Week 10

For example, movies like : Planet Of The Apes, Witness, & Billy Elliot
Location consists of
– Rules,

– Address,

Other Elements that reside within the location

1) Location is a place where you interact and engage in the environment where events occur. If you set your location in a place, must make use of the elements.

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3) An environment which impacts the action and heightens the stakes (Harper’s Island where the characters are all unfamiliar with that island
Interesting fact: Location can also be a villain, likelocation

Characters

1) Is their action of each character conclusive or dangerous?

2) If characters engage themselves with the elements, a setting and surrounding that interacts with the characters of the film by adding importance to their actions (The protagonist doing something that triggers something, propelling reaction from other characters)

Action

1) Does the action prompt a reaction from other characters?

Scenes for The GodFather movie:

Sc1: in the bar

Sc2: the streets/ rooftop

Sc3: Apartment

Sc4: back to the streets

Week 9 Notes

Dynamic action is where,

<<Story Is Action>>

Action encompasses any kind of movement, activity, and interaction between the characters and also between the characters and surroundings.
Through example of a Jackie Chan movie:
Character fighting off enemies with boxes/ trashcans/ poles
– Character through reacting with his environment, prompts an action.
– Talking about how one feels is not as powerful as illustrating why one feels the way they do through action.

<<Film in Behaviour>>
Action is the manifestation of behavior. The complexity of the human psyche and interaction is better if audiences can watch the action, nuances and others reacting to the character’s reaction.
Subset: Will depend on location and mood of environment
<<Dynamic action>>
It has potential to get the audience to feel emotions, to enrich the experience of the audience by heightening the stakes and increasing the tension.
With an occasional narrator, it depends on his ability to project a mental picture for the audience, power of the story.
Tip: Think of how you’ll react there and then
Storytelling assignment due on 15 July.

Week nine

Dynamic action, where <>. Action encompasses any kind of movement, activity, and interaction between the characters and also between the characters and surroundings Though the example of a Jackie Chan movie ( fighting off enemies with boxes/ trashcans/ poles ) : Character through reacting with his environment, prompts an action. Talking about how one feels is not as powerful as illustrating why one feels the way they do through action. <> Action is the manifestation of behaviour. The complexity of the human psyche and interaction is better , watch action, nuances and reaction of the reaction Depending on location <> had potential to get the audience to feel emotions, to enrich the experience of the audience by heightening the stakes and increasing the tension. Narrator’s ability to project a mental picture for the audience, power of the story Think of how you’ll react there and then. inja

Week six

Elements of dialogue:

1) Dialogue reveals character

2) Good dialogue sounds real, is short, while bad dialogue is long winded, too real( boring), not concise, cheesy, cliche,

3) Dialogue establishes relationships. There may be an invisible line, but this tells people how close each caracter is to one another. Dialogue reveals unspoken things about the person.

Note: Once you have established our character’s main Point of view(P.O.V), you can use dialogue with other characters to show that have other attitudes, creating opposite/ alternative POVs.

4) Good effective dialogue moves the story forward. If conversation is meaningless, take it out.

5) Dialogue communicates faces and information to the audience and conveys exposition. Character may talk about what events happened, establishing the storyline.

Also, dialogue comments on the action, ties the script together. It is one of the devices that you as a writer can use to expand and enlarge your characters.

Basically to sum everything up, “if you can see it, hear it, don’t write it” – neville smith

It is best to use dislogue sparingly, if possible, use action. Action speaks louder than words and non verbal reactions are more effective. Never tell the audience what they can see for themselves. A good movie does not spoon feed the audience with excessive dialogue.  A movie is more effective if it plays out with the audience interpreting the material as when they realize what is going on, the element of surprise and deeper understanding will occur. Remember that dialogue not a substitute for action. We want the audience to interact, to think.

When there is too much black, too much ink on the paper,

They Say : Shit! It’s freeze the camera time!

Common mistakes:

– students sometimes never achieve a level of competence as they tend to reproduce conventional spoken language, log statements of ” real talking” and defend their decision by telling us that: It’s how the character speaks. We should think of certain traits of the character

-Good dialogue is not somebody’s ability to write authentic speeches as heard in real life. If that was all there is to it, you can just push a button on the tape recorder and then go collect your Oscar.

-Know how to edit without losing any of the spirit, the gist of the idea, the illusion of the reality

Do not create radio shows with images. Film is a visual medium. A screenplay is a story told in pictures.

Exercise:

a middle aged man returns home from work. He had stopped for a few drinks with his friends and forgot to phone his wife to tell her he’ll be late. The dinner is ruined. Write a short scene composed of dialogue between husband and wife.

The role play : 2 students to play the roles from their stories. Repeat the experiment but husband and wife are your parents. Get two people to read the dialogue. Record the reading. Post it onto your blog ( using youtube , multiply)

Week five

– A storyteller should be concerned with the potential of every single experience as experience sparks off change. The process of change is an essential ingredient of a story.
– Potential of every experience – what can subsequently happen.
– Many of your experiences are universal and translatable and can be used in any location
– Universal themes include:
friendship, love, family, death, betrayal, loneliness, hardship.

