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A scenario for a beginning screenwriting class utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to learning and creativity.
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A scenario for a beginning screenwriting class utilizing an interdisciplinary approach to learning and creativity.
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A SCENARIO F O R A BEGINNING SCREENWRITING CLASS UTILIZING A N INTERDISCIPLINARY A PP R O A C H TO LEARNING A N D CREATIVITY by Margaret Mehring A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY O F THE G R ADUATE SC H O O L UNIVERSITY O F SO U TH ER N CALIFORNIA In P artial F u lfillm en t of the Requirements for the Degree D O C TO R O F PHILOSOPHY (Communication--Cinema) September 1978 Copyright by Margaret Mehring 1980 UMI Number: DP22248 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI DP22248 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 -1 3 4 6 U N IV E R S IT Y O F S O U T H E R N C A L IF O R N IA T H E G R A D U A T E S C H O O L U N IV E R S IT Y P A R K LOS A N G E L E S . C A L IF O R N IA 9 0 0 0 7 T h is dissertation, w ritte n by _Margaret Mehring under the direction of hex..... Dissertation C o m mittee, and approved by a ll its members, has been presented to and accepted by The Graduate School, in p a rtia l fu lfillm e n t of requirements of the degree of D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y -Ph.D. Cm '11 nms V - I A y Dean DISSERTATION COMMITT, DEDICATED TO the many Screenwriting students who taught m e how to teach Screenwriting. ACKNOW LEDGEMENTS Many people helped make th is study possible, especially the la te Dr. Bernard R. Kantor, Dr. E. Russell McGregor, Dr. William H. A llen , Rosemary Taylor and W illiam E. Pajaud. I also wish to thank m y son, W illiam D. Mehring, m y brother, Robert D. Jones, Dr. Dorothy M. Jones, Dr. Bette H a rre ll, Dr. Jane G. Carmichael and Joan L. Carter fo r th e ir help and encouragement. TABLE O F CONTENTS DEDICATION . i i A C K N O W LE D G EM EN TS i i i Chapter Page I. THE PR O B LEM A N D ITS IM PORTANCE 1 Statement of the Problem Purpose of the Study Review of the Literatu re Sources o f Information Methodology D efinitions Organization of the Remainder of Dissertation Notes A Workshop Charlie Walters A Film is to Say Something Susan Tierney Verbal Images and Visual Images Are D iffe re n t Lenard Feldman U tiliz a tio n of Learning Capacity A Ground Rule fo r Increased Learning Michael Moss John Bellows Major Learning Emphases Liz Crawford What D o You Want From Us? Becky Stone Larry Jager Bobbie M ille r Jane Hendrich Don Long What Does Where I come From Have to do With Screenwriting Topic Schedule and Assignment Sheet A S cript is a Set of Instructions I I , FIRST MEETING: GET ACQUAINTED 40 iv Chapter Page I I I . SEC O N D MEETING: “W H A T I F ? " ........................................................... 82 D o You have to Experience Something in Order to Write About it? Each of us Reacts D iffe re n tly to the Sam e Situation Emotions can Transfer What Would Happen If? Stage One Objective/Subjective Suspense What Would Happen If? Stage Two A Large Enough Sample What Would Happen If? Stage Three Names Are Necessary Information— Less or More? Commonalities— Not Rules Picture Assignment W illiam Saroyan Quote IV. THIRD MEETING: MOTION PICTURE LA N G U A G E . . . ..................... 129 No "Correct" Terms I Have a Dog. A Dog Named Judy There is No Meaning in the Word Dog D iffe re n t Angles Give D iffe re n t Effects Treatment and S cript Formats V. W O R K S H O P: PREMISE . .................................................. ................. 173 Ground Rules Someone Saying Something to Someone Framing a Statement of Premise Ideas Michael's Premise Jane's Premise V I. W O R K S H O P: STRUG G LE ............................................................................ 187 Arm Wrestling Elements of Arm Wrestling Elements of S to rytellin g A Happening Spectator Experiencing Elements of a Stalemate A Struggle That Stands fo r Something Else Elements in a Struggle as a Means to Another End Rom eo and J u lie t Kinds of Forces That Can Oppose Each Other What Causes One Force to Oppose Another Force Story Outlines The Beginning Action of a Story v Chapter page Struggle is the Vehicle With Which You Communicate Your Premise Actions That Push and Resist W riting Needs to be Learned Transitions V II. W O R K S H O P: CHARACTER ........................................................................ 257 How Are Personalities Formed? W ays of Coping S elf Awareness Belongs to Everyone Character P ro file Crutch L ist Change and Growth V III. W O R K S H O P: VISUAL SOLIOQUIES ....................................................... 317 Seeing is Knowing Pudovkin's "P lastic M aterial" Visual Images and Verbal Images Symbology Discovering Visual Soliloquies--The Process Nouns Are "What Something is" Verbs are "Something Becoming Something" "Because..." "And I Want t o ..." S tanislavski's "An Actor Prepares" Agnes Assignment Don's Agnes Storyboarding Situation and Essence of Situation Larry's Agnes You Can't Do U ntil You Learn To D o The S elf Defeating C ircle D iffe re n t Aspects of Same Thing Don's Turn Vacum Deduction The G ifts of Feedback John's Agnes Cause and E ffect The Power of One or Two Objects Just Any Old Object Won't D o IX. W O R K S H O P : UNIQUENESSES O F F I L M .............................................. 395 Need to Know A ll Aspects of Filmmaking The F irs t Vision Films Contain Motion Sounds Contain Motion Too Filmic Time Contracting Time Expanding Time vi Chapter Page Overlapping Action Montage Cutaways Filmic Space S hifting Point of View Animation A Concrete Communication Films Are D ictato ria l Rhythm and Tempo Sound Film is Active Meet Mr. Frog Don's Mr. Frog C harlie's Mr. Frog Lenard's Mr. Frog L iz's Mr. Frog Michael M u ltip le Levels of Corrmunication X. W O R K S H O P: INFORMATION STO R A G E A N D RETRIEVAL ......................... 460 An Information Stimulus Don's Response A Model is a Visual Conceptualization Information Storage Model Application of Theory Redheads With Blue Eyes Memory Probes Search Set T ra ffic Jam Information Retrieval Model Ways to Enhance Accumulation of Information Rehearsing Imaging Coding Broaden Your Capacities H ow Do You Look at Things The Walk Along the Pier X I, W O R K S H O P: THE CREATIVE PRO CESS ................................................... 510 M y Book of Everything M y D efin itio n of Creative The Creative Process Two C ritic a l Phases What Have W e Been Doing Actions A lternatives Don's Synopsis Evaluation Questions Andy's Character P ro file vi i Chapter Page Don's Treatment Don's Script X II. S U M M A R Y A N D IMPLICATIONS............................... 565 Summary Implications APPENDIX Screenwriting Course Instructional Design................................ 571 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................................................................................... 590 v i i i CHAPTER I . THE PR O B LEM A N D ITS IMPORTANCE STATEMENT O F THE PR O B LEM "The history of educational theory is marked by opposition between the idea th at education is development from w ithin and that i t is formation from without; th at i t is based upon natural endowments and that education is a process of overcoming natural in clin a tio n and sub s titu tin g in its place habits acquired under external pressure."1 These words o f John Dewey, describing the controversy between "tra d itio n a l methods" and "new methods" of teaching were w ritten in 1938, but s t i l l , in the 1970's the controversy p revails. The "tra d itio n a l" approach is characterized by the notions that knowledge is selected and imposed from above and without; th at learning comes from texts and teachers; th at external d is cip lin e must be imposed; that isolated s k ills and techniques are acquired through the use of d r i l l ; th at education is the process of preparing fo r a more or less remote fu tu re , and th at the people involved with tra d itio n a l approaches use goals and teaching m aterials that are re la tiv e ly s ta tic . The "new" progressive approach, as envisioned in the twentieth century by John Dewey, is characterized by " . . . expression and c u lt i vation of in d iv id u a lity , . . . free a c tiv ity , . . . learning through experience, . . . acquiring s k ills and knowledge to achieve ends with a d irec t and v ita l appeal, . . . by making the most of the opportunities 2 of the present, . . . and acquaintance with a changing world." The controversy continues. In practice the issues are substan- 3 t i a l l y the same. Only the banners and theoreticians have changed, and nowhere is th is controversy more apparent than in the classrooms 1 where creative a c tiv itie s are taught. Im p lic it in the "tra d itio n a l" approach to education is the b e lie f th at ta le n t/c re a tiv ity /im a g in a tio n is inherited or a g if t or a moment of in sp iratio n . For many centuries the poet, the a r t is t, the creative person was someone blessed, or cursed, with a special ta le n t and ca p a b ility —a g if t from the gods or goddesses. Homer, in The Ilia d , asks a ll the Muses— the patron goddesses of the arts and sciences—to prompt him, because they know everything and men do not. H is to ric a lly , screenwriting classes have followed the patterns of the "tra d itio n a l" approach to education and, generally speaking, both students and teachers a lik e have held the b e lie f th at some people are born with the a b ility to become screenwriters and others are not. The "new" progressive approach to education, with its many related d is c ip lin e s , te lls us that c re a tiv ity can belong to everyone. The "new" approach took the creative process out of the m ystical, privileged and capricious realm and put its concepts under the microscopes fo r study and testin g. The conditions, characteristics and procedures fo r teaching c re a tiv ity were described and practiced. Concurrent research was done in education and learning theory to dis cover more about how to help people learn. Interpersonal, in trap er sonal and mass communications were studied and much was learned about how our minds process and re trie v e inform ation. A new d is c ip lin e - instructional technology-evolved as educators sought to discover systems fo r solutions to educational problems. I t was discovered that there exists a necessary unity between the subject matter to be taught, the devices fo r teaching, the student, teacher and learning environment 2 and th at selected design elements for selected circumstances would promote the best in better learning. Many of the findings of these d is tin c t but congruent discipline: provide compelling insight into the problems of teaching screenwriting to beginning students and suggest methods fo r dealing with many of the problems. The beginning students of screenwriting must learn the basic techniques and concepts of s to ry te llin g ; they must learn to handle the m aterials and tools of filmmaking; they must learn to look at the world they liv e in , gather its inform ation, store i t and re trie v e i t to reconstruct and externalize the information in such a way as to bring something new into existance. The integration and execution of these things can be taught in the classroom and can be taught through the p rin t media, u tiliz in g an in te rd is c ip iin a ry approach to learning and c re a tiv ity . THE IMPORTANCE O F THE PR O B LEM There are as many methods of teaching subject matter as there are teachers, and each method usually lie s somewhere along the contin- jum between tra d itio n a l expository teaching and the more progressive discovery/experiential teaching. D. P. Ausubel, the chief exponent of expository teaching, defines teaching as " . . . selecting, organizing, presenting and trans lating subject-m atter content in a developmentally appropriate manner . . . 1 1 so the student can organize the body of knowledge and retain i t . le id e n tifie s receptive learning, e ith er listen in g or reading, as 3 instruction by which the e n tire content of what's to be learned is presented to the learner in fin a l form. I t 's his b e lie f that the amount learned depends, to a large extent, on the learner's a b ility to integrate the main ideas into a personal "cognitive stru ctu re." To deal with th is problem, Ausubel developed the notion of advance organizers— introductory comments th a t summarize what's to follow and serve as a framework upon which to hang the various items to be learned. Expository teaching is most commonly understood as a situation where the teacher gives principles and problem solutions, where the verbal ization of the required concept or generalization is the in it ia l step in the instructional sequence, and where learning moves from the general (and known) to the sp ecific (and unknown). The goal of expository teaching is that the student should eventually possess an 4 organized knowledge of a specific area of study. J. R. Suchman, the primary advocate of the unguided discovery nethod, presents a model fo r the analysis of inquiry. Using the unguided discovery method, the teacher places the student in a problem s itu a tio n , refuses to provide eith e r the underlying p rin cip le or the solution, and forces the student to search fo r concepts themselves. The goal of the unguided discovery method is to teach the way to acquire knowledge, not to teach substantive knowledge per s e .5 Jerome S. Bruner, called the most persuasive spokesman of learning by discovery (guided teaching), states that "The act of discovery . . . f ir s t took form a fte r m y having seen two inspired teachers. . . . Both of them practiced the canny a rt of in te lle c tu a l :emptation . . . " In th is essay "The Act of Discovery," he defines ________________________________________ i discovery teaching as he formulates the differences between what he calls the "expository mode" and the "hypothetical mode." Very generally, and a t the risk of oversim plication, i t is useful to distinguish two kinds of teaching: that which takes place in the expository mode and th at in the hypothe tic a l mode. In the former, the decisions concerning the mode and pace and style of exposition are p rin c ip a lly determined by the teacher as expositor, the student as lis te n e r. The speaker has a quite d iffe re n t set of decisions to make: he has a wide choice of a lte rn a tiv e s ; he is anticipating paragraph content while the lis te n e r is s t i l l in ten t on the words; he is manipulating the content of the m aterial by various transform ations while the lis te n e r is quite unaware of these internal options. But in the hypothetical mode the teacher and the student are in a more cooperative position with respect to what, in lin g u is tic s , would be called "speaker's decisions." The student is not a bench-bound lis te n e r, but is taking a part in the formulation and a t times may play the principal role in i t . He w ill be aware of altern atives and may even have an "as if " a ttitu d e toward these, and he may evaluate information as i t comes. One cannot describe the process in eith e r mode with great precision of d e ta il, but I think i t is larg ely the hypothetical mode which characterizes the teaching th at encourages discovery. The central concern and preoccupation of discovery teaching is with the in teraction between the students and teacher and with what is going on inside of the learn er. This concern with the learner is exemplified and c le a rly v is ib le in the six learning problem areas as id e n tifie d by Bruner. The f i r s t problem he c a lls the "attitu d e problem" and by th is ie means th at the learners must believe that they can solve the problem Dr achieve the task with what they know or with what they're learning. The second problem he c a lls "com patibility," the connecting of new knowledge with past knowledge and experience. Third, there is the Droblem of a c tiv a tio n , getting learners to ac tive ly explore th e ir own :a p a b ilitie s fo r solving the problem or task. Fourth, the learners Deed experience in practicing the s k ills related to using information 5. and problem solving. F ifth , the learners need to learn to u t iliz e th e ir "self-loots" capacity to look back on th e ir own behavior fo r evaluation, and to determine the value of th e ir behavior. The sixth problem deals with the q u an titative capacity of human beings to handle information.^ As the goal of the expository method of teaching is to give knowledge, the goal of the discovery method is to help the student understand how to acquire knowledge. Most teachers w i l l , a t d iffe re n t times and to achieve d iffe re n t educational goals and objectives, use f i r s t one and then another method. The modern teacher's determination of which method to use is , to a very large extent, based on the work of the Committee of College and University Examiners, the committee formed to establish taxonomies of educational objectives in the cognitive domain, the a ffe c tiv e domain O and the psychomotor domain. The "tra d itio n a l" expository method of teaching works well for the acquisition of knowledge and comprehension tasks in the cognitive domain. The screenwriting student needs a knowledge of terminology, manuscript formats, the history and origins of play and screenw riting, the various types of screenw riting, the c r ite ria fo r testing and judging the products of screenw riting, and knowledge of the p rin cip les, generalizations, theories, and structures used in screenwriting. To teach these things, teachers can predigest and organize the body of knowledge and give i t to students to form th e ir own personal "cognitive stru ctu re ." However, to teach the in te lle c tu a l a b ilitie s and s k ills of 6 . applicatio n, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation in the cognitive domain, or to a ffe c t changes in in te re s t, a ttitu d e s , and values and the development of appreciations and adequate adjustments in the a ffe c tiv e domain, i t is necessary to turn to the discovery method o f teaching. The discovery method teaches the creative tasks, and, using the discovery method, the teacher practices, to use the words of Jerome Bruner, "the canny a rt of in te lle c tu a l tem ptation." . There's an abundance of printed m aterial dealing with screen- w riting which re fle c ts the "tra d itio n a l" approach to teaching. Gen e ra lly speaking, these m aterials assume the role of the expository teacher, "talking at" the readers, giving them inform ation. These m aterials help in the achievement o f the lower order of cognitive domain objectives. I t is m aterial th at has selected and organized the term inologies, fa c ts , conventions and trends and sequences; m aterial th at looks a t the product of screenwriting to describe i t , analyze i t , theorize about i t , and c r itic iz e i t . There's a dearth of printed m aterials dealing with screenwriting that assume the role of the in teracting teacher by using the discovery method, and that seek the achievement of the higher order objectives of the cognitive and a ffe c tiv e domain. Such an absence of m aterials enhances the importance of any p rin t m aterial that deals with stim ulating and guiding the process of screenwriting. This becomes even more valid when educational goals involve the development of s k ills and a b ilitie s th at help students toward a greater understanding of themselves, and an increased capacity to actualize themselves in other aspects of th e ir liv e s . ______________________ 7 The stated (and obvious) educational goal of a class in screen- w ritin g is to teach students how to w rite scripts from which film s w ill be made. The underlying and pervasive goal is to engender c re a tiv ity . To w rite a s c rip t is to engage in a creative process. To engage in the process students need to know what the process is , how to stim ulate i t , recognize i t , feed i t , and help i t to happen. This information is not commonly found in screenwriting textbooks. I t w ill assume a role of primary importance in th is study. In the author's fifte e n years of experience teaching screen in ' tin g , there has been the expressed pessimism of e ith e r "you've got it" or "you haven't got it " from students and colleagues a lik e . The Jnfortunate thing about th is a ttitu d e is th at i t often becomes a s e lf- f u lf illin g prophecy, and beginning students, who have never before w ritte n , define themselves as a "has got it" or a "has not got it" without exploration. O n the other hand, i t is the author's observation through the years, th at the beginning student who is guided to approach c re a tiv ity is a g if t each person possesses is free to experience the creative process. This student is , then, able to explore himself or herself ind his or her perceptions of the world; each is d e lib era tely able to take in the m aterials th at s to ry te llin g is made o f; each is able to B trie v e m aterials stored in the memory and, at the same tim e, learn the lim its and conventions of a chosen a rt form. Students exposed to this approach are able to express themselves and th e ir views of th e ir world in both new and novel ways. Through the development and use of m aterials that teach 8 c re a tiv ity , more students w ill learn and exercise the power of human kind's creative c a p a b ilitie s , and fewer students w ill imprison them selves in the box of "have not got i t . " As Jerome Bruner so ap tly puts i t , "The reason is the ancient search of the humanist fo r the excellence 9 of man; the next creative act may bring m an to a new d ig n ity ." PURPO SE O F THE STUDY The purpose:of th is study is to create a demonstration of a method of teaching c re a tiv ity and to create an e ffe c tiv e teaching tool fo r screenwriting students. The targ et reader is the student of screenw riting, e ith e r in a classroom group or as an individual reader. The scenario w ill be useful as source, adjunctive, extension and reference m aterial. I t can enhance the classroom s itu a tio n , present stim uli fo r additional experiences outside of the classroom, help the absent student to do makeup work, help the slow learner to keep abreast of the class and provide remedial m aterial i f necessary. The scenario w ill u t iliz e many of the pro grammed instruction design factors so th at i t w ill serve as a s e lf- instruction to o l. The content of the chapters is designed fo r adults with or without previous film experience and could be used in advanced high school classes, college and university and adult education classes. The content of the scenario presents an overview of much of the film - making process. This is information the screenwriter must have because she or he, in the fin a l act of w ritin g a s c rip t, makes decisions about how his or her ideas should be cast, directed, staged, photographed, ______________________ Q edited and how each of the elements of picture and sound are to be blended together. For the novice filmmaker, the scena"rio w ill teach \ these elements; fo r the student with some knowledge, i t w ill draw the elements together into a more coherent structure. This is not to say that a scenario w ill teach the student how to do these things, but i t w ill teach what can be done, i . e . , the elements of the a ft form as part of the elements of screenwriting. The screenwriter has a visio n , "the f i r s t vision."'*'0 I f the w rite r were a n o v e lis t, the vision would be rendered through words; i f he or she were a musical composer, the vision would reach us through sounds and silence in major or minor keys; the film w rite r sees the vision in pictures of varying size and distance. I t is not enough to know the elements of s to ry te llin g per se. The film w rite r must also know the medium, because the message is more clear and more powerful when the medium becomes a part of the message.*1 Each student enters such a class with d iffe rin g amounts of film knowledge and experience, or w ritin g knowledge and experience, but students usually enter having alone, or with others, conceived and executed a film of some sort; having seen a lo t of film s , and having read some film lite ra tu re . They may or may not have had experience with w ritin g some form of a story. Almost any given class is made up oi students with higher than average in tellig en ce who come from middle class backgrounds and environments. The general overall objectives fo r the primary target group are: A. Students w ill demonstrate, through successive steps of synopses, treatments and s c rip ts , th at they have learned: 1. To communicate a preconceived "idea" to others so the 1L others understand the "idea" from the w rite r's point of view; 2. To communicate th e ir "idea" w ithin and through a "story" structure; 3. To communicate th e ir "idea" w ithin and through emerging, believable and dimensional characterizations; and 4. To communicate th e ir "idea" using film ic methods as a part of the communication (not as a recording device o nly). B. Students w ill demonstrate th e ir knowledge of the workings of the creative process by: 1. Having a high tolerance fo r ambiguity; 2. A ctively searching fo r alte rn a tive s ; 3. Pushing ideas beyond closure; 4. Embracing rew ritin g ; 5. Freely expressing thoughts and feelin g s. C. Students w ill demonstrate th e ir knowledge of information storage and re trie v a l of information. The primary readers w ill be those who too are interested in finding methods fo r stim ulating and guiding creative a c tiv itie s and who may be curious about how successful such an eclectic endeavor can be. REVIEW O F THE LITERATURE A review of the lite ra tu re reveals no single work th at combines theory and research from studies in education, c re a tiv ity , communicatior 11 and instructional design to stim ulate and teach the process of screenwriting. Almost without exception, the lite ra tu re dealing with screenwriting follows the "tra d itio n a l" approach to education. The books which can be used in screenwriting classes f a ll into three major catagories. There are the books which deal with 1) a ll of the elements of filmmaking, wherein screenwriting is treated as one of the elements; 2) concepts and theories of dramatic w ritin g and 3) screenwriting only. A comprehensive l i s t of the cited sources w ill follow . Those in the f i r s t category ty p ic a lly devote a chapter or a section of the book to screenw riting, or screenwriting may be referred to throughout the book in d iffe rin g contexts. Generally speaking, in th is category, only a su perficial delving into the nature of e ith e r the process or the product of screenwriting is possible. The books in th is category are ty p ifie d by such works as Spottiswoode's book, Film and Its Techniques, Bobker's, Elements of Filin and the Huss and S ilve rs tein book, The Film Experience: Elements of Motion Picture A rt. The books in the second category tend to deal more s p e c ific a lly with w ritin g fo r the th e a te r, but, since many of the concepts and techniques used in playw riting are applicable to screenw riting, these books in th is category are B entley's, The L ife of the Drama, the Egri book, The A rt of Dramatic W ritin g , Lawson1 s , Theory and Technique of P layw riting, Tragedy and the Theory of Drama by Olson and Tragedy and Comedy by Walter Kerr. The th ird category of books includes the subject m aterial of 12 the f i r s t two categories, but deals with the m aterial as i t applies exclusively to screenwriting. Here there is the opportunity to fu lly explore the nature of screenw riting. Am ong the works in th is category are Vale's book, The Technique of Screenplay W riting, Gessner's, The Moving Image, the Herman book, A Practical Manual of Screen P Iayw riting. Lawson's book, Film the Creative R illa 's book The W riter and the Process, Trap nell's Teleplay and Screen. The books in a ll three of these categories conform to the "tra d itio n a l" approach to education and they can be described as being largely d escrip tive, th e o re tic a l, an alytical or c r it ic a l, with only a few th at contain elements of "guided discovery" methods. Of the few, the most notable are the Bantom Pathfinder paperback editions of The Stop, Look, & W rite Series: An Eye fo r People: A W riter's Guide to Character and The W rite r1 s Eye: E ffective Writinq Through Pictures w ritten by Hart Day L eavitt and Pictures fo r W riting: A Visual Approach to Composition by David A. Sohn. This series provides stim uli designed to e l i c i t overt and covert responding. These books ask questions and then guide the reader to the self-discovery of answers. Lajos E g ri, in his book The Art of Dramatic W ritin g , w rites in the f i r s t person and uses a technique of questions and answers. These design factors tend to establish a more intim ate relationship between the reader and the w rite r. The sources cited above are as follows: Bentley, E ric. The L ife of The Drama. New York: Atheneum, 1967. 13 Bobker, Lee R. Elements of Film . New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, In c ., 1969. E gri, Lajos. The Art of Dramatic W riting. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1946. Gessner, Robert. The Moving Image. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., In c ., 1970. Herman, Lewis. A Practical Manual of Screen P layw riting. Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1952. Huss, Roy and S ilv e rs te in , Norman. The Fi 1 m Experience. New York: Dell Publishing Co., In c ., 1968. Kerr, W alter. Tragedy add Comedy. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Lawson, John Howard. Theory and Technique of Playw riting. New York: H ill and Wang, 1960. Film: The Creative Process. New York: H ill and Viang, 1967. Olson, Elder. Tragedy and the Theory of Drama. D etro it: Wayne State University Press, 1966. L e a v itt, Hart Day. The W riter's Eye. Bantam Pathfinder Editions. New York: Bantam, 1968. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ An Eye fo r People. Bantam Pathfinder Editions. New York: Bantam, 1968. R illa , Wolf. The Wri te r and the Screen. New York: W illiam Morrow & Company, In c ., 1974. Sohn, David A. Pictures fo r W ritin g . Bantam Pathfinder Editions. New York: Bantam, 1968. Spottiswoode, Raymond. Film and Its Techniques. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of C alifornia Press, 1951. Trap nell, Coles. Telepla.y. San Francisco: Chandler Publishing Company, 1966. Vale, Eugene. The Technique of Screenplay W riting. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1972. 14 SO U R C ES O F INFORMATION The information used in th is study is the resu lt of the author's experience as a teacher of screenwriting and as a w rite r/ director/producer of educational and in dustrial film s , as well as academic inquiry into the fie ld s of education, communication, psychol ogy, lite ra tu r e , drama, and filmmaking. From each of these areas of experience and academic a c tiv ity , certain approaches, theories and practices have been selected fo r integration and implementation in a design of instruction fo r a beginning class in screenwriting. This' instructional design fo r the class is the major facto r in the design 5f the scenario. The educational theories and approach u tiliz e d herein stem From, and are congruent w ith, the w ritings of John Dewey (see supra, 5. 1 and n. 1) with a special bias toward the educational philosophies expressed by Jerome S. Bruner, especially his notions concerning discovery teaching (see supra, p. 5 and n. 6) and the structure of 12 cnowledge. In addition, the Bloom and Krathwohl taxonomies and 13 Robert M. Gagne's ideas on learning hierarchies are used extensively. The incorporated information about c re a tiv ity comes from a tfide v a rie ty o f works investigating d iffe re n t aspects of the creative process. The theories of Sigmund Freud, Rollo May, Carl R. Rogers, and Abraham H. Maslow, a ll of w hom view c re a tiv ity as a part of personality, lave profoundly influenced th is study's dominant viewpoint that p re a tiv ity grows from w ithin rather than being imposed from outside or 'above." ____________________________________ 15. Sigmund Freud, w ritin g about "creative w riters and day-dreaming" proposed th at c re a tiv ity could be memory and wish f u lf i 11 ment: In the lig h t of the insight we have gained from phantasies, we ought to expect the following state of a ffa ir s . A strong experience in the present awakens in the creative w rite r a memory o f an e a rlie r experience (usually belonging to his childhood) from which there now proceeds a wish which finds its fu lfillm e n t in the creative work. The work it s e lf exhibits elements of the recent provoking occasion as well as the old memory. 1 4 - Roll o May, w ritin g about "the nature of c re a tiv ity " speaks of i t as an encounter characterized by a high degree of intense concen tratio n and involvement: " . . . we cannot w ill to have insights, we cannot w ill c re a tiv ity ; but we can w ill to give ourselves to the encounter. Carl R. Rogers defines c re a tiv ity as " . . . the emergence in action of a novel re la tio n a l product, growing out of the uniqueness of ihe individual on the one hand, and the m aterials, events, people, or 1 fi circumstances of his l i f e on the other." According to Abraham Maslow, c re a tiv ity emerges from personality integration. His words are almost poetic: To adjust well to the world of r e a lity means a s p littin g of the person. I t means the person turns his back on much in himself because i t is dangerous. But i t is now clear that by so doing, he loses a great deal too, fo r these depths are also the source of a ll his joys, his a b ility to play, to love9 to laugh, and, most important fo r us, to be creative. By protecting himself against the hell w ithin him self, he also cuts himself o ff from the heaven w ith in . . . . The e ffo rt is to heal th is basic s p lit by insight so th at what has been repressed becomes conscious or preconscious. . . . I t a spontaneous expression of an integrated person can come only i f a person's depths are available to him, only i f he is not afra id of his primary thought processes.1' Also, of great importance have been the works of people who have dissected the creative process to look at its parts; Rollo May and ____________________________________________ I f i. Abraham Maslow, as well as Jerome Bruner, John Dewey, Irving Taylor, Graham Wallas, and W illiam Wordsworth. Rollo May ca lls the creative process the "creative consciousness of s e lf." He describes i t as . . . sudden insight into a problem --abruptly, seemingly from nowhere, pops up an answer fo r which he has struggled in vain fo r days . . . the answer emerges from what are called subconscious levels in the personality.^® Abraham H. Maslow sees a primary phase of c re a tiv ity and a secondary phase. His primary phase he c alls the "voluntary regression into our depths, . . . a peak-experienoe," and the secondary phase he 19 c a lls , " a c tiv ity , control and hard work." For Jerome S. Bruner, creating is an act th at produces e ffe c tiv e surprise and takes one beyond com m on ways of experiencing the world. For Bruner, th is e ffe c tiv e surprise is p red ictive, consists of a new ordering (grouping) of elements, and connects domains of experience 20 previously apart. John Dewey gives stages to the process of thinking. For thinking is stoppage of the immediate m anifestation of impulse u n til th at impulse has been brought into connection with other possible tendencies to action so that a more com prehensive and coherent plan of a c tiv ity is formed. Som e of the other tendencies to action lead to use of eye, ear and hand to observe objective conditions; others re s u lt in recall of what has happened in the past. Thinking is thus a post ponement of immediate action, while i t effects internal control of impulse through a union of observation and memory, th is union being the heart of re fle c tio n .2 Irving A. Taylor, in a paper presented at the meeting of the American Association fo r the Advancement of Science held in Boston, December 1969, formulated a theory of c re a tiv ity which emphasizes the a lte ra tio n of the environment in accordance with personal patterns of 11 perception. He c a lls his theory a transactional approach wherein the person perceives a discrepancy between his inner world of personal perception and his perception of tlie outer world. This d isp arity produces a state of tension and the person must a lte r his personal perception (conform) or a lte r the environment to " f it " his inner world of personal perception (c re a te ). Taylor sees fiv e phases in the act of c re a tiv ity , "Transaction involves an environment from which inputs are received, a period of as sim ilation , a transformation or transaction of the environmental inputs, expression of the transformation and, fin a lly , a form or product which embodies the resulting transaction." He t it le s these phases "exposure," "implosion," "transform ation," "explosion," and "production.1,22 Graham Wallas describes a s im ila r process as "preparation," "incubation," "illu m in a tio n ," and " v e rific a tio n ." 2^ W illiam Wordsworth also describes the process in his preface to the second edition of Lyrical B allads: I have said th at poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelin gs: i t takes its o rig in from emotion recollected in tran q u illit y ; thd emotion :is contemplated t i l l , by ;a species of re action , the tra n q u illity gradually disappears, and an emotion, kindred to th at which was before the subject of contemplation, is gradually produced, and does it s e lf actu ally ex is t in the mind. In this m ood successful composition begins, and in a mood sim ilar to th is i t is carried on; . . . Perhaps the most fr u it fu l sources of information have been those that have given evidence th at c re a tiv ity can be learned. The evidence has resulted from the id e n tific a tio n of the relationships between c re a tiv ity and tr a its of personality, in te llig e n c e , and cognitive styles; the development of methods fo r stim ulating and increasing the creative a c tiv ity ; the controlled observation of controlled phenomena. 18. Frank Barron ty p ifie s the results of studies designed to describe and id e n tify the creative person. Creative people are especially observant and they value accu rate observation (te llin g themselves the tru th ); they often express p a rt-tru th s .b u t the part they express is the generally unrecognized; they see things as others do, but also as others do not; they are independent in th e ir cognition and value clearer cognition; they are motivated to independent sharp observation both fo r themselves and fo r human culture; they have more a b ility to hold many ideas at once and to compare more ideas with one another, hence to make a richer synthesis; they have availab le to them an exceptional fund of psychic and physical energy; th e ir universe is more complex, they usually lead more complex liv e s , seeking tension in tie in tere st of the pleasure they obtain upon the release of the tension; have more contact w ith the l i f e of the unconscious, with fantasy* re v e rie , the world of imagination and they have exceptionally broad and fle x ib le awareness of themselves. The creative person is both more p rim itive and more cultured, more des tru c tiv e and more constructive, cra zie r and saner, than the average person.24 Alex F. Osborn developed the group problem solving technique known as "brainstorming," where large numbers of u n critic al ideas are generated and la te r some of the ideas of c r itic a l m erit are tested and trie d o u t .^ W illiam J. J. Gorden developed another group problem solving method— "synectics." This method stresses analogical thinking, the pc generation of sim iles and metaphors to f a c ilit a t e idea production. Other methods include lis tin g a ttrib u te s , idea checklists, workbooks and asking the students to imagine themselves in given situatio n s. A ll of these methods have a number of things in common. These commonalities are incorporated by E. Paul Torrance in a l i s t of twenty ideas or prin ciples fo r developing creative thinking: : 1. Value creative thinking. 2. Make children more sensitive to environmental stim u li. 3. Encourage manipulation of objects and ideas 4. Teach how to te s t system atically each idea. _________________19 5. Develop tolerance of new ideas. 6 . Beware of forcing a set pattern. 7. Develop a creative classroom atmosphere. 8 . Teach the child to value his creative thinking. 9. Teach s k ills fo r avoiding peer sanctions. 10. Give information about the creative process. 11. Dispel the sense of awe of masterpieces. 12. Encourage and evaluate s e lf" in itia te d learning. 13. Create "thorns in the fle s h ." 14. Create necessities fo r creative thinking. 15. Provide fo r active and quiet periods. 16. Make availab le resources fo r working out ideas. 17. Encourage habits o f working out the fu ll im plications of ideas. 18. Develop constructive c ritic is m . 19. Encourage acquisitions of knowledge in a v a rie ty of fie ld s . 20. Develop adventurous-spirited teachers.27 Ruth K. Carlson has developed ways of stim ulating and encour- 28 aging creative w ritin g among children; S. J. Parnes developed a 29 course in creative thinking fo r university students; C. W . Taylor has worked with developing situations th at provide opportunities fo r 30 creative behavior and has investigated the use of educational media 31 fo r c r e a t iv it y / There is a great deal of experimental evidence th at creative dev^opment can be quite d iffe re n t when children experience guided, planned experiences than when they experience only what the environment ju s t happens to provide. In p a rtic u la r and of importance in th is study, is the work done by Torrence and Gupta in 1964 that demonstrated th at guided, planned experience in creative thinking could be translated into instructional m aterials in the form of recordings, teacher's guides, and exercises to elim inate almost e n tire ly the discontinuities in creative behavior generally observed at the fourth grade level and re s u lt in fewer children hating school and greater p a rticip atio n in s e lf-in itia te d 32 a c tiv itie s of a creative nature. 20 The communication and information processing theory that has been most valuable is the two-component concept of memory as w ritten 33 34 about by D. 0. Hebb, Donald E. Broadbent, and Richard C. Atkinson 35 and Richard M. S c h iffrin . The work of Atkinson and S h iffrin is of p a rtic u la r significance because i t deals w ith the conscious control of both information storage and r e tr ie v a l, and th e ir work supports the assumption of th is study th at the creative process and the process of screenwriting iis the conscious control of information processing fo r storage and the conscious control of re trie v a l strateg ies. There is an abundance of m aterial and research that describes and investigates the instructional media, instructional design, and instructional design elements. Many studies pertaining to these areas-- d escrip tive, em pirical, experimental, and surveys of the lite r a tu r e -- have been examined and drawn upon. Those th at have contributed substantially in e ith e r th e ir conclusions or research design are noted. However, much of th is m aterial is directed toward 1) the discovery of which medium is more e ffe c tiv e in teaching than another, or a ll others; 2) which design element is more e ffe c tiv e in teaching than another, or a ll others; 3) how a p a rtic u la r design element relates to a p a rtic u la r medium, and 4) how a p a rtic u la r design element relates to a p a rticu lar learning task. The source m aterial only casually (and su p erfic ially ) looks a t how a design element th at is e ffe c tiv e in one medium transfers to another. I t is the in ten t here to u t iliz e , in the p rin t medium, many design elements th at have been more tra d itio n a lly used in the projected and audio-visual media. The main thrust is not to determine the p iausib i1ity of transferring th e .know!edge known of design eleraents from one media to another; i t is t o .use the know!edge of instructional design and instructional design elements in a ll media to create an e ffe c tiv e teaching tool in the area of beginning screenwriting. This does not deny the importance of understanding the d iffe rin g roles and functions of media in relationship to the behavioral objectives and learning tasks to be fa c ilita te d . Each medium w ith its own attrib u te s lends it s e lf to p a rtic u la r learning tasks and functions. In th is respect, in the development of the design of instruction fo r the beginning class in screenwriting upon which th is creative study is 36 37 based, the w ritings of W illiam H. A llen , Robert M. Gagne, and Leslie 38 J. Briggs were used extensively. Also, when setting objectives and determining the type of learning task in the development of the instructional design of the screenwriting class, the most valuable 39 sources were the works of Robert F. Mager, Robert M. Gagne, and the taxonomies of educational objectives. Each one of the nine design elements th at make up the c r ite ria to be used in the creation of th is study has its th eoretical base and prototypes. The design elements dealing with concepts of active p articip atio n in the learning process were f i r s t experienced by the author when reading the Socratic dialogues as told by P lato, and then 40 re-experienced as organized and theorized especially by B. F. Skinner under the name of "lin e a r programmed in stru ctio n ." The design element concerning redundancy and re p e titio n has beer d ealt w ith by most of the students of information theory, larg ely as a concern about how much information could be encoded or decoded in any 22 given s itu a tio n . Of p a rtic u la r value were the experiments of Atkinson 41 and S h iffrin th at demonstrate th at rehearsal, the overt and covert re p e titio n of inform ation, delays the loss of information from the short-term store and controls the tran sfer of information into the long-term store. This notion of redundancy and re p e titio n , as well as the concept of active responding, has been extensively used in the extremely successful educational te levisio n program "Sesame S tre e t." As a highly successful implementation of these and other education theories and/or practices, "Sesame Street" has been a valued resource to observe and emulate. The design element th at ca lls fo r concrete and shared experi- 42 ences has its basis in John Dewey's concepts of experience, Edgar 43 Dale's ideas o f organic teaching, S. I . Hayakawa's "abstraction 44 45 ladder," and again, the work of Atkinson and S h iffrin . The design element which specifies th at there w ill be branching to achieve both remedial instruction and/or enrichment experiences, comes from the work of the in trin s ic school of programming as theorized by Norman A. Crowder. ^ The la s t o f the design elements call fo r the use of cues and organizers, pictures and drawings and a unique style of presentation. These elements s a tis fy the need to emphasize and structure inform ation, to u tiliz e the more concrete meaning of pictures to enhance the under standing of words and to get and keep students atten tion and are basic to the concepts of audio-visual in stru ctio n , m aterials and methods. References to them in terlac e a ll of the m aterial of the d is c ip lin e . 2 1 As in any study dealing with dramaturgy, this.one is indebted to A rjs to tle 1s The.!Poetics.• Also, of special importance, have been the works of John Howard Lawson, Theory and Technique of P la y w ritih g ^ and 4-R Film: The Creative Process, La j os E g ri1 s The A rt o f 1 Dramati c 49 5D W riting , V. I. Pudovkin's book, Film Technique and Film Acting, 51 and Lewis Herman's A P ractical Manual of Screen P Iayw riting. One la s t, and very important, source of information has been the work of Constantin S tan islavski, especially his book An Actor Prepares. S tanislavski's approach to teaching acting has greatly influenced the author's en tire approach to teaching screenw riting, and his book An 5? Actor Prepares is a model fo r th is study. An ActOr Prepares is a working record of one of S tanislavski's classes. Although the Stanislavski methods do not use the words of communication and learning theory or of information processing he re lie s upon the actor's intrapersonal behavior as one of his basic tenets and teaches his students methods of information storage and r e tr ie v a l. M ETH O D O LO G Y The approach to th is study is the approach of the instructional technologist, which in the words of James D. Finn is " . . . a way of 53 thinking about classes of problems and th e ir solutions." The f i r s t problem to be dealt w ith, long before th is study was envisioned, was the creation of the instructional design fo r a beginning screenwriting class, and because i t is the parent of the scenario material a description o f the methods used in the creation of both __________________________________________ 2 A is necessarily fused. Figure 1 illu s tra te s the flow of a c tiv itie s used in the development of both the course instructional design and the scenario. The scenario is , in a sense, a study w ithin a study in th at i t implements the work of a previous study. I t is not the in ten t of th is work to d e ta il the a c tiv itie s , decisions and results of the course instructional design, however, since that does contain the objectives, content and media of the scenario i t is important to deal b rie fly with its method of development. (See Appendix A fo r course instructional design.) The course instructional design u tiliz e s a systems approach— insuring the continuous use and integration o f a ll the sources of inform ation, and the most e ffe c tiv e application of instructional media, and instructional design elements. F irs t came the course description and its d e fin itio n , then learner description and id e n tific a tio n to see perimeters and make possible the determination and formation of performance objectives (o v e ra ll, term inal, sub-terminal and enabling). Then, fo r each performance objective the type of classroom learning task was id e n tifie d and lis te d . Next, the instructional events were decided upon and described in ou tlin e form, then the instructional media were chosen and the ratio n ale fo r the selection of each of the media was w ritte n . This then led to e ith e r the procurement or development of the mediated m aterials to culminate with the implementation of the course in the classroom. W hen the decision was made to create a scenario th at would ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 25. * ► CHOICE OF DESIGN ELEMENTS DETERMINATION OF STYLE OF PRESENTATION — } LEARNER DESCRIPTION & IDENTIFICATION-f MATCHING IMPLEMENT DESIGN SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS DETERMINATION OF DOMINANT EDUCATIONAL METHOD SEQUENCING —} LEARNING TASK INSTRUCTION/ EVENT RATIONALE MEDIA SELECTION DEVELOP MEDIATED MATERIALS SELECT DESIGN ELEMENTS FOR ACHIEVEMENT OF OBJECTIVES LEARNER DESCRIPTION & IDENTIFICATION COURSE DESCRIPTION & DEFINITION IMPLEMENT COURSE IN CLASSROOM DETERMINE PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES overall terminal sub-terminal enabling A SYSTEM APPROACH TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COURSE IN SCREENWRITING AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A SCENARIO FOR BEGINNING SCREENWRITING CLASSES UTILIZING AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO LEARNING AND CREATIVITY Figure 1 ro cn achieve sim ila r learning experiences to those achieved.in the classroom, the systems approach was again employed and fo r the same:reasons; Since th is is a creative study, a ll of the steps involved in the process contain the aspect of being open-ended. F irs t came the determination of the dominant educational method, then a decision about the style of presentation through which to employ the method, and next the choice of design elements which would best provide fo r the achievement of the desired learning experiences. Then came the lehrner description and id e n tific a tio n , the matching of scenario sequencing with classroom sequencing and fin a lly the imple mentation of the design. The dominant educational method to be used in the scenario w ill be the same as that used by the author in the classroom. This is an "experiential" stimulus-centered method which embodies the essential ch aracteristics of the discovery method. The teaching event or classroom experience is structured around a shared experience between teacher and students, and students and students. The experiences themselves become the learning stimulus. There is a continuous, expanding and accumulating in teraction w ithin the student, and with another or others. The s e lf and others are receiving, experiencing, reacting to an educational stimulus, and transm itting a response which is received, experienced, reacted to w ith a response transm itted on and on a < 3 in fin itu m . Interactions are never the same, and w ill continue outside of the teaching s itu a tio n . The discovery method of teaching is , in most ways, the resu lt of a way of thinking about people and the worlds people liv e in . I t is _______ 27 not a technique. I t is a philosophy. I t is a philosophy that believes in the in fin ite worth of each individual being. I t believes that human change and human growth are not only possible, but in e v itab le . I t believes that human beings have the capacity fo r s e lf evaluation and s e lf correction. I t believes th at human beings can help each other explore and nurture th e ir c a p a b ilitie s fo r problem solving. The teacher acting out th is philosophy becomes a f a c ilit a t o r , a partner in the process of learning. The teaching situ atio n and stim uli are predetermined and sequen t i a l l y organized, as established by the educational objectives. The stim uli orig in ate from the teacher, media (p rin t m ate rial, moving pictures, s t i l l pictures, tapes, and m ulti-m edia), students and the student's products (exercises, synopses, treatments, s c rip ts ). The teaching situ atio n has lim ita tio n s of time and place as dictated by curriculum requirements. The style of presentation through which to u t iliz e the "experiential" stimulus-centered method and achieve the desired learning experiences had to deviate from the usual textbook style of presentation. Somehow the student had to become, in his or her mind, a p art o f a classroom experience. So i t was decided that a scenario would be w ritte n as a case history of a screenwriting class with fic titio u s characters playing the parts of students, receiving, experiencing, reacting and in teractin g . Then, by u tiliz in g the phenomenon of vicarious experiencing the reader could, to some degree, be placed in the fic titio u s classroom. I t is necessary to emphasize the words, "to some degree," 28 because, of course, th e.reader's experience cannot be exactly the same as the experience of the r e a lity classroom student. The discovery method dictates that the teacher move;in the direction each student wants to.go. Obviously, th is cannot be completely achieved through p rin t m aterial. The reader is involved in a fixed situ atio n and although she or he w ill undoubtedly experience s e lf d is c o v e ry ,;s till the directio n of the discovery is p a rtia lly predetermined. There are two elements that w ill m itigate th is problem somewhat: 1 ) there w ill be a c tiv itie s suggested fo r the reader's overt responding along w ith suggestions about how to evaluate and u t iliz e the discov erie s ; and 2) although the discoveries w ill prim arily occur through one student, there are secondary characters having other types of discoveries. During each chapter the reader w ill have several choices fo r the d irectio n she or he wants to move toward. The design elements were then selected and they became both a stimulus fo r c re a tiv ity and a templet with which to measure achievement and relevance. 1. There would be an intim ate "one-to-one" in teracting between the scenario teacher and the reader. In other words, the scenario would ta lk with the reader, not art the reader; as much as possible, concepts would unfold step by step rather than be pronounced and answers to questions would be discovered by the reader and scenario student rather than be given. 2. There would be stim uli fo r overt and covert responding fo r the reader and. the scenario students. 29 3. Overt and covert responding would be followed by immediate feedback and positive reinforcement. 4. There would b e .re p e titio n ;o f a varied nature. In other words, there would be d iffe re n t aspects of the same thing di scussed, d iffe re n t examples explored and d iffe re n t exer cises performed. 5. There would be stim uli fo r concrete and shared experiences among the scenario students and w ithin the reader. Delibe rate e ffo rts would be made to associate the new information with previously learned information to develop appropriate information probes fo r information r e tr ie v a l. 6 . There would be branching to achieve both remedial instruction and/or enrichment experiences. 7. There would be a functional use of cues and organizers th at would help to emphasize and structure inform ation. 8 . There would be demonstrative and illu s tr a tiv e use of pictures and drawings. 9. The m aterial would have a unique style of presentation designed to capture and keep the student's atten tio n . Next came the learner description and id e n tific a tio n . As stated in the purpose of the study, the primary targ et reader is the student of screenwriting and he or she w ill have the entering behavior sim ilar to those who walk through the doors of a screenwriting classroom. Therefore, i t is a v a lid assumption that the reader w ill have the same types of problems, fe a rs , questions, and aspirations as experienced by classroom students. Further, bearing in mind the 30 expectation th at the reader w ill vicariously experience learning through the scenario students, i t is important that the scenario students be ones th at the reader can easily id e n tify w ith. They w ill be presented and developed, as much as is relevan t, as people with m ulti-faceted p e rs o n a litie s , but with a "core q u a !ity " which manifests it s e lf in th e ir learning c a p a b ilitie s . The problems, fe a rs , questions and aspirations of these students w ill be dealt w ith , inasmuch as i t is appropriate in a screenwriting classroom, so as to increase th e ir learning capacities fo r the concepts to be taught, especially as they re la te to c re a tiv ity . I t is hoped th a t the readers w ill id e n tify with one or more of the fic titio u s students and that as they read th e ir unspoken questions being asked or watch th e ir own problems and fears being dealt w ith, th at they w ill make the tran sfer from "them" to "me." There w ill be eleven fic titio u s students. There is the student who is argumentative, non-conforming fo r the sake of non-conforming and who is a "k n o w -it-a ll." There is the "charmer" who focuses much more on manipulating and being liked than on learning. There is the "bored" and only h a lf-th e re student who expects not to receive anything so doesn't give anything. There is the highly controlled student who has l i t t l e access to his or her unconscious being and who constantly seeks to shape the world to a preconception rather than deal with i t as i t is . There is the "sleeper" who seems in ept, but is very active w ithin and demonstrates th at through his or her work. There is the student who has a very low sense of s e lf-v a lu e , who is anxious and fe arfu l of fa ilu re and who desperately wants to succeed. There is the student who 21 is highly in te lle c tu a l and who has an extensive vocabulary of esoteric terms th at he or she hides behind. There is the student who is very rig id and cannot ris k exploration. There is the well integrated student who learns ea sily and expresses h erself or himself fu lly . There is the disturbed student who consciously (or unconsciously) uses w ritin g as a catharsis and source of self-understanding. There is the disruptive person who keeps wanting to assume control of the group. The storybook students are composites of r e a lity students. Their personalities have come in d iffe re n t colors, sizes, shapes and with d iffe re n t names, but each one, with rare exceptions, has taught the author much about the nature of human beings, how we learn and the irrep ress ib le urge and yearning we have to be c rea tive. Although no two students are ever id e n tic a l, there are those who have s im ila r c h a ra c te ris tic s, problems and mechanisms fo r coping. Each individual must be responded to on the basis of hers or his needs but often times there w ill be sim ilar fa c ilita tin g responses to sim ila r needs. Given the rig h t to an equal voice and non-judgemental acceptance of th e ir opinions, the non-conforming "kn o w -it-a ll" and disruptive students become w illin g to explore other altern ative s and lis te n to other's opinions. The "charmers" stop dissipating th e ir energies attempting to please and manipulate when they are genuinely accepted and liked as they are. The bored "h alf-th ere" students become a liv e and contributory when they are stim ulated. The highly controlled and rig id students w ill have less need to structure th e ir explorations as they feel they are in a safe environment. The students with a low 32 sense of s e lf esteem w ill learn more s e lf respect as others m irror th e ir positive values. The highly in te lle c tu a l students can learn to experience th e ir emotions as they begin to perceive emotions as having a positive value. Given the opportunities to express themselves in a non-judgmental atmosphere, the disturbed students can use w ritin g as a means o f gaining self-awareness as they are acquiring the s k ills of screenwriting. These are a ll human tr a it s . They are a ll keys to unlock bar rie rs th at have been erected and th at lim it the energies and process of c re a tiv ity . I t is the resp o n sib ility of the teacher of screenwriting to deal with these concerns as much as i t is to teach the nature of film and its techniques. The scenario w ill show how one teacher handles some of these b a rriers. A fter the learner description and id e n tific a tio n i t was then decided th at the sequencing of m aterial as previously arranged and practiced in the classroom would be followed in the scenario. The only major changes were the deletion of a class session to explore d iffe re n t a rt forms, types of w ritin g , and types of film w ritin g , and su b stan tially minimizing the amount of time spent working with concepts and practices of dialogue and narration. Also, i t was decided to include examples of "visuals only" synopsis, treatment and s c rip t, but not fo r the dialogue and/or narration synopsis, treatment and s c rip t. Other minor changes occurred throughout as indicated by the individual needs of the scenario students and the c o lle c tiv e pace of a l l . Having made a ll of these decisions the creative work could be done. 33 DEFINITIONS AIT of the motion picture and screenwriting terms are defined w ithin the body of the study. The term expository teaching refers to the teaching situ atio n wherein the teacher selects, organizes, presents and translates the subject matter content to the student, and its goal is to give know ledge. D iscovery/experiential teaching describes the teaching s itu a tion wherein the teacher and student in te ra c t and focus atten tion on what is going on inside of the learner. Here the goal is to help the student to understand how to acquire knowledge. The cognitive domain deals with the re c a ll or recognition of knowledge and the development of in te lle c tu a l a b ilitie s and s k ills . The a ffe c tiv e domain deals with changes in in te re s t, a ttitu d e s , and values, and the development of appreciations and adequate adjustment. The psychomotor domain deals with manipulative or m otor-skill areas. The in struction al Objectives are the things a student w ill do as a re s u lt of in stru ctio n . Terminal objectives are the things students w ill do a t the end of the in stru ctio n . Enabling objectives and sub-objectives are things the student must go through in order to reach the terminal objectives. The learning task is what must be done in order to learn something. The instructional event is the teaching strategy; the thing to be taught, its component parts and th e ir seq uencing. Media refers to s t i l l pictures, motion pictu res, te le v is io n , 3-D objects, audio recordings, programed in stru ctio n , demonstration, printed textbooks and oral presentation. Media ratio n ale explains why a p a rtic u la r media was chosen. Instructional design refers to the plan fo r instruction and,the instructional design elements are the principles that must be taken into consideration fo r in stru ctio n , ORGANIZATION O F THE REMAINDER O F THE DISSERTATION Chapter I follows the tra d itio n a l format and includes the statement of the problem, the importance of the problem, the purpose of the study, the review of the lite ra tu r e , sources of inform ation, methodology, and d e fin itio n s . Chapter I I through XI form the body of the thesis. Each is a topic chapter. They are t it le d as follows: Chapter I I - Get Acquainted Chapter I I I - "What If" Chapter IV - The Screenw riter's Tools Chapter V - Premise Chapter VI - Struggle Chapter V II - Character Chapter V III - Visual Soliloquies Chapter IX - Information Storage and Retrieval Chapter X - The Creative Process Chapter XI presents the summary and im plications of the study and is followed by the Bibliography. 35 NOTES 1 John Dewey, Experience and Education, The Kappa Delta Pi Lecture Series (New York: C o llie r Books, 1938), p. 17. 2Ib id ., pp. 19-20. 3 Traditional methods are now called "expository teaching," "reception learn ing ," and "deductive teaching" and D. P. Ausubel is the principal exponent; "progressive" methods are called "unguided discovery" and "guided discovery" and the principal exponents are J. R. Suchman and Jerome S. Bruner, respectively. 4 D. P. Ausubel, The Psychology of Meaningful Verbal Learning: An Introduction to School Learning (New York: Gruen & S tratto n, 1963), p. 19. 5 J. R. Suchman, "A Model fo r the Analysis of Inquiry" in Analyses of Concept Learning, ed. by H. J. Klausmeir and C. W . H arris. (New York: Academic Press, 1966), pp. 34-35. g Jerome S. Bruner, O n Knowing: Essays fo r the Left Hand, (Cambridge, Mass: The Belknap Press of Harvard U niversity Press, 1964), pp. 81-96. ^________ > "Some Elements of Discovery" in Learning by Discovery: A C ritic a l Approach, ed. by L. S. Shulman and E. R. K eislar (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1966), pp. 101-113. 8 Benjamin S. Bloom (E d .), Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Cognitive Domain, (New York: David McKay, 1956), and David R. Krathwohl Benjamin S. Bloom and B. B. Masia, Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: A ffective Domain, (New York: David McKay, 1964). 9 Bruner, O n Knowing, p. 17. 10Sergei Eisenstein describes th is in Film Form, trans. by Jay Leyda (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1949), p. 261. The most important thing is to have the vision. The next is to grasp and hold i t . In th is there is no difference whether you are w ritin g a film -s c rip t, pondering the plan of the production as a whole, or thinking out a solution fo r some p a rtic u la r d e ta il. You must see and grasp i t . You must hold and f ix i t in your memory and senses. And you must do i t a t once. ^M arshall McLuhan, Understanding Media, (New York: McGraw- H ill, 1964). 36 12 Jerome S. Bruner, The Process of Education, (New York: Vintage Books, 1960). 13 Robert M. Gagne, "Learning H ierarchies," Educational Psychologist, 6 (1968): pp. 1-9. 14 Sigmund Freud, "Creative W riters and Day-dreaming," in Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, ed. by J. Strachey, IX (London: Hogarth Press, 1959), pp. 143-53. ^ R o llo May, "The Nature of C re a tiv ity ." ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 3 (1959): 261-276. 1 f t Carl R. Rogers, "Toward a Theory of C re a tiv ity ," in Our Language and Our World, ed. by S. I . Hayakawa, (New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1959), p. 174. 17Abraham Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being, (Princeton, N. J .: D. Van Nostrand Company, In c ., 1962), pp. 133-135. 18 Rollo May, Man's Search For Him self, (New York: The New American Library, In c ., 1967), pp. 119-120. 19 Abraham Maslow, Toward a Psychology of Being, p. 135. 20 Bruner, O n Knowing, pp. 17-30. 21 Dewey, Experience and Education, pp. 61-65. 22 Irvin g A. Taylor, "A Theory of C reativity" (paper presented at the meeting of the American Association fo r the Advancement of Science, Boston, December, 1969). 23 Graham Wallas, The Art of Thought, (New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1926). 24 Frank Barron, "The Psychology of Im agination," S c ie n tific American, September, 1958, pp. 150-156. Alex F. Osborn, "Brain Storming" (paper presented a t Sixth Annual Creative Problem-Solving In s titu te a t the U niversity of B uffalo, B uffalo, N. Y ., 1961). 26W illiam J. J. Gorden, The Development of Creative Capacity, (New York: Harper & Row, 1961). 27 E. Paul Torrance, "Developing Creative Thinking Through School Experience" (paper presented to the Minneapolis Teacher's League, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May, 1959). 37 28 Ruth K. Carlson, Sparkling Words: Two Hundred Practical and Creative W riting Ideas, (Hayward, C alifo rn ia : C alifo rn ia -S ta te Book Store, 1965). 29 S. J. Parnes, Creative Behavior Guidebook, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1967). 30 C. W . Taylor, "Developing Creative C h a ra c te ris tis tie s ," The In s tru c to r, May, 1964, pp. 99-100. 31 ______ , "Effects of Instructional Media on C re a tiv ity --a Look at Possible Positive and Negative E ffe cts ," Educational Leadership, 19, 7 (1962a): 453-548. 32 E. Paul Torrance and R am Gupta, "Audio Tape Experiment in Creative Thinking," Audiovisual In struction , September, 1964, pp. 685- 686. 33 D. 0. Hebb, The Organization of Behavior, (New York: W iley, 1949). 34 / Donald E. Broadbent, Perception and Communication, (New York: Pergamon, 1958). 35 Richard C. Atkinson and Richard M. S h iffrin , "The Control of Short-Term Memory," S c ie n tific American, August, 1971, pp. 82-90. ■^William H. A llen , "Media Stimulus and Types of Learning," Audiovisual In s tru c tio n , January, 1967, pp. 27-30. 37 Robert M. Gagne, The Conditions of Learning, (New York: H olt, Rinehart and Winston, 1965). 38 Leslie J. Briggs, Handbook of Procedures fo r the Design of In s tru c tio n , (Pittsburgh, Pa.: American In s titu te s fo r Research, September 1970, Monograph No. 4 ). 3Q Robert F. Mager, Preparing Instructional O bjectives, (Palo A lto , C a lifo rn ia : Fearon Publishers, 1962). ^ B . F. Skinner, "The Science of Learning and A rt of Teaching," Harvard Educational Review, Spring, 1954, pp. 86-97, ^Atkinson and S h iffrin , "The Control of Short-Term Memory?" pp. 82-90. 42 John Dewey, Democracy and Education, (New York: Macmillan, 1916), p. 169. 43 Edgar Dale, Audio-Visual Methods in Teaching, (New York: The Dryden Press, 1946), pp. 78-80. 38 44 S. I. Hayakawa, Language in Thought and Action, Second Edition, (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, In c ., 1964), p. 179. 45 Atkinson and S h iffrin , "The Control of Short-Term Memory," pp. 82-90. 46 Norman A. Crowder, A Sample Sequence From the Tutor Text on The Arithm etic of Computers, (Goleta, C alifo rn ia : United States Industries, In c ., 1960). 47 John Howard Lawson, Theory and Technique of Playw riting (New York: H ill and Wang, 19607^ , Film: The Creative Process (New York: H ill and Wang, 1964, 1967). 49 Lajos E g ri, The A rt of Dramatic W riting (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1946). 50 V. I . Pudovkin, Film Technique and Film Acting, trans. by Ivor Montagu (New York: Lear Publishers, 1949). 51 Lewis Herman, A Practical Manual of Screen Playw riting (Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1952). 52 Constantin S tan islavski, An Actor Prepares, trans. by Elizabeth Reynolds Hapgood (New York: Theatre Arts Books: Robert M. Macgregor, 1952). ^James D. Finn, "A Walk on the Altered Side," Phi Delta Kappan, 44 (October 1962): 29-30. CHAPTER TW O. FIRST MEETING: GET ACQUAINTED } w w "The book you're reading- is somewhat different from most books you've read. But then I guess you know that already— maybe that's why you’re reading it." "The book’s designed and written to give you as much of a vicarious classroom experience as is possible through the print medium." "I'm the instructor and there're eleven students in the class. You’ll be the twelfth. The students — with their questions, fears, discoveries, and achievements— are a cross section of the many classes I've worked with throughout the years, and I suspect you'll find bits and pieces of yourself in many of them." "I hope that they’ll . ask the questions that l are in your mind, that , I can allay whatever fears of yours they verbalize and that you, along with them, will make your discoveries and achieve ments." "As you'll see, there'11 always be an empty chair in the classroom. That's a chair for you. A chair to symbolically invite you to become a part of the class and participate in as active a way as you can." 40 "The most important way you can do this Is byworking at the same things the. class works at t , By. doing the same exer cises, thinking through the Same questions, and by applying what"s said about their work to your own work, you'11 find yourself experiencing what they experience and 1 earning what they learn.” "Because you don't have the opportunity to ask questions, I've arranged the places for you to do your things always after one of the other students, Don, has done his. This way you'll see the procedures Don goes through so you'11 know more clearly what procedures you’re to follow.” "Then, after the whole class, including you, has completed the task at hand, we'll talk about it and you can analyse your own work in relation to theirs and what's been said." "You, of course, have the option of simply reading the book without doing any of the overt activities, but you'll not learn nearly as much that way as you will if you join the class." "The person you'll get to know most of all is Don, Don Long. This is going to be his story and he'll be the one who’ll tell you what's happening in the classroom." I walked into the classroom la te and out of breath. What a hell of a way to s ta rt a class— la te , hot and ir r it a te d . I looked around. Everybody was busy w ritin g something. "What's everybody doing? th at's everybody w riting?" I thought to myself. The in stru cto r answered m y unspoken questions, "Our objective for to n ig h t, fo r th is f i r s t session, is to get to know each other. Everybody is making out a name p la te . Use any piece of paper th a t's big enough to fo ld and stand up in fro n t of you, lik e th is ." She pointed to ;he paper in fro n t of her. The paper read: 41 MARGARET MEHRJNG MILBAHK, SOUTH VAKOTA LAWRENCE COLLEGE - B.A. USC -M.S. and PH.V. MEHR1NG.TR0VUCT10NS - OWNER WnltQJti VAJidctoh./ Rhjo daaeA She continued, "Write your name, where you come from, where you are in your academic work, what your special interests are and what film experience you've had." "Name plates? What is this?" I thought. A W O R K S H O P "We're doing th is so we can get to know each other as quickly as possible. This is not a lecture class where I t e ll you what you have to know in order to be a screenw riter. I t 's a workshop. A class where you discover how to do the work of a screenw riter. You do not magically become a screenw riter. You do the things th at resu lt in your becoming a screenw riter. I t 's lik e learning to become a d entist or a carpenter. You learn the basic knowledge of the fie ld and the basic steps in the process of producing an end product. "For the d e n tis t, the end product is a f i l l i n g or a bridge; fo r the carpenter, i t ' s a cabinet, or maybe a house; fo r the screenw riter, i t 's a s c rip t. The way you learn to w rite is the way we learn almost everything, by t r ia l and e rro r, by tryin g something and then checking to see i f i t works. I f i t works you do i t again and i f i t doesn't you fin d another way. But, because w ritin g is such a subjective a c tiv ity , i t 's hard fo r the w rite r to judge what's working and what is n 't , so the w rite r needs to consult with other people and get th e ir opinions. That's one of the most important things y o u 'll be doing in th is c la s s - asking fo r opinions from the class and giving your opinions to the class. This makes i t important fo r you to know each other on a deeper level than you would normally know most of the students in your classes. That's our f i r s t order of business, so th is f i r s t session is devoted to becoming acquainted— to exchanging information about who we each are; where we come from; what we want from th is class; what we want from each o th e r." What she said made sense and I started w ritin g down a ll that 43 information. D O N LONG, N E W YO R K CITY, N Y U - B.A. W O RKING T O W A R D M.A. CAMERAMAN/DIRECTOR. I fin ish ed , looked up and around. Everybody had finished and had th e ir papers s ittin g in fro n t of them. I began to be curious and sat forward to read what'd been w ritte n . I t was as i f Mehring had been w aiting fo r m e to fin is h because she asked, "Everybody ready? She paused, looked a t each of us and then spoke to the guy at the end o f the ta b le. "Let's s ta rt with you— Charlie W alters. Where do you come from Charlie?" "C a lifo rn ia . I'm from Los Angeles. I'v e lived here a ll m y li f e . " "You're a graduate student and your special in te re s t is in ," she leaned forward to read, "being a filmmaker. What do you mean by th a t, th at you want to do a ll the jobs of a filmmaker?" "T heatrical. I'v e got a lo t of things in m y head I want to ta lk about and th a t's the way to go. Like when you're te llin g somebody 44 C H A R L I E W A L T E R S about the kinds of film s you're most interested in making?" mean I want to know a ll th at goes into making a f lic k . I think I 'V end up as a w rite r/d ire c to r/ producer, but I'm not sure y e t. I want to stay loose." "Do you have any ideas "Well maybe, but mostly I a story, they get involved in the story and then you can h it them with something re a lly important and th e y 'll pay attention* But i f you s ta rt preaching a t them th ey!11 turn o ff rig h t now." "Are you saying that we learn more about f i l i a l piety by read ing King Lear than by essays on d u tifu l children and we learn more about psychological d isto rtions by watching Who's A fraid of V irg in ia Wolf than by a chapter on abnormal psycho!ogy?" "Right, rig h t!" Charlie answered. She turned to a ll of us now, "Do any of the rest of you have any ideas about th is or any questions you'd lik e to ask Charlie?" A black guy seated beside Mehring spoke up. His name plate said he was Michael Moss from Watts, working toward his masters in Cinema, and a tran sfer from the A rt Department. "Yeah, I'd lik e to ask him about those ideas in his head he wants to ta lk about." She gestured toward C h arlie, "Ask him." Michael turned to C harlie and asked, "What are these ideas?" "W ell, rig h t now," he stopped to th in k , "rig h t now I think a lo t about how people are so separated from each other. I'd lik e to make a film about th a t; then how people can get clo ser, have meaningful experiences, and what th a t feels lik e ." "How about something lik e ju s t lig h t and shadows or a moment ir tim e. Something th a t's film ic . Something ju s t there fo r i t 's own sake. W hy do we always have to have a message?" Charlie answered without h e s ita tio n , "Because we're a r tis ts — learning to be. Because th a t's what the a r tis t does. W e in te rp re t and say something about l i f e . " ___________________________ 45 "What about ab stract, non-representational art? How do you deal with th at a rtis t? " "Just because i t 's abstract doesn't mean i t is n 't making a statement. What about Picasso's Guernica? That's abstract and at the same time i t makes the most profound statement about war I'v e ever seen or heard." "Ok, then what about Mondrian?" Michae pressed. "Maybe he's saying something about order and balance." There was a long silence, lik e Charlie and Michael d id n 't want to carry i t any fu rth e r. Then Mehring spoke up again, "Every a rt form has its many levels of abstraction and every a r t is t choses the level and the form th at suits him or her." "Do you agree with C harlie, th at everything has to have a message?" Michael asked Mehring. A F I L M I S T O S A Y S O M E T H I N G "I never use the word message. For me, th at word has connota tions of rig h t and wrong and I'm uncomfortable with th a t. I do believe th at every film has something i t 's trying to say. I t may be something about alien atio n or about the way water fa lls from a fountain or the matching of l i f e styles and shoe s tyles , but whatever, i t wants to say something." She paused; I think she was w aiting fo r Michael to say something more but when he d id n 't she turned to C harlie. "C harlie, one la s t question, what is i t you want to get from the class?" "Oh,that'1 ssimple. I want to learn how to w rite . I find myself s ittin g at the typew riter staring a t a blank piece of p a p e r- 46 endlessly! I don't even know how to s ta r t, and i f I'm going to be a filmmaker I'd better learn how to w rite scrip ts!" "Ok," she turned to the g irl seated next to Charlie at the end, "Susan Tierney, t e ll us about you." S U S A N T I E R N E Y I'd wanted to get into the discussion with Charlie and Michael, but decided to w ait. That's one of m y beefs--teachers te llin g m e what m y film s should be. Susan was talkin g now. She seemed aw fully uptight. She said she'd lived in Wisconsin a ll her l i f e , th at she'd ju s t moved here with her parents, and th at she'd had two years at the U niversity of Wisconsin in Madison. "And you're majoring in English?" Mehring asked. "Yes, I guess I ' l l be a teacher." "Have you had any experience or classes in Cinema?" "No, not r e a lly , except making a couple of super eight film s in high school. I t 's w ritin g I'm interested in . I'm taking a ll the w ritin g classes I can g et." "What kinds of things have you w ritten?" Mehring queried. "Poetry. Som e short sto ries." 47 V E R B A L I M A G E S A N D V I S U A L I M A G E S A R E D I F F E R E N T Mehring paused and then went on, "One of the things w e 'll probably be working w ith , with you Susan, is the difference between verbal images and visual images. Visual images are concrete. Verbal images are abstract. There's a big difference and sometimes i t takes a while to understand and in te rn a lize the differen ce. This may mean th at up fro n t y o u 'll have to work a l i t t l e harder than those who've had a visual background. The f i r s t step is to accept th at there is a d ifferen ce, th a t what works with words is d iffe re n t from what works with pictures. Is anyone else an English major?" "Here," a guy across the table wearing a white s h irt and t ie raised his hand, "I'm pursuing m y Master's Degree in Journalism." She leaned forward, "Let's see, your name is Lenard Feldman. What do you lik e to be c a lle d , Len or Lennie?" Nobody spoke and then she asked, "How about Journalism? L E N A R D F E L D M A N experience with photojournalism a I don't perceive a great d iffere n between the two d is c ip lin e s ," he answered. "Ok. Lenard, have you ha any Cinema classes or experience? she asked. "Lenard." 1 1 No, but I'v e had extensi "Correct m e i f I'm wrong. You're saying there's not too much difference between s t i l l photography and motion picture photography?" "That1s correct. Except, perhaps photdjournali sm i s more exacting since we have only one frame with which to communicate, whereas you have many frames. W e have to select and capture the moment which is extraordinarily communicative, but your moments are accumulative and can be redundant." "That's true. Motion pictures deal with movement through time and space, not just a frozen moment and that does represent the major difference between the two media." Mehring paused and then went on, "What do you want from us? What are you especially interested in?" "I'm anticipating the possibility of writing some television scripts and I heed to acquire a knowledge of the industry's jargon and formats. Journalists have access to an abundance of story m aterial, and I'd lik e to exploit the TV market." "So i t 's the theatrical film you're most interested in?" "That's correct." "Susan, we didn't ask you. What kind of filmmaking are you most interested in?" "The th ea tric al. I think," Susan answered. "So th at's three of you so fa r." She turned to Michael Moss beside her. "And you? I t sounds lik e you've got some definite ideas about what you want to do." "Yes, 1ots of them," he answered. Mehring waited and then asked, "What are your ideas? What kinds of films do you want:to make?" __________ 49 " It 's not re a lly a kind of film I want to make. What I want to do is find a new film language. I don't want to do films lik e they 've been doing them." He paused and then blurted out, "At f i r s t i t was the natural thing for film to follow the theater but we don't have to keep on doing that now, ju st because i t started that way. You know what I mean." "I'd certainly agree with th at," Mehring answered, "and I'd also say that the two are not in opposition. The d ifferen t film forms are lik e children in a family. They come from the same parent and each is d iffe re n t, but they have a lo t in com m on and can help each other." She looked around and i t seemed to m e lik e she was waiting for us to respond somehow. None of us did. I started working over that analogy and then Michael spoke up again, " It depends on what kind of a family you come from!" W e a ll laughed and Mehring added, "Let m e te ll you what m y concern is . In Cinema, and I guess in many disciplines, i t 's quite customary to spend a great deal of time debating the re la tiv e merits of the differen t film forms; the documentary as opposed to the th e a tric a l, the experimental as opposed to the tra d itio n a l, the cinema verite as opposed to acting and on and on. Here, in this class, I'd lik e for us to avoid those arguments simply because they don't serve our purpose. As a matter of fa c t, arguments lik e that work against our purpose since they tend to close o ff learning. Let's do a l i t t l e experiment." U T I L I Z A T I O N O F L E A R N I N G C A P A C I T Y She opened up her notebook and took out two pictures. One was a very old painting showing a lo t of people dancing. ______________________________________________ 50 ■ V The other one had many differen shapes and some funny looking "things" that might have steppecjl out of a Dr. Suess story book. "Each of you look at these two paintings." That's a ll she said. I waited, think ing she'd give us some instruc tions, but she didn't and I began to get irrita te d . "What is th is , a cat and mouse game?" I thought. "Look at them? For what?" I demanded. "For whatever you look at when you look-at two paintings," she answered. "Can't you give us ju st a l i t t l e hint." Larry Jager, the guy right across from m e asked. 5 1 She paused and smiled, "I understand that what I'v e asked you to do could seem ambiguous and:we'll ta lk about th at, but f i r s t , le t m e ask you something. What is your mind doing? What have your thoughts been? Each one of you jo t down on a piece of paper the thoughts that have gone through your mind since I asked you to look at these pictures I t doesn't matter what those thoughts were, whether about the pictures or not. Jot down whatever you were thinkin g." W hen I picked up my ballpoint to w rite, I thought I hadn't had any thoughts but righ t o ff I realized that wasn't true. My mind had immediately focused on wondering what she was doing to us. All I could think about was that I was being tricked somehow and I didn't lik e i t . That's what m y mind was doing and I didn't need to write that down. " T h a t ' s w h a t w a s i n D o n ' s h e a d . N o w y o u l o o k a t t h e t w o p i c t u r e s a b o v e f o r s e v e r a l m i n u t e s a n d t h e n j o t d o w n y o u r t h o u g h t s . " " Y o u c a n d e c i d e , l i k e D o n d i d , n o t t o w r i t e a n y t h i n g , b u t , a s I s a i d b e f o r e , y o u ' l l f i n d t h a t y o u l e a r n m o r e i f y o u m a k e a l l t h e r e s p o n s e s I a s k y o u t o m a k e , b o t h o v e r t a n d c o v e r t . " 52 Mehring waited several minutes and then she said, looking at the guy who had asked fo r a hint, "What are your thoughts?" "I ju st kept wondering how I was supposed to look at i t , what sort of direction I was supposed to take," Larry answered. "I ju st wanted to know what you wanted. T h a t 's a il." "Did you think at a ll about the pictures?" she asked as she turned the pictures over, so none of us could see them. "No, I hadn't gotten to that." "Now, without looking at the pictures, can you describe them?" Mehring asked him. He thought,chuckled and shook his head. "Can you think of anything at a ll about them?" "Well, one was old and one was modern, but that's a ll I remember. I f I'd known that's what you wanted I would've looked at them so I could've described them." W hen he said that I realized I couldn't rea lly remember much more than that either. "Wait a minute. I'v e got a question," Charlie rocked forward in his chair to s it upright against the table. "What's this business about not knowing what you were supposed to do. Didn't she say 'look at these pictures.'" He turned to Susan beside him, "Is n 't that what you heard?" Susan nodded her head and Charlie looked back at the whole group, "That's clear. Just as clear as i t can be. All we were supposed to do was look at the paintings." "What were your thoughts afte r I asked you to do that?" Mehring 53 asked him, "Well, f ir s t I looked at the colors, I contrasted the softer richer colors in the one with the colder colors in the other and then I got involved in the lines of movement in each, but that's as fa r as I got," Charlie answered. Lenard spoke up, "I found them to be very good examples of two diametrically opposed a rt periods. That caused m e to think about the paintings done in each of these periods," "I didn't have any thoughts about the outdated painting, but the modern one's great," Michael said. The g irl whose name plate saidshewas Liz Crawford spoke next. " It was ju st the opposite for me, I went for the old one." "Anyone else?" Mehring asked. " I'd put myself in the same box as Larry, thinking about what was going down rather than looking at the pictures, so I didn't say anything. Mehring looked around. No one spoke up so she did, "Ok, what's happening. Some of you, and very understandably so, kept looking for a stronger direction or a purpose to what you were being asked to do. Our learning systems and theories tend to make us to that. But, because your mind was so busy looking for that direction or purpose you d id n 't, to use your words,Larry, 'get around to looking at the p ictu res.1 Then some of you made a choice to look at one and not the other. Again, a natural thing to do. Our world tends to always ask the question, which do you lik e the best? Which is your favorite? So we grow up always making choices, choosing up sides. But be aware of 54 the fact that when you do that you tend to exclude the other. This is not to say you have to, but i t very often happens that way." "You, Lenard, got involved with categorizing, another natural thing to do and one of the basic co g n itive-th in king —approaches to learning. That’s fin e , as long as you also use other levels of cog n itive learning and the many levels of affective— feeling— learning." She stopped, leaned forward and smiled. "Now, you're a ll probably wondering what in heaven's name this has to do with a screenwriting class." She couldn't have been more right. I was re a lly lost. Lenard spoke up, "Well, you're obviously suggesting that we should use a ll levels of learning and we did that experiment to prove we d o n 't." "That's one thing, but it 's more than that. Most of a l l , I want each of you to realize the ways you often lim it your learning. Let's assume your mind can only work with--process--a certain amount of information during any given period of time." She got up, went to the chalkboard, and drew a c irc le . "And le t's say your capacity for processing information is this much for a given period of time " 55 "In order to fu lly achieve a learning task for any given period of time, you need to use your entire capacity toward that end," She f ille d in the circle with chalk marks as she talked. "That's what Charlie did. He immediately started looking at the pictures, using his entire processing capacity to do that, for the fu ll period of time. Others of you only looked at the pictures for part ?f the time, using only part of your capacity part of the time, and you didn't learn much about the pictures." She picked up the eraser and rased half the circle "Some of you used your entire capacity for the fu ll period of 56 time for something to ta lly d ifferen t and learned absolutely nothing about the pictures," she said as she erased the balance of the c irc le . A G R O U N D R U L E F O R I N C R E A S E D L E A R N I N G She moved back to her chair, sat down and continued, " It 's for this reason I'd lik e for us to avoid arguments—debates— that don't serve the learning tasks we're here to achieve. It 's rea lly a quanti ta tiv e proposition. In order to learn what you want to know about screenwriting, yo u 'll need to devote a ll your capacities toward that end. There simply is n 't time for us to deal with diversionary issues." She turned to ta lk direc tly to Michael, "You were talking about a new film language. That's very exciting and can be a very important part of our learning about screenwriting. The only thing I ask is that we deal with i t on the basis of what i t is rather than what i t is not. For example, le t's discuss the many ways of showing visual relationships some old ways and some new ways, so we learn as much as we can about visual relationships, rather than dealing with them on the basis of putting one in opposition to the other." Michael had no further response and she asked, "What do you 57 want from this class? W hy are you taking it?" M I C H A E L M O S S "Well, f i r s t of a l l , it 's requirement. All Cinema students to!d they have to have so many writing classes. You know th a t." "Yes, but over and above th a t, what do you want?" He chuckled, "I guess I never thought about i t that way. I don't know. I already know how to w rite. I'v e done w riting. I lived in Europe; Spain, France and Ita ly for about two years and that's the way I made my 1 iving—writing and painting." "What kind of writing?" "Film reviews and scripts for underground experimental film s." "Were you writing in English?" Mehring continued questioning. "English and Spanish." "French too?" "Yes, but m y French is not as good as m y English and Spanish. M y father's Chicano. He doesn't speak much English. I learned Spanis from him and English from my mother." He paused for a moment. "What do I want from this class? I don't know." "Well, why don't you think about i t and t e ll us when you do know. I t 's important for each of us to know and be able to ta lk about 58 are what we want from each other. That gives our work a place to do--a direction--and a measure of how successful we are as we go and when we're done." She turned from Michael and looked to the end of the table at the young man seated next to Susan Tierney. "John, John Bellows, what about you? I see you're a History major?" J O H N B E L L O W S "Yes, but I think I ' l l change over to get m y Master's Degree in Cinema— i f I get accepted. I'v e taken the beginning camera, editing and sound classes already." "So you've had quite a b it of experience with visual thinking?" "Yes, and I'm interested in both the theatrical and the docu mentary film . I want to be a w riter. I want to write about famous people, what they did and how they influenced history. I agree with Charlie, that we have to do more than ju st write stories. Our stories ought to stand fo r something." "What's wrong with ju st entertaining," I blurted out, "making people enjoy themselves. W hy does i t have to be so heavy?" I'd been talking to John but i t was Charlie who answered me. "No no, there's nothing wrong with entertainment, but i t can be both. I t doesn't have to be one thing and not the other. AIT great plays and 59 great movies do both." "I can't worry about greatness," I answered him. " If someone comes up to m e and wants to hire m e to shoot his movie I'm not about to ask what his movie stands for. No s ir! I'm ju st going to say yes, yes, s ir! No questions asked. I'v e got a wife and two kids to support and I can shoot any kind of movie, as long as i t pays w ell." "That's what you want to do, be a cameraperson?" Mehring asked. "Yeah, cameraman and maybe make m y own films someday, but not theatricals—more documentary or industrials and educations." I wasn't quite through, but the g irl down at the end in te r rupted me. "Tell me," she spoke d irec tly to Mehring, "are we going to be expected to write certain types of film s --!ik e Charlie and John are saying. Do we have to write things that have a social message? Or i t what? What are your requirements?" M A J O R L E A R N I N G E M P H A S E S "I have no requirements about the types of scripts you w rite, either th e ir subject matter or intended audience. You're free to write on any subject for any purpose you want, however, I do have certain major learning emphases." She got up and went to the chalkboard as she was talking and then began w riting. My f ir s t emphasis is that you communicate whatever is in your head that you want to get into someone else's head. In other words, that you say what you've set out to say. My second emphasis is that your scripts have a v is ib le — knowable-- structure. That they have a design and aren't ju st haphazardly put together. My third major emphasis is that you use the uniqueness of the 60 film medium." communicate vour iv e a UTILIZE UNIQUENESS O F FILM VISIBLE STRUCTURE "Does that include the experimental—the underground film?" Michael Moss asked. "There are experimental underground films that do clearly com municate th e ir idea, that do have a structure, and that do u tiliz e the uniqueness of film but there are some that don't. It 's the ones that don't I'd lik e for you to avoid writing in this class." The g irl at the end spoke up again, "So i f I wanted to write a script for a children's movie, I could do that?" "Sure, as long as you communicated your idea within a structure using film uniqueness." The g irl nodded her head and Mehring continued, "Is that the kind of film you're interested in? Children's films?" "Yes, I got m y B.A. degree with a major in Theater. M y specialty was children's theater and I want to try to do the same kinds of things in film that we did on stage." "How do you mean that? "Have you ever seen children's theater? The kind where the actors interact with the kids in the audience?" "Oh yes, I used.to take m y son and once I took his cub scout pack.: Just once!" 61 She laughed and answered. "Ok. You've been.there. It 's that kind of audience involvement and audience participation I'd lik e to stimulate with film ." "That' s not goi ng t o .be easy," Mehring said. "I know," she,rep lied. L IZ C R A W F O R D Mehring 1eaned' forward to read the g ir l's name plate. "Your name is Liz.Crawford. Elizabeth?" "Yes, but I always use Liz." "You come from Denver and you're a graduate Cinema major." Mehring turned to the class, "Do you a ll know what we're talking about? "No. I'm not sure," Charlie answered. "Liz, do you want to c la rify ." "Well, there are lots of things to say about children's theater, but the biggest thing is what I'v e already said--audience involvement and audience participation—where the actors come o ff the stage and into the audience, speak d irec tly to the kids, and ask them to respond. Also, it 's kind of an improvisation thing because they take cues from the interaction with the kids. My major was theater, but m y minor was psychology and I'v e put the two together. This kind of:'d ire cte d ' responding is very helpful in understanding children and 62 helping them to deal with some of th eir problems." I was churning inside listening to her. What she was saying seemed foolish and I asked her, "But why film , th at's re a lly a theater thing, why not leave i t there. Do a film thing. Or, i f you want to do theater d£ theater!" She didn't answer righ t away and when she did i t was addressed to Mehring, "Do I rea lly have to make that choice? W hy can't I take something from both, maybe the best from each and come up with some thing neither of them are. Can I do that?" "Do you think you can?" was Mehring's response. "Yes, I think so," she answered slowly nodding her head, "And what do you want from us, Liz? W hy are you here. What do you want from-the class?" "Whatever you do. Whatever you have to give. I t 's not up to me, or any of us to te ll you what to do. It 's whatever you give us. That's what I want, that's probably what we a ll want. What you want." "I re a lly don't agree with that, Liz. I'm always more comfort able i f I know what you, as a student, want from me. What you want to learn. And, I'm always glad to te ll you what I want from you, what m y needs are." There was a long pause. I wanted to ask her what i t was she wanted, but I didn't and nobody else did. I guess we a ll thought she'd ju st te ll us without being asked, but when she turned to the g irl s ittin g next to Michael i t was apparent i f we wanted to know we were going to have to ask. "Your name is Becky Stone," she said, reading from the paper in 63 front of Becky. You come from Beverly H ills and you're a graduate Hinema major." "Wait a minute," Charlie blurted out, "Excuse me, Becky." "Sure," Becky's gesture told us she couldn't care less about being interrupted. "What do you want from us," he asked Mehring. W H A T D O Y O U W A N T F R O M U S ? "There are three basic things. F irs t that you re a lly work at trying to implement the class concepts w e'll be dealing with. For some of you these concepts may be strange or in contradition to other things you've learned and experienced. I f that happens I ask you to suspend comparisons for the duration of the class. I ask you to put those past writing experiences and preconceptions in a bag, or a box, or someplace where they're out of awareness for these next four months. This doesn't mean you're going to turn your back on them or throw them away. I t just means y o u 'll put them on a shelf for awhile. Then, when we're through here, you can take them o ff the shelf, reaffirm them, modify them or reject them, but for right now, yo u 'll learn our class concepts better faster i f you can suspend the comparisons and judgement process.’ "The second thing is that each of you be open, honest and caring about each other's work. One of the class requirements is that you read and evaluate everybody else's work, plus your own. This bene f it s a ll of you most when you give constructive criticism about both the areas of strength and the areas that need improvement. Our f ir s t tend ency is to want to pat each other on the back. It 's easier that way and 64 we may think we make more friends, but I'v e had many students say, 'My best friend in this class is the one who c ritic is e s m y work the most.'- "The third thing is that you hand your work in on or before the day it 's due. Our schedule is based on a progression of work with differen t writing tasks. I f you fa ll behind i t 's very d iffic u lt for you to catch up. That's i t . Any questions?" she concluded. Nobody asked anything. I didn't have anything to ask. What she said made sense--at least for the moment. She turned back to Becky Stone, "What are your interests in film? What do ou want to do?" "I'm not sure. I'm ju st not sure yet. But film 's the only thing that turns m e on. All m y l i f e I'v e been around film people and I can't imagine being anything else--not doctor, lawyer Indian Chief, rich man, poor man, beggar man, th ie f. • , No way! But ju st what, I haven't decided; maybe a w rite r, maybe a director." She stopped and I was about to ask her a question when she started talking again. "I did m y undergraduate work in business, back East. I t was a drag, but that's what m y father wanted m e to do so I did i t fo r awhile. No more!" She stopped and then I asked her, "You said you were around B E C K Y B E C K Y S T O N E 65 film people, in what way? Who?" "My father's in the business--the financial end--but a lo t of his friends and m y mother's friends have always been the talent side-- mostly actors, directors, composers. What they've got I want. They're alive. Really!" She had her chin on the table, cupped in her hand, as she spoke more to herself than to any of the rest of us. I t was almost mystical, lik e she spoke from a vision or some inexplicable experience. W e a ll waited for her to go on, but she d id n 't. Instead she turned to Mehring. "W ho are you? What qualifies you to teach me?" "What qualifies m e to teach screenwriting? she answered. "I'm a filmmaker with twenty-five years of experience making educational and industrial film s. I own my own company and also do free lance work as a w rite r/d ire c to r from time to time. I'v e studied film , its history, production, esthetics and dramatic structuring. I'v e worked with learning theory, theories of c re a tiv ity and the practices of instruc tional technology. I'v e been teaching for about twenty years and enjoy i t . I'm a woman, a mother and a widow, a lib eral and a pragmatist yearning for romanticism." She ended by saying, "These are some of the ways I define myself, but they're pretty general statements. Do you have any specific questions?" "What do you want us to call you?" Becky asked. "I lik e to be called Margaret," she answered. "Any other questions?" "I have one." This came from Larry Jager, the guy seated next to Becky. "Which school of thought do you belong to?" 66 "I don't understand your question," Margaret answered. "Well, you must have a particular authority, lik e , say A ris to tle, or some system, d iffe r ent kinds of plots or something that gives us some rules to follow so we know what to do." "I re a lly don't have rules," she looked at his name plate and then continued, "in the sense of things that must be done—lik e rules of a game or rules of the house. I deal with writing more in terms of concepts. For example, Larry, w e'll deal with plot as a concept rather than as a recipe?" "Whose ideas are you following? Who's your authority?" Larry persisted. "No one person or school. My approach to screenwriting is a composite of many things; classical writing theory, theories about the nature and'uniqueness of film , esthetics, the Stanislavski method of acting, communication and learning theory. I'v e taken things from each of these places rather than following just one." "But you w ill be giving us some kinds of rules or guidelines to follow?" "Part of what I'm hearing you say is that you want some kind of structure or framework for learning, and the answer to that is yes, by a ll means." __________ 67 L A R R Y J A G E R t ! She paused, but when Larry had no further comment she said, "Tell us about yourself, Larry. W ho are you? Where do you come from? What do you want here?" "I'm Larry Jager. I come from Omaha, Nebraska, and I want to make documentary film s." "What made you decide to come to this school?" " It 's the best and the biggest. I knew that i f I wanted to be a motion picture maker I ought to come here fo r my training." "You say documentary. What kinds of documentary?" Charlie asked. "Oh, I belong to the John Grierson school--you know, 'the creative treatment of a c tu a lity .'" "But what subject matter?" Charlie continued. "I haven't decided that yet. F irs t of a ll I need to get m y tra in in g ." Margaret turned next to the person s ittin g between Lenard and Charlie, "And you?" B O B B I E M I L L E R My name's Bobbie, Bobbie M ille r. I come from C alifornia, up near Fresno. I'm a graduate student, Cinema major." He stopped to catch his breath. "I've been teaching high school up north but I couldn't take that. I didn't lik e i t . So now I'm here to get m y degree in 68 Cinema. I taught some 8m m movie classes and I'v e done a lo t of home movie s tu ff—fooling around with mini film s--so i t 's not completely new to me, but I have a lo t to learn before I ' l l be a filmmaker. "What kind of films do you want to make?" Mehring asked. "Theatricals. I guess everyone would, at least I think every one would, but I'm not counting on that. I ' l l be happy to work on industrials or maybe in a university film unit." "What do you want to do; camera, w riting, directing, what?" "I want to w rite," he said somewhat hesitantly, "that's why I'm in this class. I figure i t ' l l be easier to get in anyplace as a w riter. There aren 't so many w riters." - "Have you had past writing experience?" "No, not re a lly , except what I'v e done for fun. But," he paused, "I kind of agree w ith, what's your name?" he asked as he looked at Charlie. "Charlie." "I think i f we can get people to laugh we can say something to them, but I don't know. I understand comedy's pretty hard to w rite. Is it?" he asked Mehring. " It has d ifferen t conventions. Generally speaking, you develop your characters and events d iffe re n tly , but i t depends on what kind of comedy you're most interested in." "What I'v e done is kind of slapstick lik e Keystone Cops, but that's re a lly not what I want to do. S t i l l , they a ll keep coming out that way," his voice showed his frustration and maybe a l i t t l e sadness too. 69 "Sounds lik e you've got a lo t of questions." "I do." "And that generally means that you're in a good place for Team ing," she smiled and turned to the g irl beside me, Jane Hendrich. I'd been looking at her often to see how she would respond to some of the things that had been said, but she hadn't shown anything so I was curious to see what she’d have to say. Mehring d idn't say anything to Jane, she ju st looked at her and smiled and so did the rest of us. J A N E H E N D R I C H As Jane became aware of the fact that we were a ll looking at her she almost jumped. "Oh, it 's m y turn now!" She pulled herself up in her chair, placed her elbows on the table and stared ahead as she spoke almost mechanically. "Well, I'm a Cinema major. I came here from Chicago. I'm a senior and when I graduate next spring I want to find work with some production house anywhere, but I hope here in Los Angeles." "What kind of job would you like? What part of filmmaking are you most interested in?" Mehring asked. "Well, I ' l l ju st take any job, ju st so I'm ...ju s t so I'v e got a job. I'v e done camera, and editing, and unit management, but never... 70 w ell, someday I w ill. I'v e never yet written and directed m y own film .' She paused and then said, "But it 's a ll right. I learned so much in camera and editing that when I get a chance to write and direct I won't make so many mistakes." After Jane's f ir s t comments I lost interest in what she was saying. I started watching Becky and only half heard what Jane was saying. Becky was lik e a cat stretching her arms in front of her and t ilt in g her head to hear the faintest noise in the hall outside the room. "So you re a lly want to do some w riting," Mehring asked. "Oh yes, that's re a lly what I want to do the most, but I'v e just never had the chance." "You've had some writing classes though, haven't you?" "Yes I'v e had two, a beginning and an advanced. The ones that are required. I did ok. I got B's in both, b u t...," she paused and then blurted out, "but I don't feel lik e I know how to w rite and I really want t o ." "There's that time when you're f ir s t learning anything when i t seems lik e i t 's s t i l l beyond your grasp. Is that the feeling you have? Ihat i t 's there but not quite there?" Mehring asked. "Yes! O h yes. That's i t exactly." "That's so frustratin g. I'v e had that feeling too, and it 's lot a nice feeling," Mehring agreed. Jane looked down at the table and I f e l t for one minute lik e I wanted to te ll her about a ll the times I'v e had that feeling, but she burned m e o ff when she said, "But i t doesn't rea lly matter. I don't 71 ^eally have to be able to w rite. I can do other things. It 's not really important." Mehring waited a moment before she responded and then she said. "Jane, I hope we can help you learn to do whatever i t is th at's import- to you." D O N L O N G Next i t was my turn to be startled because Mehring turned to Don, we know somethings about you W e know you want to be a cameraperson and that you're interested in non theatrical film s. O h yes, and we know you have a wife and two children, but we don't know where you come from or what you want from us." Her questions h it m e the wrong way. I don't know why but they did, and I d id n't want to give her a righ t answer so I said, "I guess the stork brought m e and what I want is a passing grade." The whole class laughed and that made m e feel kind of good but I knew I'd ju st said something dumb. Mehring smiled but She d idn 't laugh. The whole class became quiet, waiting to see what she'd say. "Your response feels very spontaneous, lik e i t was an honest reaction to m y questions. I lik e those kinds of reactions and yet," she paused and then continued, "I feel very much pushed away by your answer. I don't lik e that feeling because I re a lly would lik e to know 72 more about you and what we can do here to work with you in a meaningful way." She stopped and waited for m y response. I sat there looking at her, wondering what I wanted to say and then I realized I wasn't irrita te d anymore. I chuckled and answered, "Yeah. That was a dumb way to answer. I guess I was beginning to feel lik e you're a counseler, or a headshrinker, or somebody lik e that and I didn't lik e th at." I paused and then I could feel m y ir rita tio n coming back. "And what does, where I come from have to do with screenwriting? Yeah, I can see how you ought to know what I want here, and I can te ll you that re a lly easy. I want to learn anything you can teach m e t h a t 'll help m e make more money making movies. I'm paying to s it here. It 's not m y old man who's paying, or m y wife out working. It 's me! I'v e worked for every dollar I paid them over at thelbursar's o ffice yesterday and I want something in re tu rn --fu ll value. That's what I want. But where I come from? Just give m e one good reason why you need to know that. What does that have to do with screenwriting?" W H A T D O E S W H E R E I C O M E F R O M H A V E T O D O W I T H S C R E E N W R I T I N G "Because you are where you come from and because what you are is what y o u 'll write about--the only thing you can write about," Mehring answered me. " It 's a ll the accumulated and stored up experience of your l i f e th a t're the raw materials out of which you create your work, your scripts and your film s. This makes i t absolutely necessary for you to become well acquainted with yourself, with your raw mater ia ls ." "Ok," I said, "but why do you have to become acquainted with 73 s raw materials? How's that going to help me!" " I," she pointed to herself and then to the class, "we, aren't interested in knowing about you for the sake of knowing about you. W e are interested in knowing you so we can help you learn the process of screenwriting. W e can't do that with a stranger—at least not as w ell." "As I mentioned e a rlie r, you'll be asking each other's opinions about what's working and is n 't working in your scripts. In other words, each one of you w ill serve as a mirror for every other member of the class. A mirror that w ill re fle c t back what each of you have w ritten. Now I'm not going to say i t 's impossible to do this without knowing about each other, but I certainly do believe we do a better job when we have more than a superficial relationship." "That makes sense to me", John spoke up, " I ' l l pay more atten tion to a friend than to someone I hardly know." She turned to m e again, "Do you have anything more to say? You asked a question. Did I answer you?" I'd been s ittin g back watching her and the rest of the class. I knew she was going to get back to me. "Sure you answered me, but do you expect your answer to be m y answer?" "No." "Ok, then I ' l l play the game." I rocked forward. I was feeling better now. "At least the f i r s t quarter." "All rig h t." She picked up some papers from the table and stood up. "I have here a topic schedule and assignment sheet and a sheet lis tin g special instructions, reading references and terminal objectives. I'm going to pass them out and w e'll look at them together 74 to make sure you fu lly understand them." She handed one stack of papers to Liz and the other to Michael and we passed them around. SHEET TOPIC SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNMENT FOR BEGINNING CLASS IN SCREENWRITING 1st meeting Get acquainted & class definition 2nd meeting A writing experience & definition of screenwriting 3rd meeting Motion picture language PICTURE ASSIGNMENT DUE WORKSHOP 1st day 9 A.M.-5 P.M. 2nd day 9 A.M.-5 P.M. 3rd day 10 A.M.-5 P.M. Premise Struggle Character Visual Soliloquies Uniquenesses of Film Information Storage and Retrieval The Creative Process 4th meeting Discuss Synopses VISUALS ONLY SYNOPSIS DUE 5th meeting.. Open VISUALS ONLY TREATMENT DUE 6th meeting Evaluate visuals only treatments VISUALS ONLY TREATMENT EVALUATIONS DUE 7th meeting Open VISUAL ONLY SCRIPT DUE 8th meeting Evaluate visuals only scripts VISUALS ONLY SCRIPT EVALUATIONS DUE 9th meeting Discuss Synopses DIALOGUE OR NARRATION SYNOPSIS DUE 10th meeting Open DIALOGUE OR NARRATION TREATMENT DUE 11th meeting Evaluate dialogue or narration treatment DIALOGUE OR NARRATION EVALUATION DUE 75 12th meeting Open DIALOGUE OR NARRATION SCRIPT DUE 13th meeting. Evaluate dialogue or narration script DIALOGUE OR NARRATION SCRIPT EVALUATIONS DUE SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS, READING REFERENCES AND TERMINAL OBJECTIVES SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS The synopsis, treatments and scripts are to be duplicated. You need one copy per student and two copies for MM. All evaluations are to be handed in in duplicate only. The "visuals only" film MUST NOT include the use of any words either written or spoken. You are to communicate your idea with visuals only. You can use music and/or sound effects. REQUIRED READING Pudovkin, V.I., Film Technique and Film Acting: Chapter I (Part I and Part II) and Chapter II (Part I). New York: Lear Publishers, 1949. Herman, Lewis Helman, A Practical Manual of Screen Playwriting for Theatre and TV Films. Chap ter.::.2- The Film Components. Cleveland: World Publishing Co., 1952. Egri, Lajos, The Art of Dramatic Writing. New York; Simon and Schuster, 1946. Vale, Eugene, The Technique of Screenplay Writing. New York.: Grosset & Dunlap, 1972 TERMINAL OBJECTIVES Each student will create two original screenplays in synopsis, treatment and script forms that contain a premise, dramatic structure, emerging characteri zation, use of medium as part of the message, with- 76 out extraneous information and will evaluate in writing and orally his or her own treatments and scripts and those written by the other members of the class. The evaluations will be written on the basis of all the material covered and directed to ward a discussion of the effectiveness of the handling of all the different areas and elements of storytelling. I was glad to see everything written ou t--that makes i t easier a ll semester. As we talked about the assignments i t became increasingly clear I wasn't going to have much time on my hands this semester. She said in her opinion the only way you learn to write is by w riting. From the looks of i t , that's exactly what we'd be doing. Already I was beginning to wish I hadn't come on so strong about wanting m y money's worth out of the class. I was getting the uncomfortable feeling that a lo t of that money's worth would depend on how much e ffo rt I'd be w illin g to invest. She explained more about how we'd each read everybody else's treatments and scripts and then evaluate them. This mirror idea sounded good, but i t also sounded lik e a lo t of reading. I t was beginning to get la te and I was anxious to go home, but the questions kept coming. "Just what is a script? How is i t so d ifferen t from plays, novels, short stories or any of the lite ra ry arts?" Susan asked. A S C R I P T I S A S E T O F I N S T R U C T I O N S "In the lite ra ry arts , the words on the paper are the thing it s e lf , the stimulus. In script w riting, the words on paper are never, 77 or rarely never, seen by anyone other than the people who work at makinc the film . They read i t so th e y 'll know what to do to make the film . In other words, a script is a set of d ifferen t kinds of instructions: instructions for camerapeople, the unit manager, maybe a set designer and set dresser, sound people and many others, depending on the size and form of the production." "In this way, scripts are very much lik e architect's blueprints The architect develops and creates the vision of his structure in his mind and then he has to te ll other people how to make i t , or how to help him make i t . That's exactly what we do in film . W e develop and create a vision of a film in our heads and then we write a script to te ll people what to do to help us get this vision on film ." "The screenwriter, on the one hand, is an a r tis t, and on the other hand, and equally as important, he or she must be highly skilled in writing instructions. I t is both of these parts of the screenwriter that w e'll be dealing with." "How important is this reading lis t? " Charlie asked. " It 's very important. This is not material w e'll cover in class. I ' l l assume that you've read i t and go on from there. It 's not necessary for you to read the entire book th at's lis te d , but i t is necessary for you to read the specified chapters. Also, I strongly urge you to do the reading immediately--especially before our workshop. I t w ill make the workshop experience more meaningful and, also, a fte r the workshop yo u 'll be very busy with your w riting assignments. You won't have time to do reading then." Lenard raised his hand again and Mehring nodded for him to 78 speak. "What kind of a grading system do you use?" "The fin a l grade in the course is based on your fin al work, the1 script for your dialogue or narration film and on your fin al evaluation of each other's m aterial. All of the work throughout the semester leads up to this fin al work." "So we could blow i t on everything except those two papers and s t i l l get an A, and we wouldn't even have to hand in the other assignments?" I asked. Everybody laughed, including Mehring. "No, that's not quite true. I require that you do a ll assignments. I t is possible that you could 'blow i t 1 on everything and earn A's on the two final papers, but th at's highly unlikely. At least I'v e never had i t happen that way. Usually i t 's the student who works at each step on the ladder who learns how to w rite." "But i t ' s possible?" I pressed. " It 's possible," she answered. Larry asked, "Do you grade on length." "No. I grade only on your a b ility to apply the class concepts and evaluations to your written work." "What's this 'information storage and re trie v a l' on the topic schedule?" Charlie asked. "Information storage and retrieval is simply what your mind does with a ll the information you hear/see/feel/sm ell/taste and how you can enhance and increase the amount of information you process. Remember- I said e a rlie r that the raw material for your writing is you and a ll of your l i f e experiences? "Yeah," Charlie answered. 79 "So it 's important for you to know something about how your mind gathers and handles these l i f e experiences." She paused and then continued, "There's a lo t more to be said about these two topics, but I'd lik e to wait until la te r, until the meetings that are scheduled to talk about them. Ok?" "Yeah," Charlie answered, "I ju st wanted to know in a general way." "Tests. Do you give any tests?" Larry asked. "No. No tests," she answered. "How could you give a test in screenwriting?" Becky commented. "Anymore questions?" Mehring asked. W hen no one spoke up she continued, "There's ju st one more thing on m y agenda. That's the workshop. This is a three day weekend so be sure you have your calendar marked and clear a ll other a c tiv itie s . Also, we have a choice to make. Do we want to use the University f a c ilit ie s and do our work here or would you rather come to m y home? You're welcome to come to m y home and i t 's a great deal more comfortable, but i f for any reason, you as a group, would prefer to meet here that's a ll right with me. I'd lik e fo r you to think about i t and next week w e'll make a majority decision." With th at, the meeting broke up and I walked out of the class room and into the patio with Becky. "Well, what'd you learn?" I asked her. "That I'm going to get m y father's money's worth," she said and smiled. 80 "That’s the first meeting. [iVow you've met the students, \you know something about 'them, about me, and about \what to expect from the class." i I |"X've asked the students \what it is that they want \from the class and I’d like for you to think about a similar question. Ask your self what you want from this book. What do you want from \reading it and doing the things J ask you to do?" "First look over the assignment sheet, the objectives, think about what's been said, and then jot down your answer. Then as you work through the book you'll find it worthwhile to look back to see how your own objectives are being met." "Also, it’d be a good idea for you to locate the required reading books and read them as soon as you can." 81 CHAPTER THREE. SECOND MEETING: "W HAT IF?" The whole class had gathered and we were waiting for Mehring to arrive. Becky had gotten busted the day before. She'd spent the night in j a i l and was te llin g us about i t . "I was scared to go to sleep--even i f there had been a place to lie down. Really! I didn't know what might happen to me. Such a bunch of creeps! There had to be at least th irty ladies in that tank; smell ing, screaming, clawing." She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. "This your f ir s t time?" I asked her. "Yeah, f ir s t time I had to stay in j a i l . " "How awful," Jane said, "How'd that happen to you?" "Really," was Becky's only answer. "W ho got you out, out of ja il? " Jane continued asking. "My parents." "What'd they say?" "What could they say, ya know, what?" Nobody had an answer for that. At least nobody spoke. While we were a ll s ittin g there saying nothing Mehring came in. She was out of breath and looked at her watch as she walked to the front of the room. She wasn't la te . I t was ju st that we were a ll early. She put her b rief case down, took her papers out, sat down and said "Hi." She looked around the table, "Why is everyone so sad?" I knew listening to Becky ta lk about being in ja i l depressed m e and i t probably did the same for everyone else. Becky was the one who answered Mehring, "I had to spend las t night in j a i l and I was ju st 82 tellin g them about it . " "That is a reason to be sad. Is i t something serious? Will things be a ll righ t for you?" "Oh yeah. I ' l l have to go to court but it 's not serious." "Just doesn't feel very good," Mehring said. "Rotten!!" 4 1 N "Becky, look at i t this way, now you can w rite a story about someone who goes to j a i l , " Jane said. D O Y O U H A V E T O E X P E R I E N C E S O M E T H I N G I N O R D E R T O W R I T E A B O U T I T ? "Is that true? Is i t true that in order to w rite about some- 83 thing you have to experience i t yourself," asked Larry. "No. I don't think so, as long as you've experienced a similar emotion. Certainly a f i r s t hand experience w ill give you the greatest and strongest knowing of that particular situation, but that's not the only way. You don't a ll have to spend a night in j a i l in order to have an appropriate emotional response. Look what happened to you right now. W hen I walked in here and took one look at you I knew you were a ll profoundly depressed about something. I'm sure that not a ll of you've been in j a i l , but, and this is the important thing, you've a ll had feelings lik e you'd have had i f you had been in ja il--fe e lin g s of anger, g u ilt, defeat or helplessness." "Becky interrupted, "That's i t . That's what I f e l t —helpless. That I couldn't do anything to help myself. That anybody could do anything to me. That I was powerless, powerless." "No that's not i t , " Michael contradicted her, "that's not i t at a l l . It 's anger." Becky looked at him, "Maybe for you Mike, but not for me. I wasn't angry then. Maybe la te r but not then." "How could you help i t , Becky," Michael insisted. Liz chuckled, "I wouldn't have f e lt angry or helpless. I would * have f e l t bad, lik e a bad g i r l, lik e I used to feel when I'd get caught coming home at eleven o'clock after m y father had told m e to be there at n in e." "Have you had that feeling of helplessness before Becky?" Mehring asked. "Oh yeah, a lo t when I was l i t t l e . My parents were gone a lo t. 84 They traveled. They le f t m e with housekeepers, whoever we had at the time, and I remember when they'd go away I'd feel scared--!ike te rrib le things would happen to me." E A C H O F U S R E A C T S D I F F E R E N T L Y T O T H E S A M E S I T U A T I O N Mehring turned to the whole group, "All righ t. There are some things going on here I want to point out to you. F irs t, each one of you had a d ifferen t emotional response to the same situation. For Michael this situation meant anger, for Becky helplessness, for Liz g u ilt. What about the rest of you? Jane?" " I'd feel g u ilty. I don't know how I'd face m y parents. That would be the worst." "Don?, she asked me. "Oh I'd be pissed o ff. All that time and e ffo rt! It 's a pain!' "John?" "I don't know. I t would depend. I f i t were serious, i f I'd done something really bad I think I'd be scared, but i f i t weren't serious I don't think I'd mind i t too much. I'v e never been in ja i l and i f I didn't have to stay there long I think i t would be ok." "Susan?" She s ile n tly shook her head, laughed nervously and answered, "I don't know. I ju st don't know." Mehring nodded her head and answered Susan's comment, "Some times i t ' s hard to put yourself in some situations." Then she looked at Charlie, "Charlie?" "Gee, I'd lik e to think I'd ju st look at i t as a learning __________ 85 experience but I don't think so. I think I'd be scared, or angry, i depending on the circumstances." "Bobbie?" she continued asking everyone around the table. "He shook his head and pushed himself away from the table as he answered, "That sort of thing wipes m e out. Absolutely wipes m e out." productively spending m y time extricating myself from the situation. Having an emotional response would be senseless!" "Actually I hear you saying that you'd feel powerful and that's ju st as legitim ate an emotional response as any other," Mehring responded. I was told to do so I'd get out as fast as possible. That's when i t goes hard fo r you, when you don't do what you're told to do." "Lenard?" II I wouldn't feel a thing. That would be foolish. I'd be Lenard looked surprised but answered, "Yes. I guess so." "Larry, what about you. What would your response be?" "I think I wouldn't feel much of anything. I'd just do what What would your response be if you'd been kept in jail overnight? What would your feelings have been?" "Try imagining yourself in that situation and feel what happens inside of you. "Now it's your turn. 86 E M O T I O N S C A N T R A N S F E R She paused and then continued, "The second thing I want us to look at is the fact that an emotion we've f e lt in one situation can transfer to another situation. Remember Becky saying she'd experienced feelings of helplessness as a child, and Liz said the same thing about her feelings of being a bad g irl? Now each one of you look into your s e lf and find the place or places in your past where you've experienced the feelings you might have i f you'd spent a night in j a i l . " That wasn't going to be d iffic u lt for me. I'v e spent a number of nights in j a i l —New York when I was a teenager and a couple of times in Los Angeles. I guess I'v e got the kind of a face that every cop on every beat is looking fo r. I'v e gotten so now I don't even say anything to them. I know i t 's not going to do any good to say anything so I ju st le t them check everything out and wait fo r th e ir apologies. But I guess i f I hadn't had any of those experiences, I'd s t i l l feel pissed, lik e the way I used to feel when M om would make m e spend a ll day Saturday in m y room because I'd done something she didn't lik e . That was j a i l ! "What can you find in your background that would feel like a jail?" "Is there anyone who can't find where you've f e lt those fe e l- lings before?" No one said yes and she continued, "W ho was i t that iskedif you had to experience something in order to write about it?" "I did," Larry apoke. "That's the answer to your question, Larry. You don't have to experience the same situation as long as you've experienced an emotion appropriate to that situation. There's a lo t more to be said about transferring an emotion from one situation to another but right now I'd lik e for us to begin w riting. That's our objective for tonight, for each of you to have a writing experience and through that writing experience for us to define the process of screenwriting." " W H A T W O U L D H A P P E N IF ? " S T A G E O N E She pushed her chair back and continued, "I'm going to give you the situation and ask you to develop i t . You're to w rite what you do and feel in the situation and what you do and feel as a result of what happens in the situation." "Pretend that on your way to class tonight you witnessed an automobile accident, an accident in which at least one person is c r i t ic a lly injured. Create the situation in your mind, with a ll the details of the events as they happen, and then ask yourself what you'd so i f you were there. We're going to do this in three stages. The f i r s t stage is just the beginning when you hear or see the accident happen. Carry i t up to and through the point where you know that the accident is re a lly serious. You'll have a half hour to think about i t and w rite this f ir s t stage." 88 "A half hour! Is that all?" Charlie complained. "I know that is n 't very long; that's why some students have called this 'instant w ritin g ,' but i t 's long enough for us to achieve our objectives." "Do you want this lik e a script? I mean a script format," Bobbie asked. "No, do i t as i f you were w riting a le tte r to someone te llin g them about what happened to you and how i t made you fe e l. Anymore questions? No. Ok, le t's get started." "Where do I s ta rt," I thought to myself. "Well that's not too d iffic u lt. Last night I almost did see an accident. That's easy enough." So I started w riting. I was signaling and about to turn my bike o ff of Figueroa and into the campus when out of the corner of m y eye I saw a red Ford Mustang speed up to move into a space ju st to my le f t and behind a truck. I knew he could make i t a ll rig h t as long as the truck kept moving... All of that is ju st how i t happened--up to there--but now I had to put the rest together in my head. "Let's see, how could an accident occur? What would have to happen i f , sure, I know." but I had a funny feeling that i t wasn't going to keep moving and I was rig h t. Just as I made my righ t turn a car started to turn in for a le f t . Every car had to stop. The red Mustang had already started to speed up and wouldn't be 89 able to stop. I t ran righ t into and under the truck. I'v e seen a lo t o f bad things happen. You don't go through two years in Vietnam without seeing the worst things you could imagine. I'd spent those two years in Nam, to say nothing of growing up on the streets in front of the brownstones of New York City, but the sounds that I heard when that Mustang went under the truck made m e feel a way I never have before. I d idn't want to turn around. I d idn't want to look. I wanted to ride my bike straight ahead as i f nothing at a ll had happened, as i f I hadn't heard or seen a thing. But I couldn't drive on. That was impossible. Maybe i t was the scream. I turned m y bike around. People were already beginning to gather. I parked m y bike and walked up to look at what was le f t of the Mustang. I t 's top was pushed back to the rear window and the hood was pushed into half its size. A woman was half lying, half s ittin g on the front seat. In her arms she clutched a baby. The baby was crying. In the back seat in the fa r corner I could see a dismembered head. I f e lt sick. 90 I was about to go on and then I remembered Mehring saying we should stop at the point where we saw what had happened. I looked up and saw everybody else was s t i l l w riting. I had written a ll that in twenty minutes! I never would have thought I could have done i t so fast. Not bad! Not bad at a ll ! ! I re-read what I'd w ritten, made a few minor changes, and then went out into the patio to stretch m y legs awhile. "Now, before you read any further, do what Don and the rest of the class have done." "Imagine yourself in a situation were you see a car accident." "Write it down like Don did, write what you'd do, and what you'd feel." "Allow yourself at least a half an hour to do this, or longer if you want." "If you get hung up at any point ask yourself those magic words, 'what if?’ and they'll probably stimulate your thoughts." I guess i t hadn't been fiv e minutes before Charlie stuck his head out the door and called to me, "Hey, Don, come on." I went back in and Becky was reading what she'd w ritten. I had dinner with m y father tonight. That's always a special tre a t, and while I was with 91 w * him I d id n't hear the voices of the ladies. Those awful voices ca llin g , pushing, laughing, propositioning. Awful awful voices. "O fficer. O fficer. Let m e out!" "What a pretty you are, and so young." "Help me! Help me! Can't you see I'm sick." "Move over sister. You're in m y place." I d idn't hear them when I was with him but when I dropped him o ff and started to come here, they came back. I could hear them, hear them, hear them. I started getting scared. Really scared. I thought I was flipping out. I f I couldn't stop those voices I knew I would f l i p out. I turned on the radio. I turned i't up high. Way high. So high that when the car ahead of m e turned to the righ t and sideswiped an oncoming car I only saw i t happen. I didn't hear a thing. Ahead of m e was another car that turned to the le f t but skidded and pushed in the rear of a l i t t l e Volkswagen. I stopped. Thank God I stopped before I h it anything! I sat there staring ahead, hanging onto the wheel as i f I were holding the car together by the strength of m y two hands. I don’t know how long I sat there staring ahead, handing onto the wheel. 92 Maybe minutes, maybe hours, and then someone stuck her head in the window and yelled into m y ear, "Lady w ill you please turn o ff your radio!" I almost didn't hear her, m y voices were so loud and then I reached over and turned o ff the radio. Becky looked up and pushed her papers away from her into the middle of the table. Charlie was the f i r s t one to respond, "W ow! I re a lly lik e that "Yeah, you had m e hearing the voices," Liz said. Becky looked to Mehring and she responded, "That's powerful Becky. It 's coming from you--from your f e lt experience." Becky looked around the table at a ll of us, as i f she were moving a finger across each of our faces, and then she pulled her papers back toward her. Mehring smiled and then she said, "W ho wants to go next?" Nobody spoke up and Mehring ju st waited. I could feel myself getting nervous. I wished that someone would volunteer and I was ju st on the verge of doing i t when Lenard spoke, " I ' l l read mine hextV I t was six th irty , Los Angeles at dusk, and he was on his way to a night class. He had been spending his time reading the text for the class and had been g ratified to find that i t was a good book. I t was well organized in its presentation and substantive in content. He had spent a fr u itfu l and pleasant half hour. Now i t was time to get o ff the bus. His stop was the next 93 stop. Time to go. He started o ff the bus and as his foot touched the ground he heard i t . He heard thud, scrape and shattering glass. Fortun ately for him he had witnessed many accidents, many injuries and many destructive events, so he f e l t no fear. The thing to do was to , one, find out what had happened and, two, get help. He stepped out of the bus and turned to see the result of a head- on co llision. He d idn 't know how or why i t had happened but he could see people in both cars, and i t looked lik e they were a l l , or at least those in the front seats, were unconscious. Ok, that's number one, that's what happened. Now number two, get help. Lenard finished. No one said anything at f ir s t . Maybe i t was because he'd read his ju st a fte r Becky's and by contrast i t wasn't as interesting, but whatever the reason i t ju st didn't have the wallop her's had. John spoke up, "That certainly is d ifferen t from Becky's." O B J E C T I V E / S U B J E C T I V E "That's rig h t," Mehring said, "Each w ill be d ifferen t. Lenard's is more objective. Becky's was more subjective. However, there were subjective elements in Lenard's too." She got up and went to the chalk board. "We'll distinguish between the two by saying that when a writer's _______________________ M .. point of view is objective i t is external, usually factu al, and sepa rate from what's going on in a character's mind. She turned and wrote on the chalkboard. "When the point of view is subjective, i t 's in tern al, usually emotional and what the character is feeling and th inking." OBJECTIVE = EXTERNAL £ FACTUAL SUBJECTIVE = INTERNAL £ EMOTIONAL Or you could call i t cognitive and a ffec tiv e ." Lenard volunteered. "Can't i t be both?" John asked. "Oh yes," Mehring answered, "Generally speaking th at's what i t is ." She gestured from Becky to Lenard. "Both Becky and Lenard had both. It 's a matter of degree. As a matter of fa c t, you almost have to have both. Almost always i t 's an external, objective event that causes an in ternal, subjective response." "But i t can be something happening in tern ally to create an internal response," Charlie said. "Right, that's why I used the words 'almost always^' But, i f you stop and think about i t , very often that internal event originated as an external event at sometime or other." She put the chalk down and again seated herself. "Next? Who'll be next?" This time I volunteered. Next came Michael, Liz, Larry, Jane, Bobbie, John and Charlie. W e each read our material aloud but there was _______________ ______________________ : _________________________ 9 5 . very l i t t l e discussion in between. Mehring's prediction that each one would be d ifferen t certainly was correct. I'm not sure what Michael's was about. He didn't rea lly do what Mehring asked us to do. Liz had a kid run into on a bicycle. Larry was involved in a head-on co llisio n. Jane's was a lo t lik e Lenard's, but instead of getting o ff a bus she was on her bicycle and almost got h it herself. Bobbie had a car with a blow out, John had a l i t t l e dog get h it and Charlie had some kids trying to get away from the cops. The only one who hadn't read was Susan. As she read she was very nervous. I t was Wednesday night and I was on my way to m y screenwriting class. The fog was dense and I was having real d iffic u lty seeing. I had debated in my mind about the ad visability of taking the freeway, knowing that i t would be re a lly foggy, but I was late and the freeway is always quicker. The thick fog blanketed a ll four lanes hiding even the entrances and ex its, making m y mind wander in its own clouds, the way the highway wandered in the fog. The dim ta in ig h ts in front of m e headed for the foggy e x it that suddenly appeared. I pulled l e f t and slowed. The blue car slowed on the e x it and then stopped. Wrong way. Welcome to the club. The car behind m e turned into the exit and I slowed to make room for my musings. The blue car was now in reverse. The car behind m e accelerated as I moved le f t . I heard the crash more than saw i t , musing to re a lity and away again. Then I realized I wasn't sure where my mind was. I pulled over and stopped. The noise went on for another second, then silence. I was now sure this was r e a lity , but not sure I was w illin g to enter i t . S U S P E N S E Mehring responded immediately, "That's a very suspenseful opening, Susan. There was another one too. Which one of you wanted to leave the scene of the accident but something held you there? O h yes, i t was yours, Don. I t was the sound of the scream that held you there. Whenever you introduce partial information that makes the viewer wonder what w ill happen next, what w ill be the outcome, you have created suspense and your audience w ill stay with you." John spoke up, "I want to say that I enjoyed what Susan wrote. I t has a feeling of the supernatural. I lik e i t . " The rest of the class a ll agreed and almost everyone said something nice to her. I knew I wanted to say something to make Susan feel more comfortable— less nervous—and maybe th at's the way everyone f e lt . 97 Liz said, "I can hardly wait to find out what happens next." Susan laughed and said, "Oh m y God! What do I, do now." The whole class laughed with Susan, including Mehring. I t was a good feeling. " W H A T W O U L D H A P P E N IF ? " S T A G E T W O "All rig h t, le t's move on," Mehring said. "Now you're going to carry things further. You'll each pick up where you le f t o ff, but now you'll be confronted with l i f e and death decisions in the face of opposition. This w ill happen three times. In other words, three d iffe re n t times yo u 'll have to decide to do something and try to do i t with someone or something opposing you." "I'm sorry for being so dense but I don't rea lly understand wha you want us to do," queried Charlie. "I'm glad you ask, Charlie," Mehring responded. "I can never know i f my instructions are understood unless you tel T m e when they aren 't. Here you're going to ask the same question, 'What would happen if? ' For example, i f our situation had to do with a f ir e in this room you would ask yourself, 'what would happen i f I tried to put out the f ir e and someone stopped me,' or 'what would happen i f I tried to get out of this room and the windows and door were locked.'" "Ok. Ok." Charlie answered. "I'v e got i t . " "How long do we have?" Becky asked. "Half hour," Mehring answered. Mehring's answer to Charlie's question did make i t more clear. I was glad he asked. So, what would I do i f I stood looking at the two 98 t pieces of a decapitated man, a hysterical women and a crying baby? F irs t I took deep breaths and began to feel better, but the scene was s t i l l the same except that now I could hear the sirens of the police and, I hoped, an ambulance. The woman was s t i l l screaming. I moved closer. She was no longer holding the baby. The baby was now on the flo o r. The woman's fis ts were doubled up, press ing into her eyeballs as i f to blot out what she'd ju st seen. I couldn't think of how I could help these people and I was relieved to see the ambu lance pulling up and attendents running toward the Mustang. I stepped back and over beside the cab of the truck. I casually looked in the cab expecting to see i t empty but there, draped over the steering wheel, was a man, probably the truck driver. Nobody had thought about him. W hy should we. The truck sat there .intact and seemingly undamaged while behind i t there was that grotesque scene that had no beginning and no end. I t was lik e a high pitched sound that keeps going on and on and no one can find the switch that turns i t o ff. Now I have to make a decision. I have to try to do something and then have someone stop me. And I'v e got to do i t three times. 99 The man was staring at me. His mouth was open and he was trying to speak, but he could not. He looked lik e he had at least one foot in his grave. Instin ctively I started to open the door. As I was pulling the door toward m e I f e l t someone pulling on m y arm. I turned to look at a man about my size and who had a worried expression. "What are you doing?" he asked. "This man needs help! He's dying!" I screamed at him. "Don't touch him," he screamed back, "You could k ill him. Go get the paramedics. They're right over there. But don't you touch him. I won!t le t you!" Part of m e wanted to te ll him to shove i t , but the other part of m e knew he was rig h t. The paramedics would know better how to help this man. Something kept m e from making an immediate decision, but then I turned to the truck drive r, "I'm going for help-- hang on." I ran to the red Mustang. There were the police, the ambulance attendants, and the paramedics in a f ir e truck. I stood and yelled above the sound of sirens, people talking, and horns honking, "There's an injured man over here. There's a man in the truck who needs help." I kept yellin g and gesturing but the only answer I got was, "Sorry we've got our hands fu ll right now. You’l l have to wait until we 100 take care of these people, or until more help comes. W e can't help now." I ran back to the truck to t e ll the man that we'd have to help the truck d river, but he was nowhere in sight. The door of the cab of the truck was closed and I f e l t a sense of r e lie f , r e lie f that maybe I'd imagined the whole thing. Maybe the whole thing had happened in my head. Then ju st to put an end to i t for once and for a l l , I opened the door of the cab to prove to myself there was no one there. But, there he was. He was looking at me, trying to speak, but unable to speak. He pleaded with m e with his eyes, but there was something strange about the way his eyes looked. His eyes arched from m y eyes to his lap, from his lap to my eyes and my eyes to his lap. I watched, trying to unscramble the message. Eyes, lap, eyes, lap. Sure. He wanted m e to look in his lap. His arm was resting on his thigh but that was a ll I could see. Maybe i f I moved closer I could see something else. I started to enter the cab when I heard the voice of that man, "Are you s t i l l here. Didn't you get the paramedics? What are you doing? W hy are you getting in there? Get out of there! Get out of there righ t now!" 101 "No," I answered him, "I won't get out. This man can't speak but he's asking m e to look at some thing, something on his lap. I don't know what i t is but I'm gonna try and find out." I turned back to the truck driver and before I could make one movement I f e l t myself being pulled out of the truck. I landed on m y t a il bone on the pavement. "What the h e ll," I yelled. " I f you think I'm going to stand by and watch you do anything that might k ill that man you're crazy," the man yelled back. I told him about how I'd trie d to get help and what had happened but he said I was ju st s h ittin ' him. I told him to go fo r help but he laughed,* and said, "No way, fellow . No way am I gonna leave you here alone. Now you get up o ff your ^ss and get the paramedics over here while I stand guard." I got up and looked into the cab. The driver's eyes were closed. I t looked to m e lik e he was uncon scious. I ran to the ambulance yellin g at the top of m y lungs, "Help. Help. Please. Somebody help." As I reached the ambulance i t had begun to back up. The woman and child were in there. I could see them staring out at m e, without seeing me, as the ambulance pulled away. The sirens blasted in my ears. At no time in m y 102 l i f e have I f e l t so powerless, or so angry. Then i t stopped being a nightmare. Everything came into focus and I turned around and walked back to the truck. By now a crowd had gathered around the truck. I pushed through the crowd, up to the cab and up to the "great" man who was standing guard. There he stood and I said to him, "Get out of m y way. There are no paramedics. They've a ll gone away. This man needs help and we're going to help him." I turned to the cab door and looked in at the driver. He was a liv e . I could see him breathing but he sure looked bad. Real bad. I put one foot into the cab and someone pulled on the other one. I was jerked out of the truck and m y head h it the pavement. As I was fa llin g I heard someone shout, "Somebody call the police. I think that man in the truck is dying." I heard that and then there was nothing. I finished and looked up to see where everyone else was. This time I wasn't the f i r s t one done. At least h a lf the class had le f t the room. I guess I'd gotten involved in the w riting. I couldn't believe i t . I stood up to stretch my legs but I d id n 't leave the room. 103 \ "Now you do it." "You have to make three different decisions, three different times to do something about the critical situation you're in, and each time someone or something stops you. " "Take as long as you need to write it the way you want to." Susan and Bobbie were the last ones to fin is h , but as soon as they were done we got everybody back together. Mehring asked, "W ho goes firs t? " I said, "How about Susan." "Yeah," Charlie agreed. "I'm anxious to hear what she did." "Oh dear," Susan answered as she slid down in her chair. She Leaving m y car on the roadside, I climbed the small incline to the two cars, obscenely angled on and o ff the e x it road. The f i r s t moan came as I neared the blue car. I stopped dead. I was back out of re a lity . Please le t m e be back o u t... The second sound came lik e a small sob, and m y fe e t, almost without m y mind, turned back toward m y own car. With wrenching force, lik e a cartoon "about face" I turned fu ll circ le and found myself laughed and then said, "Well, ok." 104 heading fo r the torn cars again. The g irl was thrown half on and half o ff the front seat. My mind snapped from re a lity to black and white. I was relieved. I tore at the car door, again and again. My hands ached. The door remained jammed and stationary. Now the g ir l's soft moans were echoed by m y own sobs. They came lik e echoes in m y ears. I didn't feel them. I only heard them. I looked for something, a brick, a rock. I had to smash a window. There was nothing. Just a sobbing woman stumbling, crawling in the fog. There was no sound from the other car. And a stranger where m y body should have been. Susan looked up from her papers and leaned back in her chair. Behring immediately asked, "What was the struggle in Susan's lady? What M as she trying to do that she couldn't do?" The class was quiet. I didn't have a ready answer anymore than anyone else did. I t seemed lik e an obvious question, but when I started thinking about i t , i t wasn't. Finally Liz spoke, "She had two things going. She was trying to get the g irl out of the car and she was trying to run away. Mehring asked, "How do you mean run away?" "I mean she wanted to run away--get away." Charlie spoke up, "Oh I think i t was more that she wanted to 105 escape from re a lity . I don't think she was ever re a lly there." Susan laughed, not a big laugh, a se lf conscious laugh. "No, I'm serious," Charlie said to her, "that's the way you introduced her at the very beginning. She was o ff in her thoughts right from the s ta rt. She doesn't want to be in r e a lity whether i t 's an accident or not." Mehring interrupted, "Let m e ask a question now. How many of you agree that Susan's g i r l, righ t from the beginning, was out of touch with reality? Those of you who agree with Charlie raise your hand." I agreed with Charlie and I raised m y hand, so did Michael, Becky and John. Then Bobbie raised his hand too. A L A R G E E N O U G H S A M P L E "All rig h t, that makes six. Six agree and four don't. In a minute w e'll ask Susan what she intended, but f ir s t I want to say some thing about the method of discovering ju st what i t is you've communi cated. In order to get accurate feedback you have to ask a large enough group of people. You may ask one or two people and get the same answer from each. For example, i f we'd stopped at asking Charlie, Don and Bobbie we'd have had 100% agreement one way and i f we'd asked only Larry and Lenard i t would have been 100% agreement the other way. Right?" "W e a ll nodded our heads in agreement and she spoke to Susan, "Susan, what did you have in mind?" "Well, I wanted i t to be a struggle in her mind. I mean, I wanted her mind to take both sides, but," she paused, laughed and went on, "I d idn 't re a lly intend i t to be a re a lity vs non-reality struggle. 106 I meant i t to be more of a 'should I do i t ' or 'shouldn't I do i t . 1 But, I can see how i t could come out that way. There are times when I 'n r not too sure about whether or not I want to be in r e a lity ," she laughed again, "especially in situations lik e that." Charlie sat nodding his head as she spoke, "Yeah, th at's what I picked up, probably because I feel a lo t that way too, but i t 's not as easy for m e to deal with i t as you do. I think i t 's great you can w rite about i t , instead of doing a cops and robbers thing lik e I did." Susan looked up and smiled at Charlie. She was so pretty when she smiled. "Re'd,better move on," Mehring said. "Who's next?" I ' l l be next," Charlie said, "just to show the difference." And Charlie was rig h t. There was a difference. His was very objective. I t ju st dealt with the events that were happening. Then we heard Michael's and John's before Lenard volunteered. As he stood looking at the unconscious people in the cars his thoughts focused on discovering where he could find a telephone. There was a man standing next to him. He turned to ask the man where the nearest phone was, but before he could articulate a single sound the man said to him, "Come help m e rig h t now. Let's get those people out of those cars. Those cars could go up in flames any minute." "No," he answered the man, "I'm going to call for an ambulance and the police," and he started walking away, "We've got to get help. That's the best thing." 107 He continued walking and the man grabbed him on the shoulder. "That's not the best thing. You're the only person around here who can help m e get those people out of that car. You come help m e and you come righ t now." He pulled himself away from the man's grasp, "Let's be sensible. I ' l l go call for an ambulance and the police and you get some of these other people to help you. But you'd better be careful. You'll be responsible i f anything happens to them because they're moved." With that comment he turned and started to run. The closest tel phone he knew about was in the Cinema Department. I t was only a block away and he decided that was the best course of action. He had gotten about four yards when someone grabbed him. His f i r s t thought was that i t would be the man by the car and when he turned around he was a ll ready to strike. But i t wasn't that man. I t was someone else;' "Where do you think you're going so fa s t," the man demanded. "I'm trying to get to a telephone so I can call the police and ambulance," he yelled at the man. The m an had him by his shoulders. He was looking into his eyes. "That's a good story fellow , but I 108 think you're trying to get away. I'm not going to le t you do that. You're going to stay right here." He looked at the man who was holding his shoulders. He couldn't believe this was happening. I t ju st d idn't make sense. He started to wrench away but the man held him. The man was dead serious and he knew there was no getting away. Ok, now what? Number one, find out what is causing this to happen and number two, stop i t from happening anymore. He stepped forward this time and asked, "What makes you think I had something to do with the accident." Mehring again asked what the struggle was and we pretty much a ll agreed i t was a struggle tetween people's d iffe re n t perceptions of how to handle things. Liz, Jane and Bobbie read theirs. Then i t was Beckys' turn again. I sat there with the radio o ff. Everything seemed calm and s ile n t. I knew I should try to move m y car. I should get i t out of the way. I started i t and put i t into drive, then I looked to see where I could go. There was no place to go. t There were cars on both sides, in front and in back of me. I couldn't move. I was boxed in. I turned o ff the ignition and sat there. I d idn 't lik e that feelin g , the feeling of being boxed in. Then they started again. One at a time they started. "Officer. O fficer. Let m e out!" "What a pretty you are, and so young." "Help me! Help me! Can't you see I'm sick." "Move over s is ter. You're in m y place." I sat there te llin g myself those voices were ju st in m y head; that they were only there because of that bad experience; that they would go away i f I could ju st relax and get ahold of myself. But I couldn't relax. I couldn't get ahold of myself. I couldn't stand i t . I had to get away. I jumped out of the car and ran toward the side walk. As soon as I le f t the car the voices stopped. Oh what a r e lie f! I slowed down. Now I could relax. Then I heard a voice again. "Help me. Help me. Can't you see I'm hurt." I put my hands over my ears and that made i t stop, but as I walked past the Volkswagen I saw a face. The face was fu ll of pain and pleading with me. "Help me. Help me. Can't you see I'm hurt." I couldn't stand i t . They would never stop. The voices would follow m e wherever I went, and now I was seeing the voices! I closed m y eyes, pressed the palms of m y hands into m y face and started to 110 back away. Then I stopped. Something was wrong. Something was d iffe re n t. I took m y hands away from m y face. That voice wasn't in m y head. I t was real. I t was real! I wasn't crazy. I opened m y eyes. The face was no longer there, % but I knew there was someone in that Volkswagen who needed help and needed help badly. I started running, searching for someone who could help her. I heard sirens. I saw policemen and ambulance attendants and I ran to them. "Help me. Help me. Someone is hurt. Someone is hurt." No one paid any attention to m e and I kept c a llin g , "Help me. Help me. Someone is hurt. Someone is hurt." "Ok, lady, here I am. I'm here to help you," fin a lly one of the ambulance attendants ran up to me. "Oh thank heaven. Over here, over here," I started toward the Vol kswagen and he grabbed me. "No don't run away, lady. Stay here. I can't take care of you unless you stand s t i l l . " I broke away to run toward the Volkswagen and called to him as I ran, "Help me. Help me. Over here." I got to the Volkswagen and looked in. I could see her. She was alive. Her eyes were open and they 111 moved. She was very pale and she was lying in a lo t of blood. I was so relieved. I'd gotten help fo r her in time. I turned to speak to the ambulance attendant and a ll I could see was his back. He was walking away. I screamed a fte r him. "Help me. Help me. Here I am. Here I am." He turned around and yelled back, "Lady, they're a lo t of people here who need help. You had your chance. Sorry." He turned away and I knew i t would do no good to call him. again. He would not hear m y voice. W e talked about Becky's struggle and a ll agreed that at f ir s t i t was internal and then i t became external. I was impressed with what Becky did with the voices. The very thing she was trying to get away from was the thing she was doing with the ambulance attendant and he rejected her voice as she'd wanted to reje c t the voices from her j a i l axperience. I asked Mehring about that and she agreed that there was a great deal of dramatic power in Becky's story. "The expected help d id n 't come from expected places and what 3ecky's g irl d idn 't want at the beginning became the thing she wanted at the end," Mehring said. "These kinds of things--unexpected happenings ind reversals—are very dramatic. She paused a moment and then went on, 'Now, le t m e give you the la s t part of this exercise." " W H A T W O U L D H A P P E N IF ? " S T A G E T H R E E "Imagine that the worst possible re s u lt, in each of your situ - 112 ations, happens. Tell us what that result is and how i t affects you— how you feel about i t . " I had to go back and re-read what I'd w ritten. There'd been a ll those other accidents and a ll those other people so they were beginning to run together. O h yes, m y m an had gotten pulled out of the truck, struck his head on the pavement, and passed out. Now what? I t was lik e I was waking up afte r a night's sleep. I had never passed out before. This was a f ir s t for me. I had to decide where I was, but that d id n 't take long. The cops were there with a stretcher. They were putting the truck driver's body on the stretcher. I could t e ll he was dead by the way they were handling him. They started to move away and one of the cops stopped. "Hey, wait a minute," he said, "le t m e take a look at something." He reached up under the driver's sh irt sleeve and pulled something down. He looked at and said, "Ok, le t's go. Too bad we didn't get here sooner. All this man needed to save his l i f e was a p i l l , a p ill he had in his pocket." As the stretcher passed by m e I could s t i l l hear the cop talkin g, "Too bad he couldn't have told one of these people standing around what he needed." I came up swinging. I was going to find that man i f i t was the las t thing I ever did. I wanted to see his face when I told him he'd killed that man. Then, a fte r I told him, I'd teach him a lesson about being so smart. A real good lesson. This was the easiest part of the whole exercise, at least for m e. Some of the others seemed to be having a hard time. I watched them for awhile and then decided to go out for a drink of water. W hen I came back into the room, Mehring had just finished setting up a slide projector at the back of the room, arid when she asked her question "Who'll start?" I said I would. As I was reading outloud I could feel myself getting mad. I t was lik e I re a lly was that character, not ju st some other person I was writing about. I didn't know i f I liked th at, but I wasn't sure why not. When I finished, Mehring asked, "For Don's character, how did the result affect him?" Almost everyone agreed that i t made m y char acter angry, and a few of them said they thought m y character was really m ad at himself. Then Becky read hers. t i perhaps you'll want to show lit to some of your friends ."Decide what's going to fin- \ally happen to your people |or events and how you’re : going to feel about it." "Be sure and write it down \too. You may want to look at it again someday, or "This is your third part of the exercise." The ambulance attendant continued walking and 114 and I looked back at the lady. She looked at me. She closed her eyes. She died. I stood there staring at her. She was alive. Now she was dead. Her voice had called out for help, had pleaded for help. Now she had no voice. I would never hear her voice again. The voice was gone. Everything was quiet. Quiet. Everything except a scream. A scream I couldn't stop. "And how did the result affect Becky's character," again Mehring asked. "Bobbie leaned forward to ask Becky, "She was the one who was screaming wasn't she?" Becky nodded her head. "Wow," Charlie said, "I don't know why, but yours seems so real to me." "Have you got any reasons why?" Mehring asked. "I don't know. There's that business of the unexpected and the reversal but i t 's more than that. I can ju st see Becky in that ja i l c e ll. I can ju st see those ladies, ...s u re ," he slapped his hands down on the table, "that's i t . It 's because she told us about a ll of that happening to her. I don't remember, maybe W as any of that in your story?" "No, i t wasn't." "That's i t . W e knew so much about you before we started the 115 the exercise," Charlie said. "More than we knew about anyone else." "I think that's a very big part of i t , " Mehring said. "The more we know about a character, the more we care about what happens to them. W e do know quite a b it about Becky because she told us about herself, and, also, we've had the emotional experience of identifying with her and what happened to her /la s t night." She paused and then asked, "What was the result in Becky's story? W e haven't identified that ye t." "She flipped out," Michael answered. Jane said she couldn't believe the g irl would react the way she did, but most of us agreed that she had, at least temporarily, flipped out. All the re s t, except Lenard and Susan, read theirs and we talked about the reactions. Most of them had reactions of sadness and anger. Then Lenard read his. He stepped forward to ask the man his question. He wanted to know what made that man think he had had something to do with the accident. The man started to shake his f i s t in his face, but before the man could speak i t happened. F irs t one and then the other car burst into flames. There was nothing anyone could do now except stand by and watch and listen to the screams. Someone in one of those cars was screaming. I t was an awful scream, an angry scream, an accusing scream. He stood there listening to the scream accusing 116 him. But he couldn't help i t . I f those people hadn't stopped him he might have been able to get help. He had wanted to. He had tried to. I t was th e ir fa u lt, not his. W hen Lenard finished Mehring spoke up immediately, "You rea lly got m e involved when you said the scream had human emotions—the angry scream, the accusing scream. W hen any action has an emotional response i t makes us listen and i t makes us care." Becky leaned forward to look at Lenard, "One of the things that'; bothered m e about your story righ t from the very beginning, is the fact that you used the second person. W e were supposed to w rite in the fir s t person and you're the only one that d id n 't. I just couldn't get involved with you. I f e l t lik e I was looking at some fa r away person." "Yeah, that bothered m e too," added Charlie. "The thing that bothered m e was that you d idn 't give people names. You ju st used pronouns and I kept getting confused about who "he" was," John said, and over half of the class agreed with him. N A M E S A R E N E C E S S A R Y "This is a good rule for a ll of you to follow. Always give names to your characters, simply as a labeling process," Mehring stated. "Ftmakes your scripts easier to follow and i t 's necessary information for the production people. They have to have names for casting, actor c a lls , cross-plotting and any number of other things." She paused and then went on, "Now, we have one more don't we? Susan, you haven't read yours yet." 117 "No," Susan answered and began reading. Whoever i t was, whatever stranger that was now "me" was not aware of the approaching red lig h ts . I t was several minutes before "anyone" was aware of the extra presence on the slope. The o ffic e r was kind. "Did you know these people?" "No." "Were you in the accident, Madam?" "No." "I know you must have done your best, Madam but i t was beyond... w ell, you know w h at..." "Yes." "Can I help you back to your car?" "No." The mind, whoever's mind, kicks into overdrive. "No thank you o ffic e r. I'm fin e. Please le t m e leave." "Your name and address, Madam." "Yes, here, a card." W ho is that person's name on the card? "Thank you." The body walks, almost too precisely, down the slope. The car starts. Musing. Fog and rain and musing. Almost there now. What a thing to happen to anyone, even a stranger. Protection. Protection from the re a lity , or is i t protection from the mind. But who w ill stop the dreams? Michael was the f i r s t to speak when Susan finished, "You know, what I re a lly lik ed , Susan, is the way you created a mood and you didn't c lu tte r i t up with a lo t of things; whats, whys, hows. I liked that. Right on!" Larry spoke to Mehring, "Is that right? Is i t good to do that?" I N F O R M A T I O N - L E S S O R M O R E ? "First of a l l , in this exercise there is no right or wrong, but i f you're asking about w riting per se I have to answer both ways, yes and no. I t a ll depends on what you want to communicate and the medium you're using. Here we've been dealing w ith, more or less, a short story form and, as such, the use of words can stimulate our imaginations and w e'll f i l l in a ll the empty 'uncluttered' spaces. However, i f Susan were to put this on film it 'd be a d ifferen t matter. She'd need to provide us with a great deal of visual detail in order to communicate the same thing." C O M M O N A L I T I E S — N O T R U L E S "There ju st aren 't any rules about w ritin g—screenwriting. What works one place won't work in another. There are certain things that most stories have in common, lik e most houses have things in common, but they're more lik e ingredients than rules." "My hope for a ll of you is that yo u 'll become so fam ilar, so intim ate, with the visual story form that yo u 'll manipulate your characters and events within a story as unconsciously as you drive your 119 automobile. The f i r s t step toward that is to identify what the ingred ients of a story are." She walked to the back of the room, turned on the projector and flipped out the overhead lig h t as she was talking. W e looked at what appeared to be a long, rectangular grid on the rig h t side of the slide. 1 Someone saying something to someone "The f i r s t thing a ll stories have in com mon is that someone is saying something to someone. Every story is an act of communication. I t is purposeful, not aimless. A w riter doesn't w rite unless she or he has something to say to another person or to herself or himself." She changed the siide. Someone saying something to someone through events ■ , i i | i 1 "A second thing a ll stories have in com m on is that they a ll contain events of some kind. A series of things happen: people are X i tx X ! X > \ i 120 fa llin g in love; someone is learning to drive an automobile; there are d ifferen t arrangements of colors on a background." "These events, the things that happen, show liv in g beings or things struggling; the struggle to reach safety in a snow storm, the struggle to learn how to do a math problem, or a struggle between two po litic a l parties to win an election. I t could be the power of a riv e r aroding the shoreline and struggling with the roots holding the s o il. I t could be the struggle between matter and space within lines of :ontainment." "These events that struggle accumulate, one a fte r the other, and each is the result of the preceding event as they move through and occupy time and space.<\A story can't happen in a single event. I t 's a series Someone saying something to someone through events .that struggle i I i tnrougn events j th a t struggle 1 accumulatively 121 o f events and events take tim e and space to be perform ed." ■; Someone saying something to someone through events • th a t struggle accumulatively > through space/time p q X fcx "The events struggle accumulatively through space and time toward a fin a l struggle--the fin a l moment, the fin a l event, which tips the scale in favor of one outcome, one res u lt." Someone saying something to someone through events th a t struggle , accumulatively I through space/time , toward a fin a l struggle I X > "And that outcome must be unknown until i t happens. The audienc must always keep wondering what w ill happen next. As soon as they know what w ill happen and how, i t 's very d if f ic u lt to keep them interested." Someone saying something to someone through events th a t struggle accumulatively through space/time toward a fin a l struggle and unknown ! [ >< > 122 "The result must be unknown, but i t must be inevitable. I t must make sense. The audience should be able to say, 'of course," but not be able to predict i t . I t 's at this point your story's complete. You've dropped the last piece of the puzzle into place so the audience can see the entire picture." "These are the basic ingredients of storytelling : someone say ing something to someone through events that struggle accumulatively through space/time toward a fin al struggle and unknown but inevitable resu lt. And there's one more— emerging characterization." Someone saying something to someone through events "The characterizations, whether they are people or events, must emerge. At the beginning we hardly know the characters and as the events accumulate, our knowledge increases so we see the many facets of the same person or event." She turned on the lights and walked up to the front of the room, leaving the composite diagram on the screen. "I know y o u 'll have lots of questions about this defin ition and i t 's various parts. We'll be devoting the en tire semester to working with i t , but right now, as best you can, I'd lik e each of you to find and id en tify these differen t ingredients in the stories you've ju st w ritten." ana unknown but in e vita b le re s u lt and through emerging characterization. 1 / 123 Jane spoke up, "I think I understand a ll of them except the f i r s t one, someone saying something to someone. What is that?" " It 's the reason you told us a ll these things," Mehring said as she gestured to the model. They're here because you want to say some thing. So the question you ask yourself is 'what do these series of events say?'" I looked down at the papers in front of m e and wondered i f I hac a ll the ingredients. What'was I saying? I guess it 'd be something lik e : Give assistance to anyone who needs help no matter who trie s to stop you. The events were a ll those things I did and the other people did, lik e seeing the accident coming, going back to help, trying to get help, and on and on. The struggle was m y wanting to help and the other man trying to stop me. My struggle did accumulate. As a matter of fa c t, i t got bigger and bigger until fin a lly I passed out. I guess m y fin a l struggle came when I tried to get into the truck and that id io t pulled m e out, making m e f a l l . ‘ The result of my struggle was that I lost. The man died. That was unknown until i t happened, but I think the audience would say "of course" because of the way I had his eyes move. I guess there was some characterization. Whatever I told them about myself and that other man. " I ' l l be dammed," I thought to myself, "I did have a ll the ingredients." 124 "Before you go on any further, think about each one of the ingredients of storytelling: Someone saying something to someone through events that struggle accumulatively through space/time toward a final struggle and unknown but inevitable result and through emerging characterization." "Now identify where each one of these is in your story." W e a ll lis ted our ingredients as we'd id entified them. Almost everyone had done what I'd done, except Michael. He said he hadn't done i t because his d id n't f i t this pattern of a story. Mehring agreed and then said, "Next time we do an exercise I hope y o u 'll go along with the instructions. I f you don't, you won't have the learning experiences this class is designed to give you." Michael d id n 't answer her, but I f e l t from his vibes he wasn't going to ever follow her instructions. I liked him for being able to do what he wanted to do, in fact I envied him, but s t i l l i t seemed kind of dumb. 125 " It 's getting very late and I ' l l ju st say a couple of things. Then w e'll call i t quits. F irs t, I want you to be aware of the fact that you have written a story tonight. Granted, the stories were not fu lly developed, they were episodic in nature, and the characters were one dimensional, but s t i l l they contained the ingredients of a story. You engaged yourself in the process of w riting." "You'll use exactly this same process when you start writing your treatments and scripts. Remember this when you s it down at your typewriter to begin that f i r s t assignment. Think about what we did here tonight and ask yourself, 'what would happen i f . . . ' " She handed out an assignment sheet for next week and a paragraph written by William Saroyan, we unanimously decided to have the workshop at her home, and we a ll went home. "If you haven't done it yet why don't you do it now before you get into the next chapter.” "If you did the exercise along with the class you've written a story too." "The same thing is true for you." 126 PICTURE ASSIGNMENT Select pictures from magazines or draw pictures to illustrate the following shots and angles. In the case of the moving shots, use arrows and lines to indicate the beginning camera position and the end camera position. STATIC SHOTS FULL SHOT LONG SHOT MEDIUM SHOT MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT CLOSE SHOT CLOSE UP EXTREME CLOSE UP INSERT (illustrate its usage) MOVING SHOTS PANS FOLLOW ACTION PAN ENTRANCE AND EXIT PAN INTERNAL (MOTIVATED) MOVEMENT PAN REVELATION PAN PAY-OFF PAN PARTICULARIZING PAN (MEDIUM TO CLOSE) REACTION PAN SUBJECTIVE PAN (POINT OF VIEW) FLASH OR "BLUR PAN" TILTS TILT UP TILT DOWN DOLLYS DOLLY IN DOLLY OUT TRAVEL DOLLY CRAB"DOLLY ANGLES EYE LEVEL LOW ANGLE HIGH ANGLE SIDE ANGLE REFERENCE: Lewis H. Herman, A Practical Manual of Screen Playwriting for Theatre and TV Films. Chapter 2. The Film Components. K ll-n v l « t m u a i m ■ M M M B M H n M W H B M M M H B M H H M W M M H M M M W M M B N W K M M M M K ___________127 The foolishness of my writing in comparison with what I wanted to write infuriated me for years. Greatness, Greatness, Greatness is what I wanted and insisted upon, only to notice that everything I wrote was small and miserable. I couldn't understand it. My soul was great, it was astonishingly great, and yet, it was cap tured in a little feeble body and could not get itself free. I had in my soul the greatest truths to tell but when I came to the work of telling them I couldn't do it, I couldn't do it, I couldn't find a starting place.... Where could I begin? I was long years discovering the secret that it does not matter at all where one begins, and that it is not necessary for anything one writes to be instantly great, the important thing is for a man to resign himself to the truth that he is only a man, and to work.... William Saroyan, THE BICYCLE RIDER IN BEVERLY HILLS. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952, p. 99. 128 CHAPTER FOUR. THIRD MEETING: MOTION PICTURE LANGUAGE W hen I walked Into the room Mehring was busy helping some guy set up a big black piece of equipment on the table. I asked her what i t was and she said i t was an opaque projector we'd use to look at our picture assignments. I dropped m y books down on the table and sat down to wait for things to happen. The class got started before everyone was there and ju st kept going. Charlie had started i t o ff by talking about the William Saroyan handout from la s t week. He told us about one of his high school experiences with writing and i t made m e remember a time when m y sophomore English teacher had used a paper of mine as the "horrible example." I d idn't much care then because w riting never was m y bag, but I know now i f some teacher did that to one of m y kids, I'd take a swing at him. N O " C O R R E C T " T E R M S After everybody had arrived, Mehring asked us to get out our picture assignment papers. "Before we sta rt talking about these motion picture terms," she said, "I want to be sure you a ll understand there are no 'correct' definitions for these terms. Each studio, each dir-^ ector, each cameraperson has her, or his defin itions. What we're doing here, as a class, is agreeing on what our definitions are. And the reason we're doing this is so we can communicate with each other; so when Larry calls for a CLOSE UP, w e'll know exactly what part of a person or object he's talking about, or, i f Don writes a scene that calls for a TRAVEL DOLLY, w e'll know he wants the camera mounted on a moving 129 tripod. And this is exactly what y o u 'll do in the 're a l' world. I f you’re going to w rite for MGM, you find out what terms they want you to use and how they define those terms. I f you're doing an A ir Force project or a documentary fo r NBC, you do the same thing. Always that's the procedure you follow. There's nothing sacred about these terms. They're only there to communicate what you want on the screen. The assignment had called for us to cut pictures out of magazine; or draw pictures that would illu s tra te s ta tic shots, moving shots and angles. Liz was the one to go f i r s t this time. Mehring went to the back of the room, turned out the lights and put Liz's f i r s t drawing in the projector so i t showed on the screen in the front of the room. "This is a good example of what we’l l call a FULL SHOT. Here you show the entire action and location. It 's the biggest scene in a sequence. I t covers the largest area." "What is a sequence?" Lenard asked, "Can we have a d efin ition for th at." "As I use the term, i t 's a series of shots used to develop or portray a particular idea or event. For example, i f you want to show that a man is a complusive gambler, addicted to a ll forms of gambling, 130 you might have a series of shots showing him at a race track, gaming tables, betting with his four year old kid, and playing poker with his buddies. All of these put together, we'd call a sequence." "What's the difference between a scene and a shot?" Liz asked. "These are very arbitrary definition s. Some people use the term scene to mean a series of shots within a sequence and the word shot to refer to a single camera s tart and camera stop. Personally, I use the two terms to mean the same thing. In other words, by the definition I use, a shot or a scene starts when the camera is turned on and ends when the camera is turned o ff." "But aren 't there some terms that are the same fo r everybody," Charlie insisted. I H A V E A D O G , A D O G N A M E D J U D Y "No. Not re a lly ." She paused, turned on the lights and walked to the front of the room as she spoke, "This is a good place to do an experiment. I have a dog, a dog named Judy. That's a ll I'm going to te ll you, and I'd lik e each of you to answer two questions. F irs t, what is the f i r s t image that comes into your head when I say the word dog? Second, what is your image of m y dog?" I put my hands over m y face and said dog to myself. All I could see were dogs eating garbage out of the trash cans outside our brown- stone when I was a kid. That one was easy, but Mehring's dog, th at's another thing. I t ’s probably a gentle dog. I don't think Mehring likes anything but gentle, and i t would have to be a dog she could easily control. So i t ' s not too big and it 's very lazy. Ok. I t 's got to be an old overweight cocker spaniel. 131 W h a t ' s y o u r i m a g e f o r I t h e w o r d d o g , a n d w h a t ’ k i n d o f a d o g d o y o u ■ t h i n k I h a v e ? " " I ' d l i k e y o u t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h i s e x p e r i m e n t t o o . " "Ok. Let's go around the room," she said. "Liz, what's your image of a dog and then your image of m y dog?" "Wen," she chuckled, "Dog is a Pekinese. That's the kind of dog m y mother has always had, but I don't think you'd have a pekinese. I think you'd have some kind of exotic dog, lik e a greyhound." "Jane?" Mehring asked. "Dog is Lassie. I'v e loved Lassie ever since I can remember, and I think you would have a dog lik e Lassie." "Don?" she asked me. "All dogs are mangy mutts and your dog's a cocker spaniel, an old fa t cocker spaniel." The class laughed and so did she. Then she turned to John. "John what are your images?" "No, Margaret's dog is not old and i t 's not lazy. Margaret has a very bright and active dog. I don't think i t 's a pedigreed dog. I think i t ' s a heinz 52. Maybe a te rrie r. No, probably a spaniel of some kind." "What's your image of dog?" "Oh, I forgot that. That's easy. My dog's a combination of 132 beagle, te rrie r and spaniel." "Susan?" "Wirehair. That's dog. Your dog? I don't know, maybe," she laughed, "maybe a great dane. Somehow that seems rig h t, that you'd have a big dog." "Chariie?h "I think maybe you have a l i t t l e dachshund. No, i t 's a scottie, a black scottie and he's pedigreed. D efin itely pedigreed. I'v e got to go with Jane on dog. My instant dog is Lassie, and that means instant good feelings." "Bobbie you're next." "Dog is my uncle's dog, an iris h setter and I think your dog is probably a german shepherd. "Lenard?" "Dog equals english b u ll, and Mrs. Mehring's dog equals poodle." "Larry?" "I think you'd have a watchdog, a german shepherd lik e Bobby said, or a doberman pinscher and, for m e too, a dog is Lassie." "Becky?" "For me a dog is a great dane, but you don't strike m e as a great dane person. They're too, well too lim ited fo r you. I think you'd want a more versatile dog, one who could go more places with you and wouldn't take as much of your time. Like maybe a Siamese cat." "Michael?" "Never had a dog. A dog is a head and a t a il and what's in between eats. I think you've got a fa t dog because you can feed him and he's probably big because you can feed him a lo t. Maybe he's a great dane, yeah probably he is ," Michael answered. Mehring said, "Ok, what was this a ll about? W hy did I ask you to do this? What happened in this experiment?" Becky was the one who answered, "Everybody had a differen t answer, at least fo r the most part. I mean, we a ll had d iffe re n t ideas about what a dog is and what your dog is ." T H E R E I S N O M E A N I N G I N T H E W O R D D O G "Exactly, and this te lls us something. I t te lls us that the meaning of a word is in our heads. There is no meaning in the word dog. The meaning is up here," she pointed to her head, "and as we've just seen, for each of us the meaning is d iffe re n t because we've each had d iffe re n t experiences with dogs. This is what I'm saying about the definitions for motion picture terms. The meanings of these terms are d ifferen t for each person, ju st lik e the meaning for the word dog was d ifferen t for each of you." "Words are only symbols fo r things, ideas and experiences and that's the way we have to use them. As some of you may know, this is one of the basic tenets of General Semantics, a re la tiv e ly new social science, sometimes called the study of modern logic. I f you've not already done so, I recommend that you read Language and Thought in Action w ritten by Dr. S. I. Hayakawa."1 She wrote the t i t l e and author on the chalkboard as she continued talking. "Dr. Hayakawa has been one of the principal spokesmen for this 1S. I . Hayakawa, Language in Thought and Action (New York: iarcourt, Brace & World, In c ., 1964. 134 new discip line, and his book is both easy and interesting reading. The study of modern logic is especially important for screenwriters. I t helps us to see more of what goes on around us and see things more accurately. I t helps us increase our storehouse of experiences, our raw m aterials." She moved to the back of the room again, turned o ff the lig h t and turned on the projector. "This is a good illu s tra tio n of a LO NG SHOT, as we're defining i t , showing from head to toe. In other words, a fu ll figure." "This is what we're calling a MEDIUM SHOT, from the knees up to the top of the head. Liz's drawing clearly shows th is." 135 "This is a good illu s tra tio n of what we're calling a MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT. The shot is big enough to include two people from below th e ir shoulders, about mid torso, to the top of th e ir heads. This is also sometimes called a TWO-SHOT and very often i t 's shot behind one person looking toward the other person. Does anyone have an example of that?" "I think mine is ," Larry volunteered and handed a picture to Mehring. "Yes. This is a good example of what we call an OVER SHOULDER TWO-SHOT. Now, you can have an OVER SHOULDER LO N G SHOT, and an OVER SHOULDER MEDIUM SHOT, as well as this OVER SHOULDER MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT." She handed Larry's picture back to him and continued with Liz's pictures. "This next one is what we call a CLOSE SHOT. I t shows head and shoulders with room on either side fo r another object or part of a person." "Whoa, wait a minute," Bobbie interrupted. "This is a ll righ t for people, but what do I call i t i f I'm shooting a f ly , or a . . . a vase." "You use the same approach. A LONG SHOT is the f ly from head to toe. For a vase, i t 's top to bottum. I t 's the re la tiv e distance you're describing by these terms. And i f you think there's any chance of confusion you can be more e x p lic it. Instead of saying MEDIUM SHOT say two-thirds of the vase showing the top part." "W e call this a CLOSE-UP. It 's the head only, from the chin to the top of the head. Then i f we want to be in tig h ter we can say TIGHT _________ 137 CLOSE-UP. I f desirable, we can be even more e x p lic it than th at, and ' say TIGHT CLOSE-UP to include mouth and eyes only." "Does i t have to be a head? Can i t be a hand or a foot?" Jane asked. "Oh yes. I t can be any part of the body, as the head is a part of the body." "This is what we call an EXTREME CLOSE-UP. Here Liz has shown us a fu ll screen view of an eye. I t could have been the mouth, the nose, a fingernail or a tooth." She turned on the lights and went to the front of the roomagair. She asked us to take a piece of paper, fold i t in half and tear out a hole, roughly 1 x lJg inches in size. She held up an example of what she was talking about. 