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Chapter 5
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Screen Play
Writing K.Ramanathan CHAPTER
5
STORY AND SCREEN PLAY - THE FIRST STEP
The
first thing that is to be done is to select a story that is to be filmed or made
into a film. This of course is very clear to all of us, as the first
question we ask about a film is ‘What is the story like?’ The story is obviously written by a writer, either specially
for a film or to be published as a novel.
One
can understand if a writer is to be engaged for writing a story for the film, if
it is specially created for the film. You
may think that, may be this person is called the screen play writer in the film
industry. What if the producer or director decided to make a film from
a novel that has been published. Does
he need a screen play writer for this also?
Or can the novel be used straight away as the screen play for filming.
After all everything that is needed by the director and his team is
available in the novel. Why should
they try and bring in one more writer? Can
two writers work on the same story in unison?
Or does the story need to be changed for the purpose of filming? Even
then can’t the original writer write the screen play? If
these are the questions, you would like to ask, at this stage, then you must
congratulate yourself, as you are in the right track, so soon.
That’s a good sign. Earlier we had said that script is a film on
paper.( Incidentally script and screen play are one and the same. When we talk
of entertainment films, we refer to it as a screen play and in other categories
of films, like the documentary, corporate films etc, it is referred to as a
script.) This means that the screen play has to be written specially for the
film.
When
it is said that the screen play is written specially for a film/tele play, it
stands to reason that it should have a story that is being attempted to be told
through the medium. Thus a story
becomes the basis for any screen play. Then
what is the difference between a story written as a novel and the same story
written as a screen play. If this
is the question you want to ask at this point, then you are in the right track
again.
All
of us know and have experienced, while reading a novel, as the writer describes
the scene, without calling it as such, that we are able to
imagine and visualise what the writer is describing in the story.
We get a mental picture of the scene of action, even as we read the
novel. In many cases, particularly
in the case of a good writer this becomes easy and we have a feeling that we
have mentally filmed the action and the story ourselves with the help of the
story writer, who knew while writing that he is writing a story that will be
only read and not filmed as such. (Though most of the writers desire to have
their novel filmed, even as they write it, the style they use is not necessarily
the one used for screen play.) If
you are able to get a very clear picture of the story without much difficulty,
even as you read it, then it can be said that the writer had succeeded in his
endeavour to narrate the story effectively.
For a story that can be visualised, is the one that is appreciated more
than the one that leaves you with an abstract idea. Recollect
any of the novels you might have read in recent times and you will realise what
is said here is true. Of course in
some cases when the writer knows that the reader may not have a good idea of the
location or scene of action, he is referring to, then he takes the trouble of
describing the scene/location so that the reader will be able to appreciate the
story and the narration much better.
But the screen play is much more than a novel and is expected to have
some more details that you do not expect in a novel and that makes the screen
play for a film different from a novel, that has been chosen to be filmed. If
the screen play is different from a novel, then you would wonder whether it is
similar to a play, written as a play or broadly classified as drama.
You would also like to know whether the plays of Shakespeare or Bernard
Shaw can be filmed directly without any modifications.
Before answering this question, let’s have a look at the differences
between a novel and a play. In
a drama, which is generally divided into Acts and Scenes, before the start of a
scene, the writer not only indicates the location/scene of action, but also
describes the location, furnishing details of the layout and the furniture that
will be there in the location. He
prepares you, before hand, for the scene that will make sense only when you know
that there was this piece of furniture there and while doing so he also lets you
know that this piece of furniture has some important role to play in the action,
even before you start reading that scene. This
robs you of some of the suspense that would have made the play interesting if
you were not aware of the presence of that piece of furniture before that
particular action takes place. But
then the play writer has a problem. He
has to let you know about the presence of the furniture so that you don’t
wonder where did it come from, when you read that portion..
Nor can he refer to it in the midst of the action or the conversation
that is being described, as that will interfere with the flow of the story.