Basically, Everything about you – where you were born, what food you eat, the bump on your forehead- the experiences are unique and irreplaceable.

– Translating experiences/stories ( setting, characters, language, culture), which is anything that is “known” in Singapore (kampong houses, chinatown, bustling city settings)

Tip 1 : If you don’t know what to do with a character, make him yourself for a while. ie: put yourself in his shoes. If someone you loved has been kidnapped/ murdered, how would you feel? How would you deal with it?

Tip 2: Use material from your own background. Try to remember events that took place in your life. They are uniquely different from others, something like fresh ideas for stories.

QUES: Remember and imagine yourself taking the role of the audience. Can you connect with the experience?

Your memory contains past incidents which you have experienced or have been told. But while an experience is something that is true, a memory is something that can be manufactured. Mostly, a fusion of manufactured and original experience produces an absolutely fantastic story.

Exercise:

Write 2 short stories, 1 true one false
Post by Tues 3 June 10am
visit 3 classmates below you on the blogroll and vote which is true n false.

Week four

principles of tragedy

Tragedy doesn’t mean that something bad happens and story ends.

It means something bad happens as a result of a flaw in your character, and you show how this tragic fall forces your character to learn something about herself or himself

Visual trigger: find an image n tell a story that comes t your mind as you see it

Pictures should not be taken for this purpose

trigger to ask questions: why

Principles of tragedy:

Tragedy doesn’t mean that something bad happens and story ends. It means something bad happens as a result of a flaw in your character, and you show how this tragic fall forces your character to learn something about herself or himself.

1) Responsibilities of characters :  characters must be of noble blood due to the fact that people do not have much encounters with noble blood stories.

2) They must be like normal people, have normal human beings must have traits and characteristics, no superheroes.

3)  The plot must be complete, with a beginning, middle, and end.

Tragedy is a representation of the real thing- it is not the real thing.

Aristotle said,  a “Periperteia” takes a story and whips it around a 180 degrees causing a twist to happen in the story.

However, take note that it is only effective in drama, not in comedy.

Tragsdy consists of:

1. Plot.

2. Character.

3. Thought- What the character does has done to materialize some feeling and thought in the audience, Eg. Pity, fear.

4. Diction- Metaphors

5. Melody.

6. Spectacle.

What is the “Cause and Effect” chain?

Namely, Without the first, There is no second.

1)Material Cause- Without raw material, you cannot build a building.

2)Formal Cause- The plan. EG. Blueprint/ design of a building.

3)Efficient cause- The labour(action) to build a building.

4)Final Cause- when the building is complete, it  represents an end or a goal of a scenario.

QUES: *How can a good plot create a “unity of action”?   ANS: Plot must have a beginning, middle(climax) and an end (resolution).

Using the 3-Act structure– Each act is given a specific amount of time.

[  Act 1: Set-up/ Intro

Act 2- Obstacles/ Conflict

Near the end of Act 2- largest conflict

Act 3- Resolve conflict & Moral of the story  ]

Exercise:

Visual trigger: find an image n tell a story that comes to your mind as you see it. Pictures should not be taken for this purpose.

*Trigger to ask questions:  WHY WHY WHY?

Week three

– Difficulties writers face problems are:

Deadlines, plagarism, casting problems, problems with directors( no control over script/storyline)

– Observation is defined as observe with awareness (details like dressing, the way they carried themselves, speech, expressions & gestures)

One interesting thing i learnt:

Usually, a person who constantly attatches himself to a group, always tries to be seen with that group and acts differently from him true character when with the group, he/she has false confidence.

Activities to improve your awareness:

1) Train yourself to see and record movements and physical charcteristics, settings.

2) Develop a NATURAL sense of curiosity( sincerity), not intrusive. It is the way you phrase your questions that makes the difference.

3) Adopt a keen eye. Try to observe how people dresses, The way they carry themselves (eye contact, walking style), Speech (loud, fast, slow, exaggerated), Expressions, Gestures (hand gestures).Practice help you detail and screen a character faster.

4) Train yourself to see and record people’s Movements (body language), Physical characteristics (looks), Settings (places they are in)

QUES: Whom am I writing about? Who is my character? What is he like? What does he do? What happens to him in the story?

Exercise:

Take a photo of two people, Note their Gender, Settings, and explain in detail What happened.

Week two

it’s a shared thing. credit should go to everyone.

-a serious/ not so serious disagreement

-hostile encounter

-mental/ emotional/ physical struggle

types of conflict:

dramatic conflict- protagonist’s struggle against something or someone.eg: man Vs Man, man Vs environment, man Vs system, man against self

Conflict arises when there is change, be it major or minor, eg: personality

intensity of conflict depends on reaction.

Drama depends on conflict.

