Screenwriting : Signs - the first page by Geoff Hall

I'd say the difference is he already had credit(s), ties/connections, money and (Academy nominee plaquette) before he pitched this script to anyone, so it helped turning a blind eye on the "rules"...

Screenwriting beginner No-No's: dense paragraphs, use of "We See", CUT To transitions, "Orphan" sentences, CAPS.

MNS' track record: 40-years making movies.

Gents, the problem as I see it is, that if you start by giving new screenwriters rules that are then flaunted in the reading of screenplays to ignite their craft, then writers will find it hard to either break them in the further or will be confused by the rule that says you are a new writer and mustn’t follow the examples of other writers.

The rule I follow is, be consistent throughout the screenplay when you write it. It is then that the reader will see that you are competent and know what you are doing.

It’s definitely different if you’re directing because you’re not telling the director how to do his job. Prob a shooting script too.

Also, after Sixth Sense he was pretty much free to do whatever.

I agree with you about the hard rules with certain things though. Ppl probably get too hung up on them. I think the goal is to not make it feel like a chore to read, so if your first page is dense,fine, but it better be worth it.

I like his films visually. This is a page with no dialogue, that’s all. There are no surprises for me here. I would phrase some sentences differently, but that’s style.

There are no rules.

He has kept each paragraph (scene) short(ish). Did you notice that each was about the same length? Giving the reader the impression that each visual has the same weight and length, a nice visual clue for the reader.

That’s a good point about no dialogue. I’d prob still trim the paragraphs a bit though, but who the hell am I ?

Jeff, that all style. His description of the backyard I stumbled on. It used english perfectly, no mistakes. But I found it not efficient. It took too many words for simple things. But that is style. His style versus our individual styles.

Agreed

"Shyamalan obviously didn’t get the memo." Or he got the memo and tore it up because he's a writer/director, Geoff Hall. :)

Geoff Hall "...will be confused by the rule that says you are a new writer and mustn’t follow the examples of other writers." That's why it's important to tell new writers the difference between spec scripts and shooting scripts. So they won't be confused and so they won't try to write their spec scripts like shooting scripts.

Maurice, I think difference isn’t important later in their learning. I think give someone a pile of screenplay (greats) and say read them. When you are done, come see me.

If you want to be great you start out impersonating great work. All kids learning guitar will learn songs by the greats. Once they have them down, they will start to step out of that shadow into the sun.

Everyone know I stance. There are no rules, just commonalities due to human experience. A rule comes with negative outcomes from breaking it.

I see your point, Craig D Griffiths, but I think it's better to let new writers know upfront the difference between spec scripts and shooting scripts so later on (when they get script feedback or pitch their scripts), they won't have to go back and re-learn how to write spec scripts the correct way (no camera angles, no scene numbers, etc. - things that are for the actually shooting of a script).

Yes, we (experienced writers) should tell new writers to read shooting scripts (the greats), but at the same time, we should let them know that certain things in shooting scripts are for production, not for writing a great script in hopes of selling it.

Actually, I've read many scripts filled with text, long descriptive passages, and not much dialogue. (Especially "old scripts".) Honestly, the more scripts I read, the more I find that the "rules" are merely suggestions. Okay, strong suggestions, but sill. You can still choose not to follow them and probably end up having your script produced. Rules aren't everything.

Maurice Vaughan 'Seeing Rachel' is written from my POV as I was working towards production with me as Director. Having had Julia Verdin and Jonathan Heap look it over, I changed a few of the Director's directions. It is however written with a very English parlance (not that that's a bad thing!!) I like this opening page to 'Signs'. The whole opening scene was very atmospheric. Loved it.

There is a scene in SR that is just like this; no dialogue, just us watching a predator at work in a café. Seeing what he sees. The Line Producer, when looking over the script, had me mark it as [MUTE], which I'd never heard of before, but I actually quite liked it.

I like "[MUTE]," Geoff Hall. I write something like (in bold letters) "All sound is muted," or "____________ (the character) can't hear any sound."

I know Jonathan Heap! I took his class recently.

[Mute] is a cool note for the sound guys. I think it intensifies the scene for the Audience as they get to observe a predator at work.

Cool, I enjoyed my Zoom call with Jonathan.

Great, Geoff Hall. I'm thinking about taking more of Jonathan's webinars and classes.

If you do what the reader was taught you should and shouldn’t do it can’t hurt your chances and if you do the opposite it can hurt your chances. Since nobody is paying someone to write a spec screenplay they can do whatever they want.