Please read the script for "Glory at Sea!" and comment on writing style, visual concept, and/or character development. We will watch the film in class on Wednesday and discuss the transition from page to screen.
The writing style of "Glory at Sea!" really impressed me. It was written like regular prose or a novel, not like a script. It was in proper script format, but it was more engaging than many scripts I have read. Rather than just a straightforward presentation of what needed to be filmed, the "Glory at Sea!" script used rich language and description that is more common in novels or short stories.
Such description can seem unnecessary, and it technically isn't required to shoot the film, but it adds a lot to what the director and cinematographers have to work from. By using such vivid description, we know what the screenwriter's intentions are. We don't have to see bodies rooted in the sand and wonder what we are dealing with. We are flat out told this is an "afterlife of condemned souls." The filmmakers then know exactly how they are supposed to present this shot, and there is little to no ambiguity. I feel like the writing style of this script is the best way to facilitate communication between all branches of production, and that the extra details help ensure that the final product matches everyone's vision.
What an elaborately descriptive script -- anything but generic. It is almost like the descriptions one would place below each frame of a shot list. To me, this is a wonderful script form as it allows me to better imagine what the writer intends things to look like. The action descriptions portray the writer's vision, giving off a specific mood/tone without being too forceful, leaving room for additional creativity. It was also very clear that that the script was written with a specific editing style in mind. In fact, the entire script seems to have been designed with the entire crew in mind. Nothing wrong with tedious details to get everyone on the same page before production.
What drives a script? Crafty Dialogue? Believable and interesting characters? Both do, but more so than anything I'd say action does. The description in this script puts the reader's senses in a world of wonder. As I finished the script, the imagery is what I noticed was the most memorable, not the names of the character's. This script alone proves that a story can be pushed mainly through action and description if the correct wording is used to keep the reader engaged. I was impressed.
My first impression is that this is written with a lot of feeling behind it. I could feel the energy and emotion almost immediately with this script. The characters just beam off of the page and I can visualize this pretty well. It helps that I have seen this short before, but if I hadn't then I'm sure it still would be the same. From a production design standpoint I read this as "holy crap, how can you do that" but they obviously pulled it off. The character descriptions are so vivid. This has made me re-evaluate how I write a script, I always thought there were rules, but this is something on its own.
Deeply fascinating. In some ways this is really a rather unconventionally written script. There’s a great deal of description that isn’t telling us what we’re seeing on screen so much as it’s giving us the emotions, themes, and ideas of the story. You also see Benh’s touch - it reads as a script written by a director with a very clear vision for his story.
Beyond its style, I think the structure is interesting and important to note. On the first page we’re introduced to the protagonist, Jake. On page two we get the inciting incident - Jake is pulled away from his love, Tess. Through all the surreal images and ideas that inhabit this film, it hinges on a very basic, simple narrative drive. Jake wants to get back to Tess. Everything that happens in the film contributes to this central goal. The story ends on Jake and Tess reuniting. The narrative simplicity and visual complexity pair well together, something worth thinking about with our own film.
When I first began reading this script I didn't feel like I was reading a script at all. It felt more like I was reading a picture being painted in a way. It reads like the director was writing some of his script note about character analysis into the script itself. I haven't seen this short before but I liked the script a lot because of the Romance of it all. Not in the sense of Jake loves Tess and will do anything to get back to her, but in the sense that the journey in this script is unlike any other journey I've read about. The visuals concepts of this short seem near terrifying to try and pull off in filming but that just lends itself even more to the Romance of it, a journey unlike any other guided purely by emotions and will power of those on it.
Great script. Its this kind of attention to detail and creativity in a script that inspires people to really get behind a project. The similes and metaphors used are useful tools when it comes to visualizing the imagery of a script. I especially liked the description of Jake, Tess and the rest of the victims as a "swaying cornfield of semiconscious bodies". Having seen this film a few times already, it was translated very well visually and I know we can nail the very same kind of eerie tone in our film.
This script was amazing in the fact that I didn't feel as though I was just reviewing a screenplay, but more of an emotional kind of retelling through a person that lived it! The script did something none of us are really used to and that is straying away from the form that we have all been taught to obey. Using this kind of approach the script gave us these vivid images of characters and settings that I could see in my head. I didn't have to guess at what and who these people were, the author painted them for me.
