2020 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 29
One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 29.
Write an entire draft of a script in March — FADE IN. FADE OUT. Or any sort of creative goal you have in front of you.
Feature length movie screenplay. Original TV pilot. Rewrite a current project. Break a story in prep. Generate a month’s worth of story concepts.
Whatever you feel will ratchet your creative ambitions into overdrive…
DO THAT!
On Twitter, use this hashtag: #ZD30SCRIPT.
Zero Draft Thirty Facebook Group: Here. 3,800+ members strong.
Today’s Writing Quote
“It’s all about what happens next, what happens next. It’s speed chess, not chess.”
— Richard Price
Today’s Inspirational Video
I recently discovered the composer Akira Rabelais whose work extends over quite a bit of musical geography. His last album “the little glass” is primarily comprised of ambient keyboard pieces. This one is especially contemplative and I find great for writing.
Today’s Loos Award winner: Jess Holdstock.
Over at the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook group page, Jess posed this craft question the other day:
TECHNICAL QUESTION: I am reading the Toy Story 4 script (SO GOOD!) and Stanton uses ellipses freely when writing action. Seems like a good space saver to me and also reads faster than the conventional staccato lines I have been taught to write fast action. I am enjoying it but obviously we are not all Andrew Stanton so probably best to stick to convention? Or is this something you have seen in a lot of action scripts? I know ellipses in dialogue can be wildly overused but what are your thoughts on action?
I know Stephany Folsom who co-wrote the script with Andrew Stanton, so I just emailed her about the use of ellipses. She’s super busy overseeing a new TV show, but hopefully she’ll send some feedback. Meanwhile, here’s my take:
You can use ellipses and double dashes in scene description to do a lot of things, but most importantly suggest camera shots. Check out this page from the Toy Story 4 script:
Think of each description AFTER an ellipses as a new camera show. For example:
Wide Shot: The rest of Andy’s toys take Jessie’s cue, and JOIN IN A GROUP HUG, jostling and laughing together…
Close Up: …except Buzz.
You don’t WRITE the camera shot, rather it’s inferred from the scene description. This is a great way for the writer to ‘direct’ the action without stepping on the director’s toes using directing jargon and camera lingo.
Obviously, anything we do in scene description and dialogue, we need to be judicious in our usage, but as long as our goal is to convey what’s going on as clearly and with as much entertainment value as possible, we can do it.
UPDATE: I heard back from Stephany Folsom. Here is her response:
I honestly don’t know if there are any real conventions in screenwriting. I think you should use any tricks you have up your sleeve to best communicate the movie on the page. Stanton and I both use ellipses. It’s the easiest way to convey the pacing/rhythm of a scene to a reader, or in the case of TOY STORY 4 — a storyboard artist. Hope that helps!
For that craft question, the recipient of today’s Anita Loos Award is Jess Holdstock!
Want an Anita Loos Award? Upload an inspirational thought or photo here, on Twitter, or the Facebook group. Aspire to inspire! The spirit of the Award! Only 2 more days left to get one!
Onward!
