Index

A

A Midsummer Night’s Dream 41

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 20

Action. See also Goal; Intention; Motive

anticipation 78, 123

characterization 65, 73, 90

exposition of character 71

intention 78

disturbance, need for 87–88

time dependancy 48, 78–79

wider definition 70

Actor

characterization 16–17, 67

knowledge division 55

relation to props 16

Adaptations 169

original, departing from 170

Adjustment 98–100

consequence of goal attained 98

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) 34

Aeschylus 2

Affinity 89–90, 98

annulment 99

disturbance 87

Age, characterization 68

Allen, Woody 153, 187

Amadeus (1984) 21

The American President (1995) 39

Anticipation 109–112

action 78

contrasting 115

delay 114

dissatisfied 112

errors of 181

forward movement 122

goal 122

hopeful 115

main goal 126

surprise 113

unpleasant 115

Archer, William 109

Aristotle 51

tragedy 164

Arsenic and Old Lace 109

Atmosphere

generating 42

of place 42

Audience 108

anticipation 109

desire to learn 152

fatigue 24, 131

information

duplication of 24

selection 50

withholding from 55–56

knowledge

anticipation 110–111

division of 55

laughter 114

motion picture 30

vs. theatre 29

reaction 109

surprise 113

Auteur 187

B

Bach (Johann Sebastian) 21

Bacharach, Burt 20

Back to the Future (1985) 80

Baker, Professor George Pierce 128

Balzac 167

Barry, Philip 148

Beethoven 21

Believability 113

Bergman, Ingmar 8, 42

The Bicycle Thief (1947) 152

The Birdcage (1996) 33

Bolt, Robert 147

Bonnie and Clyde (1967) 101

Boredom 109

Born Yesterday (1950) 39

Boyz N the Hood (1991) 163

Branagh, Kenneth 60

The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1944) 170

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)42

Buuel 8

Burton, Tim 109

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) 20

C

Camera. See also Shot

angle 177

choosing place and shots 39

composition 30

field of view 28–29

lens 28–29

pair of eyes, as a 30

selective rendition 29

set-up, changing 30

Capra, Frank 73, 109, 146

Carrey, Jim 156

Cartoons 22

Casablanca (1942) 20

Cause and effect 80, 83, 102

Cavalcade (1933) 46

Certainty 122

Change, source of action 23

Chaplin, Charlie 42, 114

Character

and characterization 70

constancy, as essential 72

revealing 71

Characteristics

action, determinants of 70

affinity and repulsion 89

conflict between 90

constancy, as essential 72

disturbance, source of 87

emotions, contrasted with 72

place, determined by 39

Characterization 65, 73, 90

action

exposed by 70

interplay with 73

actor 16–17, 67

age 67–68

changes to 98

color scheme, as a 74–75

contrasted with character and characteristic 67

dramatic 66

errors of 183

essential facts 69

exposition of 75

motion picture difficulties 66–67

novels 66

occupation 68–69

past and future 69

plot 73

props, via 15

psychology 65

stereotype 66

Chekhov 8

Citizen Kane (1941) 16, 31

Climax 94–95, 123, 174

goal 95

Clowns 114

Comedy 114, 148, 176

Comic effect

misunderstanding 57

information conflict 26

Complication 92

dramatic effect 93

Composition

camera shots 30

in motion pictures 30

Concentric directions 106

Connection

dialogue, effected by 19

noise, effected by 19

shot types 33

time, effected by 43

Contact (1997) 185

Contrast, vs. information conflict 26

Conviction 189

Coordination, information, example of 26

Coppola, Francis Ford 73

Copyright protection 136–137

Counterintention 92–93, 103

vs. complication 93

Counterplot 93

Creative process 141

Cukor, George 39

Cut to, defined 34

D

Dangerous Minds (1995) 165

Debussy, Claude 21

music, background 21

Delacroix, Ferdinand Victor Eugène 6

Delay 114

Demosthenes 18, 24

Dialogue 14–15, 18, 176

effecting connection 19

place 41

exposition of 46

playwright 50

stage and screen 17

story, in role of 17

Difficulty

goal and motive 92

and intention 93

opposing, knowledge of 97

strength of 94

types of 92

Director 29, 31

