This idea of objective correlative had me thinking about Mackenderick's emphasis and use of props, Pudokin's plastic material, and King's imagery.
I was wondering if you have thoughts about the entry point into finding the visuals? Is it about playing around with the scene until you discover/identify "what the scene wants to be"? And is that guided by your principle: For a scene to work, you need to know what’s giving that scene its shape and what’s giving that scene its juice? And then it's about sharpening the scene around those aspects, like an inverted triangle, narrowing the scene down to the point?
Definitely will try this approach.
Thanks again for these breakdowns and insights. Always helpful and enjoyable.
Links for Pudovkin's plastic material (p.159) and King's imagery if anyone is interested:
Yeah, I think I do play around with the scene until I discover it. Later scenes are easier and seem to almost write themselves because the dramatic and emotional energies are already flowing and I just have to harness them.
Earlier scenes, or setup scenes, are a bit trickier. I keep working and playing until I feel a "click" -- some idea or image that becomes the aesthetic driver of the scene. Especially if it's a necessary scene at risk of being just flat or utilitarian. Don't always succeed...
I can’t believe this post just showed up. I’m in a screenwriting class, and one of the things I struggle with is writing my action lines. I’m used to writing prose, so it is a bit of a challenge. Most of my action lines are 4-ish lines long.
This was a great and timely read for me, and I will try incoporating some of the ideas into my writing to see how it fits.
Perfect timing. I'm doing a deep dive on Walter Hill right now and realizing just how much I overwrite. The shot per line thing is great advice.
Another thing related to this (that I may just be doing as a procrastination measure) is standardizing for how I use punctuation. Using ellipses to connect shots during a slower, more suspenseful sequence. And EM dashes to indicate a faster cutting pace or maybe even a whip pan during an action sequence.
This idea of objective correlative had me thinking about Mackenderick's emphasis and use of props, Pudokin's plastic material, and King's imagery.
I was wondering if you have thoughts about the entry point into finding the visuals? Is it about playing around with the scene until you discover/identify "what the scene wants to be"? And is that guided by your principle: For a scene to work, you need to know what’s giving that scene its shape and what’s giving that scene its juice? And then it's about sharpening the scene around those aspects, like an inverted triangle, narrowing the scene down to the point?
Definitely will try this approach.
Thanks again for these breakdowns and insights. Always helpful and enjoyable.
Links for Pudovkin's plastic material (p.159) and King's imagery if anyone is interested:
https://www.scribd.com/document/217397797/Mackendrick-Handout
http://www.wordplayer.com/pros/pr13.King.Stephen.html
Yeah, I think I do play around with the scene until I discover it. Later scenes are easier and seem to almost write themselves because the dramatic and emotional energies are already flowing and I just have to harness them.
Earlier scenes, or setup scenes, are a bit trickier. I keep working and playing until I feel a "click" -- some idea or image that becomes the aesthetic driver of the scene. Especially if it's a necessary scene at risk of being just flat or utilitarian. Don't always succeed...
I can’t believe this post just showed up. I’m in a screenwriting class, and one of the things I struggle with is writing my action lines. I’m used to writing prose, so it is a bit of a challenge. Most of my action lines are 4-ish lines long.
This was a great and timely read for me, and I will try incoporating some of the ideas into my writing to see how it fits.
Perfect timing. I'm doing a deep dive on Walter Hill right now and realizing just how much I overwrite. The shot per line thing is great advice.
Another thing related to this (that I may just be doing as a procrastination measure) is standardizing for how I use punctuation. Using ellipses to connect shots during a slower, more suspenseful sequence. And EM dashes to indicate a faster cutting pace or maybe even a whip pan during an action sequence.
I might be overthinking it a bit...
Loved this! As always.
Paused watching Lost Highway to read this. Thanks for insight!
Super insightful—thank you!