Category: Screenwriting

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Aristotle on Drama

Aristotle, The Poetics

Aristotle’s Poetics is a fragmentary work; originally it was a text for use by philosophy students rather than by the general public. The part which survives is mostly about Tragedy. The most notable thing about Aristotle’s view of the poetical process is that he sees it as an ‘imitation’ (mimesis) of real situations, rather than invention. But since it is a mental abstraction derived from many single instances, it is `truer’ than any individual situation, because it is more ‘universal’, more general, or (as Plato might have said) it participates in the Ideal to a greater degree.

The PROCESS OF IMITATION in Tragedy includes:
(1) language [diction]
(2) meter [rhythm]
(3) music
(4) dance [movement]
The SUBJECT MATTER OF TRAGEDY is THE ACTIVITY OF HUMAN BEINGS, either seen as
(a) IDEALIZED [heroic deeds, klea andron]
(b) REALISTIC [average human activities]
(c) CARICATURIZED [comedic exaggeration of reality]

EPIC AND TRAGEDY compared and contrasted:
THE EPIC TRAGEDY
idealized men & women idealized men & women
direct and indirect narrative direct narrative
dactylic hexameter various meters
open-ended length limited length [usually one day, the ‘unity of time’]

PURPOSE OF DRAMA:
According to Aristotle the purpose of Drama is to arouse in the audience feelings of PITY and FEAR, and to purge these emotions (catharsis), thereby making people stronger emotionally.

ELEMENTS OF DRAMA:
(1) scenery and costume (spectacle)
(2) musical score (organized sound)
(3) libretto (the text, diction)
(4) characterization
(5) thought content (themes and ideas)
(6) plot (action: METABOLE)

Since a drama is dynamic, it is PLOT which governs the whole. In fact, music and spectacle can be omitted (as in the reading of a play) while the effect of the drama is still preserved. A PLOT must have: a beginning, a middle and an end; it must be of a certain length (neither too long nor too short); it must have unity of theme (connection actions, not random items); it must be graspable by the mind and memory both in its parts and as a whole.
PLOT can be
(a) simple (without `reversal’ [PERIPATEIA] or `discovery’ [anagnoresis])
(b) complex (with either Peripateia or Anagnoresis)
ANAGNORESIS
(1) by signs or tokens, or marks on the body ‘recognition’
(2) arbitrary, by direct discoveries invented by author
(3) awakened memory (recall of forgotten events)
(4) logical reasoning, or sophistical reasoning
(5) discovery from incidents, in a `probable’ manner.

-John Paul Adams, CSUN
john.p.adams@csun.edu

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How Do You Start To Learn Screenwriting?

The first time I wanted to write a script,
I wrote it. I went to the local book store
and bought every book on screenwriting.
I studied the books and drafted a
screenplay. This led to a rewrite.
Rewriting is screenwriting. It’s like
sculpting. The writer refines and refines
always striving for perfection. Perfection
is relative, so, the writer must get to the
point where they are satisfied and then,
the writer should begin the process of
marketing the script.

I finished my first script in two weeks.
In one month, I had a WGA agent. In
six weeks, the script was being read
by someone at Disney. It was eventually
produced and aired on cable.

I created a job so that I could write. The
job was to sit for visitation at a mortuary.
It allowed me to study and to write.

If you are able to squeeze in one hour
each day to write, you will eventually be
able to write for more than one hour
each day. Like cleaning your teeth, set
aside a certain amount of time each
day, simply, to write, even if that is
only 30 minutes. The key, is to write
everyday at that time, even though,
at times, you may feel like it’s useless.
That is part of being a writer, to deal
with feelings of uselessness. It goes
with the territory. It is the writer’s
job to overcome that, as well as other
emotions that come up.

Writing requires creativity. Creative
people are usually on the edge of
emotion, most of the time. So, that
also usually goes with the territory
of writing.

I hope this has been of help to you.

Best Regards,

Donald L. Vasicek
The Zen of Writing and Filmmaking
http://michaelc.nextmp.net/wordpress
dvasicek@earthlink.net

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Zen of Writing

Writing plays an integral role in our everyday lives. Writing is a means of communication. Writing helps identify who you are. Writing reveals your thoughts in physical form. Writing can make or break you, and you might not even know it. Writing can get you a job. Writing can cause you to lose a job. Writing records what you are thinking.

The Zen of Writing shows you how to put everything together so that you can effectively write, regardless of what you are writing, and to whom you are writing. Think in terms of who gave me the idea to write what I’m about to write. What was I doing at the time? Where was I? When did this happen? Why am I about to write about this subject matter?

Write down your answers. By writing down your answers, you are calling upon your subconscious mind, which works like a computer that takes in all of the information your five senses are giving you each breathing minute, to reveal your passion for the subject matter. Once you accomplish this, you will be able to determine how to most effectively write what you are about to write. Your passion for the subject matter is your theme for what you are about to write.

Utilize this theme by writing differents points-of-view that relate to your theme. By writing this way, you will make what you are writing multi-dimensional. By making your writing multi-dimensional, you enhance your writing and make it more effective and powerful.

Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC
The Zen of Writing/Filmmaking/Consulting
http://michaelc.nextmp.net/wordpress
dvasicek@earthlink.net