Hey,

I had a question for Chris, other moderators, but also members here: I know there is a forum about Independent Filmmaking, but is there interest, from people here to have a subforum about writing scripts or not?
We have a forum about sound, light, books, cameras,... but not about stories.
I would be pretty interested, but there should be many people wanting it before it could be released, IF that's the case. I just want to poll some opinions here about the subject.

Best regards,

My personal opinion is that though it is an important topic to many of us, there wouldn't be enough traffic to justify creating a new subforum...I think it's more of a "thread-sized" topic that would tuck nicely in the existing Techniques for Independent Production forum.

I'd personally really like to see more interest in that topic here. The techical stuff is great, and needed, but the script is where it starts. So you have my vote.

There are some other great place for that too... I frequent www.TVWriter.com and always get good advice there. Larry Brody, who's written for about 50 different TV shows, runs the operation. He is very interested in new media development and would love to have some more people on that site who have some production experience as well as an interest in good writing.

Also, check out www.celtx.com for free scriptwriting/preproduction/collaboration software. They also offer script hosting services.

dvinfo does not attract those kind of people, I am afraid. Start your own thread in an appropriate forum, get the ball rolling. We are right behind you.

I don't know that its strictly true the DVinfonet doesn't attract "those kind of people". I happen to be one of them. I consider myself primarily a storyteller. I enjoy writing screenplays, and have won numerous awards and optioned two of my feature scripts.

And I hang out here.

Half a dozen people won't cut it, if you ask me. The forum structure is, let's face it, equipment-centric. If you want a discussion on screenwriting, you have to set up a system that enables people to submit screenplays. Like photo-gallery for writing.

Since I sold the last of my video equipment I've been spending most of my creative time writing. Actually, I'm a moderator at the CeltX forums now. However, I do skim DVInfo.net all the time. If anyone wants to discuss screenwriting, there is activity over there.

Seems like this comes up every year or so, and the general feeling is that this forum can't be all things at once, and should concentrate on hardware, software and shooting techniques. Personally, I'd love to see a screenwriting group in here, as all of the other forums I've checked out are very poorly moderated (haven't checked yours yet Keith). One thing I think it would accomplish is encouraging the technical and creative sides to find mutual ground. A lot of times filmmakers regard the script as just the jumping off point for their own ideas, and feel no particular obligation to treat the writer's work with respect. On the other hand, you have writers who think every little comma is gold or something. Ideally, I think both processes should evolve organically together in the creation of project. I consider myself primarily a writer, but learning the technical side has greatly changed my writing. I have a much better understanding now of how a scene will play out. I don't think the two disciplines are that much different actually, both are crafts more than they're art.

Marco I'm actively seeking a good screen writer who is willing to work for deferred payment (points). I know what you mean about how writers are treated, but I view them as the cornerstone of the entire film. A strong one and you have the potential for a great film, a weak one and the rest isn't worth the time. (I get "Fade In" every month). I'm not a writer, but I know great writing when I read it.

Interesting comments about being unhappy with the web sites that already do discuss screenwriting. Do you guys think a screenwriting forum moderated in the no-nonsense DVi style would fill a need that isn't otherwise filled elsewhere -- for enough writers to make it worth it?

DVi usually waits for a groundswell of support for a new (non-camera) topic before investing the resources into a new forum. But if you think the "build it and they will come" approach would work here, I'm sure Chris would give it fair consideration.

There's definitely a need. Hard to say if there's enough interest to support it here. People do keep asking about it though. Like I said, count me in.

One thing I think it would accomplish is encouraging the technical and creative sides to find mutual ground.
I think there are as many hobbyist, indie filmmakers as there are screenwriters who are starting out. I know every week or so someone on craigslist is asking for a screenwriter to help out.

One challenge I've found personally is that it is hard to write a short script for most beginning screenwriters. From my experience, most of the screenplays I've seen posted are feature-length. The other part of that is that many shorts are aimed at contests which require writing on the spot in collaboration with the director. For that most filmmakers would go with people they know rather than advertise for it.

All: what are the parameters of a *good* screenwriting forum that you feel are missing from the ones you've seen?

I would look at it as way for screenwriters to advance their craft, not so much as a place to solicit or offer services, although that would be cool too, wouldn't it?

