'Hard cut' by Thetawave
Writing for visual media means one has to think and write visually.
Anthony Friedmann, in his Writing for Visual Media (2006), that I will be quoting and citing liberally from henceforth, says it would help if we use our experiences as movie viewers to imagine how our ideas on the page will look like as moving images projected onscreen.
Friedmann also reminds us that the script or screenplay we write is really just the music sheet or the blueprint from which the musician reads to perform a composition or from which an architect follows to build a structure from the ground up. The script or screenplay is really a set of instructions for the designers, producers, actors, and
directors to compose a scene in a story.
It is our task then to imagine how an idea or a story will look like (and what sounds or voices to include), and how that audiovisual image will contribute to the narrative, even before we begin writing the script. This is what we call meta-writing or visual thinking.
Here's an exercise Friedmann suggests for us to try out some visual writing skills:
"As an exercise in visual writing, try to create an image or a one-shot scene that communicates primary emotional situations: anger, fear, humor,curiosity, conflict, danger, deceit, hope, fatigue. The challenge is to show it without words and without literal-minded solutions such as a close-up of an angry face for anger."
One thing we should remember, though, is this: what our eyes see or our mind imagines is not the same thing as what the camera captures through the lens. Our scripts or screenplays should guide producers and directors what that camera captures. Thus, we should visually think or imagine with camera lenses for eyes.
So we write EXT. or INT. to indicate that the camera frames a particular scene either as an exterior or an interior shot. Then we provide a general description of the location of the shot: STREET or LIVING ROOM. And we decide the time of day the scene occurs: DAY or NIGHT. And we write it this way:
INT. LIVING ROOM. DAY.
But that is just the beginning of a scene, something akin to a still photo. Since we're writing a script for moving images, we need to put some action into the scene. Here's what Friedmann provides as an example (19):
INT. LIVING ROOM. DAY.
We see a figure in silhouette against a window. Through the window a suburban street is visible with trees. The leaves are falling. It is windy and raining. A car drives past. It has a screaming fan belt. A jogger runs past. His breath is visible. A telephone rings. The figure turns toward camera, and we see tears on her face.
Now, isn't that more dramatic a scene? And Friedmann reminds us: always write in the present tense. The camera, after all, can only capture what is present.
Notice also that the scene above can be shot by the director from an interior location. The director can choose to shoot exterior elements through the window. Or decide to divide the scene into two camera setups, one for interior elements and another for exterior elements.
Or the writer can decide to portray it that way, as Friedmann shows us (19-20):
EXT. STREET. DAY.
LOW ANGLE of a woman at a window. REVERSE ANGLE of the street–leaves are falling. It is windy and raining. A car up and past. SFX a screaming fan belt. A jogger runs past. We see the steam of his breath. The figure turns away from the window.
INT. LIVING ROOM. DAY.
The street scene of the previous shot in the background. The phone rings. ALESSANDRA, in silhouette against a window, turns to the camera and reveals a tear-stained face. She answers the phone.
Once the writer does it this way, the producer or director still have to decide to shoot it the way the writer imagines it or take a different and sometimes less costly route.
Okay, now we've seen the start of creating a script or screenplay. But then, perhaps we need to learn a different language too. You may have noticed the words LOW ANGLE, REVERSE ANGLE, and SFX in the previous example. That's what we'll take up next when we imagine scenes and shots in more detail.
In the meantime, here's a clip and script from Chris Marker's photomontage La Jetee (1962) to inspire us to think visually.
Anthony Friedmann, in his Writing for Visual Media (2006), that I will be quoting and citing liberally from henceforth, says it would help if we use our experiences as movie viewers to imagine how our ideas on the page will look like as moving images projected onscreen.
Friedmann also reminds us that the script or screenplay we write is really just the music sheet or the blueprint from which the musician reads to perform a composition or from which an architect follows to build a structure from the ground up. The script or screenplay is really a set of instructions for the designers, producers, actors, and
directors to compose a scene in a story.
It is our task then to imagine how an idea or a story will look like (and what sounds or voices to include), and how that audiovisual image will contribute to the narrative, even before we begin writing the script. This is what we call meta-writing or visual thinking.
Here's an exercise Friedmann suggests for us to try out some visual writing skills:
"As an exercise in visual writing, try to create an image or a one-shot scene that communicates primary emotional situations: anger, fear, humor,curiosity, conflict, danger, deceit, hope, fatigue. The challenge is to show it without words and without literal-minded solutions such as a close-up of an angry face for anger."
One thing we should remember, though, is this: what our eyes see or our mind imagines is not the same thing as what the camera captures through the lens. Our scripts or screenplays should guide producers and directors what that camera captures. Thus, we should visually think or imagine with camera lenses for eyes.
So we write EXT. or INT. to indicate that the camera frames a particular scene either as an exterior or an interior shot. Then we provide a general description of the location of the shot: STREET or LIVING ROOM. And we decide the time of day the scene occurs: DAY or NIGHT. And we write it this way:
INT. LIVING ROOM. DAY.
But that is just the beginning of a scene, something akin to a still photo. Since we're writing a script for moving images, we need to put some action into the scene. Here's what Friedmann provides as an example (19):
INT. LIVING ROOM. DAY.
We see a figure in silhouette against a window. Through the window a suburban street is visible with trees. The leaves are falling. It is windy and raining. A car drives past. It has a screaming fan belt. A jogger runs past. His breath is visible. A telephone rings. The figure turns toward camera, and we see tears on her face.
Now, isn't that more dramatic a scene? And Friedmann reminds us: always write in the present tense. The camera, after all, can only capture what is present.
Notice also that the scene above can be shot by the director from an interior location. The director can choose to shoot exterior elements through the window. Or decide to divide the scene into two camera setups, one for interior elements and another for exterior elements.
Or the writer can decide to portray it that way, as Friedmann shows us (19-20):
EXT. STREET. DAY.
LOW ANGLE of a woman at a window. REVERSE ANGLE of the street–leaves are falling. It is windy and raining. A car up and past. SFX a screaming fan belt. A jogger runs past. We see the steam of his breath. The figure turns away from the window.
INT. LIVING ROOM. DAY.
The street scene of the previous shot in the background. The phone rings. ALESSANDRA, in silhouette against a window, turns to the camera and reveals a tear-stained face. She answers the phone.
Once the writer does it this way, the producer or director still have to decide to shoot it the way the writer imagines it or take a different and sometimes less costly route.
Okay, now we've seen the start of creating a script or screenplay. But then, perhaps we need to learn a different language too. You may have noticed the words LOW ANGLE, REVERSE ANGLE, and SFX in the previous example. That's what we'll take up next when we imagine scenes and shots in more detail.
In the meantime, here's a clip and script from Chris Marker's photomontage La Jetee (1962) to inspire us to think visually.
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