Sunday Picture Post 30 / Tip: Build on What You Have
Photo source: unknown web floater
SCREENWRITING TIP OF THE DAY: BUILD ON WHAT YOU HAVE
Often we feel like our jobs, living situations, monetary restrictions, and relationships hold us back from being great. On the contrary, these are the things that make us unique and from which are born our individual creations.
Donald Trump would have never thought to create a building like the one pictured above, but I have to say, it is genius and one of the coolest (and cheapest) structures I have ever seen.
Let your life and your limitations inspire you.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUNDAY PICTURE POST
For The Sunday Picture Post, we flip upside-down the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thousands of words are great if you are writing a novel, but if you are writing a screenplay, you need to do the opposite and be as concise as possible.
Each Sunday, I post a picture. For your screenwriting practice in brevity, in the comments section, using the image above, please post one or all of the following:
- A title for this movie
- 1 word describing the theme, mood, or scene
- 1 sentence to describe the scene
- A pitch to sell the entire movie
The more colorful and creative you are, the better! Use any genre.
A good screenwriter is laconic, using a few words to say a lot.
Milk Drops Keep Falling on My Head
by Jaden
The trailer was recently released for the new Gus Van Sant movie Milk, screenplay by Dustin Lance Black, starring the outstanding cast of Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna, and more.
Many months ago, I wrote about my set visit and about the movie, Milk. At that time, people were doubting Sean Penn’s ability to play California’s first openly gay elected official, Harvey Milk. If you watch the movie trailer, I think all doubt shall be removed from your mind. The movie looks amazing.
One of Harvey Milk’s tactics to change the way people feel about homosexuals was to encourage gay people to go out, knock on doors, introduce themselves and talk to their neighbors.
The other day, there was a knock at my door. I don’t like solicitors. It was the morning and I was in my underwear. To my surprise, it was a young friendly woman. She was passionate and upset about current politics and had a lot of moxie to be going out door to door to talk about it.
“Do you want money?” I asked her. But she didn’t. “Do you want me to sign something?” She didn’t want that either.
The woman at the door wanted to get out the word that in many states, there are still many laws in place against LGBT (also GLBT), which is an initialism referring collectively to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender/transsexual people, preventing them from work and other normal life pursuits. Preventing people from working is preventing people from eating, which is preventing people from living.
I promised the young lady that I would go to her group’s website to learn more about it and do what I can for her.
The knocks continued on all my neighbors doors. I could hear her bravely talking to each of my neighbors: people with families, foreigners, and old people.
In the spirit of Harvey Milk who was murdered, I urge you to learn more about the Human Rights Campaign website http://www.hrc.org/ and to see the movie Milk when it comes out November 26, 2008.
Sunday Picture Post 29 / Born Ready
Photo by 4eyesphoto from deviantart.com
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUNDAY PICTURE POST
For The Sunday Picture Post, we flip upside-down the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thousands of words are great if you are writing a novel, but if you are writing a screenplay, you need to do the opposite and be as concise as possible.
Each Sunday, I post a picture. For your screenwriting practice in brevity, in the comments section, using the image above, please post one or all of the following:
- A title for this movie
- 1 word describing the theme, mood, or scene
- 1 sentence to describe the scene
- A pitch to sell the entire movie
The more colorful and creative you are, the better! Use any genre.
A good screenwriter is laconic, using a few words to say a lot.
SCREENWRITING TIP OF THE DAY: BORN READY
When I was young, as most people, I expected to be great at whatever I did on the first try.
The reality is, there are few genius in the world, and they are crazy anyway.
The success stories you hear about people succeeding on their first script or actors who were plucked out of the mall, these are fairytale publicity fabrications. Living in Hollywood, I know people who struggle for ten years to get noticed just once, and when they do, you read articles about how it just happened overnight; they are lies.
Don’t be dispirited by rejection or how long it takes you to write a good script.
No one is born ready.
It takes a very long time to learn, practice, and become great at something.
Each time you fall off the horse, you just have to get back in the saddle. It’s hard. It’s painful. But that’s what you have to do if you want to be great at something.
Be realistic and logical about writing. Just because you like and want to do something, it doesn’t mean that you can do it successfully and effortlessly. All great rewards come with hard work. Don’t be fooled by the Hollywood fairytales.
You may have been born with the spark, but acquiring the know-how is another thing.
Storyboard Artist Karen J Lloyd Separates the Good Scripts from the Bad Scripts
by Jaden
With a background in graphic design, Canadian storyboard artist Karen J Lloyd has kindly permitted Screenwriting for Hollywood to reprint one of her insightful articles:10 Signs to Know if You’re Reading a Strong Script. A student and instructor from Vancouver Film School, Karen studied and later taught Classical Animation, Game Design, Film Production, and Digital Design.
