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Transcript of 1 Lecture 5: What’s the Point? Professor Christopher Bradley The Silence of the Lambs (1991)...
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Lecture 5:Lecture 5:What’s the Point?What’s the Point?
Professor Christopher Bradley
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)Screenplay by Ted Tally
Previous LessonPrevious Lesson
• First Act-- The beginning
• Midpoint-- The Preliminary Solution
• Climax-- The True Solution
The Towering Inferno (1974)Screenplay by
Sterling Sillaphant
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In this LessonIn this Lesson
• Designing a Scene
– PURPOSE
– Turning Points
– Transitions
The Turning Point (1977)Screenplay by Arthur Laurents
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In this Lesson (Continued)In this Lesson (Continued)
• Exposition
– Show, Don’t Tell!
– Conflict
• Assignments
Return of The Pink Panther (1975)Screenplay by
Frank Waldman and Blake Edwards
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Designing a SceneDesigning a Scene
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How to Murder Your Wife (1965)
Screenplay by George Axelrod
Lesson 5: Part I
Designing a Scene - 1Designing a Scene - 1• Write freely the first time through.
(That’s what a rough draft is for!)• When you have a few scenes (such
as, say, your first ten pages) take a look at what you have.
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Designing a Scene - 2Designing a Scene - 2
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• Every scene is a story unto itself, with a beginning, middle and end.
– Your protagonist should be better off or worse off at the end of each scene
– Four Aspects of Turning Points
– Emotional Transitions – Take the audience through the experience that causes the emotion
Designing a Scene - 3Designing a Scene - 3• You already know your protagonist’s
goal. The PURPOSE of every scene is to bring your protagonist closer, or knock him back further from his or her goal.
• Everyone in the scene has a goal, and everyone in the scene should be in conflict, though not all conflict is on the surface.
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Choose Me Choose Me - 2- 2
• Finding the love in the scene• Are the characters closer to their
goals or further away at the end of the scene?
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Choose Me Choose Me - 3- 3• PURPOSE
– What does each character want in the scene? (Scene Objective)
– How does that work in with what they want in the whole story? (Story Objective)
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Choose Me Choose Me - 4- 4
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• Turning Point
– What is the climax of the scene?– How does this represent a Turning Point
for the characters?– What does each character hope for or
expect?– What did each actually get?– How do they contrast? (McKee’s “gap”)
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Choose Me Choose Me - 5- 5• Surprise: What was unexpected in the
scene?• Increased curiosity: What new
questions were raised?• Insight: What did you learn about the
characters?• New direction: How did the story
change?
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ExpositionExposition
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Screenplay by Tennessee Williams
Lesson 5: Part II
Exposition - 1Exposition - 1
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• Exposition Serves 2 Purposes:
– Deepen Conflict– Provide Information
• Expositional dialog that doesn’t deepen the conflict is boring!
• Expositional dialog (or voiceover) that tells you what’s happening or what just happened belongs in a novel, not a film!
Exposition - 2Exposition - 2
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• Show, Don’t Tell
– Take the audience through an emotional experience, don’t tell them about it.
– Tell your audience what the characters have to lose.
Silence of the Lambs Silence of the Lambs - 1- 1
• Pause the lecture and watch the clip from The Silence of the Lambs.
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Silence of the Lambs Silence of the Lambs - 2- 2
• Rather than simply telling you information about them both, the conflict necessitates the revelations.
• How does this scene deepen the conflict between Lechter and Clarice?
• What information do we gain about Lechter? About Clarice?
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Silence of the Lambs Silence of the Lambs - 3- 3• Emotional Violence — How does
Lechter injure Clarice with just words? How does she fight back?
• How is Lechter’s violence different from the other inmates? What does that say about him?
• What does each have to lose?• Why does Lechter help her in the
end? What does that say about him?
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Silence of the Lambs Silence of the Lambs - 4- 4
• Turning Points happen on:
– Action
– Revelation
• Backstory
– Why not use flashback here?
– Voiceover Narration
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Silence of the Lambs Silence of the Lambs - 5- 5
• Scene Design– Goals of Each?– The love in the scene (as sick as that
might seem here…)– What has each gained or lost?
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Silence of the Lambs Silence of the Lambs - 6- 6• Surprise: What was unexpected in the
scene?• Increased curiosity: What new
questions were raised?• Insight: What did you learn about the
characters?• New direction: How did the story
change?
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AssignmentsAssignments
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)
Screenplay by R.C. Sherriff and Claudine West and Eric Maschwitz
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Lesson 5: Part III
ReadingReading
• Read Chapter 10 in Story, “Scene Design”
• Read Chapter 15 in Story, “Character” • Do the Reading Review to be sure
you’re clear on what you’ve read
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E-Board Post - Part 1E-Board Post - Part 1• Scene Design
– Choose a scene from your screenplay (one you have actually written or one you are planning) and state:
• What that characters want and expect• What they actually get • Contrast these
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E-Board Post - Part 2E-Board Post - Part 2
• Exposition– For the same scene, state:
• What the conflict is between your characters• What the audience will learn about your
characters through that conflict
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