The
same scene in a novel will refer to the furniture only when the action takes
place and not before. Here the suspense is maintained but the conversation is
broken in the middle to let you know what had happened and this may rob you of
the interest the story should create in your minds. It
is therefore becoming clear that neither a novel nor a play can be termed or
accepted as a screen play and used as such for the purpose of filming the story.
Then what is a screen play or how different it is from the novel or play?
First
and foremost the screen play has some of the features of both the novel and the
play. It will have the description of the scene of action, the movements of the
actors and also the dialogue between the actors.
It will also furnish details of the expressions of the actors and also
their feelings. A first look at a
screen play will make you feel that you are reading a play.
But soon you will realise that it is not so, as you will find
it difficult to get a continuous flow of the story as you read the
script. What will irk you are the
gaps at many places, where some descriptions or other will interfere with the
flow of the dialogue or action. If
you try and avoid the descriptions, you will find that you are not getting to
read the full story or feel the impact of the story. You may even wonder whether
the script can be made into a good film and as to how others understand what the
script is attempting to convey.
Just
read this piece of a script for a film. (This is only a part of a scene)
Nirmala’s
bed room : Int : Day
Karthik
kisses Nirmala on the cheek.
Karthik
; Bye then. See you in the
evening.
Nirmala
: Bye, dear.
*1Karthik
leaves. Nirmala looks at the clock
on the table.
Nirmala
: Oh I’m going to be late again.
*2Nirmala
rushes to the bath room. She has
shower. The telephone rings.
Nirmala comes out with a towel around her.
She picks up the phone.
Nirmala
: Hello, Mrs.Karthik here.
Voice
on the phone : . . . . . . .
Nirmala
closes her eyes and takes a deep breath
Voice
: . . . . .
Nirmala
: Oh yes, I do remember. How
are you?
Voice
: . . . . .
Nirmala
: You had this problem always. What
can I do.
Voice
: .. . . .
Nirmala
: I’m sorry, I can’t do anything about it now.
My husband is not home. Voice
: . . .
Nirmala
: If you know everything, you should also know that I can’t help you now.
Please leave
me. Voice
: . . . .
Nirmala
: Please .... for heaven’s sake.... no .. no...
Voice
: . . . . . . . . . . .
Expression
on Nirmala’s face changes into one of anger and desperation
She
covers her face with her wet hand. Water
drips from her towel on to the carpet. She
gnashes her teeth and takes a deep breath.
Nirmala
: Oh there is another call coming in.
It may be my husband. I’ll
talk to you later. Voice
: . . . ........
Nirmala
: Please believe me . . . Voice
: . . . .
Nirmala
: Alright.........
Nirmala
angrily punches some buttons on the telephone and
Nirmala
: Mrs.Karthik here.
Voice
: . . .
Nirmala
: Yes Vimala, I know that it is getting late.
I’m sorry, I had some urgent work.
I’ll be there in
just half an hour. How is Nithya.
Did you give her the medicine.
Did she sleep
well last night. Take good care of her. I’ll
be there soon. Bye. Nirmala
keeps the phone down and turns around and walks to the bath room.
As she nears the bath room, the phone rings again.
Nirmala stops, turns around, looks at the phone and turns again and walks
towards the bath room. The phone
rings. Suddenly she turns around
and stops and looks at the phone.
Nirmala
: What if it were Karthik?
She
rushes towards the phone and picks it up.
Nirmala
: . . . . .
Voice
: . . . . .
Nirmala’s
face shows signs of disappointment, frustration and anger. Nirmala
: (Angrily) Alright tell me what the hell you want? Voice
: . . . . .
Nirmala
: Oh no. Not that much.
Voice
: . . . .
Nirmala
: Please give me a week’s time at least.
Voice
: . . . .
Nirmala
: At least a day’s time.. Please....
Nirmala
clinches her fist and holds the phone tight on her hand Nirmala
: OK. Make it before ten.