Plot cannot be constructed without conflict, which is the centrl featre of screenplay. Characters attempt to reach their goals.

antagonist: a syatem, a flight of stair, something that stops a character from accomplishing their goals: generate maximum suspense and excitement.

cinematic experience MUST remember teh audiences’ emotional reaction to that information.move them where they reflect and feel what you write.

writing a story is a people to people thing, not how to make it very slick.

powerful story, the issues make you think an remember the story. A writer’s purpose is to connect the audiences: themselves, their unique vision, the material/ issue, drama, others. Audience would like to be transpotted to another world, fantasy world, different from their lives.other side of the world.

Assignments: 5 stories of exactly 50 words each.about anything

The call home: directed by Han Yew Kwang

The secret heaven: directed by Sun Koh (2002)

– A production:  It is s a shared thing, and credit should go to everyone.

*A conflict can be:

-a serious/ not so serious disagreement

-hostile encounter

-mental/ emotional/ physical struggle

Types of conflict:

Dramatic conflict- protagonist’s struggle against something or someone.eg: man Vs Man, man Vs environment, man Vs system, man against self. The intensity of conflict depends on reaction. Drama depends on conflict.

– Conflict arises when there is change, be it major or minor, eg: personality

– Plot cannot be constructed without conflict, which is the central featre of screenplay. Characters attempt to reach their goals.

– An antagonist: a system, a flight of stair, something that stops a character from accomplishing their goals: generate maximum suspense and excitement.

– Cinematic experience MUST remember the audiences’ emotional reaction to that information.move them where they reflect and feel what you write.

– Writing a story is a people to people thing, not how to make it very slick.

– A powerful story is effective when the issues make you think an remember the story. A writer’s purpose is to connect the audiences: themselves, their unique vision, the material/ issue, drama, others. Audience would like to be transported to another world, fantasy world, different from their lives.other side of the world.

Exercise:

Assignment: 5 stories of exactly 50 words each, about anything under the sun.

What we watched today:

1) The call home: directed by Han Yew Kwang

2) The secret heaven: directed by Sun Koh (2002)

Then, an Activity, opener from DA CHIO BU WANG FONG!

Alonso walks into the room with a wide grin on his face. ..

He had just broken up with his girlfriend. A roundhouse gossip was going around whispering in everyone’s ears, that he was cheating on her with her best friend. Sadist you would say. Arsehole you might next add. He ends up hurting her, others, and himself, and for what reason? He even had the cheek to fuel the fire in front of the whole family. His relatives were rendered speechless, even though they knew Alonso was not a faithful chap, a playboy needless to state. One would wonder if he did it to spite his mother, the traditional woman who constantly tries to matchmake and regularly nags at him to get married “soon before he turns ‘botak'”.Another would wonder if he did it to test the limits of his girlfriend’s ability to hold him down long enough to be thrown away like used tissue.

Week one : Numero Uno!

present tense, 3rd person, visual voice, so that readers can imagine

write visually- write things where i can see in my head.

VO easier to narrate

active Vs passive voice – used in screen plays & thriller suspense genres- plays on own imagination- scare bluff scare scare bluff

active- conveys story in lively manner immediate sent structure (movement words, eg:drift)

many complimentary actions in a scene reinforce message of eg:anger

once begun, ideas will begin to trickle and flow. begin witha short description of your story

firs drafts are never good. improve.

ask yourself: whose story am i telling? what is the point of this story? How can i engage the attention of the audience?

story comments: it’s credibility. passages drawn from reality or experience. passages created artificially to keep narrative flowing.

! write as if i have experienced it, experience/ story so compelling. dramatised,

put character in a situation where smthing potentially big is gona happen la mad!

homework: reflection, and 12 opening phrases, and make wordpress page. under opener’s page in blog.

– Start writing in Present tense, 3rd person, visual voice, so that readers can imagine.

– Try to write visually, in which write things where i can see in my head.

– Voice Overs (VO) are much easier to narrate, so fist timers making a video or movie usually will sway towards a narrated movie. The idea of Active Vs Passive voice is used in screen plays & thriller suspense genres- plays on own imagination- in the system of “scare, bluff, scare scare, then bluff”.

Active- conveys story in lively manner immediate sent structure (movement words, eg:drift). Many complimentary actions in a scene reinforce message of eg:anger.

Once you begin on a story, ideas will begin to trickle and flow, so even if you have the writer’s block, begin with a short description of your story and you will do fine. Most importantly, you must not sit on your ass, and do nothing except shower excuses upon yourself for not budging an inch. It won’t help.

– Remember that first drafts are never good. You will improve with time, so don’t get demoralized.

– Always ask yourself: whose story am i telling? what is the point of this story? How can i engage the attention of the audience?

– Story comments: it’s credibility. passages drawn from reality or experience. passages created artificially to keep narrative flowing. *Write as if i have experienced it, experience/ story so compelling. dramatised a little for impact.

– Put character in a situation where something potentially big is going happen, intensifying the story plot.

Exercise:

homework: reflection, and 12 opening phrases, and make wordpress page. under opener’s page in blog.

Hello world!

RAWWRRRR!