Good morning, boys and girls. Welcome to the new weekly segment on Stellascript: Lessons Learned. I hope you've eaten a healthy breakfast and that you got a decent night's sleep.
What can you expect from our weekly lesson? Having covered basic writing issues up till now, I thought it would come in handy to pick a different movie or book each week and highlight a number of important elements. It's always useful to see principles in practice, particularly if they're executed successfully. I'd like to set a couple of ground rules to avoid having to repeat myself week after week:
One: Movies vs. Books. Most of my picks will be movies rather than books – at about a ratio of 3:1 (but don't check my math too closely, it's not my strong side). Why? Ideally, if you haven't read or seen the example I'm talking about that week, I think it'll be faster to go watch the film and see what I'm talking about, whereas with reading the book – who doesn't have a reading list that's not a mile long? It'll take you much longer to get to it and then the things I highlighted will likely have less impact because they'll still be theoretical to you.
Two: Not Screenwriting 101. Have no fear: a lesson from a movie can be applied to writing non-screen fiction as well. These won't be screenwriting lessons. (I don't think I'm qualified for that.)
Three: Who Made the Cut? Why did I choose these specific titles? Several reasons. In the beginning, I tried to limit myself to classics, but I felt that was perfectly snobbish of me. After all, people have been doing interesting things in the past decade or so. I started adding titles that were contemporary and pretty soon the list got to be about half and half. I also selected examples from various genres, but again, a lesson from any genre, even if it's genre-specific, can often be applied to anything. Most importantly – I'm giving examples from books and movies that I've read/seen at least twice, very often more. Much more. So I flatter myself that I've had time to understand what I'm talking about and not just going on a first impression.
Four: Not Necessarily First. Examples were chosen not necessarily because that movie or book invented what I’m talking about, but because the example is a good one. Getting caught up in who invented what is an entirely different discussion I don't want to get sidetracked with.
Five: Only the Final Product. When it comes to the films, let me say in advance that I haven’t read the original scripts, so I don’t know if or how they were altered during production. Chances are they were. The point is, like with a book, I'll be working with the final product – the actual film, that is – and be drawing my conclusions from there. So I'll also be crediting the director, editor, cinematographer, and actors, since they all have an obvious hand in the final product. If the film or book is based on a play, story, book, or film – I'll certainly take into account that it's an adaptation or a sequel.
Six: Circumstances of Production Are Out. Another thing I won’t be taking into account is circumstances of production. I don't care if their girlfriend left them when they were writing it, if their editor wanted a different ending, or if an actor adlibbed a line. I mean, of course I care, but when you watch or read something for the first time, you don't know any of that. Therefore, I'm treating all of that additional info as irrelevant.
Seven: References Are In. I will, however, acknowledge references to other films, books, music, etc., within a work (when relevant) because they're explicitly part of the work. For example, as interesting as it is to know that they were writing Casablanca while they were filming it – and though that does explain why Ilsa and Rick are a little all over the place in a few scenes (since they literally didn't know what was going to happen) – you are not supposed to know that when you watch the film. You are meant to see it as complete, intentional. Likewise, I don't care if Jane Austen never married or was in the same predicament as Charlotte Lucas – it is, for my purposes, irrelevant.
Eight: Not Doing General Reviews. My plan is to highlight useful examples, not go into why I think something is brilliant. The list only contains movies and books which I like, so don't expect a ratings system or a bashing-slashing festival.
Nine: Advance Notice. I'll try to say a week in advance (i.e. at the end of every post) which book or film I'll be doing next to give you a chance to read/watch or reread/re-watch it, since I'll pretty much be spoiling the hell out of whatever I'll be writing about. I may not always know since I already have several things in draft and haven't yet defined an exact schedule. But I'll do my best. Of course you don't have to read or watch anything in advance, especially if you don't mind spoilers. (Just a friendly suggestion.) I'll also do my best to include one or two relevant clips from YouTube when possible.
And that's the general idea. No, I won’t be taking attendance. No, class participation is not mandatory. There won’t be any homework. Any questions?
First up: Lost in Translation.