I have to leave. I’m already late.
Nirmala
bangs the phone down and slumps on the sofa.
She leans on the back rest and her face is on the back rest. She is
looking at the ceiling. She closes
her eyes. Water drops are on her
face. One or two drops of water
trickle down from her cheek. Voice
: madam, madam...
Nirmala
is motionless and does not reply. The
door opens slowly. Suguna peeps in Suguna
: Madam...
Suguna
looks at Nirmala and rushes towards her. She
looks worried. Suguna
: Madam, madam ....
Suguna
looks again at Nirmala and the wet towel around her body. touches Nirmala and
Nirmala opens her eyes. She sees Suguna and suddenly jerks up from the sofa.
Suguna
: What happened madam.. Are
you alright?
Nirmala
:(with a forced smile on the face) Oh I’m alright.
I think that I’m tired. I must have dozed off.
Nothing to worry, Suguna. Suguna
:Are you really alright madam?
Nirmala
:Is dozing off, a sign of illness, Suguna.
Come on there is nothing wrong.
Suguna
looks at the sofa and notices the wet marks on it. Nirmala too looks at it. Nirmala : Oh I’ve spoilt the sofa. I came running from the bath room to attend to the phone and must have by mistake sat down on the sofa. OK. Now I’m alright. Clean the sofa. I’ll have a quick shower and have to leave. Nithya was not well. Seems she wants to see me. Suguna
: What about breakfast madam... Nirmala
: I’ll come down. Nirmala
rushes to the bath room. As she
nears the door, she turns to Suguna Nirmala
: Suguna, if anybody rings up, tell them that I’m away and you don’t know
where to Suguna
:If it’s our sahib... Nirmala
: Then of course, tell him the truth.
I’ll call him later. Nirmala
gets into the bath room and bangs the door.
Suguna cleans the sofa and the carpet. Suguna
seems to be thinking about something. Suddenly
her face brightens. Suguna
: I think I’m right. God
it should be that.
Nirmala
comes out of the bath room.
Nirmala
: Hey, what should be right.
Suguna : Whatever I think has happened... It will be great isn’t it? You love children so much. And now..... Madam I’m very happy. Nirmala
: oh, That’s great news. OK,
I’m getting late. Get me
coffee. Suguna
;What about break fast madam
Nirmala
: I’m in a hurry and I’m in no mood.
Suguna
: But this is the time you must have good food. You must take care
of your
health. Nirmala
: Hey don’t talk like an old lady.
Come on hurry. I’m losing
my temper. Suguna
leaves and stops near the door
Suguna
: Madam ...
Nirmala
looks at her from near the cupboard.
Suguna
: I’m so happy..
Suguna
turns around and runs down the stairs. Nirmala
just shrugs her shoulders. She
opens the cupboard and takes out a dress for her.
When
you read this, you might have got
some idea of the story, but definitely it was not sufficient for you to know
exactly what was happening. You may
be tempted to think that it was not the beginning and since you read some
excerpt, you were not able to understand it fully.
But it is not so. Now before
explaining any further, let’s see how this would have been written, if it were
a part of a novel.
Karthik
plants his customary kiss on Nirmala’s check and takes leave of her.
After seeing him, off Nirmala looks at he clock, that
is on the table near the bed. It is already nine and she realises that
she will be late, if she does not hurry. She rushes to the bathroom, for a bath.
Nirmala
loves to have a long good shower She opens the shower and enjoys the splash of
water on her body. No doubt that
they had a wonderful time together last night, after a long time, but that is no
reason to be late for work, Karthik does not believe in being late and he had
already left for office and she must follow suit.
Nirmala’s thought makes her happy, but also induces her to hurry up She
hears a ring -she wonders whether it is the door bell or the telephone. It seems
to be the telephone, thinks Nirmala. She stops the shower to confirm that it is
the telephone. It is and she reluctantly picks the towel and wraps around
the body to come out and attend the phone.