as coordinator of expression 26

“director’s touch” 26

Reiner, Rob 39

shooting script 177

Disney, Walt 153, 155

Dissolve to, defined 34

Disturbance 100, 102

affinity, via 87

action, facilitator of 88

errors of 182

exposition 102

factors creating 86

family relationships 88

main intention 102

necessary characteristics 87

repulsion, via 87–88

storytelling mechanism 86

Doctor Zhivago (1965) 50, 147

Doubt 123

creating 116–117

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 90, 114

Dramatic construction 62, 109, 122, 146

plot, contrasted with 63

story, contrasted with 62

Dunne, Philip 74

Duplication 25. See also Repetition

attention fatigue 24

motion picture 24

risks of 25

E

Eastwood, Clint 42

Ed Wood (1994) 109

Eisenstein 34

Elvira Madigan (1967) 21

Emotion

music, background 20–21

states of 86

story understandability 153

The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 165

The English Patient (1996) 171

Euripides 2

Event

anticipated 113

graduation of 128–131

unanticpiated 113

Everyone Says I Love You (1996 153

Evita (1996) 34

Expression, motion picture, means of 25

Ext., defined 34

F

Fade-in, defined 34

Fade-out, defined 34

Family relationships 88

Fatigue 109

Faust 90

Fellini 8, 148, 187

Filmmakers, young 185

First act writers 128

Foreman, Carl xi

Form, effect on storytelling 11

Forrest Gump (1994) 16

Forward movement 123–124, 131

anticipation 122

errors of 181

event graduation 128–131

goals 122

auxiliary 124

intention and auxiliary goals 125

momentum 124

motion pictures 121

novel 121

scenes 121

suspense 122

theatre 121

Foster, Jodie 185

Frames, shot 28

Fuller, Edmund ix

G

Goal 80, 123, 174

affinity and repulsion, effect of 88

anticipation 122

intention 83

attaining 97–98

auxiliary 105, 107, 124–125

subintention 105

climax 95

concentric directions 106

counterintention 93

forward movement 122

intention 123

multiple 84

momentum 124

motive

distance from 84

struggle 92

objective 83

subintention 105

The Godfather: The Complete Epic, 1902–1958 (1981) 73

Goethe 90

The Gold Rush (1925) 114

The Great Dictator (1940) 42, 114

H

Hamlet 41

Harold and Maude (1972) 163

Heaven Can Wait (1943) 163

Hiller, Arthur xi, 111

The Hindenburg (1975) 113

Hitchcock, Alfred 100, 119, 187

Holden, William 39

Holliday, July 39

Homer 64

Hot Millions (1968) 44

Howard, Sidney 74, 170

How Green Was My Valley (1941)74

How to Make an American Quilt (1995) 159

Hurricane Carla 45

I

Ideas

compared to “writing the script” 167

creative impulse 143–144

developing 142

evaluating 142

inspiration 142

selection 142

sources of 141

Identification

errors of 180

with story 156

Independence Day (1996) 163

Information 111

cartoons 22

conflicts of 26. See also Contrast

change 23

constancy of 23, 53

duplication of 24–25

element combinations 22–23

essential facts 51

knowledge 55–56

knowledge division 55

novel and stage play 50

“planting” 53

scene, effect on 51–52

selection 50, 52

errors of 183

shots, revealed by 32

source

combining 22

props 22

withholding 53, 55–56

Inspiration 141

seeking 167

Int., defined 34

Intention 92, 102–103, 120

action 78

counterintention 92–93, 115

defined 82

difficulty and struggle 83, 92–93

doubt, creating 116

errors of 182

execution of 97

forward movement 125

frustration of 95–96

fulfilment 98

goal 83, 95, 105, 110, 123

subintention 105

main 102

multiple 103

selection of 104

motive 83

struggle 91

strength of 94, 119

subintention 103–104

overlapping 125–126

suspense 116

unity of purpose 105

voluntary and involuntary 82

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) 146

I Want to Live (1958) 19

J

Joyce, James 66

Julius Caesar 41

K

Kafka, Franz 148

Kaye, Danny 164

Kesselring, Joseph 109

Kiss Me Kate 41, 99

Knowledge 110–111

curiosity 117

division 55

information 55–56

Kurosawa 8, 148

L

Lane, Nathan 33

Lang, Fritz 26

Language 13

motion picture 13

of TV and film 13

Laokoön 63

