WRITING THE SCREEN PLAY The master-scene screen play = 169 The shooting script = 173 In the beginning was..? = 178 open with a bang?, open slowly?, opening to build. Building = 182 the filmic sense, build dramatically, use cause and effect, build with details. Building the components = 183 build for continuity, organize for flow, organize for scene length, organize for rhythm, organize for interrelationships. Image size = 187 progression in image size, opposition in image size, repetition of image size. Image angle = 188 progression in image angle, opposition in image angle, repetition in image angle. Camera movement = 189 progression in camera movement, opposition in camera movement, repetition in camera movement. Tempo = 189 progressive tempo, opposing tempo, repetitive tempo, build with a purpose, build for rhythm. Tempo and rhythm = 191 tempo is timing, rhythm is flow, write in detail. Dialogue writing = 194 continuity with dialogue, visual more important than verbal, education, occupation, emotion, tempo. Verbal clichés = 196 avoid the bon mot, use clichés to characterize, gags choke up character, clichés for comedy. Dialects = 198 Foreign language dialogue = 200 The dialogue hook = 209 single-word repetition, line repetition. Speech length = 210 speech length regulates tempo. Stream of consciousness = 211 use stream of consciousness sparingly, memory recall thoughts. Monologue = 213 motivate monologue. Dialogue realism = 219 realism compromise, dialogue selectivity, dialogue ungrammatical, use dialogue tags, overtones, dialogue directions, avoid gratuitous directions. Indirection = 217 Dialogue punctuation = 217 reading punctuation vs. acting punctuation. Interjections = 218 Dialogue revision = 219 superfluity, repetition, length, rhyming, singsong, alliteration. Telephone dialogue = 221 use consistent phone dialogue. Dialogue cutaways = 224 Writing character action = 226 describe action thoroughly, describe actions exactly, act it out, present-tense directions, participial present, action before speech, delayed reactions, exits and entrances, crossing actions, action for children, consider children’s limitations, animal action directions. Budget writing = 233 “B” picture weather, visit the back lot, consider re-dressing, consider corners, avoid staircases, library shots, limit location shots, "cheat” the actors, limit the cast. The verbal clichés = 238 going to pieces, surprise names, surprise place names. Prop clichés = 240 the pajamas, long underwear, the buy-off, cigarettes. On learning from seeing = 242 your own picture, not your own picture. Props = 243 props for pantomime, character props, props for actor ease, write in props, props for child actors, props for suspense, props as symbols, props come in handy, done with mirrors. The subjective camera = 249 Conventions = 251 Composition = 252 composition definition, three-way composition, emotional-content analysis, establish mood patterns, simplicity, old-fashioned attraction, keep it simple, variety. Balance = 255 off-center balance, lower left to upper right, strive for depth, frame foregrounds. Movement composition = 237 limit background movement. Dynamic symmetry = 258 dynamic symmetry with low angles, dynamic symmetry with set furnishings, static close-up with dynamic symmetry. Epiphanies = 260 Symbolism = 262 Topicalisms. = 265 avoid year dates, avoid dated gags. Sound = 267 know your sound effects, selectivity, establish sound, indirection with sound, sound sequences, fill in with sound, recalled sound, sound transitions, sound leitmotifs, three-dimensional sound, avoid sound on cue, cap with sound, volume important, sound volume increases, sound filters, phone filter, echo chamber, Sonovox, budget with sound. Music = 274 plot music, background music, avoid familiar music, functions of background music, informative music, fore-shadowing music, intensifying music, identification music, psychological music, dramatic music, chase music, atmospheric music, building with music, transition music, crutch music, commenting music, dialogue-displacing music. Format = 282

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