-Brian Mendonça
I spent the weekend gearing up for a screenplay-writing
course to be held next month in Goa.* The word ‘screenplay’ sounded opaque. So
how does one get a handle on it?
At the most basic, screenplay is a script that
sets out in written form what happens in the movie. It includes everything from
the description of the characters; what they say; where the scene is shot; the
time of the day; the instructions for the camera(s); the instructions for the
sound and any special effects.
To begin with one must have a story to tell. The
screenplay writer can translate that story into a film, adapting the story for
a visual and aural medium.
From an array of choices on the website scriptreaderpro.com
I settled on the film The Sixth Sense (1999).
The screenplay is by K. Night Shyamalan who is also the director. It was nominated for best screenplay for the
Oscars. The film falls in the genre of horror (though some call it unclassifiable).
It is about an 8-year-old boy Cole who can see people who have died. Malcolm
-his psychiatrist - tries to help him but at the end of the film we realize . .
. well, see the movie.
The screenplay was very satisfying. It was almost
like reading a script for a drama, though of a longer duration. When one sees
the stills from the movie one is definitely filled with horror. Reading the
screenplay helps you get around that.
Without going to the theatre, you can
visualize each scene as it unfolds before you. The script is also written in
very good English which is a pleasure to read. The vivid screenplay, which
almost leaves nothing to the imagination is one of the reasons why we are still
watching the movie twenty years after it was made.
Films are categorized in terms of their genre
which broadly span five categories, viz. 1. Drama 2. Comedy 3. Action/Adventure
4. Thriller and 5. Horror. Examples for each would be 1. Up in the Air 2. When Harry
Met Sally 3. Die Hard 4. The Girl on the Train and 5. The Omen.
When it comes to Bollywood, films like Sholay and Deewar
have become cult classics in their own right. Several websites like
jamuura.com offer screenplays of Hindi movies. The screenplays here are
bilingual, i.e. in English and in Hindi. Films could be as recent as Ankhon Dekhi, The Lunchbox, and Jab We Met.
Screenplays can be written for films for children.
The viewer and his/her taste have to be kept in mind.
Movies which come from different nations present a
unique slice of the country. The screenplay of Climates by Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan is very lyrical.
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) is
to be held in Goa between 20-28 November. An understanding of
screenplay will go a long way to appreciate the films being screened for the
festival.
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*To register for a screenplay writing course 14-16
November in Goa call or WA 8600992507. Published in Gomantak Times Weekender, Panaji, Goa on Sunday, 3rd November 2019. Pix of screenplay of Sixth Sense. Courtesy scriptreaderpro.com.
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