138 "You're going to be a camera and this piece of paper with the iole is going to be your viewfinder. Stand up, choose a partner and then, as you hold your viewfinder up to your eye, move forward and sackward until you find the shots we've ju st talked about. Depending upon the lense you're using, the distances you move are roughly the distances you'd have to move the camera," she said. I paired o ff with L iz, and this was a great experience fo r her. I'v e looked through so many cameras so many times i t was nothing for me, but she got re a lly turned on. (53 Anybody walking into the. room would've been convinced we'd a ll taken leave of our senses but we were having a great time. "Be sure you're aware, not only of how much you see in each of your shots, but also how much you don't see. think about how much : _ _ _ _ _ _ „____ ias d iffe re n tly you see this room and us in i t when you're a camera rather than a person," Mehring said. "It's time for you to get into this act too." "Try and find someone who'll be your subject, but if you can't find a person, use a chair or some object that's about the size of a person." "Don't rush doing this. Take your time. This is what you'll have to see in your 'mind screen’ as you're writing, and it’s a very different view than your two eyes • are used to seeing." W hen we'd a ll finished we sat down and Mehring went to the chalkboard. "As many of you know, i t 's the trad itio n of the industry to abbreviate or use the f i r s t in itia ls of some of these terms. Here are the ones normally used by most people," she said and wrote them bn the chalkboard. 14C FULL SHOT - n o rm ally n o t abbreviated LO N G SHOT - LS MEV1UM SHOT - M S on MEV SHOT MEVLUM CLOSE SHOT - M C S oft M EV CLOSE oft 2-SHOT CLOSE SHOT - C S CLOSE-UP - C U EXTREME CLOSE UP - EX C U O VER SHOULVER SHOT r 01/S Background - B G Foreground - FG E x te rio r - EXT I n t e r io r - I NT "You're a ll fa m ilia r with FADES, DISSOLVES and WIPES. These are called optical effects because they're made o p tically during the printing process. When a scene FADES IN, i t gradually comes into view. When i t FADES OUT, i t gradually goes away, fades away. This is achieved by the printer lig h t gradually turning on or turning o ff. "So, for a twenty-four frame FADE IN," she kept talking as she drew a s trip of film divided into 24 sections. "In frame one the printer lig h t is competely turned o f f, in frame twenty-four i t 's completely turned on and in between frames one and twenty-four are the degrees of lig h t changes between on and o ff. 141 That would give you a FADE IN. For a FADE OUT you ju st reverse i t . " In a DISSOLVE you're mixing two strips of film , one on top of the other. The one is FADING IN while the other is FADING OUT "In the middle of the DISSOLVE--frame twelve--both pictures are "In a WIPE one picture is , in a sense, pushing—wiping—another picture out of the frame." She went back to the projector. "The next term is INSERT. As we’ re defining i t , an insert is a shot th at's inserted into another shot I t 's a CLOSE-UP of some detail of an object or person in the short i t is cut into. "Liz's pictures of a MEDIUM SHOT of a woman looking at her watch, a CLOSE UP of the watch and then back again to the MEDIUM SHOT of the woman looking at her watch is a very good illu s tra tio n of an INSERT." Bobbie interrupted again, "Here you call the INSERT a CLOSE-UP and i t ' s re a lly a top to bottom shot. W hy didn't you call i t a LO NG SHOT?" "I can't think of an INSERT we wouldn't call a CLOSE UP since, 143 by d e fin itio n , i t 's a part of a bigger picture," she answered. "How is an INSERT d iffe re n t from a CUT AW AY?" I asked. "A CUT AW AY, again, as we're defining i t , is not a closer look at something, lik e the INSERT. It 's function is to add new or secondary information. For example, someone's driving through the streets of New York, racing to catch an airplane. The camera's inside the car seeing the tr a ff ic and signals ahead, but occasionally i t moves outside and shows the audience a clock in a store window or on the side of the building. This would commonly be called a CUT AWAY." It And what would you call the shot of the clock," Bobbie asked. 144 "FULL SHOT clock on Kreske Building. Then, i f I wanted ju st one number I'd w rite, CLOSE UP number nine with tip of second hand pointing to i t . Normally you don't label the short as a CUT AWAY." "We've been talking about s ta tic shots, where the camera doesn't move during the shot. Now we'1.1 ta lk about moving shots, where i t does move during the shot. There are four basic ways the camera can move: v e rtic a lly ; horizontally; forward and backward; up and down. "When the camera is moving v e rtic a lly , we call i t a TILT. The camera TILTS U P JLM and i t TILTS DOWN." "As the camera moves the image size of the object or subject changes because the distance between the camera and what is being photographed changes." 146 "When the camera moves horizontally we call i t a PAN. The camera can PAN RIGHT 3 147 and PAN LEFT." 3 3 - ------------ ° c j "Here too, the image size changes as the camera sees things that are the closest and moves to see those that are farther away, and vice versa." 148 "During both the TILT and the PAN the camera has moved on the tripod, hut the tripod has remained stationary. In the next shots, as the camera moves forward and backward and up and down both the camera and the tripod move." "When the camera moves forward we call i t a DOLLY IN." a W hen i t moves backward we call i t a DOLLY OUT. The image size changes as the camera position changes. Z “ 150 "When the camera moves with an object or subject, so as to keep the image size the same, we call i t a TRAVEL DOLLY." "The camera can stay in fron t, stay behind, Y 'W W A /> w n / r t / Z « r ~ A /gjr-nxJj t * 151 or be on the side." ■ tv W / y j T 2 T , ,.. "When the camera and its tripod move up and down we call i t a CRANE or B O O M SHOT. The camera and tripod are mounted on a mechanical device that moves up 152 and down." "Here, because the camera can stay the same distance from the object i t 's photographing, the image size can remain the same." "And, i t 's possible to combine a ll these moves. At the same time the camera and tripod are moving, the camera can also move v e rtic a lly and horizontally. " It can TRAVEL DOLLY, 15- DOLLY IN, TILT DO W N, DOLLY OUT, PA N DOLLY OUT and CRANE UP." n 154 She turned on the lights but stayed in the back of the room talking. "The CRANE and DOLLY SHOTS are spectacular shots, they're fun to do, and they allow us to look at things in an unusual way, but they are expensive. You need the mechanical devices to smoothly move the camera and tripod, and they take a great deal of rehearsal time. Also, % i t 's not always necessary to DOLLY or CRANE to achieve the effec t you want. There are many PAN shots that w ill do equivalent things." She turned the lights out again and continued with Liz's pictures. "This is what w e'll call a FOLLOW ACTION PAN, an ENTRANCE PAN and an EXIT PAN, and an INTERNAL MOVEM ENT PAN or MOTIVATED PAN." "In a ll three of these situations the camera simply follows the subject or object we're involved in watching." ________________________________________________________________________155: u 06 O "This is an example of what w e'll call a REVELATION PAN. It 's a RA N that reveals something. Generally speaking, this is a slow PA N and is used to build suspense. The camera movement te lls us we're about to see something, and very frequently the thing w e'll see has a high shock value, as L iz's drawing shows us. This is not a PAN you use very frequently because of its special usage and because i t tends to slow the action down." f m - 1 / ) ™ x J jl1 id "This next one, the PAY-OFF PAN, is an interesting shot. I t is set up in such a way as to s h ift the audience attention from one thing to another. Liz's drawing demonstrates this w ell." "Now, of course, you don't ju st set up a PAY-OFF PAN to have a PAY-OFF PAN in your movie, i t has to be integrated into your story and done to achieve something. For example, using Liz's drawings, le t's say that the man she PANS with is a detective in search of a stolen gem, and le t 's say that in a flower on the funny hat there is a gem, the gem. In other words, there's a relationship between the two people and the plot development. The shot has to be there to serve a purpose as well as be interesting." 156 ( y ® "This next one takes a l i t t l e time to set up. W e call i t a MEDIUM TO CLOSE PAN and here you u tiliz e the d ifferen t distances betweer subjects or objects within the same camera view. The purpose of this PAN is to show a relationship between a subject or object in a scene and the scene it s e lf , or to s h ift the emphasis from the larger scene to only a segment of the scene." "Here in Liz's drawing, we see the group of people seated, pointing to and talking about a box. Then she PANS so that mostly the box f i l l s the frame." "Why don't you ju s t cut to a CLOSE-UP?" I asked. "This seems lik e you're making a big deal out of something that could be done so easily. I t 's so simple." "You're righ t. I t could be handled by cutting to a CLOSE-UP. This is only another way, not necessarily a best way. There are times when you want the flu id ity of a PAN, and there are time's when you want the abruptness of a cut." "This next PAN is one we see very frequently, the REACTION PAN. Here the camera PANS along a group of people to see what th e ir reactions are to something they're watching or participating in. W e see this in ________________________________________________ 152 sports films when the camera PANS over the people in the bleachers, like Liz has drawn here, and we see i t in parades, courtrooms and classrooms —wherever groups of people gather to watch something happen." "In the SUBJECTIVE PAN, the camera eye becomes the eye of a person or animal of some kind. In other words, the camera takes the point of view of the subject. I think this is what Liz had in mind." "Yes," Liz responded, " it 's as i f someone comes in a door and looks around the room in front of her, or him." "The FLASH or BLUR PAN is distinguished by the rapidity of its movement. It 's possible to use i t instead of a cut, but i t ' s most frequently used as a transition device. I t can effec tiv e ly take the audience from one place or time to another place or time. In other words, the BLUR PAN can be used lik e an optical effect to indicate a passage of time or a change of location." II Now, le t's take a look at Liz's pictures of the angles and 158 then I'm going to ask you to become cameras again, so you can see how some of these shots look through your viewfinder. , _________________________ "But f i r s t , here is a HIGH ANGLE. The camera is high looking down onto the subject or object." "The LO W ANGLE is ju st the opposite. The camera is low looking up at the subject or object." "Here's a HEAD O N EYE LEVEL SHOT. The camera's on the same level ____________________ 159 as the subject or object." "This is a SIDE ANGLE EYE LEVEL SHOT. The camera is on the same level but gives us more dimension from the side than you get from the fro n t." She turned o ff the projector, turned on the lights and went to the front of the room. "Ok, get your viewfinders out. F irs t do the angles. Get up on your chairs and look down, get way down on the flo or to look up and then see the difference between the side angle and the head on angle. And, while you're doing th is , think about, and decide tfhat effects you get from these d iffe re n t angles." i " T h i s i s s o m e t h i n g y o u ' l l < w a n t t o d o t o o . " 'It's not enough to just know in your head what these things look like, you need to exper ience them also." " T h e n , t h e m o r e y o u d o t h i s k i n d o f t h i n g t h e s o o n e r y o u ' l l f i n d y o u r s e l f s e e i n g t h i n g s a r o u n d y o u t h e w a y a c a m e r a ‘ w o u l d s e e t h e m . I t b e c o m e s a h a b i t — a w a y o f l i f e . " 16 0_ D I F F E R E N T A N G L E S G I V E D I F F E R E N T E F F E C T S "What kind of d iffe re n t effects did you see from the differen t angles? she asked. "Well," Charlie answered, "things looked less important and insignificant when I was looking down at them, but impressive and almost frightening when I looked at them from the L O W ANGLE. The HEAD O N ANGLE was f l a t , but the SIDE ANGLE showed m e a lo t of interesting things." "Hbw about you, Don, what differences do you see in the differen t angles?" she asked me. "About the same as Charlie. The LO W ANGLE shot has always been a favorite for me. I t shows the special qualities people have. I never liked the HIGH ANGLE. I t makes things look cold and far away. Unless, of course, I'm going for a lonely feeling, then I lik e i t because that's what i t gives me— -a rea lly lonely fa r away feeling." "Sometimes i t 's hard to know whether these effects are in trin s ic to the angle or i f they're something we've learned, lik e we've learned that a DISSOLVE means a change of time or place. There're d ifferen t opinions about this and i t 's open to question," she said and then asked us to stage and look at the moving shots through our viewfinders, especially the PAN shots. W e spent the next half hour playing with our viewfinders and even for m e i t was fun. I gained a greater sense of the power of the camera and became more aware of how each shot can communi cate d ifferen t things. Then she asked us to put our viewfinders away and she continued, "The next and la s t thing on our agenda for tonight is to ta lk about the formats for treatments and scripts." 161 T R E A T M E N T A N D S C R I P T F O R M A T S ‘ "Again, there's no correct format fo r either treatments or scripts. Most filmmakers have a format to suit th e ir particular kind of filmmaking, and at the same time you ask how they define the motion picture terms, you ask what formats they use." She handed Liz a stack of papers and we started passing them around as she continued talking, "These are examples of the treatment and script formats w e'll be using in this class. I'm giving you two examples of a treatment format; one for narration and dialogue and the other for visuals only, and three examples of script formats; a visuals only, a narration and a dialogue film ." "A treatment is a narrative description of the events you're going to use to communicate a particular premise. I t includes a fu ll description of the opposing forces that w ill struggle with each other, the characters who w ill emerge and the cinematic style in which i t is to be presented." "As you can see, the treatment format looks a lo t lik e the way a short story would look. It 's written in a narrative style with traditional use of paragraphs and sentences. The major difference occurs in the capitalization of motion picture terms and the names of characters the f i r s t time they appear. The capitalization of these words is , for many of us, a time honored convention of the motion picture industry. These are things of particular interest to filmmakers so we want to be able to spot them easily. The examples of the narration and/or dialogue style can be set o ff by indentation as Treatment Format 2 illu s tra te s , or you can use the same margin as previously established." EXAMPLE OF TREATMENT FORMAT 1 (Not a complete treatment, only page one to illustrate format.) FILM TREATMENT "THE LONG-TERM VIEW" As the film opens, a series of CLOSE-UPS reveal a peanut being thrown up into the air. A squirrel is seen quietly waiting for the peanut. An EXTREME CLOSE UP of a hand is seen offering the peanut to the squirrel and then tossing it in his direction. The squirrel catches it and runs off. The scene DISSOLVES TO another series of CLOSE-UPS showing two pairs of hands. One pair belongs to a salesman making a final presentation of an insurance contract. The contract, in turn, is signed by the hands of the new policy holder . As the NARRATOR comes in to introduce the two men, (the one in the park and one in the office) the scenes cut back and forth in a parallel structure as the men are described. During this sequence CLOSE-UPS inter cut with FULL SHOTS. It is during this visual MONTAGE that the narrator tells us about JIM WILLIAMS and DICK BURKE, two insurance salesmen. He explains that they are approximately the same age, originally showed the same potential and had been salesmen for other companies before joining up with their present company. Dick, the man in the park, had only been with the company for a little more than a year, while Jim, the man who was closing a sale, had been with the company for about four years. The narrator comments on these divergent activities and suggests that there must be a reason for it. He tends to be more didactic than intimate in his manner of presentation. The narrator continued... ■iim rii'i tnr iT in iim iim i i im u in m w EXAMPLE OF TREATMENT FORMAT 2 (Not a complete treatment, only page one to illustrate format.) FILM TREATMENT "MAN WITH A PROBLEM" The film opens with ORIENTATION SHOTS of a Sales Manager seated at his desk in his office. The man quickly becomes aware of the camera in the room. He looks up and begins to talk to the audience directly. He introduces himself and explains that he has some thing on his mind that he thinks you (the audience) would be interested in too. The scene DISSOLVES TO a shot of the cafeteria during the coffee break. People are milling around seeking out a place to sit and talking to those already seated. The Sales Manager ENTERS the scene, 164 walks into the main part of the room, stops momen tarily near two men seated and talking to each other. It becomes apparent he is overhearing the conversa tion. The narration voice of the Sales Manager is heard. NARRATION: SALES MANAGER The other day as I was walking through the cafeteria trying to find a place to drink my coffee, I overheard two of our salesmen talking ... PETER: "I wish everytime I walk into a new prospect's office he wouldn't look at me as if I were selling... brushes. Does that every happen to you?" RUSSELL: "Sure, you can read his mind, 'here comes another insurance peddler.'' Sometimes I even begin to think that way." As this line of conversation continues, the Sales Manager moves on and sits down at a nearby table. continued... "A script is a scene by scene continuity, as developed in the treatment, with instructions for shooting locations, action, photo graphy, dialogue and/or narration, sound effects and music." "For our purposes, in this class, we‘ 11 use a script format that maximizes your learning situations. In other words, i t ' l l ask you to make decisions about many more things and require you to w rite more complete instructions than most scripts do. You'll see what I mean as you read the sample format sheets, but f i r s t take a look at the 165 INSTRUCTIONS FO R SCRIPT FORMAT SHEET. You'll see there the information that needs to be included in each shot, the words that are to be w ritter in upper case le tte rs and some additional comments. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SCRIPT FORMAT SHEET NECESSARY INFORMATION TO INCLUDE INTERIOR or EXTERIOR LOCATION (general) LOCATION (specific) TIME OF DAY TYPE OF SHOT (relative distance from subject | or object) TYPE OF ANGLE (if necessary to convey writer's idea) CAMERA MOVEMENT Essential elements in shot scene description character or object description main subject placement main subject movement secondary subject and/or objects placement and/or movement OPTICALS SOUND EFFECTS (if necessary to convey writer's idea) MUSIC (if necessary to convey writer's idea) UPPER CASE LETTERS FOR SCRIPT FORMAT All CAMERA instructions Head caption (first four items listed above) All OPTICALS (FADE IN, FADE OUT, DISSOLVE, etc* Mandatory actor instructions (ENTER, EXIT) Words: MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS (FX) Character names at first appearance (optional) NOTE: -Avoid over-abbreviation -A separate shot = each new camera set-up and camera run. When the camera goes from one position to another in moving shot include in one shot. -These examples of formats are not presented as being the*’absolute”' or only treatment and script forms. They are presented as workable representative of the requirements of a small unit production group and a standardized form for our class work. ) Recommended but not mandatory 166- "A script has a completely d ifferen t format than anything else you've experienced before. I t is unique to the film industry. I t is , in a true sense, a worksheet and there's a practical reason for every thing that's included." "Directors need a ll the information so as to make th eir a r tis tic decisions and know what instructions to give to a ll the pre-production, production and post-production people. The production managers, the people who do a script breakdown and establish the shooting order, are the f i r s t to work with the script. They deal prim arily with catego-, rizing the shooting locations, the actors and actresses, crew and equipment requirements. Camerapeople look at the script to determine what equipment th e y 'll need, where and how to set up each shot and what movements to expect. The people in charge of casting and costuming, actors and actresses, set designers and prop people a ll consult the script to learn what's required of them during pre-productioiji and production. The picture ed ito r, sound effects and music editors and composer use the script in the post-production phases." "The w riter wouldn't customarily make a ll the decisions in a ll these areas, but, as I said before, in this class you're asked to make decisions about a ll the phases of filmmaking. So, as you read through the script formats, look at how they achieve this purpose of being a worksheet containing a set of instructions. EXAMPLE OF SCRIPT FORMAT FOR VISUALS ONLY FILM 11) EXTERIOR, FRONT PORCH, MORNING (7-8) MEDIUM SHOT Frank Perinello as he raises up, unfolds the paper and walks SCREEN RIGHT TOWARD CAMERA. As he walks in front of CAMERA the 167 scene DISSOLVES TO: 12) EXTERIOR, MILKMAN WALKING TO REAR OF HOUSE MORNING (7-8) MEDIUM SHOT of milkman, CHRIS NEILSON, as seen in scene 4), in same SCREEN DIRECTION and POSITION as Frank Perinello in scene 11) as he walks SCREEN RIGHT away from CAMERA around the rear of a house. This is a small rundown lower class residence. We see a rear house behind the front house and a very small yard separating the two. FX bottles rat tling in wire milk tray. 13) INTERIOR, PEGGY'S BEDROOM, MORNING (7-8) MEDIUM CU little girl about three or four years I old. This is PEGGY BERGER. She's in bed, still asleep. The sound of the rattling bottles awakens her. She opens her eyes, snuggles down under covers, and closes eyes again. 14) EXTERIOR, BERGER HOUSE BACKDOOR, MORNING (7-8) MEDIUM SHOT of milkman as he sets the milk tray down by the backdoor and stoops to replace the empty bottles with full ones. There's a very battered doll lying beside the milk bottles. 15) EXTERIOR, INSERT CU MILK BOTTLES, MORNING (7-8) CU doll in FG with empty milk bottles behind it. Hand of milkman ENTERS scene, moves doll, picks, up empty bottles, puts down full ones and places a bill between the bottles. 16) EXTERIOR, BERGER HOUSE BACKDOOR, MORNING (7-8) Same as scene 14) continued as milkman gets up from stooped position to retrace his steps and EXIT scene. L7) INTERIOR, PEGGY'S BEDROOM, MORNING (7-8) Similar to scene 13) as Peggy again hears the milk bottles and again opens her eyes. This time she throws the covers back and EXITS scene. continued... _ 168 EXAM PLE O F SCRIPT FO R M A T FOR TH E NARRATION FILM DISSOLVE TO: 51) INTERIOR, BRANCH OFFICE MED CU Dick at desk. He is making out SI reports and making entries in his prospect notebook. 52) INTERIOR, INSERT CU Dick's hand making entry in prospect book. 53) INTERIOR, BRANCH OFFICE (Continuation of scene 51) as Dick leans for ward to make a notation on calendar pad. 54) INTERIOR, BRANCH OFFICE CU Dick's hand writing on calendar pad "See Jackson Manufacturers. Try and soften." 55) EXTERIOR, OFFICE BUILDING FRONT DOOR LS Jim coming out of building. He EXITS. 56) INTERIOR, BRANCH OFFICE MED SHOT Dick talking on phone with prospect lists in front of him. 57) EXTERIOR, 2ND OFFICE BUILDING, FRONT DOOR LS office building. Jim ENTERS scene, walks to ward door and stops to look at watch. NARRATOR: DICK'S SUCCESS IN SELLING DIDN'T JUST HAPPEN BY CHANCE. IT WAS THE RESULT OF A WELL CALCULATED AND ORGANIZED METHOD OF SELLING. DICK MADE HIS PLANS-- NOT JUST FOR TOMORROW OR THE DAY AFTER TO- MORROW- -BUT FOR THE MONTHS THAT WOULD FOLLOW. JIM'S INTERVIEWS WITH HIS PROSPECTS WERE BECOMING SHORTER AND SHORTER. DICK WAS CONSERVING HIS TIME AND MAKING SOME OF HIS CONTACTS OVER THE TELEPHONE WHILE JIM HAD THE FEEL ING THE BUSINESS HOURS WOULD NEVER PASS. continued... 169 EX A M PLE O F SCRIPT FO R M A T FOR TH E DIALOGUE FILM FADE IN: 1) INTERIOR, CLINIC ROOM As the scene of a Sales Training clinic FADES IN, the clinic is in session. A LONG SHOT shows all the members of the clinic. There is a long table with seven men seated around it, and the Sales Manager, DAN, is seated at the end of the table. A portable motion picture screen is in the front of the room, a projector is at the rear, and an easel board is at the right of the conference table. Two of the men, WARREN and MILTON, are engaged in a minor verbal dispute. Dan and the other men are listening. WARREN: (trying with little success to keep the irritation out of his voice) "Look -- I'm not saying you have to play golf with all your prospects..." HERB: (interjects jokingly to the man next to him) "Good -- I'm lousy golfer!" Several of the fellows laugh at Herb's remark. WARREN: "...I'm merely saying you should know what his interests are!" MILTON: (who has been listening attentively) "You're still playing the same record, Warren --you can't sell insurance by a set of rules WARREN: "I'm not talking about a set of rules -- I'm talking about... (pauses to find word) people and understanding them." RALPH: "That still doesn't tell us anything, you'll have to be more specific." WARREN: "That's what I've been trying to be!" 2) INTERIOR, CLINIC ROOM MEDIUM LONG SHOT, SIDE ANGLE shows Warren in CENTER; BG. Warren has accepted the challenger's question 1 and appears confident that he can fully answer it, ■ but he soon appears uncomfortable and becomes aware! of the fact he has bitten off an alarmingly invol ved assignment. Mid-point in Warren's speech, Dan gets up and walks behind Warren toward projector. He EXITS scene. WARREN: (to all members of clinic) "It's so simple. In order to get along with people -- in order to sell --we have to understand each other. We're all pretty much alike -- prospect, salesman or sales manager --we have things in common -- the way we talk, the way we think, the things we do, how we react... So, let's find out what these things are! I mentioned one -- that we all have a desire to have people interested in our --" (he pauses) Dan rises to make EXIT. "but this is a big subject -- (to Dan) Is this what you want us to do, Dan? It could take hours!" 3) INTERIOR, CLINIC ROOM, REAR AT PROJECTOR FULL SHOT as Dan ENTERS scene to go to projector. He seats himself as he talks and looks OFF SCREEN to speak to Ed. The lights go out and Dan turns on the projector. DAN: (as walking) "I figured you'd come to that conclusion, Warren. That's exactly what our filmmakers told us when we asked them to write a thirty minute script on this subject -- (to Ed) Will you catch that light, Ed. continued... " It may be--when you f i r s t start working with this format-- i t ' l l take a l i t t l e while to remember everything, but a fte r you've written no more than four or fiv e pages i t ' l l s ta rt becoming easy." I knew I'd probably have some questions about these formats when we started w ritin g, but fo r now I was content to tuck them away with the rest of my take home m aterial. W e talked about the logistics of the workshop scheduled for next week; the directions, times, and food. Then, ju st as the class was about to break up, John said, "Oh, you haven't told us. What kind of a dog do you have?" Mehring chuckled, "I wondered i f you'd ask. You'll see her next week. My dog is a l i t t l e dog. about fifte e n pounds and a mixture of many breeds. Her name is Judy. She's the queen of the neighborhood and she's lovely." 172^ CHAPTER FIVE. W ORKSHOP: PREMISE I t was early in the morning, or I should say i t was early for Friday morning because Friday mornings s ta rt m y weekend. I re a lly , d id n 't want to s ta rt o ff the three day workshop with a chip on m y shoulder, but there i t was, and when I walked into Mehring's house to find only a few people had arrived i t got instantly bigger. I'd gotten myself into gear, l e f t my warm bed and loving wife to get here to s it around and wait! Great! Just great! There were coffee and donuts and that helped some. Larry started asking me questions about the Cinema Department but I d idn 't feel lik e talking. I took m y coffee and donuts over to one side of the room and kept chewing so nobody'd bother me. The room was medium sized with windows a ll around and a fireplace on one side. There were chairs to s it in , but large pillows against the walls invited us to s it on the carpeted flo o r. There was a dog, ju st as Mehring had described, except for one thing, she did n 't t e ll us her dog barked, and she did, at everyone who came in. The walls were covered with large poster size pictures and diagrams obviously intended for our use during the workshop. There was a large easel board and pad close to the door, probably to take the place of a chalkboard. G R O U N D R U L E S After two cups of coffee and three donuts everyone except Michael had arrived, and I was s t i l l ir rita te d . "When we s ta rt late does that mean we stay la te r tonight, or do we stop on schedule even i f we don't s ta rt on schedule?" I asked. 173 I hadn't realized how that was going to sound un til I heard i t myself and everyone in the room stopped talking. Mehring looked at the clock on the wall and answered me, "You were one of the f i r s t to arrive weren't you, Don, and I hear that you'rei irrita te d . Michael's the only one who is n 't here yet and w e'll wait just a few more minutes, then i f he doesn't come w e'll s ta rt." I looked at the clock too. I t was only seven a fte r nine. I guess I'd gotten here early, and that's why it 'd seemed so long. She went on, "But I do agree with what I hear in Don's voice. When we schedule a starting time we need to a ll be here so we can start at that time. And, tomorrow morning w e 'll do th at, but on the f ir s t day I lik e to wait at least ten minutes i f necessary. When people haven't been here before it 's hard for them to judge how long i t ' l l take to get here. I t 's a bad scene a ll around when people arrive la te . Either the whole class has to s ta rt a ll over again or the person who's late keeps bothering someone to find out what's going on. This is especially true in a workshop situation where we do exercises and you need instructions and information so you can do them." Michael walked in and sat down next to Susan during the last part of what Mehring was saying. As soon as Mehring paused we a ll heard him ask Susan, "What's happening?" W e a ll laughed. Then he asked again, "What's so funny? Will somebody te ll m e what's going on?" I leaned forward and answered him, "Yeah Man, I ' l l t e ll you. You be here at nine o'clock tomorrow morning 'cause that's when we're starting , and what's happening is that Mehring ju st told us you'd do what you ju st did." book. Susan explained i t to him a l i t t l e better and I got out m y note- I f e l t a lo t better now and was ready to go to work. ■ I 3 r i 7L/V a 3J Mehring started o ff by te llin g us we were free to use a ll parts )f the house and yard to work in. She cautioned us not to keep s ittin g in the same place a ll day, or, as she said, "By the end of the day you'l je s q u irre lly ." Then she began to describe the f i r s t objective. "During this weekend we're going to be working with the elements 175 of story t e llin g ." She pointed to the diagram showing the elements of a story. "We've already defined these elements as they existed in the 'what i f ' stories, now w e'll work with each of them so you fu lly exper ience them. In other words, w e'll go beyond the in telle ctu al defining process and into the more feeling process." S O M E O N E S A Y I N G S O M E T H I N G T O S O M E O N E "The part of sto ryte llin g w e'll deal with f i r s t is the 'some thing' in 'someone saying something to someone.' There are many words used to describe this 'something.' The most com mon ones are premise, theme, purpose, central idea, root idea, message, what i t is about, statement or the point." "Different people use d ifferen t words, but, generally speaking, they're a ll talking about a sentence or group of sentences that sum up the idea in your head that you want to communicate. We'll use the word premise, but with the understanding that i t means the same thing as a ll those other words." "I consider screenwriting to be an act of communication, a purposeful and deliberate act designed to communicate a premise. Fur ther, I believe that in most cases, screenwriters decide f i r s t what they want to say and then design the way to say i t . I t 's only when you have a clear and specific statement of what you want to communicate that you have a direction to move in. A premise is your stimulus to c re a tiv ity and the measurement that decides what you've achieved." 176 F R A M I N G A S T A T E M E N T O F P R E M I S E "By now, hopefully, a ll of you've had a chance to read Lajos Egri's book The Art of Dramatic W riting. One of the major reasons I ask you to read this book is because of his chapter on premise. His approach to premise may, for some, seem lik e an oversimplication of a very profound concept, but as I see i t , especially for beginning screenwriters, i t has a very positive value. "One of the experiences very com mon to beginning writers is the sometimes d if f ic u lt task of getting started. You can spend many hours staring at a blank page, or endlessly throwing away beginnings that don't go anywhere. Also, you may find yourself ju st w riting without knowing how you're to tie everything together, or how you're going to end your story. I f you've thought through what you want to communicate and have phrased i t as a premise statement y o u 'll have given yourself a direction to move in. "Egri distinguishes between what he calls an idea statement and a premise statement. The difference lie s in what's included and the way i t 's stated. "According to Egri, an idea is s ta tic . I t has no movement, no action. For example, he would call these statements ideas: i t 's good to help people; everyone is his brother's keeper; never turn your back on someone who needs help. ' "He defines premise as a statement that has three parts: character; struggle; goal or resu lt. For example, he would call these statements premises: being a good person leads to he!ping people; crisis situations lead us to learn that we a ll are our brother's keepers; ___________ 177 deliberately turning your back on someone who needs help leads to loss of sanity. ; "The f i r s t part of the statement te lls you what kind of character or event you're going to develop: a good person; a crisis situation; someone who deliberately refuses to help. The second part, the phrase 'leads to ,' reminds you that a struggle must occur to determine the outcome. The th ird part says what the result or goal is: helping people; learning we're our brother's keeper; loss of sanity.\J " It 's the premise statement that immediately te lls you what to do. I t te lls you how to begin to develop your character, the questions to ask yourself about what the character does and why. I t reminds you to think about the struggles your character w ill be involved in and the obstacles he or she w ill have to deal with in order to achieve the result you've stated. Knowing the questions to ask yourself and the problems you must deal w ith, sets your mind in motion. Then you begin to examine alternatives, make decisions about the 'fitn e ss ' of each alternative and search fo r appropriate solutions. You're no longer randomly searching for ideas. Your thoughts are channeled and selective. You're deeply involved in the creative process. ' "This is not to say that framing a premise statement w ill solve a ll your writing problems, but i t makes them much more manageable." I D E A S "Ok, le t's work i t . Think about and w rite down two or three ideas you'd lik e to say to someone--ideas you'd lik e to use as the theme fo r a story. You'll have twenty minutes and then w e'll ta lk about them." 178 There've been many times when I'v e run across an idea I'v e thought would make a t e r r if ic movie, but as I sat there trying to remember them I drew a complete blank. So I stopped trying to remember and began thinking about things that were important to me. Then I could think of lots of things: I f we aren't careful the whole world w ill end up looking lik e New York; The man who takes care of himself and his family is the man of the hour; Down with free loaders. I finished ju st when Mehring announced that we had five minutes le f t . I f ille d up m y coffee cup and sat back to wait. Everyone except Susan had finished and gone for a coffee r e f i l l when Mehring called time and asked who wanted to go f ir s t . Jane spoke up, "I w ill. Persistence and hard work pay o ff in the end, and kindness w ill always win over selfishness.1 1 Then Larry read his. "Beauty has its own rewards; Love is the world's redemption; Loyalty to one's beliefs is the greatest good. "Aren't those awfully big subjects?" Charlie asked. "I'v e got things lik e macho role keeps you from warm and fun relationships and le ttin g someone help you carries a price. I t seems lik e beauty has its own rewards and kindness w ill always win over selfishness are so big. " M a k e a l i s t o f a t l e a s t t h r e e d i f f e r e n t t h e m e s t h a t i n t e r e s t y o u ." " I ' d l i k e f o r y o u t o d o t h i s t o o . " 179 They could be anything, or nothing." "These ideas are big, but very often that's where you s ta rt. Then you narrow i t down." Michael was next, "Lines that intersect co n flic t; Purple becomes lila c becomes lavender; Dark clouds bring brightness." I read mine and so did the rest of the class. M I C H A E L 'S P R E M I S E "Now, le t's take your ideas and turn them into premises. We'll do a couple of them together and then each of yo u'll develop your own. Michael, which one would you lik e to work with?" "Lines that intersect c o n flict." "All rig h t. This is the idea that Michael wants to prove in a story form. Obviously, he could demonstrate and prove i t to us by means other than through a story, but now he's going to do i t through sto ryte llin g . A w riter is in lots of ways a salesperson. He or she is trying to convince the reader/viewer to 'buy' his or her point of view. As you approach developing your story, your sales pitch, you need to firm ly establish what your position is —what you're selling . That's what you're doing when you formulate your premise." "I don't think Michael can say that idea in story form," Charlie interrupted. "Don't be too hasty," Mehring cautioned. "We'll think i t through. Michael, what kinds of lines are you thinking about? Are they lines drawn on a map? Are they lines of physical or ethnic capabilities and boundaries? Are they lines of agreement or disagreement? Are they lines in a painting or lines in a play?" 180 "What do you want m e to say they are?" " It 's up to you. Whatever you want them to be. What do you want to sell us?" Michael didn't answer righ t away. I had the feeling that he was surprised at Mehring's questions. I know I was. I didn't think that any of his ideas could be used to t e ll a story. "They're lines in a fountain. A sculptured fountain," he answered. "How do you feel about the fountain? Is i t beautiful? Ugly? A beneficial thing or a waste of time, money or space?" "No, i t 's beautiful. Very beautiful." "What part do the lines play in this fountain? What makes the lines signficant?" "Let m e think," he paused. "Well, the lines form the edges of the shapes that make up the fountain, and they also form the channels that contain and direct the water." "W ho made the lines?" "The sculptor." "Did he or she ju st throw those lines together? W as i t chance that lead to the particular form the lines took? Had he or she planned this fountain fo r a long time?" "Of course he d idn't ju st throw i t together, and i t is a he, but I don't think i t 's his a ll time masterpiece. I t 's your everyday standard professional fountain job." W e a ll laughed and Mehring continued, "So now we're beginning to get a particular character--!ines that define a total shape and 181 channel water. W e could 'go much further and Michael w ill i f he develops this into a scrip t, but for now this is enough to help in framing a premise statement. Next we want to deal with struggle. So we can say, sculptured lines that define a total shape and channel water lead to co n flic t. What kind of conflict?" "A visual c o n flic t," Michael answered. "Tell us more," Mehring pressed. "When the lines intersect," he stopped to think and then went on, "the direction of the flow of water that had been established now changes, provided we can call change struggle?" "Change is very d e fin ite ly a part of struggle," she answered. " I t causes struggle and is the result of struggle." Michael continued, "And for the person looking at the fountain, there's a co n flict of which direction to le t his eyes move in. F irst his attention moves in one direction and then i t has to stop and make a choice about what to look at next." "And what happens as a result of the flow of water being changed and a person's attention changing? What kind of a co n flict is there?" "Well, i t 's an in tellectu al co n flict for the person—one plane against the other or one direction against the other. For the water, its a physical co nflict I suppose." "And what does a ll this result in?" she continued pressing. "What do you mean?" "What about a ll of this do you want to sell us? What do you want us to think a fte r we've seen your film --a fte r you've made your sales pitch?" 182 "I want you to enjoy the visual experience." "So we can say then, sculptured lines that intersect to define shape and channel water lead to enjoyable visual experiences. Does that state what you want to communicate?" " It sure does." "Michael's work is well underway. He already knows the things h e 'll emphasize about the fountain. Out of a ll the hundreds of things that could be said about that fountain he's chosen to concentrate on the lines. He knows he's looking for the places where the lines in te r sect and where d iffe re n t things begin to happen. There must be many of these places that h e 'll want to show us and show in such a way as to convince us that this change or co n flict is an interesting and enjoyable experience." "Is that re a lly a story?" Larry asked. "How have we defined a story?" she answered. "Like i t says up there," he gestured to a diagram hanging on the wal 1. "Right. Someone saying something to someone through events that struggle accumulatively through space/time toward a fin al struggle and unknown but inevitable result and through emerging characterization. What is there in this defin ition that he wouldn't be able to use or develop?' "Sure," Larry responded, "I suppose that instead of people the Tines are his characters and the struggle doesn't have to be in human terms." He paused. "Ok, i t could be a story, but wouldn't i t be better as an a rt film?" 183 "Why can't an a rt film have a dramatic structure?" Mehring asked. Nobody had an answer. Then she turned to Michael, "Do you have an answer fo r that?" "Not re a lly . Not now. Frankly, I'v e never thought of doing a film this way and I'm curious. I want to play with i t before I decide about i t . " "Let's do another one, one of yours, Jane. Which one do you want?" J A N E 'S P R E M I S E "Persistance and hard work pay o ff in the end." "What kind of persistence and hard work? Is i t persistence and hard work in moderation or is i t compulsive? Persistence and hard work in what area? A farmer, a prize fig h te r or a student?" " I t ’s a student and," she paused, "and i t 's compulsive." "I'm glad you said compulsive instead of moderate because that lends it s e lf to a more interesting development. The most involving and effective stories deal with unusual events not with the usual everyday ordinary events. So now we have a compulsive, persistent and hard working student. Let's take i t further. What are the obstacles the student has to overcome in order to be successful?" "Well, le t's see, he's dumb. No I d id n 't mean that. H e 's ... he's handicapped. He's deaf. That's i t , he's deaf." "So he has to struggle with his handicap?" "And with how other people view him, lik e deaf people aren't supposed to go to college and do the things that normal people do." "What's the result?" 184 "He gets what he wants because he won't give up." "And what does he want?" "He wants a normal l i f e , a good job, w ife, and children." "Ok. So the persistence and hardwork of a deaf student leads to his achievement of a normal l i f e . Is that it?" "That's i t . " "And what is i t you want us to buy?" "Oh," she stopped to think. "Well, I re a lly want you to be convinced that persistence and hard work pay o ff in the end." "Here's an example of how Jane took a very abstract idea--much more abstract than Michael's idea— and found a concrete way of proving that her idea was rig h t." "Now I'm going to ask each of you to take one of your ideas and turn i t into a premise statement. For you, Michael and Jane, you work on a d iffe re n t one than we ju st did. But before you s ta rt I want to underscore the fact that this is a very practical approach to the concept of premise. Right now i t may seem very mechanical and narrow to you, but yo u 'll discover that i t frees you more than i t constricts you. When you internalize the practice of stating a premise in terms of an active dramatic structure you're then free to examine the host of nuances, ramifications and alternatives that expand your work and make i t become a liv e ." W e a ll went to work and I thought I'd knock out a premise statement in no time f l a t . I wanted to get outside in the sun. But, i t wasn't that easy and I found myself going through the same kind of questioning Mehring had done with Michael and Jane. 185 I took my f i r s t idea statem ent--if we aren 't careful the whole world w ill end up looking lik e New York. " I f we aren 't careful about what?" I asked myself and then answered. "Population, overpopulation. That's what we've got to be careful about. I f the world keeps producing so many people w e'll be nothing but one big c ity . What's the struggle? People struggling for space to liv e in , food to eat, water to drink and maybe even a ir to breath. It 's a physical struggle. People becoming savage again and l i f e becoming ugly. That's why I le f t New York. There wasn't enough space and l i f e was becoming ugly. The result: What w ill be the result? What w ill happen when there are a ll those people? I t is n 't going to be war. People won't have the strength to fig h t. So what's m y premise? How do I state it? What do I want to say? I know! World overpopulation leads to the weakening and self-destruction of a ll people. Everybody thinks in terms of the wars that w ill end the world. In m y movie there won't be anything that powerful. The las t man w ill whimper. There'll be no victories, no shouting." Margaret was rig h t. A premise statement brought m y idea to life . She looked at each of our statements as we finished, and we a ll went out into the warm sun of Manhattan Beach. " N o w i t ' s t i m e f o r y o u t o h a v e t h i s s a m e e x p e r i e n c e . " a n s w e r s , a n d I h o p e y o u r i d e a w i l l c o m e a l i v e f o r y o u t h e w a y D o n ' s d i d f o r h i m . " q u e s t i o n s , l e t y o u r m i n d p l a y a r o u n d w i t h y o u r 186 CHAPTER SIX. W ORKSHOP: STRUGGLE W e a ll ended up sprawled out in the backyard of Mehring's home, soaking up the warm sun, smelling the s a lt a ir and feeling very mellow. Margaret and her dog, Judy, joined us and a fte r awhile she suggested we sta rt our next session rig h t where we were. Margaret told us the next concept we were going to deal with was the concept of struggle. She asked us to pair o ff and said we were going to arm wrestle. By now none of us were surprised at anything Margaret asked us to do and we a ll accepted the notion of arm wrestling in a m atter-of-fact way. I was s ittin g next to Charlie so we paired up. W e turned onto our stomachs, put our elbows and forearms together, and clasped our hands together. W e were about to s ta rt when Margaret stopped us. W e le t go of each other's hands and crossed our arms in front of us. A R M W R E S T L I N G "Hold i t ju st a moment Don and Charlie. I want to say a few things before you s ta rt. Obviously, I'm not suggesting you do this just for the fun of i t . I'm asking you to do i t because I believe you'll learn something about screenwriting by doing i t . So, as you're arm wrestling I'd lik e you to be very much aware of what's happening, the things you're doing and the thoughts you have. There are sim ila ritie s between the way a story develops and the way your arm wrestling w ill develop. It 's these sim ila ritie s w e'll want to id en tify and ta lk about." She paused and then said, "Ok. Don and Charlie, assume your positions.' W e did and she said, "Get set; one, two, three, go." ________ 187 I could feel Charlie's hand grip mine and s ta rt pushing. Right then I knew he was stronger than I'd thought he'd be. This wasn't goinc to be easy. I was content to just hold m y own for a moment and then I started pushing harder. His arm went down a l i t t l e —ju st a little --a n d then pushed back again. I had a ll I could do to keep m y arm straight and as I f e l t m y arm starting to give a l i t t l e I heard Margaret talkin g, "Watch how i t looks lik e Don's winning. Then i t looks lik e Charlie. Now i t ' s Don again. Will Don get him this time? No. Charlie's coming back up. Don and Charlie are very evenly matched. It 's hard to predict who'11 w in ." Q , / m m She couldn't have been more rig h t. I wasn't at a ll sure I could deck his arm but I wasn't ready to give up. I asked myself what I could do that might give m e an advantage and I knew I'd better do i t quickly. My arm was getting very tire d . I decided to relax for ju st one moment, le t him think I'd had i t and then re a lly sock i t to him with a ll I had le f t . "Oh, oh, i t looks lik e Don's about to give up. No. No, he isn't. He's going for a fin ish . Is he going to make it?" She sounded lik e a sports announcer and the rest of the class was cheering for both of us. "There i t is ," she said, "Don's the winner." "Wow! You re a lly faked me out there man," Charlie said, "I thought I had you, but I sure d id n 't." "You almost did though," I told him honestly. E L E M E N T S O F A R M W R E S T L I N G "All rig h t," Margaret said, "Let's dissect what ju st happened here. Let's look fo r a ll the elements that made up the event of Don's and Charlie's arm w rest!ing." Lenard spoke f i r s t , "Since you've already stated there are s im ila ritie s between a story and this game I assume you are looking for things lik e beginning, middle, and end." "Yes, but I want us to go much deeper than th at." Nobody said anything. I was confused and not at a ll sure what she was asking. She continued, "Don't think about storytelling rig h t now. Think only about the arm wrestling. What was the f i r s t thing that happened in the arm wrestling?" 189 "They had to get into a position to wrestle," Jane said. "Should we take i t back even fu rth er, to when you told them to arm wrestle?" Bobbie asked. Is n 't that where i t started?" "And then they had to make the decision to do what you instructed them to do," Michael added. I could remember a ll those things, except I re a lly hadn't been aware of making the decision to do the arm wrestling. That made m e wonder i f anyone had, so I asked, "Is there anyone who would have decided not to do it?" "Well, I decided to do i t , but i t was a conscious choice," Michael answered, "but then, everything I ever do is a conscious choice." "I thought about i t too," Liz spoke up, "because I don't rea lly lik e doing things lik e th at, but then I decided that Margaret wouldn't ask us to do i t i f i t weren't important." "I haven't yet made m y decision," Lenard spoke and surprised us a ll . "I'm sure that Mrs. Mehring has a very valid ju s tific a tio n for requesting our participation in th is , but i t seems v e r y ...," he paused and then went on, " in fa n tile . A fter a l l , we are adults and adults have higher cognitive levels for learning." Margaret answered him immediately. "You're absolutely righ t. Adults do acquire a very large part of th e ir knowledge at more abstract cognitive verbal levels, but we are not lim ited to that. I t 's been m y experience that the more I embrace a ll levels of both affective and cognitive learning, the greater and richer my knowledge. I hope, and more than that I urge you to do these things, even i f at f i r s t they _____________________________________________________________________________ 190 seem in fa n tile to you." Lenard d id n 't answer. I f e l t pretty sure he was s t i l l undecided and I wondered what he'd do when his turn came. "Should we go on?" Margaret asked. I had something to say. "No hard feelings, Charlie, but before we actually started pushing I thought you were going to be easy to beat, then as soon as we started I knew d iffe re n tly and had to change m y approach." "So you're saying the f i r s t test of strength is one of the elements?" Margaret asked. "Yeah, you could call i t that. Before th a t, the other things rtere kind of routine, but when I f e l t Charlie pushing I became involved.' "You sure did!" Charlie said, "and then we began the pushing, back and fo rth ." "Actually, you're doing two things. You're not ju st pushing to A/in. You're doing something else too. What is it?" Margaret asked. My mind was a complete blank. I wanted to say "grunting a lot" but I knew that wasn't what she was a fte r, so I started reliving the Experience in m y mind. I remembered at f i r s t pushing and forcing his arm down a l i t t l e , but not getting i t very fa r before he'd gotten back jp again. Then I had a ll I could do to keep him from pushing m y arm down. With that thought I knew what she was driving at. I was trying to win, but also trying to keep him from winning. I said that to the :lass and Margaret agreed. "But is n 't that the same thing," Larry asked, " if you win you've cept him from winning?" 191 "No. It 's re a lly d iffe re n t. There's a whole d iffe re n t thing going down." I f e l t lik e I'd made a great discovery. " It 's easier to show you than t e ll you." I moved over to where Larry was s ittin g , we got into position and I told him, "Ok. Push." He did immediately and pushed so hard he almost got m y arm down to the ground before I could get i t back up, but I did. I held m y arm straight for a couple of seconds and then started pushing again. Larry was no match for m e so I took i t easy. "Now I'm pushing to win and you're pushing to keep from losing." I le t up a l i t t l e so he could push my arm down some. "Do you feel the difference Now you're pushing to win." "Yes, you're rig h t," he answered, "there is a difference." Now I pushed his arm back again and he continued talking. "My thoughts are d iffe re n t and I'm even using some d iffe re n t muscles." "Right on," I answered him and then easily pushed his arm down. "One is aggressive and the other is defensive. One is pushing and one is resistin g ," Margaret added. Larry stayed on his back and I went back to m y place. I f e l t a l i t t l e crummy about the way I'd concealed my strength and then ended the game so fa s t, but not fo r long. He deserved i t a fte r the way he tried to sandbag m e at the beginning. " I t seems lik e there's something else," Becky in terjected , "sure, when the game started we d id n 't know which one was going to win." "Right. The outcome was unknown," Margaret agreed. "And changes occurred," Charlie said, "I wasn't the same at the end of the game as I was at the beginning. F irs t of a l l , I was tire d . 192 I'd expended energy, a lo t of i t . I was tired and sweaty." He stopped and then went on lik e he-was thinking outloud. "And, when I started I was optim istic. I thought I'd win, but when Don won I d idn't feel so good about myself." "Yeah, I ' l l agree with th at," Larry said. There was a long silence until Margaret broke i t , "What else? What other elements can we identify?" "Well, there was the last push. The push that decided which one would win," John spoke up, "but what would be the result?" "In this case, I'd say the result comes at the moment one persor wins and the other loses," Margaret answered. "That's generally the case when you're dealing with a purely physical struggle." Charlie spoke again, " It seemed to m e at some point Don changed his tactics and threw m e o ff guard." "Oh yeah, I did. I deliberately le t up a l i t t l e . That was m y strategy to fake you out." "So another element is strategy, having one and changing i t as i t becomes necessary. This becomes necessary as the back and forth struggle creates new relationships, new equilibriums." She got up from where she was seated. "All rig h t, le t's go in the house so we can l i s t these elements on the easel pad." E L E M E N T S O F S T O R Y T E L L I N G That's what we did and, with our help she wrote the l i s t of elements we'd discussed on the easel pad. She finished, stepped back and then said, "I see two we've missed." She wrote the la s t two and sat down. _________ 193 BEGINNING ACTION DECISION TO STRUGGLE TAKING POSITION TO R STRUGGLE FIRST TEST OF STRENGTH BACK AND FORTH PUSHING AND RESISTING CONSTANT CHANGE OCCURRING O U TC O M E IS U N K N O W N EVOLVING OF N E W RELATIONSHIPS PLANNING OF STRATEGY LAST STRUGGLE RESULT EVENT OCCUPIES TIME EVENT OCCUPIES SPACE tn "Ok, le t's watch another one and look for these elements as they lappen. Who'll go next?" Becly turned to Susan, "Should we do it?" "Why not," Susan answered. "Sowhat element is that?" Margaret asked. Several of us responded at the same time. "The decision to Struggle." "And what're they doing right now?" she continued to ask. "Taking a position for struggle." A H A P P E N I N G As Becky and Susan got down on the flo o r and started to arm JLM wrestle I would have bet m y last nickel that Becky would take Susan, but i t was ju st the opposite. As soon as Margaret got them started, Susan began pushing and Becky d idn't have a chance. The match was over before i t got started. "Gee, you're strong, lady," Becky told Susan as they got up o ff the flo o r. "Now, what happened here, between Becky and Susan?" Margaret asked. "There wasn't a struggle," Bobbie answered. "There wasn't any back and forth pushing and resisting." "More than th at," Liz jumped in , "there wasn't any change. I t did occupy space and time, but not very much. The outcome was instantly known. No new relationships or strategy planning occurred, but there was a last stru g g le ..." Larry interrupted, "Was that a last struggle or a f i r s t test of strength?" "That's always a good question, Larry. When does something become one thing and not the other. Here, in this situation , I'd probably say i t started as a f i r s t test of strength and ended as a last struggle," Margaret replied. "So re a lly , "John said, "this wasn't at a ll lik e Don's and Charlies's arm wrestling. I t was the same game but to ta lly d iffe re n t." "Exactly," Margaret answered, "they were two d iffe re n t types of events, with a d iffe re n t set of elements, and w e'll call them by d ifferen t names. She went to the easel pad and drew a circ le around a ll the 195 elements we'd lis te d . Then she drew squares around only those elements that occurred when Becky and Susan had wrestled. I t was clear that the whole middle section ju st hadn't been there for Becky and Susan. BEGINNING ACTION VECISION TO STRUGGLE TAKING POSITION TO R STRUGGLE FIRST TEST OF STRENGTH BACK ANV FORTH PUSHING ANV RESISTING CONSTANT CHANGE OCCURRING O UTCO M E IS U N K N O W N EVOLVING OF N E W RELATIONSHIPS PLANNING O F STRATEGY LAST STRUGGLE RESULT EVENT OCCUPIES TIME EVENT OCCUPIES SPAC “We'll call the game between Don and Charlie a story and the game between Becky and Susan a happening. So, in the future, when we say something is a story w e'll know we're referring to th is ," she pointed to the circled area. "When we say something is a happening w e'll know we're referring to th is ," and now she pointed to the squared areas. She turned to Becky and Susan, "You two were unevenly matched and whenever that happens, given the same method of resisting and pushing, th e re 'll not be a struggle. One w ill always overpower or dominate the other." She paused and then continued talking to Becky __________ 196 and Susan. "Before we're through with this I'd lik e both of you to team up with other people, where you're more evenly matched. I'd lik e both of you to experience the two way struggle of re s is t and push" She now turned to the whole class, "I want that for a ll of you— so you feel the physical sensation of resisting your opponents pressure at the same time you feel yourself trying to put pressure on her or him. I'd lik e to have you feel the continuous nature of th is . I t is n 't something you s ta rt and stop. You may decide to stop pushing and ju s t resist but that won't la s t for very long. Once you've put yourself in the game you must continue until one or the other wins. I t ' s the same way in sto ryte llin g . Once you put your characters into struggle situations they must continue un til one force dominates the other." "Now before we do anymore arm wrestling, there's something else we need to ta lk about. During the next one I'd lik e you to be more conscious of what's going on inside of you as a spectator. Think back to the two games we've watched and see i f you can id en tify any of your feelings or thoughts during the games. Just for a moment, try closing your eyes to get a mental replay of Charlie's and Don's arm wrestling and then Becky's and Susan's." S P E C T A T O R E X P E R I E N C I N G W hen I closed m y eyes and saw Susan so quickly flooring Becky I realized how much I'd wanted Becky to be a winner, but I d idn't think that feeling had anything to do with scriptw riting so I shelved i t and opened my eyes. "What did you discover?" Margaret asked. "I believe you are driving at the concept of id e n tific a tio n , a 197 phenomenon which frequently occurs within a spectator when watching a contest where there's a large measure of involvement," answered Lenard. "Yes, id en tificatio n is the label. Now, Lenard, le t's carry i t further. Let's go beyond the label to an example of such an experience. ' "Well," he stopped to think,/"when a spectator watches a contestant winning or losing he puts himself in the place of one or the other and..." Margaret interrupted, "Do m e a favor w ill you, Lenard, try answering my question in the f i r s t person, more as you f e l t or might have f e l t as you watched the arm wrestling." "I re a lly d idn't id entify with any of them though. I was more interested in ju st observing," he answered. "Ok, but now I'm asking you to pretend to id entify with one or the other. Close your eyes and in your mind see Charlie and Don arm wrestling. Then, this time, imagine yourself getting more emotionally involved." He was s ile n t and ju s t looked at her fo r what seemed lik e a very long time. Then he answered, "I don't think I can do th at." "Let m e help you," she replied, "Close your eyes and in your mind look at Charlie and Don out in the backyard wrestling. See them s ta rt. Watch how Don pushes Charlie's hand. Charlie's pushing back and Don's hand is moving. Now ju st focus your attention on th e ir hands, Don't pay any attention to anything else. Look at how red th e ir hands are, how white the knuckles. Now pretend Don's hand is your hand. Keep your eyes closed and te ll that hand what to do. What w ill you say to that hand?" 198 Lenard sat quietly and then he opened his eyes. "I can't. My mind is blocking." "Sure you can do i t . Try one more time, and this time put your elbow on the flo o r and hold your hand in a wrestling position. I ' l l pretend I'm Charlie." I d id n 't know why but I re a lly wanted Lenard to be able to do th is. I could see he d id n 't re a lly know how, but he was hanging in there. Everything was so quiet I could hear a telephone ringing in the house across the street. Margaret continued, "I'm pushing on your hand, Lenard. I'm pushing, pushing, pushing. There you go. Your arm's going down, down." As she said "there you go" we could see Lenard's hand s tiffe n and move, not very much, but i t moved as i f to push at the imaginary hand i t was holding. "What are you saying to that hand?" Margaret asked. Lenard opened his eyes and answered, "I was saying, no you won't! No you won't push m e down!" W e a ll of us a ll of a sudden started clapping. I guess I wasn't the only one who wanted him to do i t . Lenard looked a l i t t l e self-conscious a fte r the applause, but he also looked pleased. "Now," Margaret said, " te ll us what was going on inside of you." "Well, I imagined I was Don. I put myself in his position. I wanted him to win. I wanted to help him, push with him, maybe even for him." "And you did," she nodded her head. "W e carried this exper ience beyond the phenomenon of id en tificatio n when I asked you to ___________ 199 pretend you actually were Don, but you achieved something even better. You became re a lly emotionally involved in the experience, and being able to do that is very important for a screenwriter." She paused and then went on. "For some of us being emotionally involved is quite easy, but fo r others i t 's not so easy. I was glad to see you stick with i t until you did become involved." "Speaking of id e n tific a tio n ," Charlie blurted out to Lenard. I completely id entified with you. As I was watching you i t was lik e I was watching myself and then when you made i t —wow! That made m e feel 1 ike I'd made i t . " Margaret spoke up immediately, "And th at's the experience the label id en tificatio n stands for. I think, but correct m e i f I'm wrong, a ll of you had pretty much the same experience Charlie ju st described. This is what happens when we have struggle situations. Generally speaking, i t 's the human condition for us to take sides with one or more of the forces involved in a struggle, provided certain things occur. Think for a moment about Becky's and Susan's arm wrestling. Did any of you become as involved with them as you did with Don and Charlie?" "Oh no," Jane answered, "not at a ll." Michael chuckled, " It d idn't la s t long enough to get involved." "As a matter of fa c t," I said, "I was disappointed, even a l i t t l s pissed." Here I was expecting a re a lly good game and i t d id n 't happen." " It 's lik e going to a football game that ends up 14 to 48," 3obbie said. "So another thing we can say is that generally a story involves ____________________________________________________ Z .Q C us much more than does a happening, and i t 's viewer involvement we want. At least I have yet to meet a filmmaker who doesn't want viewer involvement in some form or another." She paused and then continued. "We've lis ted two types of involvement that can be e lic ite d , id e n t ifi cation and anticipation/disappointment. Now le t 's do more arm wrestling, a ll of you at the same time, and each of you consciously id en tify the various elements of the struggle as well as look fo r things that go on inside of you. Just be sure you get for yourself the experience of both pushing and resisting. I f you don't get i t with one person try someone else." E L E M E N T S O F A S T A L E M A T E I wrestled again, this time with Michael. He was strong but s t i l l not strong enough to beat me. Then John asked m e to take him on, and I began to feel more and more lik e a champion defending his t i t l e . John was another story. I couldn't budge his arm one quarter of an inch, but he couldn't budge mine either. When I began to realize neither of us would weaken or give in I became conscious of the fact that everyone else had stopped wrestling and were a ll watching us. " I t may be that John and Don are so perfectly matched that neither of them can win," Margaret was saying. I started trying to figure out what I could do to throw John off guard and gain an advantage, but I d idn't dare le t up fo r a second or he'd take me. Then I heard Margaret asking, "What are you feeling inside, not Don and John, but those of you who are watching?" " It 's not very interesting," Becky answered. "There is n 't anything going on. I'm bored." 201 Susan spoke up, "What do you mean there is n 't anything going on? Look at th e ir faces!" At th at, both John and I started laughing and simultaneously le t go of each other's hands. I was exhausted. John looked lik e he was too Margaret went to the easel pad and said, "This event was differen t from the events we called a story and a happening so we need to give i t a d iffe re n t label. We'll call i t a stalemate," she pointed to the l i s t on the pad, "and I'd lik e to have you think about which of these elements were used?" " I'd say the f i r s t four," Bobbie answered. "And the last two," Jane added. Margaret drew dotted lines around the f i r s t four and las t two. 1 BEGINNING ACTION DECISION TO STRUGGLE TAKING POSITION FO R STRUGGLE FIRST TEST OF STRENGTH bA M 'A nV FORTH PUSHING AND RESISTING CONSTANT CHANG E OCCURRING O U TC O M E IS U N K N O W N EVOLVING OF N E W RELATIONSHIPS PLANNING OF STRATEGV LAST STRUGGLE RESULT EVENT OCCUPIES TIME EVENT OCCUPIES SPACE 202 "Was anyone very deeply involved w ith Don and John? she asked. No one said anything. "So the conclusion is that inspite of the fact that Don and John expended a ll that energy, nothing was re a lly happening. You lost interest and became bored." No one disputed what she said and I wondered to myself what i t must have been lik e to watch us. A fter I thought about i t a moment, I decided I'd have been bored too. "Now that you’ve experienced these three different events-- the story, the happening, and the stalemate-rl'd like you to do the arm wrestling too.” "I'd like for you to exper ience all three of those events so you'll need to find someone with whom you're almost evenly matched, someone, who's much weaker than you are, and someone with whom you're perfectly matched." I 1 1 I "It'd be good if you could do this right away— before you do anymore reading." "As you're wrestling, be sure you think about all the ele ments that go into a story and then the things that are missing in the happening and stalemate, just like the class has done." A S T R U G G L E T H A T S T A N D S F O R S O M E T H I N G E L S E Margaret moved away from the easel pad and sat down on the floor with us. "We've been dealing with a purely physical struggle, where the 203 only goal has been to win--to win for the sake of winning. Now I'd lik e to have you explore the differences between this kind of a struggle, physical struggle for its own sake, and a struggle that stands for something else." "I don't understand what you mean by a struggle that stands for something else. Can you give us an example," Larry asked. "Larry, right now I don't want to give you an example," she answered him. " I'd lik e for you to think about i t and discover an example yo u rs e lf." "Well how can I think about i t unless I know what I'm supposed to think about?" Larry was surprised at her response. "How can I know where to begin?" "I think y o u 'll know where to begin," she persisted. "Let's work with i t . What was m y question?" "What's the difference between a struggle th at's struggle for its own sake and a struggle that stands for something else?" he answered "Now, with that question in your mind, what's your f i r s t thought?" "Nothing! That's what I'm saying. I don't know what to think about because I don't know what these two things are!" Everybody laughed, but Margaret continued, "We're going around in a c irc le , Larry. Let's break out of i t . Just le t your mind chew on that question a minute, and then think out loud." Larry looked down at the flo or and looked lik e he was doing what she had asked. Nobody said anything until Charlie broke the silence, "Can't I give him a .. ." 204 Margaret stopped him, "No Charlie, this one belongs to Larry. I f we t e ll him the answer he won't have the satisfaction of finding i t himself," Charlie nodded his head and settled back, but he looked a lo t lik e a bottle whose cork was about to blow. "Ready, Larry?" Margaret asked. "Ok, I'v e been thinking about physical struggle, about our arm wrestling. W hen I was doing i t , a ll I could think about was winning, being the winner. And, I understand that th at's what you mean by struggle for its own sake." "What other examples of struggle fo r its own sake can you think of?" Margaret asked. "Well, football games, any sports for that matter." He stopped and thought. "Even individual sports, sports that don't have physical contact, lik e swimming or track." Larry stopped again and Charlie tried to get Margaret's attention, but she did n 't even see him. "What about war?" Larry asked. Margaret d idn 't answer and he went on. "That's struggle, but war can be more than struggle for i t ' s own sake; lik e the C ivil War was not ju st to win or lose but to decide the issue of slavery. So, ok. Can we say a struggle that stands fo r something else is only a means to another end?" "We sure can," Margaret answered, "and, as a matter of fa c t, that's a very good way of putting i t . " Margaret was smiling. I t was good that Larry had come up with the answer without being told. I wondered i f I would have done as w ell. _______________ 205 "Now Charlie, what was i t you wanted to say?" Margaret asked. "He did i t . I was going to t e ll him to think of other kinds of struggles and that's exactly what he did," Charlie answered. "Ok, and le t's do more of th at," she said as she went back to the easel pad. Then, as we a ll gave examples she wrote some of them on the easel pad. "Now le t's l i s t the elements that distinguish these from each other. Think about what these things might be, jo t your ideas down, and w e'll ta lk about them in fiv e minutes." PHYSICAL STRUGGLE STRUGGLE AS M EANS FO R ITS O W N SAKE TO ANOTHER ENV A & icct flig h t manJjtal asigumcntA boxing match, {a lt. ^ p o n li) p o lit ic a l e le c tio n s c i v i l n ig h ts flIgh ts clim b in g a mountain clim b in g a mountain [to suAvlve) [to phovc s e lfl Id e n tity ) lo & t In mocU 8 way home. stn u g g le to flln d fa m ily fleuds m "You too. What do you think distinguishes the struggle as a means to another end from physical struggle for its own sake?" "Try not to start reading again until you've thought of at least two differences between these two kinds of struggles. Then you’ll be able to see if your thinking is the same as the class." 206 E L E M E N T S I N A S T R U G G L E A S A M E A N S T O A N O T H E R E N D W hen Margaret called time, I was the f i r s t to respond. "I took the two struggles, climbing a mountain to survive and climbing to prove s e lf-id e n tity and compared them. I t seemed to m e lik e the struggle for its own sake was much simpler. There were fewer things involved in the struggle. There would be only one thought, 'how can I survive?' W hen I was arm wrestling I had one thought, 'what can I do to win?' but i f I were climbing a mountain to prove myself I can think of many other thoughts, lik e : 'why am I doing th is ? 1 'what w ill this prove?' 'What w ill happen i f I fa il? ' 'What w ill m y wife think i f I fa il? ' and on and on. So I'd say, the struggle as a means to another end is much more complex." "More complex, more varied and more things going on," Becky added. "That's something lik e what I did," John said. I saw the struggle for struggle's sake as being lin ear. I t 's main theme--the need to win— stands on its own and repeats it s e lf over and over, but the other is lik e a tree. The thing you're struggling for is the trunk o f the tree and the branches are the d iffe re n t struggles you go through so you can win." "I think in the struggle as a means to another end there are choices involved— a lo t of them— but in a struggle for its own sake-- a fte r you've agreed to fight--you have no other choices to make, or at least very few," Susan said. "And in a struggle for struggle's sake, lik e to survive, the 207 struggle is a necessity, but i f you're climbing a mountain to prove you're a man, that's not a necessity," Michael added. "At least i t 's a d iffe re n t necessity," Margaret responded. "A psychological necessity can be ju st as compelling as a physical one." "Anyone who climbs a mountain to prove to himself he's a man has got to be some kind of a nut?" Michael persisted. Margaret again lis ted the things we'd talked about and added one of her own. < 5 > H ELEMENTS F O U N T ? IN A STRUGGLE AS A M EANS TO ANOTHER E N T ? moae complex m o fie v a fiie d /d i^ e fie n t th in g * happening m o fie c h o ic e */a lte fin a tiv e * c o n ta in * *tfiong value judgement L _ n j -------------------------^ She pointed to the la s t thing she wrote, "This is one other element I find in every story where the struggle is a means to another end. There's always a value of some kind involved. A value that has to do with things lik e rightness and wrongness, goodness and badness, ju s tic e , craziness and fitness. Sometimes, but not always, when you have a physical struggle for its own sake there's a physical necessity involved where the value is survival, and for most of us, there re a lly is no alternative when faced with a threat to physical survival. I think th at's what Michael was driving at. A m I right?" she asked him. 208 "Yeah, th e re 's no decision to be made. You ju s t do." Michael rep!ied. Again she sat down on the flo o r and crossed her arms on her bent knees. "Now, to get a stronger feeling for these elements, I'd lik e you to think for a few minutes about Shakespeare's play, Romeo and J u lie t, and find these elements in that play. Is there anyone who is n 't fa m iliar with the play?" No one said anything so she went on, "First think about the complexity of the play." She put her head down on her arms and some of the others did the same thing. I t had been a long time since I'd thought about Romeo and J u lie t, but as I started thinking i t began to come back. I remembered how they m et--I th in k --a t a masked b a ll. They f e ll in love and then learned they were from families who hated each other. I think they wen; married--maybe not— but whatever, Romeo would climb up— I think—a rope ladder, to spend the nights with J u lie t. And then Romeo k ille d someone, R O M E O A N D J ill T F T "Do you remember It?" "If you don’t remember it, see if you can yet ahold of the play, or even a synopsis of it. Read it and then think about it." play is. Run through "If so, do the same thing the class is doing. Think about how complicated this your head as much of the plot as you can remember." 209 someone from J u lie t's family so he was exiled. At this point, J u lie t's parents insisted she get married. Of course, they d id n't know she'd already been married and she couldn't te ll them, so she and a monk figured out a scheme that made her appear to be dead, but re ally she'd only taken a drug. Then somehow--I don't remember ju st how--Romeo was supposed to get a message te llin g him about the drug, but he didn't and when he heard J u lie t was dead he believed i t . He went to her tomb, and because he thought she was dead he k ille d himself. I think he took a poison. J u lie t woke up and found him dead, so this time she re a lly k ille d herself. Then, in the end, the families buried th e ir hatchets and because of Romeo and J u lie t they stopped hating and fighting. Yeah, i t ' s complex a ll rig h t— even with what I remembered—and I know there are things I'v e forgotten. Next she asked us to think about a ll the d iffe re n t things that had happened in the play, the many choices and alternatives, and the strong value judgements. These thoughts were redundant, but they did make the point that there's a big difference between a struggle as a means to another end and struggle for its own sake. When we finished with Romeo and J u lie t I thought sure we'd stop fo r lunch but she continued, "I know i t 's close to lunch time and we're a ll getting hungry, but there's one more thing I'd lik e for us to do before we break. In your arm wrestling there was one person pushing against another person, one force opposing another force. That's one kind of struggle, but not the only one. I'd lik e for you to think about and w rite down your ideas about other kinds of forces that can oppose each other. You have fiv e minutes." 210 "I'd like you to think about this too." !'In storytelling, what are the different kinds of forces that can oppose each other?" "Try and think of at least three different ones before you start reading again." After the fiv e minutes were up she asked, "All rig h t, Lenard, A/hat do you have on your lis t? As he read what he'd written she wrote i t on the easel pad. ZJi a © KTNVS OF FORCES THAT CAN _______ OPPOSE EACH OTHER________ Sel.fi opposing s e lfi Envlfionment opposing In d iv id u a l ofi gfioup In d iv id u a l opposing unolken In d iv id u a l ofi gfioup Gfioup (s) opposing oth<m gfioup {s) n r n v Lenard finished and Margaret asked, "Does anyone have any othersf Charlie spoke up, "How about 'fa te ' opposing individuals or groups." She nodded her agreement. "Anymore?" "What's that environment?" Liz asked, "is that physical environ ment or cultural? " It was m y intention to encompass both," Lenard answered. 211 "Anymore?" Nobody had anything to say. Margaret added the new things and again sat down on the flo or. r ® / K1NVS Of FORCES THAT C AM OPPOSE EACH O THER S e ll opposing s e ll {p h y s ic a l & cuZlunal) Envlnonm m l opposing In d iv id u a l on gnoup In d iv id u a l opposing anolkcn In d iv id u a l on gnoup Gnoup (s) opposing othcn gnoup{s) "P a le " opposing In d iv id u a l( s ) on gnoupIs) _ _ " Y r r W H A T C A U S E S O N E F O R C E T O O P P O S E A N O T H E R F O R C E "Now the next question is , what puts one force in opposition to another force? And, for the answer you must look into the nature of each force and the nature of th e ir interactions." "When the forces have divergent values and/or goals they w ill oppose each other. For example, imagine yourself as a person who values honesty and candor and you find you must work with someone who values the politeness of fla tte ry and w ell-intentioned, i f fa ls e , praise. Imagine that your assignment in this situation is to obtain accurate information and maintain extremely friendly relations. Or, suppose in another situation your goal is to complete an extremely complex project very rapidly, but the goal of the persons who you must rely upon most U 212 heavily is to daily enjoy l i f e , quietly and slowly. In both of these cases struggles would inevitably develop." "Whenever one force interferes with the a c tiv itie s of another force y o u 'll have a struggle situation. Imagine what you would do i f someone in your family decided to try and stop you from going to school. Would you do i t , or struggle against them? Or, what i f you were on a weekend camping tr ip and other campers tried to run you out of your campsite? Would you pack up your gear and leave?" "Infringement and/or open opposition to the wants, needs and possessions of individuals or groups w ill cause struggle. Somebody accuses you of perverted sexual behavior and trie s to have you ja ile d . Your child is refused admittance to the school of his choice because of his ethnic background. Your parents in sis t that you give up your current boyfriend or th e y 'll stop sending you money. What w ill you do in these situations?" "Attempts to persuade, tric k and/or force change bring about struggle. Your husband decides he doesn't lik e your image anymore and daily seeks to teach you to behave in ways acceptable to him. Your supervisor, who knows l i t t l e about your work, te lls you to do i t his way or h e 'll get you fire d . Would these things cause you to push back?" "Attempts to acquire other possessions, goals or needs create struggle situations. Somebody trie s to steal your car. Your husband or wife makes so much noise at night you can't sleep. What w ill you do?" "These are the kinds of things that can precipitate struggle, the resisting and the pushing, and we may discover more as we go. "All rig h t," she stood up, "I know I'm hungry and I'm sure the 213 rest of you are too, so in a minute w e'll break for lunch, but before you go I'd lik e you to take a look at the poster hanging on the right side of the firep lace—the one that shows the backs of the young boy and a lad y." I "After lunch I ' l l be asking you to w rite a story outline containing events that struggle accumulatively through space/time toward a fin al struggle and unknown but invevitable result and through which you'll communicate a premise. I'd lik e fo r each of you to incorporate into your story outline the action you see in this picture. I'm te llin g you this now so i f you want to you can think about i t during your lunch. Ok. We'll a ll be back here in one hour." 214 Margaret gave us a rundown on where we could find frie d chicken tacos, hamburgers and pizzas. At that point they a ll made my mouth water, but I decided to go for hamburgers with John, Susan, Charlie, Becky and Michael. Lenard and Larry decided they d id n 't want "junk" food and went to a " s it down" restaurant. L iz, Bobbie and Jane were "brown bagging" so they went out into the backyard and Margaret, with her dog, Judy, was rummaging around in the refrig e ra to r when we a ll piled into John's wagon. W e drove o ff and at f i r s t i t f e l t lik e I was in a car fu ll of strangers. I simply d id n 't know what to say to anyone. Then I realized we'd a ll been through a very intense and demanding morning and we were a ll bushed. Usually when I s it in a classroom I can spend most of m y time on automatic p ilo t, but with the arm wrestling and a ll the other s tu ff we had to figure out, I'd had to stay with i t . "Anybody want to think about what you're going to w rite a fte r lunch?" Michael asked sarcastically. "Not no, but hell no,” I answered him. "Right now I don't want to think about anything anymore serious than whether i t ’s gonna be a hamburger or a cheeseburger." "I think the lady's out of touch. She makes i t sound lik e she knows what i t 's a ll about and then she trip s herself up," Michael said. "What do you mean?" Charlie asked. "Out of one side of her mouth she says we’re to w rite what we want and then we spend hours making lis ts of ingredients." "What is i t you want to w rite," Becky asked. "F irst thing is the fountain film ." Michael answered. 215 "Gee, I thought she liked that idea," Charlie replied. "I think she's conning me, She said she liked i t , but I don't think she does." Charlie laughed, "Why in the world would she be conning you? You've gotta be kidding," John spoke up, "I don't think she cares what you w rite about. I t 's how you w rite i t that she cares about. I mean, I think we can pick any subject we want, ju st so we use a dramatic structure, and your fountain picture sounded great that way." "And why do we have to use a dramatic structure," Michael persisted. "Who's she to say th at's the way. The now is us and it 's fo r us to decide the way." " I ' l l agree with you," Becky said m atte r-o f-fac tly, "but before I can decide the way, I'v e got some things to learn about--like how to w rite a story." "I know how to w rite and i t is n 't stories I want," Michael reiterated. "Then you ought not be in this class, Michael," John quietly responded, "because th at's what this class is a ll about— learning how to w rite stories." That was a conversation stopper i f I'd ever heard one, but Becky d id n 't le t i t l i e there. "Well, I want you to stay in the class, but I don't want you to keep arguing about i t , because we could waste a lo t of time that way. And I want you to do the exercises, I want to hear what you w rite and I want to know you." "Hear hear," I said and everybody applauded Becky's speech, but 21| I was glad we'd reached the golden arches so we did n 't have to talk about this anymore. When we returned everyone was in the backyard. Larry and Lenard had beaten us back and they, along with the "brown-baggers," were stretched out on the lawn. I t was an incredibly beautiful day. The a ir was clear and everything seemed to sparkle. We'd driven back on the lower road along the ocean front and a ll the way I kept daydreaming about a time when L e ttie , the kids and I could move out of the yellow-brown c ity . / S T O R Y O U T L I N E S As soon as we were a ll back together, Margaret started the afternoon session. She repeated the instructions fo r writing a story outline based on the poster picture in the house, reminded us we were free to do our writing outside i f we wanted to and told us we had one hour to w rite our outlines. I went back into the house to look at the poster again. 218 I came back outside, laid down on my back and started thinking about how Jody and Jenny would lik e the beach and how i t would be healthier for them to breathe this a ir. Even though they were L e ttie 's children by her f i r s t marriage, they were every b it as much m y children as hers, as much as any child belongs to anyone. Ever since I can remember, I'v e burned at the thought I belonged to anyone else. No way have I ever belonged to anyone but to me, certainly not m y parents. Anyway, they were too busy with a ll th e ir things to claim m e as a pos session, and I guess I can thank them for forcing m e to rely on myself. I t has sure helped, especially in the Army. I saw enough of Mama's boys to be glad I wasn't one of them. I sat up. The wetness from the ground was beginning to make m y back uncomfortable and I reminded myself I'd better s ta rt thinking about the outline. I closed my eyes and thought about that poster picture. "What about the kid in that picture," I asked myself. "What's he doing?" Where's he going?" The boy is being sent away. He doesn't re a lly want to go, but he has no choice. Nobody asked him i f he wanted to go. He was told he was going, that was a ll there was to i t . That much came easily. I t was s tric tly a feeling. I f e l t there fias a sadness in the way the kid stood there, a sadness and yet he seems spunky too. My thoughts came fast now, "Yeah, he's a tough l i t t l e fighter. He's the main character. Now what? A premise. Being a tough fig hter leads to what? Winning? Winning what? What does he want? What's he fighting for? He wants to stay home but he can 't. No matter 219 how much fighting he does he c a n 't stay home. So then what does he want? He wants to be happy, not sad, have fun, not be scared. He wants to feel safe. He wants to be s e lf-s u ffic ie n t. Sure. Being a tough fig h te r leads to self-sufficiency. Ok, th at's his goal. But what pushes against him? His age, his fears, his need to be frien dly and loving. All the things that make a person dependent upon other people. And what's his name? Danny. Danny is his name." I f e l t lik e I was o ff and running, but before I started putting anything down I pulled out the l i s t of story and struggle elements so I could keep referring to them. "Ok, take i t one at a time," I instructed myself, "The f i r s t thing is the beginning action." The story opens with Danny and his Aunt Ruth at the bus depot. Danny is about to get on a bus t h a t 'll take him to spend the summer with his maternal grand parents. His mother is in her seventh month of pregnancy and has to spend most of her time in bed. Danny is eight years old. He has an older and younger s is ter. They get to stay home, but because he's the boy and more of a problem than the g irls , he was selected as the person to go, thus making things easier fo r his mother. Danny's father is a traveling salesman and gets home only every other week. Danny hardly knows his father and i t ' s his mother Danny loves the most. But Danny's greatest happiness has come from his friendship with a boy his age, Pete, who lives a couple of houses down , 220 the block- Leaving Pete is lik e having the world stop turning. Right now, in the bus depot, Danny's a bundle of conflicting emotions. He's simultaneously angry, sad, lo s t, helpless, defiant and withdrawn. His Aunt Ruth senses the turmoil in him but the only human contact she can make is with the tips of her fin g e rs --fo r one b rie f moment. She then herds Danny onto the bus, turns him over to the bus driver and leaves Danny with the box of chocolate thins he's supposed to give to his grandparents. "All rig h t, th at's the scene, the beginning action. Now he has to take a stand. He has to make the decision to struggle and take a position for the struggle." The ride to his grandparent's house, in a small nearby town, took only two and a half hours, but fo r Danny i t was on the other side of the world. He had been there before but never with the plan to spend a whole summer. The f i r s t thing he did was to eat every single piece of the candy he was supposed to give to his grandparents. He made the decision rig h t away that he had no intention of giving them anything—anytime. They were his mother's parents and his ja ile r s . That was a ll . Furthermore, he wasn't going to give anything to anyone anymore--ever—especially his mother. His 221 hurt and his anger resurrected a ll the times his mother had chosen one of his sisters above him and he vowed, on whatever young boys vow on, that he would never again ask her for anything or give her anything. I wasn't sure how I was going to make Danny stick to that decision, but i t wasn't hard for m e to believe this is what he would decide. "Now the f i r s t test of strength. What is the f i r s t thing he'd do?" W hen Danny got o ff the bus to be greeted by his grandfather he was very sullen and withdrawn, and very sick from a ll the chocolates. His grandmother wanted to hold his head and comfort him while he was vomiting but Danny ordered her out of the bathroom, using language his grandmother couldn't abide. I t wasn't a happy beginning and foreshadowed a continuing unhappy relationship between the two old people and the young boy. I was a l i t t l e surprised to find Danny swearing, but why not, why wouldn't he. The thing that re a lly surprised m e was the way he seemed to be in charge. With everything I wrote, Danny became more alive and i t was more as i f he was deciding things rather than m e doing the deciding for him. I looked at the next elements; back and forth pushing and resisting, constant change occurring, unknown outcome and evolving new relationships. I t seemed lik e these elements a ll happened together, _ 222 ' In other words, with each d ifferen t struggle situation there's contin uing change occurring, continuing evolving of new relationships and always the outcome is unknown. Danny was not disrespectful a fte r that f i r s t night. He did whatever chores they asked him to do and he spoke when he was spoken to; but behind th e ir backs and among his new found friends he'd mimic a ll th e ir eccentricities and f r a ilt ie s . At f i r s t the grandparents tried to reach out to him; cooking special foods, trying to play games he'd normally have liked and going on excursions planned fo r an eight year old boy, but a fte r awhile they gave up. I t was too d if f ic u lt and there were no rewards. There were times when Danny almost gave in , times when he could scarcely hold back the tears and the longing to be mothered, but he never gave in. As time went by he actually grew to anticipate and enjoy pushing them away. I t was almost lik e doing exercises to strengthen muscles and the more times he pushed away the easier i t got. When they stopped trying to reach him he missed i t but i t gave him a sense of being a victor. Now he f e l t somehow stronger and more able to face anything, and he knew he'd need a ll the strength he could muster when he went home--to keep from going soft again. 