It would be difficult to deal in a lot of specifics about works in progress because writers, almost to a person, are a paranoid lot. Posting a log line on the Internet for a script you haven't written yet wouldn't be a very smart thing to do anyway, paranoid or not. Maybe some feedback could be done off list, with more general comments made online in a way that doesn't give too much away.

I would also see the new forum as a place to discuss strengths and weakness of scripts from popular movies, style rules, tips on marketing, getting an agent, and so on. People could also share their experience of watching their work get made. It's really weird to see your words coming out of somebody else's mouth for the first — surest way to find out you're stuff isn't as good as you thought.

My problem with pretty much every (public) site on screenwriting is that the topics always devolve into pettiness and arguments. I find the forums at the otherwise excellent www.wordplayer.com to be unnavigable as well, especially the way people abuse the subject line as the sole method of replying. So annoying!

I guess my question is how a new forum would be any different from the others. I know you speak of the DVInfo.net moderation... My moderation on celtx came about because so many people had very basic questions on screenwriting - basic enough that I could answer them. But, like DVInfo.net, people came originally because of the software tool.

I haven't visited the other forums about screenwriting (I am at the moment, opening the websites) but for instance: at DVXuser you have that kind of board, and while I like DVXuser, I like DVinfo more, because I know more people (even only via their names), it's better moderated, I - personally - like the atmosphere here better and the moderation.
So I would just like it to have that all in the house, if you understand what I mean, and writing is a pretty important component of the filmmaking proces.
But I also fully agree that there should be much interest, counting the energy that it takes for moderators and such.
I understand both views on the subject (pro and contra) but I count myself at the pro side.

EDIT: I'm now looking at that Celtx program-website and it looks very promising and interesting! I'll give it a detailed look later, I've now downloaded the program.

Having decent moderation would be one big draw for the forum over the other sites. Another might be the quality of the posts. I think most people who would participate in a screenwriting forum at DVInfo would have a fairly realistic idea of what they need to accomplish with their scripts and what they are going to do with them after they are finished. People posting to the forums at purely screenwriter Web sites seem to be mainly dreamers tryng to come up with a "Lethal Weapon" clone or something. Nothing wrong with that, but it's a completely different vibe.

Marco, I think that would be an important distinction you brought up.

Perhaps if the subforum was labelled to focus on indie screenwriting so the wider scope screenwriting is filtered out.

I agree on the moderation and on the real-names. I forgot about that. It certainly does cut down on the aggravation of battles between anonymous people. I've had my share on other screenwriting boards I will not name here.

As always, if there's enough of a demand from our members then we'll do it.

I'd like to see a screenwriting section on here, too - I come from the superstore generation, and I like to get all my goods under one roof!

Aside from Moderation and real names, what would be the format be? DvInfo is mainly a tech oriented place. Would it be generally about screen writing or different forums for different tools (Celtx, Screen Magic, Final Draft...). As much as I like DvInfo, I think most here would come under the wanting to make the next SciFi,Action Lethal Weapon type stuff. Just read through the forums dealing with what people are watching and talking about in regards to movies in general.

Not being negative, just wondering how it would really fit.

Maybe people wouldn't have to post their script in a format, but just tell them some ideas or struggles or options, and hear what some reactions are and feedback.
You don't have to post a script to talk about scriptwriting :-)

But seeing as there isn't very much reaction on this thread, I don't think the subforum will come through. It's not a problem, I just though it would have been nice.

Best regards,

There have been a fine number of threads floating around about giving feedback on certain scripts. I know that I've participated in quite a few over the years. There are many types of questions that can come up:

- Will you read and comment on this specific script?
- What software should I use for writing?
- How can I show that someone is lying, without saying it?
- How should I format my title page?
- Why does everyone capitalize character names when they first appear?
- What did you think of the Spiderman script? (not movie)

I think it would be a nice addition. So far, not so many people go there in this forum, but part of that could be that it isn't really nurtured. In 20,000+ users, there have to be more than a few who are more interested in how to develop a character than in how to avoid chromatic aberration. I'm one.

I'm interested in a script writing forum.

I agree that it is a craft. As in any craft, there are lots of writing situations that many have no experience with and would like to gain from the experience of the community. Just like the other forums here.

As a non writer, when someone asks me about it, anymore I tell them to download celtx and just start writing. Or if they have MS Word, download free templates and just start writing, using spell checking and minimal grammer checking. Get the Chicago Manual of style and a thesaurus if you need help, but just keep writing.

From what I've seen, and read, it takes a long time to get any good at it. Even if you are talented.

