simon dunn: scriptwriter & comedian

This is probably of interest to only one or two of you, but I’ve just found a little plugin for blogs that can recreate the screenplay format. It’s called Scrippets, and it produces script extracts like this:

I can see how it would be very useful for a blog about writing for the screen. It’s available on most blogging platforms, including WordPress and Blogger, and you can find it here.

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I like DVD commentaries, and not because it’s an excuse to avoid writing by watching a film twice. There are often some nuggets of insight hidden away amongst the pap, and sometimes, like in the case of Robert Rodriguez, they are entire how-to guides and an illumination of a work ethic that will make your balls bleed.

The commentary on the recent Star Trek film is also a good example of this; not least because it highlights that Spielberg should definitely record something for his films. JJ Abrams is talking about a chat he had with Mr Spielberg during the shooting of the movie, wherein they discussed how to structure an action sequence.

They used the V Wing Plane Fight from Raiders of the Lost Ark as a base. (I can’t find an actual clip of it online, so here’s what I could find):

Here, the action is driven forward because everything Indy does to overcome an obstacle throws up a new one.

They need to get the Ark back, and they think it’s on the plane, thus they need to get on the plane. By doing this, they alert a guard, and Indy must fight him. This fight draws the attention of the pilot, who begins firing his pistol.  Indy dives under the wing, and whilst fighting the guard, Indy uses the chocks as a weapon. Meanwhile Marion knocks the pilot out, who falls on the controls and puts the plane in motion.

This goes on; but the important point is that every action to overcome an obstacle presents a new obstacle.

If your action scenes feel a bit flat, bear this in mind.

In fact, it’s an excellent maxim to plot by. Rather than just a series of obstacles to overcome, which is pretty good drama anyway, it elevates things by having your hero  surmounting one obstacle, but creating another one. What’s more, you could have the resolution of an obstacle in your sub-plot build a new one in your main plot.

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Writing exposition is tedious.

And the fact that you may not know what exposition is means I have to come up with an interesting way of explaining it. And I can’t be bothered, because it’s tedious.

I’m putting together a treatment for a drama series at the moment, and I’m in the annoying situation of having characters that know their own back story having to convey that story to the audience. My first instinct is to have them not bother. Why would they be talking to one another about it after all? As an audient myself, I like it when I have to do some work to figure out what’s going on. A question left unanswered is a potential for mystery, and mystery can give plots momentum.

A LOT'S happening Foxy.

Moreover, what an audient can imagine is probably much more interesting than what you can realise on screen.

An excellent example of this can be found in the film Mission Impossible 3. We never learn what the Rabbit’s Foot is, nor what it does, but the way the characters react to it tells us everything we need to know.

So if you find yourself having to write a scene in which three characters must outline their relationship to one another, skip it. If their characters are well drawn, and the hierarchy is there, it should come through in their interactions anyway.

If you’ve ever written the line, “Well, you’re the boss” or “So Mum how are you since Dad died?” go and seek out David Mamet’s CAPS LOCKED RANT.

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So, I think the class I taught in Oxford last week went quite well. If nothing else I got to watch that scene in The Wire where all they say is “Fuck” in various connotations. Nothing like sitting in a seat of learning and watching students giggle at swearing.

I also got the chance to expound my thoughts on using questions as a tool (see this post). It was useful to voice them all out loud, and we all concluded that if you only ask three questions of your script it should be these:

1. What does my main character want?

2. What’s stopping her from getting it?

3. How does she overcome these obstacles?

If you can answer all three (and hopefully give more than one answer for question 2), you have the makings of a good story.

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