Week 8 notes & reflections December 14, 2006

Film is behaviour

• Actions are simply the manifestations of behaviour
• Human emotions are understood by watching the actions and reactions of the characters

Dynamic Action

• Has the potential to enrich the experience of the audience by bulding an emotional relationship between the characters and the audience

Week 8 , lets see … Hmm … It has been kind of packed this week. Very little breathing space due to the many deadlines we’ve got to meet . However i believe i should still go ahead with a reflection for this week .

Reflections of the very entertaining Lesson 4 December 13, 2006

Hmm .. Hello everyone ! I am back with more news on the previous storytelling lesson. Basically , we watched a movie throughout more or less , the whole lesson. The movie was ” Election” by the same writers who brought us About Schmidt and Sideways. I think that the movie was excellent as it portrayed issues and events that other movies and directors would not want to go deeper into.

Though some of my coursemates didn’t enjoy some parts of the movie due to some sensitive issues , i am sure that in one way or another, it would have struck a chord in their hearts one way or another . In fact many of us , could relate to characters in the movie .

After watching the movie , we had a short discussion of the movie which saw some very interesting issues or point-of-views being brought up by some classmates . I like such sessions as i am able to see the many different angles that of the movie that i might have missed out while watching it the first time.

With this, i guess i am going to take my leave . I suppose the rest of this week would be spent watching the other movies by the same people who brought this story to life . I will be going on a hunt to find sideways and about schmidt . See you all again !

Notes from Lesson 7 December 1, 2006

Dialogue

• Portray(express) emotions
• Express thought
• Build a connection w/ audience
• Define the character
• Communicate… to other characters ( indicates relationship)
• Communicates message
• Moves plot forward

Elements of dialogue

Dialogue reveals character

• A character talks about himself or herself
• Other people talk about that character

Dialogue establishes relationships between characters

• Characters express attitudes and opinions that are in opposition to one another
• Good effective dialogue will move the story forward
• Dialogue communicates faces and information to the audience

- It conveys essential exposition
- Characters will talk about what happened , establishing the story line

Dialogue ties the script together

Dialogue should be used sparingly , never telling the audience what they can see for itself

• Dialogue is no substitute for action

Reflections of week 5 November 23, 2006

Week 5’s lesson was very interesting . We watched a French silent film . I wouldn’t say that I have watched anything like it before . Definitely, there are some French movies that I have watched in the 18 years of my existence . However , this was different. I learnt that filmmakers from different countries really have different perceptions of how a certain genre should be. For example a romance director in America would tell a story differently from how a French director would.

Before we watched the film , we had to read out what we wrote about a conflict between the 2 subjects we chose for the people watch. We had much to laugh about when we read Jueyi’s work as his character in the story showed a very accurate representation of a typical Singaporean “Chun Beng” as what Jueyi said. It had a very Singaporean-styled humor to it. Something that’s much sought-after in the media scene in this country.

Alright, I guess I should stop writing solely about what happens in class , week in and week out. I am going to write about things that really matter , subjects that make me think twice or thrice about it. To kick off , I would like to speak about my experience 3 weeks ago when I witnessed a little girl’s toe being ripped off by a faulty escalator. Till this second, I am still disturbed by it. I am not sure how I would react if I was in the situation and I have been unable to stop picturing myself in the situation. I believe that every single mechanism in public places should be checked by engineers. This is probably something I would like the authorities to do in the near future or if possible immediately.

Notes taken from Lesson 6 November 23, 2006

Screenwriter = Storyteller

• The cinematic experience is not just made up of words you might put on paper , but the audiences’ emotional reaction to that information

What is the writer’s purpose?

To connect :
- Themselves
- Their unique vision
- The material
- The drama
- Information
- Feelings
- Others

Audiences want to be transported by a screenplay

Where do you look for a story?
Inside yourself.

Everything to learn about other people is already in you.

Now you need to figure out how to connect to it.

Experience

• All people have fragments of stories
• These potential ideas prompt your desire to know more
• Respond emotionally and intellectually to what you heard.
• Good stories are born in the heart , not the head.
• Remember the role of an audience
• After all , you ARE the audience.

Summary :

3 storytelling tool – Observation , Mermory , Experience

Aristotle’s storytelling theories
- 3 act structure
- Developing 3 dimensional characer
- Writing for an audience

Which do you think is true? November 23, 2006

Story 1

It happened last month when Kane , Pradip , Hari and I were walking along the beach of Labrador Park. Armed with a sling bag that contained nothing but a laptop and a comb , we braved the shallow waters that sipped through the openings of our shoes. We trudged and pressed on despite the sinking of our feet into the wet, soft sand. By noon , we reached the northern end of the beach which was actually closed off to the public but apparently we had gone through an opening in the fence that was used to keep us out. Spotting a peculiar vase from quite a distance away , we headed towards it and had planned to kick it around. I struck first and ended up with an injured toe. It definitely wasn’t light. We struggled to lift it up and we turned it upside down . Flowing out like fluid were necklaces , rings , pendants , jade , rubies and a couple of tiny diamonds in a velvet pouch.

Story 2

I ran as fast as I could . I looked like a megastar with a bunch of berserk fans behind me. They were wielding weapons of all sorts. Some were even armed with knives. Why me? I couldn’t understand why they were chasing me like angry mob. I did bully a chubby kid when I was in elementary school and stole his cookies but I don’t think he would be petty enough to look me up 10 years later to settle a score regarding a cookie. “Run Naresh , Reach that taxi !” I whispered under my breath as if it would make any difference to my depleting stamina. I began to slow down and they were reaching me . Just then I reached out and grabbed the door of the taxi . I was safe for now, till I find out what I had done and clarify it soon. I headed down to the police station , thanking my lucky star throughout the entire journey.