223 Even with the boys on the block and those on the dock he'd go fishing w ith, he never told them his real thoughts and feelings about anything. He hadn't even told them where he came from. There was one boy, named Joe, who reminded him a lo t of Pete and that gave him some trouble. Joe laughed a Tot and always had ideas about fun things to do, ju st lik e Pete. At f i r s t Danny tried to avoid him, but when that was impossible Danny made him the brunt of a ll his jokes and kept him on the defensive. Danny had now learned very well that when he was unfriendly enough he'd never have to worry about someone wanting to get close. That is the strategy Danny had fin a lly arrived a t, but I don't think he consciously decided th is . I t came about as a protective device and then began to be ju st a part of his personality. "Now the fin a l te s t, the fin a l struggle was at hand." Finally the day came for Danny to go home. His mother had the baby, another g i r l, and was feeling well again. Although he knew he'd be going home at the end of the summer i t s t i l l came as a shock. I t was as i f he'd never expected to go home again, ever, but there he was on the bus going home and he f e l t very frightened. He simply couldn't le t himself get into that situation again, where his world could come to an end and be so p a in fu l. 224 He began to wonder what it 'd be lik e to be home. What would i t be lik e to see his mother at the depot. She'd want to hug him. How could he keep her from doing that. As he thought about that he knew he wanted to run up to her and throw his arms around her. He could feel the tears coming and then s p illin g over the dam of his loneliness. He turned his face to the window and covered his eyes with his hands. He couldn't stop the tears. They were hot and salty. They stung his hands. They melted some of the walls he'd so carefully con structed. A fter a l l , his mother had been sick. I t wasn't as i f she'd been well and sent him away. He made his decision. He'd le t her hug him, but he wouldn't hug back—not immediately. Danny made sure he was the f i r s t o ff the bus. He d id n 't walk, he ran into the depot. He saw her immediately. His Aunt Ruth was standing looking at a magazine while she waited for him. Maybe his mother was in the ladies room. "Hi, Aunt Ruth. Where's Mom?" he asked. "She's at home. She's busy taking care of your new l i t t l e s is te r. She asked m e to come get you. Did you have a good summer?" Danny looked straight ahead. He d idn 't answer. He was too busy rebuilding w alls, high walls. 225 Walls so high he wouldn't be able to see over them. She reached out her hand to take his and Danny put his hands in his pockets. When I wrote that las t sentence I was glad to be done. I hadn't intended to make this so heavy, but i t sure turned out that way. Something was making m e feel lousy. Maybe I ate my hamburger too fast. Most of the class had gone inside and I went in too. The hour was about up and i f Mehring d idn't s ta rt the discussion righ t away I was going to call her on i t . * / i "Look back to the list of i elements in a story and write , your story outline using the same process Don used." "As you go, it might be helpful for you to re-read the sections that describe his thought processes and procedures." ."Then, after you’ve written your story outline, you'll read another one in the class." "That'll give you an additional 'yardstick' to use in evaluating what you've written." Susan and Larry were s t i l l w riting when Margaret called time. She was only about four minutes overdue and I d id n 't say anything. Somehow, a fte r I'd gotten in the house and had a cup of coffee, i t wasn't important anymore. 226 Margafet asked i f anyone in particular wanted to go f i r s t and i t was Bobbie who volunteered this time. Jimmy Johnson, age eight, is the youngest boy of three and i t seems lik e he's always getting into trouble of some kind. He seems compelled to be te llin g fantastic stories and to constantly be doing something to bother his brothers, Jeffery, age eleven and Johnny, age thirteen. He breaks th e ir toys, messes up th eir games before they fin ish playing and plays tricks of a ll sorts. In s e lf defense, Jimmy’ s brothers conspire against him and keep him in a constant state of turmoil. This causes him to repeatedly run to his mother for comfort and reassurance. Betty, Jimmy's mother, is not at a ll aware of the war among the boys. All of this goes on outside of her view. Betty and her husband, Chet, have been divorced for seven years. I t was an extremely emotional divorce proceeding and there has been v irtu a lly no contact between them since that time, other than the alimony checks which Chet fa ith fu lly sends. The most rig id rule in the house is that the boys must love each other, take care of each other and not fig h t! The price for breaking that rule is that she w ill have to send them to liv e with th e ir father. A fter a l l , i f she can't manage them he certainly w ill be able to. This is the price none of the boys want 22 1 to pay since they have been lead to believe that he's mean, bad and a bully. This means Jimmy can never t e ll his mother why he's so frequently upset. Betty works and spends comparatively l i t t l e time around the children. This also contributes to making i t easy for her not to see what's happening. The tasks of working, keeping up the house things, taking care of the boy's physical needs and going out with her boyfriend occupy most of Betty's time and thoughts. In addition to not understanding Jimmy's behavior, Betty is also quite irrita te d by i t . She has had a ll she wants of l i t t l e boy behavior and Jimmy is acting very in fa n tile . Lately her way of handling the problem has been a concerted e ffo rt to constantly t e ll Jimmy to act older (more lik e his brothers) and she has promised him grown-up a c tiv itie s i f he w ill act lik e a grown-up. These a c tiv itie s are things lik e taking him to a movie, or to a baseball game. These kinds of things re a lly appeal to Jimmy and are a strong inducement for him to change. Somehow or other Jimmy gets i t into his head that the way he can prove he is grown-up and braver than his brothers is to spend a weekend with his father. 228 This is something that Jeffrey and Johnny would never do in a m illion years so i t must be the bravest thing anyone could possibly do. He fantasies himself arriving back home "bloodied but not bent." Then Jeffery and Johnny wouldn't be able to pick on him, he could go out with his mother, and he would be a hero everyone would look up to. But f ir s t he has to go there. With great d iffic u lty and much fear he calls his father, who lives in a town only eighty miles away, and asks him i f he could come spend a weekend with him. His father is very surprised, but agrees to i t and makes arrange ments with Betty for her to put Jimmy on the bus the next weekend. Jimmy is absolutely te rr ifie d when he gets to the bus depot with Betty. The only thing that makes him get on the bus is the fact that Jeffery and Johnny are s ittin g on the front porch at home, ju st waiting fo r him to come back and t e ll them he's chickened out. He could even hear the clucking sounds they would be making as he got out of the car. No! Nothing could be worse than that. As he was waiting for the bus to arrive he f e l t his mother touch his head (she d id n't want him to go, _____________________ 229 but she couldn't refuse i t when Jimmy asked to go). He wanted to turn, throw his arms around her and bury his face at her waist. He almost did, but then he heard the clucking sounds again. So he got on the bus, waved goodbye to his mother and began to think about what was in store fo r him. By the time he had ridden the eighty miles to his father's town, he had been through many ordeals. He had even done some serious plotting about how to stay on the bus, or get o ff ahead of his stop or maybe even ju s t drop dead. Anything to avoid the fate that lay ahead. He had imagined a ll kinds of dreadful things: having to fig h t fearsome monsters; being locked in a closet so he could never get out; being forced to work for his room and board for twelve hours a day. His image of his father was that he was s in is te r, scowling, ta ll and with long fingers and fingernails so he was not at a ll prepared for the rather short chubby man who asked him i f his name was Jimmy, and then introduced himself as his fath e r, Chet. That was the f i r s t surprise. The next one was his stepmother, Peggy. She was pretty, jo lly , and very nice. As a matter of fa c t, the whole weekend was one surprise a fte r another. He had a very wonderful time. The best time he could ever remember. 230 The three of them went to a movie, they went out to dinner, they wrestled on the flo o r, played hide and seek, and on Saturday night, in front of the firep lace, he went to sleep with his head in his father's lap. Then i t came time to go home. What was he going to do? He couldn't te ll them about his father being so much fun and so kind. He couldn't te ll them about Peggy. That would ruin the whole thing. He came here to prove how brave he was and here bravery was the last thing he needed. This would have to be his secret. Chet and Peggy kissed him goodbye, put him on the bus, homeward bound, and stood outside his window waving at him un til the bus pulled away, Jimmy immediately went to work. He must compose his stories w ell. He would t e ll them about how he had had to fig h t o ff attacks by his father and that they had knockdown dragout battles on the flo o r. Then there were the times he had trie d to escape, but each time they found his hiding places. And too, there was Saturday night when his father and Peggy had cast an evil spell over him so he lost cons ciousness fo r a long time (in front of a large s a c rific ia l f ir e ) . 231 The bus pulled into the depot and he saw his mother waving at him. He was glad to see her and in an instant he decided he would spare her the awful tales of his ordeal. After a l l , i t wouldn't be very grown-up to " te ll a ll" to her. He would save his stories fo r his brothers. Bobbie finished reading his ou tline, dropped his papers in front of him, took a deep breath, and looked up. I could t e ll he was nervous and I recognized the feelin g. Those f i r s t few moments a fte r you've presented something are awful. Margaret d idn 't keep him in suspense long, and as she spoke I could see Bobbie relax. "That's charming, Bobbie, sort of half fantasy and half r e a li t y ." Charlie spoke up, "There for awhile I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to laugh or cry. Your kid's very tra g ic , you know. There re a lly is n 't anyplace for him. His brothers.' torment him and his mother trie s to make him into something he is n 't. I mean, he's between a rock and a hard place." "Yeah, did you mean i t to be a tragedy or a comedy?" Susan asked. "Well, re a lly , I d id n 't intend i t to be either of them. I'v e always been interested in the way people, p articu larly kids, w ill mix up what's happening and what they want to have happen. I ran into this a lo t when I was teaching. So that's what I started thinking about." Margaret nodded her head, "And I suspect th at's the way you a ll started, very much lik e the 'what i f ' exercise we did in our second meeting. You le t your mind be free to move in whatever direction i t 232 wants to go. I t may go skipping from idea to idea— path to path—before i t settles on any one idea, but eventually one path w ill claim your interest more than the others. Then you s ta rt exploring that idea, to see where i t takes you. Perhaps a fte r you get down the path a l i t t l e way y o u 'll decide i t 's not the one you thought it 'd be, not the one’' you want to explore. Then, i f this happens, you go back and chose a d iffe re n t path, a d ifferen t idea, one more now to your lik in g . You may do this several times before you find the path th at's rig h t." She paused and then went on, "Ok, now before we go any further I'd lik e you to take a l i s t of the story ingredients and identify and label each one of these ingredients in your outlin e." I went back to bracket each section and w rite the name of the ingredient beside the bracket. i "I'd like for you to do this too. Identify all the elements and write the labels in the maryin of your paper. If you're' not sure, write it in anyway and then later you can change it if you want to." "Look for all thirteen of these elements — beginning action decision to struggle taking position for struggle first test of strength back and forth pushing and resisting constant change occurring outcome unknown evolving new relationships planning of strategy last struggle result event occupies time event occupies space 233 "It may be you won't find all the elements. As a matter of fact, I'd be surprised if you did." "Usually it takes awhile to internalize what all these things are and how they fit together." W e a ll finished about the same time and Margaret asked Bobbie to identify each of the elements in his outline. "I guess the beginning action is a ll that f i r s t s tu ff about the way Jimmy is with his brothers and mother," Bobbie responded. "All that information is important for us to know, and there's action in i t , but is that the beginning action of your story?" Margaret continued asking. Bobbie looked down at his paper again. He shook his head and looked up, "I don't know." T H E B E G I N N I N G A C T I O N O F A S T O R Y "Ok, le t's ta lk about i t . W e re a lly haven't yet id entified ju st what we do mean by the beginning action of a story," she reassured a ll of us. "A story is very d iffe re n t from everyday l i f e . A story is made up of the extremely high moments or the extremely low moments in a person's l i f e . Seldom does a story deal with the normal routine daily lives of people." "The s tu ff that stories are made of are those situations where decisive change is imminent, where a turning point is reached, where there is a c ris is , when a person gets or doesn't get what he or she wants, the moment of winning or losing, liv in g or dying. That moment, the cris is moment, is what we have call the la s t struggle. So we can 234 say that the place a story starts is when 'something' happens that w ill lead to a c ris is . This 'something' can be a number of things." " It could be when something very v ita l is at stake: lik e two people in love being together, as jn Romeo and J u lie t, or the necessity to prove one's own worth and id en tity , as in Bobbie's story," " I t could be when someone makes a decision that creates a Struggle: lik e when a wife decides to work outside the home in the face of her husband's demand she not do so." " I t could be when one person has reached a turning point: such as a college student who no longer finds g ra tific a tio n in her husband, who has only earned a high school diploma." " It could be when any two forces begin a struggle that w ill lead to a c ris is . You'll remember that we've talked about the conditions that put one force in opposition to another force: when the forces have divergent values and/or goals; when one force interferes with the a c tiv itie s of another force; when there is infringement and/or open opposition to the wants, needs and possessions of individuals or groups; when there are attempts to persuade, tric k and/or force change; when there are attempts to acquire others possessions, goals or needs," "Now, le t's look again at what you've w ritten , Bobbie," Margaret continued, "what would you say is the beginning action?" Bobbie answered immediately, "The moment he decides to prove his bravery by going to be with his father." " I'd agree with you," she answered, "and in the beginning action you t e ll us who your main characters are, where they are and what's at stake. Now what's the c ris is , the turning point that this action 235 precipitates? What's at stake?" "Yeah, I was afraid you'd ask that. I'm not sure there is one. I re a lly had two things going. The f ir s t one was that people get trappeJ by th e ir fantasies and they sometimes hide in them. The second thing was something lik e you said before, that the kid's need to be somebody led .'him to create a world where he could be somebody, even i f only in his fantasies." "So you're saying you were a l i t t l e unclear about just what you wanted to say." Margaret said. "Yeah, I became aware of the fact that having that great time with his father d id n 't count fo r anything. I t was ju st a turn about that seemed good at the time, but," he said shaking his head, " it didn't re a lly have anything to do with either his fantasies or becoming important." "The thing that bothered me," John said, "was the fact that this great discovery d id n 't affec t Jimmy at a ll . I t would seem to m e that would have caused a change of some kind." "And where was the struggle?" Liz asked. "Well, there was the struggle to get on the bus, and then the struggle to stay on, but I guess that was a l l —unless you can count the struggle with his brothers. But you're rig h t, there re a lly wasn't any big struggle," Bobbie answered. "But so what! I t was s t i l l d e lig h tfu l. I loved it ! " Becky said. "Yes, i t was d e lig h tfu l," Margaret agreed, "and we want Bobbie to know that. Also, I want him, and a ll of you, to use what he's 236 written to learn more about what goes into the making of a story. Bob bie's had an important insight. He's aware of the fact that his outline didn't have a clear cut premise and that i t did n 't re a lly use struggle. Now the important thing for a ll of you, is to learn that these two problems go hand in hand. I f you have one you probably have the other." S T R U G G L E I S T H E V E H I C L E T H R O U G H W H I C H Y O U C O M M U N I C A T E Y O U R P R E M I S E "The reason struggle is a major ingredient of a story is because i t ' s the vehicle by which you communicate the idea th at's in your head. I f Romeo and J u lie t had had no obstacles that prevented then from being together they wouldn't have had to k il l themselves in order to be together. I f there hadn't been the feud between the Capulets and Montagues the lessons they learned from th e ir children's deaths; wouldn't have caused them to be reconciled." "Struggle is n 't a part of storytellin g ju st to be there. It 's through struggle that we learn what's at stake and we learn what the opposing forces each want. In the struggling we see the causes and effects which fin a lly result in change. What causes the change that occurs is the w rite r's premise." "Bobbie," Margaret continued, "e a rlie r, when you were id e n tify ing the struggle in your ou tline, you questioned whether or not we could count the struggle with the brothers. Your question is a good one. All struggle situations are not necessarily a part of the story struggle. They may support the story struggle, but unless they add d ire c tly to the crisis we'd regard them as a secondary struggle, not a part of the back and forth resisting and pushing struggle." 237 I was anxious to find out how my outline stood up under examin- ation, so I asked i f I could read mine. Margaret said yes, but f ir s t she asked i f there were any more comments about Bobbie's outline. Everybody agreed they were ready to hear another one. I read mine and as I went I id entified each of the elements. "The beginning action was when Danny was at the bus depot, before he got on the bus. His decision to struggle and assuming a position for strug gle came on the bus when he decided to withdraw from a ll attachments. The f i r s t test of strength came when he wouldn't le t his grandmother help him while he was vomiting. The back and forth pushing and re s is t ing was the way he'd keep putting everyone down and refusing to accept anything from anyone. Things kept changing as i t became easier, his relationship with his grandparents and peers kept evolving, and always there was a question about what it 'd be lik e when he went home to be with his mother again. When he came up to the las t struggle he decided to give up the fig h t and give in to what he re a lly wanted. Then, when his guard was down, his mother zapped him again, so he again withdrew and that was the re s u lt." "And what's your premise?" Margaret asked. I thought a moment. I hadn't formulated the premise since m y f i r s t thoughts about i t , but i t came easily. "Being pushed away leads to learning how to push away." Margaret turned to the class and asked, "How's this d iffe re n t, or not d iffe re n t, from what Bobbie wrote?" "Well, as much as I enjoyed Bobbie's," Becky answered, "Don's makes more sense." "How? Why?" Margaret pressed. _____________________________________________________________ zaa_ "There weren't as many loose ends. I t was more together. I mean, i t had a direction. I t went some place," Becky continued. "But who was his struggle with?" Bobbie asked. He'd directed that question to Margaret, but she looked to m e for the answer. " It was re a lly with himself," I said. " It was the want to be mothered struggling with the hurt of what happened when he le t himself be mothered." "But we d id n 't re a lly see that. W e d id n 't see much of him fighting himself. W e saw mostly what he did with other people," Charlie interjected. "I think what Charlie's saying is that we saw the part of Danny learning to push away much more than we saw the part of him wanting to be loved, and yet those are the forces struggling against each other. So the struggle was somewhat lopsided, unevenly matched. The force within him that wanted to protect himself from rejection was much stronger than the part that wanted to be loved. You need to think more about the back and forth pushing and resisting. One decision made and acted upon causes an opposing decision and opposing action, which causes an opposing decision and opposing action, and on and on until one actior irrevocably changes the course of events." A C T I O N S T H A T P U S H A N D R E S I S T "And always, in screenwriting, the back and forth pushing and resisting is visable through actions; actions that most clearly reach • out to achieve the goals of the two forces and those that most clearly resis t and thwart the actions of the opposing force. Actions that are concrete and specific. Actions we can take pictures of. For example, ____________________ 239 the image Bobbie gave us of Jimmy's brothers s ittin g on the front steps making clucking noises was a very clear concrete image for Jimmy to resist. Danny eating a ll the chocolates, so his grandparents couldn't have them, is a very clear specific action that shows him working toward his goal." "Both Bobbie and Don chose internal opposing forces, self opposing s e lf. Often times i t 's more d if f ic u lt to find actions for internal struggles than for external ones. The internal struggles are more d if f ic u lt , largely because we're more used to thoughts being expressed by words. However, as you train yourself to think visually y o u 'll find actions that work as w e ll, and sometimes better." "For example, le t's find one. What could Jimmy do that would communicate his decision not to te ll his mother about the 'ordeal' fantasies?" she paused. "Or, how is he going to show\the fantasies," Larry asked. "Oh I was going to have him act those out, sort of cartoon style where he's f i r s t one thing and then another, and as he changes, the background changes. I don't know. I t seemed lik e a good idea when I thought of i t , but now I'm not sure," Bobbie answered. " I t is a good idea. A very film ic idea— i t u tiliz e s the uniqueness of film ," Margaret responded. "Let's work with i t and carry i t further. What would you have Jimmy do that'd show us he's decided not to t e ll his mother about this 'ordeals?'" "Gee, I don't know," Bobbie said. "Don't give up ye t, Bobbie. Close your eyes and think about Jimmy's fantasies. Take a look at the las t scene. What do you have Jimmy doing?" Margaret urged. ____________, _______________ 240 Bobbie closed his eyes. W e a ll were quiet. Becky leaned forward as i f to say something, but Margaret caught her attention and shook her head. Then, a fte r what seemed lik e a very long time, Bobbie opened his eyes and told us, "He's lying in a large temple, or shrine. He's on his back on a large table, in front of a large a lta r , on which there's a large bowl, holding a large fir e ." "That's wonderful," Charlie laughed, "everything is large. I can ju st see i t . " I t was funny. I could see a l i t t l e boy lying there almost unnoticed among a ll those large things. All of us laughed and Bobbie looked lik e he was enjoying i t too. "What's he wearing, Bobbie?" Margaret asked. "A very large white robe completely covering his body," Bobbie answered immediately, "except for his hand. In his hand he holds a bouquet of dandelions." W e a ll laughed. I could understand why he wanted to write comedy. He's good at i t . "Ok, now what is there in that scene you could carry into your fin a l scene to show what he's thinking when he sees his mother?" Margaret continued asking. Bobbie thought a moment and then chuckled, "I suppose I could have him wearing the large white robe, tripping over i t and fa llin g on his face as he approaches his mother. Then when she asks him what he's wearing he could answer, 'Oh ju st a big thing I picked up over the weekend.'" W e a ll laughed again. ___________________________241 "But I know th at's not quite rig h t," Bobbie chided himself. "You're on the righ t track. Keep going," Margaret reassured him. "Maybe the dandelions. Sure he could be carrying the dandelion bouquet and when he sees his mother he throws i t away," Bobbie said. "Would he throw i t away i f he's going to t e ll his brothers," Margaret asked. "Oh no. You're rig h t. He has to keep them, but s t i l l he has to hide them from his mother." Bobbie paused and I could almost see the thought process going on in his mind. He broke into a big smile and told us what he'd seen on his mental motion picture screen. "Sure, h e 'll ju st s tu ff them into his pocket." "That's the idea. You build into your story, actions we can see and photograph, actions that t e ll us what your characters are thinking and feelin g , and these actions can be the manifestations of either an internal or external struggle. Ok, now le t's move on, but f i r s t , is there anything anyone wants to say about Don's outline or are there any questions?" she asked. "Yes," I spoke up, "how did I do? Did I do the outline exercise right? "You did very w ell. I t was apparent from your outline you'd thought through each one of the elements and you were re a lly working at understanding and using them. There are many things you did this time yo u 'll want to hang on to and do again. There are som e things you can do even better. As we talked about e a rlie r, next time y o u 'll want to be more conscious of making your forces more evenly matched. Your struggle 242 was somewhat lopsided." She continued, "I was very impressed with Danny. He's an interesting person. You said he was a spunky l i t t l e guy and a tough fig h te r. That's exactly how you developed him. Also, you evoked in m e a sense of sadness and caring for him, but I wished he'd be a l i t t l e more up fro n t, do less backbiting. I wasn't sure where a ll that backbiting was coming from. This is a story weakness which w ill be greatly helped by strengthening the opposing force, so as to make the forces more evenly matched." "We've already mentioned that struggle is the vehicle through which you communicate your idea. I t 's also the vehicle through which you reveal your characters. The way your characters reach out to obtair th eir goals and place obstacles in the way of th e ir opposing force te lls us a great deal about them." "I can only assume Danny had reasons of some kind that forced him to do things behind people's backs, but i f you were to re-work this, I'd look forward to knowing more about his background. As i t stands, i t 's not as believable as i t could be, because you've not given us enough reasons for his actions." "In our next exercise w e'll be dealing with character develop ment, so I don't want to devote much time to i t now, except to ask you to begin thinking about struggle as an aid to character development, along with i t 's function as the vehicle that communicates the idea." She turned to Bobbie, "Bobbie, are you clear about the strengths and weaknesses in your outline?" "Yeah, I need to throw i t out and s ta rt a ll over," he answered. _____________________________ ! _______________________________________________243 "Are you serious?" Margaret asked, "Is that the way you feel?" "No, not re a lly , but a l i t t l e . I mean I had a great beginning action and a fte r that nothing was rig h t," he said. "That's not true," Charlie jumped in. "That's not true at a ll. Vou have a re a lly interesting character to work with and some of the funniest situations I'v e ever heard of." "See, this is where a ll of your lis t s , rules and regulations fa ll apart," Michael turned to Margaret. "He's w ritten a re a lly funny Diece, but because i t doesn't follow the 'rules' you say i t 's no good." "She d idn't say th at," Liz was the one to answer. "What did you hear m e say," Margaret asked Bobbie. "I d id n't hear you say i t was no good," Bobbie answered Margaret. Then he turned to Michael, "I d idn 't hear that at a l l . It 's just th at, well as I was w riting i t , i t seemed better than when I I "ead itoutiloud. That makes m e wonder about myself. I t makes m e wonder if I ' l l ever be able to w rite." W R I T I N G N E E D S T O B E L E A R N E D Margaret spoke, almost as i f she were thinking aloud. "What is it about writing that makes people think they can know how to do i t without a time for learning it? Would you s it down in front of a typewriter and a fte r several hours, or even days, scold yourself for not leing able to immediately type sixty words a minute? Would you spend a lay on a basketball court and be discouraged because you couldn't immediately qualify to play on the f i r s t string college team? Would you read a book on how to manage a restaurant and berate yourself for lot immediately having a ll answers to a ll problems. No, you wouldn't do 244 any of those things, and yet you expect to become instantly perfect writers! Why?" Larry spoke up, "Well, I don't have that problem. I'v e always been told I didn't have any writing talent so I'm not expecting to be perfect— and I'm expecting you to te ll m e how to w rite." "And th at's the problem, Larry, or at least part of i t , " she responded. "The notion you have talen t or you don't, and i f you don't have i t you won't be able to w rite is , in m y opinion, very false. In m y opinion, you can learn how to w rite, ju st lik e you learn to type, to play basketball or run a restaurant. As we talked about in our f i r s t meeting, you learn by t r ia l and error. You try something to see i f i t w orks--if i t works you hang on to i t and i f i t doesn't work you get rid of i t . " "Also, it 's a matter of degree. Don u tiliz e d the concepts of struggle to a large degree. H e'll be more effective when he does i t to a larger degree. You, Bobbie, provided us with some very film ic situations, a great deal of humor and a po tentially interesting char acter. You did a lo t of 'rig h t' things. You now want to learn more right things and hang-on to the ones you already have. Hopefully, as we continue to work together, y o u 'll a ll increase your inventory of these 'rig h t' things." "And, Larry, I don't know i f you meant exactly what i t sounded lik e when you said you expected m e to te ll you how to w rite, but I want you—a ll of you— to clearly understand I can't '.te ll' you how to w rite. I t doesn't work that way. I can only help you discover how to w rite, and th at's what I'm here to do." _____________________________________________________________________________ 245 "I wonder how you feel about what you've written. It may be difficult for you to have a sense of objectivity about your story outline and it could be helpful to show it to one or more of your friends." "First off, your friends may think all you want to know is whether or not they like it, but you'll want to know much more than that. You need to ask them questions like: What were the obstacles? What was the first show of strength? Did you believe the characters; if so, why and if not, why not? What was the strategy and the last struggle? What am I saying to you?" 'Ask them all the questions we've been asking in the class and hear their answers. Don’t argue with them. That's always a temptation but it won't help you. Hear what they have to say and then go home to think about what they've said. Don't make up your mind about whether you think they're right or wrong until you've thought about it for a long time." "It may take a little while for you to get into doing this, but it'll really pay off for you when you do." "Also, see if you can get your hands on a book called Fiction Into Film by Rachel 246 Maddux, Stirling Silliphant and Neil D. Isaacs. It's a worthwhile book to read. It's especially valuable to see the changes that were made between the novel and the screenplay. These changes tell you a lot about struggle." Becky read her outline next. She chose to write about the woman, and i t was about a mother who sold her child when he was a baby. Over the years she watched the child grow until one day she decided to talk to him. Most of her outline was about how the woman f e l t talking to her son and the way she came to realize this boy didn't belong to her. The major action was the dialogue between the mother and son. I t was good dialogue, but i t was instantly clear to a ll of us, including Becky, that this was a happening, not a story. As a matter of fa c t, most of the outlines le f t out the struggle and the f i r s t test of strength turned into the last and only struggle. Actually, m y outline and John's came the closest to containing a ll the ingredients. John wrote sort of a cops and robber story where the lady was torn between her two loves, her love for her husband and her love for her son. In order to finance a 'la s t chance' business opportunity for her husband she was helping him smuggle jewels across the Mexican border. The plan involved having her son carry the jewels across in a box of chocolates, however, this would put her son in physical danger as well as teach him i t was a ll righ t to disobey the law. John had a lo t of back and forth pushing and resisting where the lady would decide one thing, have doubts and reverse her decision, going back and forth. ^Rachel Maddux, S tirlin g S illip h a n t, and Neil D. Isaacs, Fiction Into Film.(New York: Dell Publishing Co., In c ., 1970.) One of the important things that came out of talking about John's outline was a discussion about transitions. T R A N S I T I O N S Margaret defined a transition as a change or movement from one place to another, from one state of mind to another or from one stage of development to another stage. "Actually," she said, "by that defin ition the entire film is a tran sitio n , as we can see by looking at the progression of story elements but we also use the term in a more lim ited sense. W e use i t to describe those parts of a film that act as a bridge between one place and another place, between one time and another time and between one frame of mind and another. Generally speaking, these bridges serve to keep the viewing audience informed about where they are, and where they are in relationship to where they've been." " It was a student who gave m e the clearest way of describing the form a transition must take. This was a student from Iran who had come, with his fam ily, to the United States to study Cinema. W e held our la s t class meeting of that semester in his home and I was quite impressed by the large number of things he brought here from his home land." "I was especially impressed by a stool in the shape of a camel saddle which had the appearance of being quite old and worn. I t seemed lik e i t must have some special significance. When I questioned the student about the stool he told me whenever he went to a d ifferen t place he always took with him something from his past and he said that stool has always gone with him from place to place." __________ 248 "That," Margaret said, "I think is the essence of what a ll transitions are, something from the past brought into the present so the new place is not so strange. "This means the materials the transitional bridges are made of are to be found in the past and must be suitable to bring into the present. In other words, you look for the com mon elements within the sequences, or create com mon elements, that w ill relate one sequence to the next.l "Of course, this is done in varying degrees. Sometimes the transition must be a very small bridge and other times i t can be extremely large. A small bridge is a very direct lin k between one sequence and the next. For example, i t could be a dialogue lin k with Mary talking to Ann, ' I 'l l see you tomorrow and w e'll go shopping.1 Then in the next sequence, we see Mary and Ann shopping. A large bridge provides only a very indirect lin k between the sequences. For example, a dissolve from one scene to the next only says to the audience they're going from one place to someplace else. "The size of the bridge is determined by the d iffic u lty the viewer may have in relating one sequence to another. "Transitions can be audio, visual, optical and various combinations of a ll three. "The optical transitions, those created in the laboratory printing process, are dissolves, fades and wipes. These optical effects, used as transitions, have become a part of the language of film and each says a d ifferen t thing. The dissolve indicates a re la tiv e ly short passage of time; fades generally stand fo r a long 249 passage of time; a wipe has the connotations of simultaneous action. "There are also transitional effects you can create in the camera. There's the blur pan we talked about e a rlie r and the rack focus, where you s h ift in and out of focus: "There are many d iffe re n t types of visual transitions. Som e are less imaginative than others. In my opinion, the least imaginative visual transitions are thinos lik e signs showing locations, printed newspaper or magazine inserts, TMe £R£At ttfAS oven A v o p T H e < 5 ir v ran* / w t t * -» * written statements that explain changes in time and place, 250 and shots of recognizable landscapes and architecture. "I call these the least imaginative because they rarely grow out of what the filmmaker's working with. They appear to be a r t if ic a lly imposed as an outside comment, rather than being integrated into the story. The more imaginative transitions always seem to grow out of what's going on in the story and the sequences to be bridged. "Developing imaginative transitions is a process you continu ously go through. It 's an awareness you're always preparing the viewing audience for what's to come. Seldom can you ju st go to a new location, a new time, or new people without somehow preparing the viewing audience. You're always there to take the viewer's hand and help her or him over the d iffic u lt places where they may be lost or confused. - "As the screenwriter you discover the elements in the sequence you're coming out of that you can use in the sequence you're going into," she said as she pulled some illu stra tio n s out of a folder. 251 "You may use a s im ila rity of action. What's done at the end of one sequence is done in the beginning of the next sequence. £ \ V \ "You may use a continuation of an action. What's started at the end of a sequence is continued in the next sequence. "You may use a s im ila rity of object. A type of object you see at the end of a sequence you see again in the beginning of the next sequence. 252 "You may use a s im ila rity of object movement. The direction an object's traveling at the end of a sequence is continued by a d iffe re n t object in the next sequence. « > o "You may use a s im ila rity of camera movement. The direction the camera's moving at the end of a sequence continues at the beginning of the next sequence. "You may use a s im ila rity of form. The form, or shape, of an object used at the end of a sequence appears in the beginning of the ____________________________________________________________________ 253 next sequence. "You may use a sim ila rity of substance. A substance used at the end of a sequence appears in the beginning of the next sequence. "You may use a symbolic tra n s itio n . The essence of what's happening in one situation transfers to another situation. "There are not as many audio transitions, but they can be as imaginative as the visual transitions. "You may use a continuous sound, in other words, a sound from the same source continues as the visuals change. The sound from one sequence carries into the next sequence. Characters in your story can hear the same sound simultaneously or consecutively. This transition can demonstrate the proximity of interrelated events, the disparity between actions and dialogue, and can lim it audio information while expanding the visual information. "You may use sim ilar sounds. These may have a very obvious s im ila rity , lik e several kinds of fog horns, or they may have a subtle s im ila rity lik e going from a boy's whistle to a factory whistle. W hen you use sim ilar sounds to move from one sequence to another there's a blending of the sequences. When you use dissim ilar sounds this separates the sequences. "You may use a conceptual tra n s itio n . A comment made at the end of a sequence may be answered in the beginning of the next sequence. For example, someone is hospitalized by a crippling accident and at the end of the sequence the comment is made, ' I t could have been worse.' In the next sequence the action of the film is delayed by the passing of a funeral caravan. 1 "And of course, there're the dialogue and narration ties that foreshadow and give leads into the action that w ill follow." I f e l t a l i t t l e overwhelmed by a ll those examples and I told Margaret I wanted more time to think about them and ta lk about them. She agreed we needed to do th at, but righ t now she wanted us to go on to other things. She suggested we a ll look more at the pictures she'd shown us and as transition requirements came up we'd ta lk about them in relationship to the specific examples. The only person who hadn't yet read his outline was Michael. I knew I was curious to hear what he'd written and judging by the way everybody became very quiet when Margaret turned to him, I guess I wasn' : the only one." " It looks lik e you're the last one this time, Michael," she said "I d id n 't w rite one," Michael answered. 255 Margaret paused a moment and then responded. "Ok, can you te ll us why?" she asked. "What kind of trouble were you having?" "I ju st d idn't want to do i t , " he said. Margaret didn't respond. She sat quietly waiting for him to continue. Everyone else stayed quiet too. "Well, is there some rule that says I must do every exercise?" he said. "No, there is n 't," she answered and then went on. "Did you have any thoughts about the picture? Did i t stimulate any ideas at all?" "Yes, but none of them f i t what you were talking about and asking us to do." "Since you've heard the others and we've been talking about them do you see i t any differently?" she continued asking. "No, not re a lly , but I lik e some of the things that were done. I liked Susan's a lo t. And I liked yours too, Don." he turned to me. I t f e l t good that he liked m y outline, but I couldn't help thinking i f he liked what I'd done he couldn't be objecting too much to what Margaret was asking us to do. I thought Margaret would pick up on that but she did n 't. She seemed to be waiting fo r Michael to say more, but when he didn't she suggested we a ll go outside and stretch our legs for ten minutes before we started on the next exercise. 25£ CHAPTER SEVEN. W ORKSHOP: CHARACTER H O W A R E P E R S O N A L I T I E S F O R M E D ? Again we started the next session out in the backyard. That's where we a ll were and nobody, including Margaret, wanted to go back in the house. "The next thing w e'll explore is characterization -believable, consistant, multifaceted people. How do we create them and what are they? These are the questions w e'll be asking ourselves, and the f i r s t step is to look at what you already know about how personalities are formed." W e spent the next half hour discussing various approaches to personality formation--from Adam and Eve to Freud. Most of the class f e l t that a person's personality was determined by a combination of both environment and heredity. I had never thought about this much before. It 'd never seemed very important, but now I was getting curious. "Our purpose here is not to decide the rightness or wrongness of the many theories of personality formation," Margaret said, "but rather to use the knowledge available to us to help understand how to develop story characters. The idea of an interrelationship between the environment a person is born into and physical equipment he or she is born with is very useful for this purpose: "In a moment w e'll go in the house and I ' l l show you a short strip film and motion picture that deal with this idea of personality formation, but before we do that I want to emphasize something. "As writers we must be constantly aware of the fact that most of us make the assumption everybody sees the world the way we--ourselves-- ______________________ 257 see i t . You'll remember how we made the assumption that each of us had the same image for the word dog, but, as we learned, almost a ll of you had very d ifferen t images. In the same way, we assume that everyone has had the same experiences we've had and has our same view of the world, but that ju st is n 't so. Each of us has differen t sets of experiences and each of us sees the world d iffe re n tly . I t 's important for us to know this so we broaden our view and constantly and delibe rately look to see the world through the eyes of other people." She paused and then went on, "I'm not re a lly big on te llin g jokes but here's one that illu s tra te s very well what I'v e been talking about. This is a story about one of our Cinema students who was working very hard a ll hours of the day and night. F in ally , i t seemed, a ll of this caught up with him and he began experiencing severe headaches. He went to the infirm ary, took a whole battery of tests, and saw several of the doctors, but they couldn't find anything wrong with him. Finally one of the Doctors, who was determined to learn the cause of the young man's illn e ss , said to him, 'All rig h t, now you te ll m e exactly every thing you do from the moment you get up in the morning until you go to bed at n ig h t.1 1 The student asked, 'Everything?' 'Yes,'1 answered the Doctor, ’everything.’1 ' 'Ok,' the sludent replied, 'I hear m y alarm, I jump out of bed, walk over to the dresser and turn o ff the alarm. I stretch, rub m y eyes, and go into the bathroom. I urinate, brush m y teeth, throw up, shave and then I s ta rt ....' 'Wait a minute, you do what?' the Doctor interrupted. 'I hear m y alarm, jump out of bed, walk to the dresser and turn o ff the alarm. I stretch, rub my eyes and go into the bathroom. I urinate, brush my teeth, throw up, shave...' 258 "You throw up? again the Doctor interrupted, 'Are you saying you throw up every morning?' 'S u re,1 the student answered, 'Doesn't everyone?" I laughed because i t was funny, and at the same time I realized there'd been many times when I'd said the same thing. Then Margaret asked us to come in the house. She had set up the projectors while we had our break so we looked at the slide film and movie immediately. A NARRATOR SPEAKS: EVEN BEFORE A BABY IS B O R N THINGS BEGIN T0: HAPPEN TO HER—O R HIM. A man speaks: "I hope i t ' s a g i r l ." A woman speaks: "He's got to be ju st 1i ke you." THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: AND FOR EACH CHILD .IT'S DIFFERENT. THE KIND OF W O R LD THE CHILD'S GOING TO LIVE IN M A Y BE A NICE W ORLD, A SOMETIMES NICE W ORLD, O R A W O R LD THAT'S NOT NICE AT ALL. A woman ye lls: "I don't want this baby!! I don't want i t . " THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: AND W HATEVER HIS O R HER W O R LD IS GOING TO BE, THE CHILD H A S N O CONTROL OVER IT. 259 :-rf. , r .s » : w u m € R : y THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: THE CHILD CAN'T GET A W A Y FR O M IT O R CHANG E IT fM R M & e AND DOESN'T EVEN K N O W THAT OTHER CHILDREN M A Y B E B O R N INTO A DIFFERENT W ORLD. HE—O R SHE— NEEDS TO B E TAKEN CARE OF AND H O W THEY ARE TAKEN CARE O F GIVES THEM THEIR FIRST AND M OST IMPORTANT ATTITUDES ABOUT THE KIND OF A W O R LD THEY'RE GOING TO LIVE IN. IS IT A W O R LD THEY CA N DEPEND O N? A woman speaks so ftly: " I ' l l fix her bottle so i t 's ready." 260 i THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: IS IT A W O RLD THAT'S FUN AND HAPPY? A woman speaks tenderly: "Hi there l i t t l e f e lla — blue eyes." THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: IS IT A W O RLD W H ER E HUNGER IS NOT SATISFIED? IS IT A LONELY W O RLD? tsm AS THE CHILD GROW S, IT BECOM ES DIFFERENT—BUT NOT EASIER. 261 THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: N O W THE CHILD IS BEGINNING TO LEARN ABOUT W HAT KIND OF A PERSON HE O R SHE IS. r THE CHILD IS GETTING HIS O R HER ATTITUDES ABOUT HIMSELF O R HERSELF. A woman speaks irrita te d ly : "Stop bothering me, Peggy. What's the matter with you? Can't you see I'm taking care of brother!" THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: THE CHILD'S ATTITUDES ABOUT HERSELF O R HIMSELF C O M E FR O M THE W A Y PEOPLE TREAT THEM. THE W A Y THEY'RE TREATED ACTS LIKE A MIRROR. 262 ■ THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: THEY SEE THEMSELVES AS OTHERS SEE THEM. A l i t t l e g irl speaks sadly: "I bother Mom. She doesn't want rhe around. There's something wrong with me." A man speaks, ridiculin g: "You call that an airplane? Look guys, i t 's an airplane!" A l i t t l e boy speaks sadly: "What I do is n 't very good People laugh at me." THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: BUT FOR SO M E IT'S NOT THAT DIFFICULT. FOR SO M E THE ATTITUDES THEY'RE GIVEN 263 - .r tv y }».,*. THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: AND THE MIRRORS THEY LOO K INTO ARE M U C H DIFFERENT. l i t t l e g irl speaks happily: "People lik e to play with me, they lik e to have m e around. I'm a nice person. THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: O U R ATTITUDES ABOUT OURSELVES C O M E FR O M M ANY PLACES. Children's voices chant: "Gary's a cry baby, cry baby, cry baby." 264 a / One child calls out: "Carol's on m y teamI" Another child y e lls : "No! She's on m y team. You can have Betty." The f i r s t child calls back: "I don't want Betty." An old man speaks angrily: "You kids are a ll alike! The minute I turn my back you're stealing something. I'm watching every move you make." A whiskey voiced man speaks confidingly: "There's only one thing to do! A cop asks you a ques tio n, turn dumb. Ya don't know nothin'" A teacher speaks sternly: "I ju st don't understand you, Susan. W hy are you such a troublemaker?" 265 1 i THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: WE'RE GIVEN O U R ATTITUDES ABOUT O U R FEELINGS A father speaks chidingly: "Don't be s illy . There's nothing to be afraid of." A father speaks in ridicule: "What's the matter with you? Stop crying. Boys don't cry!" mother speaks angrily: "Don't you ta lk to m e that way, young lady! You march righ t o ff to your room and stay there until you can be nice!" A mother speaks lovingly: "Gosh, you're scared, aren't you. Tell m e about i t . " 266 A father speaks caringly: "What is i t , son? W hy are you crying? What can we do about it?" A mother speaks matter of fa ctly : "Ok you're mad. Let's talk about i t . " THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: YOU'RE GIVEN YOUR ATTITUDES TO W ARD AUTHORITY A father speaks angrily: "You get in here or I ' l l give you a whipping yo u 'll never forget." THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: YO U M AY LEARN IT IS SOMETHING TO BE FEARED 267 w o THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: YO U M A Y LEARN H O W TO MANIPULATE PEOPLE TO GET W HATEVER YO U W ANT Q A mother speaks defeatedly: "All rig h t, son, you do i t and w e'll get your new baseball THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: O R M AYBE YO U W ER E LUCKY AND W ER E GIVEN AN ATTITUDE THAT RULES ARE SOMETHING PEOPLE HAVE AGREED TO FO LLO W SO THEY C A N LIVE TOGETHER. A father speaks matter of fa c tly : "No son. You can't do that. Let m e t e ll you why." 26£ iQ a a Q o a j THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: WE'VE ALL HAD THESE THINGS HAPPEN TO US—BOTH THE NICE THINGS AND THE DAMAGING THINGS. THE IMPORTANT THING IS NOT THAT THEY HAPPEN BUT H O W OFTEN THEY HAPPEN AND W HETHER O R NOT THE NOT CARING THINGS ARE BALANCED B Y CARING THINGS. The voices p ile one on top of the other: "Stop bothering me. What's the matter with you!" Men laughing derisively. "Gary's a cry baby." "Why are you such a trouble maker?' "Don't be s illy ." THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: IT'S W H E N THE SAM E THING HAPPENS LOTS OF TIMES AND W E LEARN THE SAM E THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN THAT IT BECO M ES A HABIT—AND A PART OF O U R PERSONALITY. 269 THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: AND THERE'S JIMMY. W H EN HE W A S A CHILD, HE W A S NOT TAUGHT TO D O THINGS. HE W A S JUST TOLD NOT TO D O THEM. The mother's voice speaks: "No Jimmy, yo u 'll f a ll and bump your head." 270 The mother screams: "Get Back!! H e'll bite you!" THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: H E W ANTED TO EXPERIMENT The father ye lls: "No! Jimmy, yo u 'll drown!" THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: H E W ANTED TO TRY THINGS OUT— The father ye lls: "No! No! You'll f a ll and break your arm!" 211 THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: HE W ANTED TO EXPLORE— The father calls: "No! Com e down this minute. You'll get a ll cut up!" THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: JIMMY W ANTED TO LEARN. 272 THE NARRATOR CONTINUES: OVER AND OVER AGAIN, DON'T D O THIS The mother speaks irrita te d ly : "You'll burn yourself!" THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: DON'T D O THAT. The father speaks: "You'll h it your head." THE NARRATOR SPEAKS AGAIN: N O W JIMMY IS OLDER AND HIS PARENTS DON'T UNDERSTAND W H Y THEIR SO N DOESN'T D O THE THINGS OTHER BOYS DO. 273 ['o ° j V J , ________— " \ THE NARRATOR CONCLUDES: JIMMY DOESN'T UNDERSTAND IT EITHER. ALL HE K N O W S IS THAT M ANY THINGS M AKE HIM UNCOMFORTABLE AND AFRAID. When the films were over Margaret immediately started talking as she opened the curtains, "Now I want to hasten to say that these films are certainly not a ll there is to be said about personality formation. They're admittedly extremely sim plified. They're designed to give a feeling for the impact environment can have in shaping people's dominant view of themselves and th e ir dominate view of the 274 world. "Also, they're designed to demonstrate the impotence of child hood. Children simply can't physically escape th e ir environments. As adults, we can— given an intolerable situation— pack our bags and leave, but children, during th e ir most formative stages can't seek out a better environment. In fa c t, during th e ir e a rlies t stages they don't even know there's a better environment. "So i t ' s here, in your character's early l i f e where yo u 'll find a ll the seeds of th e ir behavior." W A Y S O F C O P I N G " It 's here, i f the child lives in a bad situation, that he or she makes a psychological adjustment of some kind in order to survive. The child may learn any number of convoluted ways of coping. He or she may learn to liv e in a fantasy world; refuse to admit to truths as they exist; repress anxiety producing feelings and thoughts; compensate for not gaining in one area by achieving in another; direct h o s tility toward a non-threatening recipient rather than the source of h o s tility ; hide from feelings by engaging in predominately intellectu al concerns; accusing other people of behavior he or she dislikes within himself or herself; adopting or in ita tin g the behavior of other people; extreme denial of hers or his own feelings; continuous excusing of his or her own unacceptable behavior. "All of us engage in these types of behavior, in some degree from time to time, and i t 's only when these kinds of responses become so habitual as to block the discovery and use of more effective ways of dealing with l i f e that they become a problem. These are the kinds of 275 " I f i t 's a 'good' situation that a child lives in , he or she learns more direct and more constructive ways of coping. This child has an openness to experience. He or she can fu lly feel and see th eir world without having to shut any of i t out of awareness. This child w ill show faster intellectu al development. All of his or her energies can be devoted to receiving rather than defending. He or she w ill have not need to liv e in fantasy worlds, deny or shape re a lity or assume someone else's identity because this child is permitted to explore, express, develop and learn s e lf control of hers or his imp!uses in positive ways. "This doesn't mean these children liv e a l i f e of 'peaches and cream' because lif e 's not lik e th a t, but th e y 'll approach lif e 's tasks with more o rig in a lity , a wider range of alternative behaviors, more confidence in th e ir own a b ilitie s and a tendency to liv e fu lly in each moment. For these kinds of story characters, the struggle is less with themselves and th e ir problems and more with obstacles of l i f e its e lf.- "Now, le t's start putting some of this into practice. Using Jimmy, from the film , as our example, what would you say is his dominant view of himself and his world?" "Oh, obviously, he's afraid of his world, and he doesn't have any confidence in himself," I answered. "Is his world hostile?" Margaret pressed. "No, i t ' s ju st overwhelming," Charlie responded. "The world's not out to get him, it 's ju st a place he can't handle." "Gee, doesn't everybody," Jane blurted out. The class laughed, a ll except Jane. She was very serious. "No, I mean i t . I do feel 276 lik e there're so many things that can happen to a person and I'm always watching out. But I don't think there's anything so strange or wrong about that. I t 's ju st using good sense and being careful." S E L F - A W A R E N E S S B E L O N G S T O E V E R Y O N E "Yes," Margaret answered, "I agree with you. It 's using good sense to be careful. Also, this is a good place to ta lk about something we have to be very careful of. A l i t t l e knowledge of psychology can be helpful in learning about developing your story characters, but i t doesn't equip a person to suddenly understand a ll the psychodynamics of hers or his l i f e , or of others. There's no question but what, as you begin to explore some of these psychological theories to help you learn about developing characters, that you w ill, from time to time, gain insight into your own l i f e . Quite frequently I'v e had students who w ill, in this kind of probing, unlock doors to places within themselves they hadn't known about before. This can be a very constructive experience, and i t can sometimes be very painful. Very often these kinds of insights, especially the painful ones, can mark the beginning of self exploration. Happily, we liv e in a time and place where there's easy access to qualified help and the search for self-awareness is applauded rather than ridiculed. "Actually, there's nothing more important for you, as a w rite r, than to understand as much about yourself as possible. As we've talked about before, you and your experiences are the raw material out of which you create your films and the better you know your raw material the more y o u 'll be able to do with i t . "I always strongly recommend to a ll w riters, whether they feel __________ 277 the need to or not, to involve themselves in the kinds of psychological experiences th a t'll help them gain greater access to the things that go on inside them. Self-awareness ought not be the special privilege of people who have problems that need treatment. Self-awareness belongs to everyone so they may liv e th e ir lives to the fu lle s t. And, as a w rite r, the better you know yourself the easier i t is to know your characters." "You know, as I think back," Jane blurted out again, "I grew up being scared of doing lots of things and I remember my parents keeping m e from doing lots of things, things lik e riding Ferris wheels, climbing, jumping, ro lle r skating." She paused to think and then went on, "But I can understand why. I was sick a lo t when I was l i t t l e and I remember i t seemed lik e I was always fa llin g down or getting hurt in some way." " It 's very d if f ic u lt to be a parent and always know what's the righ t thing to do for your child," Margaret responded. She waited, perhaps to see i f Jane had anymore to say, but when she d id n't Margaret continued, "Ok, le t's go on." "When I begin to develop a character, the f i r s t question I always ask myself is the one I ju s t asked about Jimmy--what's his or her dominant view of herself or himself? The answers to these questiorjs give m e what I call core qualities or core characteristics. These are the qualities that influence a ll of my character's behavior. They're lik e the hub of a wheel, from which a ll the spokes radiate and from these core qualities a ll other tra its and behavior are bornl' "Again, using Jimmy as our example, le t's ta lk about how, because he's so fearful and uncomfortable with himself and his world, 2781 this affects a ll aspects of his l i f e . These core qualities w ill keep him from doing certain types of work; determine his recreational pat terns; could affect his social status in situations where physical a c tiv itie s and physical courage are highly valued; may drive him into a high educational performance and cultivation of his intellectual capacities. Jimmy's core qualities w ill affec t his sense of s e lf esteem; influence his views toward marriage and his marriage partner; decide his attitudes toward his own children. He might well marry a lady who could take care of him and protect him from his alien world, he would probably give his children the same fears he was given and i t might be that his sexual practices and attitudes would also re fle c t his fears of incompetence. It 's en tirely possible that he would embrace some very rig id religious b e lie f to satisfy his needs for reassurance and protection from a world he doesn't understand. This is how pervasive core qualities are. "Now, I don't mean to say that this is the only direction Jimmy could go in. I t 's possible that these core qualities might cause him to go in at least a dozen d ifferen t directions, but once you've se" his course you quickly generate consistent behavior that would lo gically proceed in a consistent direction. "The decision about core qualities is the f i r s t step. The next step is to create a character p ro file . To help m e do this I use what I call m y 'character p ro file crutch l i s t / of physical, environmental and personality tr a its . This crutch l i s t is sim ilar to and to some extent patterned a fte r Lajos Egri's 'bone structure' l i s t in his book, The Art of Dramatic W riting, which, hopefully, you've already read about. My l i s t quickly gives m e a series of questions to ask myself ----------------------—---------- — _____________________ 279 and a structure within which to get to know this new person I'm creating ." As Margaret was talking she was handing out papers and she set two pictures up on the fireplace mantle. CHARACTER PROFILE CRUTCH LIST PHYSICAL TRAITS Sex Age Race Physical Characteristics height weight coloring: eyes, hair, skin Physical Appearance neat, clean, sloppy, dirty attractive, unattractive dress patterns posture and body movements manner of speaking ENVIRONMENT Childhood birthplace and childhood home location economic status of parents occupation, income, working conditions social status of parents place in community educational status of parents level of schooling religious beliefs of parents family life style relationship to siblings dominant view of life of parents major values of parents Current economic status occupation, income, working conditions, attitude toward work social status place in community educational status school performance and class preferences intellectual capacities political status .280 religious status current relationship to parents marital status family life style parental status attitude toward children, aspirations for children, requirements of children sexual practices and attitudes recreational patterns physical recreation, intellectual recreation PERSONALITY TRAITS Core qualities dominant view of the world dominant view of self Values what is most important what is right and wrong Emotional responses greatest angers, fears, disappointments, failures, frustrations, ambitions, abilities ] Temperament ("source traits"*) I easygoing, frank, generous, warmhearted/ob- ] structive, indifferent, secretive, impassive intelligent/unintelligent mature, patient, stoic, unworried/infantile, impatient, anxious, worrying (ego strength/ ego weakness) active/inactive dominant/submissive enthusiastic, talkative/silent, brooding conscientious, responsible, persevering/un scrupulous, irresolute, undependable (superego strength & weakness) carefree, brave/careful, cowardly sensitive, sentimental/insensitive, callous self-oriented, independent/dependent, group- oriented cultured, elegant/crude, awkward, uncouth suspicious, wary/trustful, gullible self-absorbed, abstract/earnest, practical, outward shrewd/naive timid, depressed/self-confident radical/conservative self-sufficient/seeking social approval controlled will/takes chances frustrated, anxious/relaxed, composed (id significance & id insignificance) 281 *R . B. Cattrell, The Scientific Analysis of Personality (Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1965). "Your next exercise is to create a person, to decide everything about that person: where he or she comes from; where he or she is now; a ll the things he or she things, feels and does.* I suggest you use the physical tra its of one of these two people, although i f you want to start from scratch to create a differen t person i t 's a ll right. You only have one hour in which to develop your character p ro file so by using one of these two people you need only concern yourself with the person's childhood, current environment and the personality tr a its ." 282 2831 31 "After you've asked yourself about the core qualities and made those decisions sta rt at the top of the crutch l i s t and think about each one of these things in the form of a question. For example, ask your s e lf, 'what is his name?1 "where was she born and raised?' 'what was her's or his father's and mother's occupations?' and on and on. You can w rite this down in any form you want to use. You can use key words or . complete thoughts, ju st so at the end of an hour you can give us as complete a picture of your character as this time permits." I looked at the two pictures and immediately decided to work with the old man. "Core qualities? What's his view of his world? His view of himself? That's not hard. He looks lik e a happy man. Sure!" He's easygoing, a very likeable guy and his name is W illy M ille r. The world's been good to him. He hasn't asked for too much and he's gotten what he asked fo r. He was born and raised in a small fishing community along the Northeast coast. His father's name was Wilhelm and he was Wilhelm J r ., only they called him W illy for short. His father's family had immigrated from Germany shortly a fte r his father was born and Wilhelm had grown up in a mostly old-world home. Wilhelm had carried on the old- world trad itio n s, marrying a f i r s t generation German g i r l , Marta, and maintaining strong family tie s . A lo t of this was possible because the family had stayed in the small community where W illy's grandparents had f ir s t settled and where W illy's grand- father learned to be a fisherman. He used to boast that he was the only German among the Nova Scotian and Canadian fishermen. Being a fisherman was hard and fu ll of dangers, but W illy's father always came out on top, whether i t was with the sea or a fellow fisherman who wanted to take Wi1 hem's "top dog" position away from him. Wilhelm was top dog in bringing in the largest catches and top dog in the community where he was highly respected fo r his even temper and organization q u alities. Both he and Marta stopped school a fte r the eighth grade, but he did a lo t of reading and became self-taught in many areas. He was one of the prime movers in building the German Lutheran church in th e ir community and bringing a minister to serve the surrounding area. W illy is the oldest in a family of fiv e children. There are two boys and three g irls . W illy was worshipped by his sisters and brother and he had a parental attitude toward them, especially his youngest brother, John. For W illy's parents the major values were to make a good liv in g , keep the family together and walk in the ways of God. W illy's parents are now dead and when his father died W illy took over the positions his father had occupied. He was the best fisherman in the community, one of the p illa rs of the church and is now highly 286 respected as a spokesman for the older people. W illy s t i l l fishes, but not on a regular basis. His own son, Richard, has walked in his footsteps as he walked in the footsteps of his father, and Richard now operates the fishing boat. W illy went through high school but i t never occurred to him to go on to a college. He was a good student, but exceptional in nothing. School ju st wasn't his main interest. The sea, working with his father and marriage were a ll he was interested in. As soon as he graduated from high school, W illy married a g irl by the name of Greta Kreger and they immediately started th e ir family. Greta came from a neighboring town and although when they were married they hadn't known each other very long, i t seemed lik e i t was going to be a perfect marriage. This wasn't to be the case, however, and a fte r the birth of his second son Greta deserted W illy, leaving him with the two boys, Richard and Sigmund. She went o ff to New York and eventually ended up in San Francisco. W illy hired a housekeeper to take care of the boys when he was out at sea, but spent as much time as possible with them. W illy never remarried, but had a series of a ffa irs with ladies in the surrounding towns. There were __________________________________________________________ 287 several ladies he would have married except for the fact that he'd never received divorce papers, and he d id n 't know where to reach Greta. His lady friends would wait ju st so long, decide W illy wasn't ever going to do anything about getting a divorce, and then move on. The community knew about W illy's a ffa irs , but they never re a lly saw them. W illy was a man and a fte r a ll i t was Greta who had walked out on him. W illy d idn't seem to mind that he was never remarried. He became more involved in his work, he spent a great deal of time with his sons, and he always enjoyed being with the men he worked with. The highlight of the week was Saturday night when he and his buddies would met at the local tavern to drink beer and ta lk about the events of the past week. The most important thing in W illy's l i f e were his sons. He wanted them to be happy, to learn the s k ills of a fisherman and be respected in the community lik e he had been and lik e his father before him had been. His sense of rig h t and wrong paralleled that of the church and of a ll the ten commandments, the one he valued the most was the one that said to honor thy father and thy mother. W illy's oldest son Richard was exactly the child he 288 wanted. Richard followed in his footsteps but his youngest son, Sigmund, was d iffe re n t. Sigmund wanted anything but the sea. He hated i t and rejected any training or love for i t W illy tried to give him. As a matter of fa c t, Sigmund hated everything about the town he was born in and at the age of fifte e n he ran away, in search of his mother. He was never heard from again. W illy's greatest fear is that the fish run w ill diminish. I f there should be no fish and he couldn't make his catch, how would he earn the esteem of his community. His greatest anger is with his wife for deserting him. His greatest joy comes from Richard doing what he wants him to do and what he expects of him. He doesn't re a lly have any vices. His greatest disappointment is that his marriage d idn't work. His greatest fa ilu re was that he lost Sigmund and that he never knew why. His greatest frustration is with the growing restrictions on the fishing industry. He's being told how to run his business and he resents i t . His greatest ambition was to liv e the way his ancesters did and be top dog among the fishermen. He had organization a b ilitie s that were never fu lly u tiliz e d and developed. He's easygoing, generous, mature, active, dominant, ta lk a tiv e , conscientious and responsible, brave, 289 insensitive to most things, independent, very ordinary in his manners, tru s tfu l, practical, knowledgeable about wordly ways, self-confident, w ill take some chances and is very comfortable with himself. This time I was the la s t one done and Margaret gave us another fiv e minutes to stretch our legs before we, as she put i t , start "introducing our characters to each other." W hen we started i t was Michael who went f ir s t . He chose the m an too and called him Chester Johnson. Michael read what he'd w ritten, leaving pauses a fte r each sentence. Chester's mean. He's mean through and through. He was born and raised in Texas, the son of a small farmer livin g in the middle of the state. He came from a large family. A family so large nobody ever had enough of anything. "Use Don's procedure though, he’s done a thorough job of getting to know his character and if you use the same method you will too." "You may chose to do a different one, other than the man and woman the class has been working with, but I think you'd find it inter esting to see how yours is different from the ones they've done." "Before you read on, I'd like for you to develop one of these characters." 290 Not enough food. Not enough love. Chester was somewhere in the middle, between the oldest and the youngest. Everytime he got lost in the shuffle of everything. When Chester was only nine years old his mother died. She died in childbirth. His oldest sis ter took over the position vacated by his mother. She ran the house, bossed the kids and slept with her father. When a new and abnormal baby was born to that relationship the police took Chester's father to j a i l . The children were a ll put in an orphan's home. Chester was never adopted. He spent three years in the orphan's home. Finally he ran away. When he ran away the people at the orphan's home made l i t t l e attempt to find him. I t was a r e lie f not to have Chester around. He was nothing but trouble. Chester teamed up with an old time hobo, Smily, a harsh and ruthless man. A man who moved with the seasons and picked fru its and vegetables for whatever liv in g he required and wanted. ________________ 291 The relationship between Chester and Smily was something lik e a duel at f ir s t . They each tried to out steal and mistreat each other. Then they learned to lik e each other. They began to trust each other. They had each met th e ir match. This brought them together. They bum med around the country as partners until Chester was sixteen years old. They became known on the hobo c irc u it as Gramps and the kid. Whenever they showed up a ll others drew th eir things close and were watchful. Gramps and the kid took whatever they wanted. They never said please. Or thank you. When Chester was sixteen Gramps died. Gramps had gotten busted in a l i t t l e town in Oklahoma fo r hopping a freig h t. Chester had been with him but he'd gotten away. Gramps was old and slow. They got him. While in prison Gramps took sick and within a few days he died. Chester claimed Gramp's body. He buried him deep in the ground in a grove of 292 trees outside of town. Then he hopped a freig h t. For two years Chester roamed from place to place, alone and s ile n t. When he was eighteen he joined the army. For his f i r s t two years he got in and out of trouble, not big things. Mostly mild insubordination and f i s t fights with the guys. Then one time a fte r a two week stay in the guardhouse he did an abrupt change. He spent his time reading and memorizing the army regulations. He became a model solder. He obeyed every rule to the le tte r. He began to in sist that everyone do the same thing. He took great delight in turning people in when he observed them breaking the rules in the slightest way. Although everyone on the base hated him he moved quite rapidly up the ranks to become a top sergeant. He was rig h t where he wanted to be. He was in charge. Every new private he met bore the scars of his anger. Chester was in the Army fo r fo rty years. He was forced to r e tire when he was f if t y - s ix years old. 293 He probably would have gone on for another ten i f they'd le t him. With increasing age had come increasing rig id ity . Every year he became meaner. I t was impossible for Chester to accept the new army of volunteers. The new army would not accept Chester. He was out. He started bumming again. Now he moves from place to place, fishing, hunting and doing whatever presents it s e lf . His retirement salary meets a ll his needs. He is always alone. Nobody likes him. Michael finished and looked up from his paper to see what kind of a response he'd get. "You have an extremely interesting character," Margaret told him "Really!" Charlie said, "Tell me, did he lik e girls?" Michael answered, "Oh sure, but only for sex. He goes to the houses or picks them up in bars, but th at's a l l . Actually, he's bisexual. He does i t both ways. I t doesn't matter to him i f it 's g irls or boys. His f i r s t sex was with Gramps and i t wasn't un til a fte r Gramps died that he had a woman. "What does he do for fun?" I asked. "Oh, he goes to movies, watches TV, makes model airplanes and drinks a lo t. You have to watch out fo r him when he's been drinking. 294 Sometimes he gets a l i t t l e more frien dly but most of the time he ju st gets meaner." "There's got to be something nice about him," Liz said, "there's ju st got to be." "Why," Michael asked. "Nobody's ever a ll bad," Liz answered. "Chester is. He's a ll bad. You start thinking he's got some thing nice about him and you're in for trouble." "What's he most afraid of?" Margaret asked. Michael didn't answer right away, but when he did he was very positive. "He's most afraid of being put in j a i l . He's afraid h e 'll die, lik e Gramps died. Yeah, he think i f he goes to ja i l he's gonna die." "Why does a guy lik e that want to live?" Jane asked. "He's too mean to die," Michael answered. "What does he have for breakfast?" Margaret asked. "I don't know," Michael answered. "Think about i t a minute. What would Chester have for break fast?" Margaret pressed. "What does that have to do with anything?" Michael scoffed. "Granted, that in it s e lf is not too important, but i t 's import ant to be so well acquainted with your character that you know even the smallest thing about what he or she does," Margaret explained. "Ok. I know what he eats, Michael said. "He eats raw onions so he can get on the morning commuter bus and drive everybody crazy!" The whole class laughed. Michael seemed to be enjoying himself. I was glad he'd done this exercise. I was about to ask him another ____________________________________________________________________________ 295 question but Margaret beat m e to i t . "Now, le t's play 'what i f ' again. What would Chester do i f , in his travels, he ran across a twelve year old boy who was on the run?" * ■ "Oh h e 'd ..." Michael immediately started to answer, but Margaret interrupted. "Don't answer too quickly. Do i t in your mind f ir s t . Put Chester in that situation, actually see him and see the boy. See where they are and then describe i t to us. Describe for us what each one does and what each one says." Michael looked down and covered his eyes. W e were a ll s ile n t. I could feel myself getting a l i t t l e excited, wondering what Chester would do. "He sees the kid. The kid looks scared." Michael started. "Where are they, the freig h t yards, a park downtown, on a bus?" Margaret asked so ftly . He thought a moment and then he answered, "No, they're in an amusement park. Chester's playing the pinballs. He sees the kid out of the corner of his eye. The kid's sizing up Chester and is especially interested in the b illfo ld bulge in Chester's hip pocket. Chester knows this immediately. He's done the same thing himself too many times not to recognize i t . This is going to be fun, the kind of fun Chester likes best. He sees the kid coming up behind him. He gets ready. The kid bumps into him and in an instant Chester has him up in the a ir hanging by his overall straps. 'You're not very smart k id ,' Chester said to hiu He sets him down and gives him a kick that sends him sprawling across the room and out the door. The kid gets up and runs lik e a bat out of h e ll. Chester turns back to the pinball machine and slaps his hip ________________________________________________________________ _____; _ _ 236. pocket. His w allet's gone! He bellows, 'That l i t t l e bastard' and runs out a fte r him. Chester sees the kid ahead, running along the street. Now there's a big chase until fin a lly Chester catches up to the kid, but before Chester catches him the kid drops Chester's b illfo ld down a drainage hole. The kid's scared. Chester's furious. They stand staring at each other. The kid backs o ff. Chester advances. The kid trips over a low wall and fa lls backward. He fa lls into a p ile of rubbish and garbage on the other side of the w all. Chester stands glaring at the boy and then starts laughing. The kid spits at Chester. He struggles to get up. He can't get up. He looks at Chester and then he too starts laughing. A fter that they become friends." He finished and we a ll clapped. "I re a lly lik e th a t, Michael," Margaret said. "You did two ver> important and excellent things. You kept Chester in character, he didn't suddenly become kind and gentle, and when he did change a l i t t l e you made i t believable by le ttin g i t happen slowly and happen as a result of something." C H A N G E A N D G R O W T H She paused and then spoke to a ll of us. "Let's ta lk about change and growth." "Think to yourself about how an apple tree grows from a sapling to a tree large enough and mature enough to bear fr u it ." "Think about what i t 's lik e to learn to play a piano or make a movie." "Think about what i t takes fo r a human being to grow from con ception to maturity." _____________ 297 "Now close your eyes for a moment and think about what these phenomena have in common." "Each one of these, in varying degrees, moved through both time and space. This is the clue to handling change and growth in story te llin g . You always carry your people through time and space, providing steps between the beginning of change and the point where the change is complete. "Michael did that with Chester. W e a ll knew the one soft spot Chester might have could be a soft spot for a young boy who'd remind him of himself, and we knew that his relationship with Gramps grew out of th e ir mutual mistreatment of each other. "The f i r s t step in Chester's change came when he f i r s t saw the boy. The second step came when he saw the boy eyeing his b illfo ld and he prepared to catch him. Next he discovered his b illfo ld was gone, then he chased and caught the kid. The f i f t h step came when he realized his b illfo ld was gone for good and he became furious. The kid tripped and Chester laughed. The kid spat and Chester laughed. Finally the kid laughed and now they could become friends. of learning to play a piano, the many steps necessary for making a movie, and look at the succession of periods we grow through as we live from conception to maturity and to death." "I'd like for you to do this too." "In your mind's eye see the various stages an apple tree lives through, see the different phases 298 "Had Chester seen the boy and immediately struck up a friendship we wouldn't have believed i t . W e would have said Chester was out of character. But, because of a ll these steps, Chester's consistant and his actions are believable." She paused and then concluded, "Michael had Chester move through space and through time." "Have you done this kind of writing before, Michael?" I asked him. "No, I haven't. Not lik e this with people and people talking," he answered. "I'm impressed," I told him and was about to ask him another question, but at that point Margaret told Jane to introduce us to her character. "I chose the woman fo r m y character," Jane to ld'us, "and I named her Amy. Am y Morley. Amy's core quality is fear. She is always afraid. She's been this way a ll her l i f e . Her mother died when she was born. Amy's father le f t her with her mother's parents until Am y was six years old and until he remarried. Then he came to reclaim Amy. Amy's l i f e with her father and his new wife was not happy. He was a very gruff man and his wife was preoccupied with two children of her own. Amy's father owned a small grocery store in a rural town in northern Illin o is and the family lived upstairs above the store. As soon as Am y could she worked in the store doing l i t t l e things and as she grew _________________________________ 299 older she assumed more and more duties. Her stepsister and stepbrother were given preferential treatment by th e ir mother and father and both took advantage of timid Amy. They would bully her into doing th e ir chores and tease her at every chance. Amy's father believed in a high school education fo r g irls and college for boys. He was a s tric t disciplinarian and a s tr ic t Lutheran. For him, a show of any kind of emotion was a sign of weakness. Joy and happiness were to be experienced in ternally and s ile n tly . Anger was to be repressed and curiosity was the work of the devil. Am y grew up learning to hold a tig h t rein on a ll her emotions and to value only reason. She became a prude and never ventured any further than she had to. After graduating from high school, Am y stayed on to work in the store. I t became her career and livelihood. Her father gave her room, board and a modest wage. Am y was very much respected by the community. She had done well in school and was active in the church. She taught Sunday School, sang in the choir and a laundered the a lte r linens. Am y never got married. A She never had a boyfriend. She had never been kissed. She was a Republican and voted a straight tic k e t at every election. The softest spot in her heart __________________ 300 was toward children and a great deal of her money was spent buying goodies for the children who came into the store. Am y had l i t t l e time for recreation. She worked six days a week and at least ten hours a day. O n Sunday she devoted most of her time to the Church. What time she had she spent doing needle work of a ll kinds. Her stepbrother and stepsister both le f t home early. The g irl was married. The boy went to college and then to a career in Chicago. Her father died f i r s t , at the age of sixty-two. Her stepmother, shortly th ereafter, became i l l and was bedridden fo r fiv e years before she died. During this time Am y took care of her stepmother and ran the store. When her stepmother died Am y was 48 years old. Her stepbrother and stepsister were each given one-third of the store along with Amy. She wanted to keep the store, but they wanted to sell i t and have the money. There was nothing Am y could do to stop them. The store was sold. Am y was without a home and without an income. She rented a boarding house room and went to work in the local Ben Franklin fiv e and dime store. She worked until she was s ix ty -fiv e and then re tire d . Now she lives out each day waiting to die and go to heaven. 301 Her greatest fear is change; greatest anger, she has none; greatest joys, going to church; greatest vices, has none; greatest disappointments, never having a child; greatest fa ilu re , not being able to keep the store; greatest fru stratio n, when people are slow to learn; greatest ambition, to own her own grocery store; greatest a b ility , to manage the grocery store. "And I d id n 't do those other things, the source tr a its . I wasn't sure about what to do," Jane concluded. "Ok, le t m e help you," Margaret said. "This l i s t represents types of personality tr a its at both end of the spectrum and implies a ll of the degrees in between. For example, in te llig e n t and unintelligent are the two opposite poles but in between there're the many degrees of intelligence. Look at the f i r s t item and ask yourself, 'where does Am y f i t here?' Is she easygoing, frank, generous, warmhearted or obstruc tiv e , in d iffe re n t, secretive or impassive?" "Does impassive mean that she doesn't show anything?" Jane asked "Right, that he or she doesn't show any emotion," Margaret answered. "That's Amy!" Jane said and then stopped. Margaret waited and then urged Jane to continue. "Keep going. Do the same thing with each t r a it . Ask yourself where Amy f it s ." Jane went on. "Well, she's in te llig e n t, but not a genius. She worries a lo t and now she's very inactive. She ju st s its , but she used to be active. She's submissive. She always has been. She's s ile n t, re a lly conscientious and responsible, careful, sensitive, and independ- 302 2nt. No, she's dependent, but not on any particular people. It 's more like being dependent on a system. She's certainly not elegant but she's not crude. She's wary and self-absorbed. She's re a lly not naive even though she sometimes appears to be. She's just out of touch. It 's lik e she wore blinders a ll her l i f e . She's tim id, conservative, self s u ffic ie n t, very controlled and composed." "You said her core quality was fear. Where did this fear come from? What caused i t . " Margaret asked. "Oh dear. I don't know. What did I le t myself in fo r," Jane laughed. "Look back to her early l i f e . What was there in those early years that may have caused her to be fearful?" Margaret continued asking. Jane looked down at her notes. She was acting lik e she was being scolded for doing something bad. W hen she's lik e this she re a lly irrita te s me. "Don't be in a hurry, Jane," Margaret told her, "stop and think and ask yourself about cause and effect. You've given Am y a lo t of actions. A lo t of things happened to her. Now I want you to decide how she reacted to these things that happened. How did these things a ffe c t her personality? For example, how did i t affec t Am y when she wa> reclaimed by her father at age six. That must have been a very d i f f i cu lt thing fo r her. Look back over your notes and think about i t . As a matter of fa c t, it 'd be a good idea for a ll of you to go back over your notes. Make sure that for everything that happens to your character you figure out how that thing affected her or him." 303 "It’d be a good idea for you to check back over your notes too." "Be sure that for everything you have happening to your character you know what effect it had on him or her. "It's this successive cause and effect, push and resist, that produces change and growth." After ten minutes Margaret called us back together and she asked Jane, "What did you find out about Amy?" "Well, she was heartbroken when she had to leave her grandpar ents. She'd believed they were her parents and when she found out they weren't she never again re a lly trusted anyone. A fter that experience she was always afraid that at any time te rrib le things would happen to her, and with her father and stepmother she f e l t absolutely helpless. There wasn't any warmth from them. She was completely alone and th at's the way she went on for the rest of her l i f e , except fo r children--the one's who would come into the store." "What a very sad lady," Margaret responded. 304 "Yeah, and I don't know where she came from in me," Jane laughed. "I would have thought I'd have created a happy lady who had a ll nice things happen to her, but how could you," she pointed to the picture, "make that lady be anything but sad." "I did," Lenard spoke up. My lady is "Mother," head of the Southwest Street gang that te rrifie d lower Los Angeles for twenty-three years." W e a ll laughed and I was anxious to be "introduced" to "Mother" but Margaret said, "Just a few minutes more with Am y before we meet anyone else." "Oh dear, what now," Jane blurted out. " I'd lik e to have you put Am y in a situation lik e Michael did with Chester. What would Am y do i f her stepsister came and asked her for money to pay for an operation that would save her daughter's li f e . Am y only has money enough to liv e on and she has nothing extra. Her stepsister had money, but squandered i t on high liv in g . What w ill Am y do?" "Oh no," Jane said, "I don't know." "Think about i t , " Margaret said. "Think about where they are and what they say to each other." "That's a tough one," Charlie said. "She won't do i t . " Jane said. "She'll t e ll her she can't do it.' "Let us hear them ta lk . Tell us where they are. Are they s ittin g down, are they on a bus or where?" Margaret asked again. "No, they're in Amy's room at the boarding house. They're s ittin g . Amy's stepsister's been crying. Amy's staring straight ahead. 305 The stepsister's pleading with Amy. 'B e tty ,1 that's the daughter's name, 'Betty w ill die unless she has the operation. You're the only one I can ask fo r help.' Then Am y answers..." "Wait Jane," Margaret interrupted, " te ll us everything Amy's doing. I want you to see her in your mind and then describe her to us. What kind of a chair is she s ittin g in? What's she doing with her body?' "Ok," Jane answered, "She's s ittin g in a rocking chair. She has her knees bent and her hands are clasped on her knees. She rocks back and forth and then she speaks, ' I am sorry Betty is so i l l . I wish I had the money to give to you, but I do n o t."' Jane stopped and then she went on. " 'I w ill pray fo r a m iracle.'" "Oh no! That's not what she'd do," Larry spoke up, "she'd give her the money and go to the poorhouse." "No, I don't think so," Becky said, "I think Jane's rig h t. Amy's nobody's fool! With her head for business she wouldn't do such a sentimental thing." "I agree with Becky," John said. "Jane," Margaret asked, "what made you decide this way?" Jane laughed, "In m y head I saw her at the cash register in the grocery store, counting the day's cash and I decided, lik e Becky said, she had too good a business head to do a thing lik e that." " I'd agree," Margaret said, "I don't think I'd have believed her giving away a ll of her money." "Well, maybe not," Larry said, "but i t 's the f i r s t time she hasn't given up everything." "Larry, why don't you ask her why she d idn't give this time," Margaret suggested. 