What I don't tell them is to go out and buy Final Draft or Movie Magic or any of the other commercial programs, because they won't make you a succesful writer, just writing makes you a succesful writer, and living and experiencing life itself.

Now...how could we expand on that?

My entry into the dv world was first as an actor, then as a writer, so I could see the value of a script writing component on dvinfo. I agree that a thread would be a good place to start. There have been other threads about members struggling with ideas and they seemed to get good feedback. Go ahead and start one, I'll read it and try to post if I can.

It might not get used as much as the general discussion boards, or the tape or sound boards. However, like the book section, I think a scriptwriting section would be very useful to people.

Seems to me that of course the scriptwriting forum would be used a bit less then the others. The thing is, we are spending more time making the movies then writing about them (aren't we), so our questions/posts would have the same weight balance - right?

Anyway, just wanted to vote for the board. I've been keeping up reading this topic since it started and I'll bet others are interested but not posting a "me too" as well.

I would like to use my third post ever on this board to muscle my way into the discussion and act as if my opinion matters as much as those who have been here for some time.

And I will use this boldness to also vote in favor of a screenwriting forum.

A screenwriting forum would interest me, not because I have anything to sell but out of a long-term interest in the use of language and its offspring, writing.

A wise man taught me that Language is the agreed use of agreed sounds, and that, by extension, Writing is the agreed use of agreed signs. From that base we can imagine a thousand reasons for shying away. Why complicate the world? But the result is that when we shy away and leave a gap ... Enter the noise dubbers ... A whole profession of snappers with the most modern synthesisers who pour buckets (called tracks) of expensively sophisticated waffle and piffle (called music) onto the tape, sometimes matched even rivalled by a corresponding load of "cool" images to project what? Frequently the dearly beloved "what" of these dubbers and imagers is their own reflections (in some mirror, I mean, not their thoughts, Allah forbid.) The rise of the dubbing mafia has now well and truly overwhelmed all sorts of scripts, good and bad.

The object of screenwriting should be communication, first, middle and last.
I may not even speak your language but if I want to write your script I must know what you want to say, who you're saying it to and, above all, why? Do we need good screenwriters? You better believe it. Could DVInfo provide a sounding-board? Of course it could. DVInfo is all about communicating and sharing ideas, questions, thoughts, doubts, beliefs, opinions, guesses, experiences, feelings, fears, admiration, again and again and (as you say in the USA) then some. Did someone ask "What's all that to do with videography?" Well, if you're not framing a story, what are you framing?

The more time I spend working with film and television, the more I realise that it's all about story, story, story! Having a whole lot of fancy and expensive toys, the latest version of some super-dooper NLE and a whole lot of cool visual effects just doesn't cut it. You need a good idea - a good story to tell. I would love a forum dedicated to the story side of moviemaking. I concider myself a techie - but I'm starting to realise that making movies is so much more than technology. Count me in!

The more time I spend working with film and television, the more I realise that it's all about story, story, story! Having a whole lot of fancy and expensive toys, the latest version of some super-dooper NLE and a whole lot of cool visual effects just doesn't cut it. You need a good idea - a good story to tell. I would love a forum dedicated to the story side of moviemaking. I concider myself a techie - but I'm starting to realise that making movies is so much more than technology. Count me in!

To confirm that "good ideas" are made and not born, see Musk Ox series of short stories on Per Johan Naesje's website http://www.video-film.no/snutter/muskox5.html or see all 5 recent Musk Ox videos on the Under Water, Over Land thread on this Forum. Question: How much footage from how many hours shooting over how many weekends did he delete to put together these stories from nature ... and they are all non-verbal, not a word is said!

Glenn Ford was good at non-verbals, Spencer Tracey was even better because, when he wanted to mix the verbals with non-verbals, he could speak distinctly and his timing was keen ... gave great impact to his moves, his eyebrows were particularly eloquent when they were rarely used ...

I think this is a great idea I'm new to screen writing and I would love to have someone to talk to. Just the idea of creating a subforum for this is one of the reasons I like hanging out on this site. Keep up the good ideas guys you rock!

Darrius
I have no experience of screenwriting. I Googled "Screen Writers" and found:-

http://www.screenwriter.com/insider/news.html

They're at it professionally. Another link offered screenwriting courses and I'm sure you know how it goes.