Laughton, Charles 33

Lean, David 50, 147

Lee, “Spike” 187

Lemmon, Jack 111

Lens. See Camera

Lessing, Ephraim Gotthold 63

Lewis, Sinclair 170

Lighting 17

Love

affinity and repulsion 89

motive 81, 82

Love in the City (1953) 34

Lubitsch, Ernst 163

M

M (1931) 26

MacBeth 41

Maeterlinck, Maurice 167

Manuscript, protecting 136

The Marriage Circle (1924) 163

M*A*S*H (1970) 165

The Mask (1994) 156

The Merry Widow (1934) 163

Milestone, Lewis 170

Minghella, Anthony 171

Molière 1

Momentum, of main goal 124

Montage, defined 34

Mood, music, background 20–21

Motion picture

action, through change 23

advantage, main 96

audience 29

character description 70

characterization

difficulties 66–67

exposition by action 70

comparisons

novel 11, 59

stage play 11, 23

theatre 59

defined 11

development of 3

duplication and repetition 24

expression, means of 24–25

failure, reasons for 4–5

forward movement 121

frames 28

goal 123

language 13

lighting 17

music, background 20

origins 1

place

freedoms of 39

importance of 38

props 15

scenes 38

time lapse 97

set 15

silent pictures 15

space usage 13

story

selection 50

suitability 147

storytelling 8

economies 14

success 162–163, 165

reasons for 4–5

symbolism 42

“talkies” 14

television, compared to 1

time resource 38, 43

understandability 151

volatility 4

Motivation

auxiliary goals 107

motive 105

Motive 80–81, 92

affinity and repulsion 81

creation of 86

distance to goal 84

intention 83, 95

struggle 91

love 81–82

motivation 105

pain 81–82

Mozart 21

music, background 21

Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) 156

Murphy, Eddie 156

Music, background 20

Bacharach, Burt 20

Beethoven 21

mood and emotion 20–21

source of information 20

N

Noise 176

effecting connection 19

in I Want to Live (1958) 19

representing action 19

role of 18

Novel 58

advantages 66

characterizations 67

comparisons

motion picture 11, 15, 59

theatre 59

forward movement 121

space usage 13

Novelist 170

means of expression 23

time and space 38

vs. screenwriter 23

The Nun’s Story (1959) 73

The Nutty Professor (1996) 156

O

Object

exposition of place 46

prop, compared to 16

Objective, goal 83

Obstacle

difficulty 92

dramatic effect 93

Occupation, characterization 68–69

The Odd Couple (1968) 165

Ondajtee, Michael 171

Orchestration 21

Othello 41

Outline

developing 172–173

treatment 171

The Out-of-Towners (1970) 111

P

Pain 87

disturbance 86

motive 81–82

creator of 86

intention 92

Pasternak, Boris 50

Philadelphia Story 148

Place

in Born Yesterday (1950) 39

choice of 40–41

determining characteristcs 39

exposition of 45–46

motion pictures, importance in 38

props 41

properties of 40

purpose of 40

theatre, limitations of 39

time, contrasted to 42

Plato 81

Play, development of 2

Plot

Aristotle’s definition 63

contrasted with dramatic construction 63

counterplot 93

unfolding characterizations 73

Post-production 178

Potemkin 34

The Preacher’s Wife (1996) 21

The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933) 33

Private Parts (1997) 34

Probability, story 154

Props 15

characterization 15

in Citizen Kane (1941) 16

in Forrest Gump (1994) 16

information source 22

object, compared to 16

place 41

exposition of 46

relation to actor 16

in The Scarlet Letter (1995) 16

Psychology 66, 80

and characterization 65

Pudovkin 34

R

Rebecca (1940) 20

Reiner, Rob 39

Repetition 111

in writing 24

Repulsion 89–90, 98

annulment 99

creating disturbance 87

Return of the Jedi (1983) 165

A River Runs Through It (1992) 16

Romeo and Juliet 41, 89

S

Sagan, Carl 185

The Scarlet Letter (1995) 16

Scenes 176

Chaplin, example 42

forward movement 121

information, effect of 51–52

per picture, average 45

place, effect of 40

screenplay, connecting 177

spacial subdivision, as 38

time

exposition of, 47

flow 43

lapse 38, 48–49, 97

theatre 38

Scheherazade 63

Schubert 21

music, background 21

Screenplay 176, 189

analysis 178–179

