Moving Images, Understanding Media

32 Moving Images: Making Movies, Understanding Media

Writing: Writing Pictures

You have probably heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Well,

you won’t need to write a thousand words for this assignment, but you will

focus on describing images as you tell a brief story. Once you have completed

this assignment, you may keep it for future reference. You may end up using it

for a script you write at some time in the future.

A. Th ink about an interesting action event you have witnessed in person

during the past month. It may involve one person or multiple people.

For this writing exercise, you will describe that event as if you were

describing a series of moving images, one aft er another.

1. Introduce the scene.
   a. What is the setting?
   b. What led up to the event? Is there any description that
   can help to set the scene properly and dramatically?


2. Describe the actions of the scene. As you present us with a
   person or people, have their actions defi ne their character.
   You may also give physical description.


3. At the end of the scene, remember to present only a physical
   description of the actions that you witnessed and the last
   descriptions of what was seen.
   B. Aft er you have completed the assignment, it is a good idea to share
   it with a group of collaborators. All the members should share their
   writing. Use the following questions to lead group discussion or a
   personal evaluation:


4. What could be some approaches in fi lming this scene? Do
   you visualize any particular point of view or style for this
   sequence?


5. How could the fi lmmakers use the camera or sound to create
   a strong impression during the fi lm?

Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).