Sort of Life-Changing Analysis of a No Film School Article

So as a little assignment, we're looking at a popular filmmaking site, finding an article that pertains to our specific interest in film, and blogging about it. While I'm still trying to figure out where I fall specifically as a filmmaker, I've always liked writing, and I've written parts of the script for The Hidden and some short films. So I guess I'm more of a screenwriter than every other role.

Anyway, the article I'm referring to is here. I was a little taken aback by the title. I had always thought of screenwriting as a type of structured writing, instead of a liberal prose like any other work of fiction. This really opened my eyes to what makes great screenwriting, well, great.

You don't have to completely confine your script to exactly just what's on the camera. If the plot calls for it, you're allowed to use descriptive and figurative language in the action lines. In fact, it can strengthen the really impactful parts in the story, eg. the huge eyes-pop-from-the-skull plot twists, the protagonist thinks they've saved the day but, unbeknownst to them and the audience, they only made things worse, a sudden unexpected change in mood that, if done well, the audience will the think the temperature in the theater dropped.

Being descriptive can also really guide the actors specifically to create the mood of the film. So, instead of writing "Ben looked at Sarah," it's more specific to write "Ben peered into Sarah's eyes, trying to see if she actually had a soul after that horrid statement." It can really tell a lot about the characters your actors are portraying outside of dialogue.

With everything though, you can overdo it. You don't need it when the story won't benefit from descriptive script writing, like describing a camera movement or characters having a simple conversation during the exposition. It slows the pace of already slow-paced scenes, and portraying them as significant will bore your audience to death.

Before you write your script, you should know the story inside and out, forwards and backwards, everything stated and unstated, and how all these little points connect into your film. So, like I said earlier, save the big words and metaphors for the hugely impactful, hair pulling, nail biting, parts in your story. Think of a script as a film on paper (which is basically what it is). What parts do you want your audience gasp or cry or scream like they would if they were reading your film as a book? Then, buckle up and stretch your fingers, and write a jaw-dropping script.