#ihatescriptwriting

1910′s - 1930′s

Mise-en-scène

What appears in the film frame.

In controlling the mise-en-scène, the director stages the event for the camera.

European art movement.

Sought to project inward subjectivity toward.

Representing the experience of the modern world.

Edvard Munch’s Skrik “The Scream”.

A response to modernity and the processes of modernization

Bureaucracy

Economy

Technology

Transportation

City 

War.

Influence upon the camera

Max Reinhardt; leading theater producer in Berlin.

Chiaroscuro; treatment of light and shade, illusion of light and dark.

Features of expressionism in film

Style;

Distorted architecture.

Forced perspective.

Emphasis upon corridors and staircases.

Chiaroscuro.

Non-realistic performances.

Narrative;

Tales of the supernatural.

Demonic central figures.

Doppelgangers.

Nosferatu (1922)

Focus on the occult.

The birth of the horror genre ?

Confronting the horror of World War I ?

Realization of psyche as cinema.

Impact upon the camera

Hollywood gothic

Film noir

Contemporary TV.

Filmography (all links to full movie on YouTube)

-Nosferatu (1922) Dir. Murnau.

Recommended viewing (all links to full movie on YouTube)

-The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) Dir. Robert Wiene.

-Vincent (1982) Dir. Tim Burton.

Early fucking cinema (here)

The fucking cinema of attraction (here)

Narrative fucking continuity/integration (here)

Silent fucking comedies (here)

Soviet fucking montage (here)

Film fucking noir (here)

Hollywood fucking melodrama (here)

Direct fucking cinema and cinéma fucking vérité (here)

Fucking documentary (here)

one of the coolest things about writing your own damn story is that you get to create your own characters you will be surprised at how much you actually learn about them little fuckers while writing your story, however to start you need an outline, a way for other people such as producers or actors to get to know a bit more about your characters, keep in mind however that all of the information about you character that we gather from this guide does not have to show in your fucking script and it is better if it bloody doesn’t

CHARACTER’S CIVIL STATE

Surname, first name: 

Nickname: 

Date of birth: 

Age: 

Place of birth: 

Origins: 

Current address: 

Level of education: 

Job: 

Language characteristics, way of speaking: 

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Height: 

Body shape: 

Colour of the eyes: 

Colour of the hair: 

Colour of the skin: 

Eyesight: 

Right handed or left handed: 

Health: 

What makes the physically unique: 

The way they walk: 

Disability: 

Disease: 

ASPECT

Style of clothing and their quality: 

Accessories: 

Hairstyle: 

Makeup: 

Tattoos: 

FAMILY

Surname and first name of the parents: 

Ages of the parents: 

If one of the parents is dead, explain the circumstances and the consequences of the death: 

Parents still together or divorced, remarried: 

Passed of the parents, nationality at birth: 

If the family is recomposed talk about the problems it must create: 

Parent’s jobs: 

Surnames, first names and ages of the siblings: 

Place of the character in the family: 

What are the relationships with the parents ? 

What are the relationships with the siblings ? 

PRIVATE LIFE

Surname, first name and age of the SO: 

What is the relationship with the SO ? 

Surnames, first names and ages of the children: 

What are the relationships with the children ? 

Is there an ex-SO in the story ? If so, explain their role in the story: 

EVERYDAY LIFE

Type of housing: 

Who does your character live with ? 

Pets: 

Habits: 

How much do they earn ? 

What is their relationship with money ? Did their parents have a lot ? 

If they have money related problems, how do they overcome them ? 

Usual means of transport: 

Favourite sayings or words: 

Eating habits: 

What do they love: 

What do they hate: 

Sports, hobbies, passions: 

Foreign languages: 

CLOSE CIRCLE

Best friend: 

Confidant: 

Mentor: 

Ennemi, someone your character hates: 

What kind of relationships do they have with their friends ? 

If they have a job, what are their professional relationships like ? 

