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Date Posted: 11:03:46 11/14/12 Wed
Author: kim
Author Host/IP: cpe-75-82-42-119.socal.res.rr.com / 75.82.42.119
Subject: Re: A few questions for a drama major from a curious party...
In reply to: SV 's message, "A few questions for a drama major from a curious party..." on 10:12:50 11/13/12 Tue

An hour on film is 100 pages of script. Give or take.

It's a director's job to tell everyone on set what he/she wants to see. Every. Aspect.

Then once the scenes have been filmed, the director sits with the editor and they choose the best versions of each scene and put together a narrative.

See, a script has the words, but visually, the scriptwriter puts: Night in a forest. Thor brings Loki to the top of a cliff.

It's the director's job to work out how everything is going to actually look with the set decorator and visual effects crew. The director has approval over *everything* except when the studio sees a cut of the film and says "change this".

Producers give/raise money for a project. They're there to get it made and remind the director of the budget limit. They do other things specific to specific films or shows, but that's the basic gist.

As for acting, yes, you can learn to get better, learn more techniques, and experience usually helps, but those we consider "good" are those that can embody characters. The audience needs to believe what the actor-as-the-character is saying/feeling/doing. To stick with Avengers, I need to be able to say that's Tony Stark, not Robert Downey Junior I'm watching. When Black Widow is talking to Loki and she pretends he's getting to her, we had to believe he was in her face so her reveal of playing him would work.

There are also things about acting that can't be manufactured, like charisma, magnetism, and sheer presence. Samuel L. Jackson is a badass the moment he walks on camera no matter what he's playing. Even in interviews as himself, you can sense that part of him.

Movies usually change a lot from initial script to final theater version. There are things the writer will put in the script that just don't work to act out on set. Then the scenes filmed are just a pile of scenes. The director choosing what scenes go in one order makes the rough cut of the film. Then they have to show it to the producers and studio and get it approved. Or make changes, which can be a re-edit or include reshooting some parts. When the story is approved, then the score is recorded and special effects added and all the little nuances to create the theater version. And then they hope it sells.

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[> As for writing..... -- kim, 11:16:38 11/14/12 Wed (cpe-75-82-42-119.socal.res.rr.com/75.82.42.119)

Can you put whatever you want into an original script? Yes.

Does that mean you should throw everything and the kitchen sink in there? No.

A story, no matter the format, has to say something. Has to have a purpose. Move the audience, whether you want them to cry, laugh, cheer, think, be challenged, or all of the above.

Take romantic comedies, for instance. They have a formula of things that happen up to the end where they live happily ever after. Action movies also have a formula of putting obstacles in the way of the good guy until he triumphs over the bad guy and all of it happens at a fast, exciting pace. Fantasy movies include the epic journey filled with fantastical creatures.

Narrative structure can generally be divided into three acts: set-up, conflict, and resolution.


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