Screenwriting 101

Writing Action Sequences: Die Hard

Written by Andrew Watson Thursday, January 05, 2012, 4:14 PM

Imagine you want to put a nice juicy action sequence into your film. Think about your favourite action sequence that you might want to replicate or make homage to. Now remove the music score that’s running through your head, the noisy sound effects rattling in the background, the beautiful camera angles which give the scene its zip, and the facial expressions of every actor. What you have left over from all that is all you have to work with when writing an action sequence in a screenplay.

Writing action is hard, Charlie’s Angels and Big Fish writer John August calls it “the most difficult and least rewarding things a screenwriter writes, but they’re essential to many movies.” Just how do you capture the essence of an explosion-filled chase sequence, being able to generate the same thrills gained in the cinema on an A4 sheet of white paper? Using the film Die Hard, a fantastic celebration of everything that can be great about the action film, we will try to find out.

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The Force of Nature Character

Written by Ron Moskovitz Wednesday, November 30, 2011, 9:15 PM

In my last article, I discussed the basics of character arc: how a character grows and changes in response to the pressures of the story. Whenever I introduce this concept to students, however, I’m invariably hit with the same follow up question: “Does your lead character have to arc?”

The answer to that is unambiguous: no.

While an arc is a useful tool, and can deepen the audience’s connection to the character, there are dozens, if not hundreds of successful movies where the character doesn’t arc. The characters in these movies have their own templates, and one of the most common is the subject of today’s column: the force of nature character.

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Character Arcs: Growth, Recovery, Change

Written by Ron Moskovitz Wednesday, November 09, 2011, 6:59 PM

“Character arc” is a term thrown around frequently when discussing movies and screenplays. As a catch-all term for character change, it’s a useful tool which can help you improve your screenplays, no matter what genre you work in. In this article, we’ll discuss the basics of what and arc is, and how it works. But we’re only scratching the surface here. Expect lots more on this subject in future columns.

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Three Types of Conflict: The King's Speech

Written by Michael Schilf, Andrew Watson Wednesday, November 09, 2011, 12:00 AM

Conflict arises in three basic ways: (1) physical conflict is often the most visual and can be as simple as trying to cross a raging river or defending a high kick to the head; (2) interpersonal conflict grows out of relationships with other characters within the story, fuelled by antagonists as well as the supporting cast; and (3) inner conflict is the inner thoughts, desires, or even personality defects that cause a character to take action (or not), often creating conscious (or unconscious) self-destruction.

The King’s Speech, which won multiple Oscars, including Best Picture at the 83^rd Academy Awards, as well as critical and commercial box office success, is a great example to illustrate these conflict types. The film tells the story of the man who became King George VI, who was considered unfit to be a king (inner conflict) due to a severe stammer (physical conflict), and subsequently forced to employ the help of an unorthodox speech therapist (interpersonal conflict). As is the case with most dramas, often it’s not the what, but the who that makes the story, but even if a story has richly developed and unforgettable characters, it will only survive when different kinds of conflict are skilfully injected throughout, ideally in every single scene.

To illustrate further, let’s take a detailed look at how veteran screenwriter David Seidler incorporates all three types of conflict when stuttering prince George “Bertie” (Colin Firth) and speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush) first meet.

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Dialogue & Character: Watch, Listen, Learn

Written by Ron Moskovitz Wednesday, October 26, 2011, 6:21 PM

My past two articles have focused on detailed study of the craft displayed by successful films, but today we’re going to explore two difference exercises to help you improve your characterization. While it’s vitally important that you study successful films and read screenplays in order to develop your screenwriting skills, ultimately, you also have to step away from the movie screen and take a look at real life to take your writing to the next level. Today we’re going to discuss two exercises to improve your characters’ dialogue and characterization.

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