jcas-research

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Short Essay

Historical Development of Area of Study

Screenwriting is a new art form. If we think about all the existing ones, like painting, sculpture, music, theatre etc. they all have their roots in ancient times. The medium of film is only just over 100 years old, next to photography, but storytelling itself goes back as far as the other arts, therefore the old story structures most people are familiar with today have roots in antiquity and are strongly present in all forms of modern writing.  For example, upcoming screenwriters are usually encouraged to read Aristotle’s Poetics as a foundation of storytelling, which has been essential but is often considered to be outdated. The principles used in Greek theatre have echoed throughout the century and have laid the foundation for most if not all forms of narration we are familiar with today (Muscato, 2016). With all that said, the actual format and practice of screenwriting is new and has some unique considerations which don’t apply to storytelling in general. A script is not meant to be read by an audience, but is simply a guide to what should be show on screen and how the plot develops. What is kept in mind is also the cinematography, music, colours, the actors and their performances and the dialogue. These technicalities make it unique and set it apart in many ways, but when it comes to the actual story it is not that different from your average book. My interest in the subject has brought me to being familiar with two very talked about story formulas, namely the Three Act Structure and the Hero’s Journey. My first contact with these writing methods was in storytelling class, where I was told that without these two references my story would be a mess and that they outlined every single story in existence. We were encouraged to think back at the film we had watched and see in what way they matched these formulas. George Lucas’s Star Wars was clearly based on the Hero’s Journey, and many others came to mind, while The Three Act Structure also seemed embedded in every film I could think of. Upon further research, however, I discovered the contrary: many filmmakers, writers and people generally involved within the film industry have moved heavy criticisms towards them. The main error with the Three Act Structure was that it was arbitrary, and with enough imagination, any story could be broken up into three parts (Truby, 2015). The Hero’s Journey was equally vague and a generalization, and it’s also criticized as being male-oriented, while stories with a female lead often would not fit into the description (Frankel, 2010). There are harsh proponents and opponents to these two formulas: while some hail them as being the pillars of film stories, others dismiss them as being simplistic for beginners. Personally, I agree with the latter opinion. They are useful to get a general idea of how stories can work, but they are not essential. These formulas are hardly used by professionals in the business, although for films with simple stories such as cartoons and fairy tales, they still have a use. There are many writing methods out there which are far less popular among students and upcoming filmmakers, but serve a much greater use and are far more specific and detailed. For example, John Truby describes a 22 Step Method in his book The Anatomy of Story, which gives guidance not only about narrative, but also character, which is one of the many overlooked aspects which the two formulas in question do not address. Various other methods exist, and the learning resources are virtually endless. My intention is to research and break the ‘myth’ about the Three Act Structure and Hero’s Journey being extremely important, and to advance alternative formulas which are far more useful. I will attempt to come up with my own formula and to compare several existing ones.

-       James G. Caselli

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Entry #6: Journals

Digging through the online portal Ebsco, which contains academic journals and papers, I found a few relating to my subject: - Cameron, EW 1994, 'Spengler's list: Screenwriting, the wilderness, and the civilizing death of the arts', Journal Of Arts Management, Law & Society, 24, 2, p. 174, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 14 November 2016. - Wolff, J 2011, 'Find a big idea for your screenplay', Writer (Kalmbach Publishing Co.), 124, 11, pp. 41-55, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 14 November 2016.

- Rodman, H 2006, 'What a Screenplay Isn't', Cinema Journal, 45, 2, pp. 86-89, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 14 November 2016. - Davis, R, & De los Rios, R 2006, 'From Hollywood to Tokyo: Resolving a Tension in Contemporary Narrative Cinema', Film Criticism, 31, 1/2, pp. 157-172, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 14 November 2016.

- Brownlie, SR 2009, 'Genre Screenwriting: How To Write Popular Screenplays That Sell', Library Journal, 134, 2, p. 78, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 14 November 2016.

- SÁNCHEZ-ESCALONILLA, A 2013, 'Verisimilitude and Film Story: The Links between Screenwriter, Character and Spectator', Comunicación Y Sociedad, 26, 2, pp. 79-94, Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 November 2016.

They all contain very, very interesting insights into screenwriting and film. The problem is that they don’t really comment on any specific writing techniques and methods. I was also surprised at the lack of publicly visible online academic journals. Fortunately, being an Mcast student gives us access to Ebsco, but so many similar sites are inaccessible.

 I’m unsure as to weather to use any information from these journals for my research, since nobody without special access can check the information, and since they aren’t particularly relevant. It was more of a personal interest in the subject that made me read them.

James G. Caselli

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Entry #5: Interviews

These are a couple of interviews on my topic which I found helpful:

Quentin Tarantino written interview: https://creativescreenwriting.com/method-writing-interview-with-quentin-tarantino/

We recently had a lesson on interviewing at Mcast which was very helpful. Many people like me, who haven’t interviewed professionally, might assume that it’s quite easy. It does appear very natural in videos and in written form: at the end of the day it’s just sitting down and asking questions, almost like a conversation. It’s really stunning, when you learn about them, how specific and pre-meditated the questions are. Each one has a weight, and has been thought about, in order to obtain certain information from the subject.

