‘Script out-loud week’:
Another long and productive week. We spent five days reading out loud ten screenplays with the help of some Dutch actors. The readings were then following up with about 1-2 hours of intense discussion about the script. I wasn’t sure my brain would have the stamina to do so much imagination and critical thinking but somehow it did and I found the experience very rewarding.
Despite the fact that there’s only so much constructive feedback you can give someone after reading their script only once, I do feel I better understand the nine other projects from my fellow writer/directors. I was very inspired by the worlds & characters they’re working on. I found that even though we’re dealing with similar themes and concerns, our voices are so distinct.
In the process of interpreting each of the texts, I remembered how a writer/director’s writing style is full of clues as to how they plan on making the final film.
With regards to my project Shelter, I discovered many places where the description was too rich and emotional and added real confusion. These images seemed so dense that I think many of the other participants lost the narrative thread of the story and the ‘poetry’ of a description took over.
Even though I feel that kind of description is an important clue as to the cinematic language of the final film, it would do me good to go through and ‘sand away’ any unnecessary, poetic description. I think a more minimalist approach to that description would help a first time reader of the screenplay leave with a stronger sense of the narrative as well as find room to add in their own emotions to the scene.
I guess the rewriting continues . . .
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