Anyone interested in film or television will find loads of useful tips and information at Karen’s website. Cleverly written, full of cartoons, Karen makes learning fun.
Before we move on, what does a storyboard artist do and why is her opinion so important?
Storyboard artists read scripts and draw their vision of how the movie would appear on screen, often with the guidance of the director.
Similar to comic books, storyboard is the half way zone between the script and the movie, a visual representation of how the movie will look, but on paper.
The hand-drawn images include camera shot angles, characters in position, background, general settings, mood, action, and more, everything except the sound.
The storyboard is the director’s bible for how to shoot a movie, commercial, or television show.
10 Signs to Know if You’re Reading a Strong Script
Before I get into this, I just want to make one thing clear.
I love writers. I respect writers.
I know how hard it must be to write a script from a blank page. Just as I know how hard it is to draw a storyboard from a blank page. It’s very easy to come in after it’s finished and pick out what could be better.
I just want you (and the writers) to know how artists see their scripts when taking them to the next level in production. I’m writing this from a visual storytelling point of view. And it’s all for the good of the story, right?
Like I mentioned in my previous post, I see myself as the ‘fresh eyes’ when I get a script. Board artists can point out things that may have been overlooked by the writer and director. Sometimes time runs out and it just has to be good enough…because hey, there’s schedule to keep! I get that completely.
I write this out of my experience and opinions of animation scripts.
- GOOD SIGN: On the first read, the script flows like a great novel you can’t put down. Meaning, you just sit back and enjoy it from beginning to end. You see it all clearly in your head. Like a little movie is playing in your mind and it flows smoothly. LOVE that.
- BAD SIGN: On the first read, you do the ‘flip-back’. Meaning, as you read, you pause mid-page and ‘flip-back’ to a previous page because you think you missed something. If I’ve done a couple of ‘flip-backs’, I know I could be in for a frustrating ride.
- GOOD SIGN: As you read, you can always envision where everyone is and the possibilities of how the action could be staged.
- BAD SIGN: You’re already worried that you don’t know how you’re going to stage this. You’re saying to yourself, “Where are they?” and wonder how the characters are going to do what is written.
- GOOD SIGN: Even if it’s the first script you’ve read of a series, you get a good feel for the characters’ personalities. You may not have read the show bible or any director’s notes yet, but you still really ‘get it’.
- BAD SIGN: The script is all action with no ‘character’ showing through. Or too much witty dialogue and not enough visuals. They’re running around doing a bunch of ’stuff’, but they seem like puppets. Like it could be any character doing this…and that’s not good for a cartoon (or any story for that matter).
- GOOD SIGN: You easily envision ways to take what is written and expand on it. Make it funnier, better. And guess what? That’s the storyboard artist’s job. This is by no means an insult to the writing…this is just the next step.
- BAD SIGN: You feel you have to fix the script. There may be some gaps in action or logic, and you have to fix it visually without changing the dialogue (because you usually never can). There’s a difference between enhancing and repairing…and ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
- GOOD SIGN: When you finish reading, you’re enthused to get started on this one. You have some good ideas and visuals in your head to make it even more entertaining. That’s a good feeling.
- BAD SIGN: You feel confused by the story and dread getting started. Maybe you’ve made some screwed-up faces while reading (or is that just me?). This is worst case-scenario of course. No one wants their script to be viewed like this!
“OK, but what do I do about it?”
Well, if you’re the board artist and get a script with a lot of ‘bad signs’, you may not be able to do much about getting them fixed. If the script has been approved and that’s it…then that’s it.
It’ll be a longer haul for you and a bit more frustrating while doing some ‘repair work’. But this can help you become a better board artist. It’s challenging to fix story glitches and with the right attitude, it can be fun and rewarding. Sorta.
If nothing else, the studio will see you as someone they can depend on to do the job with your head, not just your drawing hand. That’s a good place to be and what you should be striving for, so don’t knock it.
Of course, I’d rather be getting those great scripts that I can take to the next level. So to all the writers who gave me those…thank you!
Sunday Picture Post 28
Click on the image for historic details or go to HBO’s Iron Jawed Angels that stars Hilary Swank, Angelica Huston, Patrick Dempsey, and more; screenplay by Sally Robinson.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUNDAY PICTURE POST
For The Sunday Picture Post, we flip upside-down the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thousands of words are great if you are writing a novel, but if you are writing a screenplay, you need to do the opposite and be as concise as possible.
Each Sunday, I post a picture. For your screenwriting practice in brevity, in the comments section, using the image above, please post one or all of the following:
- A title for this movie
- 1 word describing the theme, mood, or scene
- 1 sentence to describe the scene
- A pitch to sell the entire movie
The more colorful and creative you are, the better! Use any genre.
A good screenwriter is laconic, using a few words to say a lot.
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