Unit 19: Learning Aim A
INTRO, INTRO, INTRO:
A script is
the guide that tells the film crew how to make the intended movie.
It is
supposed to be clear in its directions.
It is not
supposed to tell the story in a beautiful way.
It is just
the instruction manual to the movie; it is not the story of the movie itself.
The process of writing a script goes as such:
1.
First, we write a Logline, or a quick summary for
the movie.
2.
Secondly, we create an outline for the structure and
story of the movie, followed by making a roadmap for it.
3.
Start writing a first draft screenplay.
4.
Reformats, reforms, and overviews of the screenplay.
5.
Go back and do edits, rewrites, and add the finishing touches to your screenplay
6. That’s it. Bravo
young writer, now you can rest easy knowing that you wrote the script of your
dreams, that will hopefully be read and made into a movie by a high-ranking
executive producer (delusions).
Script writers have a lot of different responsibilities and
roles to do.
Some of those responsibilities are: Not misrepresenting certain
groups of people. Not using any copyrighted materials. And a lot of other ones
that we will get into later on in this nice little
report.
How do you
get hired as a scriptwriter?
1.
You don’t.
2.
Getting cross hired from other writing industries (journalism
and such).
3. Sending
your script to a producer.
4.
Networking and getting a job through college.
Les go through them real quick:
College: One way of getting connected to the
industry and finding a job is through college (Highschool or University). Alot
of institutions guarantee a job in the industry after finishing their courses,
as a lot of them get you to network, teach you how to get a job, or straight up
hook you up with one.
Sending Your Scripts: Another way
of getting a job, is by sending your script to a known, or indie, executive,
director, or producers. With a bit of effort, and a lot of
prayers, you could get lucky and have them read your
work, and get you on your way towards making your
little big dreams, a reality.
Getting
Cross-Hired: Sometimes, a
prominent (or maybe not so prominent) writer in another industry/sector, say
journalism, could get hired as a scriptwriter, due to their journalistic
writings.
Another case of this is a book
writer getting hired as a scriptwriter, for a movie about a book they worked
on, or even another book they didn’t work.
Their expertise in book writing
may help an adaptation of a book in staying truer to the style of said book.
Getting hired in different sectors
Different sectors of media will
be looking for, and hiring people of different talent, that relates to the
specifics of said industry.
Sectors, Sectors, SECTORS, sectors ?
Digital Media, specifically Social Media:
Getting hired in the digital
sector, and working on social media requires many things of you.
If you’re getting hired to
manage a social media account, you have to be good
at writing things that relate to the brand or person behind that account. You
need to be up to date on things this brand relates to, and industries it’s
connected to.
You have
to be able to write relatable, or intriguing hooks and posts that relate to
the audience of the brand, and you have to be quick
enough to post on a schedule.
You can get hired by getting sought
out by a brand or personality for your ability to sell products,
or keep up the good image of a person.
Television/Film:
Getting hired in this sector
requires, like the digital sector, many different things of you.
If you’re getting hired to
write for a movie, or a scripted show, you’re required to have a great script
writing ability, and great ideas for entertainment.
You can get hired through
different methods, mentioned earlier, such as by getting connected through
networking through university.
C
A
S
E
S
T
U
D
Y...
Edgar wright, and how he writes.
Edgar Wright is an English film maker, and a real gem in the
movie industry.
His iconic “Wright Style” is well known and easily
recognized. With his quick cuts from frame to frame that feature in his
fast-paced montages, his creative camerawork and scene transitions, and his
satirical humor and style of film.
Some of his most well-known works include:
Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, Baby Driver, and Spaced.
Another notable work of his is A Fistful of Fingers, which is a
low budget spoof on the western movie genre.
A Fistful of Fingers was picked up for a limited theatre
release, and a broadcasting on the Sky Movies satellite channel.
This caught the attention of comedians Matt Lucas and David
Walliams, which led to him being chosen as the director for the sketch show “Mash
and Peas”. He worked on other productions at that time.
Now onto his Wrighting style, and filmmaking process:
Where does he get his
inspiration for his style from?