PERSONALITY

Main character trait: 

Qualities: 

Flaws: 

Religion: 

Political opinion: 

What music do they listen to ? 

What TV shows do they watch ? 

Do they like reading ?

Their favourite book: 

Their favourite film(s): 

Their perfume: 

Their goal: 

Their deep dark secret: 

Have they been traumatized by an event from the passed ? 

What are their hopes ? 

How do they view sexuality ? 

What should they stay away from ? 

Do they have phobias ? 

Are they addicted to anything ? 

Do they see a psychologist ? A psychoanalyst ? 

Do they have a special talent ? Power ? 

What are they proud of ? What are they ashamed of ? 

1980′s - 2010′s

The term was first used in The Sunday Times.

In the late 1970′s, home video started to gain popularity in the UK.

“Appalling and utter filth”.                      -Mary Whitehouse

Political and historical context

Margaret Thatcher (Prime Minister).

Mary Whitehouse (Activist).

Clean up TV pressure group.

National Viewers and Listeners Association.

Graham Bright (MP).

Video Recordings Act 1984.

The Daily Mail (Newspaper).

Earlier moral panics

Horror / comics in the 1950′s.

Pop / Rock music in the 1960′s.

Explicit literature in the 1960′s.

Moral panics: media effects

James Bulger Murder (1993) Child’s Play 3.

Columbine High School Massacre (1999) Marilyn Manson and Doom.

Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting (2012) Call of Duty.

Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting (2018) The Dark Knight Rises.

Who is being protected ?

The working class ? (uneducated people).

Women ? (fuels “sexual psychopathic fantasies”).

Children ? (attacks the emotions of the young).

Filmography (all links to trailers on YouTube)

-Child’s Play 3 (1991) Dir. Jack Bender.

-The Dark Knight Rises (2012) Dir. Christopher Nolan.

Recommended viewing (all links to trailers on YouTube)

-The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) Dir. Tobe Hooper.

-The Hills Have Eyes (1977) Dir. Wes Craven.

-Friday the 13th (1980) Dir. Sean S. Cunningham.

-Prom Night (1980) Dir. Paul Lynch.

Early fucking cinema (here)

The fucking cinema of attraction (here)

Narrative fucking continuity/integration (here)

Silent fucking comedies (here)

German fucking expressionism (here)

Soviet fucking montage (here)

Film fucking noir (here)

Hollywood fucking melodrama (here)

Direct fucking cinema and cinéma fucking vérité (here)

1895 - 1906

After seeing Abel Gance’s La Roue (The Wheel), Fernand Léger realises the potential of cinema as an act of showing and exhibition. Early modernists (futurist, dadaists and surrealists) are as enthusiastic as Léger about cinema which is an expansion of theater and literature. The cinema of attraction was the most popular film genre before 1906, it mostly consisted of magical attractions.

“A cinema that displays its visibility or ruptures a self-enclosed fictional world for a chance to grab the audience’s attention.”                          -Tom Gunning

Cinema of spectacle.

Exhibitionist rather than voyeuristic.

Direct engagement with the spectator.

Breaking of the fourth wall.

Confrontation rather than absorption.

Long takes, tableau staging and little editing.

Emphasis on ‘showing’.

Technology as a spectacle itself.

Pleasure through spectacle.

Whatever happened to the cinema of attraction ?

It suited some genres better than others.

It became part of avant-garde cinema.

We can still see it in art films.

In Vaudeville, theatrical display dominates over narrative absorption. The cinema of attraction expends little energy creating characters with psychological motivations or individual personality. Georges Méliès and Edwin S. Porter used cinema as a storytelling medium. 

“As for the scenario, the “fable” or “tale”, I only consider it at the end. I can state that the scenario constructed in this manner has no importance, since I use it merely as a pretext for the “stage effects”, the “tricks”, or for a nicely arranged tableau”.                                                              -Georges Méliès

The Lumière Brothers and Méliès are not the opposition between narrative and non-narrative film-making, rather they had a common basis, one that differs from the primary spectator relations set up by narrative film after 1906; the cinema of attraction.

