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Text-to-Film Adaptation Lesson
18
HOW SCREENWRITERS ADAPT BOOKS
(AND WHY THEY MAKE CHANGES)
Adaptation
LEARNING TARGETS:
I can identify the key features of a story and film adaptation.
Add definitions and words to your Reading Journal by
COPYING THE SECTIONS IN GREEN (WHERE NEEDED)
I can explain the reasons behind adaptation decisions.
SUCCESS CRITERIA:
Define all new vocab (in green)
Discuss discussion questions
!
TEXT
!
The point to the story.
The 'truth' the story is trying to prove.
(Example: The central idea of To Kill a Mockingbird was to prove that the Golden Rule is right, even when it is hard)
Medium
Limitations
CENTRAL IDEA
When adapting
a book to a film,
screenwriters first consider the most important key features of the text they're developing.
MOOD
The 'feeling' of a story.
The way a story wants you to feel.
(Example: The mood of a comedy is usually light and comedic, but the mood of a horror is usually scary, dark, and suspenseful)
MOOD
TEXT
These are the things the writer will likely want to keep in adaptation.
Medium:
The form of art being used.
These typically are...
The literal events of a story.
The things that happen in the story.
(Example: The plot of To Kill a Mockingbird is about Jem and Scout growing up in the 1920s as their father defends a black man in court)
PLOT
medium: A form of art (i.e. painting, writing, singing, etc.)
IN FILM
(but not text)
Discussion Question:
FILM
Score (Background Music)
For each example, try to identify the implied plot and mood of the story.
How does the music change things, like "who is this person", "what are they feeling/thinking", and "what will happen next"?
Write down some of the answers you and your partner come to to share.
Film is a very
different medium
than text, and has to make many decisions that books simply don't have to. ........................................
Exact Look
(Wardrobe, Set Design, Special Effects, etc.)
Close-up
emotional, intimate
Medium Shot
clear and focused
FILM
Camerawork
(Framing, Blocking, Shots)
Wide Shot
distant, 'big picture'
Dolly
Zoom
Likewise, there are many things that books need to worry about that films
can choose not to
worry about.
IN TEXT
(but not always film)
Inner Monologues (What characters are thinking/feeling)
Descriptions (What is described, and what words are picked
to describe them)
Adaptation
REARRANGING
Books are often meant to be read over several
sittings, whereas movies are almost always meant to
be watched all at once, normally for no more than 150
minutes.
Because of this, most movies have less time to explain things
and get the audience interested.
A trick to get an audience hooked immediately is to start...
REARRANGING
Latin for "In the
IN MEDIA RES
middle of things"
To start a story in the middle, after things have already started happening.
...and then catch up the details later through flashbacks.
Discussion Question:
Based on this opening, what might someone think the film's key features would be?
- Plot (What will happen for the rest of the film)
- Mood (How will the movie feel? What genre is it?)
- Central Idea (What will the movie try to say?)
Write down answers in notes section to share.
CHANGING
Directors and screenwriters will sometimes
change lines, or how a line is delivered (or performed) for many different reasons, such as...
• Better fitting an actor's performance
• Better fitting a new mood for the scene
"a date which will
live in world history
infamy
• Shortening long dialogue to only what's important
• Better fitting to the director/actor's idea of the character
This scene contains an adaptation of this excerpt from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in which Harry's name is illegally forced into a deadly competition he wasn't meant to take part in.
ORIGINAL:
MOVIE:
CHANGING
Professor Dumbledore was now looking down at Harry, who looked right back at him, trying to discern the expresson of his eyes behind his half-moon spectacles.
"Did you put your name in the Goblet
of Fire, Harry?" he asked calmly.
"No," said Harry. He was very
aware of everybody watching
him closely.
With a partner, come up with reasons why this change might have been made. Take notes!
CUT
Scenes will often be cut (or removed)
from the final film.
Most scenes are cut because of time (remember,
the script for a film is usually ~150 pages—way shorter
than the average novel.
Directors/editors decide whether a scene needs cutting by asking themselves two questions:
IS IT NECESSARY FOR THE KEY FEATURES? / IS IT REDUNDANT?
WHAT IS THE SCENE DOING?
(Is what the scene does important or unimportant? / Is it doing something already done better in other scenes?
(What do we learn about the characters or plot in the scene?)
CUTTING
Here is a deleted scene from Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. Discuss with a partner why these scenes may have been deleted.
Discussion Question
(Be sure to write down your answers in the notes section)