Dreamcasting
December 17th 2006 11:48
Apologies for no recent post, trouble with ISPs and other PC issues.
Sooooo, how’s the script going? Progressing? Stuck? Changing direction? In rewrites? Drop me a line.
The following, some people advise, is what you shouldn’t do. Some say you should. I say it depends on the situation and the story.
In a perfect world, who would you cast in your film? Willis, Jackman, Winslet, Beyonce? Who would be the best fit for the story you’re working on?
Your character may need a face to give you an idea of who they really are. So with some of my scripts I imagine what my ideal cast would be, and suddenly find better lines for them, and their reactions are clearer, and it makes the whole process flow much faster.
But once you get to the end, and you’re about to start the rewrite process (and trust me, you will need to rewrite), you will also need to now need to make the character a bit more generic. William Goldman pointed out that some character descriptions and lines are so closely identified with certain actors that the script could only be written for them, and if they say no, the project is dead in the water. So now you have to rephrase the descriptions and dialogue, not much, just a little, so that a range of people could play the character. You want the biggest number of potentials lining up to read your words, so give your character a powerful identity, but make sure that any actor could look at him or her, rub their chin thoughtfully, and say, “Yeaaahh, I think I could give that a shot…”
Of course you may be in the very fortunate situation of knowing who may be in the cast. Even if it’s family and friends, you know who they are to look at and who they are inside. In this way you can keep their lines more for them, and it can work so much better.
The writer John August also made a good point recently. He advised, when you’re writing, don’t think, “hey I’m writing a script!”, but think, “hey, I’m writing a movie!” It’s too easy to get caught up in the writing process, and letting the flow of the story get sidelined. Let the story unwind on the screen of your imagination, make sure it flows like a stream.
A script is a blueprint, and in that way it is open to change before the final work, the actual production, begins (and anyway, we know all the heavy lifting is in the writing/rewriting stage), so you can shape and reshape it to give the very best to the people who will eventually read those lines and become those characters. Don’t be scared of this, on a bad day it’s just tough, but on a good day it’s exhilarating!
So work hard, and remember, post any questions below and we’ll see what we can do.
Sooooo, how’s the script going? Progressing? Stuck? Changing direction? In rewrites? Drop me a line.
The following, some people advise, is what you shouldn’t do. Some say you should. I say it depends on the situation and the story.
In a perfect world, who would you cast in your film? Willis, Jackman, Winslet, Beyonce? Who would be the best fit for the story you’re working on?
Your character may need a face to give you an idea of who they really are. So with some of my scripts I imagine what my ideal cast would be, and suddenly find better lines for them, and their reactions are clearer, and it makes the whole process flow much faster.
But once you get to the end, and you’re about to start the rewrite process (and trust me, you will need to rewrite), you will also need to now need to make the character a bit more generic. William Goldman pointed out that some character descriptions and lines are so closely identified with certain actors that the script could only be written for them, and if they say no, the project is dead in the water. So now you have to rephrase the descriptions and dialogue, not much, just a little, so that a range of people could play the character. You want the biggest number of potentials lining up to read your words, so give your character a powerful identity, but make sure that any actor could look at him or her, rub their chin thoughtfully, and say, “Yeaaahh, I think I could give that a shot…”
Of course you may be in the very fortunate situation of knowing who may be in the cast. Even if it’s family and friends, you know who they are to look at and who they are inside. In this way you can keep their lines more for them, and it can work so much better.
The writer John August also made a good point recently. He advised, when you’re writing, don’t think, “hey I’m writing a script!”, but think, “hey, I’m writing a movie!” It’s too easy to get caught up in the writing process, and letting the flow of the story get sidelined. Let the story unwind on the screen of your imagination, make sure it flows like a stream.
A script is a blueprint, and in that way it is open to change before the final work, the actual production, begins (and anyway, we know all the heavy lifting is in the writing/rewriting stage), so you can shape and reshape it to give the very best to the people who will eventually read those lines and become those characters. Don’t be scared of this, on a bad day it’s just tough, but on a good day it’s exhilarating!
So work hard, and remember, post any questions below and we’ll see what we can do.
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Comment by Cibbuano
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Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog
I also reckon writing with a distinct character in mind is the way to go on a first draft (and this might involve writing with a distinct actor in mind). If the script/play gets picked up, that's the time to rework the lines to suit the actor. But I'm sus about making the dialogue more general to start with, unless one specifically wants a general and faceless character.
Comment by Australis
The Scriptwriting Blog
Personal Blog - A Writer's Life
As with a lot of these things, it's a bit of a juggling act. What I meant was the character has to be strong and distinctive, but not a fit for any particular actor, with the exception being if a particular actor is already lined up for one of the roles.
Dreamcasting is a useful tool for a first draft, but in the last draft before submission you have to have the strongest characters for the story while not making them exclusively for one actor or another. Imagine if Hugh Grant got the part you dreamcast with Clint Eastwood.
No, on second thoughts, don't. Really. Don't.
Oh, no! Too late!
"Oh, gosh, ah, well, ah, go ahead, ah, um, make my, um, day..."