From Script to the Big Screen

Laying around on the couch and watching movie after movie was a regular Sunday occurrence for me growing up. From the time I was young, I can remember my dad watching TV, when it wasn't sports, he was watching a movie. A younger me, always wanting to be doing what my dad was doing, joined him on these relaxing afternoons, watching movie after movie. We watched everything together. Comedies, horrors, westerna nd scifis. I learned what made a great movie and what made a bad movie. I formed opinions about actors and directors and found out what style spoke to me best. Most importantly, I began to understand what made a good script.

A good script not only allows a story to flow well but it keeps the audience hooked like a fish on a line. Different directors have different ways of doing this. Some use flashy jump cuts, effective music, or giant explosions. What stuck with me most of all is meaningful dialogue in a script. I have never liked movies that made everything so plain to see. I never liked the boring "exposition dump" that many lazy directors do to catch an audience up to speed. I much prefer when the writing and the characters tell me the story through actions and feelings rather than through what they say to each other. I have always found joy in a script that makes me think. One of my favorite movies of all time is Inception. This is not only because of the complex ideas in the film but also because I have always loved the way the characters interact with each other. I love to feel like I learn something new every time I watch a movie.

I learned that an effective script has good stage direction. I am a big fan of action movies. When I'm in the mood for it, I love sitting back and watching the mind-numbing action take place. I can only imagine what those scripts may have looked like. I'm sure a majority of the scripts were just stage directions and specific camera shots that the director wanted in the movie. A large part of scriptwriting is writing not only what the characters will say but what they will do. What the audience will see.

I also learned from my favorite moves that a good script should help the audience feel some kind of emotion. I can still remember the first time I heard Darth Vader tell Luke that he was his father. this is because Vader's iconic dialogue made me feel a certain way. It made me feel emotions that I still carry with me to this day. While writing a script, it's important to ask yourself what you want the audience to feel. Then, ask if the dialogue you have written is helping that happen.

I love movies. I am thankful for the lessons that they have taught me and the way that they have made me feel. I am thankful for good writers who have put countless hours of dedication into the scripts that have been used to create some of my favorite pieces of entertainment. I am excited to keep learning from them and their creativity.