Well,
he mainly attributes his style of comedy to his love for the movie An American Werewolf in London.
One
of the biggest stylistic techniques and choices that Wright takes that makes
his work stand out so much, is how he copies other genre’s conventions and
incorporates them into his work without taking away from it.
In
SPACED, he used a lot of dramatic camera angles, and a lot of motifs from
sci-fi and horror, which made this SITCOM stand out among others.
His
writing process and style include, him researching
the genre he’s making a movie about by watching a lot of movies from that
genre.
This
helps him understand the conventions he wants to break in his movies. His
movies include a lot of references to media he enjoys, so much so, that he
includes an “Homage-o-Metre" in his movies, that points out how much
references are included in a scene.
A
thing to note about Edgar’s Wrighting style is that his writing is heavily
connected to the sound of the movie. Meaning, some scenes will be written with
a specific song in mind, or a specific flow of sound effects. This makes the
scenes pop out more.
*pop*
The
way he sets out to plan a script out is by making a Script Roadmap that details
scenes and aspects of the movie that he wants to add.
A
lot of the time, co-writing with others helps him, especially when writing
comedy movies such as Hot Fuzz (see linked video in biblography).
While
he may find formulaic movie formats and set-ups, well… formulaic, he recognizes
the fact that to subvert a genre, you have to know a genre. This makes him try
to understand the convections of a genre first before doing a deep dive into
the infinite creativity of parody waters.
He
preaches making movies that YOU love and would like to see, and not something
you feel even slightly aversed to. He tries to get down his movies exactly how
he envisions them, which leads him to making storyboards for every single scene
(honestly i feel his struggle).
He
is working on a new movie currently with his long, long, long time collaborator
Simon
Pegg .
It
will NOT be connected to the “Cornetto Trilogy”, which consists of Shaun of the
Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End.
Final
words:
love this silly man and his silly movies
non sequitur:
How
can a radio show writer develop their skills in their own sector?
Radio
shows rely, like most other shows, on popularity and audience interaction to
stay afloat.
1.
Networking: Some
oppertunitites for improvement may not come to a radio show writer without
having good connections, which is why they should network and get good
connections.
2.
Effective
Communication: As mentioned, radio shows rely a lot on audience interactions.
This means that a show with good audience interaction will stay afloat, while a
bad one will not. Effective communication helps keep audiences in touch, by
listening to their wants, what aspects they like, and their criticisims, and
responding to them adequeatly. This will help keep your scripts for a show
up-to-date with what the audience likes, and will get a better response out of
them.
3.
Improving Writing:
This can be done in many ways, like the previously mentioned EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION, but it also can be done through other ways, such as keeping up
with the events of the world if your show leans towards a talk-show/news show.
Writers
for different sectors of media will have different requirements for writing in
their sector.
Take
for example a... tv show writer, and a........ game show writer (silly examples
off the top of one’s head):
Writers
of a TV show have to think about the story and the writing in a more linear way.
Whether it’s episodic, or seasonal, a show will keep a level of flow that won’t
be broken by the actions of the consumers of the show.
Writers
of a Videogame have to think about the story and the writing in a way that’s
not as linear. While games have a flowing story that a player can go through
easily on a set path, other games that provide more freedom in exploration that
makes projecting the story of the game harder to do, as one can’t predict how
the player will go through it. Other games like DARK SOULS may feature a less
coherent story told more through long descriptions of items that can be easily
skipped, but it makes up for it in immersiveness and great worldbuilding (which
I thinks more open games should focus on in my opinion).
Legal eyed
individuals will notice that this next part talks about legality in
scriptwriting:
Some
of the legal considerations that scriptwriters should take while writing are:
NOT stealing anybody’s artistic property and work, not using trademarked brands
without permission in their work, not defamating the character of a real life
person, and many others.
We
can avoid this by asking permission from anyone featured in this movie, or
having aspects of their work featured, and paying them for it. Paying them for
it, Paying them for it, Paying them for it, Paying
them for it, Paying them for it, Paying them for it. Please pay people what they deserve, and don’t steal.
