Hello all,
We watched “A Prophet” in class. Can you identify the basic dramatic steps in the film (what Truby calls The Seven Steps without which a narrative story cannot work)?
Note that although Malik’s desire starts low (he merely wants to survive), it grows throughout the film into something far greater than mere survival. Malik works the system to fit his own needs and becomes a leader. The prison can be seen as a microcosm of the society. The filmmakers are not asking us to root for Malik but to simply understand his need in the environment he’s in and empathize with his plight. Here’s a SHORT REVIEW I found online from New York Magazine. I think it simply and clearly explains the theme of the film. (The writer Frank O’Connor said, “A theme is something that is worth something to everybody.”)
Now on to your assignment — the STEP OUTLINE. Most of you have taken Screenwriting I at BC, so you know how to write a step outline. Just in case you don’t, here’s a little explanation by way of Dan Bronzite of MovieOutline.com:
Step Or Scene?
Movie Outline uses “Steps” instead of “Scenes” which may confuse some screenwriters who are used to using scenes in relation to film timing and screenplay layout, but the difference is actually quite simple to understand.
A “Step” in Movie Outline really means an “Event” in the progression of your story, and this means that each step can consist of more than one “Scene”. A Montage sequence is one good example or:
Joe leaves his apartment, gets in his car, drives to the bank.
Although in a screenplay this totals three scenes, in a step-outline it is only one step since the nature of creating a step-outline dictates that you focus on the main story event and do not get into too much detail. Unless something big happens to Joe while he is getting into his car, the scene can be described within the overall event. What then happens when Joe enters the bank is another step.. and so on.
Another example could be a car chase. In a screenplay, each location that the cars involved in the chase pass through is technically a scene, but since we’re dealing with the same story event, the entire chase and collection of scenes is referred to as a step.
Or supposed your screenplay has your Hero bravely dashing into a burning building to save a child while other fire-fighters frantically do their best to put out the blaze. Technically, each room your Hero searches in constitutes a scene, and every time we cut back to the other fire-fighters, they are separate scenes too, but when planning your story, it is much easier to think of this as one single event and as such, a single step.
Here’s another example of a step-outline. Remember that EVERY STEP IS A SCENE, BUT EVERY SCENE IS NOT A STEP (see the above chapter for more explanation; if in doubt, email me).
Your Step Outline is due on May 2nd. Be sure to email it to me and bring a HARD COPY to class. You’ll form pairs and comment on one another’s outline.
INCLUDE A LOG LINE FOR YOUR STORY at the top of the page to help your reader remember your class pitch. Writing a log line at this stage is a great way to reevaluate the theme of your story.
READ Take This Waltz (link on SCREENPLAYS page).
Several of you asked me for more writing exercises. The below exercises are not assignments. I recommend that you do them to hone your craft; but you don’t need to turn them in.
Here’s one from Screenwriters Toolkit:
” What changes in your scenes when you reduce or expand them? Screenwriting books almost unanimously call for an economy of words — choosing your words wisely and using less to say more. Practice this. Your Task: Come up with a scene from a movie and write 3 versions of the same scene. Write the first one using a 1/2 page; the second one with 1 1/2 pages; and the third one using 3 pages.” (Take the opening scene from The Social Network. Cut some of the dialogue you think is not pertinent. Does it make the scene better or worse?)
Here’s one of my favorites. Choose a scene from your story or from a film that you like. Rewrite that scene without dialogue. See if you can describe the tension and essence of the scene through description only. If you think you can, you don’t need dialogue. Remember that film is a dramatic and visual medium. It’s not theater.
Here’s another: Your main character is in her car, driving in a pouring rain in the middle of a rush hour. Her front tire blows. She doesn’t have AAA Road Service or any other road service. There’s no cell phone reception. Will she try to change the tire? Try to get help from other motorists? You get to know your characters by putting them in difficult situation and see how they deal with problems.
Enjoy your time off.
ak
