266 Moving Images: Making Movies, Understanding Media- Conor grabbed his father’s bowl-shaped mug because he didn’t see
a clean one on the rack in the kitchen. He poured coff ee to the brim
and ran out the door to the sound of Dan’s honking car. His friend
didn’t like to be late to school. As they pulled out of the driveway,
Conor hated this huge mug, and he gritted his teeth at himself for
fi lling it up so much. He brought it up to his mouth, burned his lips,
tried to blow on it for a moment, then winced as Dan took a sharp
turn. Conor imagined himself as a free-fl oating gyro moving in sync
with the mug as he revolved around the liquid fl oating in space.
Seeking Inspiration, Finding Tales
What do you think motivated the authors of these story openings?
Th e circumstances of all of these brief selections are situations that
have been generated from real contexts of young people in settings that are
familiar and detailed to them. A girl standing with friends at their lockers,
feeling angry about how she was treated by a boy. Urban violence pulled from
headlines—whether the result of a tragic fl urry of shootings or of corrupt
judges sending away innocents—explored in the form of a mystery or horror
tale. Cell phones, texting, and the removal of automotive technology class from
a high school serve as a trigger for a fantastical tale. A group session used as a
set piece for a musical about the emotional trials of rejection and depression
for an adolescent. Seniors driving to school, rushing to not be late.
Creative writing is stimulated by many catalysts. Stories we have heard,
read, and seen can provide powerful encouragement to explore a theme or
situation, although familiar formats and plots can lead fi lmmakers to pursue
paths that lack originality and integrity. Everyday actions and events can
initiate compelling storytelling. Oft en, the most familiar people and common
objects can provide rich possibilities for telling stories because we know them
well and we can visualize them in a variety of situations.
A key word here is “visualize.” When we read a screenplay, the script
must compel us to imagine seeing the story taking place in front of us. Th e
text that is on the page of a screenplay must be able to be seen or heard. When
reading a short story or a novel, our experience of the story oft en includes
the author’s voice, exploration of the characters’ thoughts, and commentary
on the context and setting of the story. For motion pictures, viewers will
understand the story through what they see and hear while watching, so
the script needs to propose what is visible on the screen and heard through
dialogue, sounds, and off -screen voices.
In the fi ve previous storytelling examples, there are sentences that easily
translate to script form, and others that do not. In reviewing the fi ve selections,
which parts need the most work to make them screen ready? What passages
seem to you to be cinematic or easily put into a screenplay format?
As the writing exists right now for these pieces, the fi rst selection featuring
Sarah and friends translates easily to script format. Th e physical setting,
description of actions, and dialogue are all made clearly visible to the reader.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).