Filmography (all links to full movie on YouTube)

-La Roue (1923) Dir. Abel Gance.

Early fucking cinema (here)

Narrative fucking continuity/integration (here)

Silent fucking comedies (here)

German fucking expressionism (here)

Soviet fucking montage (here)

Film fucking noir (here)

Hollywood fucking melodrama (here)

Direct fucking cinema and cinéma fucking vérité (here)

Fucking documentary (here)

nothing to do with maths I swear

The 180° rule refers to an imaginary line which runs through two characters face to face, usually having a conversation. It is normally drawn 90° to the camera’s viewpoint in the establishing shot of the scene.

The rule is that the camera should remain on one side of the line.

-The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).

Jordan and Mark money song

-Taxi Driver (1976).

Travis talking to Iris

Following this rule insures the continuity of action and correct geography, ignoring it however creates instability.

-The Dark Knight (2008).

Batman interrogating the Joker

The Joker is trying to convince Batman that they are the same, breaking the rule makes their faces overlap, confirming what the Joker is saying.

-The Shining (1980).

Jack talking to Grady

Jack Torrance is talking to the ghost of Delbert Grady, in this case, breaking the rule is used to make the audience feel uneasy and show Jack’s mental instability.

Filmography;

-The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) Dir. Martin Scorcese.

-Taxi Driver (1976) Dir. Martin Scorcese.

-The Dark Knight (2008) Dir. Christopher Nolan.

-The Shining (1980) Dir. Stanley Kubrick.

what the fuck is composition ?

what the fuck are shot sizes ?

1920′s - 1930′s

World War I

French economy was devastated.

Film production capacity was seriously depleted.

France lost international markets to the US.

American, German and British films began to dominate the French market.

The two big pre-war French production companies, Pathé and Gaumont, retreated into distribution and exhibition.

“There is cinema before and after La Roue (1923) as there is painting before and after Picasso”.                                                                    -Jean Cocteau

Film trends of the 1920′s

French cinema is known for its connection to realism films; realist films shot on location.

Historical epics / fantasy films / comedies / serials.

Surrealism (avant-garde).

“Impressionist” films;

Some made on a shoe string.

Others made on a vaste budget.

Most impressionist filmmakers moved between commercial ventures and personal, experimental projects.

Several formed their own production compagnies.

Impressionism can be confusing

Cinematic impressionism is NOT related to the late 19th century painting movement.

In cinema it designates a group of innovative filmmakers working from the end of WWI to the coming of sound.

Technical innovators who saw cinema as a means of expression akin to writing and painting.

Key impressionist filmmakers

Louis Delluc

Abel Gance

Dimitri Kirsanoff

Jean Epstein

Germaine Dulac

Marcel L’Herbier.

Louis Delluc and the ciné-club (film society) movement

Birth of sophisticated form of criticism and theory.

Louis Delluc edited and wrote for various film journals advocating that cinema is a true art form.

Part of Cinéma & Cie and Photogénie.

Key characteristics

Location shooting is restrained, natural acting is preferred.

Emphasis on communication of emotions, feelings and impressions.

Evocation of character subjectivity via the depiction of thoughts.

Exploration of character’s mental states and emotions.

Stylistic paradigm

Camerawork;

Camera distance; close-up (as synecdoche, symbol or subjective image).

Camera angle; high or low.

Camera movement; independent of subject, for graphic effects, point of view.

Mise-en-scène;

Lighting; single source, shadows indicating off-screen actions, variety of lighting situations.

Décor.

Arrangement and movement of figures in space.

Optical devices;

As transitions.

As magical effects.

As emphasizing significant details.

As pictoral decoration.

As conveyors of abstract meanings.

As indications of objectivity (mental images, semi-subjective images, optical subjectivity).

Characteristic editing patterns;

Temporal relations between shots (Flashback or fantasy).

