“Watching movies is the easy part. At a certain point, you have to start watching movies objectively. Or more strategically. Obviously all of us have watched movies forever for just entertainment and I think we’ll continue to do that, but when I was starting, I would watch movies with the lights on with a notebook in front of me. And I’d watch them over and over and over again. So for me, that was a big part of it. Going from what’s on the screen and then trying to translate that into the page.” —John Swetnam
https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/screenwriting-101-john-swetnam-ece408...
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I did that when I first started out.
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Cool, Dan Guardino. Did it help you grow as a writer?
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This is my excuse to attempt to see one new film (normally in a cinema) a week! Of course I'm also reading. It's my guilty secret. Tonight, I made it to a monthly shorts screening, lot of interesting shorts, some quite bizarre.
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Something else I am lacking in. Sigh. I try at the beginning, then I get caught up in the story.
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Maurice Vaughan ,
Did you know that my problem is that I am a director and screenwriter. I can't just watch, but I watch and follow the craftsmanship of everything, even the actors' movement. I know how it was written and how the director directed it.
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I've been watching a lot of indie short films lately, Greg Wong. Not at events or festivals though. Online. I haven't used John Swetnam's advice much with features, but I use the advice all the time with indie shorts. Writers can learn a lot from indie shorts (scene structure, character action, dialogue, etc.).
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I'd probably have the same issue, Debbie Elicksen. Maybe it'll get easier for you (and me) to study movies without getting caught up in the stories as you do it more. Or maybe by holding a notebook and pencil, it'll remind you that you're studying a movie instead of watching it for enjoyment.
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I'm the same way, Hossam Hussien Alakwah ("I can't just watch, but I watch and follow the craftsmanship..."). Although I haven't studied many features as I've watched them, I pick up on things like character arc, plot points, twists, etc. when I watch a movie. It can be a little frustrating when you're watching a movie and you want to be surprised, but you guess what's gonna happen. :D
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I’ve become quite adept at watching and analyzing movie or tv shows. I’ll pause them to see where key turning points occur time wise; or to point out something important in the background of a scene that my wife missed that is crucial to the story; or to go over in my mind the subtext of the scene. Even before studying the craft of storytelling, I was a keen observer of detail, always scanning the entire screen for clues or symbols that enhanced the story.
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I was just thinking the other day about rewatching movies to see what's happening in the background, Ty Strange. What's going on in the background can tell you a lot about what's happening in the foreground. Another thing I like to look for in movies is symbolism. Jordan Peele is a master at adding symbols in movies.
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I've seen an interview of his on the Film History channel recently. Very enlightening!
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That's right, Maurice Vaughan. And it's a must to rewatch movies like THE GLASS ONION, or THE SIXTH SENSE, or KNIVES OUT, basically any story that has huge plot twists so you can see during the second viewing how it was all set up.
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I need to watch THE GLASS ONION and KNIVES OUT, Ty Strange. Mystery is one of my favorite genres to watch. I really liked MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. I saw THE SIXTH SENSE growing up, but I don't think I really understood it back then, I need to rewatch it. I barely remember anything from the movie.
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Maurice Vaughan The Glass Onion and Knives Out were great fun. I saw Knives Out in the theater and Glass Onion on Prime. Lots of twists and turns like the old Columbo TV show.
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Thank you for sharing this!
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Thanks for letting me know, Debbie. I love lots of twists and turns in movies, especially Mystery movies. I don't think I've seen "Columbo," but I just looked it up. It ran from 1971 to 2003!
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You're welcome, Petal.
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TV shows Columbo and Banacek were my favs, Debbie Elicksen!
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Maurice Vaughan once you've seen an episode or two of Columbo (I'm sure you can find clips on YouTube), you'll understand a lot of the cultural memes, comments you might have been missing over the years. His iconic role lived on infinite.
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Ok, thanks, Debbie Elicksen. I'll look up the clips. How's your project(s) going?
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Maurice Vaughan I'm moving in less than two weeks, so everything is backed up. :) But I will jump back in with both arms by July 1 or earlier.
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Happy Moving, Debbie Elicksen!!!
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Maurice Vaughan Because I'm not really soliciting show guests or work until I get moved, I'm trying to catch up on my Stage 32 education videos.
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Me too, Debbie Elicksen. I have some Stage 32 education videos to catch up on. I just ordered one more too. :D