The writing style of "Glory at Sea!" really impressed me. It was written like regular prose or a novel, not like a script. It was in proper script format, but it was more engaging than many scripts I have read. Rather than just a straightforward presentation of what needed to be filmed, the "Glory at Sea!" script used rich language and description that is more common in novels or short stories.
ReplyDeleteSuch description can seem unnecessary, and it technically isn't required to shoot the film, but it adds a lot to what the director and cinematographers have to work from. By using such vivid description, we know what the screenwriter's intentions are. We don't have to see bodies rooted in the sand and wonder what we are dealing with. We are flat out told this is an "afterlife of condemned souls." The filmmakers then know exactly how they are supposed to present this shot, and there is little to no ambiguity. I feel like the writing style of this script is the best way to facilitate communication between all branches of production, and that the extra details help ensure that the final product matches everyone's vision.
What an elaborately descriptive script -- anything but generic. It is almost like the descriptions one would place below each frame of a shot list. To me, this is a wonderful script form as it allows me to better imagine what the writer intends things to look like. The action descriptions portray the writer's vision, giving off a specific mood/tone without being too forceful, leaving room for additional creativity. It was also very clear that that the script was written with a specific editing style in mind. In fact, the entire script seems to have been designed with the entire crew in mind. Nothing wrong with tedious details to get everyone on the same page before production.
ReplyDeleteWhat drives a script? Crafty Dialogue? Believable and interesting characters? Both do, but more so than anything I'd say action does. The description in this script puts the reader's senses in a world of wonder. As I finished the script, the imagery is what I noticed was the most memorable, not the names of the character's. This script alone proves that a story can be pushed mainly through action and description if the correct wording is used to keep the reader engaged. I was impressed.
ReplyDeleteMy first impression is that this is written with a lot of feeling behind it. I could feel the energy and emotion almost immediately with this script. The characters just beam off of the page and I can visualize this pretty well. It helps that I have seen this short before, but if I hadn't then I'm sure it still would be the same. From a production design standpoint I read this as "holy crap, how can you do that" but they obviously pulled it off. The character descriptions are so vivid. This has made me re-evaluate how I write a script, I always thought there were rules, but this is something on its own.
ReplyDeleteDeeply fascinating. In some ways this is really a rather unconventionally written script. There’s a great deal of description that isn’t telling us what we’re seeing on screen so much as it’s giving us the emotions, themes, and ideas of the story. You also see Benh’s touch - it reads as a script written by a director with a very clear vision for his story.
ReplyDeleteBeyond its style, I think the structure is interesting and important to note. On the first page we’re introduced to the protagonist, Jake. On page two we get the inciting incident - Jake is pulled away from his love, Tess. Through all the surreal images and ideas that inhabit this film, it hinges on a very basic, simple narrative drive. Jake wants to get back to Tess. Everything that happens in the film contributes to this central goal. The story ends on Jake and Tess reuniting. The narrative simplicity and visual complexity pair well together, something worth thinking about with our own film.
When I first began reading this script I didn't feel like I was reading a script at all. It felt more like I was reading a picture being painted in a way. It reads like the director was writing some of his script note about character analysis into the script itself. I haven't seen this short before but I liked the script a lot because of the Romance of it all. Not in the sense of Jake loves Tess and will do anything to get back to her, but in the sense that the journey in this script is unlike any other journey I've read about. The visuals concepts of this short seem near terrifying to try and pull off in filming but that just lends itself even more to the Romance of it, a journey unlike any other guided purely by emotions and will power of those on it.
ReplyDeleteGreat script. Its this kind of attention to detail and creativity in a script that inspires people to really get behind a project. The similes and metaphors used are useful tools when it comes to visualizing the imagery of a script. I especially liked the description of Jake, Tess and the rest of the victims as a "swaying cornfield of semiconscious bodies". Having seen this film a few times already, it was translated very well visually and I know we can nail the very same kind of eerie tone in our film.
ReplyDeleteThis script was amazing in the fact that I didn't feel as though I was just reviewing a screenplay, but more of an emotional kind of retelling through a person that lived it! The script did something none of us are really used to and that is straying away from the form that we have all been taught to obey. Using this kind of approach the script gave us these vivid images of characters and settings that I could see in my head. I didn't have to guess at what and who these people were, the author painted them for me.
ReplyDelete