First Impressions - Chart I
The Fact Behind the Lines
Mysterious
Lines or Events
Three Possible
Meanings
Paraphrase
Evidence for
Your Ideas
Ideas/First
Impressions
- Take into account the reality of the line being said
- Who says it and in what context?
- The first read through of a script (skim)
- Seeing that the script has possibilities
- Figure out what, for you, the movie is about?
- Reading the script out loud
- Reading confusing lines over and over again
- Adding different emphasis on lines to change them
- Open mind to how the line should read
- Creating three different possible reasons for what is happening
- Used on an individual line or a group of lines
- Creates choices
- Characters Inner life
- Blocking or business without plot consequences
- Characters personal objects
- Backstory facts
- Images
- Emotional events
- Start to put lines into your own words
- Purpose is to own the character
- Not trying to rewrite the script, only getting a good idea of who the characters are
The Immutable: Facts and Images - Chart 2
Research
A.Reread Script
B. External
C. Internal
Associations
A. From story
B. External
C.Personal/Internal
Images
Evidence
Facts
Questions
Contradictions
Issues
- Can be sarcastic or misunderstood lines in the script
- Can be hidden objectives and goals of the characters
- Any rapid behavior change in the characters
- Things that can be deduced from the script
- Lines and direction from the script must support it
- Evidence can become facts if proven later in the script
- Associations come from your own personal memories and experience
- Can be influenced by observation of the script, your own imagination or even from your research
- The characters situation
- Events that happened before the scene stars
- Sometimes clear sometimes not
- Cannot be choices
- A) Rereading can help by answering questions or even creating new ones
- B) Helps to research words you don't know or slang from that time or genre
- C) Your own personal experiences, understandings and observations. Connect what you know about life to the script
- Used to push any evidence into a fact
- Ask what, where, why, or who about the character
- Used to create new ideas and character development
- Two kinds of images: writers thematic images and character's personal images
- Images can be used to give stronger power towards emotions of the character
- Images are all in the word choice of the writer and the context in which the actor says the line
Imaginative Choices - Chart 3
What Just
Happened
History
(Backstory)
Subtext
Action Verbs
Physical Life
Objective
Adjustments
A. "As if"
B. "What if"
C. "It's like when"
The Problem
/ Obstacle
- What stands in the way of the character achieveing his objective
- Is it a external or internal problem
- Compared to the strength of the desire how powerful is the obstacle
- The underlineing tone or way a line is said
- Can be used to turn good news into bad news and vice verses
- Relies on the character to be subtle to make sure the other character don't have to react to the subtext
- Facts that are not mentioned in the script
- Questions can be used to create a possible backstory by the director
- Possible backstory has to match up with the facts of the script
- What are the physical attributes of the characters
- How old are they, what experiences have they been through
- What are they wearing and why?
- Facts should contribute to these choices
- What does the character need
- What does he want by the end of the scene
- Take into account all the events and facts of the scene
- How strong is the characters desire
- "off camera beat"
- What has happened to the characters in the scene just before
- Questions how the character are reacting to the coming events of the scene
- What the character does to overcome the obstacle
- How strong the action must be is related to the strength of desire and how powerful the obstacle is
- How do the other characters in the scene react to the actions being used
- Adjustments are changes in the choices to give the characters a new direction for the scene
- Adjustments can be as simple as the "what if" change
- Adjustments can also be a change in authority, age, how they take news, or even the overal relationship of the characters
Events - Chart 4
Scene Event
What Happens
Transitions
and
Connections
Who Brings
It Up
- Name of the character who brings up the subject
- What is the overall point of the scene
- Why does this scene take place
- How relevant is it to the plot
- Little sections of a scene
- Beats change every time a subject changes
- Major beats: Beginning, middle, and end
- Minor beats are based on the subjects of each scene
- Subjects are the point of each beat
- Can be emotional reaction
- Can be physical reactions
- Figure out how the beats relate to each other
- small events or issues
- Can lead to ideas about the scene
- Exactly what happens
- How do the characters react
- How does the scene move forward