John August

Words on the page

Camera angles and edits

QandA, Words on the page

I’m currently banging ideas around for a script, but have
a question concerning the implementation of camera angles/shots. Should
these be written into
the first draft as you envision it in your head, or are they best left until
you write a final shooting script?

–Ross Simms

Until the movie is in theatres, there’s no such thing as a final shooting
script. During production, and even during editing, the script itself is subject
to change.

In my opinion, every draft of a script should be shootable, with the same
level of detail, clarity and professionalism. Scripts do change to a small
degree when production begins, with every scene being numbered, and a byzantine
system for keeping track of changes. But the words themselves are no more or
less specific at this stage than any other.

If a director has specific camera angles that she feels necessary to put in
the script, they get put in the script. But more often, these non-story details
are handled by storyboards or shot lists, rather than the screenplay itself.

More camera angles

QandA, Words on the page

Is it possible to put to rest the largest writing controversy
(next to the appropriate number of brads), CAMERA ANGLES?
There are a lot of people who say camera angles don’t belong
in a spec. [But] if you read scripts written by the writers who do sell, they
nearly ALWAYS have camera angles.
What I see all over the net is a large subculture of new
writers excluding camera angles and not selling, while those who have advised
them to take this route ARE using them and selling. One professional writer
who
suggests they be used goes as far as to say that these other pros suggesting
they not be used are doing so to deliberately misguide the younger writers
positioned to take their jobs.

–ZD

You’re uncovered a vast screenwriting conspiracy, ZD. William Goldman and
his crack team of Writer’s Guild assassins will be visiting you shortly.

You actually make a very good point. Most of the classic screenwriting books
and instructors will tell you to never use camera angles, because it hurts
the readability and angers the director. While they have a point, I’d caution
you to be suspicious of anyone who lays down hard-and-fast rules.

Speaking as a member of the pro-angle faction, I’ll make the case that reading
a screenplay should give you the sense of watching the movie. Since camera
position is a crucial element in the cinematic experience, there are times
when it’s appropriate to mention it, just as it can be necessary to point out
costuming, or music, or effects in order to let the reader know what’s what.

That said, I almost never use the words "camera" or "angle" in
my scripts, because I think those words do tend to disrupt the flow. Rather
than write —

ANGLE ON: The truck SLAMS into the gunman.
— I’m more likely to write —

THE TRUCK

SLAMS into the gunman.
— which uses a slugline to indicate that this a new and important shot.

Along the same line, rather than say, "The CAMERA CRANES UP over the field," I
would say, "we RISE OVER the field." Since the camera is the audience’s
eyes, using "we" or "our" makes sense to me.

But I’m not the last word on the subject, nor can it ever really be put to
rest. Although none have said it to my face, some of the directors I’ve worked
with probably hate the way I move the camera on the page and wish I would stop
doing it.

Ultimately, writers have different styles that work for them, and my best
advice is find an approach that suits your taste and the material. There are
no absolute rules.

Except that the appropriate number of brads is always two.

Writing for VFX

QandA, Words on the page

questionmark
The visual effects in CHARLIE’S ANGELS are dazzling. Did you write this into the script, or was it the work of the director? Could you please advise on how to write those slow motion shots?

–Lawrence

answer icon
The writer’s job is to communicate whatever is seen or heard on screen, and that includes effects. The best way to do this is usually to visualize the scene in your head, and do the best job you can describing it efficiently and compellingly.

Obviously, the director, along with the cinematographer and visual effects supervisor, are going to have the final say about what the effects look like. But until these people come along, the writer is all those jobs, so you need to do what you can.

Regarding slow motion, we’ll start with a lesson in cinematography. To achieve slow-motion, the camera runs at a speed faster than the usual 24 frames per second, often at an even increment like 48 or 96 frames per second. Then, when the film is played back at normal speed (24 fps), the action appears to be slowed down. More than that: it often has a somewhat dreamy, sexy quality that makes car crashes and pretty-girls-getting-out-of-pools extra appealing.

In order to achieve this effect in a screenplay, I add extra vowels and consonants to words. So instead of writing:

The Thug fires four rounds at Maxwell.

I write:

Thheee Thhhuugg ffiirrees fooouurr rrrounds attt Maxxxxwweelllll.

I’m kidding. Please don’t do this.

Instead, at the start of a scene that really, really needs to be slow-motion to make sense, I’ll add the phrase, “in SLOW-MOTION,” to one of the action sentences. So the sentence might read, “In SLOW-MOTION, the Thug fires off four rounds at Maxwell, whose fingers just reach the button in time.”

In the CHARLIE’S ANGELS: FULL THROTTLE, I wrote:

Handing off an UNCONSCIOUS MAN to PARAMEDICS, firefighter Alex pulls off her helmet to set loose a slow-motion cascade of black hair.

That time I didn’t capitalize “slow-motion,” because there were already a lot of words in all-caps. And I’ve been known to write, “in super bad-ass slow-motion” if that’s really the feeling I’m going for.

Avoiding cliches

QandA, Words on the page

When you are writing a screenplay, how do you manage
to focus on originality and avoid a multitude of clichés just
slipping into the story some how?

–Christian

In the writer’s ongoing battle against clichés, he finds two basic
enemies: verbal clichés ("as easy as taking candy from a baby"),
and story clichés (the explosive with a count-down LED timer).

Eliminating the first kind is simply a matter of recognizing them and finding
something better to replace them. I work incredibly hard on the narrative description
in my scripts, tweaking it at least as much as the dialogue. With vigilance,
the night never has to be "as black as coal" or "as cold as
a witch’s tit."

The story clichés are harder to deal with, because certain genres carry
them along like parasites. Action movies sometimes have the ticking time bomb,
or mismatched partners, or heroes who somehow avoid being hit when a hundred
bullets are flying their direction.

The key — and this starts in the conception phase of the script — is recognizing
the inherent clichés in a genre, and figuring out how you’re going to
handle them. SCREAM did a masterful job pointing out, subverting, and ultimately
fulfilling teen-slasher clichés.

Sometimes, the best way to avoid story clichés is to look at the reality
behind every character, every setting, every decision made in your story. Is
Carla Ann really "a hooker with a heart of gold?" On closer inspection,
she might be a nervous, self-deprecating dreamer.

Does the police station need a squad room full of desks and detectives milling
about? Maybe your scene could take place in a courtyard, or by the photocopier,
or in the cafeteria.

Clichés are shortcuts. The more you avoid taking them, the more interesting
the places you’ll end up.