Rayson meets Mrs Ng ( Conflict of my 2 subjects ) November 23, 2006

“ Peeuff! “ , the elevator comes to a halt as the lights go out. Trapped inside are Mr. Rayson Lim and Mrs Ng who lives on the 7th floor. Mr . Rayson maintains his calm as he flips open his handphone and scrolls to his ‘flash’ option. Upon activation, he looks to Mrs Ng to ask if she is alright. However , he isn’t shown as much courtesy and consideration as what he shows Mrs Ng. She shouts in mandarin, “ I have to rush home and play mahjong with my friends! You have to do something quick to get us out of this “.

Mr Rayson then lights up the information panel above the level buttons to look for the emergency number. He dials and notifies the repair personnel who assures him that they will be there in about 15 minutes . Just as he hangs up , he heaves a sigh of relief and to his pleasant surprise , the lights switches on again and the lift releases sounds of resurrection as it starts moving upwards. “ You see that ? You just have to stay calm , do not fear and things will be fine” Rayson replies in an amusing Chinese slang. The lift moves up a few feet and “ Peeuff! “. It comes to a full halt again and there is no more light.

“ Hmm , you see that ? I think you should just shut up and wait “ , Mrs Ng snaps at Rayson . Being given such a large serving of sarcasm and impoliteness , Mr Rayson turns and faces the door in dismay , finally deciding that he should not speak with his new found acquaintance.

Reflections and Notes taken from Lesson 3 November 8, 2006

Reflection

This week’s lesson was very entertaining and interactive. There was much involvement from the class. During the lesson , we covered the 50-word stories , presentation on Mr.Aristotle . First we started off with the 50-word stories. We had to read out our stories to the rest of our classmates and then feedback will be given by everyone. It was a good experience for all of us. Personally , i felt that the advice i gained was invaluable as it helps me get an outsider’s perspective of my story . Writing has become a very interesting i must say , ever since the storytelling module started . I can feel myself improving progressively also . Apart from that , we learn that in writing , quantity is not always quality

After this feedback session , we had our presentations on Aristotle’s teachings. I learnt quite alot from it and a little bit about drama and plays that were performed in the past. Aristotle’s theories were chosen as he had lots to say as to what makes a good story thus he was a good subject to study.

To sum it all up , the 3rd lesson was an awesome lesson which was so enriching and i am sure all of us have learnt something that will be valuable to us in the future. I have typed out below what we learnt from the 3rd lesson in a brief manner .

What’s a Tragedy : A tragedy is an Imitation of an action (mimesis) that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude; in language embellished with each kind of artistic ornament, in the form of action not narrative; with incidents arousing pity and fear, wherewith to accomplish its kartharsis of such emotions.

6 Elements of a Tragedy : ( In order of importance )
1 ) Plot
2 ) Character
3 ) Diction
4 ) Thought
5 ) Song
6 ) Spectacle

Simple Plots & Complex Plots
Simple Plots are plots that consists of a change of fortune. However, there is no reversal of events or recognition. Complex plots are plots that involve a change of fortune , a recognition and a reversal of events .

3- Act Structure : The Beginning , the middle and the end .
Beginning : Start of the Cause & Effect Chain
Middle : The Climax
End : Resolution

Hmm alright folks , that’s all for this post.

My first Storytelling/Screenwriting lesson October 26, 2006

I had my first screenwriting lesson on the 19th of October . Class started at 9 . Class was good . The room was good and most importantly , the air-con was great . We started off with a guessing game in which we had to scribble down 5 things your classmates would not know about you . I could go on and write a couple of hundreds more but i didn’t . When my first sentence was read out , everyone just knew it was me . The sentence was ” I’ve had more than 7-near death experiences in my life ” . I know it isn’t a very believable statement , but it’s true . We went on to the rest and there were some pretty funny ones like Farhan who said ” He’s a closet malay gangster ” and so on .

Anyway , back to lesson highlights , we went on with the next activity which was the game where you had to say a similar sounding word before your actual name . Examples are Necrophylic Naresh , King Khurshed , Jolly Jueyi , Big Ben and other evil ones like Sexy Sean and Hot Hari . After this , we went on to some serious learning . We learnt about tenses and the appropriate method of writing for tv instead of the normal book-styled writing which we were all very used to . We were told about how scripts could be written in a way that can be directly shown in actions rather than things such as thoughts and so on . Apart from all these interesting things we learnt about storytelling , i would say our class was very relieved at the lack of emphasis on citations in this module unlike our previous module , Written Communication even though it was also very fun and all .

With this , i shall take my leave and go enjoy some valuable sleep . Till we meet again , this is Naresh.S and you are on Acethief.wordpress.com .

Lecture 1 – Notes October 21, 2006

This is the notes for my 1st lesson of storytelling . It was awesome…

In First Person :
Present Tense – Eg , I am in class now
Past Tense – Eg , I was in class yesterday

Now in Third Person :
Present Tense – Sindhu is turning into a lonely frog.
Past Tense – Hari was acting as a tree in the musical when he started to speak gibberish out of nervousness.

Passive Voice vs Active Voice

Passive
Eg , The sky was blue with a lot of white clouds
– Uses weak verbs
– Tells rather than shows what’s going on
– Distances the reader from the story

Active
Eg ,
– Uses strong action verbs
– Shows the action
– Uses an immediate sentence structure
– Conveys the story in a lively manner

And now on to some Useful Tips for Writing

* If you have a work in progress , never stop for the night if you’re stuck.
* Always solve the problem and keep going until you are in safer water. A good night’s sleep is important. Sleeping on problems is a myth.
* If you can’t get started on a project , start writing anyway. To do this you have to have some words to type.
* It doesn’t matter what you write. You’ll soon begin to think and move in your own rhythm/pace.