Topic 4 Film Directing 1 by Eliud k Situma 3/05/2010 Analysis of Script GENRE Identify the genre. Is it a comedy?

? If so, is it farce,satire ,comedy of manners or the comedy of situation and character? Is it drama, i.e., tragedy, mystery, horror, domestic drama, etc.? If it is a screenplay, is it fast action (Fast and Furious), heavy on hardware (Terminator), or more reliant on special effects than interpersonal relationships (Men in Black)? Is it experimental (plays by Samuel Beckett), stream of consciousness (plays by Sam Shepherd), or old fashioned in structure (Tennessee Williams)? Is it highly stylized (Shakespeare) or naturalistic (Arthur Miller)? These questions can be determined either by the nature of the material or by the directors choice. Some naturalistic material can be turned into highly stylized farce with varying degrees of success. In any case, the choice must be made at this stage of the work as it will affect all the steps to follow: casting, design, character outlines, etc. You might even want to look at the words in your throughline and alter them slightly to better communicate to your team your perception of the style of the work. This doesnt imply the necessity of changing the nature of the journey, but simply the manner in which it is conveyed. Remember, we are looking for the buzz words that will connect to the computer button/brains of the members of your team. STRUCTURE is it a one-act, two act,or three-act form, with the more period pieces usually written in three acts and the more contemporary work using the two-act structure. first act, the set-up and introduction of characters; second act, the development of plot; and third act, climax and resolution. Most often the directors choice prevails when it comes to the dramatic structure of the play or film. Taking into consideration the length, scope, and shape of the original script, the director must decide on the elements that will enable him to construct what can be referred to as the arc of the journey. Sometimes it helps to think of the journey of the throughline as a mountain climb, with the mountain peak corresponding to the climax or major turning point.

DESIGNING THE ARC Where is the top of the arc, or the moment of climax? How is the build toward that moment or event going to be constructed? What are the obstacles to the climb? Where does the particular scene on which you are working lie in relation to the top of the arc? What is the design of the smaller arc in the scene itself? What are the obstacles in the scene? What is the moment of greatest risk or discovery or change? Here is where the directors choice rules. Remember: Each actor is concerned only with the development of his/her own character and cannot think in terms of the overall design. That is the directors job. So in guiding the actors in both the needs and the action choices, the director must factor in the design of the scene and the necessity of creating the interaction and/or tensions that will create the arc. POSITION OF CHARACTERS After defining for ones self the nature and arc of the journey, it will then be easier to determine the position of the characters in the structure. Who carries the line forward? Who seems to obstruct the forward motion? It is your throughline that will lead you to the answers to these questions. The protagonist carries the line forward;the antagonist obstructs it. The leading characters will be easier to identify, but you must choose for all the characters. Knowing what side of the structure they fall on is key to all the choices that follow. It is also interesting to note that not all characters fall on one sideor the other. Some might stand squarely in the middle in the fulcrum position. Some might cross over from one side to the other in the course of the journey. The design of the structure is essential in the directors process of selectivity. . In creating the structure, it is of prime importance to identify the obstacles, as they provide us with the antagonist side of the structure. It is conflict that creates dramatic action. Without it,we have what I like to call a flatliner.

There is no arc in a flatliner, merely life happening, All the elementscharacter development,design, lighting, music, editing, etc.can contribute to the shaping of the overall arc of the work and the individual arcs of the scenes. In the theatre the director can build the arc with performance,staging, pacing, design elements, and music as well. The film director can accomplish much in the editing process.He/she can control what the audience sees by what shot he/she selects to show them at any given moment. The stage director must have sufficient understanding of the fundamentals of stage craft to be able to lure the eye of the observer to where thedirector wants it to be at any given moment. The director must also be able to collaborate with the cast and with the designers so as to structure all acting and design elements in the shaping of the arc of the play. This planning of the structure of the play or screenplay is as important a part of the preproduction work of the director as thecreating of the throughline. the director must be at the helm of this journey and thus must have a firm idea of what is to form the nature of the destination and the route by which it is reached. Actors will tell you that they want a director who is prepared. The primary need of the actor is a sense of security, provided by the knowledge that the director will protect him/her and help make the performance as good as possible.