306 Larry looked at Margaret as i f she'd taken leave of her senses, "What do you mean, ask her?" "Ask her. She's here. She's in this room. Ask her and see what she answers." Larry shook his head, but he turned to Jane and laughingly asked, "Why d id n 't you give her the money?" Jane looked at Margaret. "Let Am y answer him, Jane," she said. Jane closed her eyes tig h t and seemed unconsciously to assume the position of s ittin g in a rocking chair with her hands on her knees. I t even seemed as i f she was rocking back and forth a l i t t l e . "Because I don't have any money to give her. I'm very poor. I had no choice," ^m y answered. "Why did you always give so much before?" Larry pressed. "I always only gave what I could give. I never gave more than that. That's a ll the Lord asks us to give," Am y answered again. Larry looked at Margaret and shrugged his shoulders, "Ok. I believe her." I burst out laughing. I couldn't believe what I'd ju st seen. Everyone of us had accepted the fact that that l i t t l e old lady was sittin g righ t in this room. Talking! "What's so funny?" Margaret asked me. "I don't believe i t ! This is n 't real! That lady is n 't here," I answered. "Oh?" Margaret responded. "What do you mean 'oh?'" That wasn't the response I'd expected 307 to hear. "What is this? Some sort of spook house? You've got us a ll seeing things and hearing things." I was exasperated. I thought she was putting m e on and I didn't lik e i t . "And th at's exactly what happens when you create characters that speak out of th eir background and become visable through visual d e ta il," Margaret stated. There was a long silence. I d id n 't have an answer to that except I knew she wasn't putting m e on. She waited and then asked, "Is everyone ready to meet "Mother?" W e a ll said yes and Lenard read his character p ro file . Lenard had written a very funny character sketch. W e a ll laughed from its beginning to its end, but then Margaret pointed out that "Mother" wasn't as real as the others had been, that she was more a caricature. Margaret asked Lenard to put "Mother" in a situation where her own child was k ille d by one of the gang. I t was impossible for Lenard to give her any human feelings and s t i l l make her consistent. Liz did the man and made him into a wealthy retired business executive, Arthur Tanner. His core quality was that he was highly competitive in every area of his l i f e . Arthur had to face the fact that a trusted employee had embezzled most of his retirement funds and he couldn't recover them. Larry's man, Richard Atterbee was a pretty straight guy. His core qualities were competence and achievement. He did everything well and never got into trouble, that is , until Margaret arranged for him to be in an accident and lose his eyesight. However, Larry took good care of him and Richard continued to be competent and successful in<spite of 308 iis blindness. Becky did the lady. She was Sally Norwood and a worn out, used up prostitute who'd risen to becoming a Madame and then had been impri soned for a crime she d idn 't commit. She was a rebel, and a victim of society. She was a re a lly interesting character. Margaret forced Sally to discover her beautiful granddaughter had begun to follow in her footsteps and Sally had to decide what to do about i t . This was a real bind fo r Sally. O n the one hand she believed that no human being had the righ t to interfere in the l ife of another, but on the other hand she f e l t she had to try to stop her granddaughter. Becky created a tender scene between the old and the young woman. Becky had gone into the cause effect thing so deeply that I f e lt positive she was te llin g us about someone she'd known for a long time. I asked her th a t, but she said no. She said Sally had come out of her head. Charlie developed a tortured man, Fred Sims. Fred was a man who lived in the perpetual fear that he'd discover he was homosexual. He devoted his l i f e to overcompensating to prove to himself he was a "man.1 Everything he did was compulsive in nature. Margaret asked Charlie to have Fred become conclusively convinced he was not homosexual and that he was a "man." I think this was the hardest one of a l l , but Charlie kept Fred believable. Now Fred had nothing to fig h t against and he went to pieces with the realizatio n that he'd spent his l i f e boxing shadows. Bobbie did a man who might have been one of Charlie Chaplin's characters. His name was Morrie Pen. He was always helping the under dog and then losing in the end. A beautiful person inside, but 309 unattractive and clumsy outside. He was a loser and his chief core quality was selflessness. Margaret made Morrie have to deal with winning and Bobbie le t him enjoy i t . Susan worked with the lady. Her name was Prudence Adams and she was an absolutely hateful person. She was the head mistress in a g irl's school. Along with being the " ja ile r" she tormented the g irls with threats and accusations. Margaret involved Prudence in an accident that le f t her at the mercy of two of the g irls she'd tormented the most. The g irls helped her and Susan had to decide how Prudence would act toward them when she was no longer helpless. Susan made Prudence even more cruel because now the g irls had seen her weaknesses. John created a man who was a modern Thoreau, Henry Duke. His core characteristics were se n s itivity to a ll l i f e around him and an unqualified trust in everything and everyone. Henry was put in a situation where one of his most trusted friends betrayed his trust. Henry d id n 't accept this and turned the incident around so he and his friend ended up with even greater trust. A fter a ll the characters had been introduced Margaret said, "Novf we've a ll met our eleven guests, but they've not yet met each other." She turned to me, "Don, out of a ll these characters, which one would W illy feel the most comfortable with. Which one would be easiest for him to ta lk to?" "Willy could ta lk to anybody. Nobody'd make W illy uncomfortr able," I answered. "Not even Chester?" Liz asked. "Not even Chester!" I told her. 310 "What do you think, Michael, could Chester make W illy feel uncomfortable?" Margaret asked. "He'd sure try ," Michael said. "Let's put them together and see what happens. Michael, could Chester be bumming along the ocean front and bum p into Willy? No even better, they could meet in a bar. Does that sound ok with you two?" she asked. Both of us nodded our heads and she went on. "Let m e set the stage fo r you, but f i r s t , Michael, w ill you come s it over here? She pulled two chairs together, "And here's a bar stool for Don. This is a bar along the ocean front. W illy's been out watching the boats, but i t 's cold and he's come in for a shot to warm him up. Chester's already at the bar drinking a b e e r..." "No, not a beer," Michael interrupted. "He's having a whiskey.' "Ok. Is i t his firs t? " she asked. "His th ird ," Michael responded. "All rig h t. W illy, you've come through the door. You see somebody s ittin g at the bar. Being the gregarious guy you are, you immediately go s it down beside him." I went over and sat down beside Michael. I wasn't sure whether or not I liked th is. I f e l t dumb and s illy . I'm no actor, but I decided i f Michael was game I was too. I looked at Michael, but he was staring o ff into space and I realized he was already into playing Chester. "What does he say?" Margaret asked. "He says, 'Hi th e re ,'" I said to Margaret "Say i t to him," she instructed me. 311 "Hi there." Michael turned to look at m e and I was re a lly surprised. He did look mean. My f i r s t impulse was to ignore him, but then I remembered I was supposed to be W illy. So I asked myself, "What would W illy do?" Then I remembered that W illy was supposed to feel comfortable with everyone. "You're new in these parts aren't you?" W illy said. Chester d id n 't say a word. He ju st looked away. "Well I know I'v e never seen you before." W illy paused, waiting for him to say something, but he didn't so he went on. "There's never a face in these parts that I haven't seen. I was born here and I'v e lived here a ll m y l i f e . I guess I ' l l die here." Chester turned to W illy again. This time he stared for a second and then he started laughing. He laughed and laughed. I d id n 't know what to do. Michael was so convincing. I was feeling uncomfortable, or was i t W illy feeling uncomfortable. Whichever,- I wasn't going to give up yet. W illy ju st sat and watched Chester. W illy'd never run into this kind of a guy before. They don't come lik e this in these parts very often. As he sat there watching, W illy began to know he had a real mean one on the end of his lin e . This wasn't ju st any kind of a catch. He was going to have to play him real easy. Let him take the lin e , but be careful not to give him any slack. Give him any slack at a ll and he'd be a problem. Chester kept on laughing, but i t wasn't too long before he looked lik e he was beginning to realize that his laughter wasn't having the desired effect. What would he do next? "Bartender," Chester called out, "this friendly man's buying m e a drink. May I have it?" Chester lifte d the shot glass to his mouth, set i t down on the bar in front of him, said "Thank you," got up and le f t the bar. W illy sat watching a ll of this happen. After Chester le f t the bar W illy sat looking at the door for a few minutes and then dug into his pocket, pulled out money for the drinks and walked out. As he le f t he muttered to himself, "Wait until I t e ll Richard how this one got away." I got up from the "bar stool" and went back to where I'd been s ittin g before. I looked over at Michael. He was smiling now and I f e l t relieved. That was an experience lik e I'v e never had before. I t was lik e I was two people. I guess I was. I t was Charlie who spoke f i r s t , "You guys ought to be actors. You're good." That made m e feel good and I answered him, "You know, i t was so easy. At f i r s t I f e l t strange, but then i t began to feel natural." I turned to Michael, "Was i t that way for you?" " I'v e done some acting before. B it things. So I was kind of into i t , but this f e l t better than anything I'v e ever done," Michael answered me. "Have you got any ideas why?" Margaret asked. Michael didn't answer righ t away and when he did he talked d irec tly to Margaret, "Part of i t 's because I'v e got a mean streak in m e and I know that. So i t ' s easy for m e to play mean, but this was more than that. A fter f il lin g out that--what'd you call it- -th e crutch l i s t , I knew more about Chester than I'd ever known about any character I'v e _________________________________________________________________________ 313 ever acted. Deciding what he'd do or feel was easy." "Exactly," Margaret responded, "when you really know your char acter, he or she takes over. You, the w riter or actor, don't have to decide what th e y 'll do, the character decides. I could te ll that was happening with both of you. I could see you moving between being your s e lf, the creator, and being the character you had created." "Yes," I blurted out, "and that was a great feeling." "That's the pot o f gold at the end of the rainbow," she said. "The d iffic u lt part of character development comes in the beginning, when you're getting to know the character. The task of building the character p ro file is laborious compared with the excitment you exper ience when you drop your people into situations where they have to ■ respond and where th e ir responses grow out of th e ir unique backgrounds. This is when they re a lly become alive and it 's one of the most exciting experiences I'v e ever known. Your task then is to le t them be what they are, le t them solve th e ir own problems and create th e ir own changes. You've given them l i f e by building th e ir history, by deciding where they've come from, how they look at l i f e and the things that've happened to them. Your constant battle now is to separate yourself from the character. It 's a ll too easy to le t your own personality enter in and take over." "I know ju st what you're saying," I spoke up. "When we f ir s t started our scene and I saw how mean Michael looked, m y f i r s t reaction was to ignore him, not pay any attention to him. That would be m y response, but then I remembered I wasn't playing me. I was playing W illy." "And that's the separation you have to always keep. Your _______________________________________________ ___' _____________ 314 characters grow out of you and your experiences, but they are not you." Now Margaret turned to the rest of the class and each one of the characters got a chance to talk to at least one of the others. Each - "r of the characters was interesting, but some more than others. Actually Chester was much more interesting story material than W illy but W illy was more interesting than Amy. Amy-was more one dimensional and her alternative actions were more lim ited. "Am I righ t then," I asked, "in thinking that I want to work w iti characters who have unusual and traumatic backgrounds and who have strong and expressive emotional responses? People who don't walk the m'ddle of the road?" "You want some of your characters to be that way, but not a ll of them," Margaret answered. "You need characters in the middle as w ell. The characters le f t or righ t of center play o ff those in the center. Generally speaking, it 's the difference between the characters that :reate the obstacles each must struggle to overcome or circumvent. You seed contrast in your characters to provide variety and color. Contrast sharpens the qualities of each. An angry man seems more angry when surrounded by placid people than when there's one angry man among many angry men. "Your main characters, the ones who move the story have to have some special characteristics: they must know what they want and have the; strength to fig h t for what they want; they must have the patience to keep fighting and to put up with the successive stages of fa ilu re and success; they are more clearly defined at the beginning of the story and generally show less growth and change; they force others to bend, to grov\ <m d change rather than doing i t themselves; they have deep seated inner ______________________________ 315 forces that drive them." "Chester is a good example of a character who moves a story. H e makes a decision and does something that causes another person to make a decision and react which then again causes Chester to make another decision and another action, and on and on." " It 's this action/reaction, or call i t attack/counterattack i f you lik e , that keeps the story moving, and prim arily, i t ' s your characters that provide the energy. You'll remember from our arm wrestling exercise that i f the two forces are of exactly equal strength you create a stalemate; i f the one is much stronger than the other there's no contest, but i f you have two evenly matched determined and uncompromising characters pushing against each other you have a viable s itu a tio n ." She stopped, looked at her watch and asked, "Any questions before we call i t a day? "What time do we sta rt in the morning?" I asked. "Nine o'clock," she answered. "W e sta rt at nine?" I persisted. "Right. W e sta rt at nine," again she answered. 316 dl ri CHAPTER EIGHT. W O RKSHO P: VISUAL SOLILOQUIES ^ 7 9 IvjqJsf v* X I t seemed lik e I'd just gotten to bed when the alarm went o ff and I had to get up. Yesterday, when I pulled out of Margaret's driveway, I was a ll set to take Lettie to a movie or go up to Frank's Bar for some serious drinking, but by the time I got across town a ll I could think about was eating dinner, watching a 1i t t l e TV and fa llin g asleep in front of the fireplace. Lettie asked m e i f i t had been a good d a y --if I'd learned anything. I said "yeah" and dropped i t at that. I couldn't believe how exhausted I was a fte r doing nothing but s it , ta lk and write. The morning drive to Manhattan Beach took longer than I'd thought i t would. There was a lo t of tr a ffic for a Saturday morning* but mostly, I found myself slowing down and speculating about what would happen today. The topic schedule said we'd do "visual soliloquies! and "the medium as part of the message," whatever those things mean, but that wasn't what I was wondering about. I was thinking more about the others in the class and what would happen with them today. Never before have I gotten so involved with a whole class. I'd know one or two people, or maybe three, but never anything lik e this. I had to admit this wasn't just any ordinary run of the mill "pick up an elective" class. But then, learning screenwriting is a hell of a lo t d ifferen t from learning almost anything else. Ok, so i f the learning's different the method of teaching ought to be different--and i t is! But I s t ill couldn't get i t a ll together. A 317 part of m e says "something's being done to m e without m e seeing i t coming." I t was precisely two minutes to nine when I drove up in front of Margaret's house. I hadn't wanted to get there as early as I did yester day, but I hadn't planned to cut i t this short. Becky and Michael were standing on the front steps and as I walked up to them Michael was handing Becky a five dollar b i ll. Becky gave m e a big smile and said, "Lunch is on Michael today." "Oh?" I queried. "He said you'd be la te , not come until after nine." "And she wouldn't buy that. She said you weren't the kind who'd liv e by two sets of rules," Michael added. That f e lt real good! I leaned over and gave Becky a kiss on her cheek and we walked into the house. "Good morning," Margaret greeted us, "The coffee's hot and Liz made some brownies for us." She was already in her place on the floor beside the big round coffee table. Judy was lying beside her and when we walked in she looked up, but this morning Judy didn't bark. "You almost didn't make i t Don," Larry chided, "we thought we might have to start without you." Everybody laughed and I realized they'd probably a ll been laying bets. I should've had some kind of answer but I le t i t go. After a ll , I guess I'd earned that. Margaret began, "Our objective for this morning is to learn about what I call visual soliloquies, and what Pudovkin calls "plastic images." She paused a moment and then went on, "For those of you who _____________________________________________ 318 aren't fam iliar with film history, Pudovkin—V. I. Pudovkin—was one of the early Russian silent filmmakers and he, along with other Russian filmmakers—most notably Sergei Eisenstein— investigated, discovered and wrote about the intrinsic nature of the then new art form." She picked up a stack of papers and handed them to Liz to pass around. "This 1 handout is taken from Pudovkin's book Film Technique and Film Acting, one of the books on your reading lis t . You may have already read i t , but in any event I want us to read i t together this morning. "In m y estimation, this concept of visual soliloquies is probably the most important thing a filmmaker has to think about. It 's a concept that deals with the essence of filmmaking. Films are moving pictures of people or objects doing things, performing actions. Actions have direction. Actions have a purpose. And, as a rtis ts , as communi cators, as filmmakers, it 's our task to select the actions that have the direction, the purpose, that say what we want to say." S E E I N G I S K N O W I N G "For example, I'm going to s it here and ask myself a question, and I want you to te ll m e what I'm thinking," Margaret stopped talking and sat motionless looking straight ahead. Nobody said anything until Jane started giggling, then Charlie laughed and spoke up, " I ' l l take a guess, but it 's only a guess," he paused, "you're asking yourself what movie you want to see tonight." "No, that's not i t , but you're right about the fact that the only thing you could do was to take a guess. You couldn't do anything else, i V. I. Pudovkin, Film Technique and Film Acting, trans. by Ivor Montagu (New York: Lear Publishers, 1949). 319 unless, of course, we were using some form of thought transference, which at the moment we don't know how to do." "Now, I ' l l think the same thought and put i t into actions." She paused, reached out to pick up her coffee cup, smelled the coffee, took a l i t t l e taste of i t , set i t down and reached for the bowl of brown sugar crystals to spoon some into her cup. Charlie answered immediately, "You were asking yourself whether or not you'd put sugar in your coffee." "Exactly, and the actions I selected told you that. What I did told you what I was thinking about. That's what we're dealing with when we discuss visual soliloquies and that's what Pudovkin is driving at in this section from his book that he calls "The Plastic Material." P U D O V K I N 'S " P L A S T I C M A T E R I A L " Margaret picked up the book in front of her and began reading. The scenario-writer must bear always in mind the fact that every sentence that he writes will have to appear plastically upon the screen in some visible form. Consequently, it is not the words he writes that are important, but the externally expressed plastic images that he describes in these words. As a matter of fact, it is.not so easy to find such plastic images. They^must, before anything else, be clear and expressive. "In other words," Margaret interjected, "we're not writing words, we're writing pictures and, except when we're writing dialogue or narration, the words we use are a set of instructions about what actions are to be performed." ? V. I. Pudovkin, Film Technique and Film Acting, trans. by Ivor Montagu (New York: Lear Publishers, 1949), pp; 26-27. __________________________________________________________320 Anyone familiar with literary work can well repre sent to himself what is an expressive word, or an expressive style; he knows that there are such things as telling, expressive words, as vividly expressive word-constructions -- sentences. Similarly, he knows that the involved, obscure style of an inexperienced writer, with a multi tude of superfluous words, is the consequence of his inability to select and control them. What is here said of literary work is entirely appli cable to the work of the scenarist,- only the word is replaced by the plastic image.3 Margaret looked up from her reading and asked, "What're some examples of expressive words or sentences?" "Pick any four le tte r word and you've got one," Charlie answered. Margaret nodded her head in agreement, "That's rig h t, swear words are expressive. They te ll us what's going on inside the person who says them. What action might communicate that same thing?" "Throwing something--breaking i t , " John answered. "Hitting at something. Anything that shows anger or irrita tio n ,' Liz added. V I S U A L I M A G E S A N D V E R B A L I M A G E S "What would be an example of expressive sentences? Margaret asked. "Is n 't that what poetry is?" Susan said. "Sure. Words put together in such a way as to express feelings, evoke thoughts or create mental images." Margaret agreed. "Like Carl Sandburg's poem 'Fog.' 3Ib id , p. 27. 321 The fog comes on l i t t l e cat feet. I t sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on. And, lik e Tolstoi's f ir s t sentence to his novel, "Anna Karenina, 'A shadow had fallen upon the Oblowsky household."1 John was sittin g on the le f t side of the fireplace and he leaned forward, "But those aren't things you can take pictures of," he said. "I learned that the hard way, in m y f ir s t camera class!" "That's rig h t," Margaret answered, "They're abstractions that don't have any concrete images." "Sure you can. You can photograph a fog and you can photograph a house without sun," said Larry. "But, that's not the same thing," John replied. "W hy not?" asked Susan. "W hy can't you take a really moody shot of a house in shadow or fog moving lik e a cat moves?" "You can take a moody picture of a house but that's what i t w ill be and i t won't te ll you anything about the lives of the people in the house. Fog is not a cat so you can't take a picture of i t looking lik e a cat." John continued. "But i f you show i t moving the way a cat moves, haven't you done the same thing?" Susan persisted. "Ok," John leaned forward further and held up his hands to form a frame with his fingers, "Where're you going to put your camera. What's gonna be in the frame." "Well, le t m e think a minute." Her chin was resting on her _____________________ 322 knees and her hands were clasped around her legs. "You could be above i t , looking down. From there you could see it . " "What a ll is in the frame," John pressed. "The c ity , and the harb or...." "So i t looks lik e you're up in an airplane looking down at the clouds moving above the city and harbor. Is that it?" He waited for her to answer and she nodded her head. "How does that look lik e a cat?" he continued. John wasn't badgering her. He was being very gentle in his questioning but Susan looked lik e she was getting nervous. "Yeah, you're rig h t," she laughed. " It doesn't look at a ll 1 ike a c a t." "This is the difference between visual images and verbal images,' Margaret stepped in. "The one is very concrete and the other is abstract, and we must be careful not to try and force them to be the same thing." "But aren't we trying to achieve . . . , " Charlie started asking and Michael interrupted. "Why must we not try and force them to be the same thing?" Michael asked. "For the same reasons we mustn't try and force you to be like Charlie, or Larry or Liz. You're a differen t being and the only way we can really know you and work with you is to look to your unique characteristics. W e need to do that same thing with film and the various forms of lite ra tu re ," she answered. "Are you saying each has certain ingredients, they can never have more or less, they're fixed and can never change or develop," 323 Becky asked. "No. I'm not saying that. Many changes and developments do occur in a ll art forms, as in a ll people, but they're not changes in th eir basic structures. Motion pictures w ill always be an image on film and poetry w ill always be either the written or spoken word." "What about people?" Jane asked. "They'll change and develop but I believe th e y 'll always retain th eir primary identify in some form or other unless, of course, they have a mind altering experience with things lik e drugs or brain surgery.' She paused a moment. "But we have to be careful about pushing this analogy too fa r. Human beings exist as a part of nature and art forms are people made, by people made definitions." "So i f we change the definition we change the art form," Michael stated. "No. You have a new art form," Margaret answered. Michael sat thinking and Margaret waited. He looked and smiled, "Ok, that's good enough." Margaret turned to Charlie, "What was i t you wanted to say?" "Oh yeah." He thought a minute. " It seems to m e we're trying to achieve the same thing as the poet and the novelist and it 's only that we use d ifferen t methods." "Tell us more about what you mean when you say 'achieve the same thing,"' she asked. "I mean we're a ll trying to te ll other people about how we see the world we liv e in, we're a ll trying to communicate something." "Yes, and I think that's what Pudovkin's saying, that each art _______ . 324 form has i t s ‘ own power. The power of lite ra tu re lies in the power of words and the power of motion pictures lies in the s k illfu l handling of concrete photographable images." She paused and then asked, "Any other comments or questions?" No one said anything and she started reading again. The scenarist must know how to find and to use plastic (visually expressive) material; that is to say, he must know how to discover and how to select, from the limitless mass of material pro vided by life and its observation, those forms and movements that shall most clearly and vividly express in images the whole content of his idea. Let us quote certain illustrative examples. In the film Tol'able David there is a sequence in which a new character -- an escaped convict, a tramp -- comes into the action. The type of a thorough scoundrel. The task of the scenarist was to give his characteristics. Let us analyse how it was done, by describing the series of following shots. 1. The tramp --a degenerate brute, his face overgrown with unshaven bristles -- is about to enter a house, but stops, his attention caught by something. 2. Close-up of the face of the watching tramp. 3. Showing what he sees --a tiny, fluffy kitten asleep in the sun. 4. The tramp again. He raises a heavy stone with the transparent intention of using it to obliterate the sleeping little beast, and only the casual push of a fellow, just then carrying objects into the house, hinders him from carrying out his cruel intention. In this little incident there is not one single explanatory title, and yet it is effective, clearly and vividly. Why? Because the plastic material has been correctly and suitably chosen. The sleeping kitten is a perfect expression of complete innocence and freedom from care, and thus the heavy stone in the hands of the huge man immediately 325 becomes the symbol of absurd and senseless cruelty to the mind of the spectator who sees this scene. Thus the end is achieved, and at the same time its abstract content wholly expressed, with the help of happily chosen plastic material.^ Margaret turned to Susan, "I think the 'abstract content' that Pudovkin here refers to is sim ilar to what you and John were talking about. By the juxtaposition of those four shots the tramp was made to appear brutal and cruel, just as Sandburg, through his words, made a fog appear to move lik e a cat. Or, lik e you were saying Charlie, achieving the same end but by different methods." S Y M B O L O G Y "Why couldn't you have a double image, a cat and the fog?" Susan asked Margaret. "You could. As a matter of fa c t, Eisenstein, in his 1928 silent film , Ten Days That Shook The World, used a number of visual sim ilies. For example, one of them started with a t i t l e that read 'Kerensky strutted lik e a peacock,' this cut to a fu ll shot of Kerensky walking—stru ttin g—and then cut to a fu ll shot of a peacock walking-- strutting. And in the Czechoslovakian film starring Hedy Lamarr called Ecstasy, while two lovers are inside a cabin having sexual intercourse the film cuts outside to a mare and stallion mating. "Is there anything wrong with that?" Susan asked. "No, not at a ll. I t can be very effective, but be aware that it 's a very intellectual technique and tends to call attention to its elf,' Margaret stated. 4Ib id , pp. 27-28. ______________ 326 "I kind of lik e that," Susan laughed self-consciously. "That sort of thing really turns m e on." Margaret nodded her head in agreement. "Symbology can be very powerful and compelling." She paused for a moment and then went on talking to Susan. " If you're interested in the use of symbolism in film , there's a Master's Thesis in the library by William S. Mehring that deals with that subject. It 's t i t l e is 'An Investigation of the Visual Symbol as a Communicative Function of the Motion Picture.' He gives quite a few examples of films that use symbology and he also has some interesting things to say about the nature of symbolism in film s." She looked around the room to see i f anyone else had any things to say and then she went on. "Now Pudovkin gives us some more examples." Another example from the same film. The context of the incident is as follows: misfortune is come upon a family of peasants--the eldest son has been crip pled by a blow with a stone; the father has died of a heart-attack; the youngest son (the hero of the film), still half a boy, knows who is responsible for all their ills -- the tramp, who had treacher ously attacked his brother, Again and again in the course of the picture the youngster seeks to be revenged upon the blackguard. The weapon of revepge -- an old flint-lock. When the disabled brother is brought into the house, and the family, dazed with despair, is gathered round his bed, the boy, half crying, half gritting his teeth, secretly loads the flint-lock. The sudden death of the father and the supplications of the mother, clinging in despair to the feet of her son, restrain his outbreak. The boy remains the sole hope of the family. When, later, he again reaches secretly for the flint-lock and takes it from the wall, the voice of his mother, calling him to go and buy soap, compels him to hang the gun up again and run out to the store. Note with what mastery the old, clumsy-looking flint lock is here employed. It is as if it incarnated the thirst for revenge that tortures the boy. Every time the hand reaches for the flint-lock the spec tator knows what is passing in the mind of the hero. ____________ 321 No titles, no explanations are necessary. Hanging up the flint-lock and running to the store implies forgetfulness of self for the sake of another. This is a perfect characterisation, rendering on the one hand the naive directness of the man still half a child, on the other his awakening sense of duty. Another example, from the film The Leather Pushers. The incident is as follows. A man sitting at a table is waiting for his friend. He is smoking a cigarette, and in front of him on the table stand an ash-tray and a glass half empty of liquid, both filled with an enormous number of cigarette ends. The spectator immediately visualises the great space of time the man has been waiting and, no less, the degree of excitement that has made him smoke nearly a hundred cigarettes. "Is n 't that a bad cliche, I mean the cigarette one?" I said. " It is now," she answered, "but when i t was f ir s t done and when Pudovkin was writing about i t , i t was very innovative. And I do agree with you, now i t 's a cliche because it 's been done so many times, which is , of course, what makes i t a cliche." From the examples quoted above it will be clear what is to be understood by the term: expressive plastic material. We have found here a kitten, a tramp, a stone, a flint-lock, some cigarette ends, and not one of these objects or persons was intro duced by chance; each constitutes a visual image, requiring no explanation and yet carrying a clear and definite meaning. Hence an important rule for the scenarist; in working out each incident he must carefully consider and select each visual image; he must remember that for each concept, each idea, there may be tens and hundreds of possible means of plastic expression, and that it is his task to select from amongst them the clearest and most vivid. Special attention, however, must be paid to the special part played in pictures by objects. 5I b id , pp. 29-30. 328 Relationships between human beings are, for the most part, illuminated by conversations, by words; no one carries on conversation with objects, and that is why work with them, being expressed by visual action, is of special interest to the film r technician, as we have just seen in these examples. "He's defined what he means by 'plastic images' and he's given us examples. Now he gives us some clues about how to find the plastic images," she interposed. Try to imagine to yourself anger, joy, confusion, sorrow, and so forth expressed not in words and the gestures accompanying them, but in action connected with objects, and you will see how images saturated with plastic expression come into your mind. Work on plastic material is of the highest importance for the scenarist. In the process of it he learns to imagine to himself what he has written as it will appear upon the screen, and the knowledge thus acquired is essential for correct and fruitful work. One must try to express one's concepts in clear and vivid visual images. Suppose it be a matter of the characterisation of some person of the action -- this person must be placed in such conditions as will make him appear, by means of some action or movement, in the desired light (remember the tramp and the kitten). Suppose it be a matter of the representation of some event -- those scenes must be assembled that most vividly emphasise^visually the essence of the event represented. D I S C O V E R I N G V I S U A L S O L I L O Q U I E S — T H E P R O C E S S "Ok, now I ’d lik e to have you do as Pudovkin suggests. Imagine and think about one, or a ll of those emotions, anger, joy, confusion or sorrow and then think of an action connected with an object th a t'll express those emotions," Margaret instructed us. 6lb id , p. 30. 7Ib id , pp. 30-31. 329 "Do you want us to w rite i t down?" Larry asked. "No, that's not necessary, unless you want to," Margaret answered. " I ' l l give you about five minutes to think about i t . " "What do I do with th is," I thought to myself. "Well, anger's an easy one. There's throwing, hittin g and destroying things for that, but what about the others. Joy? What action would show joy? W hen the kids are joyful they jump up and down, they dance around, and i f it 's something Lettie or I'v e done for them they give us big hugs and kisses. But what do I do when I feel joy? Joy is an exuberant feeling, a feeling I haven't had for a long time. I have feelings like happiness and contentment and they're more quiet feelings. Joy?” i | "What action and object j would you select to express f anger or joy, confusion or ; sorrow?" "Or maybe you'd like to think about all four of them." "If you want to, go back and re-read what Pudovkin | has written. That might I be a good idea." "But whatever, try to find : objects that are expres sive within themselves as ■ well as objects that are appropriate to the emotions you choose." I I was s t i l l trying to figure out an action with an object that would express joy when Margaret said the fiv e minutes were up. "Now, le t's ta lk about what's been going on in your heads. ______________________________________ 330 Right now I'm not as much interested in hearing about your images as I am in hearing about your thought processes. What did your mind do? How did you approach the task?" She turned to Susan, "What about you?" Susan laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I started thinking about anger and I tried to get a picture of an angry person. I tried and tried and I couldn't see an angry person." "Oh, that was the easy one for me," Charlie said. "All I had to do was think about m y father." "Are you serious? You couldn't see an angry person?" Becky questioned Susan. "Haven't you ever f e lt angry yourself? That's how I did this. I thought about m y own emotions." Susan laughed again. "Yeah. I'v e gotten angry, but it 's usually about things I can't do anything about and there’s certainly nothing I can touch or hold in m y hands." "So what do you do?" Becky asked. "Susan laughed and hesitated, " It 's a s illy thing to do when you're angry." "What?" Becky persisted. "I cry." Susan answered hesitantly. "I do that too," John confided, "There are certain things that make m e so mad I cry." "Really," Susan said incredulously. Michael announced, "I h it something, a w all, a table, anything that's around. Or, I ' l l kick something." "What about you, Margaret?" Becky asked. "Lots of times, lik e Susan and John, i f I ’m feeling helpless 331 I ' l l cry, but what I'd really lik e to do is kick something. As a matter of fa c t, I keep a box, a cardboard box, in m y closet just for that purpose," Margaret answered. Susan had been watching Margaret answer Becky's question, then she turned to Becky and asked, "What do you do, Becky?" "I ye ll a lo t. That's why this was hard for me, because m y image of anger doesn't have to do with things. I t just has to do with words," Becky said. N O U N S A R E " W H A T S O M E T H I N G IS " "What I'm hearing is that you focused your thinking on what is anger, joy, confusion and sorrow. You defined the words and then tried to find a picture of a person displaying these emotions. Is that right? Or did any of you go about doing i t differently?" she asked. No one spoke up so I guess we'd a ll done i t the way she described. I know I did. "Ok, now te ll us about your images," she said. Nobody volunteered right away and fin a lly the silence got to m e so I spoke up, "I was working with joy. Anger was so obvious I didn't even think about that one, and I didn't get too fa r with joy. All I did was keep seeing m y kids jumping up and down clapping th e ir hands." "I did the same thing," Bobbie said, "only for m e i t was m y l i t t l e sis ter." "Did any of you use an object?" Margaret asked. "That's righ t. I'd forgotten we were supposed to use an object,' I said. "I used papers," Lenard said. "I was working with confusion and ________ ; ________________________________________________________________ 332 I envisioned an individual searching through a stack of papers, having to return to them time a fte r time," he paused, "but I wasn't very pleased with that." "All right. I t sounds to m e lik e you've a ll had pretty much the same experience and none of you h it on anything that rea lly excited you. And, I don't think what we ju st did would ever lead you to anything very fr u it f u l. To begin with, we were working with nouns: anger; sorrow; confusion; joy. Nouns are s tatic . Nouns tend to stimulate s t ill picture images. Nouns make us think in terms of 'what something is' instead of 'something becoming something.' They define a situation rather than fa c ilita te understanding." "I'm wondering if you had the same experience the | others had. I'd think so. Xt's the experience I wanted you to have, so as you do it differently you’ll feel the change." "I'm going to be asking the class to follow a number of instructions in the next few pages, and whenever I ask them to do something I'd like for you to do it too, , so you'll feel the same things they'll be feeling." V E R B S A R E " S O M E T H I N G B E C O M I N G S O M E T H I N G " "An action that becomes something—an idea--is a process. It 's a series of smaller actions th at, when put together, constitute the entire action— the entire idea. An action, such as Pudovkin has just described for us, is not made up of one thing. Remember the four scenes in To!'able David that showed the character of the tramp. I t was the _______ 333 building, the linking each thing with a ll others that gave us the characterization. Remember a ll the things I did before I put sugar in ny coffee. I had to smell and taste before I added sugar. That final action had to become. I t could not exist without the things that preceded it . " "So using nouns to stimulate your creation of visual soliloquies doesn't work. Let's try a different way. Try using verbs instead of nouns. Verbs are active. Verbs carry the seeds of action and often contain direction. Think now of angered instead of angry, sorrowing instead of sorrow." I could immediately feel the difference inside of me. W hen I thought the word angry I saw somebody else doing something, but as soon as I said the verb angered, I f e lt lik e i t was me. I t became much more aersonal. I t became emotional." She went on, "And we can carry i t even further. W e can make i t nore active. W e can say 'I feel angered.' Do that now. Say that to yourself and see what i t feels lik e ." I did what she asked us to do and I found myself sittin g there, a bundle of energy a ll stirred up inside, but with no place to put i t . Then the energy went away. She paused long enough for each of us to follow her instruction and then she spoke again. "I suspect you s t ill d idn 't get very far aecause there was no place for you to take those feelings of being angered." W e a ll agreed and I was glad to know I wasn't the only one who ladn't gotten anywhere. _______________________ 334 " B E C A U S E . . . " "There has to be a direction for an emotion to move in. There has to be something re a l, something concrete for you to do with emotions. Emotions don't exist all by themselves and whether you're consciously aware of i t or not there's always some reason for every emotional response people have." She took a drink of coffee and then went on. "So, that's the next step. You want to find the direction the emotion w ill go in. After you identify the emotion and make i t active you ask yourself, 'Why? W hy am I feeling angered?' You say to yourself, 'I feel angered because...' and you look for the 'because.'" " I ' l l give you a situation. Suppose you're standing in lin e , with your money in your hand, at a theater box o ffice. You've been waiting for about half an hour. Now the lin e begins to move and several people step into the line ahead of you. The person selling tickets in the booth sees but ignores the incident. That's the situation. Now ask yourself, 'I feel angered because..."1 That was simple and I spoke up immediately, "I feel angered because I hate i t when someone crashes a lin e ." "That gives you your direction." She looked at the whole class, "What • about the rest of you?" "I'm mad at the g irl selling tickets for lettin g those clowns get away with it! " Michael said. "W ho said there was a g irl selling tickets," Becky remonstrated. "Well, whoever, that's who I'm pissed at." Charlie laughed, "And I'm pissed at m y g irlfrie n d , because i f she'd been ready on time we wouldn't have had to stand in this lin e ." ___________________________________________________________________________ 335 " A N D I W A N T T O ,.." "Ok. Now each of you knows that you're angered and you know the direction your anger wants to go in. Next, you need to know what your anger wants to do, what action i t wants to take. Again, say to yourself, 'I'm angered because... and I want to . . . ' See yourself in that setting with your b illfo ld in your hand, decide what you want to do--what your objective is--and then find the action that shows us that objective. But remember what we said before, that an action is a process. There have to be a series of small actions that, when linked together, make up the total action. So you're looking for the steps that w ill get you to your objective—the thing you want to do. I ' l l give you about ten minutes to think about th is. The thing I'm most interested in , at this point, is to have you experience what your minds do. I want you to feel how these stimuli set your minds in motion." "This shouldn't be d iffic u lt at a ll," I thought. "I already have most of i t . I feel angered because I hate i t when someone crashes a lin e and I want... I want to make them stop i t . I want to keep them from breaking in. I want to stand up to them, te ll them they can't do this. I want to force them to go to the back of the line and that's what I ' l l do! I ' l l hand m y b illfo ld to L e ttie , I ' l l walk up to that guy and his gal, I ' l l turn them around and I ' l l march them back to the end of the lin e. Then I ' l l come back to L e ttie , take m y b illfo ld and wait our turn to purchase tickets." I t was surprising how easily that came. The more I said ' I want' the more the answers came. I t was almost lik e playing with dominoes, one thing would trigger another and another and another. __________ 336 "Be sure you do this one too." i j "You already know what your feeling is and what you want ' to do. Now you want to dis cover the actions that'll demonstrate what you want I to do." * "Be sure you keep saying ' 'I want...' That's the i stimulus that'll make you ; find answers. Also, remember you're after a series of actions. Not just one big I one." j Each of us said what our "wants" were: Michael went up and shoo< his dollar b ills in the cashier's face; Charlie took his g irl home and came back to go to the next show alone; Susan le f t the line and went home because she didn't want to be angry; Lenard went to see the Manager; Becky shook her dollar b ills in the couple's faces; Liz po lite ly asked them to move; Jane overlooked the problem en tirely; Bobbie played practical jokes on the couple and Larry entere'd into a debate with them. In the end we a ll agreed the process of using active verbs alone with the complementary questions of "why" and "what do I want: made this a manageable and exciting process. W hen we finished talking about the box office episode, Margaret told us we were indebted to Constantin Stanislavski and his book A n ^ O Actor Prepares for his approach to discovering what he calls the O Constantin Stanislavski, An Actor Prepares, trans. by Elizabetfji Reynolds Hapgood. (New York: Theatre Arts Books: Robert M.Macgregor. 1952) 337 "fundamental objective" and the means for portraying i t . She told us the exercises we'd just been doing were sim ilar to the exercises Stanislavski had his actors do. "As a matter of fa ct," Margaret went on, "I strongly recommend that you read this book." She held up a copy of the book and continued, " It 's a book written to help teach acting, but I think i t does equally as well as a textbook for screenwriting. As you read i t , whenever you see the words actor and acting change them to w riter and w riting. Very soon yo u'll see how sim ilar our creative processes are." She asked Liz to hand out some more papers and she continued, "All rig h t, now we're going to do another exercise. This one'll be handled more thoughtfully, less o ff the top of our heads. In this exercise, our primary interest w ill be the images you create. You've ju st had an experience with the process of discovering the emotion— it 's direction and i t 's action--now w e'll move on to having you use this process to create the expressive images. A G N E S A S S I G N M E N T "This exercise, as you can see by the heading, I call an 'Assignment in Visual Soliloquies.'" ASSIGNMENT IN VISUAL SOLILOQUIES (Based on Pudovkin's concept of THE PLASTIC MATERIAL) Write the visual "instructions" in script form in between 10 to 20 shots WITHOUT using dialogue or narration to portray the emotion felt by Agnes as indicated in the following description. Select the plastic (expressive) image most clear and vivid to depict this emotion. Assume the audience knows the facts as listed. WE WANT TO SEE THE EMOTION -- NOT THE FACTS. _____________________338 "Agnes, the wife of Pastor Brand, has lost her only son. In her grief she is going over his clothing, toys, and other precious relics. Each object is bathed in tears. Her heart is bursting with memories. The tragedy was brought about by the fact they live in a damp, unhealthy locality. When their child fell ill, the mother implored the husband to leave the parish. But Brand, a fanatic, would not sacrifice his duty as pastor for the salvation of his family. This decision took the life of their son,"^ "Any questions?" she asked. No one said anything and she continued, "You've got three basic things you're dealing with." She went to the easel pad and wrote the three things down as she said them. Consider your set as the son's room with the normal "set dressings" and "set construction' windows, doors, bedroom furniture, toys, religious symbols, marks on walls, etc. of r expreA&lve v is u a l ACTIONS o{, th e cha racte r (a c tio n i> houilng what th e cha racte r wanti> expreAi>lve v liu a l REACTIONS o i th e cha racte r (a c tio n * showing th e c h a ra c te r'-6 aswarenei>i> ° i dliien.en.cei> between what lt> wanted and what l i a tta in e d ) environment o i th e ch a ra cte r and her o r hli> INTERACTIONS w ith t h l i environment I a c tio ni> showing ch a ra cte r e x p lo rin g , knowing and m anipulating th e environment) n nr She put the big black crayon down and looked at a ll of us. I was a l i t t l e stunned by this exercise and I guess everyone else was too. "Ok. This time you have an hour." S till nobody said anything and she moved away from the easel pad toward the rear of the house. 9 Ib id , p. 115. 339 "Can we use printed words?" Larry called after her. "No, I want you to do this exercise without any words of any kind," she turned around and answered. "You do want us to write i t down?" Jane asked. "Yes, using the script format, giving the complete set of instructions," she said, " i f you need to refer to i t remember you have an example of a script format in your handout materials." D O N 'S A G N E S "No words of any kind. That's going to be tough," I thought. "This is the f ir s t time she's made us do that. What's she going to think of next! Where do I start? O h yes, what's the emotion? What's Agnes's emotion? She's sorrowing, grieving. She's sorrowing because her son died. What does she want? What would I want i f Jody died? What a te rrib le thought. How would I feel? How would Lettie feel? What would we want to do? But this woman's not m e and she's not Lettie. W e certainly wouldn't have lived anyplace where our kids would die! But this is n 't our story. Remember! It 's the story of a lady who married a weirdo, she had his kid and then she stayed there watching the kid die. H ell, I can't anymore think lik e that lady than I can fly . I ought to do a character p ro file on her so I'd know how she thinks, but there's not time for that right now. What's in her head? What's she thinking? Blank. I'm ju st blank. Maybe I'm not asking the right questions. Or, maybe I need to see her. What does she look like?" I began to work with that and when I saw her I was looking at a very thin and very pale lady. Her clothes were plain and patched. Her straight hair was pulled back into a bun at the nape of her neck. 340 I f e lt very sorry for her and even with knowing so l i t t l e about her I began to get ideas about what she must be feeling. She looked so sad. She even looked lik e she was about ready to f li p out. "She must be somewhere between the real world where her son is dead and a fantasy world where he's s t i l l aliv e," I thought to myself and I began asking questions again. "She's sorrowing because her son is dead and she wants him to be alive. She wants to see him. She wants to touch him. She wants to play with him. She wants to hold him. She wants to bring him back to lif e ." W hen I had that last thought I knew I'd found what I was looking fo r. She wants to pretend her son's s t i l l alive but her husand won't le t her do i t . He's dominated her during a ll th eir marriage and h e 'll continue to do so. "That's what I want to say, that's what I want her actions to te ll us, but how do I do i t without using any words. Well, I ' l l start by having her come into the room. But f ir s t , before I do that, I have to remember this time that we're supposed to use objects and they're supposed to be . . . what was i t Pudovkin called them?" I looked back to the handout and re-read parts of i t . He called them expressive plastic material and he says "each constitutes a visual image, requiring no explanation and yet carrying a clear and definite 10 meaning." "Ok. So what can there be in the boy's room th a t 'll remind her of her son? It 's got to be something she can see, touch, play with, hold and t h a t'll seem to come to life ? There could be a b a ll. No, that's not right. Marbles, blocks, guns? No, he wouldn't have any guns in Pudovkin, p. 30. _____________________ 341 in his room. I don't think they'd allow him to play with guns. Well, maybe they would, but anyway that's not the image of a person coming back to lif e . Something from his early childhood would be best. I know A rocking horse. A rocking horse moves. It 's alive. The boy made i t alive when he was alive. That's what I ' l l use." INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM , TWILIGHT FULL SHOT of boy's room showing piles of clothes and toys stacked as i f in the process of being packed and moved. In the FG stands a large, much used rocking horse. One of his glass eyes is gone. The door in the B G opens and AGNES ENTERS. She is carrying several medium sized cardboard boxes. As she ENTERS Agnes stands momentarily in the doorway. INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM , TWILIGHT CLOSE SHOT of Agnes's face. At f ir s t her face has a look of happy expectation, but almost instantly her face sags and tears begin to form in her eyes. She wipes her eyes on the sleeve of her blouse, shakes her head and steps into the room, closing the door behind her. INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM , TWILIGHT MEDIUM SHOT Agnes moving to center of room. She looks around at the various piles of things on the flo o r, pulls up a small child's chair and sits down. INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM , TWILIGHT FULL SHOT Agnes seated in child's chair putting things into one of the boxes. As she picks up a stack of clothes a boy's cap fa lls o ff the p ile . She puts the clothes in the box and then reaches down to pick up the cap. INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM , TWILIGHT MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Agnes reaching down to pick up the cap. She starts to place the cap in the box but stops, brings i t up to her lap and holds i t . INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM , TWILIGHT CLOSE UP of cap and Agnes's hands. The cap has a visor and a plastic lin e r on the inside of the rim. The visor 342 is a ll frayed from use and the lin e is solid and dark from the boy's sweat. Agnes runs her fingers along the 1iner. INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM, TWILIGHT CLOSE UP of Agnes's face looking down at the cap. She brings her fingers up to her nose. She smells once and then a second time. There's no smell. The smell is gone. INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM,'TWILIGHT CLOSE SHOT of Agnes's face. Tears come to her eyes again and she leans forward to gently place the cap in the box. As she sits back up, she accidentally hits the rocking horse. As she moves out of FRAM E we see something moving in the B G and the CAM ERA RACKS FOCUS to reveal the head of the horse moving back and forth. INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM , TWILIGHT LO W ANGLE CLOSE U P of Agnes's hand as she touches the horses head to s tart i t rocking again. The horse's head rocks back and forth. CAM ERA PULLS BACK TO FO LLO W her hands as they come to rest on the handle bars. She holds her hands, as i f a child's hands were underneath hers and she has ahold of his wrists. INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM , TWILIGHT CLOSE U P of Agnes's head moving backward and forward in the same way the horse's head is rocking. Agnes is laughing again and having a wonderful time. INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM , TWILIGHT MEDIUM CLOSE TW O SHOT Agnes and rocking horse. As they are rocking and Agnes laughing we hear the door open and more lig h t enters the room. Agnes immediately freezes. She quickly reaches out to tenderly touch the child's wrists to stop him. INTERIOR, BOY'S ROOM , TWILIGHT CLOSE UP of Agnes's hand tenderly touching the child's wrists to make the horse stop. CAM ERA follows her hand back to her face and she places her fingers over her mouth. She sits there staring ahead, her eyes are now expressionless. The door closes and her face is now in semi-shadow. Tears form in her eyes. The tears do not ro ll down her face and she does not wipe them away. They ju st stay there. 343 I finished a l i t t l e b it ahead of time and didn't even re-read what I'd w ritten. I wanted to get away from i t for awhile so I set i t down and headed for the backyard. "The process Bon just went through is the process I’d like for you to experience now." "Look back to what his thoughts were, the questions he asked himself, the way he put things on paper, and then do these same things yourself." "You'll follow the same process, but your Agnes will be different; the way she feels, what she wants, her actions and the objects will all be different." "Give yourself plenty of uninterrupted time to do this exercise. It’s a very important one and one that can be fun to play with.” Everybody has gathered in the backyard. Becky was doing exercises, Susan was staring up at the clouds, Jane, Bobbie, Lenard, John and Charlie were s ittin g together talking, Liz and Larry were listening at the side lines and Michael was lying back on his elbows watching everybody. I decided to get into the conversation and went over to plop down beside John. Jane was talking and she sounded very anxious, "Geez, I forgot. I remember now, but when I was doing i t I didn't remember! That means I did i t a ll wrong. How did I do that? What was I thinking of?" 344 Margaret came up to the group at that point and Jane blurted out to her, "After a ll you said about no words, I went ahead and used words. Can I do i t over again? Please?" "You can i f you lik e , Jane," she answered, "but I don't know that that w ill re a lly serve you. I t might and i f you think so then by a ll means do i t again and I ' l l be glad to read it . " "I'm so sorry. I can't figure out how I could have done that," Jane persisted. "Well, i f i t ' l l make you feel any better, Jane, I did i t too," Charlie said and then covered his eyes with his hands. Everybody laughed, including Margaret. "And i f i t ' l l make both of you feel any better," she said, "I'v e never given this assignment without having at least one person use words. The important thing is n 't whether you did or did n 't. The important thing is how much you learn from the whole experience, and, generally speaking, yo u 'll learn more i f you don't use words." She paused and then told us i t was time to go into the house. S T O R Y B O A R D I N G Jane looked relieved and a ll of us got up to follow Margaret into the house. W e sat down by our papers and Margaret explained what we were to do next, "Rather than simply reading aloud the sequence you've ju st w ritten, I want you to do what we call a storyboard of that se quence." "A storyboard is a series of drawings that show what you want each individual shot to look lik e , as i t would look through the camera or on a motion picture screen. In other words, i t is drawn from the 345 point of view of the camera lens. " , r "The storyboard te lls you where the camera is in relationship to the subject or object. Is i t close. or is i t fa r away? What is the angle? High 346 or low. V I t can even te ll what lense is to be used. Wide or telephoto. I t can describe the lim its of a moment. jQ o # 347 I t te lls how many people or objects are in the scene a o 348 and what they are doing. tshows the location or the set, the set design concept, Q3 o a in i t » _ - - -- - - ^ ‘IT □a an nap _M9j set dressings and set props. I t shows how one scene w ill cut with the next. Q. 350 Sometimes the storyboards are real works of a rt, but generally speaking they're only used as work sheets and, as such, are very simply done. There's no 'rig h t' way or 'wrong' way to do a storyboard and the way it 's done largely depends on who's going to see i t and the size of the budget you're working with. "This storyboard, as you can see, is quite elaborate, with a great deal of d e ta il." m a 351 "You would do something lik e this i f you had to use a story board to help you sell the film , or i f people who aren't filmmakers had to visualize the scenes and make decisions about them. " If you were using a storyboard to communicate very e x p lic itly with a ll members of the production crew, you might use something lik e th is ." She held up a second storyboard example. "Itwould have less a r tis tic detail but would contain a ll the essential requirements.- T 3521 "And then, a third example would be something lik e th is ." She held up a third paper with drawings on i t . "This would be used primarily by the director and camerapeople to work out such production problems as lighting concepts, camera positions and movements, and directorial placements and movements." T f t She continued, "When you have a shot where there's no movement either in tern ally, with people or objects, or externally with the _________________ 1________________________ 353 :amera yo u 'll visualize that as a single drawing, but when you have a shot in which you have either internal or external movement you may */ant to make several drawings. Generally speaking, i f you show us what the beginning and end of the shot looks lik e , w e'll see i t quite clearly in our minds. However, i f there's some important action in the middle of the shot, you may want to make a separate drawing for that too." She held up another illu s tra tio n . "Instead of doing a storyboard you also have the option of drawing simple diagrams. This has the advantage of giving you the opportunity to incorporate camera moves, but i t 's not quite as easy to spot editorial problems. This is what I do most frequently, unless I have to show a storyboard to a sponsor or potential buyer." 354 "As you can see," she held up another illu s tra tio n , "I use stict figures for the people, and squares, circles or rectangles for furniture and other objects. I use angles to show m e the area the camera's going to see, arrows to show the direction of the camera pans, t i l t s and zooms and i f the camera moves, I show its d ifferen t positions." Then she gave us each a big piece of easel pad paper, a big f e lt pen and told us we had fo rty -fiv e minutes. I decided to do mine as a storyboard and I started drawing. 356 g a y a y ^ iw iT a fi* "Decide which way you want to do this, as a storyboard or diagrams, and then use what ever materials are available." "Just be sure you're clear in your mind about your objectives , for your storyboard or diagram." ! 1 "In other words, decide who | you're going to show it to and what you want to get out of it. This way your work will be much more purposeful and, therefore, more beneficial." W hen we finished our storyboards and began talking about them Margaret had us put our drawings on the easel board, in fu ll view of everyone. As we read our shot descriptions we pointed to the thing in aur drawings. It 's for damn sure m y crude drawings wouldn't stand alone, but that didn't matter. Those funny stick figures made everything so nuch more clear in m y head. I saw things I hadn't seen in the shot descriptions, and I saw things that shouldn't be there. S I T U A T I O N A N D E S S E N C E O F S I T U A T I O N Jane wanted to go f ir s t . I guess she wanted to get i t over with. She was right. Her sequence was nothing but close-ups of talking people, Margaret said the problem with Jane's was not only that she had people talking, but her people were talking about the situation rather than laving th e ir words te ll us about the emotion and, as she said, "This Bxercise was designed to deal with emotions and actions that express emotions." "In any sequence you have two interlocking, but distinct things 358 going on. You have a situation and you have the essence of that situa tion. These same things have been referred to by other people by such words as plot, actions or events and characterization, motivation, necessity or purpose. Again, i t doesn't matter what we call these things, ju st so we agree on what i t is we're talking about, and we certainly don't want to enter into the debate about which one is more important or which one comes f ir s t . W e do want to analyze them, understand them and learn how to work with them; "In the Agnes exercise we had a woman who is grieving because her only son has died. This happened because the father refused to leave his work to move to a place where the child could have regained his health and lived. That's the situation. The situation is des cribed in broad and general terms. I t deal with facts, is intellectual and a part of the general plot development. The situation has to do with external things, the actions and events that occur5 ; "The essence o f a situation deals with the feelings, the emotions produced by the situation. In our exercise, i t is the way Agnes grieves. The essence of a situation is described in narrow and specific terms. I t deals with feelings, is emotional and is largely a part of character development. I t has to do with internal things, the reasons why people do things and how they feel about the things that happen.~ ’ "Think back now, to e a rlie r this morning when you were using nouns to stimulate your thoughts about expressive images. Remember how cold and remote your thoughts were then, but how, when you used verbs your thoughts became alive and personal. You work primarily with nouns ______________________ 359 as you develop and understand the situation and you deal with verbs as you delve into learning about the essence of a situation." She spoke d irec tly to Jane now, "By having Agnes repeatedly asking Brand the question 'why, why, why?' you fe ll into a trap of forcing Brand to give logical explanations, and those explanations became a further description of the situation. I f you do decide to do this exercise again, and I do believe it 'd benefit you, see what would happen i f you had Agnes asking herself, 'why, why, why?'" Jane didn't respond to this. She just kept staring at Margaret and I was sure she was thinking about Margaret's suggestion. Suddenly her face became very red and she said "W ow! That does make a difference That's awful. Her thoughts are awful." "They could be," Margaret answered, "but be careful not to judge her. That's not your responsibility as a w riter. Your only responsibility is to le t her become what you see her as being--and becoming." L A R R Y 'S A G N E S Larry said he wanted to be next. FADE IN: FULL SHOT. Agnes s ittin g in the middle of a room. Her hands are in her lap. There are two win dows in the room, both of them near the ceiling and with thin gauze lik e curtains hanging limply from each. There are two doors, one leading out into a hallway and one opening into a closet. Both doors are open. A dresser and a bookshelf stand along one w all, a bed along another and a rocking chair in ____________________________________________________ 3 M one corner. O n the flo or in front of Agnes, and beside an old cedar chest, there are l i t t l e boy clothes neatly piled; the stockings are a ll together, the sh irts, pants and underwear are each in their own p ile . On the bookshelves are the usual boy's books, puzzles and papers. O n the dresser there is a picture of Agnes, Brand and a small sickly looking boy. Next to the pic ture is a Bible and above i t hangs a picture of Jesus. In the closet are hanging other of the boy's clothes. The bed is neatly made and s ittin g up against the pillow are several stuffed dogs. MEDIUM SHOT. Agnes has been staring o ff into space, but when she hears the sound of the hourly church chimes she sighs and starts putting the clothes from the floor into the cedar chest. She touches each garment as i f she is saying goodbye to i t . CLOSE UP. Agnes's face. There are tears in her eyes. 361 L L LO N G SHOT. Agnes. She has com pleted putting the clothes from the floor into the chest. She stops crying. She stands up and goes to the closet. She starts to take the clothes o ff the hangers and folds them MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT. Agnes. She takes a boy's suit o ff a hanger. She holds i t out in front of her and then impulsively draws i t to her chest and hugs i t . CLOSE UP. Agnes's face. There are tears ro llin g down her face, dropping onto the collar of the suit. MEDIUM SHOT. Agnes. She takes the su it, folds i t , puts i t in the cedar chest with the other clothes and walks to the bed. The CAM ERA PANS to follow. She picks up the stuffed dogs, carries them to the cedar chest and puts them inside. m rW P a CLOSE UP. Agnes's hands. She puts the stuffed dogs into the chest. LO NG SHOT. Agnes. She goes now to the dresser, picks up the bible and the picture. MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT. Agnes holding the Bible over her heart with her le f t hand and the picture of the three of them in her right hand. Tears come rollin g down her face as she looks at the picture. 363 CLOSE UP. Agnes's hand holds the picture. A tear drop fa lls on the picture and rolls down the glass. MEDIUM SHOT. Agnes. She takes the picture and Bible to the chest. She places them on top of everything el se. HIGH ANGLE CLOSE SHOT of open chest. The top comes down. FULL SHOT. Agnes. She walks away from the chest and out through the door into the hallway to EXIT. 364 Margaret's f ir s t question was, "Did Larry deal with the essence of the situation or the situation?" "Oh very d e fin ite ly he dealt with the essence of the situation," Jane answered. "Yeah, but he didn't develop i t very fa r," Becky said. "What do you mean by that?" Margaret asked. "He ju st had Agnes doing the same thing over and over. I t didn't go anyplace. Like you were saying e a rlie r, there has to be a direction. He didn't give her a direction. And, there has to be that ' I want' we worked with. That wasn't there eith er," Becky explained. Margaret turned to Larry, "Did you have a direction you wanted Agnes to move in?" "Well, I was ju st following the instructions," Larry said defensively. He held up the assignment sheet. " It says right here 'she is going over his clothing, toys, and other precious re lic s . Each object is bathed in te ars.' , And that's what I did." "Ok," Margaret said, "and now le t's go beyond that? Imagine you're Agnes " "How can I do that!" Larry interrupted, "I'm not a mother. I'm not even a woman." __________________________ 365 W e a ll laughed and pretty soon Larry was laughing with us. " It 's hard to put yourself in shoes you've never worn, so don't think about being a woman or a mother. Think about what i t would be lik e to lose the most important person in your lif e or the most important object you have. Then stay with the feeling of grieving and ask 'what do I want?'" Larry opened his mouth as i f to say something, he looked at Margaret, paused and then shook his head and said, "Ok, I ' l l try ." He closed his eyes and started talking, "She has to go in the room. She has to put a ll of his things away. What a te rrib le thing i t must be to have to do something lik e that. But she has to do it . " Larry stopped. Margaret waited but when he didn't continue she urged, "Keep going, and try putting those ideas in the f ir s t person, lik e I want or I don't want." "I want. No. I don't want to go into that room. I don't want to pack up those things. I don't want to think these thoughts. They hurt. I wish those things weren't there. I wish i t was a ll done. I wish i t was over. I wish I didn't ever have to go in that room again," these thoughts tumbled out of Larry. "All righ t. Now, with those thoughts in her mind, what might you have her do to show us those feelings," Margaret asked, He thought awhile, "Well, she would be more hesitant about going into the room, but I'd s t i l l have her say goodbye to everything. I mean even though i t hurts, I think she loved him so much she'd have to say goodbye to a ll his things, but she'd be glad when it 's over. She'd be glad she wouldn't have to do that again." "And what could she do to show that? Margaret continued. 266 "She could look relieved when i t 's over." "But something else, along with looking relieved, something she does, something deliberate. Something she does with her hands." Larry sat thinking. He looked up and shook his head, "I don't know." "You don't know ye t," Margaret said. "Keep working." "But I can't think of anything," Larry insisted. "And you won't i f you keep te llin g yourself you can't," Margaret said matter of fa c tly . She wasn’ t threatening or admonishing and what she said made sense. "Keep asking yourself questions, Larry. Questions that have to have an answer. Like, what can she do to show how relieved she is that the job is done. That she . . . " Larry interrupted, "Oh, I know, she closes the door." "What made you think of that?" Margaret asked. "She closes the cedar chest and then she closes the door," he answered. "Can you make i t stronger, more deliberate. Just closing the cedar chest and closing the door could be things of custom or habit. I t has to be very deliberate so i t calls attention to its e lf." "She could lock the door. She could lock both things. She could lock the cedar chest with a ll his things in i t and she could lock the door to the room," he was thinking outloud. "Good. And what would your last shot be," Margaret carried i t further. Larry was enjoying this now. "A close up of the key in the lock with sound effects as i t turns." 367 "And what does she do with the key?" Margaret continued asking. Larry thought a moment, "Well, when m y mother wanted to keep something and not lose i t she'd put i t down her blouse, under her bra." "Does Agnes want to keep the key?" was Margaret's next question. "Yeah, she wants to keep the key. She wants to keep the memories. She loved him. But she wants to keep the memories locked up,' Larry answered slowly and thoughtfully. "I think that's great," Becky almost shouted. "What an image. It 's lik e a tomb. The cedar chest is the coffin and the room is the tomb and she puts the key over her heart. I lik e that. I re ally lik e that!" "I do too," Charlie said, "but is n 't that kind of a contradic tion. She's re a lly holding the child close by keeping the key but didn't she want to be done with it? W hy didn't you have her throw the key away?" "Oh, no," Larry responded immediately. "She wanted to be done with the job of packing his things, but she d idn 't want to forget him." Margaret entered in , "The fact that she wants to be done with the job of packing his things doesn't come across to m e but the rest does. The images clearly say, 'I'm putting m y son away. I'm touching everything as I put him away. I'm locking him away, not ju st once but twice. I want to be sure he doesn't get out. I want to keep the key all to myself and I ' l l keep the key to m y son in a safe place.' I don't see Larry making.the connection of keeping the key over her heart lik e you did, Becky. I f he'd wanted to do that he'd have to make i t a more deliberate action." 368 She turned to Larry and continued, "And I agree with Becky, those are powerful images, images of entombment." She smiled and asked, "How are you feeling about a ll this?" Y O U C A N 'T D O U N T I L Y O U L E A R N T O D O "Oh, I lik e the locking business much better than what I had here," he pointed to his storyboard, "but why d idn't I think of these things to begin with, and w ill I ever be able to do i t again?" "You d idn 't do i t to begin with because you didn't know how to do i t to begin with," Margaret answered matter of fa c tly , "You can't expect to know how to do something until you've learned how to do i t . That's why you're here, to learn to do these things. You've just had a learning experience and the next time you have to solve a sim ilar problem yo u'll know exactly how to go about doing i t . " She was speaking to the whole class now. "These exercises are not intended to be isolated experiences. We're not working with how to portray grieving. We're working with how to find expressive images, visual soliloquies. You're learning a process for finding them. You're learning the things to do that w ill stimulate that process." Now she turned to Larry, " If you remember the things to do yo u'll be free yourself for finding answers, but don't expect i t ever to be the same. Sometimes i t ' l l be easy, sometimes labored, sometimes almost impossible. The tric k is to stay with i t , knowing i f you do stick with i t yo u 'll find what you're looking fo r." T H E S E L F - D E F E A T I N G C I R C L E "So often m y mind ju st goes blank," Larry said. 369 "And you start to get anxious," Margaret added. "Right, and I keep te llin g myself 'you've got to get i t , you've got to get i t , " ' he continued. "And then nothing comes," she said. "Right," he agreed. "But now your mind is n 't blank anymore," Margaret stated. He thought. "You're right. W hen that happens I'm thinking about how m y mind is a blank." He laughed and so did everybody else. " It 's a self-defeating c irc le ," Margaret said. "Your mind is completely jammed. It 's so fu ll of those non-productive thoughts there simply is n 't any room in i t for anything else." "Do you ever have that problem?" Liz asked Margaret. "Sure I do, but not as often or as long as I once did, because I now know the things to do to stop i t , " she paused and then went on. "The creative process can be thwarted and i t can be fa c ilita te d . We'll talk more about th is , but right now I'd lik e to go back to Agnes and visual soliloquies." D I F F E R E N T A S P E C T S O F S A M E T H I N G "The visual soliloquy needs to build and develop. I t needs to start in one place and end up in another place. In Larry's f ir s t version, Agnes's emotion remained re la tiv e ly constant. She vacillated ohly slig h tly between being sad and more sad. In his second version, Agnes went from apprehension about the task, to sadness during the task, to determination to bury, to r e lie f about completing the task and to the decision to keep her memories 's a fe .'" "In the f ir s t version, there was nothing to hold our attention, 370 nothing to make us care about Agnes. There was no accumulation of information about her. W e knew no more about her at the end than we did in the beginning. The f i r s t version was not alive. I t was very s ta tic ." "All of these things become very differen t in the second version Agnes kept changing in front of our eyes. W e kept learning more and more about her and as we learned more we cared more about her. W e suffered with her. She was very much aliv e ." "Except there's s t i l l a ll that going from one thing to another, doing the same thing. That gets awfully tiresone," Charlie said. "Yes," Margaret answered, "I guess I was assuming Larry would eliminate the redundance." "But I'd s t i l l show her packing everything up." Larry said. "I think it 's the 'pick something up, cry, pack i t , pick something up, cry, pack i t 1 that Charlie's talking about. You could s t i l l show her packing but vary i t . Show us other aspects of her sadness while she's doing the packing," Margaret answered. "There are other things connected with sadness besides crying." "Like what?" Larry asked. "Anger," John volunteered immediately. "Daydreaming, pretending," I added. "She could refuse to accept i t , " Becky said. D O N 'S T U R N "Let's look at another one," Margaret suggested. "Some of your questions w ill be answered as we go." I said I wanted to do mine next and as I read the shot descrip- _ . _________________________________________ 371 tions I could feel myself getting excited. I knew the class would lik e m y images and they did. So did Margaret. "I especially lik e the visor with the sweatband," she said. "Wherever there are traces of l i f e , traces of what once was, there's a f strong emotional re c a ll. And when you had her trying to recapture the smell of him, i t was as i f she was searching fo r him." "But is n 't that gross," Michael asked, "trying to smell him?" "Yes, I considered that to be in bad taste too," added Lenard. Margaret nodded her head, "Our culture likes to avoid smells, you're rig h t, but that could make i t even more powerful. I t would depend on how Don handled i t and i t looks lik e what he's doing is ok. I f he were to have her pick up the cap, bring i t up to her nose and smell i t , I think that might get a laugh, but i f , in addition to what he has here, he shows her own cu ltu rally determined struggle not to smell, that could re a lly work for him. I t could show us her willingness to do extraordinary and unusual things to be close to her son again. And, that could help establish the bridge between the real world and her fantasy world." " It seemed to m e lik e there were two parts to Don's, the s tu ff up to the rocking horse and the s tu ff a fte r i t , " Bobbie said, "Is that true, or is i t ju st me?" V A C U U M D E D U C T I O N "I guess i t would depend on how much you 'vacuum deducted,"' Margaret answered. "What's that!" Charlie asked. Margaret smiled, "Vacuum deduction is an expression a student _________________________________________________________________________372 gave to m e many years ago. Its ■ meaning is based on the natural law that whenever a vacuum exists, i f possible, something w ill rush in and f i l l i t , and that's exactly what happens with film s. I f there's a vacuum, a lo t of missing pieces, the audience w ill rush in and f i l l this vacuum with th eir own ideas. It 's a human condition for us to want to have things make sense and i f they don't our minds, generally on an unconscious le v e l, w ill push and shove and add until they do. This is a problem we have to be aware of because i f we leave vacuums in our work w e'll find people f illin g in that vacuum with th eir own ideas we probably wouldn't want there." "How do we know how much info to put in?" I asked. T H E G I F T S O F F E E D B A C K "You check. You ask people to read your work and i f over twenty per cent of them don't see what's in your head then you know you haven't given enough information." She paused and then went on. "One of the most important and most d iffic u lt things we have to learn in this business is how to use feedback." She turned to Bobbie, "Bobbie, w ill you te ll us more about what you thought was going on in Don's sequence." "Well, i t seemed to m e that she came into the room and sat down, then she did her thing with the cap," he paused to think and then continued, "then she played with the rocking horse and i t was over when Brand appeared. These things didn't seem completely connected." I was absolutely floored when I heard what Bobbie said. I went back to the easel pad and pointed to the frames. "Look, I have her carrying in boxes, starting to pack, she notices the cap when i t _____________________________ 373 fa lls o ff a stack of clothes, she gets lost in the cap and wants to smell his perspiration, she puts the cap away and knocks the rocking horse, she plays..." "Wait a minute," Bobbie interrupted, "did you say she knocks the rocking horse?" "Yes, as she puts the cap away she accidentally hits the horse and that starts i t moving," I told him. "I'm sorry. I d idn 't hear that before. I thought i t had just happened, out of nowhere. That's the thing that was bothering me," Bobbie apologized. "Ok, now what can Don do with this feedback? That's what you need to ask yourself, Don," Margaret said to me. "Do with it? There is n 't anything to do with i t . I t 's just that he didn't hear i t . It 's there. I ju st showed you." I was irrita te d with her now. "You're rig h t, i t is there, but s t i l l , Bobbie has given you valuable feedback and you can benefit by using i t . Ask yourself, 'why d idn't Bobbie hear that?'" "He wasn't listening. I don't know. Ask him." I answered sharply. "Ask yourself, Don. Look at your script. See i f there might be another reason," she insisted. I looked at m y script and thought to myself, "What the h e ll's she talking about. I don't know what she's saying. Where's that shot? I looked at the script and found i t . "Here i t is ." I read i t aloud. "Close shot of Agnes's face. Tears come to her eyes again and she leans 374 forward to gently place the cap in the box. As she sits back up, she accidentally hits the rocking horse. As she moves out of frame we see something moving in the background and the camera racks focus to reveal the head of the horse moving back and fo rth." Then I looked at m y storyboard. I t showed two things: her putting the cap in the box and the rack focus shot of the horse." "What's the most significant action in that shot?" Margaret asked. "Hitting the rocking horse. Having i t move," I answered and at that moment I knew what she was talking about. "Yeah, we don't rea lly see her h it the rocking horse. How can I do that?" I thought for a moment and then said, "I could have her wince or rub her arm or something lik e th at." "Right. Anything that calls our attention to what she's done. You don't want i t too big or yo u 'll telegraph i t , but i t needs to be there," she said and then turned to the whole class. "The more Don works with his sequence, the better i t gets and when Don stopped defending and went back to take a look at i t he could see how to improve i t . This is the g ift of feedback. I t can focus your attention in places you may have overlooked. This doesn't mean yo u 'll always act on the feedback. Lots of times i t won't be rig h t, or f i t what you're trying to do, but on the chance i t 's going to help you, you owe i t to yourself to hear i t and test i t out." W hen she put i t that way i t seemed d iffe re n t, a lo t d ifferen t. Before I had f e lt lik e I- had to defend, but now I was ready to listen and then decide what to do. I t seemed as i f the rest of the class f e lt 225 that way too. As we went on working with the rest of the Agnes se quences we gave each other a lo t more feedback and in every case i t paid o ff for the w riter. John was the last one to read his and i t was ju st before lunch time. I was so hungry I wondered how much attention I'd be able to give to i t , but as soon as he started I knew i t would hold m y interest. J O H N 'S A G N E S FADE IN: INTERIOR, YO UNG BOY’S B ED R O O M MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Agnes opening the door into her son's bedroom. At f ir s t there is only a crack of lig h t coming through the door. The door moves ever so s lig h tly . I t stops. I t moves more, wider. Now there is Agnes's head and shoulders in the p a rtia lly open door. The door stops opening again. There is a long pause and then Agnes reaches her hand in. Her hand, feeling along the wall by the door, is dimly lighted. She is searching for the lig h t switch. She feels i t and turns on the 1ight. 213 The lig h t is blinding. Agnes winces and closes her eyes. She keeps them closed momentarily and then slowly opens them. She pushes the door open the rest of the way and tears well up in her eyes as she looks into and around the room. She wears a chain with a cross and as she stands there, one hand reaches up to hold the cross. Agnes is beautiful. She has big brown eyes and long curly auburn hair that refuses to stay tied back behind her ears. MEDIUM CLOSE SUBJECTIVE PAN of what Agnes sees. Her eyes f i r s t see the bed across the room. The covers are thrown back, the pillow s t i l l has the indentation where a head had once lain and part of the top sheet tra ile d p ff the bed along the floor where i t had fallen when her boy had been carried out of his bed. One slipper lay where i t had fa lle n o ff his foot. The CAM ERA DOLLYS FO R W A R D (she walks into the room) and turns to look at the dresser. O n the dresser are an assortment of treasures; sea shells, pretty rocks, s illy putty and a piece of candy. Above the dresser hangs a picture of Christ and a small wooden cross. . 2 1 1 The CAM ERA ZO O M S INTO a C U of the picture of Christ, HOLDS and PANS to a CLOSE UP of the cross. CAM ERA ZO O M S BACK TO CLOSE SHOT of the top of the dresser. A stocking is hanging out of one of the top drawers. Agnes's hand reaches into the FG and takes the stocking out of the drawer. r* ■ » Q rP. & a m i ' The CAM ERA ZO O M S BACK & PANS RIGHT to STOP on the opposite side of the room. There is a small table and chair and a round wooden box containing small toys and other l i t t l e things. O n the table there are several toys, among them a clay figure. The figure is a crude representation of a person, such as a child would make. The CAM ERA DOLLYS UP TO the table to look down at the clay figure. The CAM ERA SITS D O W N in the small chair at the table and Agnes's hands ENTER from bottom of frame. She drops the stocking on the table and picks up the clay figure. As soon as Agnes picks i t up, one of the arms fa lls o ff. The clay is quite old and dry. MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Agnes holding the clay figure. She puts the arm on the clay figure and pushes i t to make i t stick. I t does. She smiles, holds the figure up to her face and cocks her head as i f to say, "There I'v e got you a ll fixed." She plays with i t as one plays with a baby; touching its nose, bouncing i t , smoothing its hair and holding i t at arm's length to look at i t . She is having great fun. After the play she starts to set the figure down. CLOSE UP of Agnes's hands and the clay figure. As soon as Agnes sets the figure down, the arm fa lls o ff again. This time she pushes the arm on against the table so she can put pressure on both the arm and the body. 379 CLOSE U P Agnes's face. The muscles of her face and neck tense as she pushes down. She is very intent on what she's doing. MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Agnes as she sets the clay figure upright again. This time the arm stays. Agnes looks at i t for a few moments. She smiles at i t , but does not repeat the play a c tiv ity . She is out of the fantasy. She looks at the flo o r and sees the slipper. She again holds the cross. I CLOSE SHOT of slipper. The CAM ERA HOLDS momentarily and then .TILTS & PANS to follow the sheet up to the bed and to the pillow to STOP on the place in the pillow where his head had la in . 380 CLOSE SHOT of Agnes. Her face is in p ro file and tears are rollin g down her cheeks. She drops her head and sees the cross clenched in her hand. She stares at i t , opens her hand and lets i t drop as i f she were holding a dangerous insect. n Now she turns to look at the picture of Christ above the dresser. W e see the back of her head and the CAM ERA SHIFTS FOCUS to the picture of Christ. 381 She moves, as i f to go to the picture and jars the table, W e hear FX of the clay figure f a l l ing. She turns her head and the C AM ERA SHIFTS FOCUS BACK to Agnes and the table top. This time the figure has lost i t 's leg. She picks i t up and looks at i t . She is s t i l l crying. CLOSE SHOT of Agnes with the figure in her hand. She presses the leg back on and i t promptly fa lls o ff. She picks i t up, presses i t back again, harder and harder. The harder she pushes the harder she cries. The leg fa lls o ff again and she puts the figure up to her face, kisses i t , holds i t next to her cheek and sobs. ,3 ^ > v TIGHT CLOSE U P of Agnes's face. Her head is lowered, eyes closed and tears streaming from her face. Her hands begin to press the clay pieces together into a b a ll. MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT of Agnes. She begins to stop crying as she ro lls the clay between her hands and trie s to form i t into a b a ll. She looks up and her eyes stare at the clay she is working. Because the clay is dry i t is hard and d iffic u lt to shape. The more d if f ic u lt i t is to shape the more she works to shape i t . '...3.8.2 CLOSE U P of Agnes's hands working the clay. Her fingernails bite into the clay and she works almost feverishly now. Then suddenly her hands stop working. The clay no longer is a figure. I t is a ball of clay. HEAD O N CLOSE SHOT Agnes. She sets the ball of clay down and her hand reaches for the cross on the chain around her neck. Her eyes are staring. Her face is taut. She very deliberately holds the cross out in front of her. She gives a jerk on the chain. I t easily breaks. She reaches her arm back and throws the cross and chain at the picture. 383 CLOSE SHOT of picture of Christ. The chain and cross h it the picture and the chain catches on the picture frame. The cross swings freely back and forth. TIGHT CLOSE UP of cross swinging in and out of frame. FX sob. \ \ \\ ^ M ) < c m L L k a J j L . --------------------- / T T y FADE OUT: W hen John finished no one had anything to say righ t away. I was really surprised to have such a powerful thing come from John. I'd segged him as a person who'd do something more mild and not come on so strong, but then, I guess I should've known better a fte r wrestling with lim. "God, what powerful images," Charlie said. "The cross, but sspecially the clay fig ure." He leaned forward to look around Bobbie ind speak d irec tly to John. "The figure was supposed to be her son wasn't it?" "Yeah, and i t was something he'd made," John answered. Charlie continued, "And then as i t kept fa llin g apart and she 3 M kept trying to put i t back together i t f e l t lik e she was trying to put her son back together again. Is that right?" John nodded his head. "That came through loud and clear for me," Charlie said. "What about the rest of you?" John looked at a ll of us and asked. "Did i t come through that way for the rest of you?" I t did for m e and for a ll of us except Larry. He said he didn't see i t as a symbol for the boy and that i t seemed to him lik e she was simply trying to f ix one of his toys. "But she wouldn't have gotten so angry i f i t 'd ju st been a toy," Becky spoke up. " I t had to be the symbol for him. That's what I liked, the way you had the crying turn into anger. I f e l t lik e I could read her mind, lik e she was saying ’you're to blame,' then she turned to the picture of Christ, 'You're to blame and I hate you. I don't want any part of you.' Wham!! Off came the cross and she threw i t . " Becky acted the whole thing out. "I thought she was going to throw the clay b a ll," Lenard interjected. "Oh no, she couldn't do that," John said, "the clay once was her son. The cross was her husband." "Of course," answered Lenard. "That wasn't as clear to me. I mean the cross as the symbol of her husband," Charlie said. " It has attributes of its own," Margaret said, "the symbol of Christ and C hristianity, but the clay figure was pure." She paused and then changed the subject. " I'd lik e to check out what Becky said about 385 being able to read Agnes's mind. W as that true for the rest of you?" "I believed what she did," Liz said, "but I didn't anticipate i t I did n 't know i t before she did it . " That was the way I f e l t too. I t was perfectly believable to m e and I guess everybody agreed because nobody said anything. C A U S E A N D E F F E C T "Let's look at what John did." She got up, went to the easel pad and as she spoke she wrote the things down. "What we're talking about is cause and effect. Let's take i t from the top: ns - _ . . . - . . Z H E L C A U SE-* AgneS enters room and Zooks a t room EFFECT*thinks oft Son, c rie s and teaches ion cross Ion. com fort CAUSE: Sees c la y ilg u re , picks up and arm ia lls o H EFFECT* Puts a/cm back on and plays w ith as 11 a c h ild CAUSE: Asm ia lls o H again EFFECT* W ith g re a te r e i i o r t again puls asm back CAUSE: Looks a t ilg u re EFFECT*ihlnks o i son and holds cross ion. com fort CAUSE: Sees r e a lit y EFFECT* c r ie s , te je c ls caoss and tu rn s to p ic tu re CAUSE: Jars ta b le , knocks over filg u re and breaks o U le g EFFECT* tre e s to re p a ir CAUSE: Unable to re p a ir EFFECT*holds clo se , kisses and sobs T ir nr i "And then she feverishly presses the clay pieces into a b a ll, pulls the chain o ff her neck and throws i t at the picture, but I don't see a cause fo r these last actions. Do any of you?" "Well sure. She was angry," Becky immediately answered. "And the more she worked at the clay the more we saw her anger." "What caused her tears to turn into anger? What triggered it? ______________ 386 What did she do that showed us what she was thinking?" Margaret pressed. Becky looked at the storyboard. She was quiet for a few moments, as we a ll were, and then she said, "Oh I see what you mean." "So do I," John spoke up: "There re a lly is n 't anything we can see. I t 's a ll inside of her. She's thinking that i t was her husband and his church that kept her from having her son a ll in one piece, and I wanted that anger to s ta rt and build while she was working the clay." "And i t does," Margaret agreed. "W e see the emotion increasing, but we don't see what sets i t o ff. What could you do to make her thoughts visible? What could you do to visually trigger her anger? Think about i t for a few minutes." John went up to the easel board. He stood and looked at his drawings. At one point he started to speak, he stopped, shook his head and looked at the drawings again. Then he snapped his fingers and pointed to one of his drawings toward the end, "That's i t . " He turned to Margaret, " I ’ve got i t . " " It 's righ t here," he pointed to one frame and as he talked he made changes in his drawing. "Instead of putting the figure up to her facfe, sh e'll bring i t to her chest. When she does that she presses i t up against the cross and the cross presses into the clay, leaving an imprint." i 387 "Then I ' l l add another shot where she looks at the figure again and sees the cross imprint." "Now she takes her finger nails to try and get rid of the imprint, and her thumbs start pressing the clay together into a lump." "From there on i t 's ok, except instead of having her shape a ball I ' l l have her work to bury the imprint and eradicate i t . Then as the end action she looks at the cross, keeps the clay in her hand, rips the chain o ff and throws i t a ll in one moment." 