Dead Dog Barking

barkingSo sure, like most of us, I read from time to time and have been keen to use the newly developed he had developed for and now even a few .

Pretty much everywhere I see it being used, it looks very good and it’s outstanding for quickly getting up some screenwriting examples or s as Mr. August had recently.

But of course like EVERYTHING I attempt to do, MURPHY’S LAW rears its head and we go nine rounds… The scrippet was a snap to install and it SEEMS to work for me except for the dialogue. It keeps wanting to skip a line before printing it out.

I headed on over the and indeed, something is mentioned about the problem I’m experiencing so I went ahead and registered and asked for some help.

But so you can see how it works, take a gander…

FADE IN

INT. UNK’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT

INDEX CARDS upon INDEX CARDS layer a textured wall as UNK (50), outfit in tortoise shell RAY BANS, BANGS away at his laptop.

A BARKING DOG in the distance.

UNK

I’ve had it with that fuckin’ dog.

More BANGING -- more BARKING.

Unk shoves the laptop forward on the bed -- pulls his .22 RUGER AUTOMATIC from under the pillow, checks the clip:

Full.

He shuffles down the hallway to the

KITCHEN

opens the refrigerator door -- retrieves a

BOTTLE OF WATER

unscrews the top -- screws the .22’s barrel into the opening -- tight.

EXT. UNK’S HOUSE

Front door eases open, Unk slides out -- .22 dangling to his side.

BARKING louder now -- Unk disappears into the night.

EXT. STUCCO WALL

BARKING almost deafening -- a SILHOUETTE of the .22 and attached bottle of DRIPPING water hovers against a FULL MOON.

The SILHOUETTE of Unk’s head follows as the weapon angles across the wall and down.

PFFTCLACKGLUGGLUGGLUG -- BURST of water -- muffled YELP -- no more barking.

Both silhouettes fade backward into the night.

INT. UNK’S HOUSE - BEDROOM - NIGHT

INDEX CARDS upon INDEX CARDS layer a textured wall as Unk BANGS away at his laptop.

FADE OUT.

What’s even more cool is that the same thing can be done in the comments section by anyone. I should also thank for her hard work in getting this plugin completed.

So if you have a blog or forum about screenwriting, definitely get this plugin!

Unk

September 29, 2008 | Filed Under Blogs

23 Comments 

I bow to GREATNESS

luke dead at 83. I don’t know what to say… I had sincerely hoped he would live FOREVER. He was one of the coolest IF NOT THE COOLEST.

Whew… This is a rough one.

RIP Paul and say hello to Steve McQueen for us…

Unk

September 27, 2008 | Filed Under Greatness

11 Comments 

Scenes from next week

ending-a-sceneI’ve seen a lot of discussion on how to write a scene… Anatomy of a scene. What makes for great scenes… One thing I’m not really remembering very much of — IF ANY — is discussion on ending a scene.

I — like a lot of you, have read a lot of screenplays and that number is probably very close to being equal when it comes to professional screenplays versus new screenplays and one of the elements I see quite a bit is the difference between the two when it comes to ending a scene.

Most of the new screenplays i.e., those screenplays being written by writers wanting to break in always seem to be lacking in this area.

Is it in fact something that you’ve given much thought about? If not — why not?

Do not ENDINGS denote that something be completed? No… I’m not saying that you should end every scene as if whatever that scene is about should end forever but just as you set up a scene with an interior or exterior… Location and description of said location along with setting up who’s in that scene as well as what’s happening in that scene… Might it not be worth considering ending SOME of those scenes so as to trigger US — both reader and hopefully, eventual audience — to want MORE INFORMATION about either the character(s) within that scene or the story that we’re investing our precious time in?

I’ve read a lot of screenwriting articles and pages of screenwriting books over the years that talk about ways of getting the reader to turn the page… In fact, I’ve read many articles on rewriting the bottoms of pages in order to do just that. Fine. Nothing wrong with that strategy if you can in fact pull it off so it doesn’t look like you’ve fucking tricked me into turning that page… LOL. No… You better make that page WORTH TURNING.

Which is why I say to consider ending your scenes to accomplish the same thing. It makes more sense and of course, you’re not simply trying to trick us into reading on because we really do want to read on.

This is by no means some kind of a rule I propose to throw at anyone but it does seem to be an area in screenwriting often left unexplored.

I don’t watch network television anymore so I have no idea how it’s done today but I remember when I was a kid watching television — either actual television shows or movies, that I almost always felt one of two things at the end of most of the scenes that did not continue on in the story… i.e., self-contained scenes…

  1. Emotion of some kind.
  2. Relief.

In other words, the scenes themselves either pulled me in emotionally, thereby causing me to WONDER what was going to happen next — OR — the scene ended with me leaning back on the couch and saying, “WHEW!” Providing me with a much needed breather before getting pulled back in again.

I also remember watching my favorite television shows back then and after said show, they would offer up the SCENES FROM NEXT WEEK. LOL. This was always a bone of contension in our house… My mother and father wanted my brother and I to hit the rack (go to bed) as soon as said show was over but we would always beg and plead, “Can we watch the scenes?”

This always pissed my Dad off to no end… He would reply back to us that we could watch the PREVIEWS of next week — NOT THE SCENES. LOL. Of course we called them the scenes because that’s what the show’s announcer called them so why not us? But, as long as we submitted to the POWER OF DEAR OLE DAD, we were almost always allowed to watch the SCENES.

I still think they are in fact SCENES but here’s why I mention them today…

Those scenes acted very much like movie trailers… Those scenes from next week SOLD US on tuning in next week. Those scenes made us WONDER what was going to happen next week.

Unfortunately, very often, those scenes turned out to be snippets of the actual scenes we ended up watching… But again, here’s where the revelation comes in… Why do those trailers and scenes from next week pull us in? Could it be because they leave us wanting MORE? Could we possibly learn something from this feeling of wanting more after watching the trailer and scenes from next week?

What the fuck IS IT about those scenes from next week and trailers that prod us to spend our time and money on these television shows and movies?

Sometimes it’s the cliffhanger ending of a scene that makes us want to see more. Cool. I like cliffhangers. Sometimes it’s something revealed about one or more of the characters within a particular scene that causes me to wonder how this kind of person ended up being where they are right now… No, it’s usually not a conscious thought of actually asking myself that question but it’s probably very much like being one of those lookyloos who drive really slow when passing a motor vehicle accident…

They just gotta know what happened but think about that for a second… They can’t possibly know what happened. It’s the ENDING of that catastrophe that causes them to ease up on the gas pedal and coast on by.

Sometimes it’s specific dialogue in the scene that causes me to WONDER about something I didn’t know before… Sometimes it’s making something that I THOUGHT was going to end in a predictable way NOT end in a predictable way. Sometimes it has something to do with the theme of the story thereby making me wonder or question the truth that seems to be unfolding before me.

Sometimes it’s just an ending. WHEW! Relief. Thanks, I need time to regroup, relax, and reinvest.

Watch those scenes from next week and those trailers and find those elements that cause YOU to pony up your own time and money — translate that into some of your own writing and you just might make your scenes a hell of a lot more powerful.

Unk

September 18, 2008 | Filed Under Screenwriting

12 Comments 

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