Alternative Formats

F

Fahad

Veteran
Hi,

so i've been reading an interesting book called "film production theory". the author mentions alternative approaches to film making, including script writing.

one example he presents reads like:

Code: 
Trying to locate Indre.
Slowly tilting up and down
For some time.
But no results.
No signs.
But now:
In the far distance: a body?
Floating on top of the water.
Gradually coming nearer and nearer
Towards camera.
And now! Indeed!
Indre!
Seemingly unconscious.
She floats along
Wrapped in the bulrushes.
A pathetic figure
Racked by the waves.
Fog.
Lights.
Boats.
Yells across the water.

so i googled and wikipedia-ed.

i came across a french screenplay that had a very different format than the "american" format. it included act numbers, music/audio notes, and quite frankly it reads smoother than the regular formats i've read in english. i suppose it's more of an artistic (or poetic) approach to writing for film, which is nice.

how much things can get f-ed up during production is another matter (i wouldn't know).

my question: where can i find more information regarding alternative approaches to script writing?

i know there are books on this subject, but i'm a big fan of the internet.

thanks!

p.s. i don't speak/read french, that's what google translate is for !
 
Screenplay format has little to do with artistic concerns. It is standardized because that's what all the technical departments expect and need to do their jobs accurately. A differently formatted script will cause chaos. If you're just making a no budget movie with you and your friends than I guess it doesn't matter.
 
yeah i definitely understand the production downside to anything non-standard.

i think the context in which the author was talking about is how the writer and director should have the same vision for a film (or be the same person).
 
That example you posted would be a train wreck in any production environment. It's written like a poem. It may be pleasing to the eye or to the ear, but it doesn't do what it's supposed to do at all.

A script is a set of directions, not a literary form. It's not written for its own sake, but to make a film from. If there are production "downsides" or production confusion, it's not a good script.
 
Fahad said:
Hi,

so i've been reading an interesting book called "film production theory". the author mentions alternative approaches to film making, including script writing.

one example he presents reads like:

Code: 
Trying to locate Indre.
Slowly tilting up and down
For some time.
But no results.
No signs.
But now:
In the far distance: a body?
Floating on top of the water.
Gradually coming nearer and nearer
Towards camera.
And now! Indeed!
Indre!
Seemingly unconscious.
She floats along
Wrapped in the bulrushes.
A pathetic figure
Racked by the waves.
Fog.
Lights.
Boats.
Yells across the water.
Click to expand...

What you've got there seems to be a more trimmed down version of Walter Hill's well known vertical writing style, most famously used by him and David Giler when they re-wrote Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett's screenplay for Alien. It is not as in vogue today though, at least from what I've seen in more recent spec scripts.

I think this type of style can be useful in just getting things down and not tripping yourself up on too much intricate description. I do really like it, both for my own writing and when I'm reading a script that uses a vertical style, as there is a certain efficiency and simplicity to it.

I do have to agree with Batutta, if you're writing something for a medium to large scale production, on assignment, or are submitting a spec script to agents or producers, then definitely make sure you have the "proper" format. However, if this alternative format works better for you during the initial first draft writing stage, then you could always write it this way, and later on conform your script to the proper industry formatting standards.

In a sense, it makes me think of how writers use the terms script and screenplay. To me, a script feels more like what the technically formatted document for production would be, while a screenplay feels more like it would be what infers a spec script or something more arty like the example posted above.
 
David, i hear ya man. i think i like it because it's open to interpretation. which a production script should not be, for sure. i'm just doing a bit of research. i think, as mentioned, it's the distinction between a screenplay and a technical shooting-script.

Nektonic, thanks for the tip. i read a bit of alien, and it's the kind of thing i'm looking for.

i did some more research, and apparently Eraserhead had a 21 page script. love it or hate, that movie was a valid exercise in filmmaking. it took 7 years to make, but what are you gonna do.

i think, if anything, this kind of style would work for very short films, or very low budget productions (no departments).

do you think the videos of popular youtube channels are scripted like this?
 
i found Wall-e online. it's very easy to read.

i think with these kinds of scripts, the focus is the story and emotion, rather than required shots. maybe it's because the main story has minimal dialog?
 
Write in a style that FITS you, not something that looks good on paper. I read a Walter's scripts and I once (years ago) try to emulate that style and you could tell
it wasn't me.

Take the standard form and then make it your own.
 
Charli said:
Write in a style that FITS you, not something that looks good on paper.
Click to expand...

As long as you know that, for a baby writer, this insures no one in the industry will take your material seriously.

Like someone mentioned before, if you plan to shoot it on your own with friends, knock yourself out. But if you plan to make a splash professionally, well...
 
HomerS3 said:
As long as you know that, for a baby writer, this insures no one in the industry will take your material seriously.

Like someone mentioned before, if you plan to shoot it on your own with friends, knock yourself out. But if you plan to make a splash professionally, well...
Click to expand...
There really isn't any point in formatting your scripts in an unconventional manner. It can only hurt your chances of selling a script or being hired to write a script.

You might find somebody who is willing to accept the strange formatting, but you won't find a sane person in the world who is turned off by a script because of proper formatting. Give yourself the best shot possible.

If you need to write a specific way just to get the story out on paper, that's fine, as long you put it in standard format when you go to start showing it to people.

You can't really use "Wall-E" as an example, because that was not a spec script. That was a concept that the guys at Pixar had all ready approved, and the script was written for the specific purpose of inspiring the Story Artists to start sketching storyboards, sequences, and animatics. The "writing" of Wall-E (and other animated titles) continues far past what you see in the screenplay.
 
i appreciate the friendly warnings. i'm just doing a bit of research.

what fascinated me was that there are many different approaches to writing a screenplay. especially when it came to different countries/languages. for example, the French one i mentioned. elsewhere, it's called "scenario and dialog". the technical detail varies by writer, i believe.

looks like the standard way is becoming more common, though. if only for the shooting script portion.
 
Don't make it any harder to break a script down. At least in the "standard" format you know what you're dealing with.

If you want to write poetry...write poetry. If you want to write a screenplay, then by all means, do it.
 
i think it's like the difference between writing a program in proper syntax, or writing is pseudo-code. depends on the user of the script, i suppose.
 
do you guys know if there's an internet-video production type script format? something that describes the actions/speech of a person talking on a webcam for example?

i know it probably doesn't matter, but if it's out there, i'd like to check it out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top