Case Study:
N.W.A
Straight Outta Compton
The
movie Straight Outta Compton is a semi biographical movie about one of the
pioneering hip-hop groups of the late 80s. Named after their debut album.
The
movie is a retelling of their story, which mixes fact with fiction.
It
features in it Jerry Heller, the group’s ex-manager, who sued them over claims
of defamation of character.
His
claim was that the movie portrayed and used his name and likeness without
permission, and it portrayed his as a “bad guy” and, in his words, “a sleazy
manager that took advantage of the rap group”.
Another
claim was that some of the scenes that were featured were taken straight out of
his 2006 memoir “Ruthless: a memoir”.
The
lawsuit was thown out by a judge after the passing of Jerry Heller, and the party
sued got off without any legal reprecussions.
Ethical eyed
individuals will notice that this next part talks about Ethics and
morals in scriptwriting:
Some
of the ethical considerations that scriptwriters should take while writing are:
NOT knowingly spreading misinformation about a subject, not taking advantage of
people and legal loopholes that allow for shady dealings to happen without repercussions,
not portraying harmful stereotypes and archtypes, and not wasting a consumer’s
time by making a boring piece of media (satan
himself will punish you if you do this last one (like
for the love of god please atleast make something that’s bad to an enjoyable
level)).
Case Study:
S.B.C
Bor дt
The
movie centres around a popular reporter from Khazakhstan named Borat, who goes
to the US and A, and tries to make a documentary about what makes the country
great.
The
idea of the movie was to expose the xenophobic, sexist, racist, et cetra-ist ideals
that plagued America, and american bigotry as a whole. Using satire, and the
character of a sexist tv reporter doing mock interviews with people that are
structured to reveal the bigotry.
Great
message, right? So why is this movie the example I chose for a case study on
lack of ethics?
Is
it the debatably “unmoral” way the people who are interviewed appear, or they
way Borat acts?
No.
One
of the scenes from the movie features a village of Roma people in Khazakhstan, it was in reality filmed in Romania, anyways, who are featured as incestuous, some labelled as rapists, abortionists,
and backwards people.
The
people of the Village of Glod were manipulated into thinking they were going to
be part of a documentary about them and their lives and living conditions, only
to be used and coerced into starring in scenes that are only there to punch
down on them (and on khazakh people, as they are supposed to be in
khazakhstan in that part of the movie).
On
top of that, they were barely paid anything to participate in this demeaning
film, being paid around 1.28 dollars on average for their scenes.
In my honest opinion, if you manipulate someone into doing this,
you should atleast pay them a bit, get me?
People living in abject poverty, coerced into being portrayed
negatively. That is not ethical.
They tried to sue S.B.C. twice, but both lawsuits got thrown
out.
The movie did receive a lot of backlash from Kazakhs for the way
they were portrayed, and while the Roma people of the village of Glod tried to
get what they are owed, no real repercussions were given to anyone that
produced and worked on the movie.
Infact most people probably didn’t even know about this
happening.
For a movie about how bad american bigotry is, doing exactly
what you condemn (and maybe even worse) makes the irony, and hypocricy, of western
bigotry and exploitation even more known. And unknowingly, it proves the point
it was set out to make, which really
makes it a masterpiece in satirization... right?
Khazakh
Kazakh
can you tell
that I have
a bit of a
gripe
with this
movie?
Evaluation, Evaluation,
Evaluation:
Evaluation
Final analysis of your findings
Wild horses ride away!
Coda:
A scriptwriter has to work hard, both internally and externally.
Working to find a job through networking or other means, and working
to harbor the skills necessary for the sector they choose to work, and working
to improve them.
Media’s impact on people is massive, which is why making sure
that all the moral, legal, and ethical standards have been met is a must.
Most importantly, have fun, and go wild
just like i did with some
parts of this nice little big essay reports...
final words:
i will be back for more
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa_lP82gAZY
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/n-w-a-manager-jerry-heller-straight-outta-compton-lawsuit-772233/
https://www.new-east-archive.org/articles/show/12296/borat-roma-problem-representation-film-satire-stereotypes
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