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As you've said, there's a difference between format and style. There's an increasing tendency to want to see everything written in a lean, fast paced style....but not every film is lean or fast paced. The style of the script should reflect the style and pace of the story. A slow burning, intense character portrait should not necessarily be written at the same breathtaking speed as a vacuous action script.
I agree with you here. I'll hold my hands up and say I do over write a bit but sometimes I think it helps set the mood and atmosphere of the story. If I take the bare bones approach to keep it skipping along fast, I think the story sometimes suffers.
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Alffy, I know exactly what you're referring to and what this post is in response to, but I won't mention it because I don't want to start another shitstorm in here, which will touch off various peep's egos.
Much of what you get in feedback will be based on that person's opinions, which are derived from other peeps' opinions that he or she has heard or told over the years. Most of them are far from set in stone and depending on who you talk to, will either be agreed on or shot down as BS.
As a few have correctly said, you have to take everything in and decide for yourself what makes the most sense and why.
It's a guaranteed fact that at least half of everything you get in feedback will be either downright incorrect or poor advice from someone who doesn't know what they're talking about.
And I'll expand this statement to include feedback you receive that you pay for or get from those that consider themselves to be "Pros".
Format isn't the issue here, if I'm correct in what brought this thread on, and again, if I am correct, the "DON'T EVER DO THIS" stuff hardly even makes a difference in your script overall, nor does it impact what readers will think of it.
As an example, leaving a multitude of "orphans" in your work is (or can be) an issue, but the funny thing is that you'll find many, or even most, won't have a clue they're even there. Others will actually argue that they create "white space" and therefor are actually good things. The reality is that they definitely waste space and if space is a premium, or you tend to overwrite anyways, they can be a real nuisance and easily add over 10 pages of "nothing" to a feature.
You've got to both consider the source of your feedback and take it all with a salt shaker's worth of salt.
What's right is what's clear to you and those who read it.
What he said.
With all that being said, there are those writers that eventually learn how to whittle down that super long 50-word action packed paragraph down to a measly 15, 10, maybe 5 (ya think?) words and they still say what needs to be said with same amount of impact that the previous 50-word paragraph had tried to make. That ability to cut words out to make your point is much more important than getting the proper format down, at least in the long run, when you write scripts.
However, there are writers that whittle 50-word paragraphs down and still have impact. That's more important than format.
Character directions, for instance are NOT unfilmmable, and are perfectly fine to use.
It's perfectly acceptable to say things like "He clearly doesn't understand" rather than having to type the mechanical "He looks confused".
I notice I get pulled up on this quite a bit in reviews...but it's a conscious choice I have made to prevent actors reading the script "representing" emotions and not genuinely feeling them within the boundaries of their character.
Basically if you tell an actor to look confused...they will simply wrinkle their foreheads or whatever...if you leave it open as to their specific reaction they can choose something more interesting...maybe they nod and pretend they agree, and then cast a slight look of confusion afterwards...or just smile numbly...whatever. I just don't like to set something in stone when there may be a better way of doing it.
As a spec writer in this scenario right now... I can also say this thought process also applies to producers.
I asked the producer what are some of his favorite scripts that he's sold in the past. He sent me some examples, and they all this this idea in common.
They all had that style of voice to them. So, since I'm writing a spec for him to push to the agency... I decided I better adopt the style of writing that gets him excited.
Regards, E.D.
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I have also been advised by Michael Cove, head screenwriter of Bearcage Productions- that you should avoid putting descriptions of tone of voice (sweetly) (sarcastically)..etc over dialogue because its up to an actor how they want to interpret the character, and it gets them excited if they can put their own spin on it, rather than you doing the work for them, because who says you know the best way to do something? I was also told not to put description locations, or too many clothing/appearance descriptions in (unless they are crucial)- because again, you want the staff producing your movie to have creative license, get excited and put their own spin on things.
Hope this helps people
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts. ~Winston Churchill
Jordan, hello. Never afraid to offer my opinion, so here goes.
Why would you care what the actors think? And I don't intend that as mean spirited. Likewise, why would you care about production staff, and what serves them as far as breaking up slugs...another thing we sometimes hear?
They have their jobs, we have ours. By the time they get their work, the script has been bought. How they interpret the role is between them and the director. Best of luck to them.
Our job is to convince someone reading the script that this would make a great film. That's it. Everything that aids that purpose...good. Anything else, who cares?
So the challenge is to make sure the reader sees the story the way you want him to see it. Now, if you fill your script with too many adverbs and actor directions, it's a mistake, but not because you annoy the actors. It's because it makes for a less efficient read. You can annoy the reader. Which is never good.
However, if you need, in certain spots, to do those things to help put the reader in the story, to make sure things are clear...IMO...do it.
This applies to other things as well, such as "unfilmables", mini-slugs, and what I call sequence links, such as LATER or CONTINUOUS. Worry about the reader, no one else.
This is how it's done in pro scripts that I've read. Try to get your hands on recently optioned scripts. And then do what makes sense to you. Best of luck!
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Format, format, format
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