‘Mrs.Karthik
here’ she replies matter of fact. At first
She does not recognise the voice on the telephone and when the caller
reveals his name she looks frustrated, disappointed and more than anything else,
shocked. The
caller doesn’t even has the courtesy to request her for what he wants. He asks
her for something, as though she is obliged to do him the favour. He straight
away comes to the point. He
wants some help but his tone is one of a demand.
she pleads her inability to help him.
But he is not the one to give up so easily.
‘Well
you see my husband is not home . . . ‘
,Nirmala tries to wriggle out
I
know that’ is the cool reply and this irritates Nirmala more and she shows it
as she talks. ‘If
you know that, you must also know that I can do nothing without consulting my
husband. Don’t you?’ His
reply puts her off. She feels exasperated, even choked ,but she knows that she
can do very little but to control
her emotions and pretend to be cool. She
clutches the telephone and takes a deep breath. Obviously
the caller is in a hurry and luckily Nirmala gets a reprieve.
Nirmala realises that a call is coming , as she hears a special sound in
the phone. ‘Please
I’ll talk to you later. There is
another call coming in. It could be
my husband’ Without waiting for
the caller’s response or approval, she punches the buttons on the phone and
disconnecting the call , takes the new call.
‘Mrs.Karthik
here.,’ again the same response.
‘Madam
I’m Vimala’
‘Yes
Vimala, I know that tell me what’s the matter.’
No
madam, it’s already 9.30, I just wanted to know whether you will be coming now
or?. . .
Yes
Vimala, I know that it is getting late. I’m
sorry, I had some urgent work.
I’ll be there in just half an hour. How
is Nithya? Did you give her the
medicine. Did she sleep well
last night? Yes
madam, She is now alright, I mean she is perfectly alright and had a sound
sleep. Take
good care of her. I’ll be there
soon. Bye. Nirmala
keeps the phone down and rushes to the bathroom again.
She had to hurry up, for two reasons, one she had to meet Nithya and
another she wants to escape from
the caller. But the caller will not
give up. The phone rings, even as
she nears the bath room
Nirmala
stops, turns around, looks at the phone and turns again to walk towards the bath
room, ignoring the phone, which continues to ring. ‘The
phone will ring for a minute and then will get disconnected.
Let the bastard think that I’m away.
Serves him right.’ Nirmala
thinks that it is the best way to put that guy off. She starts walking towards
the bath room. But suddenly she
stops and turns around and stops
and looks at the phone. ‘
What if it were Karthik?’,I cannot afford to avoid him.
What stupid thinking? I have no intention of avoiding him.
If it is Karthik, he will try for me in the office or for all I know he
might have tried me in the office and not getting me there wants to talk here.
If so he must have something important.’ The thought pushes her towards
the phone.
She
rushes towards the phone and picks it up.
Even
before she could say hello, she hears the voice and knows that it is him.
Disappointment,
frustration and anger.. . everything is writ large on her face and she makes no
attempt to hide her anger as she replies. Alright
tell me what the hell you want?
His
reply enrages her. But now she realises that she cannot afford to shout at him. She
tries to calm down. ‘
Oh no. Not that much.’
‘What
do I tell him now?, Nirmala ponders
‘
Please give me a week’s time at least’
Nirmala pleads.
But the caller is insistent.
Alright.
at least a day’s time.. Please.’...
No
she doesn’t get the reprieve. She clinches her fist and holds the phone tight
on her hand in sheer anger. ‘OK.
Make it before ten. I have
to leave. I’m already late.’.
She had to reconcile and concede.
Nirmala
bangs the phone down and slumps on the sofa.
She leans on the back rest and her face is on the back rest. She
looks at the ceiling. Couldn’t do it for long. She closes her eyes. She
doe not even realise that she has a wet towel around her body and that she had
come out from the bathroom without even toweling herself. Water drops are on her
face. One or two drops of water
trickle down from her cheek. She
is unmindful of her condition and just sits there on the sofa. She seems to feel
nothing physically. Obviously all her thoughts are on him, the caller, who spoilt
what Nirmala thought would turn to be a great and memorable day. 4
She didn’t realise that it is to turn out to be a memorable day in ther lives,
though not the way, either of them would like it to be.