About the two reviews I linked to, they’re entertaining and informative, but reading a book by one of them is just far better. Interviews can only give a certain amount of information, and considering their duration, the interviewee summarizes a lot. Obviously, books can contain more information just due to their very nature.

I might include some of their quotes in my dissertation, but it really depends on if I find more interesting ones in their written material.

James G. Caselli

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Entry #4: John Truby and the Three Act Structure

During my research, I’ve stumbled upon this article by story consultant John Truby:

http://www.raindance.org/why-3-act-will-kill-your-writing/

He is the same writer of the book I mentioned in one of my past posts: “The Anatomy of Story”. While in his book he does criticize the Three Act Structure, in this article he fleshes out his argument and explains himself a lot better. I found his criticisms in his book to be a little arrogant and without much justification, but after reading this article I understood his position much better. Below is one of the first paragraphs of the article, and it immediately tells the reader what he’s in for:

“ When they do decide to get a little knowledge, most writers go out and buy a couple of books on screenwriting. And what do they learn? Almost invariably, these books tell them about the so-called 3-act structure. These writers have just killed any chance they had of writing a script that will sell. “ - Truby (2013)

Clearly, he has a grudge against the structure and hates it to bits. Upon further reading, however, it becomes clear that he has strong arguments against it. I personally don’t hate the structure, but I find it overly simplistic and not very helpful. I’ve decided to include this structure in my dissertation since it’s very popular and present in many screenwriting books.

John Truby’s writing style does feel arrogant, but I can’t really disagree with him since his points are reasonable. However, I am in the process of reading his books and I have a few points of criticism that I will go over in a future blog post.

James G. Caselli

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Entry #3: Research Question

In my previous entry, I wrongly assumed that the research question had to literally be a question. Our recent lesson on this subject cleared up the misunderstanding, so now I’ll concentrate on choosing an adequate name and topic.

I’ve been interested in screenwriting since first wanting to become a filmmaker, so I believe it’s the right topic for me. There’s an incredibly vast amount of material out there, so finding arguments and discussions about it won’t be hard. Reliability of the information isn’t a pressing issue when it comes to this sort of writing, since it’s basically an art form there isn’t much fact-checking involved. Of course, it’s important to make sure my sources come from experts and professionals who have experience in the field, or who are at least knowledgeable. I want to concentrate on writing methods and techniques, so it’s important to learn which ones are currently in use in Hollywood and European cinema (which is the field I’m interested in), and which ones are more or less successful. At the moment, I have chosen and worded this research topic: “ Film Screenwriting: An Analysis of the Main Techniques & Formulas “

My goal is to explore the main techniques and formulas used in today’s screenwriting, and put them to the test by performing a cross-comparison. To me it seems like a good way to learn and spread information on the subject, through the task of writing a dissertation. I will obtain my information mainly from books, articles, journals written by professionals and possibly by interviewing people involved in the industry.

- James G. Caselli 

[jcas-research]

Entry #2: Screenwriting

Since screenwriting is quite a broad topic, various aspects of it can be deeply reasearched. I could base my research on a general understanding of the practice, but I believe that targeting some more specific point could be useful. We already have a screenwriting class at school, and I’m familiar with the basics. The potential research questions I’ve come up with are:

- What’s are the very best screenwriting techniques that are the basis of a good script? - What screenwriting principals do all the best scripts have in common? - What’s the best way of writing dialogue?

The current book I’m the most into is John Truby’s “Anatomy of Story”, which is particularly useful since it offers alternative methods and tips for screewriting that are unique. There are also many videos on internet of interviews with various writers and directors. They can be extremely useful since the interviewee has to explain his main ideas in a short span of time, so you can get the essence of the information they have to offer. These are a couple of videos I’ve found useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDKLuUfKYHQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFlX-fsPWwQ - James Caselli

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Entry #1: Exploring Potential Research Topics

Researching something you aren’t particularly interested in is quite pointless. I’ve decided straight away to focus on an aspect of filmmaking, since it’s my aim to get into the industry one way or another. I’ve decided to concentrate on screenwriting at the moment, since it’s probably the hardest skill to obtain, and the one that requires the most reading, research and mastering. Without a good script, a film just won’t hit the levels of excellence. The best cinematography, editing or acting in the world won’t elevate a film beyond a certain threshold without a well developed script. I’ve looked up the most popular books on the subject:  The Writer’s Jouney by Christopher Vogler The Anatomy of Story by John Truby Poetics by Aristotle Story by Robert McKee

Each of these books presents a variety of different tips and advice on how to create the best story and script possible for screen adaptation. Of course, screenwriting is a giant subject, so I’m considering pointing towards a certain detail. One of these could potentially be dialogue, and in that case I’m thinking of pursuing advice of Quentin Tarantino, a director highly regarded in the field.