Spatial relation between shots (synthetic, glance/object, crosscutting).

Rhythmic relations between shots.

Photogénie

Specific to cinema.

Different perspective.

Relation to Kino-Eye ?

“Any aspect of things, beings or souls whose moral character is enhanced by filming reproduction”.                                                                   -Jean Epstein

Filmography (all links to full movie on YouTube)

-La Roue (The Wheel) (1923) Dir. Abel Gance.

Sources

-David Bordwell, French Impressionist Cinema Culture Dissertations (book).

Recommended viewing (all links to full movie on YouTube)

-Coeur Fidèle (Faithful Heart) (1923) Dir. Jean Epstein.

Early fucking cinema (here)

The fucking cinema of attraction (here)

Narrative fucking continuity/integration (here)

Silent fucking comedies (here)

German fucking expressionism (here)

Soviet fucking montage (here)

Film fucking noir (here)

Hollywood fucking melodrama (here)

Direct fucking cinema and cinéma fucking vérité (here)

composition sounds fucking annoying but it’s actually pretty simple and powerful, take a look at this quick guide lads

Passed down from visual arts.

Theory and practice of making (aesthetic).

Guides the viewer’s attention.

Know the rules to break them.

Functions; doors, fire exits...

Form; Gothic, romantic...

Composition; function + form.

Emotions; brought out.

Sentiments; pushed onto.

Coverage; footage to make a shot.

Frames > shots > scenes > sequences > film.

Frame composition;

brightness

colour

size

shape

motion

speed

direction

Imbalance; dark & bright, colourful & neutral, big & small, round & square, smooth & rough, left & right, slow & fast, up & down.

-The King’s Speech (2010).

Balance; harmony in the whole frame.

-The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014).

Orientation; seeing a face up-side down or an extreme close up on an ear or an eye for example can be disorientating for the viewer and is a way to draw attention to an element.

-Apocalypse Now (1979).

Size; can be used to show a confrontation between two things.

-Jaws (1975).

Filmography;

-The King’s Speech (2010) Dir. Tom Hopper.

-The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) Dir. Wes Anderson.

-Apocalypse Now (1979) Dir. Francis Ford Coppola.

-Jaws (1975) Dir. Steven Spielberg.

Sources; 

-Cinematic Storytelling: the 100 Most Powerful Film Conventions Every Filmmaker Must Know (book) 

what the fuck are shot sizes ?

1960′s - 1980′s

Based on ‘Old Hollywood’.

The studio system consisted of Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn Mayer, Fox, Radio Keith Orpheum and Warner.

The staff was contracted.

High volume of turnover of product.

Practice of block and blind booking.

Vertical integration

Production

Distribution

Exhibition.

Controls all stages of the supply of films.

Distinguishes the majors from the minors.

Vertical disintegration

The Paramount Decree comes to court in 1948.

The industry is found to operate as a monopoly.

Studios must divest themselves of their exhibition arms.

‘New’ Hollywood

The classical era of Hollywood becomes more fragmented;

Rise of “the teenager” and youth audience.

An era of cultural and political strive and activism.

New technologies evolving.

Popularisation of European cinemas.

New breed of filmmakers emerging.

Spurt of smaller, lower-budget, more personal films.

Recommended viewing (all links to trailers on YouTube)

-The Graduate (1967) Dir. Mike Nichols.

-Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Dir. Arthur Penn.

-2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Dir. Stanley Kubrick.

-Rosemary’s Baby (1968) Dir. Roman Polanski.

-Grease (1978) Dir. Randal Kleiser.

-E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Dir. Steven Spielberg.

-Tron (1982) Dir. Steven Lisberger.

Early fucking cinema (here)

The fucking cinema of attraction (here)

Narrative fucking continuity/integration (here)

Silent fucking comedies (here)

German fucking expressionism (here)

Soviet fucking montage (here)

Film fucking noir (here)

Hollywood fucking melodrama (here)

Direct fucking cinema and cinéma fucking vérité (here)