388 "So your l i s t would now read," he said and added to Margaret's 1 is t. CAUSE: SEES CROSS IMPRINT— HER HUSBAND S FANATICISM— ON HER SON EFFECT=TRIES TO REMOVE IMPRINT AND REJECTS HER CROSS— HER HUSBAND— AND CHRIST. — TV "Is that better? Does that do it?" 389 There was a pause and then we a ll clapped. Becky started i t , but we a ll joined in enthusiastically, including Margaret. While we were clapping John gathered up his papers and went back to s it down on his pillow beside the fireplace. W hen we finished he looked up at us. He was blushing. "Shucks," he said and laughed. C H A N G E I S T H E N A M E O F T H E G A M E W e laughed too and Margaret spoke, "We've been using the words cause and e ffe c t, and there are other words lik e stimulus and response and action and reaction. Also, do you remember when we were working with the concepts of struggle we talked about back and forth pushing and resisting. W e talked about how one decision made and acted upon may cause an opposing decision and opposing action, which in turn causes another decision and action, that may be opposed by another decision and action and on and on. And yet another way of describing this is Georg Hegel's method of dialectics wherein he used the word equilibrium and he saw a ll l i f e as a series of movements which he called thesis, antithesis and synthesis. The thesis is the original state of equilibrium. The antithesis is the opposing force which disturbs the equilibrium. The synthesis is the new state of equilibrium caused by an integrating of the thesis and the antithesis and i t then becomes the thesis of the next moment. Nothing is ever fin al or fixed. Everything is always changing and becoming something else." "That's pretty scary," Jane said. "Somethings have got to stay the same! Otherwise, how are we ever going to know anything fo r sure? "Of course," Margaret answered, "the rate of change is differen t and i t 's not a rapid change in a ll things. But, in s to ryte llin g , change __________________________ 39Q and rapid change is the name of the game." She paused and then changed the subject. "Did John deal with the situation or the essence of the situation?" "D efinitely the essence," Liz answered. "Yeah, but in his subjective pan wasn't he awfully close to just dealing with the situation?" Jane asked. "Wasn't he showing more factual external s tu ff than emotion?" "Yeah, I realized I was, but I wanted to set things up, the picture, the cross and the bed," John answered. "I wanted i t to be the f ir s t time she went into the room a fte r her son's death." "And i t worked well that way. I wasn't bothered by i t , espec ia lly where you had i t at the beginning. W as anyone else bothered?" Charlie asked. Nobody said anything and then Bobbie asked, "What about that stocking? What did that do for you? I kept expecting something and nothing happened." "I wanted to have her hands enter the subjective shot. That's the biggest reason i t 's there and then I thought I'd do something more with i t la te r in the scene, but nothing seemed rig h t, so I dropped i t , " John said. "You could have had her dry her eyes, wipe away her tears," Susan said. "Yeah, that would have worked," John replied. Becky started to say something but Margaret interrupted her, "Just a minute Becky, le t 's ta lk more about the stocking. I agree with Bobbie. I think i t detracted from the tension you were building. Some 391 of m y thoughts were diverted as I kept wondering what she was going to do with i t , and when. I t was a nice pictorial thing to have her reach in and take i t , but I think you could've achieved the same thing by ju st having her hands enter the frame to close a drawer or straighten something on the dresser top." "Sure, why not," John said. "That would have been better." T H E P O W E R O F O N E O R T W O O B J E C T S "Choosingone or two objects and then building the entire action and emotion around those objects is extremely powerful and, generally speaking, more powerful than using a larger number of objects," Margaret continued. "With one or two objects, less time is spent introducing and motivating them. Here I'm talking about ju s t plain screen time. Each object has to be selected and its relevance established. I f you stick with one or two objects you only need to do that one or two times." "Also, with one or two objects there's a continuity of emotion; one action leads to another in an expanding and accumulating way. John gave us a very good example of this with his clay figure and i f you think back on Larry's f i r s t version, where Agnes went from one thing to another, none of the objects re a lly became a liv e ." J U S T A N Y O L D O B J E C T W O N 'T D O "Now, I know we're a ll hungry, but one more thing. W e haven't talked very much about the selection of the object. Just any old object is n 't enough and some are better than others. The object must be, as Pudovkin put i t , ". . . a visual image, requiring no explanation and yet carrying a clear and d e fin ite meaning. _______~^Ibid._________ ___ ____________________________________ tq? "In your sequences, among other things, you've used clothing, a rocking horse, a clay figure, a teddy bear, a bible, a cross, ro lle r skates, a baseball m itt and photographs, v What're some others you could have used? There was a long pause. My mind was a complete blank until she said, "Think of the things l i t t l e boys do and have." "Drawings. Marks on the w all," I said, remembering the very serious ta lk m y son and I'd had las t week. "Sticky hands," Becky said. "Sticky hands a ll over everything, leaving fingerprints: je l ly , honey, ketchup." "When Don wrote about the broken eye on the rocking horse," I thought he might do something with th at," John said. "I was looking fo r a hole in the toe of John's stocking," Susan said and laughed. "How about shoes, shoes that show wear and tear," Charlie said. "And there's the imprint of a foot inside the shoe. You can do i lo t with th at," Margaret added. "Building blocks," Lenard chipped in. "What would you do with them?" Margaret asked. "How would you lave Agnes work with them?" He thought a moment and then said, "I see what you're saying." le nodded his head. "They do not communicate anything by themselves, "here is no in trin s ic message. They are ju st toys." "Right," she answered. Things lik e that are s te rile . They don't i>y themselves produce any associations. She could do things with blocks :o show grieving but i t wouldn't be as powerful as having her work with something that could stand for the ch ild, have traces of the child or evoke strong memories of the child." W e a ll brought up more things, but as soon as we started bringing up the same kinds of suggestions twice, Margaret called i t quits and we a ll went to lunch. Now would be a good time for you to re-read your Agnes exercise to see if any of the things we've been talking about apply to what you've written." "Be sure you ask yourself questions like: Did I deal with the situation of the essence of the situation? Did I show different aspects of the same thing or was I redundant? Did I provide all the necessary information or did I leave a vacuum for the reader/ viewer to fill in? For every effect did I have a cause? Did my Agnes change throughout the sequence? Did I use a limited number of objects? Did my objects carry a clear and definite meaning?" "Also, it'd be a good idea for you to show it to some of your friends so you can get feedback. Then, if you see places you'd like to change, actually do it. Don't just think about it. It’s the actual doing of something that makes us learn better." 394 CHAPTER NINE. W ORKSHOP: UNIQUENESSES OF FILM This time, a ll of us went out to lunch together except for Liz, Bobbie, Margaret and Judy. They had th e ir lunches with them and as the rest of us were climbing into cars, they were on th e ir way into the backyard. I rode in Lenard's car with him, Becky and Larry and everybody else piled into John's car. I deliberately got into Lenard's car because I wanted to talk to him about his Agnes assignment. "I liked your Agnes," I told him, as we were pulling out the driveway. He turned to look at me and I could te ll I'd surprised him— and pleased him. "Indeed?" he responded. "Mrs. Mehring certainly wasn't pleased with i t . " "Oh? I thought she lik a d it," Becky jumped in. I t was ju st that you d idn 't do what the assignment asked fo r," "I do not understand," Lenard said. "I am perplexed. I used the cross to symbolize the husband and religion and I showed her hanging from the cross, a s a c rific ia l offering, as i t were." "Yeah, but that was a ll a head tr ip ," Becky answered. "You asked us to draw intellectual conclusions. You didn't make us feel what she was feeling." "Yes I did. I told you she had been betrayed and sacrificed to expedite and actuate his aspirations. That is as cogent an emotion as any that were presented," he defended himself. "But, that's the problem, you presented i t . You didn't le t us experience i t , " Becky kept arguing. ______________ 395 I wanted her to get o ff i t but I could see there was no way she was going to stop. By now I'd even forgotten what i t was I wanted to discuss with Lenard and we had almost reached the l i t t l e Mexican restaurant we were headed fo r. John's car pulled up behind us and I walked in the restaurant with Michael. Michael was more exhilarated than I'd ever seen him. "What's got you going, man?" I asked him. "That was good this morning. Really good!" he answered. "Oh?" I was curious. "You know how I'm into using color, texture and tempo, differen t shapes and movements, lik e I did with my Agnes thing?" he stated. "Yeah," I responded. "Always I'v e tried to do without people. I always thought i t was contaminating i f I had people in i t . But now I can use people. I see it ! I can use them as color and texture and a ll those other things. I don't have to use them lik e everybody else does. I can use them and s t ill do m y own thing." I wasn't completely sure what he was talking about, but whatever i t was i t f e l t good. Michael would have made a good missionary. He's so in tent, so in fle x ib le and so dedicated to his work. Michael kept talking a ll the way through lunch and then, almost before I knew i t we were back in Margaret's liv in g room and she was te llin g us about what we're going to do next. "This afternoon we're going to look at the a rt of filmmaking, it's characteristics, some of its techniques and its uniquenesses. Then, later we'IT do another scripting exercise to implement these character- 396 is tic s , techniques and uniquenesses. N E E D T O K N O W A L L A S P E C T S O F F I L M M A K I N G "First of a l l , I want to again emphasize th at, in m y opinion, the motion picture w riter needs to know a ll aspects of filmmaking. This is not to say we have to be able to perform a ll the functions of each aspect, but we need to know what contributions each aspect can make-- its lim itations and problems as well as i t 's potentials." "For example, composers don't need to play a ll the instruments in the orchestra, but they must know a ll the sounds each instrument w ill make and how they a ll sound together. Architects need to know what each of the crafts and trades can do, but they don't have to know how to perform each one of them themselves. As film w riters, we need to know what we can ask and expect of the camerapeople, the soundpeople, the editors, directors and actors, set designers and costumers, composers and laboratories and we need to know how to effe c tive ly put a ll of these things together." T T H E F I R S T V I S I O N " It 's the w riter who has the f ir s t vision of what the total finished film w ill look lik e , how a ll of these aspects w ill f i t together to serve the total film communication and film unity. Then, a ll down the lin e from beginning production to completion, changes, additions and deletions may be made and these may or may not enhance the f i r s t vision, but, generally speaking, i f the f i r s t vision doesn't include the things that make our a rt form uniquely d ifferen t from a ll other a rt forms, the finished product w ill have few, i f any of them. In other 397 words, in m y estimation, a ll 'film ' films start with the w rite r." "The film w riter is n 't ju st writing a story. He or she is w riting a film story. We've talked a lo t about 'what is a story' now this afternoon w e'll focus more on 'what is a film s to ry ." 1 "Obviously, in this class yo u 'll not be able to learn a ll there is to know about the many separate and interacting aspects of filmmaking. Each of these separate, but interacting aspects, has its own discipline, its own esthetics and its own communicative potential. For those of you who've had past cinema classes and experience, this may seem to be redundant, but even so I'm sure y o u 'll find i t useful. Now y o u 'll be looking at these things through a d ifferen t set of eyes, the eyes of a w riter. For you non-cinema majors, please keep asking us questions because w e'll have no way of knowing what you don't understand unless you tel 1 us." "All rig h t. Now, each of you think to yourself and jo t down a l i s t of the major characteristics of film and the things we as film makers can do that no other a rt form can do." "You mean things lik e 'film ic time' and 'film ic space?"' Charlie asked. "Filmic time and film ic space! What's that?" Susan laughed and asked. "Those are two of the things w e'll talk about," Margaret answered. "That's film jargon and w e'll explain i t to you. You think in lay person terms, lik e how's a film d iffe re n t from a play? Or, how's a motion picture d ifferen t from a s t i l l picture." 398 " I ' d l i k e f o r y o u t o d o t h i s t o o . " " T h i n k o f a s m a n y t h i n g s ! a s y o u c a n t h a t m a k e f i l m s | d i f f e r e n t f r o m a n y o t h e r j a r t f o r m a n d t h e t h i n g s j t h a t f i l m s p a n d o t h a t n o I o t h e r a r t f o r m c a n d o . " ^ " W r i t e t h e m d o w n s o y o u c a n c o m p a r e y o u r l i s t w i t h , w h a t t h e c l a s s d o e s . " i F I L M S C O N T A I N M O T I O N I had a l i s t of about eight d ifferen t things when Margaret called time and asked us to discuss what we'd w ritten. Bobbie was the f ir s t one to speak, "Films move." "Go on," Margaret said. "What do you mean, go on?" he said. "I mean, describe i t . How does i t move? W hy is this important? What advantage does that give us? Things lik e th at." she answered. "In other words, le t's do more than ju st name the thing. Let’ s look deeper." "Well, i t 's the only a rt form that moves," Bobbie said. "Oh no," Liz spoke up, "Plays move. I mean, people and things on the stage move around." "And th ere're a rt objects that move, things lik e mobiles and some of the pop a rt," Michael added. "But those are only peripheral exceptions," Lenard said. "What about music? Music moves in an audio sense. I t has a direction and the sounds occupy space," Becky suggested. __________ ' 399 "Yeah, what do we mean by motion?" Bobbie queried, "W e haven't defined it . " " Is n 't i t what Becky ju st said, something occupying space in one place and moving to another place," Charlie said. "That's what happens on the stage. People move up stage, down stage and from side to side. Things move too; fu rn itu re, props and even the fla ts move," Becky said "Yeah, but that's in real lif e ," John modified her statement. "That's the difference," Michael sum m ed i t up. "Films aren't real l i f e . They're a record, a duplicate of real l i f e . I think that's the uniqueness. Not ju st that things move but that we duplicate the moves." " S till photographs duplicate real li f e , " Jane said. "Yes, but s t i l l photographs don't record motion. They only record one frozen moment," Lenard corrected. "And, i t 's even more than record. It 's reproduce. In films we can reproduce a motion," John was thinking outloud. "W e can see the motion over and over again." "W e can speed i t up, slow i t down, and reverse i t , " I in te r jected. And, in educational films we can teach things that involve notion— lik e how to assemble a gun or how internal combustion works. W e can analyze motions. W e can look at them in ways we can't see with our own eyes." "Are these the things you were thinking about when you said 'film s move?'" Margaret asked Bobbie. "No," he blushed. "I was thinking about how we watch things that move. Like i f I'm s ittin g here and Jane threw something over to 400 Becky, m y eyes would automatically see i t and follow it . " "You're absolutely rig h t," Margaret assured him. "That's one of the most important characteristics of film . The way we use movement determines what most of the viewing audience w ill look at. W hen something moves th e y 'll be compelled to look at i t , but i f there's no movement th e ir eyes and minds are free to do whatever they want to do. Let's try that. I ' l l stop talking and you le t your eyes and minds go wherever they want to go." h T Y f W hen she stopped talking I looked around to find something to look at. Becky had changed her seat a fte r the lunch break. She was now s ittin g directly across from me, next to the fireplace where Larry'd been s ittin g . She was s ittin g with her elbows on the coffee table staring at a piece of driftwood and a small sculpture. I decided to watch her. Becky was ju st reaching out to touch the driftwood when out of the corner of my righ t eye I could see something flying through the a ir. I turned m y head to watch i t . I t was a pencil and i t landed behind Bobbie near the door. "Was there anyone who d idn't find th e ir eyes following the pencil?" Margaret asked. "Me. I had m y eyes closed," John answered. "And that's a lim itation we have," Margaret agreed. I f people have th e ir eyes closed we can't control th e ir vision, but for the rest of you, those of you with your eyes open, you were compelled to see and follow the thing that moved." "That's re a lly a survival thing, is n 't it?" Charlie said. "Sure! Movement signals danger," I agreed. "Or food," Liz added. "Changes of a ll kinds," Charlie concluded. Margaret spoke up, "Before, someone mentioned that music moves." "I did," Becky said, raising her hand. S O U N D S C O N T A I N M O T I O N T O O "Yes. Music does move," Margaret agreed. "All sounds contain motion. Sounds can stand s t i l l or move very rapidly. Sounds have direction. They can go around in circles. They can climb and they can ■ 402 hide. Sound is not ju st music. Sound is dialogue and narration. Sound is sound effects. Sound can be silence." " It seems funny to hear you talking about sound," Larry spoke up. "This is the f i r s t time you've admitted sound is a part of film - making." "And i t is indeed," she answered. " I t can be a very powerful part of filmmaking, provided i t ' s used in the visual sense of motion rather than solely in the theatrical or printed sense. Actually, I'm suggesting we can look at both the visual and audio in film as phenomena occupying space and containing directional movement." She got up, went to the easel pad and wrote as she summarized the things we'd talked about. i I FILMS CONTAIN~U0TT0N M otion COMPELLING occupieA Apace, and containA dJjiectionaJL movement EtbnA RECORD m otion REPRODUCE motion and can ANALYSE m otion M otion can be MANIPULATED Apeeded up I A-towed down and Atopped fttmA can TEACH pnoceAAeA and conceptA in v o iv in g motion \ ■ T7 n r 4 "That's one of the characteristics and uniquenesses of film , one of the most important. Now what's another?" she asked as she sat down. F I L M I C T I M E "Like I said before. There's film ic time and film ic space," Charlie replied. _________________ _ _ _____________________________________________________ 401 "One at a time. F ir s t, what's film ic time?" she asked. "Me?" Charlie said. "You or anyone," she replied. "Films create th e ir own time. Things happen in films in less time than they would happen in re a lity ," Charlie explained. "Not always less time," Michael corrected him. "Sometimes they take more time." "So you're saying films can contract and expand, shorten and lengthen time. Now, what do we mean by this and what are some examples.1 C O N T R A C T I N G T I M E Nobody spoke up and I was about to when Jane said, "Well for example, i f I were to walk from here over to behind where Margaret's s ittin g it 'd take a Tot of screen time." "Why don't you do th at," Margaret said, "and I ' l l time you." Jane got up, stepped over Larry, who was s ittin g on the flo o r in front of her, and went to stand in the doorway behind Margaret. "That took roughly eight to nine seconds," Margaret reported. "Eight or nine seconds is a long time on the screen, especially when you're watching something as uninteresting as someone walking across the room, so instead of keeping the camera on m e the whole time, f i r s t we'd see m e stand up and sta rt to walk." 404 "Then we'd cut to another shot, a cut away, of something else going on in the room. Maybe a close- up of Liz." "Or m e trying to keep from getting stepped on," Larry joked. "Then," Jane continued, "we'd :ut back to m e as I reach the hallway and turn to stand behind Margaret, tn this way we could cut down the time needed to get m e from place to alace." " I t doesn't seem to m e like you've saved much time," Susan said. "Yeah. That wasn't too good of an example," Jane apologized. "You made the point, Jane," Margaretreassured her. "Yeah, but it 'd be better i f I'd gone out the back door or some place further away," Jane defended. Becky turned to Susan, "The thing you try to do is cut away to something else important. In other words, you don't want to throw away shat screen time on ju st any shot. I t wants to be something that adds so the story you're te llin g ." "Cutaways constitute one of our chief means of both contracting 405 and expanding time," Margaret carried on. "By cutting away from the primary action to secondary but related actions we don't have to show the completed action. W e can show part of i t and the audience w ill assume that i t 's complete. W e also can achieve the same effect by simply intercutting d iffe re n t aspects of the primary action." " If Jane and I were engaged in dialogue with each other, the f ir s t shot could be, as we had i t before, Jane standing up and starting to walk as she is talking. Next we could cut to a close shot of m e listening to her and answering her P a u and then cut back to see her reaching the hallway to turn around and stand behind m e as she listens to m e and responds." Margaret looked to Jane, "You explained how we contract time, now how do we expand time?" 406 "Oh le t somebody else do that one. Somebody who can do a better job," she answered. From the very f i r s t night of the class, whenever Jane would pull that kind of s tu ff I'v e been irrita te d with her and this afternoon i t re a lly got to me. "I get so pissed when you do th at," I blurted out. Jane turned to look at me, as i f I'd ju st h it her in the face and then a ll I could do was feel sorry for her. "When I do what?" she asked. "When you put yourself down that way," I answered her. "You gave a perfectly good explanation of how we shorten time, so what's this :rap about somebody else doing a better job." "I ju st f e l t lik e I hadn't done i t good enough and I ought not ness up a second time," she replied. "There you go again," I said, shaking my head. "What you said made sense to me, Jane," John spoke up. "Me too," Susan added. E X P A N D I N G T I M E "Well, ok," Jane said. Her face was flushed, but she was smiling. She stopped to think a minute and then went on, "Using the sam e example of m e walking across the room, we could photograph and ed it that action so it 'd take much longer than :he eight or nine seconds. In other words, we would expand time. We'd s ta rt again with m e standing up and moving toward Margaret. 407 After that we cut back to me. I'm only now stepping over Larry." As she talks Jane moves across the room. U i ). w — — Next we cut away to Charlie and Don talking. Then we cut to Lenard listening to them. "And on and on in te r cutting other shots 408 I i so that by the time I reach the hallway behind Margaret, i t may have taken fifte e n seconds or more." Margaret looked up at Jane standing behind her, "I lik e the way you created an example rig h t here, in this room, so everybody can see it . " "Yeah, that re a lly helps," Susand told Jane. " It doesn't help much when someone say, 'oh they did that in such and such a film .' There're so many films I'v e never seen." "Have you seen any of Eisenstein's film s, Potemkin or Ten Days That Shook the World," Liz asked. 'No," Susan answered and laughed. 409 Q V E R O T P T N 'G " A C T I O N "Ok," Liz shrugged her shoulders and continued, "Well, in both those films he expanded time by overlapping action. He'd repeat the same action from a differen t angle and/or distance." "Liz," Margaret suggested, "You could demonstrate that righ t here, lik e Jane demonstrated the use of cutaways." "Ok," she thought a moment and then said, "Let's say I get down o ff my stool and walk over to the front door. The camera stays ju st on m e without cutting away, but shooting from d ifferen t angles and d ifferen t distances and everytime the new shot starts, we back up m y action so i t overlaps the la s t action. I ' l l show you." She got down o ff th stool. "This is a FULL SHOT. I get completely o ff the stool and walk about two feet. Now w e'll do a MEDIUM SHOT from over there," she pointed to the rig h t of her, "and pick i t up ju s t as I slide o ff the stool. This time I walk about fiv e feet away," 410 "Next a MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT. We'll sta rt the shot about two feet from the stool and le t m e get about to the door." "And then we could end with a LO NG SHOT. I ' l l begin the shot in the middle of the room and fin a lly get to the door." She turned around as she said, "That's overlapping action and i t expands time." "Do people do that kind of s tu ff anymore," Larry asked. "Is n 't that outdated? Is n 't i t ju st plain bad editing?" " It never was common practice to overlap action. I t was only used when the filmmaker wanted to intensify an event or a mood. And, in m y opinion, Larry, nothing is ever 'outdated' or 'bad editing' as long as i t ' s a deliberate creative decision to achieve some purpose. Overlapping action can, depending upon what you're trying to communicate, be an effective expressive technique. This is also true for a ll of our means of altering 're a l' time, whether i t be speeding up the camera, slowing i t down or reversing i t , or whether we go back in time through 411 'flashbacks' or cover long spans of time through transitions and mon tages. Each one of these techniques has i t 's own value, but only i f jsed purposefully." "Everytime you use the word 'technique' I cringe," Charlie said 'That makes i t sound so mechanistic." "I'm using i t in the same sense as the graphic a r tis t would talk about a brush stroke technique or a technique of applying color," she explained. "I guess that's ju st m y hang-up," Charlie responded. M O N T A G E "How do you define montage?" Lenard asked. "There are a number of d ifferen t types of montages," Margaret answered. "For some Europeans, and especially the early Russian filmmakers, montage refers to the entire editing process and embodies th e ir philosophical and sometimes p o litic a l approach to filmmaking." "In our country i t has more lim ited meaning. W e have what might :> e called the direct cut montage wherein action is taking place in one geographical location and during a short span of time. Here the film maker is creating a single impression of a single event." She reached into her papers, pulled out some storyboarded material and held i t up for us to see. "An example of this would be a battle montage or, lik e this illu s tra tio n , a montage of wedding fe s tiv itie s ." 1 1 412 "Then there's the montage which consists of multiple superimpositions. Sometimes this technique is used to show stream of consciousness or spacial and temporal changes." "And there's the montage where interrelationships between images are established by optical effects; dissolves, wipes, irises and s p lit screens. Com m on examples of this are tit le s fo r sports programs where one type of sports a c tiv ity wipes o ff as another wipes on t & V & e te * or one seasonal change dissolves to another." r 5 413 As she continued speaking she went to the easel pad again, "So what a ll these amount to , are ways of creating what we call ’film ic time' and film ic time rarely bears any resemblance to real time." Again she wrote as she summarized the things we'd talked about. g ...... 6 1 FILM'CREATES ITS OWN.TIME Film techniques can EXPAND and CONTRACT tim e There atie EDITING techniques cutaway* In te r c u ttin g overlap ping flashback* ts ia n A ltlo n * montages and CAM ERA and OPTICAL techniques *lo w m otion fia st m otion aeveese a c tio n d isso lve s wipes dJtlses /s p lit *ereen* T t “I t She put the grease pencil down and started to walk back to her seat as she spoke to Charlie, "Charlie, you also mentioned f il m ic ...," she stopped and then said, "No, wait a minute, before we ta lk about film ic space there're a few things we s t i l l need to say about cutaways." C U T A W A Y S "The use of cutaways is not lim ited to expanding and contracting time. There are a number of other d ifferen t reasons why you might want to cut away from primary action to secondary action." "Sometimes you use a cutaway to make a symbolic comment. Envision a man in a hospital room struggling fo r his l i f e , while outside a storm is raging. A cutaway of the wind and trees blowing could _______________________ 414 say something about the man's struggle." "Sometimes you use a cutaway to make an in telle ctu al comment. We've already mentioned Eisenstein's juxtaposition of Kerensky struttinc and a peacock stru ttin g . That's a good example of an in tellectu al comment." "We've also talked about using cutaways to symbolize unseen events when we talked about the Czechoslovakian film wherein the filmmaker cut to horses mating while the lover's were having sexual intercourse." "And, when we talked about inserts we were talking about cutaways to show significan t d e ta il." "Cutting away to a parallel action is another usage. This parallel action could be 'meanwhile back at the ranch' type of cutaway where you're showing simultaneous secondary action or i t could be the beginning of future plot developments. Imagine that some long lost friend of mine is trying to find me and about to burst through the front door. W e might want to cut away to show that person driving arounc looking at addresses. That would be the beginning of a future plot development." She lis te d the reasons fo r using cutaways and then went back to s it down. REASONS FO R USING CUTAW AYS expanding and c o n tra c tin g tim e sym bolic commenting In t e lle c t u a l commenting 6ym b ollzlng an*een event* In s e rt* p a r a lle l a c tio n simultaneous a ctio n fu tu re p lo t development n 415 F I L M I C S P A C E "Now, what about film ic space? What makes that a characteristic and uniqueness of film?" she asked. "Well, f i r s t of a ll ," Charlie answered, "films create th e ir own space, ju st lik e they create th eir own time. W e might take pictures of this liv in g room, go to m y house to shoot the kitchen shots, go to Jane's house for bedroom shots and then ed it them together so when someone exits this liv in g room in one shot and enters m y kitchen or Jane's bedroom in the next shot i t appears as i f they're a ll a part of the same house, even though each room is miles apart. The film house doesn't exist in r e a lity . I t only exists in the film ." "That's one I think we a ll know," John said. "So many movies are made by combining location footage and s tu ff shot in studios." Margaret looked around, waiting for other comments. When none of us said anything she asked, "In what other ways do we manipulate space?" She waited but nobody had anything to say. I certainly couldn't think of anything else. S H I F T I N G P O I N T O F V I E W "We're constantly and abruptly shifting the viewer's space relationships with the people and objects on the screen," she said. "In the legitim ate theater house the viewers maintain a fixed position. They s it some place in front of the proscenium arch and watch the entire performance from one point of view. In the motion picture theater, the viewers s it in front of the screen, but th e ir point of view is constantly being altered." ______________________ 416 "W e put them on a crane so they can look down at what's happening. W e move them in close so they can see a tear on a man's face W e move them back to see the interactions between people. •p S <5h p O p°°e 6 f c f l o > < t f » 417 And, when others enter the scene, we move the viewers back further, so they can see what's going on. A O o C ? _ o 0 <5 W e make them lie down so they can look up at the horses legs going by. W e move them way back to see the entire location. 2 *1 418 W e move them around in a c irc le so they can look at what's happen- ing from a ll sides. 6 / * 0 i y & ) ?o 6 M 419 "These kinds of abrupt shifts in space relationships ju st don't exist in the real world, and i t 's rare that in re a lity we look at space from so many d ifferen t points of view. In other words, these are characteristics and uniquenesses of film ." She paused and then asked, "Can you think of any others?" "What about lense distortions, lik e the fish eye and the super wide angle," I suggested. These're ways we make space look d ifferen t than i t re a lly is ." "Yes," she answered, "but th at's not uniquely our technique. The graphic arts and s t i l l photography do that too." "What is i t you call i t when you work with small scale models and shoot them so i t looks lik e they are re a lly big," John asked. "Miniatures." Charlie answered. "Is that a uniqueness of motion pictures?" Larry asked. "I would say so," Margaret answered. " S till photographers u tiliz e that same technique," Lenard interjected. "But I don't think they do i t for the purpose of people liv in g and interacting within that space, and I think th at's what John was referring to," Charlie answered him. "Any others?" Margaret asked again. "What about optical effects? Superimpositions that create a new space, lik e in Star Wars," Becky said. She chuckled and then apologized, "No pun intended." "Rear projection too," added Bobbie. Again Margaret returned to the easel pad and listed the things we'd talked about. "Oh, wouldn't you add animation to that l i s t too," Charlie "Yes, by a ll means, animation creates i t ' s own space," she answered and continued her lis tin g . :ed MFTING )F VIEW \0N POINTS ICE through "Wouldn't animation go under the f i r s t one—reproducing "Animation does more than reproduce motion. Much more," Michael answered. "W e can create actual motion. No other a rt form does "I agree with Michael. This's a uniqueness of film ," Margaret said and turned back to the easel pad. asked. I & > & |A N IM A T IO N motion?" Liz asked. th a t." FILMS CREATE MOTION anim ation tec.hnTqu.eA e d ito ria l. and photographic technique* 421 "Animation is most commonly thought of as pictures drawn and painted on cells and with small increments of change which, when photographed and projected, w ill create the appearance of motion. However, the term animation has become id entified with other techniques, editoral and photographic, wherever static objects are made to appear as 'a liv e ,1 1 1 she paused and then said, "Next?" "What about educational films?" I asked. "Tell us more," Margaret urged. A C O N C R E T E C O M M U N I C A T I O N "Film is rated as one of the best training devices. I mean i t shows things as they are. I t 's a concrete learning experience. W e can show how things happen, not ju st ta lk about what happens. It 's lik e , we liv e in a world there things move, so when we're teaching we need to have things move. W e need to show things as they are." "Yes," she turned back to the easel pad. FILM IS A CONCRETE COMMUNICATION MEOIUM F I L M S A R E D I C T A T O R I A L Film is well suited for teaching." She paused and then continued, "There's another uniqueness of film we haven't touched on ye t." She waited, but when none of us had anything to say she went on. "Films are very d ic ta to ria l. The filmmaker selects for the viewers what th e y 'll look a t, how th e y 'll look at i t , from what distance and angle, and how long th e y 'll look at i t . " _ 422 "On the legitim ate stage there are hundreds of things going on simultaneously. The same thing is true of a ll the visual arts lik e architecture, paintings, s t i l l photography and sculpture, and the viewer's mind is , generally speaking, free to choose which of a ll these things they want to attend to, the way they want to attend and how long they want to attend. In film there's no such freedom. The filmmaker makes these decisions^ "Let's use the example of our classroom again. F irs t, imagine we're a part of a play and this room is the stage. Anyone watching us has hundreds of d ifferen t things to look at: there's Larry sprawled out on the floor staring a t the pencil he's twisting in his hand; Lenard looking so comfortable in his freshly pressed slacks; Janesitting on one leg and with one arm draped over the back of her chair looking at what I'v e written on the easel pad; Bobbie righ t in front of m e twisted around in his seat so he can see what I'v e w ritten; John beside the fireplace s ittin g crosslegged and leaning forward from the w all; Becky resting both elbows on the coffee table and cradling her head in her arms; Susan s ittin g in the corner with her elbows on her knees and her fingertips touching each other; Liz in the act of going to the other side of the counter for another cup of coffee; Michael leaning back in his stool with his hands behind his head; Don in the pose of the thinker; Charlie on the flo o r, half reclining on one elbow, a ll the time nodding his head; Judy under the coffee table watching each of us3 and m e standing in front of the easel pad talking to a ll of you. These are ju st some of the things people are doing. There are hundreds of other things going on: there are cars going by outside; ______________________________ 423. kids playing in the yard across the street; the way the sun fa lls through the vase on the buffet; the arrangment of things on the coffee table; the color of the ribbon in Susan's hair; John's climbing boots. The p o ssib ilities are almost endless and viewer's could get caught up in anyone or any number of these things* "But, put our classroom into a film and i t ' s a d ifferen t thing en tirely . The filmmaker might permit us to see the fu ll shot fo r ten or fifte e n seconds, but then she or he w ill s ta rt excluding things. The filmmaker w ill select, out of this mass of a c tiv ity , what's most important to her or to him and th at's a ll the viewer w ill be allowed to see. The viewers w ill remember the fu ll shot. They know what other things are there, ju st outside the frame, but they can't look at these things unless the filmmaker allows them to.' 424 Perhaps the filmmaker w ill exclude everything but Larry. - . . . HI if rL *m a r It,H it.m l iln h -J i a,!!!!!!• !!f‘n i n & fr£ . 'AspSalB' Z & s s 'M m /’ .j'fsikW SiSbf W &'jsz* t ‘ V 4 4 « ■ VS V*ft Vi '.« •« ■ ? ;K.'«^'5»v.V*V# '-■ ! f iK S S S p ^ S S B S ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ f f^t*s«»% 5Basssi^*^ :»,v$.- ->"^1 sessswa « 5 H 8 8 f» > /**» s » ''•j‘‘'s*,'’Vt-»'*^Si kV.« f *T » * * f r . - v ^ % i» > . ...v <-• •.; .« •■ > ' -> • *■ t / 423 "Next, the filmmaker may decide to even exclude Larry and only le t us see the pencil in L arry's hande [ i ' i i - r u t !’ ? ■ > !* it?'".',!* f. si?: S&. 1 1 f a ft.' :**% ■ ^ ^ ■ ^ !^ ji- T S S S S S m ^ im > ij» u * U is z ‘ 9Ki - _ • • £ t T i.r i '.U'm«. \ \ l | "Then maybe the emphasis w ill s h ift from Larry's pencil to i the w riting, tool each of you uses. And th a t could be a ll we ever see of any of you again. 1 FILMS ARE VlCTATORlALiy SELECTIVE They determ ine WHAT X j> /Seen HOW XX X j > .seen HOW LONG XX X j> /.seen the. O RDER Xn which th in g S cute seen and WHAT axe th e SIGNIFICANT DETAILS 426 "Doesn't the composer do th is same thing?" Becky asked. "Yes, I think so," Margaret answered as she moved back across the room, "and th a t's why I lim ited these comments to the visual a rt forms. I do believe composers do the same kind of abstracting and excluding. Also, I think n o velists, short story w riters and poets do i t too. One does i t in a musical sense, the other in a lite r a r y sense and we do i t in a visual sense." She was s ittin g down now, "I think th is has a lo t to do with the fa c t th a t each o f us— filmmakers, composers, authors and poets— presents our information in a lin e a r fashion. One thing follows another so we have to decide what to show and in what order." "The playwriterdoes th a t too," Liz said. "Plays have a lin e a r progression o f events." "Yes, th a t's tru e ," Margaret agreed, "but, generally speaking, these events are presented in a to ta l visual environment, without the same kinds of a b ilitie s to exclude parts o f th a t visual environment. That's the uniqueness w e're ta lkin g about." R H Y T H M A N D T E M P O Liz nodded her head in understanding and Margaret continued," "There're a few other things we haven't discussed y e t, some things you may have on your lis t s . One of them is rhythm. Films have rhythm. They have tempo. They have pacing. There's an in ternal rhythm w ithin each shot. There's the rhythm and pacing of camera movement as i t d o llie s , pans, booms or is s ta tic . There's rhythm in the way the shots are juxtaposed. The length of the shots create rhythm, the re la tio n ship between the images in one scene which are displaced by the images _____________________________________________ 427 in the next scene create a rhythm. The differences in lig h tin g between shots and optical effects may produce a rhythm. Every element of filmmaking contains a promise of rhythm and tempo." S O U N D "Another thing we've had very l i t t l e to say about so fa r is sound. Sound is an ad d itive element not ju s t a necessary e v il. People do ta lk and our world is fu ll of sound, but as filmmakers w e're not burdened by a necessity to sla vis h ly reproduce a r e a lity world of sound." "Sounds, dialogue, n a rratio n , music and especially sound e ffe c ts , can be very im aginatively used to heighten and deepen action , to set a mood and pace, to foreshadow, predict and to communicate a simultaneous but not re p e titiv e message. There are expressive audio images, ju s t as there are expressive visual images and the a ttrib u te s and discovery of each are s im ilia r. Like the expressive visual image the expressive audio image must be saturated with a clear and d e fin ite meaning and you discover i t in the same way you found the images fo r the Agnes exercise, through using active verbs and emotional probing." "The w ailing sound of a d ista n t tra in w histle in te n s ifie s a fe e lin g of loneliness; crickets are a summer night; unexplained and re le n tle s s ly approaching footsteps are frig h ten in g ; dripping water can increase tensions. Laughter is joy unless th ere's laughter during a brutal act and then i t makes the act even more b ru ta l." "Music can be an integrated but individual element in film . I t need not be relegated to the positions of 'silen ce f i l l e r , ' background accompaniment or spasmodic tra n s itio n a l bridges. Music can be another _______________ 428 voice, with i t ' s own comments about what's going on." D I A L O G U E A N D N A R R A T I O N "Dialogue and narration can each be viewed as one, but only one, of the elements o f filmmaking and need not be approached as the p rin c ip le 's ta r' element. They are our most d ire c t means of communi cating , but not necessarily the most e ffe c tiv e or conclusive." "Dialogue has i t ' s own unique contributions: I t can help develop the premise; compress and extend the action by broadening i t ; present facts from the past and facts th a t a re n 't in the scene; in te n s ify what's happening v is u a lly . The words people say can t e ll us what th e y 're thinking; what they want; what they believe. The words are said and the way th e y 're said can t e ll us about the person's o rig in s , social statu s, occupation, educational background, tempe|jment, and emotional s ta te ." "There's a connection, a re la tio n s h ip , between what your characters are thinking and fe e lin g , the s itu a tio n th e y 're in , the things they do and the words they use. I t 's th is relatio n sh ip you're a fte r , with each element playing its appropriate ro le . When you find th is relatio n sh ip and portray i t , then you're using dialogue e ffe c tiv e ly . A ll too often dialogue is used fo r i t 's own sake without regard fo r characterization and v is u a ls, but i t doesn't have to be used th a t way." " Is n 't dialogue hard to w rite?" Bobbie asked. "Not necessarily, unless you approach i t as a dialogue w ritin g task," Margaret answered. "You don't re a lly w rite dialogue. You develop characters. D o you remember when W illy and Chester met each other in the bar? Don and Michael d id n 't w rite th e ir dialogue. Their 429 dialogue came from them." She turned to M ichael, "Did you a t any point ask y o u rs e lf, 'what should I have Chester say?1" "No," he paused and then added, "Nobody te lls Chester what to say." W e laughed and then Margaret asked me, "What about you, Don. Did you have to t e ll W illy what to say?" "No. M y only problem was to keep from te llin g him what to say, because what I'd say ju s t is n 't what he'd say and I knew th a t." "Along w ith knowing how to develop characters th ere's another thing you can do t h a t 'll help you with dialogue. You can lis te n . L is te i to the way people ta lk . Listen to the words they choose. Listen to the way they structure th e ir sentences. Hear th e ir pauses, redundancy and patterns o f speech." "People don't ta lk the way we w rite . W e ta lk in incomplete sentences. W e repeat words and phrases. W e s ta rt out with one thought and then jump to another. W e ta lk fa s t, slow, too much and sometimes don't ta lk when we should ta lk ." "Each ethnic group has its own ways of speaking. People from the d iffe re n t parts of our country have d iffe re n t speech patterns and d iffe re n t accents. Each generation has its jargon." "Dialogue can be defined as people saying something and n a rra tio i as people saying something about something. W hen we think of n a rra tio n , we generally think o f a voice on the sound track explaining or te llin g us about something, but i t doesn't have to be lim ited to th a t. I t can be poetry or stories being to ld . I t can be an in ternal monologue, out of sync dialogue or a combination of both. I t can be d e s crip tive , ______________________________ 430 in s tru c tiv e , humorous and rh eto rical as well as exp o s ito ry ." "The sins o f the narration film are many: the picture saying one thing and the sound saying a to ta lly d iffe re n t thing; the picture saying one thing and the sound saying exactly the same thing; the picture saying nothing and the sound saying everything; the illu s tra te d lec tu re; a 'w all to w a ll' narration and narrations th a t 's e l l , ' 'preach,1 and 'te a c h .' But i t doesn't have to be any of these things." "In the narration film , the relatio n sh ip you seek is between the s itu a tio n , the visuals th a t portray the s itu a tio n , the narration and the way i t is communicated. The narration is not 'k in g .' I t is only one o f the elements. W hen you fin d th a t relatio n sh ip and portray i t , then you're using narration e ffe c tiv e ly ." "The world o f sound, dialogue, n a rratio n , music and sound e ffe c ts , is an excitin g world. I t 's as exciting as the world o f sight and i t 's a world we, as filmmakers, need to hear more o fte n , ju s t as we need to become more aware of the things our eyes see." "She paused and then sum m ed i t up, " I t 's , of course, impossible in one afternoon to discuss in any depth a ll the elements involved in filmmaking, but I hope th is overview gives you sort of an inventory of the many techniques and elements we have to work w ith , some of which are unique to film , some th at are shared with other a rt forms and some th a t are borrowed." F I L M I S A C T I V E She leaned forward to pick up a small p la s tic box and as she continued ta lk in g , she took something out o f the box and kept i t hidden in her hands. "Film is an active medium. There is nothing in trin s ic a lly 431 passive about i t . I t has the power to a c tiv e ly involve the viewer and i t has the power to act upon the viewer. This is the sort of thing we're going to work with next. In th is next exercise y o u 'll be selecting shots th a t u t iliz e the uniquenesses, techniques and elements of film th a t we've been ta lk in g about, and you're to u t iliz e them in such a way as to involve, act upon and communicate to the viewer your point o f view about th is l i t t l e frien d of mine." M E E T M R . F R O G She opened up her hand and placed a small mechanical wind-up frog on the ta b le . "Meet Mr. Frog," she said. The frog was green w ith yellow and orange spots and strip s running from i t ' s head down to its rear end. I t has big black eyes with red pupils. I t stood no more than an inch and a h a lf o ff the table and was in a sittin g -u p-ready-to-h op position. I t 's rear legs were larg e , webbed and c le a rly the part of the frog th a t made i t move. She turned Mr. Frog around so we could see a ll sides o f him and then she began to wind him up with a key she'd taken from the p la s tic box. As she was winding, she continued to ta lk . "Mr. Frog has been many things to many people. Some people see him as being fie rc e and ugly, others think he's very frie n d ly and homespun, there are those who believe him to be tim id , shy and re tirin g and s t i l l others who regard him as a Casanova." She completed the wind-up, moved a ll other things from the coffee tab le and then set Mr. Frog fre e . He hopped up and down, up and down, ra p id ly advancing to the end of the ta b le . As he hopped there was a m e ta llic sound of his hind fe e t h ittin g the ta b le . At f i r s t his 432 movements were very fa s t, but as the wind wore down his hops became slower and slower, u n til f in a lly he stopped near the edge of the table and sat there looking a t a ll o f us. C harlie was the f i r s t to respond and he laughed. "Margaret," he asked, "how can I have a point of view about a toy frog?" Most of us laughed with him but Margaret remained p erfec tly serious. "You're displaying a point o f view rig h t now," Margaret answered. Perhaps you think Mr. Frog is very funny or maybe you're thinking he's ju s t u tte rly improbable. I'm not sure which, but whatever, decide how you feel about Mr. Frog and then think about how you can communicate th a t fe e lin g to us. You're to do th is in no more than fifte e n shots and lim it youself to ju s t Mr. Frog and th is ta b le . In other words, don'; involve any other objects or beings. You're not to use spoken or w ritte n words, but you can use sound e ffe c ts and/or music." "Can we use the ly ric s o f a song?" Larry asked. "No. No words, spoken, w ritte n or sung. This is sim ila r to what you did with Agnes, except th at instead of showing us Agnes experiencing an emotion y o u 'll be showing us your thoughts and feelings 433 about Mr. Frog. Then, from what you show us about him w e 'll know the kind of a 'th in g ' you think he is ." "This s ta rts out as an in te lle c tu a l exercise, but th a t, of coursj doesn't mean your shots w ill be in te lle c tu a l or unemotional. Whatever your point o f view about Mr. Frog, be sure i t 's impassioned. A w rite r's point of view must always be dynamic, passionate and fe rv en t. In your work you can never have a passive or mild opinion. I f you do, your images w ill be mild and passive by d e fa u lt, not design. I f you don't fe e l strongly about something a t f i r s t and you must w rite about i t , keep looking a t i t and w ithin yourself u n til you fin d something about i t th a t excites you." She got up, went to the easel pad to tear o ff the la s t l i s t we'd made and continued ta lk in g , " I'd lik e fo r you to storyboard th is , e ith e r as you w rite or a fte r you've finished your w ritin g , so whenever you're ready, take a sheet o f the easel pad paper. Y o u 'll have an hour to do both, the w ritin g and the storyboarding. The important thing to focus your atten tio n on is the u tiliz a tio n o f the uniquenesses, techniques and elements of filmmaking we've ju s t been ta lk in g about." She paused, "Any questions?" "Just the frog and the table? What about the key?" asked L iz. "Sure, you can use th a t i f you want tO;*" Margaret answered. Anything else?" she asked. D O N 'S M R . F R O G No one said anymore and while each of us sat staring at Mr. Frog she taped the pages of lis ts to the wall and then l e f t the room. I sat there staring a t the frog and I could fe e l myself beginning to churn in sid e , "What kind of a s illy assed dumb exercise is 434 this? A frog? What do I care about a frog . A fro g 's a frog . Frogsj eat f lie s . Frogs . croak. They hop. In the spring when i t rains the kids go crazy tryin g to catch frogs. The streets and the grass are fu ll o f frogs. They're a pain in the ass. They're a pest. Pests won't le t you alone. They keep jabbing a t you. They stop and they s ta rt. They come and they go. They're always there. You think th e y 're gone,7 you turn around and th e y 're there. I guess th a t's i t , m y point o f view about frogs. Now, how do I communicate th a t with pictures?" Again I sat staring a t the frog. My mind wandered. "What's L e ttie fix in g fo r dinner? How lo n g 'll i t take m e to get home tonight? What's i t going to be lik e to come back here fo r a th ird day tomorrow?" I heard the sound o f the frog moving and th a t brought m e back. C harlie was at the ta b le on a ll fours looking up a t the frog . I decided to do the same thing and get a closer look at the fro g , but I d id n 't get down on the flo o r, I stood staring down a t him on the ta b le. "He c a n 't get to m e from up here," I thought and then I knew how to do the sequence. I went back, picked up a sheet o f the easel pad paper and started to w rite and draw. CLOSE SHOT ta b le top (TELEPHOTO so B G out of focus - used through out the e n tire sequence.) A ll th a t is seen is the white table top. At f i r s t there is absolute silence. Then suddenly the m e ta llic sound o f the frog hopping is heard. 435 The C A M ER A PAN S RIGHT, STOPS and HOLDS. S t ill a ll th a t is seen is the white tab le top. The C A M ER A PANS LEFT, STOPS and HOLDS. FX become louder and the frog hops in to the scene to f i l l the frame SIDE ANGLE. C A M ER A HOLDS and then starts to P A N RIGHT. The frog follow s. As soon as the C A M ER A gets away and the screen shows only the tab le top the frog jumps back in to the frame, to overtake the CAM ERA. The frog is seen f u ll fig u re SIDE VIEW. . B p u ji mi t iiii r~nririi»n~ir~-rrr "rrn^iTii •|-|i'r'~"Trni'~'-r*~r~TriM~*~' 436 The C A M ER A STOPS PANNING. The frog stops and turns d ire c tly into C A M ER A and advances into a TIGHT CU. C A M ER A ZO O M S B A CK to FULL SHOT tab le top in F G and frog in B G with its back to CAMERA. The C A M ER A is as fa r away as i t can be. The frog turns and sta rts advancing toward CAM ERA. Frog gets about three fourths o f the way to CAM ERA. 437 C A M ER A moves again, as fa r back and away as is possible. Z O O M B A C K TO FULL SHOT table top in F G and frog with back to CAM ERA. Again, frog advances toward C A M ER A and gets about one- h a lf of the way before f l ? the CAM ERA ZO O M S BACK again to be as fa r away as possible. m This time the frog moves out of frame away from CAMERA. FX grow dim. C A M E R A HO LDS u n til frog is out of sight and almost no FX are heard. C A M ER A PAN S RIGHT and starts to slowly DOLLY FO R W ARD. A fter i t has moved several seconds the FX of frog hopping are heard as i f rig h t behind the CAMERA. C A M ER A STOPS, FX STOP. C A M ER A slowly s ta rts to move. FX are heard (a slow hop) to keep pace with CAM ERA. C A M E R A DOLLIES F O R W A R D RAPIDLY and FX speed up to keep pace. The C A M ER A STOPS and the FX STOP. The C A M ER A now B O O M S U P and TILTS D O W N to look a t the frog s ittin g beneath i t . I * There is silence and then the frog s ta rts jumping. At f i r s t i t only gets halfway. Then i t reaches tw o-thirds of the way. Next i t is three-fourths of the way. F in a lly i t reaches nine-tenths of the way but i t can’ t reach any higher. I t jumps up three times to the same height as the FX continue and we know th is w ill go on fo rever. 440 As I was drawing m y fin a l frame, I realized I must be the la s t one to complete. Margaret was s t i l l out of the room, but a quick glance around the room showed m e everyone else was through. I threw m y pencil down on the counter, turned around, s lid o ff the s to o l, stretched and headed fo r the coffee pot. A fte r I got m y co ffee, I went back to look at Mr. Frog. He c e rta in ly looked d iffe re n t to m e now. I c a n 't say I liked him any b e tte r. He s t i l l looked lik e a pest but now he had a fa m ila r a ir about him, as i f somehow we'd become frie n d s — of a so rt. * ; "That’s the way Don feels about my friend, Mr. Frog. How do you feel about him?" j "I'm sorry we can't make him - hop up and down for you, but j I'm sure you’ll be able to j imagine what he looks like in motion." "After you've decided how you j want to portray Mr. Frog, but ’ before you start writing and storyboarding, check back to ■ review the uniquenesses, i techniques and elements of I filmmaking we've been talking ; about. Try to incorporate as i many as you can into this exercise." I Margaret came back ju s t as I was fin is h in g m y coffee and we went to work rig h t away. C harlie said he wanted to be f i r s t . C H A R L I E 'S M R , F R O G 441 As the film FADES is blank. In the white table there blood red lig h t, is the sound of a forge. F irs t one another thud. At tab le shakes. As s e ttle s down from the second thud IN the screen center of the is a beam of Suddenly, there large drop thud and then each thud the the table | » , v < ‘ * / V ' " 7 * ' w a big green webbed foot ENTERS and FILLS FRAME. FX thud and ta b le shakes. This is followed by a second thud, a shaking of the table and s lig h t movement of the l e f t leg to accommodate the step of the rig h t fo o t. EXTREME C U l e f t eye. Head position to look l e f t . in EXTREME C U l e f t eye. Head in position to look s tra ig h t ahead. 442 EXTREME C U l e f t eye. Head in position to look rig h t. ^ I § r C U both eyes. Head is in position to look to the rig h t. C U both eyes. Head is in position to look s tra ig h t ahead. C A M E R A HOLDS. FX roar of b last from steel furnace and the frog EXITS frame. Red lig h t flashes on and o ff. . I - EXTREME C U of side o f frog showing only the green with yellow and orange spots forming a s trip . This abstract image ENTERS & EXITS the frame along with FX of thud and FX of roar. y '/ } M 443 As gbove showing d iffe re n t abstract image. As above showing d iffe re n t abstract image. As above showing d iffe re n t abstract image. C U fro g 's fu ll face ENTERS (drops in to ) FR A M E with FX both fe e t landing almost simultaneously. FX extra large roar and flashing of blood red lig h t and shaking of ta b le . 444 C A M ER A PULLS B A CK A N D B O O M S D O W N slowly w hile red lig h t flashes and there is another loud roar. C A M E R A STOPS when frog is FULL FR A M E with C A M ER A in L O W ANGLE POSITION looking up a t frog . As the C A M ER A STOPS there is a roar lik e a crack of thunder and the frog leaps out of frame. *£ T \ EXTREME L O W ANGLE SHOT looking up. At the beginning o f the shot a ll th a t is seen is flashing red lig h ts . Suddenly, a dark object (the fro g 's fe e t) appear and jump into C A M ER A LENSE. The screen goes black. FX thud of fe e t h ittin g and FX scream. The scream is almost in s ta n tly cut o ff in the middle of the scream. 445 "So how does C harlie fe el about Mr. Frog? What does he think Mr. Frog is?" Margaret asked. "A monster! Absolutely no doubt. A monster," John said immediately. "Does anyone have a d iffe re n t opinion," Margaret asked. N o one said anything and she went on, "What were the film ic things C harlie did to communicate his point of view?" "W ell, he used the subjective camera fo r one th in g ," John answered Margaret and then turned to speak d ire c tly to C h a rlie , "That made m e fe e l lik e the monster was coming a t me." He paused and then said, "I thought the whole thing was good." C harlie nodded his head, "Thank you. I had fun doing i t . " " I should say so!" Becky said. "I lik ed your lig h tin g . I thought th a t was very expressive. Blood red, not pink or orange red but blood red! And, o f course, your sound effec ts were t e r r if ic ." She turned to Margaret, "What would you c a ll the FX o f the drop forge? W as th a t re p e titiv e ? " "No, I wouldn't say so," Margaret answered. "I think i t very im aginatively put the two things, the audio and the v is u a l, together so th a t together they communicated the message th a t th is was a fo o t, a very heavy foot o f a very large 'th in g .' E ither o f those alone wouldn't have the same communication." "He c e rta in ly showed us what we could see, how and fo r how long," Larry said. "And i t b u ilt," John said, "I mean he d id n 't show us the fu ll shot u n til almost the end so i t was suspenseful. I f he'd shown the ___________________________________________________________________ : __________446 fu ll shot rig h t away, I don't think i t would've been nearly as e ffe c tiv e ." He stopped and then hastened to add, "Oh, and th a t boom down to a low angle worked well too." "He re a lly created his own space," Susan said and then turned to Margaret fo r v e rific a tio n , "d id n 't he?" Margaret nodded her head and Susan went on, " I mean he used Mr. Frog lik e a m iniature and we had no idea what the real space was." There was a long silence during which a ll of us were looking a t the lis t s hanging on the w a ll, then Lenard spoke up, "He also created the illu s io n of motion. He had the fro g 's eyes appear to move." "What did you do with yours, Lenard?" Becky blurted out. "How did you see Mr. Frog?" L E N A R D 7 S M R . F R O G " I perceived the toy as a fro g ," Lenard answered. "Can we see his next?" Becky asked Margaret. "Sure, i f he wants to ," Margaret answered. Lenard showed us his storyboard and he was rig h t. He had seen Mr. Frog as a frog and th a t's exactly how he portrayed him. He had him hopping around, catching f lie s and croaking. "You saw him as a fro g ," Margaret said, "now le t 's carry i t a l i t t l e fu rth e r, do more with him. What kind of a frog? Can you give him human characteristics? " "You d id n 't say you wanted us to anthropomorphize him," Lenard responded. "No, I d id n 't," Margaret agreed, "but le t 's do i t now." "Why?" Lenard asked. 447 "Because I want to be sure I'v e communicated to you the d i f ference between portraying something in te lle c tu a lly and portraying i t em otionally. W hen Eisenstein in te rc u t Kerensky s tru ttin g with a peacock s tru ttin g , he was making an in te lle c tu a l statement. The effectiveness of his visuals depended upon the viewer being able to make the connection between the two images. You did the same thing, Lenard, when you made an in te lle c tu a l statement by positioning Agnes so as to appear as i f she were nailed to a cross. We, the reader/viewer had to make the connection between the accounts of C h ris t's c ru c ifix io n and what Brand had done to Agnes. Then, having made the in te lle c tu a l connections you and Eisenstein wanted us to make, we might have an emotional response, but th a t emotional response comes out of our heads, as a secondary response rath er than being the primary response." "What's the d ifferen ce between the drop forge sound e ffe c t combined with a fo ot fa llin g and the combination of Agnes and the cross?1 Lenard asked. "The one's a portrayal and the o ther's a conceptualization," Margaret answered. Lenard thought and then nodded his head. "All rig h t, I see the d iffe re n c e , but why do you put such a low value on conceptualization?" "I'm sure i t seems to you lik e I'm devaluing the in te lle c t, but I re a lly d o n 't want to do th a t. One o f the reasons i t must seem th a t way is because film s are tr a d itio n a lly more of an emotional medium than they are an in te lle c tu a l medium, but i f I could have m y 'druthers' I'd have each o f you s k ille d in a ll types o f film ic presentations; emotional, in te lle c tu a l, form al, inform al, tra d itio n a l, new wave, etc. ____________________ : ________________________________________________________ 448 And with you e s p e c ia lly , Lenard, I'd lik e to have you get in touch with .the effectiveness of a c tu a lly portraying an emotional response. I'd lik e fo r you to put on the screen a person, or some being o f some kind, experiencing an emotion we can fe el w ith them." "Why me?" he asked. "Because you seem to have the most d iffic u lty doing i t and I'd lik e fo r you to know how," she paused and then went on. "You be the camera and pretend you're seated in a room with someone who's experienc ing a strong emotion. Can you do that? Use Mr. Frog o r, i f you want, use Agnes." Lenard did what she asked. He used the frog and had the frog grieving fo r one of his tadpoles. At times i t came aw fully close to being very funny, but Margaret insisted he keep i t serious and in the end there was no question but what he c le a rly saw the d ifferen ce and had learned how to show things more em otionally. When he was through and ready to s it down he sat down next to Jane rath er than in the back, where he'd been s ittin g . "God what a visual communication!" I thought to myself. "That's the closest he's ever been to us." I almost said something, but then d id n 't. As soon as Lenard sat down Liz spoke up, "I think I did the same thing th a t Lenard did. I mean, I think I did an in te lle c tu a l thing. I think I trie d to explain how ..." L IZ 'S M R . F R O G "Why do n't you show us, L iz ." Margaret in terru p ted , "and then we can ta lk about i t . " She said, "Ok," and went to the easel pad with her drawings. 449 FULL STATIC H EA D O N SHOT Frog s ittin g motionless. There is very dim lig h tin g . There is no sound. FULL STATIC HIGH ANGLE SHOT Frog s ittin g motionless. The lig h t increases. There is no sound a t f i r s t and then there is the sound o f a key turning a ratc h et. FULL STATIC REAR EN D SHOT Frog s ittin g motionless. A key is turning on the socket a t the end o f the fro g 's spine. (The key is animated - single fram ed.) With every turn o f the key the lig h t level increases. At the la s t turn the scene is flooded with lig h t and the frog hops away, disengaging it s e lf from the key. FX baby's f i r s t cry. FULL SHOT STATIC HEAD O N SHOT Frog f i l l s frame. Frog makes one jump. FX baby noises, feeding & playing. 7 7 450 FULL STATIC H EA D O N SHOT. Frog f i l l s frame. Frog is placed back in the same position he occupied in the previous shot and he makes one jump. FX baby noises continue, more mature. FULL STATIC H EA D O N SHOT. Frog f i l l s frame. Frog is placed back in the same position he occupied in the previous shot and he makes one jump. FX baby noises continue, becoming increasingly more mature and include early in d i cations of words. FULL STATIC H EA D O N SHOT. Frog f i l l s frame. Frog is placed back in the same position he occupied in the previous shot and he makes one jump. FX baby noises continue, more mature and includes e a rly words & sounds of ch ild ju s t pre-walking age. < yrt FULL STATIC SIDE ANGLE SHOT. Frog f i l l s frame and jumps out of frame. FX young children playing. 451 FULL SHOT SIDE ANGLE. Frog jumps into frame coming from opposite d irec tio n from previous shot. FX older children playing. C A M ER A begins to SPEED U P - FASTER THAN N O R M A L FULL STATIC SIDE ANGLE SHOT Frog jumps out o f frame. FX young teenagers playing. C A M ER A SPEED FASTER THAN N O R M A L FULL STATIC SIDE ANGLE SHOT Frog jumps in to frame coming from opposite d ire c tio n from previous shot. FX middle teenagers playing. C A M ER A SPEED FASTER THAN NORMAL. FULL STATIC SIDE ANGLE SHOT Frog jumps out of frame. FX la te teenagers playing. C A M ER A SPEED FASTER THAN NORM AL. Msm A52l FULL TRAVEL DOLLY R EA R VIEW Frog f i l l s frame and jumps ahead as C A M ER A FOLLOW S. FX college graduation SEQUE TO: FX marriage SEQUE TO: FX b irth of ch ild SEQUE TO: FX business a c tiv ity SEQUE TO: FX professional acclaim SEQUE TO: FX home s c e n e -fire , slippers & pipe REGULAR C A M E R A SPEED FULL TRAVEL DOLLY HEAD O N Frog f i l l s frame and jumps toward C A M ER A as CA M ER A DOLLIES AHEAD of frog . FX retirem ent ceremony SEQUE TO: FX xmas with children and grandchildren SEQUE TO: FX old people's a c tiv itie s SEQUE TO: FX creaking rocking chair SEQUE TO: FX hospital wards At second jump the C A M ER A SPEED begins to slow down and the lig h t begins to dim inish. As each new FX is introduced the C A M ER A SPEED S LO W S M O R E and the lig h t diminishes more. FULL SHOT FRONT VIEW as frog jumps, but instead of landing upright he fa lls to the side. The C A M ER A STOPS FX ambulance siren and lig h t completely FADES O UT Hold on black as FX increase. 453 I Liz turned away from the easel pad and immediately said, "See, i t 's an in te lle c tu a l statement." "You're r ig h t," Margaret answered, "and now le t 's look a l i t t l e fu rth e r. What does th a t do? What are your feelings a fte r hearing Liz describe her Mr. Frog?" " I thought i t was a very clever idea," Larry said. "And i t was, but go on," Margaret pressed. " I t was stagey," Becky said. "That's what i t was. I f e l t lik e I was s ittin g watching something and not re a lly involved lik e I was with C h a rlie 's . "Yes," Bobbie said, "but I was more involved with L iz 's than I was with Lenard's. L iz 's went someplace and I was interested to see where." "But th e re 're two d iffe re n t things involved," Margaret in te r jected . "Liz showed us a performer. I t might have been a b a lle t and i t was the sound e ffe c ts th a t communicated her idea. She had an idea and her idea moved in a d irec tio n we understood. For these reasons hers held our in te re s t more than Lenard's did. Lenard showed us a p o rtra it of a frog and th a t was s ta tic , as well as being in te lle c tu a l." "So I had two strik es against me," Lenard said. "Look a t i t th is way, Lenard," Margaret suggested, "There were two w alls between you and your audience. You had two layers of in sulatio n against emotional involvement and Liz only had one." "But Liz did some in terestin g things," Jane said. "Oh yes, and le t 's ta lk about them," Margaret answered. "Mostly i t was the way she amalgamated the d iffe re n t types of 454 movements, lig h tin g and camera speeds," Lenard contributed. "What's amalgamated?" Jane asked. "Combined, blended," he answered. "So why d id n 't you say so in the f i r s t place," Jane scolded. "Everything was symbolic," Michael said. "Nothing was r e a li s t i c a lly important. Things were only important sym bolically." "And did you notice how space was not an issue. Time was the issue. That's a ll she was working w ith ," C harlie added. Next we looked a t John's. He saw Mr. Frog as an escape a r t is t who hid in d iffe re n t lig h tin g e ffe c ts . John to ld us he'd been stymied by what he thought was the lack of things to work with and so he created the lig h t beams. I t was a clever idea but we d id n 't re a lly get a fe el fo r Mr. Frog. Bobbie's was te r r ib ly funny. His Mr. Frog was a k lu tz . He was constantly fa llin g over his fe e t and kept almost fa llin g o ff the ta b le , but Bobbie made him very loveable. Jane's was a lo t lik e L iz 's . Her Mr. Frog was a dancer a la Disney. Becky's was a lo v e r, coy and coquettish who was try in g to seduce an o ff screen frog . Susan's was lo s t, confused and searching and Michael used the frog only as an abstract image which he showed through a series of s ta tic shots. M I C H A E L "Michael, t e ll us something about.your thinking process as you were deciding how to handle your Mr. Frog," Margaret asked. " I was intrigued w ith him as an abstraction. His co lo r, the design of the dots and lin e s , his shape, what he would look lik e through the telephoto lense and what his whole body would look lik e in _________________________________________________________________________ 455 relatio n sh ip to the tig h t shots. I d id n 't look a t him at a ll as a frog. I ju s t looked a t him as a shape th at had design and te x tu re ." "What made you select each shot. In other words, what lead you to choose one shot instead of another?" "I wrote i t to le t the audience discover i t the way I'd discovered i t . F irs t I looked a t one dot, then many dots, then the lines the dots made, then the rig h t side, the l e f t side and on and on." "Did you have any idea about the frog you wanted to communicate to us?" Margaret inquired. "No, I ju s t wanted you to discover i t and enjoy i t as I d id ," Michael answered. "Is th a t the work o f the a rtis t? " Margaret asked. "No!" Becky answered, "anybody can do th a t." "But there was a design of a so rt. I mean he went from one aspect o f the frog to others," John said. "But fo r what purpose? For what end?" Margaret asked. "I d id n 't see i t as a person. To use Lenard's word, I d id n 't anthropomorphize i t . I d id n 't want to do th a t," Michael answered d e fia n tly . "And you w eren't required to do th a t, Michael. Mow'd you feel about those abstract shapes and colors and textures. Did they depress you? Were you excited by them? Did they produce a sense of panic or fear? What kind of an emotional response did you have? What was your point of view? These are the questions I'm asking you." She paused and then went on, " I f you'd hear me, M ichael, you'd know I'in not asking you to do something you don't want to do. I'm simply asking you ________________________________________________________________________________ 456 to try d iffe re n t approaches and methods of thinking. What you've done is haphazard. You can enhance, not dim inish, your in te re s t in non- representational film a rt by working purposefully rath er than haphaz ard ly . There's nothing about a r t which is haphazard. I t 's the commonplace th a t's haphazard." "Also, Michael, you d id n 't u t iliz e the c h a ra c te ris tic s , uniquenesses and techniques of film a t a l l . You to ta lly disregarded a ll of these p o te n tia litie s ," she gestured toward the lis ts on the wall and then continued. " I'd lik e i t i f you'd hear what I'm s^ing to you and I'd lik e i t i f you'd embrace and u t iliz e the processes and concepts we're working w ith ." Michael sat lis te n in g and when she stopped he looked a t her fo r a long tim e. She waited and fin a lly he answered, "You're rig h t. The camera could have moved. My angles w eren't good. Through cutting I could have made new designs, new spaces. Sure." That's a ll he said and Margaret d id n 't push i t any fu rth e r. My Mr. Frog was the la s t one and I f e l t re a lly good about showing i t . I had used the subjective camera more a c tiv e ly than anyone else and in m y chase I'd created a completely new space. M y expectation of applause from the class was rea lized and then Margaret went on to develop another idea. M U L T I P L E L E V E L S O F C O M M U N I C A T I O N "Another c h a ra c te ris tic of film is th a t i t has the c a p a b ility of having many things occur simultaneously. There are many levels of communication w ithin each sequence which can be u tiliz e d a t the same tim e. Think o f each sequence, or each frame, as having a depth __________________________________________________ 457 dimension and that at each measure in this depth a different aspect of communication can occur." "For example, at any one mom ent and within any one frame you could be manipulating motion, contracting time, taking an uncom m on point of view, using expressive lighting and optical effects along with using struggle, developing your characters, building information and using visual soliloquies. At the sam e time you're u tilizin g the communication potentials of locations, set designs, props, costumes and hair styles as well as the talents of actors and the words they're using, music and sound effects." "This is not to say you'll always want to pack each frame of each sequence with this m uch information. Very often, as we've discussed before, it's what you exclude that's often more important than what you include, but be aware of the fact you can have a very high level of information density as well as a low level. It's like the keys o n a piano. Sometimes a pianist w ill want to play as m any of the keys as his or her hands can touch and at other times only one or two." "All right. It's time now to call i t quits for today. Don't forget you don't need to be here before ten o'clock tomorrow morning." I looked dow n at m y watch. She was right. I t w as five o'clock and I was surprised to realize I wasn't nearly as tired tonight as I'd aeen last night. Maybe Lettie and I'd get to the movies tonight. Asal "I'm wondering how your Mr. Frog fit in with the rest of them. Which one was yours most similar to?" "I’d like for you to make that decision and then look back at what we said about that one in class. You may want to do parts of your Mr. Frog over again, or maybe even the whole thing." "Just be sure before you leave it you’ve had the experience of working with all the characteristics, techniques and uniquenesses we’ve been talking about in this chapter.” "Also, I’d like to give you the titles of two books you might like to read. There’s The Film Experience by Roy Huss and Norman Silverstein and Elements of Film by Lee R. Bobker.^ Both of these books deal with the kinds of things we've been discussing and I think you'll find them interesting reading." *Roy Huss and Norman S ilv e rs te in , The Film Experience (New York: Dell Publishing Co., In c ., 1968JT 2 Lee R. Bobker, Elements of Film (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, In c ., 196W - 459 CHAPTER TEN. W ORKSHOP: INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL W hen I arrived on Sunday morning, th is time a t ten to ten, everyone was having coffee and donuts and ta lk in g about a show on TV la s t night. Instead o f going to the movies I'd spent the evening te llin g L e ttie about the exercises and the things th at had been happening among a ll of us. I hadn't even turned on TV. "Talk about character development! The g ir l was so good! They d id n 't have much to say about her. I mean, where she came from and a ll th a t, but C h ris t, i t was lik e I'd known her fo r years," Becky was saying. "Right on," C harlie added, "she made m y Fred Simms look lik e a scarecrow without clothes." "But wasn't th a t the actress? I t wasn't the w rite r was it? " Jane asked Margaret. "You c a n 't be sure," Margaret answered. "Sometimes i t is , but generally speaking i t ' s a combination of the w rite r, the d ire c to r and the acto r, each doing a heck of a good job. Remember, the major vehicle: fo r character development is to put characters in to struggle situations th at force them to react. This is the business of the w rite r. How characters react under pressure t e lls us so much about them th a t we 'f e e l' where they've come from. I t sounds to m e lik e th a t's the kind of portrayal you saw la s t night. I'm sorry I d id n 't see i t . " She looked around, m entally counted heads and then headed fo r the easel pad. "Today w e 'll be doing d iffe re n t things than what we've done the la s t two days. We're going to be less concerned w ith screen- w ritin g exercises and deal more with investigating and discovering some ----------------------------------------- 4& C of the things th a t go on inside your heads. I want you to become aware of how your minds process inform ation. In other words, how you take inform ation in to your mind and what you do with i t a fte r i t gets th ere, how you store i t and re trie v e i t . That's the f i r s t thing w e 'll do. Then w e 'll work with some of the various methods fo r d e lib e ra te ly acquiring inform ation. As we've said many tim es, as a filmmaker, your raw m aterial is your storehouse o f knowledge and experiences, and because you're a liv e you're d a ily increasing th is storehouse, but you can do more than ju s t passively permit th is to happen. You can also a c tiv e ly 'shop around' fo r your m a te ria ls , so w e 'll work with where and how you can acquire inform ation. And then, th is afternoon, w e 'll end the long weekend by ta lk in g about the crea tive process and its various stages. A fte r today y o u 'll s ta rt creating your treatments and s c rip ts , and I'd lik e fo r you to be conscious of and able to id e n tify what's going on during th is crea tive process." She paused and then went on. "Ok, so th a t's our agenda and f i r s t up is inform ation processing— how your mind works, lik e how a typew riter works, or a grandfather clock or e le c tric a l current works." The study of how our minds work is a re la tiv e ly new one. I t wasn't u n til around the turn of the century th a t s c ie n tis ts became more interested in the workings of the human mind and i t wasn't u n til a fte r World War I I th a t communications theory and research came into its own. Now th ere's a large volume of lite ra tu r e th at deals with the notions of how one individual communicates with another in d iv id u a l, how individuals communicate with groups and how individuals communicate with themselves. I t 's the la s t of these, how people communicate with 461 themselves we're most interested in when we ta lk about information storage and r e tr ie v a l." A M O D E L I S A V I S U A L C O N C E P T U A L I Z A T I O N "Very freq uen tly the communication theories are explained through the use o f models. A model is simply a way of v is u a lly representing a theory about the nature and process of what's going on. Generally speaking th is visual representation takes the form of a diagram or flow chart and contains an orderly series of steps th a t describe the e n tire theory or process. For example," she turned several pages o f the easel pad as she was ta lk in g and revealed a schematic diagram, "here's one of the early models of communication theory known as the Shannon and Weaver model of a general communication system. 1 i n f o r m a t i o n I SO U R C E T R A N S M IT T E R CESTINATION RECEIVER S IG N A L MESSAGE NOISE SOURCE She pointed to the l e f t side and continued, "Shannon and Weaver say a communication starts with the inform ation source. The message is then sent through a tran sm itter via a signal of some sort to a re c e iv e r, through which i t trav els to its d estin atio n ." "This p a rtic u la r conceptualization of a communication system shows i t to be a f a ir ly cle a r channel, with the exception o f," she _________________________ 462 pointed to the square in the lower center section, "this awareness of a noise source. Here th e y 're te llin g us the introduction of any sound th a t in te rfe re s with the signal can d is to rt the message being communicated." "But wouldn't th a t be a very p rim itiv e and unsophisticated model?" Michael asked. " I t depends on what kind o f a communication system you're ta lk in g about. I f you're using th is to describe a telephone system then i t 's one th ing , i f you're talkin g about human inter-communication i t 's another. She paused and then went on, "But don't think in terms of judging th is model, think o f i t only as a way to conceptualize about a communication. Use i t as a jumping o ff point fo r your own thinking about the process of in te rn a l, or as i t is sometimes c a lle d , intra-communication. And, o f course, w hile we're talkin g about how people communicate with themselves, we're not interested in the source and the tra n s m itte r, but only in the receiver and d estin atio n ." A N I N F O R M A T I O N S T I M U L U S "In ju s t a moment I'm going to do something to provide you with a stimulus. W hen I do th is I'd lik e each of you to be aware of your thoughts about the stim ulus, and follow your thoughts to see what they do. In other words, try to watch your mind and see what i t does with your thoughts. Then w rite down a b rie f o u tlin e of the mental process you experienced." "There1 ve been times in m y l i f e when I'v e f e l t lik e I was standing outside of m yself, watching m yself, and I guess th a t's the sort of thing she's ta lk in g about. I sat there w aiting fo r whatever 463 i t was Margaret was going to do. A fte r two days of fly in g pencils? arm w restling and ta lk in g to people who w eren't here I couldn't possiblj predict what would happen next. I looked around the room and i t appeared as i f everybody else was as tie d up as I was. I guess I was expecting her to scream or kick the table over, something lik e th a t, but instead, she ju s t q u ie tly went to the fro n t door, opened i t , walked outside and closed the door behind her. W e a ll sat in silence fo r several minutes. I guess we were w aiting to see i f th a t was a l l . Then Jane began to giggle and we a ll laughed. About th at time Margaret came in the back door and went to stand again by the easel pad. "Ok. That was your stimulus. G o to work on i t , " she said. D O N 'S R E S P O N S E By then I'd almost forgotten what we were supposed to do, but as soon as I stopped laughing and began to look back I remembered. I remembered how tense I was, w aiting fo r her to do whatever she was going to do. So m y thoughts a t f i r s t were directed a t imagining what she might do. Then m y thoughts turned to paying atten tio n to what the re s t of the class was doing and I would s h ift back and fo rth between what I was thinking and wondering what they were th inking. I'd watch Margaret and then I'd watch the class. But mostly I was very tense and m y a tte n tio n was riveted on. her face and hands. While I was watching her I had thoughts lik e , "W ill I be able to do what she's asking us to do?" and "What the hell does th is have to do with screenwriting" and " I f I'm so busy watching what she doing how can I be thinking about what she does?" Then she went out the fro n t door. M y mind watched her and I thought "Is th a t the stimulus? Is th at a ll she's going to do? _________464 What s ta rtlin g thing is she going to do next?" Then I decided going out the door was a ll she was going to do and I added th is to the l i s t of "strange things" Margaret does. Also, the business o f going out a door and q u ie tly closing i t behind her reminded m e of an old g irl frien c of mine who used to do th a t very same thing everytime we'd have a fig h t. About th a t time Jane started gig g lin g , we a ll laughed and I stopped thinking about Margaret u n til she walked in the back door and to ld us to go to work. "Go to work? G o to work on what?" I asked m yself. "Go to work on reconstructing what your mind d id ," I answered myself and began to remember. Then I wrote down m y thoughts and what they'd done. "Try to imagine yourself actually in the classroom seated on the floor beside the coffee table waiting with the rest of the class to see what I'm going to do. Then watch me walk out the front door and quietly close it behind me." "What are your thoughts? Think about them and write them down so you can refer back to them." 465 "If this method of reacting to an imagined stimulus doesn't work for you, and it might not, get one of your friends to do something so your thoughts can focus on an external stimulus. Or, perhaps, you'd like to do both. The more familiar you become with how your mind works the better you can make it work for you." Margaret went around the room c a llin g on each of us to ta lk about what our thoughts had been. Most of ours were a lo t a lik e , but Bobbie's was somewhat d iffe re n t. By the time he got about halfway through reading we a ll started laughing. He'd trie d to imagine what Margaret was doing outside the door and his images were very funny. Things lik e Margaret doing a so ft shoe fo r the neighborhood kids while we were breathlessly w aiting fo r her retu rn , and having her peeking through the keyhole to see what we were doing a t the same time one of us decided to look through the keyhole to see what she was doing. I N F O R M A T I O N S T O R A G E M O D E L A fte r we recovered from our laughing a t Bobbie's images Margaret started drawing things on the easel pad as she explained them. "All rig h t, le t 's try and put a ll these things together to make a model t h a t 'll describe the things you've ju s t experienced. Here you are w ith a ll your senses--your eyes, nose, ears, mouth and hands. 466 Here's the simulus, m e leaving the house and your senses perceiving the event." "Normally you'd have a continuous flow of in going stim uli without the sense o f a n tic ip a tio n I d e lib e ra te ly b u ilt into th is . I wanted to be sure you'd have a heightened awareness and I see I achieved th a t, but be cognizant of the fa c t th a t your high level of expectation is not the normal state of mind fo r processing inform ation." "In the moment o f perception your mind may do quite a number of d iffe re n t things, as your experiences have ju s t shown us. Each of you has many factors determining what you perceive, how you perceive i t , how much you perceive and the way your mind handles the perception." "You may process a number o f d iffe re n t pieces o f information a t the same tim e." " I believe i t was you L iz , who said when I walked out the door you experienced the instantaneous flood of both fresh a ir and sunlight a t the same time you saw m e leaving." M ULTIPLE p r o c e s s in g 467 (\ / MULTIPLE PROCESSING) SWITCHING "Or you can do what Don did when he kept switching his thoughts back and fo rth between what the class was doing and what was going on inside of him ." , MULTIPLE PROCESS\R€> s w it c h in g SENSORY ABSTRACTING 1 » / o 1 1 A 1 1 \ ‘— J "Very often your mind can understand the communication by only perceiving b its and pieces of the message. You don't have to see, hear ta s te , touch or smell the whole thing in order to know what's happening.' "Bobbie saw m e headed toward the back door so he knew what I was going to do. - * MULTIPLE PROCESS IMG 1 Sw it c h in g SENSOR.V A&STRACTINb i s y m b o l ic a b s t r a c t in g i < £ . S "Also, by putting messages in categories you may elim inate the .A necessity fo r attending to the complete communication. This is what we do with symbols. A single symbol may stand fo r things with many d iffe re n t c h a ra c te ris tic s , but our minds pick up the s im ila ritie s , assign the communication to a category and respond on the basis of the category rath er than the immediate communication. This can be very 468 dangerous, as in the case of prejudices; i t can be l i f e saving, as in the case of your house being on f ir e ; i t can speed up the communication process, as i t does when we use words instead of actions." MULTIPLE PROCESSING Sw i t c h iMG) SENSORV ABSTRACTING SVM&OLIC ABSTRACTING j FILTERS ! i l I— "Your outlook on l i f e —your 'core q u a litie s '— as we called them when we were working w ith developing characters, determines how you receive a communication. I t gives you your p a rtic u la r set o f f ilt e r s so you pick out what's important to you and discard or minimize the re s t." "W e know, fo r example, i f th ere's anything funny to be seen Bobbie'!! see i t , i f th ere's an opportunity fo r macabre symbolism th a t's the d irec tio n Susan w ill go, Lenard w ill f i l t e r out the emotional parts o f a communication and catch the more in te lle c tu a l, although as we are seeing," she said as she turned to Lenard, "he's beginning to use some new f il t e r s as w e ll. Michael sees predominately the ab strac t, Liz the th e a tric a l. Each one of you has your major emphasis and in te re s t." "This is one o f the places where you can do something to increas the v a rie ty of raw m aterials in your storehouse. With the awareness of what these f ilt e r s do, you can, as Lenard's doing, use other new sets of f i l t e r s , along with the old fa m ilia r ones." 469 / MULTIPLE processing Switching senso ry abstractimg Symbolic abstracting Filters PRIORITIES I HIERARCHIES n rS T - "Your mind is also always deciding what's the most important part o f the stim ulus, as well as what's most important to you, w hat're the p r io ritie s and how do things rank on your totem pole." "In education, we frequently t e ll you what to look fo r, what we want you to attend to . In th is case I told you I was going to give you a stimulus so you knew you were being asked to watch m e an m y actions, th erefo re, whatever I did would have p r io rity over a ll the other events th a t might occur. This is not always the case. Most frequently you're in a s itu a tio n where you have to s e le c t, out of the av aila b le s tim u li, th a t which is most important to you and your purposes." "For example, given any s itu a tio n , those o f you most interested in photography w ill look f i r s t fo r the photographic p o s s ib ilitie s . Given the same situ a tio n the screenwriters among you w ill look a t the dynamics of the in te ra c tio n and the a v a ila b ility of expressive o b je c ts ." " I f you're involved in some personal trauma or compelling l i f e circumstance, t h a t 'll be your p r io rity and demand the major portion o f your a tte n tio n . T h a t'll minimize the quantity and q u a lity of what you can take in ." 