What can you expect from our weekly lesson? Having covered basic writing issues up till now, I thought it would come in handy to pick a different movie or book each week and highlight a number of important elements. It's always useful to see principles in practice, particularly if they're executed successfully. I'd like to set a couple of ground rules to avoid having to repeat myself week after week:
One: Movies vs. Books. Most of my picks will be movies rather than books – at about a ratio of 3:1 (but don't check my math too closely, it's not my strong side). Why? Ideally, if you haven't read or seen the example I'm talking about that week, I think it'll be faster to go watch the film and see what I'm talking about, whereas with reading the book – who doesn't have a reading list that's not a mile long? It'll take you much longer to get to it and then the things I highlighted will likely have less impact because they'll still be theoretical to you.
Two: Not Screenwriting 101. Have no fear: a lesson from a movie can be applied to writing non-screen fiction as well. These won't be screenwriting lessons. (I don't think I'm qualified for that.)
Three: Who Made the Cut? Why did I choose these specific titles? Several reasons. In the beginning, I tried to limit myself to classics, but I felt that was perfectly snobbish of me. After all, people have been doing interesting things in the past decade or so. I started adding titles that were contemporary and pretty soon the list got to be about half and half. I also selected examples from various genres, but again, a lesson from any genre, even if it's genre-specific, can often be applied to anything. Most importantly – I'm giving examples from books and movies that I've read/seen at least twice, very often more. Much more. So I flatter myself that I've had time to understand what I'm talking about and not just going on a first impression.
Four: Not Necessarily First. Examples were chosen not necessarily because that movie or book invented what I’m talking about, but because the example is a good one. Getting caught up in who invented what is an entirely different discussion I don't want to get sidetracked with.
Five: Only the Final Product. When it comes to the films, let me say in advance that I haven’t read the original scripts, so I don’t know if or how they were altered during production. Chances are they were. The point is, like with a book, I'll be working with the final product – the actual film, that is – and be drawing my conclusions from there. So I'll also be crediting the director, editor, cinematographer, and actors, since they all have an obvious hand in the final product. If the film or book is based on a play, story, book, or film – I'll certainly take into account that it's an adaptation or a sequel.
Six: Circumstances of Production Are Out. Another thing I won’t be taking into account is circumstances of production. I don't care if their girlfriend left them when they were writing it, if their editor wanted a different ending, or if an actor adlibbed a line. I mean, of course I care, but when you watch or read something for the first time, you don't know any of that. Therefore, I'm treating all of that additional info as irrelevant.
Seven: References Are In. I will, however, acknowledge references to other films, books, music, etc., within a work (when relevant) because they're explicitly part of the work. For example, as interesting as it is to know that they were writing Casablanca while they were filming it – and though that does explain why Ilsa and Rick are a little all over the place in a few scenes (since they literally didn't know what was going to happen) – you are not supposed to know that when you watch the film. You are meant to see it as complete, intentional. Likewise, I don't care if Jane Austen never married or was in the same predicament as Charlotte Lucas – it is, for my purposes, irrelevant.
Eight: Not Doing General Reviews. My plan is to highlight useful examples, not go into why I think something is brilliant. The list only contains movies and books which I like, so don't expect a ratings system or a bashing-slashing festival.
Nine: Advance Notice. I'll try to say a week in advance (i.e. at the end of every post) which book or film I'll be doing next to give you a chance to read/watch or reread/re-watch it, since I'll pretty much be spoiling the hell out of whatever I'll be writing about. I may not always know since I already have several things in draft and haven't yet defined an exact schedule. But I'll do my best. Of course you don't have to read or watch anything in advance, especially if you don't mind spoilers. (Just a friendly suggestion.) I'll also do my best to include one or two relevant clips from YouTube when possible.
And that's the general idea. No, I won’t be taking attendance. No, class participation is not mandatory. There won’t be any homework. Any questions?
First up: Lost in Translation.
2 comments:
This sounds great, Stella. I love movie talk. And you've only been blogging for 12 months? Never knew that. Am gob-smacked by that. Anyway, I'm about to settle into the easy chair and am waiting for the red curtain to rise.
Well, I posted haikus for a whole year before that. But even Google didn't know my blog existed - so I don't think it counts.
Hoping I won't disappoint...
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