Madam,
madam.’ someone was at the door and wanted to get her permission before entering
the bed room..
It is the girl, Suguna, a servant maid of Nirmala.
Getting no response. She /hesitates.
She slowly holds the handle on the door. It is open. She
cautiously opens the door and looks in.
She
sees Nirmala on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, with a wet towel around her
body. and gets worried. Slowly goes near her and calls her. Nirmala
is motionless and does not reply. .
Suguna
looks at Nirmala and rushes towards her. She
looks worried. Suguna
looks again at Nirmala and the wet towel around her body. She touches Nirmala
and shakes her gently calling her again. Nirmala opens her eyes.
She sees Suguna standing by her side and suddenly jerks up from the sofa.
What
happened madam.. Are you alright?
Nirmala forces herself to smile and says ‘ Oh I’m alright. I think that I’m tired. I must have dozed off. Nothing to worry, Suguna.’ She gets up from the sofa and looks at herself and realises that she is in her bath towel. Suddenly she feels that it is awful to be seen in this robe by somebody else, but doesn’t know what to do. “Well there is nothing to worry, as it is only a girl who is looking at her’ thinks Nirmala. Are
you really alright madam? Suguna
still is not convinced and thinks that her madam is not alright.
Is
dozing off, a sign of illness, Suguna. Come
on there is nothing wrong.
Suguna
looks at the sofa and notices the wet marks on it. Nirmala too looks at it. Oh
I’ve spoilt the sofa. I came running from the bath room to attend
to the phone and must have by mistake sat down on the sofa.
OK. Now I’m alright. Clean the sofa. I’ll
have a quick shower and have to leave.
Nithya was not well. Seems she wants to see me.
What
about breakfast madam...
I’ll
come down.
Nirmala
rushes to the bath room. As she
nears the door, she turns to Suguna Suguna,
if anybody rings up, tell them that I’m away and you don’t know where to
If
it’s our sahib... Then
of course, tell him the truth. I’ll
call him later.
Without
bothering about the confused looks of Suguna, Nirmala gets into the bath room
and bangs the door. Suguna cleans the sofa and the carpet. ‘Why
should madam be dozing off now? She
was never like this before. Well
may be she went to bed late last night. Even
then she cannot be dozing off with a towel around her body.
That too a wet towel’ Suguna cannot stop thinking and trying to find
some acceptable reason for this peculiar behavior of Nirmala,.. Suddenly her face brightens.
I
think I’m right. God it should be
that.’ She seem to have found out the reason and she feels excited and in her
excitement she thinks aloud, and Nirmala hears it as she comes out of the bath
room.
Hey,
what should be right.
Whatever
I think has happened... It will be great isn’t it? You love them so much. Well
whom do I love so much? You is it? Nirmala tries to be normal ‘You
love children so much And now..... Madam
I’m very happy.
Oh,
That’s great news. OK, I’m getting late.
Get me coffee.
What
about break fast madam
I’m
in a hurry and I’m in no mood.
But
this is the time you must have good food. You must take care of
your health.
Hey
don’t talk like an old lady. Come
on hurry. I may lose my temper. Suguna
walks towards the door and stops near the door
Madam
... Nirmala
looks at her from near the cupboard.
I’m
so happy..
Suguna
turns around and runs down the stairs, without even waiting for her reply..
Nirmala just shrugs her shoulders. She
opens the cupboard and takes out a dress for her.
Note
: Both in the screen play and the story in the novel form, you will find at
places, some small numbers. Those
are portions of importance, which will be explained in
later chapters.
When
you go through these you will be able to understand to a certain extent what is
the difference between a story, written as a novel and a screen play.