demarcation 34

expression, as form of 9

length, average 168

format 135

inspiration 10

importance of 35

scenes, connecting 177

treatment 171

Script

development stages 167–168

inspiration 167

length, average 166

outline 168–169

shooting 168, 177

rewrites of 178

writing it 166

compared to “having ideas” 167

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) 164

Shakespeare 5, 41, 75, 166

comedies 74

Julius Caesar 24

Shine (1996) 165

Shooting script 168, 177

Shot 28

camera 28

close 32

close-up 33

choosing 31, 39

Citizen Kane, example 31

demarcation in screenplay 34

full 32

information revealed by 32

long 32–33

medium 32

needs of the story 31

pan 33

danger of 33

panoramic 33

semi close-up (two shot) 32

shooting script 177

story continuity 33

traveling 32

danger of 33

types of 31–32

Silence of the Lambs (1991) 163

Silent picture 14

means of expression 15

Sling Blade (1996) 153

Sophocles 2

Sound 17

Sound track 20

Space

composition concepts 28

motion pictures, within 13

Stage play 15

motion picture, compared to 11, 15, 23

dialogue 17

handling information 50

storytelling 58

Star Wars (1977) 163, 165

Stein, Gertrude 13

Stereotype 66

Stevenson, Robert Louis 90

Story

adaptations 169–170

audience 108

learning, desire for 152

reaction 108

background music 20

camera, effect of 147

choosing camera shots 31

“climate of the time” 163

considering form 146

content 162–164

continuity, and shots 33

dramatic construction, contrasted with 62

dialogue, role of 17

disturbance

as context 87

incidents 86

dramatic construction 62

emotional aspects 153

identification 156–161

information items, as series of 50

information, selection 51

intention, as backbone 103

language 13

love, affinity and repulsion 89

mistakes 180–184

motion picture, suitability 50, 147

outline 169

place, importance of 40

probability 154–155

scenes 38

space

available to tell 14

limitations 147

struggle 86, 91

success 163

symbolism 148

“telegraphing the end” 109, 173

time, effect of 43, 45

treatment 171

understandability 150–151

Storytelling 8

dialogue, role of 18

dramatic construction 62

form, effect of 11

“formulas” 146

novel 58

spacial economies 14

stage play 58

types of 58

comparison of 59

variety 145

Stroheim, Erich von 60

Struggle 91, 100

Subintentions 174

Surprise 113

Suspense 115, 123

achieving 116

curiosity 117

errors of 181

forward movement 122

intention 116

story 116

true and false 119

Suspicion (1941) 100

Symbolism 148

motion picture 42

Russian 34

T

Tapeheads (1988)34

Technology 134, 185–186

Television 2, 129

compared to motion pictures I

series 134

idea presentation 135

manuscript protection 136

mini 2

practical hints 135–136

The Comedy of Errors 41, 99

The Taming of the Shrew 41

The Thirteenth Apostle 188

Theatre 58

audience 29

comparisons

motion picture 59

novel 59

place, limitations of 39

scenes 38

suspension of belief 147

vs. camera shots 28

Time

actions 78–79

flow through 79

relation to 48

between scenes 38

choosing appropriate 44

connection mechanism 43

exposition, constant need for 47

future, importance of 79–80

lapse between scenes 48

lapse, rhythm of 48–49

motion pictures 38

advantages 96

past, present, future 78

place, contrasted to 42

scenes, patterns of 49

Titanic (1953, 1997) 113

Tootsie (1982) 56

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995) 34

Tragedy 176

Treatment 171

developing 173

from outline 171

screenplay 171

Twister (1996) 34

U

Ulysses 66

Uncertainty 122

Understandability, errors in 181

Unity of purpose 105

Ustinov, Peter 44

Uzzell, Thomas H. 155

V

Van Doren Stern, Philip 146

Victor/Victoria (1982) 56

W

Wallach, Ira 44

Wayne, John 33

Wilder, Thornton 170

Williams, Robin 33

Wise, Robert 19

Woman of the Year (1942) 159

Writers Guild of America 137

Wuthering Heights (1939) 73

Wyler, William 73

Y

You Can’t Take It with You (1938) 73

z

Zemekis, Robert 80

Zinneman, Fred 73

Zola 167