470 Multiple process!n6 j fi.UV/lTCHlK<s> ‘ SENSORY A B S T R A C T IN G ) SYMBOLIC A55TEACTW6 : FILTERS PRIORITIES a HIERARCHIES • INTERNAL PHYSICAL FACTORS EXTERN AJLP iWSICAl FACTORS! "In communication jargon, anything which in terferes with the transmission and reception of a message we c a ll noise. In addition to the things we've ju s t talked about, th is term noise includes whatever other in tern al physical factors you may be experiencing * lik e a sick stomach, too l i t t l e sleep or not enough food and external physical fa c to rs , lik e loud sounds, in s u ffic ie n t lig h tin g , excessive heat or an offensive odor." "A ll these th in g s," she said as she pointed to the composite drawing, "are going on a t each moment of perception and they instantan eously w ill shape the message to f i t th e ir needs—your needs. Thus, the way you receive the message may or may not resemble the message th a t was being tran sm itted." "Wow," C harlie blurted out, "No wonder we have trouble getting our ideas across." "What bothers me," Becky added, "Is th at I don't have any control over any of th a t! I can make the nicest l i t t l e old movie you could ever imagine, but i f somebody's having a fig h t with her husband or i f what I'm saying is n 't what she's wanting to hear, I might ju s t as well have not bothered." "That's tru e ," Margaret agreed. "The only person you have any control over is y o u rs e lf." _______________________ 4Z1 She turned back to the easel pad and pointed again a t the drawing. "These are a ll things that are happening a t the moment the stimulus enters your head to become what we c a ll thoughts," she said and then drew a larg er c irc le behind and attached to the head. M U L T I P L E P C i O C f e S & l H G SWITCHING) , ; SENSORY ABSTRACTING) ; s SYMBOLIC Ab s t r a c t in 6 i I i r t FILTERS i • ____ J . PR G R iTies & Hie r a r c h ie s ; i L___ j internal physical factors i ; ETERNAL PHYSICAL FACTORS ! "And now these thoughts are in what w e 'll re fe r to as the temporary or short term working memory. Here's where your mind works on these thoughts and decides what to do with the new inform ation. Here's where decisions are made, problems solved and the destination of the new information is determined. Here's where you have conscious control of your thoughts." "Now, le t 's look a t these thoughts," she pointed to the box w ithin the temporary working memory c ir c le , "What are they lik e ? What do they consist of? They're not complete sentences lik e we w rite or speak. They're quite d iffe re n t from the lin e a r and abstracted ways we ta lk or w rite . They're a conglomerate of a ll the input your mind, at th at moment, permitted it s e lf to take in , including some parts o f the atmosphere in which you experienced the stim ulus. Think back again to rthen I walked out the door. As I remember i t there was a motorcycle going by and a dog chasing i t , barking lo u d ly." "That's c o rrec t," Lenard said, "and in a d d itio n , there was _______________________________472. T E M P O R A R Y — , M E M O R Y music coming from someplace in the v ic in ity ." "Yeah, I heard th a t too," Jane said. "Orchestral'; music of some kind." "I think i t was the overture to one of V erd i's operas," C harlie added. " I heard a watch tic k in g ," Susan said. "That's m y watch," Michael told her and pointed to his watch. "Were any o f you aware of any odors? Margaret asked. "Oh yes," Bobbie answered, "there was the smell of the co ffee." " I d id n 't smell i t , " Larry said. "Yeah, but you're not s ittin g on top of i t lik e we are," John said. "So these thoughts, sometimes called an inform ation image or tra c e ," she said as she pointed to the rectangular box, "are the to ta l experience surrounding the presentation of the stimulus as well as the stimulus it s e lf . In other words, th ere's a combination o f m ultiple and divergent inform ation." "Now, these thoughts, the information image, are ready to do something, e ith e r inwardly or outwardly, but before they do one or the Other th e y 're joined by memories, information images closely related to the information image ju s t received. These images are carried by what is sometimes called a 'search set' and they come from what w e 'll c a ll the permanent memory s to re." She drew an even bigger c irc le which enclosed the temporary working memory and a square to represent what she called the search set. 4731 Multiple pro cessing S W I T C H I N G • , S E N S O R W A B S T R A C T I N G i S Y M B O L I C A B S T R A C T I N G F I L T E R S ' P R O R 1 T I E 5 a H I E R A R C H I E S "The search set— associated memories of past experiences— helps decide strateg ies and techniques fo r solving problems, helps establish rules th a t guide decisions, and helps to determine ways of handling the new inform ation. Then, when your mind stops working w ith the new in fo r mation, i t , along with the search s e t, goes into the permanent memory store, from which, when needed, i t can be re trie v e d ." MULTIPLE PROCESSING , SW ITCHING S E N S O R V A B S T R A C T I N G j S Y M B O L I C A B S T R A C T I N G ! F I L T E R S P R 0 R . I T I E 5 SL H I E R A R C H I E S ■ INTERNAL pu y s ic a- ------------- j EXTERNAL PHUSiC e x t e r n a l P h y s i c a l f a c t o r s / p e r m a n e n t ^ / MEMQRV STORE aeARLH S ET TC.lt ll J / _ _ J fifc W V U K .X ilflWr S E A R C H SET 474 "Ok. This is a lo t of theory and a lo t of esoteric terms. What does i t mean to you?" she asked as she moved away from the easel pad. " I t means I'v e got the most in credib le computer in the whole wide w orld," Liz said. "Yes, th a t too," Margaret answered and continued, "but what does i t mean to you as an ongoing process? How do you t ie together th is model and these labels with the way your mind works?" She had th at "which one o f you wants to do this?" look on her face and C harlie responded. " I ' l l take a stab a t i t , but le t m e ask something f i r s t . I'v e got two d iffe re n t things happening. There's a ll th at s tu ff m y head does to the inform ation before i t re a lly gets in and then th ere's the flow of information from where i t starts u n til i t gets tucked away as a memory. Is th a t righ t? Can I say i t 's two d iffe re n t things?" "Sure, you can break i t down th a t way. Just so you remember i t 's a ll a part o f the same process," she answered. APPLICATION OF THEORY "Ok," he paused and then asked, "Tell m e again, what am I supposed to do?" "Pick a new stim ulus, or use the one I gave you before, then describe what your mind is doing and label what i t 's done," she pointed to the drawing, "using these la b els ." "Ok. I ' l l pick a new one," he said and then paused before goinc on. "I'm walking down the s tre e t," he leaned back, clasped his hands behind his head and closed his eyes, " I . . . , I Ok. I'v e got i t . I see a couple o f guys ju s t ahead of m e s ta rt swinging a t each other. ________________ 475 At the same time I see a cop car coming down the s tre e t." He opened his eyes and leaned forward to look a t the drawing on the easel pad, "That's m u ltip le processing, taking in more than one piece o f inform ation. Then I s ta rt switching m y a tte n tio n . In one moment I'm thinking about the cop and the next I'm thinking about the guys, wondering why th e y 're so pissed a t each o th er." He pauses again, "Of course, I'v e already decided the cops are on th e ir way here to break up the fig h t. That's m y sensory abstracting and m y symbolic abstracting is th a t cops stand fo r law and order^-I th in k . Uh huh! I'v e started switching again. I'v e known of times when cops haven't been law and order. At le a s t what I c a ll law and order, but I have to assume th e re 're ju s t as many good cops as th e re 're bad ones so I ' l l bet on th is one being good. So I guess along with symbolic abstracting , m y f il t e r s about cops have been working too. And, I'm re a lly interested in watching what's going to happen." He opened up his eyes, "That's weird! I'm ju s t imagining a ll th is , but s t i l l I'm fe e lin g excited , lik e something's going to happen and I want to watch i t happen, but I don't want to get hurt. That's a top p rio rity !" He spoke d ire c tly to Margaret. "I'm amazed, I'v e d e lib e ra te ly followed th a t l i s t , I mean i t 's been a conscious th in g , but s t i l l I think a ll th is stuff would have gone through m y head anyway, ju s t fa s te r. Much fa s te r." Margaret nodded her head in agreement. "Ok. Now i t ' s in m y mind, what'd you c a ll i t , the temporary working memory." He leaned back again and closed his eyes. " I'v e gotta get back in to i t . " He was qu iet fo r a good long tim e. "You're rig h t— about memories coming back. I'm remembering other things and other times when I'v e been around to watch cops come and bust 476 up a fig h t. One time I got too close. I got a f i s t in m y fa ce," He rubbed his jaw as he ta lk e d , "I can smell the hospital emergency ward where I went to have i t taken care o f and I remember the look on m y mother's face when I went home." He paused to think again, "And i t does seem lik e a clump of things," he touched his fin g e rtip s together, " lik e a c lu s te r of inform ation. I t 's not even words! I t ' s fe e lin g s , a pain in my jaw , a sm ell, the look on m y mother's face. W ow. That's fa c in a tin g ." "Keep going," she urged. "That's i t . I'v e made the decision to watch, but keep m y distance," C harlie re p lie d . "Now what?" she asked. "That's i t . There is n 't anymore," he answered. "And what are you thinking about now?" she pressed. He paused, laughed and then answered, "I'm thinking th a t's a funny question, because as I'm lis te n in g to you th a t's what I'm thinking about." "So your thoughts about the s tre e t fig h t have now l e f t your temporary working memory and have gone into your permanent memory s to re " she said. "R ight," he answered. "That's the end o f the input flo w , when the thoughts are catalogued and file d away to stay in your permanent memory store u n til your working memory c a lls fo r them again," she concluded. REDHEADS WITH BLUE EYES " I get th is great image o f rows and rows of memory banks in m y _______ 477 head," Bobbie said, "with these search sets marching in and out and th ere's th is l i t t l e guy s ittin g in fro n t of a huge console with thousands and thousands o f buttons to push." He paused and then went on, "Or, maybe he has a big tube he y e lls in to , 'Hey Jake, send up redheads, redheads with blue eyes.' So up comes a search set labeled Redheads with Blue Eyes. " "That's not a bad image," Margaret answered. "The search sets are catalogued by what we c a ll inform ation probes and i t might well be th at a request fo r redheads w ith blue eyes would give you access to a ll the information you have about them. O n the other hand, i t could be th at redheads with blue eyes might be found in a search set dealing with 'summer days' or 'gals I'v e been in love w ith ' or people from Ire la n d .' There's a lo t o f cross cataloguing, cross referencing, in our memory system and our inform ation on anyone subject may be stored in a number of search sets. You can gain access to the various information probes by the process of association. By le ttin g your mind roam fre e ly where i t takes it s e lf you can discover the probes th a t are associated with each other. And, i t ' s through the use of these information probes you can re trie v e a ll kinds of emotional and in te lle c tual inform ation." MEMORY PROBES "I'm going to play you a tape now," she said as she walked over to a tape recorder, "a tape th a t's designed to stim ulate your re triv a l of past emotional experiences. This tape was o rig in a lly produced to be used in a class o f servicemen and, as y o u 'll hear, the probes are especially chosen fo r th a t group, but none the less i t w ill demonstrate 478 how probes w ill and do re trie v e a whole set of memories." She turned on the tape machine and the f i r s t thing we heard was the music o f a m artial marching band. I could feel the same kind of excitement I'v e always f e l t when I'd see a band marching toward m e with drum m ajorettes tw irlin g th e ir batons and announcing the parade to come. Then the music became sound effe c ts of thunder and ra in , w ith i t 's ominous melancholy and a n a rra to r's voice began to speak. NARRATOR: CLOSE YO UR EYES A N D B E VERY STILL. LET YOURSELF B EC O M E A W A R E O F WHAT'S HAPPENING INSIDE OF YOU. There was a long pause and I began to fe el very anxious. The rain was fa llin g and th a t made m e feel lo n ely , cut o ff. YOU'RE GOING TO IMAGINE YOU'RE SO M EO N E ELSE. IMAGINE YOU'RE A VETERAN OF THE VIETNAM W AR . YOU'VE D O N E YO UR TOUR O F DUTY A N D HAVE C O M E HOM E. That wasn't hard to imagine. I am a veteran of the Vietnam war and I remember what i t was lik e to come home, home to nothing but hard times and the u p h ill b a ttle to put i t back together again. C O M E H O M E A CRIPPLE— PARALYZED FR O M THE WAIST D O W N . C h rist! How many times did I worry about th a t. How many times! And everytime there was th a t same grab a t my stomach and in stan t nausea. AND YOU'RE A HERO. LOTS O F PEOPLE TELL YO U THAT. ______________________ • 479 Marching band music again and the pompous voice o f a pencil pushing General who plays w ith men's liv e s lik e l i t t l e boys play with trading cards. IT GIVES M E GREAT PLEASURE TO B ESTO W U PO N YO U THIS H O N O R —THE HIGHEST H O N O R W E HAVE TO GIVE. God how I hate th a t s h it! The marching band became rock, not hard rock but the kind th a t touchs a ll the raw aching sores of a ll the bad things we liv e in . Nonsense words th a t're the only sane fingerholds we have. Then there came a young lady,Is voice, saying dumb things. O H HONEY, W H O ELSE W O U LD HAVE BEEN S O BRAVE. I f L e ttie ever, ever said anything lik e th a t I'd disown her. What's brave! And then church music. Of course, the m inister would have something to say too. IT ’ S NO T FO R U S TO K N O W W HY. G O D W O R K S IN MYSTERIOUS W A Y S AND W E THANK HIM—THE ALL MIGHTY FATHER FO R SPARING THIS BOY’ S LIFE. My grandmother used to say things lik e th a t. I liked m y grandmother. She read funny stories to m e when I was a kid and we used to go berry picking in the summer, but even then I'd fe el lik e laughing when she'd ta lk th a t way. Even then, years before walking single f i l e along a jungle path with m y fingers crossed, hoping i f anyone got i t i t 'd be the guy ahead or the guy behind. Even then I d id n 't think any God of any people cared who got i t ; me, him, or the guy behind. _______________ .______ 4 M Then there was another song. A song of the ea rly seventies and the voice o f young kid. 00H—W H A T W A S IT LIKE? W O U LD YO U TELL M E ABOUT IT? That could have been m e when I was th at age. I played war lik e a ll the kids d id , but we took time out to go home fo r supper and Mom's goodnight kiss. God how d iffe re n t things looked then. Another song. A ballad and a woman's voice. WE'RE S O PR O U D OF Y O U SON— My mother said th a t to m e when I joined up. I joined up rather than w ait to be c a lle d . I wanted to get i t over and I thought I'd have a b etter time i f I volunteered. I wasn't scared then. I knew I'd come out a liv e . I wasn't scared, not then. She,and Dad too, had thought I'd head north. They knew I d id n 't want to fig h t and I'm sure they d id n 't want m e k ille d , but also , they d id n 't want th e ir son to be a d ra ft dodger. The marching band again and the voice of a p o litic a n . Y O U HAVE B R O U G H T H O N O R TO YO UR COUNTRY, YO UR STATE AND YO U R TOW N. I co uld n't help i t . I laughed outloud. I'd done th a t once before— laughed lik e th a t— long, long time ago when I was in the boy scouts. I'v e forgotten most of what happened. I guess our troop had done something r e a lly big, lik e win the most badges fo r the year or se ll the most cookies, and somebody, a councilman or a judge or someone on the school board came to give us an award. He talked and he talked and talked and a ll the time we had to stand a t a tte n tio n . He talked about things lik e economic boycotts and farm p a ritie s , things boy scout; 481 couldn't even d efin e, le t alone care about. He was ta lk in g to the parents, not to us. I was sorry to embarrass our scout leader, he was a nice guy, but I co uld n't help i t . I got started and I couldn't stop. Then the re s t of the troop started laughing, one a t a time u n til we were a ll laughing. As I remember i t now, they never did get around to giving us the award. The marching band became sound effec ts of thunder and ra in and the n arrato r went on. Y O U HAVEN'T BEEN H O M E VERY LONG, A COUPLE OF MONTHS. THREE O R FOUR. TIME DOESN'T MATTER. YO U HAVEN'T BEEN OUT VERY MUCH. YO U HAVEN'T W A N TED TO G O OUT. FRIENDS, FAMILY, PEOPLE F R O M THE C H U R C H HAVE KEPT Y O U BUSY — BUT N O W — M O R E A N D M O R E THERE ARE NIGHTS ALONE W H E N N O .' O N E COMES. Now along with the rain comes the w h istle of a tra in . TONIGHT IS O N E O F THOSE NIGHTS. WHAT'S GOING O N INSIDE OF YOU? W H A T ARE Y O U R FEELINGS? W H A T ARE YO U R THOUGHTS? Lonely. Just p lain lonely is a ll I could fe e l. A c rip p le , paralyzed from the w aist down! God! And fo r what reason? I t was bad enough when I came home a ll in one piece. I could get m y ass out of the house and go some place. Or was I a ll in one piece? I'm not sure what i t would have been lik e fo r m e i f I hadn't found L e ttie and the kids. The world d id n 't look very good when they handed m e m y discharge and i t was a long time before i t got b e tte r. I t was L e ttie 482 and the kids who made i t get b e tte r. A tra in w h istle came and went, fa r in to the distance. The rain drops faded out. The tape was over. I t couldn't have lasted fiv e minutes but I'd been in dozens of d iffe re n t places with a dozen emotions. Margaret turned o ff the tape machine and i t seemed lik e an aw fully long silence. SEARCH SET TRAFFIC JAM " I'v e ju s t has the most in credib le t r a f f ic jam o f search sets you can imagine," Bobbie said. "They've run in to each o ther, sideswipec each other and some got run over. I don't know i f I ' l l ever clean up the debris. I t 's a ll over the place!!" W e a ll laughed, but Margaret said, "That's something th a t can happen with e ith e r too much information or c o n flic tin g inform ation. Your mind can jam up. There are many people who believe your mind has a lim ited capacity and can only handle a given amount o f information a t any one tim e." "You say some people. Are there d iffe re n t opinions?" Lenard asked. "Oh, yes. There're many d iffe re n t ideas and theories about these m atters. Much is s t i l l speculation, but th ere's a growing body of research th a t I believe w ill u ltim a te ly prove some of the theories and disprove others, she answered. "But, le t 's not get too fa r away from what you've ju s t experienced. Other than your t r a f f ic jam, Bobbie, did i t have any fu rth e r meaning fo r you," she asked. "Oh yes, i t was a real t r ip . I wasn't in the service. I ____________________ 483 d id n 't even have to make a decision about i t , but I'v e experienced those kinds of comments. Lord knows I'v e never come close to dying or being a c rip p le , but I'v e sure been lo n ely ," Bobbie answered. Everybody, without exception agreed they now knew without any question what Margaret meant when she talked about inform ation probes. Each new probe stim ulated a re c a ll of past experiences and as one set of experiences surfaced, the one before i t was put away. Margaret went to the easel pad again, "The re trie v a l flow you've ju s t experienced looks a lo t lik e the input flow we've already diagramed. and your mind does a ll those same things to the stimulus as i t did before. INFORMATION RETRIEVAL MODEL "You perceive the stimulus M U LTIPLE PROCESSING SWITCHING SENSORS ABSTRACTING SYMBOLIC ABSTRACTING FILTERS . PRIORTIES t HIERARCHIES INTERNAL PHYSICAL FACT&EA EXTERNAL. PHVSlCAL FACTORS 484 MULTIPLE PROCESSING SW iTC H V N C b SEHSORV ^ElSTRACTIM G j SMfcOLlC ABSTRACTING FILTERS PiaORTtES £ HIERARCHIES INTERNAL PHVSJCAL FACTORS e x te r n a l p h y s ic a l f A c t o r s Then the stimulus goes in to your temporary working memory." i i , MULTIPLE PROC65S»N/0>\. SWITCHING, 1 sehsorsj abstracting s v m b o lic Ab s t r a c t i n G FlUEES PR iO R m i Hierarchies INTERNAL PHYSICAL FACTO RS EXTERNAL PHYSICAL FACTORS "Here, the temporary working memory controls the decision and re trie v a l s tra te g ie s . I t selects the inform ation probe from the permanent memory store and brings i t into the temporary working memory." 485 1 I MULT If L£ PROCESSING ^ SWITCHING SENSOR ABSTCAamfc S M fc G lfc ABSTRACTING PRIDR.TIES * HIERARCHIES INTERNAL PHYSICAL FACTORS EXTERNAL PHS/SiCAl FACTORS "The inform ation probe selects and transfers the search set from the permanent memory store into the working memory. MULTIPLE PROCESSING SWITCHING SEMSOR.Y ABSTRACTING SYMBOLIC ABSTRACTING FILTERS PRlORTlES $ HIERARCHIES INTERNAL PHYSICAL FACTORS EXTERNAL PHYSICAL FACTORS The search set is examined, the desired image is located, 486 MULTIPLE PROCESS IK 6 SWITCHING SEMSQRV ABSTRACTING SViVlBouc. Ab s t r a c t iNGb F1LTER.S PRAORTlES ft HIERARCHIC INTERNAL Ptt'telC A l FACTORS EXTERNAL PHYSICAL FACTORS 0 OVERT RESPONSE and you then respond o v e rtly or co vertly on the basis o f the information re trie v e d .” □ M U L T IP L E P R O C E S S IN G SWITCHING) QENSORV ABSTRACTING SVMBOUC ABSTRACTING FILTERS PRIORITIES ft HIERARCHIES INTERNAL PHYSICAL F A C T O R S EXTERN AL PH VS\C A L FACTORS " I f the response is appropriate and serves whatever need exists, the search set goes back in to the permanent memory sto re, the search is 487 terminated and your m ind'11 go on to another stimulus" i— M U L T IP L E PROCESSING^ S v A l l T C H I N 6 &EHSOfitf A B S T R A C T IN G Sm&OUC ABSTRACTING filters PRIORTIE5 * H IERA RCHIES INTERNAL PH YSIC A L F A C T O R S EXTERNAL PHYSICAL F A C T O R S "However, i f the desired image is not found, your temporary working memory may decide on one of a number o f covert responses. I t may decide to select a new probe to be used in the same search set; M U L T I P L E PROCESSINGS SSAMTCHIN6 SEMSORM ABSTRACTING SYMBOLIC ABSTRACTING. FILTER S P R IO R T IE S & HIERARCHIES INTERNAL PH YSICA L F A C T O R S EXTERNAL PHYSICAL FACTORS i t may select both a new inform ation probe and a new search set; i t may decide to discontinue the search alto g eth er. She l e f t the easel pad, went over to pour h e rself a cup of coffee and continued ta lk in g to us. "What we've ju s t worked with was an audio experience and the stim u li was a ll received through your ears, but, of course, there are other sensory stim uli th a t can be experienced in d iv id u a lly or in any combination." She opened up a box th a t was on the counter and pulled out an assortment of objects she started passing around. There were pieces of fa b ric she asked us to touch with our fingers and rub against our faces. There was a small broken doll fo r us to look a t, a p rin t of a Chagall painting of people fly in g around in the a i r , a wind-up toy monkey beating on a drum and dried pine cone. She l i t a match and burned incense th a t smelled of pine and she gave us each a s tic k o f lic o ric e and a handful of gumdrops to taste and eat. She bombarded us with stim uli and with each one I experienced another set of memories. She said she wanted us to be aware of how a ll the sensory stim u li would produce inform ation probes. She ce rtain ly achieved her purpose. "Perhaps you could Imagine the music and sound effects and hear in your head what j they sounded like, and maybe ! they stimulated for you a flood . of memories like Don had. I j hope so because I'd like you to experience that same awakening of many different memories "You probably have things in your room that could provide I the same kind of stimuli, a | scrap book of souvenirs, a i photo album, a fuzzy animal of j some sort, pieces of your 489 favorite candy or an array of pictures of your family to remind you of home. Look around you and let your mind go where these memory probes take you. Then look at our information retrieval model and compare what went on in your mind to the model." W AYS TO ENHANCE ACCUMULATION OF INFORMATION Then she said, "Now I want us to look a t these processes in terms of how you can use the process to increase your c a p a b ilitie s as a screenw riter. How can you use your conscious mind— the temporary working memory--to d ire c t your thoughts into expanding your storehouse of information?" "The ways f a ll into two categories. There're things you can do to strengthen the inform ation you take in and th e re 're things you can become aware of in y o u rs e lf--th in g s you can change— so you broaden your capacities to observe and perceive w ith less d is to rtio n s ." " F irs t w e 'll ta lk about what you can do to strengthen the images once they get into your temporary working memory. You have a conscious choice of three p rin c ip le things you can do. You can do what's called rehearsing, or coding, or imaging." REHEARSING "You've probably a ll had the experience of being given a telephone number to remember u n til you can get to a telephone, and very lik e ly you've repeated i t over and over in your head a ll the way to the telephone; six nine four two zero fiv e fiv e , six nine four two zero fiv e fiv e , six nine four two zero fiv e fiv e , six nine four two zero fiv e fiv e , six nine four two zero fiv e fiv e . This re p e titio n of information _______________________________ _490 is called rehearsing and i t keeps the numbers in your conscious mind, from which information is most easily re trie v e d ." "S c ie n tific research and study have demonstrated th at rehearsal w ill increase the c a p a b ility fo r re trie v in g information from the permanent memory store by a very substantial amount. This is true of rehearsing and i t 's also true of coding and imaging." IMAGING "When you image something you associate verbal information with visual images. For example, you could associate a person's name w ith a p a rtic u la r flow er or remember a l i s t of items by m entally placing each one in a d iffe re n t room in your house." CODING "When you code something you put the information into a context more e a sily re trie v a b le . For example, you could say, in the case of the telephone number six nine four two zero fiv e fiv e th at six plus four equals ten and th a t would then make nine and ten. Ten goes into twenty two times and fiv e plus fiv e equals ten. Here you've organized the information around the number ten." "Another thing you could do is develop a system of matching the f i r s t ten le tte rs o f the alphabet w ith the number zero through nine and then transpose the numbers into le tte r s . A = one B = two C = three D = four E = fiv e F = six G = seven H = eight I = nine 491 This would give you a word g je c a ff, which would, in a ll p ro b a b ility , be easier to remember than a strin g of unrelated numbers." "Or, to carry i t even fu rth e r, you could then make a mnemonic sentence out of the word gjecaff--G eorge Jacob's elephant ate coconut f r u it f lie s ." "All th is fo r a lousy telephone number?" Michael said. "W ell, Becky answered, "suppose i t was the telephone number of a h it man and you were to c a ll him i f you wanted to change your in stru c tio ns. You decide a t the la s t minute you don't want to have your w ife k ille d a fte r a ll and you c a n 't remember his telephone number. Then a ll you'd have to do is say 'George Jacob's elephant ate coconut f r u it f lie s ' and you'd have it ! " Becky had started out with great mysterioso in her voice and ended in glee and l i t t l e g irl d e lig h t. Michael had seemed re a lly ir r ita te d when he'd asked his question, but even he was v is ib ly charmed by Becky's performance. "Michael has a good question," Margaret said, " i f he is , as I think he is , asking about what kind of information would make you go to a ll th at trouble and why." "The researchers t e ll us th at the longer information is held in the temporary working memory and the more i t 's worked w ith , the less apt i t is to become lo s t or forgotten. L et's say your image of a p a rtic u la r event, fo r example the stimulus event Becky ju s t presented fo r us, included quite a number of things." She kept ta lkin g as she went to the easel pad again and drew a square to represent an information image of Becky's dialogue about the phone number. " It 492 included things lik e th is room a ll of us, Becky s ittin g on the flo o r in fro n t of the coffee ta b le , her voice dramatizing what she was saying, the cup o f coffee you're hold in your hand and whatever i t was that prompted you to ask the question." "Now, le t 's say you want to f i l e a ll th is information away so you can re trie v e i t and use i t —perhaps in a film someday. Y ou 'll f a c ilit a t e th is by d e lib e ra te ly and re p e titiv e ly noting a ll the components of the stimulus event at lea s t two or three tim es." "Then, when th a t image becomes transferred into the search se t, i t may have a bolder im print and thus be easier to re trie v e than i f i t had been experienced once and not strengthened." . ___________________________________________________________________ 493 As she spoke she traced over the lin es of the information image, making the lin es darker. "This is a gross oversim plication, but perhaps something akin to th is happens." 494 She drew other sm aller squares around the inform ation image u n til i t became a search set. Hi M . d r — • M d - t "Remember, a search set is made up of a great number of these information images, and when an information probe is scanning the search sets, perhaps the bolder or stronger inform ation images are easier to fin d ." BROADEN YOUR CAPACITIES She paused and then went on. "Those are the things--rehearsing, coding and imaging--you can do to strengthen the information you take in . ________________ _ _______________________________________________________ 425 Now, le t 's look a t the things you can become aware of and change w ithin yourself th at w ill broaden your capacities to observe and perceive with less d is to rtio n s . These are la rg e ly things th a t happen as you perceive the event, things th at may lim it or d is to rt your perception. Things lik e sensory and symbolic ab stracting, a ttitu d e and 'core' f il t e r s and p r io ritie s and h ierarch ies." "These are not things which are w ithin themselves bad. They are things th at need to be monitored. Our sensory and symbolic abstractions are based on assumptions, assumptions th a t what's happened in the past w ill continue to happen in the fu ture and w ill continue to have the same meanings. These things are not always true and we have to keep checking to make sure our assumptions are co rrec t." "Our f il t e r s are the things th at help to define who we are. W e don't want to challenge or destroy them, but we can occasionally s lid e in a d iffe re n t filt e r in g system or suspend judgement long enough to te s t whether or not our current f il t e r s are adequately serving our needs." "The same thing is tru e fo r our p r io ritie s and hierarchies. W e establish them to help us deal with given s itu a tio n s , but then a ll too aften , we hang onto them long a fte r th e ir usefulness has diminished, de can guard against the problems of using inappropriate and outdated a rio ritie s and hierarchies by continuously testin g and re-evalu atin g ." "What about m u ltip le processing and switching?" Larry asked. 'You d id n 't say anything about them. Can we do anything about them?" "Yes you can. You can consciously t e ll yourself to do those things and they do enhance our q u a n tita tiv e store of knowledge but tend to lim it the q u a lita tiv e aspect. I t seems to m e to be more important to 496 concentrate on what your mind is doing to the information rath er than onl how much i t can take in a t any one moment. You do want a d iv e rs ifie d knowing, but I think th e re 're other ways of doing th a t besides d e lib e ra te ly s p littin g your atten tio n at the moment of perception." "The other place where you have the opportunity to enhance your c a p a b ilitie s as a screenw riter, is in the temporary working memory where you make decisions about whether or not to make an immediate response or continue to search fo r a lte rn a tiv e information images. This is something w e 'll ta lk about more th is afternoon, but I especially want you to remember th a t i t ' s the temporary working memory th at exercises conscious control and determines whether or not you accept the f i r s t information image or continue looking fo r a lte rn a tiv e ones." She paused and asked, "Any questions?" "Yeah," I answered, "when do we eat? M y stomach's ta lkin g so much I'm having trouble hearing you." "What time is it? " Margaret asked. "Twelve," Liz answered. " I t is about th a t tim e," Margaret agreed and then turned the page on the easel pad, "and w e 'll go very soon, but th ere's one other l i s t we need to make before we go. For lunch today I'd lik e a ll o f us to go together down to the Hermosa Beach P ier. There're places where you can buy a hamburger, h o t. dogs or Mexican food and, of course, i f you brought your lunch you can eat i t there ju s t as well as here. I want us to go there to do our next exercise. This morning we've been dealing w ith your store of accumulated past knowledge gained by your past experiences and th is afternoon w e 'll deal with acquiring new knowledge." _______ 497 "While w e're a t the p ier I ' l l be asking you to c o lle c t story m aterial and so, before we go, we need to ta lk about the kinds of things y o u 'll be looking fo r." She turned to me, "Can you w a it, Don?" "Sure. I ' l l have another one of those donuts," I answered. "How many are there l e f t ," Susan asked as she got up from her p illow in the corner and went to the counter. W e cut the remaining donuts in h a lf so everyone could have something and th a t, w ith another cup of co ffee, quieted m y stomach rumbles. While we were doing th a t, Margaret asked us to think about how we look a t things. H O W DO YOU LOOK AT THINGS "How do I look a t things?" Jane said. " I see something. I fig u re out what i t is and I think th a t's a ll there is to i t . Is n ’ t th a t a ll anybody does?" "No, you do more than th a t," John said. "You see what color i t is , what size i t is , you decide i f you've ever seen anything lik e i t before and probably whether or not you lik e i t . " Margaret went over to the coffee tab le and picked up the l i t t l e statue th a t had been s ittin g there throughout the e n tire workshop. She put i t behind her back so we couldn't see i t and then she asked, "Who'll describe what I'v e ju s t picked up." I started to say I would, but then I drew a complete blank. A ll I could remember was th a t i t was small and I think i t had two people standing together. Nobody else seemed to be able to do much b e tte r, except Becky and I guess th at was because she'd been s ittin g rig h t beside i t yesterday. She to ld us i t was a statue of two people with ____________ 4 2 a th e ir arms around each other and kissing each other. Margaret set the statue back down in the center of the table and we a ll looked a t i t again. Of course I'd seen i t before, but now I looked a t i t quite d iffe r e n tly , which is exactly what Margaret asked us a ll to to . "For the next fiv e minutes, I'd lik e each of you to re a lly look at th is and try to discover as many things about i t as you can in th a t amount of tim e. Feel fre e to come walk around i t , touch i t , smell i t or even taste i t i f you want to . "Should we w rite these things down?" Larry asked, "You can i f you want to , but i t 's not necessary," she answered. The f i r s t thing I did was to go over closer so I could see a ll 5ides of i t . I t was as Becky had said, two people with th e ir arms arounc aach o ther, kissing each other. Or maybe not. Maybe they ju s t had th e ir leads together. That's rig h t. But th e y 're joined a t th e ir stomachs and legs. Correction again. They re a lly don't have d is tin c t legs, th a t is unless th e y 're two ladies wearing s k irts . The re a lly outstanding thing though, is the double ring of c irc le s th e ir arms make. One has her or his arms around the other's waist and the other has his or her arms up above th e ir heads. There is n 't a lo t of d e ta il in i t , but th ere's a nice ;exture. I did feel lik e touching i t . I t was smooth with some nice 499 ridges. There wasn't a sharp edge on the whole thing. Everything had a curve to i t . I t had a dark grey look about i t , but when I looked close, I could see so rt o f a bronze brown color underneath. I re a lly liked i t . I lik e d the way i t made those double rings and the way the arms on each were held as i f they were re a lly holding someone. I was looking a t th e ir heads when Margaret called time and I was amazed a t how fa s t th a t fiv e minutes had gone by, ju s t as I was amazed to discover statue. "Looking at the picture of the statue won’t do too much for you because you won't be aware of it’s dimensionality or it's many aspects from different points of view. But you can achieve the same experience Don's had with the statue by looking at your own shoe." "Take one of your shoes, or any other object you choose and put it on a table or chair ,in front of you. Then look at ’ ’ it, look at it in ways you Inever have before, to discover |as much as you can about it." I wasn't the only one to be surprised by the experience with the statue and I think Liz sum m ed i t up fo r a ll of us when she said, "I'm astonished, absolutely astonished at how l i t t l e I'v e been seeing. I ca n 't believe I'v e sat in th is room with th at statue and I re a lly haven'1: seen i t . I t makes m e wonder about a ll the other things in m y l i f e I haven't seen." "But now you can see them," Margaret reassured a ll of us, "or a t lea s t more o f them. Y o u 'll never have enough time to examine a ll the things around you, but what you select to examine you can re a lly get to _________________________________________________________________________ 500 a ll those things about th a t l i t t l e know." THINGS FOR SCREENWRITERS TO LOOK AT "Now, the next issue is , what1 re the things you select to work with? As wevalk along the p ie r, what kinds of things w ill you stop to look a t in the same way you've ju s t looked at the l i t t l e statue? "How can we know u n til we get there?" Michael asked. "You c a n 't know the sp ecific things, but we can ta lk about them in general terms," she answered. "How about characters, d iffe re n t characters. W e could watch what they do, how they a c t," Liz said. "What kind of characters?" Margaret asked. "Y ou'll see dozens of people on the p ie r. Which ones w ill you select?" "The characters. I mean the people who look out of the ordinary." Liz answered. " Is n 't th a t true of everything," Bobbie asked. "S to ry te llin g doesn't ever deal w ith anything th a t's ordinary." " I would agree w ith you," Margaret said, "the province of s to ry te llin g is not the commonplace, the in s ig n ific a n t, predictable or transparent." She turned to w rite on the easel pad again and continued ta lk in g . "And so we look about us to see what's She finished w ritin g and then asked, "What would be examples of characters or events th a t'd have these characteristics?" EXTRAORVINARV A W V UNUSUAL INCONGRUOUS INAPPROPRIATE STARTLING” nr pr 501 "Things we might see at the p ie r or ju s t anyplace?" John asked. "Try and think o f things you might see a t a p ie r." she responded "What about a lady a ll dressed up in high fashion evening clothes walking along the p ie r at high noon," Jane said. "That's a good one," Margaret re p lie d . "Then you would ask yo urself 'why? Why is she dressed in th is unusual way?’ and th a t why could lead you in to a ll kinds of in terestin g places. Anything th at doesn’ t f i t is what you're looking fo r." "A person fis h in g without putting b a it on his or her hook," C harlie said. "A big strin g of big fis h ," John said. "Two ladies arguing and h ittin g each o ther," Michael said. "Why ladies?" Becky asked. "That's more unusual than men arguing," he answered. "Ok. You've got the idea fo r th is f i r s t category. Now what's another category?" Margaret said. "Struggle. People and events stru ggling." Lenard said. "Tell us more," Margaret prodded. "Struggling to acquire something or win something, or to keep something. Any kind o f struggling fo r th at m atter," Lenard added. "That's r ig h t," she agreed and wrote on the easel pad as she spoke, "We're always looking to see struggles. STRUGGLES \ TO WIN ANV ACHIEVE y TO DOMINATE AM D CONTROL TO WITHSTAND ANV MAINTAIN i f f m 502 What examples of struggle might we see a t the pier?" "People playing v o lle y b a ll," Larry said, "Surfers," C harlie added, "Mother’s tryin g to get th e ir kids to mind," Susan said w ith a chuckle. "A guy tryin g to get acquainted w ith some chick," Bobbie con trib u te d . "The two ladies arguing," Michael said again. "Ok, What's another category?" Margaret asked. "What about the environment?" Michael asked. "Yes. That's another category. W e want to be aware o f more than people and events in te ra c tin g . W e want to see what the world looks lik e . Carry i t fu rth e r, Michael. What’re the things we look a t in the environment?" As he answered she added his suggestions to the l i s t on the easel pad. "And the weather," Susan said. "The ocean with i t 's movements, the clouds, wind and the sun." r SUL ENVIRONMENT SHAPES COLOPS TEXTURES LINES MASSES W EATHER L fir Ilf ■503 There was a long pause and then Margaret said, "And th ere's one more I can think o f. One more category—people expressing emotions," 9 1 3 } EMOTIONS ~nr------------ "W e want to look a t the happy faces, a t the couples holding hand, the sad and lonely ones and even the bored mechanical emotions, W e want to look a t emotions and watch the things people do to express those emotions. Those are the ingredients of visual soliloquies,-" She paused, pointed to the whole l i s t and continued. "This is our l i s t , our categories o f things we want to look fo r, look a t, hold in our temporary working memory to produce strong images and then store away to re trie v e at some fu tu re tim e." She paused and then asked, "Questions? Comments?' There were none and i t d id n 't take long fo r us to p ile into the cars and head fo r the beach, Most of us went fo r the Mexican food and not much was talked about u n til we'd eate'n our tacos, enchiladas and aurritos. I t was another b eau tifu l day, warm but not hot. A mild breeze <ept the white clouds moving and fo r some reason, the ocean seemed especially blue w ith esp ecially w hite, white caps. I finished eating, laid back in the warm sand, moved m y body back and fo rth to make a cradle fo r m y body and closed m y eyes. What a great fe e lin g . I might nave gone to sleep except I wanted to hear what Susan and C harlie were talking about. "So much o f his s tu ff is so symbolic," C harlie said, "I get lo s t. And he doesn't deal w ith real people and real s itu a tio n s ." ______________________________________________________________ 501 "How can you get lo s t with his symbolism," Susan demanded. " It couldn't be more c le a r. How can you be more cle ar than a clock without a face or a dance of death?" The tone of her voice was so forceful I turned on my side to watch her. She was s ittin g with her legs crossed, running the sand through her fingers and b itin g her lower lip . "Ok. I w asn't so confused with 'Seventh V e il,'" C harlie agreed, but 'Wild Straw berries' bothered m e a lo t. "And how can you say he doesn't deal w ith real people and real situ atio n s . Maybe not so much in his e a rlie r film s , but you have to look a t a ll his film s . What about 'Thru the Glass Darkly' and 'Cries and Whispers?'" I could have started c o lle c tin g m y unusual events rig h t here. I t wasn't a t a ll lik e Susan to speak so vehemently. She seemed almost to be daring C harlie to argue w ith her. I t sounded lik e she wanted to argue. The obvious question I asked myself was "Why? W hy was she now speaking so fo rc e fu lly and why about Ingmar Bergman?" I looked at Susan d iffe re n tly now, but I wasn't altogether sure whether i t was because she was d iffe re n t or because I was seeing d iffe r e n tly . Whatever, i t sure looked to m e lik e there was a hell of a story in Susan. I was quite content to lie there lis te n in g to Susan and speculating on what was going on inside of her, but Margaret was making moves to end the lunch period. THE WALK ALONG THE PIER Her instructions were very simple. "Be back here in one hour with an observation fo r each one of the categories: extraordinary and 505 and unusual; struggles; environment and emotions. Select what you want fo r each category and then work with i t lik e you worked with the statue. 1 I started out walking w ith Becky, Michael and Lenard. Michael almost immediately stopped to look at the g r a f f it i along the stone wall and Lenard went in to one o f the small short order cafes. The f i r s t thing I spotted were some kids fig h tin g over a tric y c le . One was probably about seven and the other couldn't have been more than fiv e . The fiv e year old wanted to rid e the tric y c le and the seven year old d id n 't want him to . The fiv e year old was hanging on to the handles with a ll his strength. The seven year old could pry one hand o ff the handle and as soon as he turned his atten tio n to prying up the other hand the f i r s t hand was again grabbing the handle. The thing th at amazed m e was the fa c t th at the seven year old d id n 't change his strategy. He kept prying one hand up a t a tim e, never getting anywhere. I think th a t could have gone on almost in d e fin ite ly , but the mother, or a t le a st some woman, came up and settled the a f f a ir by putting the fiv e year old on the tric y c le and spanking the seven year old. The best thing about the whole action happened a fte r the fiv e year old started peddling down the boardwalk and the wom an turned her back. The seven year old picked up l i t t l e stones and started throwing them a t a ll the people who were walking by. He saw m e standing there watching and when he began throwing them a t m e I moved on. A ctu ally , there were two things happening there. There was the struggling and the emotion. Throwing stones was p re tty conclusive information about how he was fe elin g inside. I had become so absorbed in watching the children I'd forgotten about Becky and when I looked around fo r her I co uld n't see her anywhere. 506 The next thing I spotted was a car parked along the curb of one o f the side streets running into the boardwalk. The car had a f l a t tir e and there was a tic k e t on the windshield. I looked a t the tic k e t. That to ld m e the car had been here at le a st two weeks. I t was a la te model Honda sedan and in excellen t condition so I d id n 't think i t had been abandoned. I f i t 'd been an old car or a beat up car I wouldn't have looked tw ice, but a recent model in such good shape was quite a d iffe re n t m atter. I walked about i t and looked inside. There were a couple o f empty beer cans on the flo o r of the back seat, a baby's r a t t le , a box of Kleenex and copy of the motor vehicle code. There was nothing p a rtic u la rily unusual about those things. But the fa c t s t i l l remained, people ju s t don't walk o ff and leave th at much money s ittin g by a curb. Perhaps i t was a stolen ca r, or maybe i t 's owner had become i l l or maybe even died. The baby r a t t le interested m e and I wanted a closer look. I trie d the door on the d riv e r's side. That was locked but i t looked lik e the rear rig h t door was unlocked. I re a lly wanted to get in to the car and poke around a l i t t l e to see i f I could fin d anything. I co uld n't escape the thought th a t there was something speciai about th a t r a t t le . I started around the rear end of the car but ju s t before I opened the back door I noticed a guy watching me. I d id n 't have the s lig h te s t idea who he was but I began to fe el re a lly uncomfortable. Then I remembered what I was tryin g to put together about the r a t t le . Somewhere, somehow, somebody had smuggled precious stones across the border in the hands of a baby. Maybe something lik e th a t was going down here. Maybe th is car was a pickup point or maybe something was planted in there. I started backing o ff. I could ju s t p icture m e standing in the police statio n with cops a ll around m e ______________________________________________________________507 saying, "Now t e ll us again about th is screenwriting class." I decided to walk away from the car and not press m y luck. A fte r a l l , I must have looked p re tty strange walking around the car, looking in and tryin g to open doors. Anyone looking fo r extraordinary and unusual happenings to w rite sto ries about would have had a good one i f they'd been watching me. I walked out onto the p ie r and stood watching the su rfers. I t looked to m e lik e most o f them knew what they were doing, except fo r one rath er heavy set and stubby young lady. She was having a te r r ib le time staying with her board, but she kept working a t i t . She was a good example of struggling to achieve something and she was also in te res tin g because she d id n 't have the appearance o f the typical su rfer. Along the p ie r I stopped and talked with an old man standing by the r a il fish in g with a bamboo pole. I asked him i f he was having any luck. That started him ta lk in g . I think he had every in ten tion of te llin g m e about each one o f his s ix ty years of fish in g experiences. I was tryin g to think o f some ta c tfu l way to excuse myself when I saw Jane, Larry, Bobby and Becky walking past on the other side of the p ie r. " It 's time to go back," Becky called to me. " It 's about three o'clock. I waved goodbye to the fisherman and ran to catch up to Becky. "Did you get a ll your examples?" I asked her. "Oh h ell yes," she answered. "This p ie r's crawling with story m a te ria l." 508 "You may not have an ocean beach to walk along, but any public place where lots of people come will do just as well— an airport, park or even a busy intersection where there's lots of foot traffic." "Allow yourself at least a couple of hours to explore and look at the people and things happening, then bring back with you your notes on things that are extraordinary and unusual, things containing struggle, things showing emotions and things about the environment and weather." 509 CHAPTER ELEVEN. W ORKSHOP; THE CREATIVE PROCESS W e stayed down a t the beach, s ittin g in the sand, to ta lk about the things we'd each selected to observe. Some o f us had selected the same things, and each of us had one thing we'd gotten p a rtic u la rly involved w ith. Michael was esp ecially turned on by the various types of g r a ffiti and he was planning to come back with his camera. He'd even decided on a t i t l e fo r the film --"T rac es o f Hum an A ffa irs ." John had devoted most of his time to ta lk in g w ith one of the many old men who walk along the boardwalk. Susan concentrated p rim a rily on the ocean and the sky. Lenard watched the people in the cafe and got quite involved with the work rhythms o f the short order cook. Jane was most interested in a young man and young lady about to make love, Liz d e alt with a couple arguing and Becky watched a g ir l watcher. C harlie focused on a couple of kids building sand castles and tryin g to keep the incoming tid e from washing away what they b u ilt. Bobbie watched several guys lif t in g weights. No one else had spotted the parked ca r, but they a ll became curious about i t and on our way to the cars I pointed i t out to them. As we moved away from the car I turned back to look once more and I saw the man who I'd thought had been watching me. He was leaning up against the car and, although I may have been wrong, i t seemed lik e he'd ju s t gotten out of the car. A ll the way back to Margaret's house I kept thinking about the man and the car and about how easy i t was to see story m aterial ju s t fo r the e ffo r t of looking. That had always been the hardest thing fo r m e and now i t seemed lik e i t 'd be the easiest. ___________ 510 MY BOOK OF EVERYTHING There wasn't much o f the day l e f t when we se ttle d down in M argaret's liv in g room. The f i r s t thing she did was to show us a hard bound book. Som e of the pages were empty and others were f il le d in w ith her handwriting. "This is what I c a ll m y 'Book of E verythin g,'" she to ld us. " It 's the place where I w rite down the things I see and the things I want to remember, so rt of an idea bank or storage place." "Your what?" C harlie asked. "'My Book o f E verything,'" she answered and smiled. "That's another g i f t from a student. For years I'd been keeping books lik e th is and c a llin g them 'notebooks' u n til a student, a lo vely young lady, to ld the class she called her notebook 'My Book o f Everything.' I promptly re-named mine and th a t's what I'v e called i t ever since." "So when you take your walks along the p ie r you always take your book with you?" Larry asked. "That, or jo t things down as soon as I get back to where m y book is ," she re p lie d . "Do you re a lly re fe r back to it? " I asked her. "Yes I do," she answered. " I f I'm looking fo r ideas or some times ju s t fo r the fun o f remembering what I'v e selected to w rite down. I re a lly consider i t to be an important w rite r's to o l." She paused and when no one had anymore to say she to ld us th a t we had ju s t one more thing to deal with and she went to the easel pad again. " I want us to look a t the creative process," she said. "This is the process y o u 'll be engaged in from now on u n til the end of the 511 semester. I want you to be able to recognize and id e n tify the parts of the process and I esp ecially want you to become aware of where and how you can f a c ilit a t e the process." "The creative process is in many ways very sim ila r to the information re trie v a l process we talked about th is morning. As a matter of fa c t, most people who've thought about and w ritten about the creative process re fe r to a t le a s t part of the process as 'remembering,1 'reproducing' and 're c re a tin g ,1 and, in m y opinion, information re trie v a l is the basis of a ll c re a tiv ity ." m DEFINITION OF CREATIVE "In a moment I'll show you m y model fo r the creative process, but f i r s t I want to t e ll you what I mean by c rea tive. This is a word with many meanings to many people and I want to be sure w e're ta lk in g about the same thing. W hen I use the word creative I'm using i t as a verb and to m e i t means bringing something new into existance, so when I say crea tive process, I'm ta lkin g about a process of bringing some thing new in to existance." She was rig h t. I did have a d iffe re n t d e fin itio n fo r the word crea tive . I'd always used i t to mean someone had done a good th ing , lik e i t was a creative film , a good film . "So what would a crea tive person be?" I asked. "As I define i t , i t would be a person who brings something new into existance, an innovative person, an inventive person," she answered "When you want to praise a film and say it's a good film , what do you say," I asked. "Just th a t, th a t it's a good film ," she said. __________________________ 512 I chuckled and re p lie d , "I guess th a t’ s not hard to understand.1 1 "Any other questions?" she asked, THE CREATIVE PROCESS There were none and she continued, "The crea tiv e process begins when something of 'in te r e s t' is perceived." She drew a c irc le on the easel pad, drew a wavy lin e through i t and labeled i t . "Then th ere's a random and anxious, conscious search to re la te th is perception to 'som ething.'" She drew another c irc le and now the lin e became squiggly. — —--------- « 0 ^ "This would be analogous to the selection of inform ation probes in the inform ation re trie v a l process. Think back to what your mind did with the thing of 'in te re s t' you perceived a t the p ie r," she suggested, 513 "and ask yo u rself what your mind started doing the moment i t saw ' i t . ' " The moment I saw the car i t did in te re s t me. I wanted to look a t i t closer and I'd immediately trie d to fin d an explanation fo r what I saw. I trie d to make i t f i t . A new car in good condition doesn't get abandoned unless th ere's a good reason. "Next follow s the unconscious s iftin g to re la te the perception to 'something.' This would be the same as sending information probes into the permanent memory store to fin d and re trie v e the appropriate search sets," she said as she drew a th ird c irc le and the lin e became lik e sound waves. I guess th a t's what m y mind was doing when m y thoughts kept going back to the baby r a t t le u n til f in a lly I remembered a story I'd read about smugglers bringing precious stones across the border in the hands of a baby. "Then comes the conscious in sig h t into the relatio n sh ip between the something o f 'in te re s t' and the 'something' in the unconscious. In terms of the inform ation re trie v a l process th is would be the same as when an appropriate search set enters the conscious— temporary working memory." The fourth c irc le she drew had the lin e become s tra ig h t and bolder. 51A £ * & * ^ This must have been when I decided somehow or other the baby r a t t le was the key th a t would explain why th is car had been l e f t there. "Next th ere's a conscious c r itic a l choice to decide whether or not to accept the in sig h t or search fu rth e r to discover other re la tio n ships and other in sig h ts. This is the same conscious choice th a t's made in the information re trie v a l process when you decide to stop looking fu rth e r, select another information probe fo r the same search set or select a d iffe re n t information probe and a d iffe re n t search set. She added a f i f t h c irc le and the lin e became a dotted lin e . i; I'd been q u ite s a tis fie d to accept m y f i r s t in s ig h t, but who's to say what might have happened i f I'd gotten into the car and found nothing unusual about the r a t tle . ___ SIS " I f the decision is made to search fu rth e r, the process of random and anxious searching, unconscious s h iftin g and another conscious in sigh t is experienced." She drew the same three c irc le s again to represent these steps as she continued ta lk in g , "And th is process can be repeated as many times as the choice is made to do so." A. & S>^0 rv # *0 7 < " I f the decision is made to accept the in s ig h t, then an externalized product, something new, comes into existance and the process is complete." She drew another c irc le w ithin which there was a burst of lin e s . 516 I guess m y externalized product was the te llin g of the experience to the class, but i f we'd carried th is out as a w ritten exercise, the externalized product would have been the s c rip t and u ltim ate ly the film . TW O CRITICAL PHASES "There are two very c r itic a l phases in the process," Margaret continued. . "The f i r s t is rig h t here," she pointed to the second c ir c le , "the random and anxious conscious search to re la te f t to 517 'something'' end the second is here," she pointed to the f i f t h c ir c le , "'th e conscious c r itic a l ch oices.'" " I f , in the second phase you immediately decide on answers or i f th e y 're provided fo r you, th ere's no search and no new in s ig h t. * Generally speaking, th is is something someone else does to you by te llin g you about th e ir perceptions and th e ir answers." " It 's a very natural thing fo r people to want to provide answers. I t 's uncomfortable fo r us to watch someone else struggling to find something, especially i f we've already found the answers fo r ourselves.' " I remember wanting to do th at a lo t here, during these la s t couple o f days," C harlie said. He chuckled and continued, "And I couldn't fig u re out why you wouldn't le t m e say anything." "You were focusing on answers," Becky said to C h arlie, "and Margaret wanted us to experience the process. Is th at right?" she asked Margaret. "That's part o f i t , but also , C h a rlie's answers or your answers may not be anybody els e's answers. I don't think you ever own knowledge as your special property unless its understanding comes out of your own experiences. This seems to m e to be especially true when applied to creative in sig h ts." "This random anxious searching is — by its very nature— an uncom fo rta b le th in g , with a t le a s t some degree of anxiety and expectancy. I t 's very d i f f ic u lt , fo r us of the Western world, to be comfortable in the presence of contradictions between what we think to be and what we see as being. W e must e ith e r change the way we think about i t to f i t the r e a lity or change the r e a lity to f i t our preconceptions. This produces an xiety." 518 "Some people are less able to to le ra te these periods of anxiety than others, but I believe i t 's possible to learn not only to to le ra te but to nurture and cherish the anxious fe e lin g s . A fte r a l l , these anxious feelin gs are the beginnings of c r e a t iv it y .1 1 "At th is phase you have less control over what happens with your thoughts because other people can enter the process, but in the f i f t h phase you are to ta lly in charge. Here you decide whether to accept the f i r s t in sigh t or to go on searching fo r other a lte rn a tiv e s , some of which might be b e tte r than the f ir s t ." " It 's always m y p ractice to in s is t th at I look fo r a t le a st two or three d iffe re n t a lte rn a tiv e s before I s e ttle on anyone. Very often m y f i r s t in sigh t is the one I u ltim a tely choose, but not always." She moved away from the easel pad and over to stand in fro n t of the fire p la c e . "Ok, i t 's about time to c a ll i t a wrap, but before we do, think fo r ju s t one minute about what we've been doing these past three days." WHAT HAVE W E BEEN DOING "Wow, has i t only been three days," I thought to m yself. "Could I have been so many places and known so many people in so few days!" "C h iefly , you've been learning methods, ways to approach the w ritin g tasks and ways to solve w ritin g problems. Now, le t m e urge you not to fo rg et or to take too lig h tly what you've learned through these exercises." "This coming week y o u 'll begin your w ritin g assignments, the visuals only film and the dialogue and/or narration film . Y o u 'll be developing your premises, your o u tlin es , the characters, the interaction;; 519 and struggles between your characters and the events and y o u 'll be putting a ll of these in to the motion picture medium, u tiliz in g the uniquenesses and ch aracteristics of film . For each one o f these tasks you have now had an experience which can help you perform i t , as well as understand i t . " "Now you must tra n s fe r these diverse workshop exercises in to a new context. Now y o u 'll be in teg ratin g a ll the concepts into a single film . In other words, y o u 'll use the same kinds of exercises we did here as you develop f i r s t your treatments and then your s c rip ts ." She paused and then concluded, "Ok. I ' l l answer any of your questions and then w e 'll c a ll i t a day." Nobody had any big questions, ju s t things lik e how long should the film s be and what were the due dates. She referred us to the class schedule fo r the due dates and said i t 'd be best i f we lim ite d ourselves to short film s — no longer than ten or twelve minutes. She pointed out th at we wouldn't have time to fu lly develop a longer film and th a t i t was e n tire ly possible to incorporate a ll the concepts we've been discussing w ith in th a t time frame. There were no other questions. W e started gathering our things together and then slowly a ll l e f t fo r home. I d id n 't s ta rt w ritin g m y visuals only synopsis u n til the next weekend. A fte r the three day workshop my mind wouldn't budge o ff of id le , so I concentrated on work th a t came in small doses and had been predigested. And y e t I must not have been completely away from i t . In 520 odd moments during the day, and especially when I was waking up in the morning I 'd catch glimpses o f the t a il ends of d iffe re n t ideas. Friday night L e ttie and I went down the s tre e t to Paul and Susie Meyer's house fo r a barbecue. Some o f the other neighbors were there too. I t should have been a gala occasion, but i t turned out to be ju s t the opposite. Sadie, the Meyer's fam ily dog, had died th a t morning and conversation about death and dying occupied most of the evening. I t wasn't th a t we talked about i t a ll the tim e, i t ' s ju s t th a t we kept coming back to i t a ll the tim e. Susie was re a lly worried about the way her seven year old boy, Pete, was reacting to Sadie's death, and she kept asking us, "How do you explain dying to a seven year old?" Before the evening was over I'd rephrased th a t question to "how do you explain dying to anyone?" but i t was L e ttie who came up with the re a lly important question, "how do you explain liv in g to anyone?" Pete was taking i t hard. During dinner he ju s t s a t, not eating much and having even less to say. Then a fte r dinner he went up to his room. Susie kept looking in on him and she to ld us he was ju s t lying on his bed staring a t the c e ilin g . I did feel sorry fo r Pete, but I had to admit to m yself, and then la te r to L e ttie , th a t what I was re a lly anxious about was how we're going to handle i t when Jody's dog C harlie dies. Those were the thoughts I took to bed w ith m e and I wasn't a t a ll surprised when they were the things L e ttie and I talked about during breakfast. Today was the day I had to w rite m y synopsis. I'd counted on 521 having a p e rfe c tly cle ar mind, with no interferences from anywhere, but i t wasn't working out th a t way. I was s t i l l more involved with Charlie than anything else. I went into the l i t t l e cubbyhole I c a ll m y study, closed the doors leading into our bedroom and hallway, sat down a t m y ty p ew rite r, ro lle d in a piece o f paper and then sat with m y elbows on the tab le and m y head in m y hands. I was determined to complete m y synopsis th is day. ACTIONS W hen Margaret gave us the assignment to w rite a film without words I thought i t 'd be d if f ic u lt to find a premise I could communicate with visuals only, but the more I thought about i t and the more I worked with i t the easier i t became. A ctu ally, the key to i t was quite simple. The key was actions. A ll I had to do was think of things th at had action s. A ll week I'd become super sensitive to the things people did. I watched them in th e ir cars on the freeways, in the grocery stores and in 522 the lib ra ry , c a fe te ria , and walking around campus. I watched people on th e ir jobs, the things they did with th e ir hands, heads and what they looked a t. I watched the machinery because what the machines did said something about what the people wanted to have done. I watched my kids and L e ttie and I even became aware of my own actions. The actions were endless, and except as the wind blew every which way, a ll the actions seemed to have a d ire c tio n , a purpose. ALTERNATIVES My f i r s t plan was to work w ith the premise "World over-popula- tio n leads to weakening and s e lf destruction of a ll people.' I t seemed to m e lik e th is was an important idea, i t 'd be easy to show struggle and easy to show the resu lts of struggle. And, most of a l l , the thing I re a lly lik ed about i t was the image o f the la s t man whimpering. M y head was f u ll of a ll kinds o f visuals fo r th a t. I was a ll set to s ta rt w ritin g , but then I remembered Margaret's suggestion th at we generate a t le a s t three or four d iffe re n t ideas of in te re s t to us before we decided on the one we lik e the best. I was tempted to say to hell w ith th a t and s ta rt w ritin g . I t seemed lik e I'd spent enough time working with ideas and I wanted to get on with i t , but then I decided to do i t her way th is time. I played around with the idea of two people tryin g to get to gether, struggling to fin d each other but by chance missing each other every tim e. This would ju s tify not having dialogue but I could ju s t hear Margaret ta lk in g about events needing to occur because of the characters action s, not by chance. Of course, I could show they uncon sciously did things th a t kept them from getting together, but then _______________________________ 523 th at made i t a to ta lly d iffe re n t story. Then I began to think about something more ab stract, more lik e what Michael would do. I drew a blank a t f i r s t and was on the verge of deciding th a t abstractions ju s t w eren't m y thing when I thought of something I'd always been in terested in . I'v e always wanted to know more about th a t moment ju s t before something becomes something else. What’ s a new branch on a tre e before i t becomes the growth th a t becomes the branch; what's water the moment before i t freezes in to the shape of an ic ic le ; what's the la s t moment when a boy is s t i l l a boy and not a nan or even glue ju s t before i t makes things stick together. "Maybe those are crazy ideas," I thought to m yself, but i t seemed lik e those noments were the moments of a fin a l struggle, the fin a l confrontation when change occurs. But how do I v is u a lize those ideas and how would I frame a prem isstatem ent. The premise statement was easy, in ternal :hanges lead to external changes. No, th a t wasn't rig h t y e t, p e rs ista n t, unrelenting in tern al changes lead to external changes, even irrevocable changes. I t sounded lik e fun, but i t also sounded lik e i t 'd take a lo t of tim e— time to watch and time to study. Then I thought of doing something with a mime, but decided th at night not f i t the assignment. Although I could see situation s where i t would f i t I decided not to do i t . This started m y mind along another track though and I began thinking about how actions had to be appropriate to the situ atio n and f they w eren 't, they could have very funny re s u lts , complicated results or even tra g ic re s u lts . I decided to go fo r the comedy. Inappropriate octions lead to funny things. I wrote th a t down and then looked a t i t . 524 I read i t and laughed. I guess, in a way, I'd w ritte n a d e fin itio n of comedy, rath er than a premise fo r a comedy. I remember a time when L e ttie and I were doing a lo t of arguing about something or other, I fo rget ju s t what the argument was about, but one night Jody and Jenny put on a play fo r us th a t turned the whole thing around. How they did i t , or why, I don't know, but they each captured something of our mannerisms and when they showed us our actions, in the c h ild 's world and language, we co uld n't help but laugh and s e ttle whatever i t was th at was giving us tro u b le. I t was th a t fe e lin g I'd want to go fo r. The ' fe elin g o f seeing the irra tio n a l q u a lity o f actions through comedy situ a tio n s . At th a t po int, my mind flashed on death. I wondered i f comedy could do anything to explain dying and there I was— back with C harlie again. "W ell, why not?" I asked m yself, "Why not deal with death. That's what's on m y mind more than anything else. Jody and Jenny are going to have problems with overpopulation but th e y 're going to have to bury C harlie f i r s t . How can I help them learn to do this?" A fte r a l l , I re a lly d id n 't want to do a long film --o n ly about ten minutes; I'v e wanted to w rite something th a t wouldn't cost too much to make--something I could make on m y own; and a film th a t might have a market. This idea would f i t a ll those things. I t could be done in about ten minutes screen tim e. The school systems keep asking fo r film s th at deal with a ttitu d e s and social adjustments so th is might have a market as an educational film . I have a ll the equipment I'd need to make a film without sync sound and with L e ttie 's help, the kids in the neighborhood and m y Uncle Joe's property up along the coast we'd be ___________________________________________________________________ 525 able to do i t . "Looking good!" I almost shouted. Last n ig h t, over a t Paul's and S usie's, I'd said I wasn't worried because Pete was sad. I'd said I thought th a t was normal and th a t I'd be worried i f he w eren't acting sad. Not everybody agreed with m e but I think I was rig h t. Whenever I'v e trie d to keep myself from doing what I'm fe e lin g lik e doing i t never goes away, but when I le t i t a ll hang out and do what I'm fe e lin g , i t does go away. That's m y premise. F u lly experiencing sad feelin g s leads to being able to leave the sad feelin gs behind and fin d happy ones. That f e l t good. I was ready to begin. I was glad I hadn't started rig h t in to w ritin g about the overpopulation idea. Not ju s t because I lik e th is idea b e tte r, but because I'd enjoyed going to a ll those places m y mind had taken me. did— just let your mind wander. If you didn't you might want to do it now. Very often you'll come back to working with your first idea, but not always. You might, as Don did, find one more compelling." That's one reason, but also, I'd like for you too to experience that sense of going ___________526 to a number of different places. It’s a novel experience to let your mind move in all those directions without telling it to do or not to do -" DON'S SYNOPSIS I looked back in m y notes to refresh m y memory about what a ll was supposed to go into the synopsis. I t te lls the story in o u tlin e or n arrative form, providing the skeleton only. This means i t id e n tifie s a ll the major characters and events and th e ir relationships to each othef, the place, the tim e, the general style of presentation and from a ll th is the reader c le a rly knows the premise. Also, I pulled out the diagram th at shows what a screenplay loots lik e . I had a l i t t l e b it of the same fe e lin g I'd experienced th a t night when we did the "what if " exercise and then I remembered those magic words th a t stimulated so many ideas. So I asked m yself, "What would happen i f a seven year old boy fu lly experienced his sad feelings? What would he do to communicate the sad feelings? What situations could I place him in th at would show his struggle? What would push against his sad feelin g s to re s u lt in happy feelings? W ho are the characters and how can I make i t believable th at nobody talks?" "Ok. Jody's the main character and i t 's C harlie who dies. Right a t the beginning he dies. How does he die? Not an accident. That gives the audience somebody to be mad at and I don't want them to be m ad a t people. I want them to think about what dying is . Who's m y audience? I t 's kids. I t 's kids lik e Jody and Jenny and Pete. I t 's kids who s t i l l have the guts to fe e l. That's what Pete was doing, he was fe e lin g . He was le ttin g him self hurt. Maybe the main character 527 ought to be Pete, although I won't c a ll him P e t e . I ' l l c a l1 him Andrew, Andy fo r short and I ' l l c a ll Sadie, Beauty. Yeah, I ' l l s ta rt with Andy coming hom e from school to learn th a t Beauty has died. What would happen i f Andy came home to fin d th a t Beauty had died? I kept asking myself th a t question, "What if? " and as the answers kept coming I jo tte d down a few words to help m e remember. Mother comes out o f house. Father comes in . They bury Beauty. Barbecue. Andy remembers Beauty— flashbacks. Next day he takes care of grave and plants flow ers. Another animal comes and he refuses i t . A d iffe re n t tim e— animal damages flow ers. Andy is angry. A d iffe re n t tim e— re a lize s animal doesn't know b e tte r. Stand o ff re la tio n s h ip — truce situ atio n w ith animal. Each does own thing. Flowers bloom and Andy's happy. Andy wants to play w ith animal but to do so he must leave grave (animal does something th a t would be esp ecially fu n .) A Andy struggles to leave grave and gets closer to animal. Animal does something to make Andy turn away again. Animal does something th at would be especially fun again. Andy gives in and goes. The flowers are even more beautifu l than before. A fte r.a w h ile I d id n 't even have to ask myself the question "What if " I ju s t began thinking in terms of cause and e ffe c t and th is happened so th is happened. Then, with these notes I went to m y typew riter to begin w ritin g . Immediately I began making changes in whal I'd o rig in a lly thought of but I knew where to s ta r t. I knew the end I was working toward and I knew the kinds of things th at had to happen in between. SYNOPSIS Andy Fowler, the oldest ch ild of the three Fowler ch ild ren , is seven years old. Andy's the main character o f the movie and the e n tire story w ill be film ed from his eye level and point of view. Andy's parents are A 1 and Luanne Fowler, nice and quite ordinary parents. There's a four year old , Eddie and a six year old , Laura. Beauty, the fam ily dog, sort of belongs to everyone, but since Andy takes more re s p o n s ib ility fo r her and is with her more than anyone e ls e , they've developed a special kind o f love a f f a ir . The fam ily liv e s in USA suburbia anywhere in between a c ity and remnant farm land. The important thing about the neighborhood is th at i t is not fu lly developed. There's an abundance of vacant lo ts , some of them with many trees and brush. The Fowlers themselves have over an acre of land and liv e next to people who have chickens, cows and a fam ily o f goats. The film begins as Andy runs up the fro n t walk. 529 He's w h is tlin g --w h is tlin g fo r a dog. He.keeps w h istling and no dog appears. He looks around and sees his mother coming toward him from the garage. His mother doesn't speak, but holds out her hand. Andy knows something bad has happened. Andy and his mother go into the garage. Andy sees Beauty lying on the garage flo o r. He goes up to her, tryin g to make her seem a liv e — someway, somehow. Andy's fa th e r comes home and he and Luanne come into the garage. Nothing is said, b u ta io t of feelin gs are expressed. Luanne brings in a box, the box to put Beauty's body in fo r b u ria l. A 1 and Andy put Beauty in the box and leave the garage with the box and shovel. A 1 and Andy dig Beauty's grave, put the box in the grave and then cover i t up. Luanne and the other children appear in the scene to watch. W hen the job is done, a ll but Andy go back to the house. Andy stays by the grave fo r aw hile. His thoughts are interrupted by the appearance of a baby goat. The goat has gotten separated from its mother and is crying. Andy puts her back over the fence to re jo in her mother and then he leaves the grave s ite . Andy comes up to the house, where a barbecue is in ______________________________ 530 progress. There are FX of a ll the f e s tiv itie s , but none of the dialogue makes sense. I t is ju s t sound and very soon Andy goes to his room. Andy enters his room and goes to lie on his bed. He lie s there and thinks about Beauty. There's a FLASHBACK th at shows him with Beauty. The next morning Andy gets up very e a rly . He's very in te n t. He goes into the garage and comes out ladened down with the spade, a sprinkling can, packages of seeds and several boards. He goes to the grave s ite . He spades up a p lo t of ground, he plants some seeds, he waters the seeds. He fashions a cross out of the boards, paints i t white and p rin ts on i t , HERE LIES BEAUTY. People come to see what he's doing, but nobody in terru pts him or ta lks to him. The only interference comes from the baby goat th a t keeps bothering him. The goat is escaping its area by crawling through a broken wire fence. A fte r several times of putting the goat back, Andy fix e s the fence and the goat can no longer get to him. There is a M O N TA G E of Andy coming each day to water and take care of the flow ers. The passage of time is v is ib le by the growth of the flow ers. Each time he is very sad. Each time the baby goat ____________ 531 watches him and Andy elaborately ignores him. One day, Andy arrives to discover the baby goat s ittin g squarely in the middle of the flow er p lo t. Andy is fu rio us. He chases i t away and c a re fu lly and te a r fu lly repairs the damage. The next time he comes to the grave s ite he builds a fence around i t . He shakes his f i s t a t the baby goat as he leaves. The baby goat thinks th is is a playful gesture. The next time Andy comes the goat is nowhere in sig h t. Andy does his thing with the flow ers, tests the fence and leaves. He is aware of the goats absence. Andy comes again and again the goat is not in sig ht. Andy even goes over to the fence to look over the bushes, but he c a n 't see the goat. Now the flowers are beginning to bloom. And gets down on his hands and knees to pull some weeds. He is unaware of the goat coming up behind him and without warning, Andy finds him self sprawled on a ll fours in the middle of the grave s ite . The goat has pushed him over. At f i r s t Andy's a l i t t l e b it amused, but when he sees two of the plants have been damaged he gets up and chases the goat away. He throws his cap a t the goat. _______________________________________________________5 3 2 The next time Andy comes i t 's as i f the goat's been w aiting fo r him. He sees Andy and picks up the cap. Andy sees the cap in the goat's mouth and dives fo r i t . The goat jumps away and keeps i t ju s t beyond Andy's reach. Andy keeps almost getting i t but not getting i t , u n til f in a lly , out o f sheer exhaustion, he drops to the ground and ro lls over on his back. The goat stops running around and slowly approaches Andy w ith the cap in his mouth. Andy watches the goat and begins to decide on a strategy. Now i t 's beginning to be fun. This time Andy gets the cap and they have a tug o f war. Andy keeps the upper hand and then we see him in te n tio n a lly y ie ld his advantage. The goat takes tood advantage of Andy's move, grabs the cap and is o ff with i t . Andy is up and running a fte r the goat. This time he's laughing and having a great time. The film ends on a shot of the grave s ite . The flowers look especially beautiful now. '•"Now it’s time for you to write your synopsis for your visuals only script. It'd be a good •idea for you, too, to think through again what goes into a •synopsis, what goes into a story [and what are the questions for you to ask yourself. Then jump in and write down all your ideas. Try doing it like Don did. Jot 533 down your ideas, using just a few key words. Give yourself a general idea where you-re going. Don't worry about making a lot of changes at this point. Figure out your overall structure and then make your changes as you're writing." "Of course, this isn't the only way to do it, and you may have methods that work better for you, but in any event it'd be a good idea to try this on for size. Then, if it works use it and if it doesn't set it aside." EVALUATION QUESTIONS That f i r s t night of evaluations was something else. You'd think a fte r a ll the exercises we'd done and hashed over together, we'd have gotten used to i t , but th a t wasn't s o --a t le a st not fo r me. This time i t seemed fo r real and fo r earnest, and i t wasn't u n til I got back into m y cubbyhole and looked a t the w ritte n comments by both the class and Margaret th at I fu lly realized the value of what we'd done. Also, I re a lized the tru th of M argaret' s statement, "Your best frien d is the one who gives you the most constructive c ritic is m ." Those who ju s t patted m e on the back d id n 't help much. That f e l t good. Sure! But when I started to re -w rite fo r the treatm ent, th at good fe e lin g d id n 't do much fo r me. The comments th at helped were the ones th a t to ld m e what was cle a r and what was unclear and where I'd done too much or not enough. Somebody even to ld m e a baby goat is a kid, not a goat. I guess i t was Lenard. Margaret had given us a l i s t of sp ecific questions to answer so our responses to each other's work wouldn't be random comments of "I lik e " or "I don't lik e " and, as I discovered, you had to understand 534 the concepts we'd been ta lk in g about in order to do evaluations as much as to do the w ritin g . EVALUATION QUESTIONS What is the idea the writer has communicated? Has the writer used a "dramatic" structure? (A confrontation of differences.) What are the differences? (The forces that confront.) Why do the differences exist? What happens as a result of their confrontation? Do the forces struggle? Is it a physical struggle only? Is it a struggle for struggle's sake? Is it an "idea" struggle? Is there a change in the characters and/or situation? Are the forces equally matched? Would either of them compromise? Does the idea "unfold" with significant and purpose ful events or does the writer state it? Do the events happen as a result of something? (Cause/effect) Are all events and characters necessary to the communication of the idea or is there extraneous material? Are the characters believable? Do their actions come from inside of them? Are the characters three dimensional or are they "stick figures?" Does the writer give the characters actions to communicate thoughts and feelings? Are all the "parts" related to the whole? Has the writer utilized the uniquenesses of film? Has the writer utilized the "language" of film? 535 W hen Margaret gave us the l i s t of questions she to ld us that many d id n 't apply to the synopsis, or even to the treatm ent, but to answer each as they became appropriate to what we were doing. Most of the class got m y premise, and Margaret pointed out I'd need to show more o f how Andy had used up his sad feelin gs so he was ready to move into happy feelings again. As she put i t , " I t has to be d e lib e ra te . I t c a n 't be ju s t happenstance i f th a t's what you're tryin g to say to us." She also asked m e to be very clear in m y own mind about what differences were confronting each other. In other words, what forces were opposing each other. As she pointed out, i t wasn't the boy and the kid who confronted each other, i t was the boy's sad feelings th a t could n't to le ra te or jo in in with the kid 's happy fe e lin g s . That h it home. I'd been thinking more of boy vs kid and th a t d id n 't have anything to do with m y premise. Another one of her comments d e a lt with the necessity fo r m e to show reasons why the kid was happy. At f i r s t th at seemed lik e a nonsense statement u n til I realized she wasn't asking fo r explanations about why the kid was happy, but rath er th a t I fu lly develop th is to be the k id 's nature. She said a lo t of very p o sitive things too. She liked the way I'd chosen a subject th at adapted so well to a visuals only film . She said she saw cause and e ffe c t and change occurring and th a t the two characters had lo ts of potential fo r development and three dim ensionality. The only things she said I had much of a quarrel with were her comments about flashbacks. She thinks flashbacks are a crutch th a t keep the filmmaker from more im aginative devices. She did say there were exceptions to th a t, exceptions lik e C itizen Kane or Midnight Cowboy, where the flashbacks were an in teg ral _________________________________________________________________________________5M . part of the structure of the film and used in innovative ways, but, as she said, "Flashbacks are usually used as explanatory devices, lik e 'now le t m e t e ll you why th is is happening."1 I think she's wrong and I'm going to use a flashback technique, but probably do i t d iffe re n tly than I'd f i r s t thought I would. I was anxious to get started on the treatm ent, but I knew I had to do Andy's character p ro file f i r s t . ANDY'S CHARACTER PROFILE Andy Fowler is seven years o ld , a boy, w hite, dark complexion, brunette h air and brown eyes. He's not tim id and not bold, someplace in between. His mother sees to i t he stays clean, but the one place he won't le t anyone take over is his h a ir. He likes to wear i t long in fro n t and often times i t fa lls in to his eyes. Just a fte r Andy was conceived, his parents were about to s p lit up, but when they learned a ch ild was on the way they decided to work a t making the marriage succeed. They saw a marriage counseler and became active in several d iffe re n t therapy groups. In Andy's e a rlie s t years they were both very preoccupied with themselves and each other. There were times when Andy seemed lik e an intruder in th e ir liv e s . Andy was well taken care o f, but his parents never re a lly experienced a jo y in being around a baby. Yet, AT and Luanne very fre e ly t e ll Andy i t 's because of him they stayed together and had his s is te r and brother fo r his playmates. A 1 is an aerospace engineer and a very successful one with a middle, middle class income. The fam ily conforms to middle class patterns of behavior th a t stress success, m aterial w ealth, conformity and m o b ility. Andy is the most in terestin g one in the whole fam ily. His core q u a lity is his need to feel attached, not to large groups or large numbers but to someone special and exclusive. He needs psychological warmth and physical warmth. He has d iffic u lty dealing w ith coldness. Yet as he is em otionally' attached he needs less physical warmth. xHe is a very curious c h ild , wants to take things apart and most frequently is able to put them back together again. For him the world is a place he wants to know about. I t ' s frie n d ly enough. I t won't hurt him, but i t ' s something th a t has to be approached cautiously. He spends a lo t of time alone, alone th a t is with his dog, Beauty. He is quiet and serious. At times he seems lik e an old man. He has a strong attachment to his parents, especially his fa th e r. Andy is in the second grade. He's a b e tte r than average student, but not a t the head of his class. He's much more mechanically than academically in clin ed . 538 He's very b rig h t, but doesn't have the s k ills that produce good grades. He's not a good reader, his sp ellin g is te r r ib le and his penmanship is equally as bad. He's im aginative and is always doing crea tive things. He gets along ok with his s ib lin g s , but since he's very d iffe re n t from them they don't play together too often . They'd be o ff playing with the other kids in the neighbor hood w hile Andy'd be taking o ff the wheel of his t r ic y c le to see how i t worked. The central person in Andy's l i f e has been Beauty. He and Beauty were together a ll the tim e. Beauty was ten years old and she'd been qu ite sick with in te s tin a l diseases but i t 'd seemed as i f she was well again and everybody stopped worrying. Andy had spent hours nursing her when she was sick. He has never experienced death and he was confident she'd be a ll rig h t, forever. Andy's fru s tra tio n s come from being called away from whatever he's working with a t any given moment. He has a very remarkable atten tio n span fo r a seven year old. He re a lly becomes angry when e ith e r Eddie or Laura upsets his work or breaks something. He's a p re tty hardheaded l i t t l e boy and when he wants something he ra re ly gives up u n til he gets i t . Beauty was a very outgoing frie n d ly dog. She trusted everyone and made friends with everyone. She had a great zest fo r l i f e , was always ready to play and,in sp ite of her ten years and illn e s s , s t i l l behaved in puppyish ways. She had a special love a f f a ir w ith Andy. I t was always stars and strip es and firew orks when he came home and the two were reunited again. She would always greet and welcome everybody but as soon as she was sure people f e l t properly welcomed she'd be back by Andy's side. She was a "dog dog," a combination of spaniels, te rrie rs and c o llie s . She was mostly black w ith three white fe e t. As I sat thinking about the way Beauty and Andy were together, I re a lize d they had already become very re a l. They w eren't Pete and Sadie or Jody and C harlie anymore. That's where they'd started but now they were th e ir ownselves. I was ready now to s ta rt on the treatm ent. DON'S TREATMENT! TREATMENT The film begins as Andy runs up the fro n t walk. He's carrying his school books and his lunch p a il. I t 's Friday afternoon. School is out fo r the day and the week. Andy's always happy to come home a fte r school, but he's esp ecially happy when i t 's Friday. He's w h is tlin g , w histling fo r his dog. He keeps w histling 540 and no dog appears. He stops, w histles again and then spots his mother coming toward him from the garage. Andy in s ta n tly knows something has happened. He stands s t i l l watching his mother approaching. His eyes search her face and he sees tears in her eyes. She reaches out her hand and together they walk back to the garage. There, lying on the garage flo o r is Beauty's body. Andy drops his mother's hand and walks up to Beauty while his mother stays back. Andy has never see a dead body before. He s its down, crosses his legs and stares a t Beauty. Part o f his response is his natural c u rio s ity , c a re fu lly observing what Beauty's body looks lik e , and another part is a slow accept ance Beauty is no longer there. He touches her. He fe e ls th at her body is cold and s t i f f . He trie s to open her eyes, he l i f t s her t a i l —almost as i f to make i t wag, and he trie s to bend her fro n t paws. None of these things work. He puts his head down beside her head and tears r o ll out of his eyes. A 1 now enters the scene to kneel down beside Andy. Andy sees him and s its up to put his head on A 1 's leg. A 1 says nothing and Andy continues his crying. Luanne enters the background carrying a box and an old sheet from Andy's bed. They wrap Beauty in the sheet and put her body in the box. A 1 stands back while Andy choses the spot to bury Beauty's body. They are behind the house and way to the back o f th e ir land, near th e ir neighbor's fence. There are a number of bushes and trees surrounding a small clearin g . I t 's a lovely place. Andy s its down on the ground and pats i t to indicate th a t th is is the spot he's chosen. A 1 and Andy dig the grave, put the box in the grave and cover i t up. Toward the end, Luanne, Eddie and Laura and other neighborhood children come to watch. W hen the job is done, a ll but Andy go back into the house. Andy s its beside the grave. His head is bowed and his h a ir is hanging in his face. He turns and puts his head down on the grave. He lie s there patting the soil as i f he were patting Beauty. He is now in trrup ted by the appearance of a baby goat. The kid has gotten separated from its mother and is crying. Andy gets up and puts the kid back over the fence to re jo in her mother. Now the kid wants to play and as soon as Andy turns his back she climbs back through the fence to catch up to Andy. Andy pu lls away from the kid and, not as gently as before, takes the kid back to the fence and barricades i t so she c a n 't get out again. Now he goes back to the house. Now I was a t the point where I had to make some decisions about the flashbacks. My f i r s t imp!use was to flashback to show Andy and Beauty together, doing the things th at showed how they cared about each other. That was what I had planned on doing, but Margaret's comments about flashbacks prompted m e to take a second look "Maybe I ought not s ta rt the film with her death," I thought to myself. "Maybe I ought to show them together f i r s t and then have her die. But th a t's not the film I want to make. I want to make a film about understanding death, not about a boy and his dog." I sat staring a t the typew riter and i t seemed as i f I couldn't see anything in between the two extremes, no flashback or a tra d itio n a l flashback. "This must be the state of anxiety Margaret says we need to cherish and c u ltiv a te , but i t sure as hell is uncomfortable! Keep looking fo r a lte rn a tiv e ideas she says. Don't s e ttle fo r the f i r s t thing th at comes into your mind she says. Nothing, absolutely nothing is coming into m y mind a t th is moment!" I got up from m y typew riter and went out into the yard where the kids were playing. I sat down with a glass of iced coffee and trie d to wipe a ll the previous thoughts from m y mind. Then I started asking myself a bunch of questions. "Do I re a lly need to show Beauty? No, not r e a lly , except to show th at Andy was thinking about her. How can I show he's thinking about Beauty unless I use flashbacks? I could show him staring o ff into space, th a t's another way. Or I could have his imagination put Beauty in the places he wanted to see her. I liked that. That f e l t good. He could see her food pan and she could appear, maybe a double exposure and then disappear. So i t would be as i f he saw her 543 a ll around him, but she was not re a l. He could come back to the house, the barbecue's going on and the indistinguishable dialogue would be the background fo r the v is u a l. That f e l t re a lly good and I went back up to m y cubbyhole. Andy comes up to the house. There are three d iffe re n t couples besides his parents. There are the FX of the fe s tiv itie s with indistinguishable dialogue. The audience doesn't even see the faces of the people because the camera is eye level and sees only what Andy sees. Andy's looking fo r Beauty. He has no eyes fo r anything else. As he opens the gate to the backyard the double exposed image of Beauty FADES IN. Beauty is barking and jumping up and down. The barking SEGUES with people laughing and talkin g and the image FADES OUT. Andy goes in to the kitchen. He stands a t the sink washing his hands. He looks over to see Beauty's food and water dishes. The sound of silverw are on plates SEGUES to the sound o f Beauty's tags h ittin g the food dish and the image of Beauty FADES IN and then FADES OUT. Andy goes back outside and his mother gives him a p late of food. Andy s its down. His hair is hanging in his eyes. As he is chewing on a piece of meat, kind of a tough piece, he looks up to see who's watching him. Nobody is and the image of Beauty, s ittin g with her head resting on Andy's knee, PO PS ON. Andy holds out the piece of meat. He holds i t , then moves i t closer but the image c a n 't eat. The image is not re a l. Andy puts the meat back on his plate and the image PO PS OFF. Andy is no longer hungry. He gets up, puts his p late down and EXITS the barbecue area. Andy goes to his room. He goes to his bed and lie s down. As he is lying there with one arm outstretched, he looks to his side and the image of Beauty PO PS O N to lie next to him and snuggle up under his arm. Andy puts his arm around the image of Beauty. The image remains and Andy smiles as he closes his eyes to go to sleep. The next morning Andy gets up very e a rly . He's very in te n t. He goes in to the garage and comes out carrying a spade, a sprinkling can, packages o f seeds and several boards. He goes to the grave s ite . He spades up a p lo t o f ground, he plants some seeds, he waters the seeds. He fashions a cross out of the boards, paints i t white and p rin ts on i t , HERE LIES BEAUTY. A 1 and Luanne and the children a ll come to see what he's doing, but nobody in terru p ts him or talks to him. The only interference comes from the kid who keeps bothering him. The kid has escaped her area by crawling through a broken wire fence. Andy doesn't pay any a tten tio n to the kid except when she comes over to in te rfe re w ith what he's doing or to get on or near Beauty's grave. His actions c le a rly communicate he wants everything and everybody to stay o ff of Beauty's grave and the kid seems ______________________________________ 545 obsessed to do ju s t th a t. A fte r several times of putting the kid back, Andy gets the fence fixed so she can no longer get to him. There's a M O NTAG E o f Andy coming each day to water and take care of the flow ers. The passage of time is v is ib le by the growth o f the flow ers. Each time he's very sad. Each time the kid jumps up and down, trie s to get to Andy and watches him c a re fu lly . Andy is aware of the kid and very elaborately ignores her. One day, Andy arrives to discover the kid s ittin g squarely in the middle o f the flow er p lo t. Andy is fu rio us. He throws some sticks at the kid and chases i t away. He c a re fu lly and te a rfu lly repairs the damage. The next day Andy comes to the grave s ite and builds a fence around i t . The kid is somewhat intim idated by Andy's anger of the day before and holds back th is time. The next time Andy comes, the kid is nowhere in sight. Andy goes his thing with the flow ers, tests the fence and leaves. He's very much aware of the kid 's absence. Andy comes again and again the kid 's not in sig h t. Andy even goes over to the fence to look over the bushes, but he c a n 't see the kid. The flowers are beginning to bloom. Andy gets down on his hands and knees to pull some weeds. He is unaware of the kid coming up behind him and without warning, Andy finds him self sprawled 546 on a ll fours in the middle of the grave s ite . The kid has pushed him over. At f i r s t Andy's a l i t t l e amused, but then he sees two of the plants have been damaged. He gets up, throws his cap a t the kid and s ta rts to chase her away. The kid grabs the cap and runs a short distance only. Andy re a lize s he has to get his cap back and he dives fo r i t . The kid jumps away and keeps i t ju s t beyond Andy's reach. Andy keeps almost getting i t , but not getting i t , u n til f in a lly , out of sheer exhaustion, he drops to the ground and r o lls over on his back. The kid stops running around and slowly approaches Andy with the cap in his mouth. Andy watches her and begins to decide on a strategy. Now i t ' s beginning to be fun. This time Andy gets the cap and they have a tug of war. Andy keeps the upper hand and then we see him in te n tio n a lly y ie ld his advantage. The kid takes good advantage of Andy's move, grabs the cap and is o ff with i t . Andy is up and running a fte r the kid. This time he's laughing and having a great time. The film ends on a shot of the grave s ite with FX of Andy's laughter in the BG. The flowers look especially beautiful now. 547 ; "That's Don’s treatment. You'll ; notice how he changed someNthings and left others the same. That’s what I hope you’ll do with yours." : "It would be nice if you could : get some of your friends to read your synopsis and then give you , their evaluations based on the same criteria we used in class." "You may have to explain to them what some of the things mean, but it’ll be worth your time to do that. Then when you get their comments you can do what Don did— sit back and evaluate all the suggestions you've received, decide which ones to accept and which ones to reject, do your character profiles and go to work." "There's one thing you need to be especially careful about. Ask your friends not to give you suggestions about what to do or how. Ask them to raise questions and pose problems but not give answers and solutions. If they give you immediate answers your whole creative process can be stopped before it even gets started. They'll probably have some ideas and you might want to suggest that they hold them until you’ve done your thinking and then you can discuss them." "The treatment will be an expanded version and a refinement of your synopsis. There’s no required length. It needs to be only as long or as short as is necessary to say what needs being said to fully develop your characters and events. The treatment will serve two major purposes; 1) it’s another phase in your work, and 2) it can be shown to others to interest them and communicate your ideas." I was re a lly high a fte r the treatment evaluation session. I t was great to see how everybody had reworked th e ir synopses. I had a fe e lin g of things growing and maturing. That was a thing I'd never f e l t w ith the exercises. W e did them, talked about them, but never reshaped them. I knew m y treatment was b e tte r than m y synopsis and everybody agreed with me. I got th at feedback, along w ith other ______________________________ _M 8. feedback about where the story began to drag and where they wanted to know more. DON'S SCRIPT Margaret suggested we go back to review our notes on the visual soliloquy and the uniquenesses o f film before we got involved in the sc rip tin g . That was a good thing to do. I ’d been focusing so much atten tio n on character development and dramatic structure th a t, except fo r the flashbacks, I hadn't thought much about how I was going to handle the visu als. Thinking back to the Agnes exercise, Mr. Frog and the things we'd talked about then made m e eager to get to the s c rip t. I'v e learned to enjoy the process of developing characters and getting the feel o f a story has a lo t of excitement about i t , but now, putting these things on film is where i t would a ll come together fo r me. Of course, f i r s t of a ll I'd thought about the things the class and Margaret had said and there were things in the treatment I didn’ t lik e I wanted to change. I thought about those things, made overall decisions about what I'd do and then I was ready to s ta rt w ritin g shots. I approached th a t by taking each sequence, one at a tim e. F irs t; I'd think about the whole sequence and how i t could re la te to the areceding sequence. A fte r I'd figured th a t out I'd s ta rt asking myself i whole bunch of questions, lik e : What's the important thing th is sequence wants to communicate? What can be eliminated? What must I stress? How can I shorten the real time so the action keeps moving? What can the camera do to be a p art of what's being communicated? What do I featu re in th is shot? How does th is shot cut with the one ahead o f it? What sound w ill enhance the idea being communicated? Sometimes 549 I'd fin d myself s ittin g fo r what seemed lik e ju s t a few minutes to discover th a t a h a lf hour had gone by and i t seemed lik e there were endless series o f decisions I'd have to make fo r each shot. Then, as each sequence was fin a lly completed, I'd project i t on the beaded screen in my head so I could see how i t looked a ll put together. This is the way I worked through i t - - a sequence at a tim e. SCRIPT - VISUALS ONLY FILM "BEAUTY" FADE IN: 1) EXTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, FRONT YARD, MIDDLE AFTERNOON MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Andy running toward C A M ER A into an EYE LEVEL CLOSE SHOT to continue SCREEN RIGHT and C A M ER A PAN S with him to FULL SHOT o f Andy going toward house in BG. He's w histling fo r his dog. The house in the B G is his home. I t 's a very spacious middle class home. N o one else is in sight and no dog appears. FX outdoors and w h istlin g . 2) EXTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, NEAR FRONT DOOR, MIDDLE AFTERNOON CLOSE SHOT EYE LEVEL H EA D O N TRAVEL DOLLY Andy as he continues w histlin g and running toward the house. He f in a lly stops and turns to look behind him. FX w h istlin g , running and outdoors. 3) EXTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, NEAR FRONT DOOR, MIDDLE AFTERNOON MEDIUM SHOT EYE LEVEL H EA D O N Andy looking out toward s tre e t. He sees nothing and turns back to house. As he turns back, in the B G we see his mother, Luanne, coming out of the garage, FX outdoors. 4) EXTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, NEAR FRONT DOOR, MIDDLE AFTERNOON CLOSE UP EYE LEVEL SIDE ANGLE Andy moving toward his mother. He's looking a t his mother's face. He starts to w histle again but before any sound comes out of his lip s he stops. Something in his mother's face t e lls him something is wrong. FX w histle and outdoors. 5) EXTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, NEAR GARAGE, MIDDLE AFTERNOON CLOSE U P L O W ANGLE HEAD O N (from Andy's POV) Luanne moving 550 toward Andy. Her face has a sad expression. There's wetness around her eyes. FX outdoors. 6 ) EXTERIOR TO INTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, IN FRONT O F G A R A G E & IN GARAGE, MIDDLE AFTERNOON LO N G SHOT as Luanne and Andy reach each other. Luanne reaches out to take Andy's hand and lead him into the garage. Andy follow s wordlessly. C A M E R A Z O O M S IN slowly to C U Andy's hand holding his mother's hand. They walk into the garage and stop. Andy drops his hand to his side. The only sound has been the sound o f th e ir footsteps. Now th ere's only the sound of Andy quickly drawing in his breath. Andy moves forward and to SCREEN LEFT revealing a medium small black dog, Beauty, lying on the garage flo o r. Andy kneels down beside Beauty and reaches out his hand to touch her head. 7) INTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, GARAGE, MIDDLE AFTERNOON O VS MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Andy and Beauty as Andy drops down on his knees. He immediately reaches out to touch Beauty and as soon as he touches her his hand pulls back. She's cold and s t i f f . He wasn't expecting th a t. He pauses and then puts his hand on her head to leave i t there. He moves his hand down her back and changes his position so he's now s ittin g crosslegged beside her. As his hand moves along her back C A M ER A ZO O M S B A CK to keep his hand in the frame. I t 's a L O W ANGLE TIGHT SHOT, only wide enough to include a ll the action . Andy very thoroughly inspects Beauty's body. He trie s to open her eyes, he l i f t s her t a il and trie s to bend her paws. Then he lays his head down next to hers. FX Andy's normal breathing and body movements and outdoors. 8 ) INTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, GARAGE, MIDDLE AFTERNOON TIGHT MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Andy's and Beauty's heads. Andy's head is lying beside Beauty's and he is looking a t her. Tears s ta rt to r o ll out of his eyes. A hand ENTERS to re s t on Andy's shoulder. I t 's A1, Andy's fa th e r. C A M ER A ZO O M S B A CK as Andy s its up, puts his head against his fa th e r's leg and continues crying. His fa th e r is h a lf kneeling next to Andy. Andy cries with his eyes open. In the B G Luanne ENTERS with a box and an old sheet. The CA M ER A is shooting from Andy's eye level so a ll we see are Luanne's legs and hand holding the box and sheet. Andy sees her and l i f t s his head away from his fa th e r's leg. Luanne gives Andy a kleenex and he blows his nose as A 1 EXITS the scene. C A M E R A M O VES to TIGHT C U o f Andy. A fter a couple of snorts into the kleenex, Andy turns his head to see what his fa th e r's doing. FX footsteps Al and Luanne, Andy crying and blowing nose. Also continue FX outdoors. £51 9) INTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, GARAGE, MIDDLE AFTERNOON L O W ANGLE (ANDY'S EYE LEVEL) FULL SHOT with Andy in the F G s t i l l seated. A1, in the BG, has placed Beauty on the sheet and is in the middle of placing her in the box. Andy moves forward walking on his knees. He arranges the sheet to cover Beauty as i f she were going to sleep, as he has done many times during her l i f e . FX normal sounds and FX outdoors. 10) INTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, GARAGE, MIDDLE AFTERNOON TIGHT MEDIUM T W O SHOT Andy arranging the sheet over Beauty. He completes the job and A 1 (OFF CAMERA) places the cover on the box. Andy moves his head and only the top of the box is seen. FX normal sounds and FX outdoors. 11) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON C U top of box and a fte r a couple of beats PULLS B A CK to FULL SHOT which reveals A 1 in the F G standing near the box and Andy in the BG. Andy is looking around. I t is a lovely spot with shrubs, trees and some w ild flow ers. Andy is looking to fin d ju s t the rig h t spot fo r Beauty's grave. He s its down. FX outdoors. 12) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON TIGHT FULL SHOT Andy seated. He looks from side to side, then moves forward a l i t t l e b it. He pats the ground and looks up a t his fa th e r. FX outdoors. 13) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON LO N G SHOT ANDY'S EYE LEVEL with Andy in FG and A 1 in BG. A 1 comes forward with the box and spade. As he approaches Andy sees only his fa th e r's legs. Behind A 1 in the fa r B G Luanne and children approach. A 1 sets the box down and sta rts digging. Andy watches shovel cutting through the so il and then he looks up. C A M ER A TILTS U P follow ing the handle of the spade to a C U of A1. FX digging. 14) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON MEDIUM CLOSE SUBJECTIVE PA N ANDY'S PO V of Luanne, Andy's s is te r, Laura, and his brother, Eddie. Also there are three or four other children standing with Andy's fam ily and others approaching from behind them. During the P A N a group o f about twelve neighborhood children gather to take positions to watch the proceeding. They a ll wear sad expressions. One l i t t l e g ir l is carrying her small dog and hanging on to i t very tig h tly as i f to never le t i t go. Another has a large Iris h S etter (or s im ila r sized dog) and even the dog, who becomes another one o f the heads in the pan, appears to be sad. _________________________________ 552 Beauty was loved by many and they have come to pay th e ir respects. During the P A N FX change from shoveling grave to f i l l i n g i t . 15) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON C U A l's face to TILT D O W N shovel to grave. Andy is smoothing out the so il as A l's shovel puts the la s t so il back on the grave. FX shovel. 16) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON REVERSE FULL SHOT to show A 1 completing the task. He holds out his hand to Andy, in v itin g him to come back to the house. Andy shakes his head and A 1 leaves, a fte r touching the top of Andy's head. The FULL SHOT with Andy s ittin g in the middle of i t , creates a strong fe e lin g of aloneness. Andy's head is bowed and his h air is hanging in his face. He turns and puts his head on the grave, patting i t as i f he were patting Beauty. FX outdoors. 17) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Andy patting grave. Andy's eyes are open and when the hoof o f a baby goat ENTERS the scene, Andy immediately sees i t and s its up. C A M ER A ZO O M S BACK to LO N G SHOT of Andy and the kid. The kid is crying. Andy looks around to see where the kid has come from, sees the place, picks up the kid and carries her back to the fence through which she has come. FX outdoors and kid. 18) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING NEAR FENCE, LATE AFTERNOON MEDIUM SHOT O VS Andy lif t in g the kid over the fence and the kid running toward its mother. Andy turns away and C A M E R A PANS with him as he goes back toward Beauty's grave. FX outdoors. 19) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT kid running away from CAM ERA. Then she stops, turns and s ta rts running toward CAMERA. 20) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Andy reaching Beauty's grave. He hears something. He turns toward fence. FX nail in wood being pulled. 21) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT kid breaking through fence again. 553 22) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON MEDIUM SHOT Andy putting kid back over the fence again. This time not so gently. He takes some rocks, determinedly f i l l s in the hole and EXITS scene to go back into the house. 23) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON C U rocks a t the fence being pushed away. The kid sticks i t 's head through and looks around. 24) EXTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, PATIO, EARLY EVENING MEDIUM ANDY'S EYE LEVEL TRAVEL DOLLY Andy as he opens the door to the patio and ENTERS. C A M ER A stays with Andy. In the B G we see b its and pieces of people, the tab le with food and a barbecue smoking. There are three couples along with A 1 and Luanne. Much of th is is even out of focus. As Andy walks through the p a tio , headed fo r the house the FX of indistinguishable dialogue SEGUES with the FX dog barking. Andy stops and looks down at his side. A FULL SHOT of Beauty FADES IN to SUPERIMPOSE over the scene. The DO UBLE EXPOSED IMAGE of Beauty jumps up and down and barks. Andy reaches out to touch Beauty but c a n 't. The image of Beauty FADES OUT and Andy walks through the patio doors into the kitchen. 25) INTERIOR, ANDY'S HOUSE, KITCHEN, EARLY EVENING MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT PA N with Andy as he walks to the kitchen sink to stand up on a l i t t l e stool and wash his hands. In the B G Luanne is stacking silverw are. The sound of the silverw are SEGUES to the sound o f Beauty's tags h ittin g her food dish as she's eating. Andy turns his head toward the place where Beauty's water and food dishes are kept. 26) INTERIOR, KITCHEN, EARLY EVENING MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT of flo o r beside the cubboards. Beauty's dishes are s t i l l there. A FULL SHOT of Beauty FADES IN to SUPERIMPOSE over the scene. She's eating some of her food. The image of Beauty FADES OUT. FX kitchen sounds Luanne working. 27) INTERIOR, KITCHEN TO EXTERIOR PATIO, EARLY EVENING CLOSE SHOT H EA D O N Andy s t i l l looking at Beauty's dishes. He turns and C A M ER A DOLLYS With him, seeing the back of his head as he walks out into the p a tio . As soon as he steps out into the patio CA M ER A Z O O M S BA C K to include Luanne, who gives him a p late of food. Luanne sta rts to say something to him, but stops h e rself and simply pushes the h a ir from his forehead and kisses his forehead. Andy takes the plate and goes to s it down. FX barbecue sounds. 554 28) EXTERIOR, PATIO, EARLY EVENING SIDE ANGLE MEDIUM SHOT Andy seated in a ch air. He is surrounded by FX people ta lk in g (indistinguishable dialogue) but is completely iso lated . 29) EXTERIOR, PATIO, EARLY EVENING C U Andy. He shakes his head so his h air fa lls in his eyes again. He takes a b ite of a piece of meat. He chews. I t is tough. He looks up and around. FX barbecue sounds. 30) EXTERIOR, PATIO, EARLY EVENING H EA D O N MEDIUM SHOT Andy looking around to see i f anyone's watching him. He doesn't see anyone and he looks down at his lap. FULL SHOT of Beauty PO PS O N to s it beside him and rest her head on his knee. Andy holds out the piece of meat fo r her to take. She doesn't take i t . He moves i t closer. She s t i l l doesn't take i t . Andy puts the meat back on his plate and the double exposure PO PS OFF. Andy is no longer hungry. He gets up, puts his plate down and EXITS. FX barbecue sounds. 31) INTERIOR, B E D R O O M EARLY EVENING CLOSE SHOT Andy ENTERING his bedroom. He walks through and away from the door. He sta rts fo r his bed, then stops to turn back and close the door. He goes to his bed, walking away in to a MEDIUM SHOT. C A M ER A FO LLO W S FOCUS. He lie s down on the bed. Faint FX barbecue. 32) INTERIOR, BEDROOM , EARLY EVENING MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Andy lying on his bed. One arm is outstretched. He looks to his side and the image of Beauty PO PS O N next to him and snuggles under his arm. Andy puts his arm around the image of Beauty. The image remains and Andy smiles as he closes his eyes to go to sleep. Faint FX barbecue. DISSOLVE TO: 33) INTERIOR, BEDROOM , EARLY M ORNING MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Andy waking up. He's in his bed w ith the covers over him, but is s t i l l in his clothes. He s its up on his elbows, looks around, especially a t the place th at Beauty usually occupies under his arm. He throws the covers back and jumps out o f bed to EXIT SCENE. 34) EXTERIOR, GARAGE, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM SHOT Andy EXITING garage carrying a rake, sprinkling 555 can, seeds and boards. He EXITS scene SCREEN RIGHT. He walks ra p id ly . 35) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM SHOT Andy ENTERS SCREEN LEFT carrying a ll his tools and m aterials. C A M ER A PANS RIGHT to FO LLO W him to the grave. He puts everything down except the spade. He s ta rts raking the so il on Beauty's grave, 36) EXTERIOR, W O O D Y CLEARING, EARLY MORNING C U rake raking. 37) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING C U Andy's hand planting seeds. 38) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING C U spout of sp rin kling can sprinkling water on ground. 39) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING C U Andy's hands making the boards into the shape of a cross. 40) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING C U Andy's hands n a ilin g the boards together. 41) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING C U Andy's hands painting the boards w hite. 42) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING C U Andy's hands p rin tin g le tte rs on the cross. 43) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING EARLY MORNING MEDIUM SHOT Andy with his back to C A M ER A putting up the cross a t the head o f the grave. He steps back, puts his hands on his hips and surveys what he's done. 44) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING REVERSE ANGLE with cross in F G and Andy looking at i t . In the B G we see a group of the neighborhood children standing watching Andy. They are SCREEN RIGHT, and SCREEN LEFT we see the kid with her fro n t hoofs on the fence peering over a t Andy. Andy looks over and sees the kid. He d e lib e ra te ly and elabo rately turns his back on her. C A M ER A TILTS D O W N to seeded and watered ground. FX outdoors. DISSOLVE TO’ _______* _____ 556 45) EXTERIOR, W O O D ED CLEARING, EARLY MORNING Same p lo t of ground only now there are seedlings. Sprinkling can ENTERS to water the seedlings. FX outdoors. DISSOLVE TO: 46) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, N O O N Same p lo t of ground only now there are plants with many leaves. Andy's hand is weeding. FX outdoors. DISSOLVE TO: 47) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, MORNING Same p lo t of ground only now there are plants th at are quite t a l l . Andy is watering them. FX outdoors. DISSOLVE TO: 48) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON Same p lo t of ground only now the plants have buds. Andy's hand gently touches several o f the buds. C A M ER A TILTS UP to H EA D O N SHOT of Andy looking a t the bud. SCREEN RIGHT in B G we see the kid , again with her hoofs on the fence looking at Andy. Andy again d e lib e ra te ly refuses to look at her and turns to go back to the house. FX outdoors. 49) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON C U kid watching Andy leave. The kid jumps down. W e hear FX of rocks fa llin g and the C A M ER A TILTS D O W N to the hole in the fence. I t 's g etting bigger and we see the kid looking through i t . DISSOLVE TO: 50) EXTERIOR, PATH TO W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING Andy runs toward C A M ER A from a FULL SHOT into a MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT. He is carrying books and wearing a cap. He stops, looks RIGHT of C A M ER A and then slowly moves into a C U to stop again. His face shows surprise and then anger. FX outdoors 51) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING LO N G SHOT kid s ittin g squarely in the middle of the flower p lo t. The kid ju s t s its and stares at Andy as i f she's been w aiting fo r him to a rriv e . 52) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING SIDE ANGLE Andy and kid . Neither has y e t moved. Suddenly Andy 557 jumps in to action. He waves his f i s t a t the kid , y e lls (u n in te llig ib le sounds), he throws his books at the kid and waves his arms. 53) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Andy waving his arms and throwing things. 54) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT kid runs fo r the hole in the fence. Andy chases a fte r her. 55) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM SHOT kid gets through the hole in the fence and Andy sta rts p ilin g the stones up again. As fa s t as he p iles the stones they f a ll down again. He becomes fru s tra ted and then angry. He keeps p ilin g the stones, throwing them one on top of the other u n til by sheer numbers they f i l l the hole. Andy is angry and te a rfu l. 56) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING CLOSE SHOT Andy p ilin g the stones. His face shows anger and tears stream down his face. His anger is the irra tio n a l anger we fe e l toward death and his tears are the fe elin g of helplessness we fe el when confronted with death. 57) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Andy throwing the la s t stone on the p ile and then he goes back to the grave. C A M ER A PAN S w ith him. He looks to see what damage has been done. 58) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING CLOSE SHOT Andy c a re fu lly and te a rfu lly repairing the damage. C A M ER A TILTS D O W N to exclude Andy and CENTER O N several broken stems. DISSOLVE TO: 59) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON CLOSE SHOT of broken stems. They are now very much w ilte d , C A M ER A ZO O M S BACK to LO N G SHOT to show Andy approaching in B G w ith four sides o f a picket fence and a hammer. Andy moves in to a CLOSE SHOT. FX outdoors. 60) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON MEDIUM SHOT Andy hammering the four pieces of picket fence into 558 the ground. A fte r hammering each one he looks over a t the kid. FX hammering and outdoors. 61) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT kid standing o ff at a distance on the other side of the fence. She is somewhat intim idated by Andy's anger o f the day before and keeps her distance. FX hammering and outdoors. 62) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON C U Andy looking over a t the kid w ith a " I ' ve-cooked-your- goose-this-tim e" expression on his face. FX outdoors. 63) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, LATE AFTERNOON MEDIUM SHOT Andy hammering la s t piece into place. FX hammering and outdoors. C A M E R A ZO O M S INTO C U Andy’ s hand as i t moves SCREEN RIGHT along the sla ts o f the picket fence. DISSOLVE TO: 64) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, N O O N C U Andy's hand moving SCREEN LEFT along the slats of the picket fence. C A M ER A ZO O M S BA C K to MEDIUM SHOT. Andy is inspecting the fence and then he waters the flowers with his sprinkling can. He looks out the corner of his eye toward the other side o f the fence where the kid usually is . FX outdoors. 65) EXTERIOR, PASTURE O N OTHER SIDE OF FENCE, N O O N LO N G SHOT PA N of pasture. The kid is not in sig ht. FX outdoors. 66) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, N O O N C U Andy. He's watering his flowers and he turns his head from side to side. He sees nothing. He walks away into B G carrying his sp rin klin g can. Before he gets out o f sight he turns around again to look fo r the kid. The kid is nowhere in sig ht. FX outdoors. DISSOLVE TO: 67) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING LO N G SHOT Andy walking toward grave. He's carrying sprinkling can and wearing his cap. As he comes toward the grave he looks to see the kid. The kid is not there. He walks to the grave into MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT. He sets the sprinkling can down and takes away one side of the fence so he can get to the flow ers. He sees the flowers are beginning to bloom. FX outdoors. 559 68) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY M ORNING C U Andy looking a t blossoms. He's pleased and smiles. FX outdoors. 69) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Andy picks up the sprinkling can, looks over toward the pasture, sets the can down and goes to crawl up on the fence to look over. FX outdoors. 70) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING CLOSE SHOT HEAD O N Andy looking both ways. No kid in sig h t. He is disappointed. He walks back to the grave as C A M ER A ZO O M S B A C K to LO N G SHOT Andy and grave. This is the point of view so often taken by the kid. Andy gets down on his hands and knees to pull some weeds. FX outdoors. 71) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING L O W ANGLE H EA D O N MEDIUM SHOT ANDY on his hands and knees weeding. In the B G we see the kid coming toward him. Andy's unaware o f her presence. The k id 's now so close to Andy we don't see him. Suddenly Andy f a lls forward toward CAMERA. He is sprawled on a ll fours in the middle o f the grave s ite . The kid has pushed him over. Andy turns his head to look back. FX outdoors. 72) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING L O W ANGLE O VS MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT Andy in F G with kid in B G standing looking a t Andy. Andy laughes and turns his head back. As he turns his head he sees in FG one o f the stems with a broken blossom. FX laughing and outdoors. 73) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM SIDE ANGLE Andy jumping to his fe e t to chase the kid away. He runs a fte r her, throwing his cap a t her. FX outdoors. 74) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING CLOSE SHOT kid grabs the cap and runs a short distance to stop. FX outdoors. 75) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING LO N G SHOT Andy chasing the kid and the kid keeps ju s t beyond Andy's reach. Andy keeps almost getting i t , but not getting i t , u n til f in a lly , out o f sheer exhaustion, he drops to the ground and ro lls over on his back. FX outdoors. 560 _p I AQjr‘ 76) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT ANDY'S EYE LEVEL. The kid stops running around and slowly approaches Andy with the cap in herjnouth. Andy watches her and begins to decide on a strategy. FX outdoors. 77) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING CLOSE SHOT Andy as he begins to decide on a strategy and he smiles. This is beginning to be fun. FX outdoors. 78) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT ANDY'S EYE LEVEL. Andy lie s very s t i l l u n til the kid gets close enough to reach the cap and he grabs i t . They have a tug of war. FX outdoors. 79) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING C U kid w ith cap in mouth engaged in tug of war. FX outdoors. 80) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING CLOSE SHOT Andy being jerked as he hangs on to the cap. Andy is now laughing. FX outdoors. 81) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT ANDY'S EYE LEVEL. Andy is in the F G and the kid is in the BG. Andy keeps the upper hand and then he in te n tio n a lly yie ld s his advantage. The kid takes good advantage of Andy's move, grabs the cap and is o ff with i t . FX outdoors. 82) EXTERIOR, W O O D E D CLEARING, EARLY MORNING MEDIUM SHOT Andy is up and running a fte r the kid. He's laughing and having a great time. C A M ER A FO LLO W S Andy fo r several beats and then PAN S BA C K to CENTER on the flowers on the grave. The flowers look especially beautiful now. FX Andy's laughter and outdoors. FADE OUT: I put the period a fte r the la s t sentence of the la s t shot and wrote FADE OUT. I don't know how many hours I'd been working on the script--m any more than I'd thought i t would take. I knew th a t. But in the process, I'd learned a hellava lo t about how to w rite m y next one. 561 "Now it's time for you to write your script. Hopefully by now you've gotten feedback from your friends, have looked at some different alternatives and are ready to visualize your ideas." "Chances are you’ll go through the same process Don went through and you'll ask yourself the same kinds of questions Don asked. Don't be discouraged if your script ing takes more time than you’d anticipated. Scripting is a very time consuming process, but if you apply the seat of your pants to the seat of your chair and stay there, it'll happen." "You start running into trouble when you keep putting it off or if you walk away when you hit problems. When you have a problem is exactly when you need to stick with it. The ■problem solving process is the creative process, because it’s then you examine alternatives. That’s your cue. When you hit a problem, start asking about alternatives. That's what Don did when he was working out his decision about flashbacks. Don't settle for your first answer. Find three or four options and then you'll be in a position to select the one that suits you best. Sometimes your ideas will work quickly, but sometimes you'll have to really struggle with them." "You've heard the ancient saying that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. ______________________562 The same thing is true of screenwriting. The building of script begins with the first shot." "Go for it!” The visuals only evaluation session was a real winner fo r me. Generally speaking, Margaret and the class agreed th at m y s c rip t rated high on a ll counts, and y e t they gave m e feedback t h a t 'll help when I do the film . Most lik ed the way I'd handled the flashbacks, but some suggested I wouldn't need to show Beauty w ith her dishes. They a ll thought I should develop the kid b ette r as a more d elib erate force and th at there was s t i l l lo ts of room fo r showing more about Andy's struggle not to get involved. Most of them recognized th at the turning point came fo r Andy when he got rid of his anger,, but they w eren't sure the audience was going to know th a t. Already I was beginning to get ideas about changes I'd lik e to make, but Margaret suggested to a ll of us th at i t 'd be a good plan to jo t down our ideas fo r revisions i t --------—’ but set the s c rip t aside fo r awhile. T t — As she said, "This is your f i r s t s c rip t. N ow you need to move 563 on to the next. You've learned the basic techniques and concepts of s to ry te llin g and how to handle the m aterials and tools of filmmaking. You've learned to look a t the world you liv e in , to gather its inform ation, and how to store and re trie v e the inform ation. You've learned how to reconstruct and ex tern alize your experiences and information in such a way as to bring something new into existance. In other words, you've learned the creative process of screenw riting." She was rig h t. I had. 564 SUM M ARY AND IMPLICATIONS S U M M A R Y The purpose o f th is study is twofold. I t was created to demon s tra te the u tiliz a tio n of the discovery method in teaching c re a tiv ity and to provide p rin t m aterial th at would teach the process of screen- w ritin g . I t is hoped th a t teachers, in search o f methods fo r teaching c re a tiv ity , w ill look to the scenario and be guided to use some of the same philosophy and methods. Also, hopefully, the scenario w ill be read by students of screenwriting who are unable to become a part of a classroom situ a tio n and those who need and/or want remedial or enrich ment work. The discovery method of teaching creates a learning environment th a t provides the students w ith opportunities wherein they learn through p o sitive experiences what th e ir c a p a b ilitie s are; i t permits them to move a t th e ir individual rates and in the directions they want to go; i t provides them with the help and encouragement th a t enables them to break a;way from r e s tric tiv e behavior and move toward the discovery of new and creative behavior. In th is study the abstract and life le s s q u a lity of a Course Instructio n al Design fo r a Beginning Screenwriting Class was brought to l i f e in the form o f a scenario depicting the implementation of the Course In stru ctio n al Design. As the extension of the Course Instruction al Design, the scenario embodies its ob jectives, learning tasks, in struction al events and media. Also, the dominant teaching method used in the scenario is ________________ 565. the same as th at used in the r e a lity classroom fo r which the Course Instruction al Design was developed. This teaching method is an "experien tial" stimulus centered method which contains and demonstrates the essential ch aracteristics of the discovery method. The overall objectives fo r the r e a lity classroom and the scenario classroom are: 1) Students w ill demonstrate, through successive steps of synopses, treatments and s c rip ts , th at they have learned: a. to communicate a preconceived "idea" to others so the others understand the "idea" from the w rite r's point of view; b. to communicate th e ir "idea" w ithin and through a "story" structure; c. to communicate th e ir "idea" w ithin and through emerging, believable and dimensional character iza tio n s ; and d. to communicate th e ir "idea" using film ic methods as a part o f the communication (not as a recording device o n ly ). 2) Students w ill demonstrate th e ir knowledge of the workings of the creative process by: a. having a high tolerance fo r ambiguity; b. a c tiv e ly searching fo r a lte rn a tiv e s ; c. pushing ideas beyond closure; d. embracing re w ritin g ; and e. fre e ly expressing thoughts and fe elin g s. 566 3) Students w ill demonstrate th e ir knowledge of information storage and information re trie v a l by engaging in s tra t egies fo r storage and re trie v a l of inform ation. The learning tasks and in struction al events analyzed and developed in the Course In struction al Design and implemented in the scenario deal with the generalized and sp ecific areas o f motion picture "to o ls," premise, "story" stru ctu re, character, motion picture unique nesses and techniques, information storage and re trie v a l and the creative process. In the Course In struction al Design the educational stim uli are called media and in the scenario they are called design facto rs. The design factors in the scenario both u t iliz e the selected media of the Course In stru ctio n al Design and make th e ir own contribution. The design fa c to rs --s tim u li fo r overt and covert responding, immediate feedback and p o sitive reinforcem ent, exercises, examples and shared experiences, branching suggestions, cues and organizers and pictures and drawings— a ll are used as ways fo r fa c ilit a tin g learning. The dram atization o f a make believe classroom with storybook students liv in g through a learning experience was designed to simulate a r e a lity classroom and provide the stimulus fo r the reader's vicarious experiencing and learning. The "one-to-one" in terac tio n between the teacher and the reader w ill hopefully increase the reader's sense of being one of the scenario students and thus increase hers or his id e n tific a tio n and vicarious learning. The Course In stru ction al Design contains the content lesson plans and learning theory used in r e a lity ; classrooms to teach the student of screenwriting to learn the basic techniques and concepts ________________________________________________________ 567 of s to ry te llin g ; how to handle the m aterials and tools of filmmaking and how to look a t the world they liv e in , gather its inform ation, store i t and re trie v e i t to reconstruct and extern a lize i t in such a way as to bring something new in to existance. I t is believed th at the scenario w i l l , as a separate e n tity , approximate a sim ila r experience and be a valuable teaching tool as well as a remedial and enrichment source. IMPLICATIONS The d irec tio n fo r fu rth e r work seems clear: the value of the p rin t m aterial as a substitute/rem edial/enrichm ent learning experience must be tested. Such an undertaking might involve an experimental approach to the problem. R ea lity classrooms u tiliz in g the same in stru ctio n al design and methods to achieve the same terminal objectives and with d iffe re n t uses fo r the scenario should be organized, imple mented and studied. Students using the scenario only should be studied along w ith students involved in the r e a lity learning experience only; students involved in the r e a lity learning experience who need remedial help and who use the scenario fo r th is purpose should be studied along w ith students in r e a lity classrooms needing remedial help who use m aterials other than the scenario; students involved in the r e a lity learning experience who want enrichment m aterial and who use the scenario fo r th is purpose should be studied along with students in r e a lity classrooms wanting enrichment m aterial who use m aterials other than the scenario. I t would be in terestin g to mediate the course instruction al design to produce a k it containing the selected media. This would include the poster size s t i l l pictures, the audio tape, film s trip and three dimensional objects. Further work could be done with the scenario. The experiences of w ritin g a dialogue and/or narration film could be w ritte n ; a fu ll development o f the evaluation sessions could be done and one or both of the scrip ts could be followed through the phases of production. A scenario dram atizing the production of a film could be especially valuable fo r the screenw riter, as well as the beginning student of production. I t is in production th at the screenw riter's ideas are trie d and sentenced. The sound stage, the location s ite , the ed itin g room, the dubbing studio are the best classrooms of a l l . The scenario could also be used to te s t once again the effica cy of the discovery method of teaching c re a tiv ity . This too might involve an experiemental approach or i t could be a documentary study. I t could system atically c o lle c t and record the statements of students who have learned how to engage in the creative process as a resul t of being a part o f classes using a discovery method of teaching. I t has been through the statements and work of a ll the Dons, Janes, L izs, Johns, Susans, C harlies, Michaels, Beckys, Larrys, Lenards, and Bobbies throughout fifte e n years of working with beginning screenwriting students th at th is author has grown to know th at c re a tiv ity belongs to everyone and can be taught in classrooms. This scenario, through the use of the discovery method, with its im p lic it philosophy and its concern about the b arriers th a t in h ib it the creative process, demonstrated how the scenario teacher affected some s ig n ific a n t changes in the ways the students encountered and learned the screenwriting process. 569 APPENDIX A SCREENWRITING CO URSE INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN 570 us ENABLING OBJECTIVE LEARNING TASK INSTRUCTIONAL EVENT "WflAT IF?" MEDIA RATIONALE STATE OBJECTIVE OF TEACHING SEQUENCE AFFECTIVE: S a tis fa c tio n In response. S ta te method o f "game p la y in g ” and ask fo r guspenslon o f c r i t i c a l e v a lu a tio n . Ask them to "g iv e them selves" to the experience. In s tr u c to r d isc u s s io n C reate "p re te n d " s itu a tio n where se rio u s event occurs) I . e . , an Auto a cc id e n t In w hich a t le a s t one person c r i t i c a l l y In ju re d . "Game p la y in g " In te ra c tio n S p o ntan e ity F le x ib ilit y Students w i l l w r ite d e s c rip tio n s o f ’’what w i l l happen i f ” in response to Q uestions p re s e n t in g th re e d if f e r ent s itu a tio n s . Ask q u e s tio n s , "What w i l l happen?" and "What w i l l you do?" Ask stu d e nts each to w r ite th e answers to those que stio n s as I f th e y were w r it in g a le t t e r to someone d e s c rib in g what was happening and what th e y d id . Ask each s tu d e n t to read what he o r she has w r itte n and have b r ie f group d is c u s s io n s about each. Ask second q u e stio n and in s t r u c t s tu d e n t. "You are c o n fro n te d w ith a l i f e and death d e c is io n in the face o f o p p o s itio n . You must th re e tim es e valu a te and make a d e c is io n . What do you do?" Emohasize th a t th e key words are " in the face o f o p p o s itio n ," Ask each stu d e n t to read what he has w r itte n and have b r ie f group d is c u s s io n s about each. Ask th ir d q u e s tio n and in s t r u c t s tu d e n ts . "The w orst p o s s ib le r e s u lt fo r the s itu a tio n o c c u rs . What do you do and how do you fe e l? " Paper & p e n c il e xe rcise In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d is c u s s io n A c tiv e responding In te ra c tio n A o v e rt con c e p tu a liz a tio n COGNITIVE S ta te b a s ic elem ents o f s to r y t e llin g : Somebody saying som ething to someone through events th a t s tru g g le a c c u m u la tiv e ly through space/tim e toward a f in a l s tru g g le and unknown b u t in e v ita b le r e s u lt and th ro u gh emerging c h a ra c te riz a tio n In s tr u c to r d is c u s s io n P ro je c te d l i s t (overhead o r s lid e ) w ith sim ple lin e g rap h ics The l i s t grows H elp organize a b s tra c tio n s G raphics add more concrete meaning to word symbols Students w i l l Id e n tify ( to any degree) the b a sic elem ents o f a s to ry in th e ir "w hat i f " e x e rc is e . COGNITIVE! A n a ly s is o f o rg a n iz a tio n a l p rin c ip le s D is tr ib u te g ra p h ics handout In s tr u c t stu d e nts to id e n tify in t h e ir " s to r y " the b a s ic elem ents as ju s t lis t e d and d e scrib e d . Discuss each e ven t. Ask fo r a t le a s t th re e examples fo r each element from members o f the group. Emphasize to group th a t they have each a lre a d y w r itte n a s to ry and s ta te th a t by some p eo p le ’ s d e f in it io n th a t a lre a d y makes them w r ite r s . P r in t m a te ria l In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d is c u s s io n D urable 6 can r e fe r back to In te ra c tio n A o v e rt concept u a liz a tio n D is tr ib u te the W illia m Saroyan m a te ria l. P r in t m a te ria l D urable A can r e fe r back to ENABLING OBJECTIVE LEARNING TASK instructional event THE MEDIUM AS PART OF THE MESSAGE MEDIA RATIONALE Each stu d e n t w il l use some s o r t o f v ie w fin d e r to s im u la te the camera placem ent— d is ta n c e , angle and movement--A8 lo o k in g n t each o th e r o r aome o th e r person o r o b je c t and w i l l discu ss the Ideas and em otions each placem ent evokes. Students w i l l view film s a nd /or ex c e rp ts o f film s dem onstrating vary* ing tempos and rhythms to achieve d if fe r e n t purposes and w il t discu ss the Ideas and em otions they f e l t as provoked by the d if fe r e n t pocea. S tudents w i l l lis t e n to tapes and /or film s th a t use sound to achieve d iffe r e n t purposes and w i l l d iscu ss the idenn A em otions the d if fe r e n t e ffe c ts th e y f e l t no provoked by the d i ffe r e n t sounds. COGNITIVE: Knowledge o f te rm ino lo gy A p p lic a tio n Use o f A b s tra c tio n s AFFECTIVE: Responding S a tis fa c tio n in respond in g STATE OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING SEQUENCE D efine (a ccord in g to Lewis Herman) the d if fe r e n t s h o ts— d is ta n c e , angle and movement— and in s tr u c t stu d e nts to sim u la te the shot through th e ir v ie w fin d e rs and discuss the ideas and em otions each shot provoked. FULL SHOT LONG SHOT MEDIUM SHOT MEDIUM-CLOSE SHOT CLOSE SHOT CLOSE-UP EXTREME CLOSE-UP FOLLOW ACTION PAN REVELATION PAN PAY-OFF TAN MEDIUM TO CLOSE PAN REACTION PAN SUBJECTIVE PAN FLASH OR "BLUR** PAN ' TILT UP TILT D O W N DOLLY IN DOLLY OUT TRAVEL DOLLY CRAB DOLLY EYE LEVEL LOW ANGLE HIGH ANGLE SIDE ANGLE Show film s dem onstrating v a ry in g tempos and rhythm s and d is c u s s . D iscu ssion is to in c lu d e e ffe c ts o f: In te r n a l rhythm : camera movement, pace o f sction,,num bei o f sim ultaneous even ts, speed o f d ia lo g u e , choice o f s t a t ic o r moving s h o t, rhythm o f m usic, FX, e tc . E x te rn a l rhythm : le n g th o f each s h o t, expected and un- expected J u x to p o n itto n in g o f s h o ts , re la tio n s h ip s between images and sound, e tc . P iny tapes and show Film s dem onstrating the use o f sound to achieve d if fe r e n t purposes and d is c u s s . D iscu ssion is to include? Sound ( e ffe c ts , m usic, d ia lo g u e , n a rra tio n ) used to accompany, p r e d ic t, h e ig h te n , s e t mood & pace Sound ( c lt e c t s , m usic, d la lb g u c , n a rra tio n ) used a d d itlv c ly , re d u n d a n tly , as c o u n te rp o in t S tre ss th a t sound can be used fco communicate s sim ultaneous message b u t not a d u p lic a te message. P ro je cte d sim ple lin e draw ing grap h ics o r p r in t p ic tu re s Add more concrete meaning to word symbols M otion P ic tu re s (th o se th a t are a v a ila b le , p re fe ra b ly e a rly Russian as w e ll an re c e n t expcr im e n ta l and con v e n tio n a l work) F ilm s A tapes (th o se th a t are a v a ila b le - e s p e c ia lly expe rim e ntal stu d e nt film s ) Concrete d en o tive examples C oncrete d en o tive examples < J 1 IO TERMINAL SUB-OBJECTIVE COGNITIVE: In s tr u c t stu d e nts to engage In p erfo rm in g the In s tru c to r Maximum A lte r observing a A p p lic a tio n o b je c tiv e and d is t r ib u te w r itte n te s t sheet. d is c u ssio n and understanding m echanical to y In use o f p r in t in s tr u c & r e fe r back movement the student a b stra ctio n s tio n s w il l w r ite a sequence S ynthesis o f no more than 15 p ro d u ctio n shots th a t w i l l cotn- o f a unique muuicRte the w rite r'a communica fe e lin g s and thoughts tio n about the m echanical to y . T h is w i l l be done w ith o u t th e use o f d ia lo gu e o r n a rra to r. Sound e ffe c ts can be used. The stu d e nt w i l l use a t le a s t s ix o f the medium's techniques w hich c a rry meaning w ith in them selves. c n t GO ENABLING OBJECTIVE LEARNING TASK INSTRUCTIONAL EVENT PREMISE MEDIA RATIONALE Each ntu d en t w i l l s ta te th e ir "sym bol” o f symbols” th a t stand fo r the n o tio n o f "someone saying something to someone e ls e ” Each stu d e nt w i l l recognize th a t each member o f the c la s s has a d if fe r e n t meaning fo r words and concern them selves w ith ta lk about meaning ra th e r than r ig h t ” words. AFFECTIVE: Responding S a tis fa c tio n in response STATE OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING SEQUENCE D iscuss th e many words used to denote "someone saying something to someone e ls e ." These symbols In c lu d e : prem ise, theme, purpose, c e n tra l id e a , ro o t Idea, message, what i t is shout, statem ent T e ll the c la s s , ” 1 have a dog whose name is Judy" end ask them to th in k about and t e l l what m ental p ic tu re they have o f Judy. Ask some why they th in k tn e y have created t h e ir p ic tu re . P e rception phenomenon to be p o in te d o u t: 1) each lias d if fe r e n t p ic tu re o f same dog 2) u s u a lly based on p ast experience w ith dogs and doge w ith a person o f my type Emphasize th a t i t d o e s n 't m a tte r what " i t ” o r ’’a n yth in g ” is c a lle d ju s t so everybody knows "w hat” is b ein g ta lk e d about. S ta te th a t throughout our work we w i l l have to be c o n tin u ously aware o f th is fa c t th a t meanings are in our minds, n ot in the words, because i f we spend tim e dete rm in ing and a rgu in g about a ’’r ig h t " d e f in itio n we w i l l n o t have as much tim e to work w ith elements o f and the process o f s c re e n w ritin g . Discuss some o f the many d e fin itio n s : P udovklns "The theme as b a sic id e a , u n ite d in I t s e l f ih e meaning o f a l l the events d e p ic te d .... Note as ru le : fo rm u la te the theme c le a r ly and e x a c tly — o th e r w ise the work w i l l n o t a c q u ire th a t e s s e n tia l meaning and u n ity th a t c o n d itio n s every work o f a r t . " Lewis Herman: " . . . . t h e developments should flo w from th e theme, through the theme and around th e them e.” Lo lo s E g r ls "The prem ise Is the c o nce p tio n, the b e g io - n ln g o f a p la y . The prem ise is a seed and i t grows in to a p la n t th a t was co ntained in the o r ig in a l seed n o th in g more, n o th in g le s s .” J ohn Howard Lawson: "The laws o f thought w hich under l i e th e c re a tiv e process re q u ire th a t the p la y w rig h t begin w ith a ro o t-id e a . . . . The n ext ste p is the d is c o v e ry o f an a c tio n th n t expresses the ro o t-id e a . Thin a c tio n in the most fundam ental a c tio n o f the p in y ; i t la the clim ax and the lim it o f the p la y 's developm ent, because I t embodies the p la y w rig h t s idea o f s o c ia l n e c e s s ity , w hich d e fin e s the p la y ’ s scope and p urp o se .” " . . . n cin e m a tic theme is a concept o f s p e c ific people and t h e ir e n v iro n m e n t.. . .The development o f o f ilm is composed and o rc h e s tra te d ; i t s separote movements c a rry th e s to ry forw ard by e x p lo rin g i t s p o s s ib ilitie s and u n fo ld in g new aspects and r e la tio n s h ip s .” In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d iscu ssio n E xercise In s tru c to r d iscu ssio n In te ra c tio n & o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n Common & concrete example In u n re la te d area to illu s t r a t e concent fo r tra n s fe r to area under study P re s e n ta tio n o f predlgeated & E re -o rg a n ize d nowteoge ( S i - P * Sib Each ntu d en t w i l l w r ite a statem ent about th re e Ideas they would lik e to any to someone e ls e TERMINAL SUB-OBJECTIVE ~Eneft stu d e nt w i l l , in d iv id u a lly , w r ite down a re -p h ra s in g o f one o f th e ir ideas So i t becomes a ’’premise*' statem ent ’-OCNITlVEt Knowledge o f Methodology COGNITIVE: A p p lic a tio n \FFECTIVE: V a lu in g acceptance o f s va lu e Moresby White & Freda Stock? "The theme i o the 'id e a 'o f your a V o ry--th e thread which holds i t to g e th e r. I t la the statem ent you are making by t e llin g yo ur s to r y ." George P ierce B aker: "Some ce ntra l, ide a , p la n , purpose w hatever we choose to c a ll I t , must g iv e the p la y o rg a n ic s tr u c tu r e ." Ask the students to w rite a statem ent about each o f th re e ideas they would lik e to say to someone e ls e . E xp la in and develop Lajos E g r i's concept o f prem ise and h is manner o f s ta tin g a prem ise to c o n ta in c h a ra c te r, c o n f lic t and re s o lu tio n . In s tr u c t the group to re-phrase one statem ent fo r each stu d e nt ao i t c o n ta in s in fo rm a tio n about the c h a ra c te r, the fo rc e s th a t w i l l oppose and s tru g g le w ith each o th e r (u s in g an a c tiv e v e rb ) and the r e s u lt o f the s tru g g le . In a ttu c t stu d e nts to engage In p erfo rm in g the o b je c tiv e and d is t r ib u te w r itte n te s t sheet. Paper & P e n c il e xercise In s tru c to r tia cu ssio n In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d iscu ssio n In s tru c to r d is c u ssio n & p r in t in s tr u c tio n s Paper & p e n c il O vert co n stru cte d responding P re se n ta tio n o f p re -d ig e s te d & organized knowledge In te ra c tio n & o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n Maximum understanding Save tim e R efer back O vert co nstru cte d responding ENABLING OBJECTIVE LEARNING TASK INSTRUCTIONAL EVENT STRUGGLE HEDIA RATIONALE Each student w il t p a r tic ip a te in the game o f arm w re s t lin g . Each stu d e nt w il l d e scrib e In w r itin g a nd /or v e rb a lly the p h y s ic a l and psych o lo g ic a l experience oF the c o n triv e d s tru g g le Each stu d e nt w i l l p a r tic ip a te in a d is c u s s io n d u rin g w hich they w i l l use the va rio u s d e s c rip tiv e , a n a ly tic a l and th e o r e tic a l symbols in r e la tio n s h ip to th e ir c o n triv e d s tru g g le AFFECTIVE: S a tis fa c tio n In response COGNITIVE: Comprehension In te rp re ta tio n COGNITIVE: A n a ly s is o f elements r e la tio n ships COGNITIVE: Knowledge o f te rm ino lo gy a b s tra c tio n s A p p lic a tio n o f a b s tra c tio n s STATE OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING SEQUENCE P a ir o f f stu d e nts and In s tr u c t them to p la y the game o f arm w re s tlin g Focus th e ir a tte n tio n on 1) your f i r s t response to the e tre n g th o f your p a rtn e r 2) back & fo r th ” experience w ith th e use o f d if fe r e n t s tra te g ie s to push a g a in s t and push down 3) the la s t s tru g g le befo re one o r the o th e r wins A) the p h y s ic a l and p s y c h o lo g ic a l fe e lin g s o f the w in n e r, lo s e r and those who t ie . Ask them to d e scrib e In w r itin g what a c tu a lly happened to each o f them and how each o f them f e l t . Ask each to share w ith group what he o r she has w r itte n . Aa d is c u s s io n progresses p o in t o u t the elem ents in " d ra m a tic ” s tru c tu re are s im ila r to what they have ju s t described. P o in t o u t the v a rio u s symbols th a t have been used to d escrib e "d ra m a tic ” s tru c tu re and In g re d ie n ts o f p lo t and d e fin e in term s o f c o n triv e d experience o f cla ss b e g in n in g , m id d le , end ( A r is to tle ) e x p o s itio n , r is in g a c tio n , o b lig a to ry scene, c lim a x , (Lawson) p re p a ra tio n , a tta c k , s tru g g le , tu rn , outcome (Selden) m o tiv e , in te n tio n , d if f i c u l t y , goa l (V ole) id e a , a c tio n , c h a ra c te r (Gessner) p lo t , c o u n te rp lo t (Krows) c r is is , c lim a x , re s o lu tio n (E g ri) ETC. Emphasize the value and im portance o f d is s e c tin g and a na ly z in g th e elem ents o f dram aturgy b u t d e lim it the work o f th is c la s s as being most in te re s te d in eeeking an in t e r n a liz e d understanding o f the elem ents, and p a r t ic u la r ly th o s e ^ h a t a pply to fllm w r ltin g . Ask stu d e nts to use the symbols o f d e s c rip tiv e , a n a ly tic a l and th e o re tic a l w r ite r s and teachers to d e scrib e th e ir experiences w ith the arm w re s tlin g . Discuss the fa c t th a t the c o n triv e d s tru g g le had about fo u r d iffe r e n t faces 1) some were im m ediately overpowered 2) some had moderate success befo re being overpowered 3> some went fo r a long tim e b e fo re being overpowered 4) some went fo r a long tim e and n e ith e r were overpowered Concrete experience W ritin g e x e rc is e In s tru c to r d is c u ssio n 1 R e a lity le a rn in g D ire c t experience O vert responding P re s e n ta tio n o f p re d ig e ste d A p re-o rg a nize d knowledge In s tr u c to r / student d is c u s s io n s A backboard Induce tra n s fe r c n •‘nI c n 577 Each stu d e nt w i l l p a r tic ip a te in a d is c u ssio n con c e rn in g the t f if f e r - encen In the '‘p e r form ances" o f the Arm w re s tlin g In r e la tio n s h ip to s to r y te llin g and w i l l c o n tin uously r e la te the c la s s experiences to the va rio u s co nve n tio ns, th e o rie s 6 p ra c tic e s o f s to r y te llin g COGNITIVE: A n a ly s is o f elem ents & r e la tio n ships Ask stu d e nts to th in k about and discuss th e d if fe r e n t th in g s th a t happened in the c o n triv e d s tru g g le in re la tio n s h ip to s t o r y te llin g ; i t s co n ve n tio n s, th e o rie s and p ra c tic e s . They need n o t occur in a p a r t ic u la r o rd e r b u t must In c lu d e the fo llo w in g : 1) when th e re is no s tru g g le o r v e ry l i t t l e s tru g g le i t Is n o t a “ s to r y " —I t is a “ happening" (CONFLICT, THESIS/ANTITHESIS/SYNTHESIS) 2) when th e re was a t i e , a sense o f fr u s tr a tio n and la c k o f com pletion was f e l t (EXPECTED CLASH/ ANTICIPATION) 3) the most in te r e s tin g "s tru g g le s " were those th a t la s te d a long tim e w ith one person u ltim a te ly su cce ssfu l (PROGRESSION/UN1TY OF OPPOSITES) 4) th a t in the long tim e s tru g g le the observers begin to id e n tify w ith the co n te s ta n ts and cheer t h e ir "h e ro " on to v ic to r y (IDENTIFICATION) 5) th a t th e re was an accum ulating e xp e n d itu re o f energy w hich re s u lte d in changes in each c o n te s ta n t (SHIFTING EQUILIBRIUMS, CAUSE/EFFECT A RECOGNITION OF DISTANCE BETWEEN GOAL AND ACHIEVEMENT, GOAL/ OBSTACLE) 6) th a t th e re was movement through tim e and space (IN PRESENT MOVING OUT OF PAST INTO FUTURE IN N E W RELATIONSHIP) 7) th a t we were unsure o f th e outcome (SUSPENSE/DELAY) 8) th a t the s tru g g le began w ith the a c tiv e pushing a g a in s t (POINT OF ATTACK/BEGINNING) 9 ) th a t s tru g g le becomes "d ra m a tic " when each wants the the same g o a l and o n ly one can have i t (DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PROBABILITIES AND NECESSITIES) 10) th a t the reason fo r the s tru g g le was to determ ine a w inner (THF.ME/UNITT) 11) th a t a p o in t came when the lo s e r co uld no lon g e r push back and he became aware o f I t (OBLIGATORY SCENE) 12) th a t when the lo s e r knew he could no lo n g e r push In s tr u c to r / ntudent d is c u s s io n & blackboard back he gave up (CLIMAX/END/RESULT/RESOLUTION) 13) th a t n o t a l l tne people we thought would w in d id w in (SURPRISE, REVERSAL) Remind stu d e nts th a t, g e n e ra lly speaking, each teacher and w r it e r about w r itin g has somewhat d if fe r e n t d e fin itio n s o f term s to d e scrib e elem ents and phenomenon. In s tr u c to r s tre sse s the im portance o f the awareness o f th is and again d ire c ts the students to lo o k a t th e " th in g " ra th e r than the la b e l. In s tr u c to r conments on the th in g s th a t co uld have been b u i l t in to the c o n triv e d s tru g g le to g iv e examples o f TRANSITIONS, PREPARATION/FORESHADOWING/PLANTING and DEUS EX MAC1IINA S tre s s th e Im portance o f lo o kin g a t s t o r y t e llin g as human beings tr y in g to shape the way they want th in g s to be and1 n o t being able to do th a t. A ls o , th a t the in t e n s ity and meaning o f " c o n f lic t " (opposing fo rc e s ) in found in the d iffe re n c e between the conscious goa l and the tneAsure o f ncbf.eve.mont o f th a t g o a l. Induce tra n s fe r 578 1 Each Student w i l l d is c u s s , compare and d is c rim in a te between p h y s ic a l s tru g g le 6 "id e a ” s tru g g le to separate concept o f p h y s ic a l s tr iv in g to "w in " fo r i t s own sake (person to person, event to event) from a fo rc e (made up o f many s itu a tio n s ) seek* ing dominance TERMINAL SUP-OBJECTIVE ~Cfven a g rap h ic s tim u lu s each s tu dent w il l w r ite a s to ry o u tlin e which w il l c o n ta in e vents, th a t s tru g g le a c c u m u la tiv e ly th ru npneo/tim e toward a f in a l s tru g g le & unknown but in e v ita b le r e s u lt and w il l p a r tic ip a te in a d is c u s s io n o f a l l o f the o u tlin e s as w r itte n by each and where these elem ents e x is te d and where n o t. COGNITIVE! Comprehension e x tra p o la tio n COGNITIVE; Knowledge o f C la s o ific s tio ro & C ategories COGNITIVE: A p p lic a tio n Synthesis P ro du ctio n o f a p la n A n a ly s is o f Elements R e la tio n ships O rganiza tio n a l p rin c ip le s Ask stu d e nts to l i s t examples when a s tru g g le Is a p h y s ic a l s tru g g le to win to r i t s own sake. Examples to in c lu d e : fo o tb a ll game, s tr e e t f ig h t , lo s t in wooda and . s tru g g le to g e t home, c lim b a m ountain ( to s u rv iv e ) Ask stu d e nts to l i s t examples when a s tru g g le becomes more than ju s t " t o w in " and seeks to dominate f o r a "v a lu e " reason. Examples to In c lu d e : m arriage s tru g g le , e le c tio n , repeated s tru g g le to keep ownership o f la n d , women’ s r ig h t s , c lim b a t n o v n t a i n t o p r o v e Id e n tity D iscuss when one is one and n o t the o th e r. Ideas to In c lu d e : When more than one event o r one aspect o f an e ven t. When i t stands fo r more than its own s e lf . When choices are in v o lv e d . When i t makes a va lu e judgem ent. Ask stu d e nts to l i s t ond g lv o examples o f d if fe r e n t kind s o f fo rc e s th a t can oppose (push a g a in s t) each o th e r. lis t , to in c lu d e : 1) s e lf opposing s e lf 2) environm ent opposing in d iv id u a ls a nd /or groups 3) In d iv id u a ls opposing o th e r in d iv id u a ls a n d /o r group: 4) groups opposing o th e r in d iv id u a ls a nd /or groups 5) fa te " opposing in d iv id u a ls a nd /or groups In s tr u c to r discusses how th e natu re o f v a rio u s types o f fo rc e s cause them to be in o p p o s itio n : d iv e rg e n t values and goats In te rfe re n c e w ith a c t iv it ie s o f o th e rs in frin g e m e n t a n d /o r open o p p o s itio n to w ants, needs and possessions o f o th e rs attem pts to persuade, t r i c k a n d /o r fo rc e change a tte m p ts to a c q u ire o th e rs p ossessions, goals o r needs In s tr u c t stu d e nts on how to p erform o b je c tiv e and present stim u lu s \s k stu d e nts to read and discu ss t h e ir s to ry o u tlin e s , lo c a te the elem ents ond determ ine how th e y could strengthen the work they have done. In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d isc u s s io n S t i l l p ic tu re In te ra c tio n A o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n Common s ta r tin g p o in t to save tim e & p ro vid e m u ltip le re s ponses from a s in g le s tim u lus High a b i l it y to d o p ic t p h y s ic a l c h a ra c te ris tic s A h ig h le v e l o f channel c o p a c ity & in fo rm a tio n d e n s ity . Convenient & econom ical ENAtlMNC OBJECTIVE Each stu d e nt w il l discu ss p e rs o n a lity fo rm a tio n and s ta te In a summary fa sh ion what th e ir academic background and conscious experience la w ith th e o rie s o f person a l i t y fo rm a tio n LEARNING TASK COGNITIVE: Knowledge o f u n iv e rs a le 6 a b s tra c tio n s INSTRUCTIONAL EVENT CHARACTER STATE OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING SEQUENCE Ask stu d e nts to dlecuag p e rs o n a lity fo rm a tio n to determ ine the e n te rin g knowledge in th e f ie ld Develop and discu ss the n o tio n th a t p e rs o n a lity Is given to us by e xpe rie nce , th a t we tend to th in k everyone sees and behaves as we ourse lve s do. The r e a lit y is th a t each person has a d if fe r e n t s e t o f experiences and view o f the w o rld . R elate back to the d is c u s s io n about my dog Judy. T e ll "D o e sn 't everyone" Joke. Show com bination s lid e film and m otion p ic tu re to i l l u s tr a te p e rs o n a lity fo rm a tio n D iscuss the im portance o f knowing the "c o re " q u a lity c h a r a c te ris tic s o f a l l m ajor c h a ra c te rs . D is tr ib u te l i s t and discu ss areas o f in fo rm a tio n needed in o rd e r to cre ate a th re e dim ensional c h a ra c te r (as p a tte rn e d a ft e r Lajos E g r l’ s m a te ria l on bone s tr u c tu r e .) PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS sex, age, heTgKc and w eiglt t , c o lo r o f h a ir , eyes, s k in , p o s tu re , h o b ltu o l a c tio n s , appearance (n e a t, clea n , f ood lo o k in g , u g ly , e tc .) d e fe c ts (d e fo rm itie s , obnorm al- tle s ,. b irth m a rk s , illn e s s e s , e t c .) r a c ia l c h n ra c te r- i n t ic s , speech, a t t ir e & movements. BACKGROUND AND ENVIRONMENT cla s s (upper, m iddle', to w e r), occup a tio n (ty p e o f work, hours o f work, income, w orking c o n d itio n s , union o r management, a ttitu d e toward w o rk ), e ducation (amount, sch o o ls, marks, fa v o r ite a u b je c ts , poo re st s u b je c ts , home l i f e (p are n ts liv in g , e a rn in g power, orphan, p are n ts separated, d iv o rc e d , h a b its , m ental developm ent, v ic e s , a ttitu d e toward c h ild re n , wavs o f r a is in g c h ild re n , v a lu e s , a s p ira tio n s f o r c h ild r e n ) , ch ara cters m a rita l s ta tu s and fa m ily and a ttitu d e s toward fa m ily , r e lig io n , p la ce In community (le a d e r omong frie n d s , c lu b s , s p o rts , home), p o l i t i c a l a f f i l ia t i o n s ; amusements, hobbies (books, newnpapers, magazines, TV A th e a te r). PERSONALITY CHARACTERI STICS sex I K c , m oral 8tanifardsT perso n a l prem ise, am bition, what person stands fo r , values trie m ost, fr u s tr a tio n s , c h ie f d isa p p oin tm e n ts, g re a te s t f a ilu r e s , temperament (easygoing deprrssed, m anic, p e s s im is tic , o p tim is tic , e t c ) , a ttitu d e toward l i f e (re s ig n e d , m ilit a n t , d e fe a t is t ) , complexes (obsessions. In h ib itio n s , s u p e rs titio n s , m anias, phobias) n h lL iH .e s , m ajor in te r e s ts , q u a litie s . Im a g in a tio n , ta s te , Judgement, poise and in te llig e n c e . MEDIA In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d is c u ssio n In s tr u c to r d is c u ssio n S lid e F ilm & M otion P ic tu re In s tr u c to r d isc u s s io n & P r in t m a te ria l RATIONALE In te ra c tio n & o v e rt concep tu a lis a tio n P re se n ta tio n o f p red ig ested & p re -o rg a n - iz e d knowledge E l ic i t v ic a r ious e xpe rie nc in g fi> empath- e tic under sta n d in g P re s e n ta tio n o f p red ig ested & p re -o rg a n - iz e d knowledge D urable fir can r e fe r back to S I 1 0 580 Given a g ra p h ic S tim ulus each s tu dent w i l l w r ite a l i s t o f p h y s ic a l c h a ra c te ris tic s , background & e n v ir onment in fo rm a tio n & p e rs o n a lity char a c te r is tic s fo r a f lc t it o v s person and w i l l r e la te th is In fo rm a tio n to the c la s s both fa c tu a lly , as the w r it e r , and through enactment p la y in g the p a rt o f th e c h a ra c te r. The stu d e nt w i l l be h ig h ly con scious o f th is d u a l r o le . When asked to des c rib e the manner in w hich they g o t to know each o l the c h a ra c te rs the stu d e nts w i l l use words lik e emerging grow ing, developing and accum ulating COGNITIVE: Knowledge o f M ethodology A p p lic a tio n AFFECTIVE: S a tis fa c tio n in response COGNITIVE: Comprehension E xtra p o la tio n I n s tr u c t stu d e nts on how to perform o b je c tiv e and p rese n t s tim u lu s . Ask one stu d e nt to in tro d u c e h is o r h er c h a ra c te r to the c la s s and, u sing the w r itte n in fo rm a tio n , t e l l the class a l l he o r she knows about the c h a ra c te r. A fte r the s tu dent Has exhausted h is o r her l i s t o f c h a ra c te r in fo rm a tio n the in s tr u c to r w i l l ask q ue stio n s th a t w i l l s tim u la te the stu d e nt to th in k about and v e rb a liz e responses to g ive n problems (These problem s are c r i t i c a l l i f e problems and determ ined by what has been sa id about the c h a ra c te r. For example, i f a c h a ra c te r is presented as a d o tin g m other, the q u e s tio n m ight be, ” !!er son comes home and announces he is about to be m a rrie d to a g i r l he knows h is m other d o e s n 't lik e . What w i l l she do?” A fte r a second stu d e nt has intro d u ce d h is o r h er ch ar a c te r and has responded to "problem ” q u e s tio n s , he o r she w i l l be asked to t a lk to the c h a ra c te r who was f i r s t in tro d u c e d . T h is a c t iv it y contin u e s u n t il a l l the ch ar a c te rs have been in tro d u ce d and have ta lk e d w ith each o th e r. The stu d e nts are in s tru c te d to p u t them selves in to the c h a ra c te r and become the c h a ra c te r as he o r she is being enacted. They ore c o n s ta n tly reminded o f when th e y are the w r it e r and when the c h a ra c te r. Throughout the in tro d u c tio n s , enactments and cla s s in t e r a c tio n , the c la s s works w ith th e fo llo w in g q u e s tio n s : 1) Is the c h a ra c te r b e lie v a b le , what mokes the c h a ra c te r b e lie v a b le o r n o t b e lie v a b le ? 2) Is the c h a ra c te r c o n s is te n t, what makes the c h a ra c te r c o n s is te n t o r n o t c o n s is ta n t? 3) Is the c h a ra c te r m u lti-fa c e te d and r ic h ly endowed w ith p e rs o n a lity a c t i o n s A re a ctio n s? 4) Which are the most in te r e s tin g c h a ra c te rs & why? 5) Which c h a ra c te rs in the in te ra c tio n s "move the a c tio n forw ard?" In s tr u c to r asks s tim u lu s q u e s tio n . In s tr u c to r aaka the stu d e nts to c o n tra s t the way they g ot to know each o th e r’ s ch a ra c te rs w ith the way they g e t to know s tc ro ty p e d c h a ra c te rs . In s tr u c to r s ta te s th e re is a d is t in c t d iffe re n c e between g e ttin g to know people in re a l l i f e and "d ra m a tic c h a ra c te riz a tio n . ' P e n c il 6 c paper In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d iscu ssio n "A c tin g " e xe rcise In s tr u c to r / student ils c u s s io ti A c tiv e responding In te ra c tio n A o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n To achieve a fe e lin g o f emerging, accum ulating « r " liv in g " in fo rm a tio n about c h a r a c te riz a tio n In te ra c tio n & o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n 581! ENABLING OBJECTIVE LEARNING TASK INSTRUCTIONAL EVENT UNIQUENESSES OF FILM MEDIA RATIONALE Each stu d e nt w i l l h e lp develop and d iscu ss, w ltn ex amples, the ch ar a c te r is tic s and uniquenesses o f the m otion p ic tu re medium COGNITIVE! A n a ly s is o f elem ents & o rg a n is a tio n a l p rin c ip le s TERMINAL SUB-OBJECTIVE Each student w i l l de fin e s c re e n w ritin g by 1 )Id e n tify in g e le ments o f s to ry t e llin g and 2 ) id e n tlty ln g e le ments unique to m otion p ic tu re s to r y te llin g COGNITIVE; Knowledge o f C r it e r ia , Methodology & o f U n iv e rs a l* 6 a b s tra c tio n s STATE OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING SEQUENCE Develop w ith the students a l i s t o f the c h a ra c te ris tic s and uniquenesses o f the m otion p ic tu re medium. As the l i s t develops s o li c i t a n d /o r g iv e e x p lic it examples o f each concept. Emphasize: 1) the w r it e r has the v is io n o f the s to ry and how i t w i l l " lo o k } ” 2) the w r it e r must know and be a b le to implement the uniqueness o f th is a r t form , a t le a s t in theory on paper i f n o t in p ra c tic e ) 3) the w r it e r is n o t lu s t t e llin g a s to ry — she o r he Is t e llin g a film s to r y . CHARACTERISTICS & UNIQUENESS OF F lU ir 1) d u p lic a te m otion th in g s can be seen a c tu a lly happening meanings in v o lv in g m otion can be presented m otion is com pe llin g m otion can be analyzed 2) f ilm ic tim e --c re a te s own tim e . Expand o r C o n tra ct camera techniques slow m otion fa s t m otion re verse a c tio n e d itin g techniques in te r c u ttin g cutaways tra n s itio n s montage 3) f ilm ic a p» ce --cre ates own space. Puts d is ta n t a n d / o r u n re la te d p laces to g e th e r sh o o tin g techniques la te r a l space (sh ot s e le c tio n -L S to ECU) dim ensional space (camera movement in & o u t) audience space (v a ry d is ta n c e and angle o f audience view ing (no fix e d v ie w in g p o in t) d is t o r t io n o f space (le n s e , sca le models, e tc .) e d itin g te c h n iq u e s --b rln g in g to g e th e r 6) s e le c tiv jL ty --c a n determ ine v b n t, how & how long seen s ig n ific a n t d e t a il - CLOSE U P e nla rg e o r reduce a c tu a l s iz e o f o b je c t 5) more concrete com m unicotivc device less a b s tra c t than words o r s t i l l s common and shared experience s im ila r m ental image 6) a b i l it y to draw re la tio n s h ip s J u x ta p o s itio n o f shots cre a te s th ir d meaning 7) I d e n tific a t io n fa c to r In s tr u c t stu d e nts to engage in p erfo rm in g the o b je c tiv e and d is t r ib u te w r itte n te s t sheet In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d is c u s s io n In te ra c tio n & o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n In s tr u c to r d is c u s s io n A p rin te d in s tru c tio n s Use both to in s u re maximum understanding 6 so stu d e nt does n ot have to w r ite in s tr u c tio n s A can r e fe r back to them. ENABLING OBJECTIVE LEARNING TASK INSTRUCTIONAL EVENT DIALOGUE & NARRATION MEDIA RATIONALE Each stu d e n t w i l l p a r tic ip a te In d is c u s s io n about d ia lo gu e and c o n trib u te here o r h is e n te rin g ideas COGNITIVE; Knowledge o f p r in c ip le s & g e n e ra liz a tio n s When given a r e a lit y s itu a tio n u sin g each o th e r on ch a ra c te rs each stu d e nt w i l l w r ite a sequence uni no d ia lo g u e th a t u t iliz e s the fu n c tio n s o f d ia lo g u e , has a n a tu ra ln e ss o f p re s e n ta tio n A u n ity o f fe e lin g / th in k in g /a c tio n / d ia lo gu e and each student w i l l read n nd /or d ir e c t h is o r her ch a ra c te rs to say the dia lo gu e he o r she w rote. The group w il l dlncuss the r e la tiv e e ffe c tiv e n e s s o f each and why. COGNITIVE: A p p lic a tio n ANALYSIS OF Elements R ela tio nsh ips O rganiza tio n a l Erin c ip le n THESIS P roduction o f a unique commonlea t ion STATE OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING SEQUENCE Develop w ith stu d e nts m ajor p o in ts to d e scrib e d ia lo g u e , i t s fu n c tio n , the c h a ra c te ris tic s o f I t s p re s e n ta tio n and the connections between fe e lin g /th in k ln g /a c tlo n s / d ia lo gu e FUNCTION OF DIALOGUE D riv e a c tio n forw ard Present premtse/theme Compresn A extend a c tio n broaden scope o f a c tio n p rese n t fa c ta o f p ast prese n t events n o t in scene C ha ra cte rizes people t e l ls ua what tlie y ere th in k in g , what they w ant, what they b e lie v e , e d u ca tio n , s o c ia l s ta tu s , occu p a tio n , c o u n try o f o r ig in , temperament, em otional s ta te In te n s ifie s the a c tio n CHARACTERISTICS OF DIALOGUE PRESENTATION R e a lis tic - as people ta lk (inco m p le te sentences, r e p e titio u s , as thoughts come, e tc .) C o n tin u ity - one lin e flo w s in to the n e x t, one lin e lin k s to another (question-nnsw er, d is s e rta tio n - c o n tra d lc tlo n , sta te m e n t, comment, e tc .) Things to a void unless d e lib e ra te - b r i l l i a n t d ia lo g u e , c lic h e s , long speeches, thought process and above a ll, e x p o s itio n fo r i t s own sake FEELING/TI1INK1NG/ACTION/DIALOGUE The connection between a l l fo u r must have a congruent u n ity (comes w ith knowing c h a ra c te r in s id e and o u t and w ith p u ttin g s e lf in em otional p o s itio n o f c h a ra c te r) In s tr u c t stu d e nts on how to perform o b je c tiv e and prese n t s tim u lu s . For example: "p re te n d ” we are trapped in th is room by a f i r e o u ts id e the door. Some o f ua want to s ta y in th is room hoping the f i r e w i l l bypass the room, o th e rs wont to devise ways o f g e ttin g through the f i r e and s t i l l o th e rs are im m obilized. Choose your ch a ra c te rs and w r it e d ia lo g u e . In s tr u c t stu d e nts on procedure fo r w orking w ith the w r itte n m a te ria l and begin d iscu ssio ns Dlscunnlon w i l l focus c h ie fly on 1) th e r e la tio n s h ip between the in fo rm a tio n & the emotion 2) whether extraneous o r redundant 3) whether c le a r and b e lie v a b le In s tr u c to r / student d is c u s s io n & use o f b la c k board In te ra c tio n & o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n Help organize E xperiencing A c tiv e responding & concrete experience -In s tru c to r student d is c u s s io n In te ra c tio n 6 o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n C J 1 00 no 583 EVALUATION Judgements in terms o f In te rn s ) & e x te rn a l c r it e r ia Each stu d e nt w i l l p a r tic ip a te in d is cussion about n a rra tio n and con tr ib u te hers o r h is e n te rin g ideas COGNITIVE Knowledge o f p rin c ip le s & g e n e ra l is a tio n s Develop w ith students m ajor P o in ts to d e scrib e n a rra tio n ! how i t is d if fe r e n t from d ia lo g u e , the v a rio u s methods o f p re s e n ta tio n and e s s e n tia l c h a ra c te ris tic s . In fo rm a tio n to In c lu d e ! N a rra tio n must be a wedding o f p ic tu r e end sound, must n o t be mere d u p lic a tio n o f p ic tu re must he re la te d to v is u a ls in a d d itiv e sense must n o t become illu s t r a t e d le c tu re o r ’’w a ll to w a ll” n a rra tio n N a rra tio n is an e x p la n a to ry device d e s c rip tiv e d id a c tic <in s tr u c tiv e ) humorous r h e to ric a l (s ty liz e d ) V arious methods o f n a rra tio n are s tr a ig h t v o ice on sound tra c k p oe try narra tn g e in te r n a l momologue o u t o f sync d ia lo g u e & monologue Show m otion p ic tu re s th a t illu s t r a t e d if fe r e n t n a rra tio n problems Word Power Heavy Hammers In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d isc u s s io n & use o f b la c k board M otion p ic tu re s Help organize High channel ca p a c ity & in fo rm a tio n d e n s ity Concrete examples ENABLING OBJECTIVE LEARNING TASK INSTRUCTIONAL EVENT VISUAL SOLILOQUY MEDIA RATIONALE STATE OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING SEQUENCE COGNITIVE: Knowledge o f Term inology M ethodology In s tru c to r d is tr ib u te s p rin te d m a te ria l from F u d o vkin 's book F ilm Technique and F ilm A c tin g w herein Fudovkin d e fin e s h is concept o f the P la s tic M a te ria l and gives examples. P r in t m a te ria l R efer back to A fte r rending the Ttidovkin m a te ria l the atudenta w i l l e n te r in to a d is cussion o f the concepts o f the p la s tic image & each w i l l s ta te a t le a s t two exam ples. Students read in d iv id u a lly o r as a group, s ile n t ly o r aloud. In s tr u c to r p rese n ts s tim u lu s que stio n s to achieve o b je c tiv e . In s tr u c to r re la te s the concept o f the v is u a lly expres s iv e image to "d ra m a tic " c h a ra c te riz a tio n and s ta te s , w ith examples, th a t c h a ra c te r is revealed through 1) the e xpre ssive v is u a l a c tio n s o f th e c h a ra c te r (a c tio n s showing what c h a ra c te r w ants) 2) the e xpre ssive v is u a l re a c tio n s o f the c h a ra c te r (a c tio n s showing c h a ra c te rs awareness o f d iffe re n c e between whnt Is wanted and what is a tta in e d ) 3) the environm ent o f the c h a ra c te r & her o r h is in te r a c tio n w ith th is environm ent (a c tio n s showing c h a ra c te r e x p lo rin g , knowing & m a n ip u la tin g the environm ent) 4) what the c h a ra c te r says 5) whnt Is sa id about the c h a ra c te r In s tr u c to r / s tu d e n t d isc u s s io n In te ra c tio n & o v e rt concep- u a liz a tlo n Given a w r itte n s tim u lu s each s tu dent w il l w r ite in s c r ip t form in between 10-20 shots, w ith o u t u sin g d ia logue, n a rra tio n o r p rin te d words, a sequence o f a c tio n s th a t communicate an em otion w ith in a give n c o n te x t. - In s tr u c to r d is tr ib u te d p rin te d "Agnes A ssignm ent," In s tr u c to r again emphasizes the im portance o f th in k in g v is u a lly , aa the c h a r a c te r is tic w hich moat c o n c lu s iv e ly d is tin g u is h e s the filr o w r lte r from a l l o th e r form s o f w r itin g . A lso emphasizes the Im portance o f le a rn in g to communicate w ith o u t the uae o f word symbols. P e n c il & Paper Maximum under s ta n d in g , save tim e A re fe r back to Each stu d e nt w i l l share h is o r her w r itte n m a te ria l through s to ry - b oarding and read ing aloud each shot and w i l l p a r tic ip a te in a d is c u s s io n th a t uses the w r itte n atoryboarded m ater i a l to illu s t r a t e s p e c ific concepts o l ’'d ra m a tic " c h a ra c te riz a tio n COGNITIVE: Knowledge o f th e o rie s & s tru c tu re s A n a ly s is o f elem ents r e la tio n ships o rg a n iz a tio n a l p rin c ip le s In s tr u c to r d ire c ts the d is c u s s io n w ith each example to cover the fo llo w in g p o ln to : 1) how the fe e lin g s /th o u g h ts arc made v is ib le by o v e rt beh a vior (THE VISUAL SOLILOQUY) 2) s im p lic it y and power o f u sin g a s in g le o b je c t ra th e r than d ilu tio n th ru m u ltip le o bje e te 3) p u rp o s e fu l b u ild in g o f a c tio n s tram a "b e g in n in g " to an "end" 4 ) d la co ve ry o f extraneous & redundant a c tio n s 5) knowledge o f the d iffe re n c e between the essence o f the e itU A tio n and th e s itu a tio n I n s tr u c to r / s tu d e nt d is c u ssio n In te ra c tio n & o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n tn 00 -P » A fte r read in g the m a te ria l th a t i l l u s tra te s the S ta n is la v s k i techniques fo i d isco ve ry o f the a c tio n s to p o rtra y the essence o f a scene the stu d e nts w il l r e la te th is technique to the p revio u s concepts o f the c re a tiv e process and in f o r m ation p roce ssin g. TERMINAL SUB-OBJECTIVE ~^n>en g ive n ~a w r itte n te n t w herein the stu d e nt is asked to l i s t th e d iffe re n c e s between ’’d ram a tic” behavior and "e v e ry day” beh a vior each stu d e nt w i l l use words lik e e x te rn a l, p u rp o s e fu l, s e le c te d , in te n s e , m u lti- fs c e te jl end embodying change. COGNITIVE? S ynthesis d e riv a tio n o f a s e t o f a b s tra c t r e la tio n s 'OGNiTIVE; E v a lu a tio n Judgements In terms o f e x te rn a l c r it e r ia VFFECTIVEi V a lu in g Acceptance o f a value In s tr u c to r d is tr ib u te s excerpted p rin te d m a te ria l from S ta n is la v s k i's An A c to r Prepares w hich d eals w ith U n its and O b je c tiv e s , in s tr u c to r asks students to read th ie m a te ria l and s u b s titu te the ro le o f the w r it e r fo r the ro le o f the a c to r. In s tr u c to r discusses the relevance o f th is m a te ria l as a method fo r fin d in g the r io s t lc Imape as d escrib e d by Pudovkins The s c e n a ris t must know how to fin d and use p la s tic ( v is u a lly e x p re s s iv e ) m a te ria li th a t is to say, he must know how to d is c o v e r and how to s e le c t, from the lim itle s s moss o f m a te ria l p rovid e d by l i f e and i t s o b s e rv a tio n , those forms and movements th a t s h a ll most c le a r ly and v iv id ly express In Images the whole co n te n t o f h is Id e a ." In s tr u c to r p resents s tim u lu s comments to achieve o b je c tiv e . In s tr u c t students to engage in p erfo rm in g the o b je c tiv e and d is tr ib u te w r itte n te s t sheet P r in t m a te ria l In s tru c to r d is c u s s io n & p rin te d In s tru c tio n s Paper & P e n c il U 1 00 CPI Durable & r e fe r back to Maximum understanding Save tim e R efer back O vert co n stru cte d responding ENABLING OBJECTIVE LEARNING TASK in str u c tio n al event INFORMATION STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL MEDIA RATIONALE STATE OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING SEQUENCE Each stu d e nt w i l l e n te r In to a d is cussion shout the natu re o f th e con scious m ind, the unconscious mind and in fo rm a tio n sto ra g e and r e tr ie v a l COGNITIVE: Knowledge o f m ethodology p r in c ip le s & g e n e ra l is a tio n s th e o rie s fit s tru c tu re s S tim u la te d is c u s s io n and q u e s tio n in g about the n a tu re o f the conscious m ind, the unconscious mind and in fo rm a tio n s torage and r e tr ie v a l. In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d is c u ssio n In te ra c tio n fit o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n Each s tu d e n t w il l diagram h is and her ideas o f how out in fo rm a tio n Is processed. P resent Shannon Weaver model o f le a rn in g and in s t r u c t stu d e nts to add to th is scheme to dem onstrate an in f o r m ation r e tr ie v a l o p e ra tio n . Auk each stu d e n t to show and e x p la in t h e ir model. P resent fin d in g s o f A tkin so n and S h lf fr in w ith s p e c ia l emphnalfl on th e ir concept o f "p ro b e " P ro je c te d d ia gram (overhead o r s lid e ) P ro je c te d d ia gram (overhead o r s lid e ) D em onstration o f r e la tio n s h ip s , g e n e ra l iz a tio n s & a b s tra c tio n s Each s tu d e n t w il l p a r tic ip a te in group experience o f re sponding to m ediated n tim u il both In w r itin g and o r a lly . Each stu d e n t w il l p a r tic ip a te in group d is c u s s io n o f ways Cor ta p p in g s e lf experiences fo r s to ry m a te ria l, COGNITIVE: A p p lic a tio n Use o f a b s tra c tio n s AFFECTIVE: O rg a n iz a tio n C onceptual iz a tio n o f a value P resent tape and in s tr u c t stu d e nts to fo llo w i t s in s tr u c tio n s . The tnpe la designed to "p ro b e " fo r s p e c ific in fo rm a tio n r e t r ie v a l. D iscuss th e fe e lin g s and thoughts " r e tr ie v e d " Ask fo r l is t in g and examples o f ways to tap s e lf e xperiences fo r s to ry m a te ria l. The l i s t la to in c lu d e : V erbal a s s o c ia tio n s : p ra y e r, c e rta in words, in to n a tio n , e tc . Audio a s s o c ia tio n s : sounds o th e r than v e rb a l--tm js ic , sound e ffe c ts , a nim a ls, e tc . S m ells: fo o d , flo w e rs , e tc . Touch: te x tu re s , shapes, e tc . V is u a l: g ra p h ic p ic tu re s , o b je c ts , sym bols, e tc . Audio P resent a tio n V ' tape In s tr u c to r / Student d is c u ssio n Heightened dram atic fi> em otional Involvem ent Use o f m u ltip le probe s tim u li Each stu d e nt w i l l v e rb a liz e hers and h is Knowledge th a t "p ro b e s" tap s e lf experiences. COGNITIVE: A p p lic a tio n P resent r e a lit y o b je c ts A discu ss what they r e tr ie v e . Be sure a r e la tio n s h ip between ways o f ta p p in g s e lf experience and th e "p ro b e " th e o ry is recognized. D is tr ib u te , read and share thoughts expressed by W illia m W ordsworth. R e a lity o b je c ts : b o ttle d s m e lls, sandpaper, fla g , wedding band, lea ve s, e tc . P r in t m a te ria l M u ltip le chan n e l, th re e dim enaional & r e a lit y exper ience D epict a b s tra c tio n s Each student w i l l p a r tic ip a te in g ro u p d is c u s s io n and l i s t in g o f raw m a te ria ls o f s c re e n w rite r and sources o f a cqu ls- tio n COGNITIVE: Knowledge o f c la a s lf i- c a tio n a & c a te g o rie s Develop w ith stu d e nts a l i s t o f raw m a te ria ls we, as s c re e n w rite rs have to work w ith . T hia l i s t is to In c lu d e : Ideas (what we want to s a y), c h a ra c te rs , fe e lin g s (e m otio n a l responses), a c tio n s and re actio n s? environm ent, e ve n ts, v is u a l images, v is u a l srrange-- m cnts, v is u a l ju x ta p o s itio n , c o n tra s ts , s im ila r it ie s , o p p o s itio n s and f in a lly to conclude th a t a l l l i f e is what we have to work w ith provid e d i t is s ig n ific a n t and p ro v o c a tiv e enough to in te re s t: thousands. In s tr u c to r / student d is c u s s io n w ith p o s s ib le use o f blackboard o r overhead to lla f & organize In te ra c tio n & o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n 586 ‘ Each ntudent: w i l l p a r tic ip a te in g ro u p d is c u s s io n and lis p in g o f examples o f ways fo r d ir e c tin g o b s e rv a tio n to g a in m a te ria l w ith w hich to develop s to r ie s .. Each ntudent w il l p a r tic ip a te in a " f i e l d " t r i p to c o lle c t example** o f item s lis t e d and reassemble to discu ss the Items c o lle c te d . F.ach stu d e nt w i l l p a r tic ip a te in group d is c u s s io n and g iv e examples o f v ic a r ious and em pathctic e x p e rie n cin g through media and a r t forms to gain m a te ria l from w hich to c re A te s to rie s «md p a r t i c ip a te in v ic a r io u s ly e x p e rie n c in g se v e ra l a r t forms and media. TERMINAL Blffl-PflJECTIVf 'U lv e n 'a s to ry Id ia each stu d e n t w i l l 1) l i s t the raw m a te ria l needed to c re a te the s to ry , 2) l i s t the sources o f th a t m a te ria l 3) s ta te why those resources w i l l be used. COGNITIVE: Knowledge o f m ethodology COGNITIVE: Knowledge o f methodology A p p lic a tio n AFFECTIVE: S a tis fa c tio n in response COGNITIVE: Knowledge o f Methodology COCNITIVE: A p p lic a tio n AFFECTIVE: O rg a n iza tio n C onceptual iz a tio n o f a value Develop w ith students 1) s e lf experience 2) o bse rva tio ns a l i s t o f ways to fin d raw m a te ria l 3) v ic a rio u s e xpe rie ncin g through media 4) media s tim u li (newspapers, o ld s to r ie s , p lo y s , e tc . a l i s t and examples o f ways fo r -w hat to lo o k fo r . T h is l i s t is to Develop w ith stu d e nts d ir e c tin g o b se rva tio n in c lu d e : Things th a t appear incongruous, in a p p ro p ria te , unusual A s t a r t lin g , in o p p o s itio n to known c u lt u r a l values and to another person’ s va lu e s. People s tr iv in g fo r something to w in , to understand, to m anipulate People e xpressing emotions ETC. D iscuss what e x p e rie n c in g Is a l l a b o u t--g lv in g y o u rs e lf over to becoming f u l ly aware o f n o t o n ly people and events in te r a c tin g , b u t seeing what th e w o rld loo ks lik e ; shapes, c o lo rs , te x tu re s , arrangem ents, lin e s , masses, e tc Give in s tru c tio n s fo r " f i e l d " t r i p . They are to c o lle c t, where p o s s ib le , a t le a s t one example o f th e item s discussed. Reassemble and discu ss " c o lle c tio n s " D efin e v ic a rio u s and em pathetic. Develop w ith Students a l i s t and examples o f ways to v ic a r io u s ly and e m p a th e tlc a lly experience through o th e r media and arc form s. D iscuss through examples how the v ic a rio u s experience can broaden one’ s own " s to re ” o f experience and p rovid e ideas fo r probes to tap own past experiences fo r r e c a ll a nd /or re com b in atio n and rearrangem ent o f experience. Give in s tru c tio n s fo r v ic a rio u s e xp e rie n c in g and share experience w ith students In s tr u c t stu d e nts to engage in p e rfo rm in g the o b je c tiv e am! d is t r ib u te w r itte n te s t sheet Each stu d e nt w il t l i B t VOX o f the raw m a te ria ls and resources lis t e d In p revio u s d iscu ssio n s and through th e ir d iscu ssio n s o f why c e rta in resources w i l l or w i l l n o t be used w i l l dem onstrate th e ir understanding o f the concepts. " F ie ld " t r i p . A w alk in a crowd ed area fo r a t le a s t one hour Herroosa P ie r A irp o rt Student Union In s tr u c to r / student d is c u ssio n R e a lity Exper ience sta tu e p a in tin g p o lit ic a l cartoon In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d isc u s s io n p rin te d in s tru c tio n s cn 00 P ra c tic e In u t iliz in g g e n e ra liz a tio n s A a b s tr a c tio n s In te ra c tio n & o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n P ra c tic e in u t iliz in g g e n e ra liz a tio n s & a b s tr a c tio n s Maximum understanding Save tim e R efer back ENABLING OBJECTIVE LEARNING TASK INSTRUCTIONAL EVENT THE CREATIVE PROCESS RATIONALE Each stu d e n t w i l l p a r tic ip a te in d is c u s s io n about c r e a t iv ity . Each stu d e nt w il t recognize and ve rb a liz e the s im ila r it y between the c re a tiv e process and the process o f in fo rm a tio n storage and r e tr ie v a l and the va lu e o f th is s im ila r it y . Each stu d e n t w i l l c re a te an o r ig in a l screenplay in synop s is , tre a tm e n t A s c r ip t forms th a t c o n ta in a prem ise, dram a tic s tru c tu re , emerging c h a ra c te r iz a tio n , use o f medium as p a rt o f the message, u n ity o f fe e lin g /th in k ln g /n e t Io n /d ia lo g u e / theme w ith no e x tra n eoua in fo rm a tio n COGNITIVE? Knowledge o f th e o rie s A s tru c tu re s AFFECTIVE: O rg a n iz a tio n C onceptual iz a tio n o f s va lu e V a lu in g acceptance prefe re n ce commitment COGNITIVE: S ynthesis P ro du ctio n o f s unique communica tio n STATE OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING SEQUENCE S tim u la te d is c u ssio n and q ue stio n about the c re a tiv e process. P resent th e o rie s about c r e a t iv it y as developed by Sigmund Freud, C a rl Gustave Jung, R o llo May, C a rl R. Rogers, Abraham H. Msslow, Jerone B runer, John Dewey, Ir v in g T a y lo r, Graham W a lla s, Frank B arron, A lex F. Osborn, W illia m J . J . Corden, Myron A lle n , Ruth K. C a rlso n , S. J . Fam es, C. W. T a y lo r and E. Paul T orrance. P resent a l l o r s e le c t those most a p p ro p ria te to a g ive n c la s s , P resent a model o f the c re a tiv e process. Ask what p re v io u s ly discussed concept th is is s im ila r to and discu ss the s im ila r it y between in fo rm a tio n p rocessing th e o ry and th e o rie s o f c r e a t iv it y . D iscuss why I t is im p o rta n t fo r the stu d e n t o f screen- w r itin g to know about th e c re a tiv e process and In f o r m ation p rocessing th e o ry : 1) so th e y w i l l know how to s tim u la te the c re a tiv e p ro ce ss; 2) so th e y w i l l know how to s to ck a "warehouse** o f "raw m a te ria ls 3) so they w i l l know the atagea in the c re a tiv e ?rocesB where c r e a t iv it y can be p ro h ib ite d and n h ib ite d ; A) so they w i l l be able to to le r a te and recognize b o th th e uncom fortable and rew arding stages o f c r e a t iv it y . In s tr u c to r / stu d e nt d is c u s s io n P ro je cte d diagram (Overhead, s lid e o r handout) In s tr u c to r / S tudent d is c u s s io n In te ra c tio n & o v e rt concep tu a liz a tio n P re se n ta tio n o f p re -d ig e s te d & organized knowledge D em onstration o f r e la tio n s h ip s , g e n e r