There are some portions, where they seem to differ in the style of
narration or revealing the story as such. One such is in the telephonic
conversation between Nirmala and the caller.
In the screen play you had no clue as to who the caller is and what is he
asking for, that makes Nirmala angry and frustrated.
In the story though we still do not know who the caller is, we know that
he asks for help or even demands it, a s a matter of right. Why should this be done.
There
are very many reasons for this. But
the main reason is that if the writer is not to reveal anything more than the
fact that it was a call, that made Nirmala angry and disappointed and irritated,
which could have been said in few words, but how else can he describe her
reactions and the impending problems she may have to face.
This
is easier done in the screen play as finally visually all the reactions of
Nirmala will be shown and the viewer will be able to guess what is likely to be
the plot. But yet the suspense is
maintained and his attention will now be diverted to the caller, who is expected
to meet Nirmala, as revealed in the conversation. Now
let’s see how this would have been written, as a play. It
may be a little bit boring if we repeat the dialogues, as basically we do not
expect the dialogues to be changed. Therefore
we will restrict our comparison assuming how the play write would have
transformed this part of the story into a play. First
he has to indicate the location at the beginning of the scene and will naturally
start with the description of the bed room, with special emphasis on the clock
on the table and the telephone. The
difficult part for the writer of the play is handling of the telephonic
conversation between Nirmala and the caller. Unlike in the screen play, the play
must reveal what the caller had said and this will, rob the suspense of the
scene. In the screen play the
viewers can be kept guessing as to who the caller is and what he wants.
Because the expressions of Nirmala will get the attention of the viewers
and will keep them engrossed in the scene.
But in a play silent portions, without much action (there cannot be any
action, when one is talking on the phone) will be a bore to the viewers.
Of course the play write will use other means to tell the story and
maintain the suspense and interest. But that not being a part of our exercise
we will not deal with it now.
The
same problem is faced by the story writer too, in writing a novel.
There he has to resort to explaining the reactions and expressions of the
character, when he does not want to reveal the identity of the caller or the
purpose of his call. He however has to describe the actions of the character,
like her walking towards the bath room and stopping on hearing the phone bell
and then deciding to attend the call.
The
most important difference is that while in the novel the reader is left to
visualise the scene as he likes and imagine the expressions of the characters,
based on what he understands from the description of the writer, in a screen
play these need not be left to the imagination of the reader. In
a screen play, the Director will decide how to show these on the screen.
He has a number of methods by which he can effectively tell the viewers
and almost guide them to think in the same way as he does.
By now you would have realised that we refer to the various types of
shots used in a film to convey whatever is to be conveyed.
But do you know how various types of shots help the director and the
screen play writer to convey what they want to. Well it is important that the screen play writer knows these,
so that he can write the screen play in a fashion that will help make a great
film. For this we have to know
the various types of shots that can be used and are being used in a film.
After all a film is a compilation of shots and how can anyone connected
with the production of a film, do his job well without knowing about them.
So on to the types of shots in a film.
POINTS
TO REMEMBER
1.
The first step in the production of a film is the selection of a story.
2.
Then follows the preparation of the screen play. 3.
Can a novel be used as a screen play.
In a novel the writer describes the scene and also the
expressions of the characters and the reader is to visualise the scene
with the help of the writer's
description. The writer may provide
additional descriptions of some places, where the action
takes
place, if it not known to the reader
already. The novel will have the dialogues of the characters. 4.
The screen play will have more information than a novel furnishes, but
that will be for the benefit of other technicians and common readers
may not be able to understand it
easily. 5.
Is a screen play similar to a play or can a play be used as a screen
play. 6.
The screen play has features from both the novel and the play and some
additional features special to the screen play.
7.
In a novel the reader is guided to visualise the scene from the
descriptions, but this may differ
from person to person. But in a
screen play all efforts are made to
make the viewer (of the film) think exactly the way the writer and director
desire.
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