What I have experience of is being around for 67 years and "observing human behaviour". That's no use of course unless I'm prepared to learn about behaviour and not take it for granted, like, So what's new?. And that's little use unless I'm prepared to examine my own behaviour too; I used to find that embarrsssing when I first suspected that my first and second opinions were not necessarily right. But I got used to that. The second surprise was to discover that while everybody talks a bit or a lot, most people don't say what they mean. Then I learned that some people did that deliberately and some did it carelessly and some did it by mistake. Then at age 45 or so I came across the phrase "hidden agenda". This may be old hat to you but I have found it increasingly useful for my imagination when practising "observing human behaviour" to keep in the front of my mind the idea/possibility that the speaker (or passer-by or check-out attendant or family member or whoever) has a hidden agenda in mind while saying something quite different. In story-telling (at which I have some experience) the story emerges as a good story only if the beginning does not give away the ending. The trap/difficulty here is that I may be clumsy or boring or in some way lose my audience while trying to hide the ending. That's when the term "editing" arises. I must practice editing. I must cut my script just right. It's not cutting it to the bone; it's getting it just tight enough that the listener wants to listen. This is a considerable intellectual challenge. Some people start very young practising this. (My grandson aged 26 months has a better command of english than I had at age 4 because his parents have consistently talked intelligently to him.) Many of us swagger along to the grave without ever becoming aware of it.

It should do no harm and may do you some good to sit in a public space now and again and practise ...

- discreetly observing 2 people in your view having a conservation
- visualise/imagine from their manners/behaviour/dress what their hidden agendas might be at that time, for 5 minutes
- turn away from them and jot down in a notebook what you think they might have been saying to each other (not the script, just the message/content)

It does not matter whether you get it right or wrong (and you've no way of checking, usually). What you do get out of this exercise, if you repeat it often enough, is practice and skill at imagining and visualising "hidden agendas" and practice and skill at editing your thoughts on paper as you become more critical of your writing. For variety, try visualising what's going through the mind of someone sitting on his/her own ... but do scribble it down or you miss out on the editing bit ... and you may sleep better at night after pushing your brain-power up a gear.

And if you think I must be joking that's ok by me but you've misread my hidden agenda. Good luck and let us know your findings.

Brendan,

Great information and personal insight and the link you gave looks great.

What I believe that a new forum here would provide, that seems to be missing elsewhere, is a place to ask questions about the mechanics (and possibly art) or screenwriting from a peer group. Most of the other sites are informative but don't seem to have an interaction with peers to share knowledge, only a one way path of knowledge, from the site to the viewer.

Just like the other forums here, when I want some information about any subject where my experience is lacking, I could ask. Whether it is what tools to use, where else to go for specifics, or opinions on how to approach a specific task, a new forum would fill a gap that I think is not being met by other resources on the net.

Brendan thank you that's all I needed, but did you see my hidden agenda. If we did not create our little forum to discuss it I would never have found out how much of a master mind you are. Your name will be in my Oscar speech. Thank you.

Brendan's suggestions on observations are great, thanks. They really help with understanding and creating character, and writing dialog.

There is a huge piece of screenwriting beyond that, however, that is about structure, development and plot. As much as we would like this to come from observations, there are also just a lot of tried and true techniques that work here. They are things that experience and exchanges of information and techniques can really help.

So Chris... how many votes do we need here?

I'd be interested in a screenwriting section.

Yes, a DVI screenwriting section would be wonderful. How could it not fit in. Many people buying the 24p cameras particularly for the 24p are filmmakers. Even people using the Sony FX1 are making films. It's definitely something that should be done.

-Nate

I´m interested in share scriptwriting experiences as well.

The more time I spend working with film and television, the more I realise that it's all about story, story, story! Having a whole lot of fancy and expensive toys, the latest version of some super-dooper NLE and a whole lot of cool visual effects just doesn't cut it. You need a good idea - a good story to tell. I would love a forum dedicated to the story side of moviemaking. I concider myself a techie - but I'm starting to realise that making movies is so much more than technology. Count me in!

What fuels the purchase of most DV gear? I would say it's work for hire, such as weddings, local corporate video, commercials, etc...

So if one actually wanted a script writing forum, it should actually be subdivided, perhaps into a Main forum heading such as....

The Business, and Art of Writing.......

Sub forum-1
Entertainment Screenwriting, (from short story to episodics to feature films)

Sub forum-2
Writing for a Client

One type of script writing forum is primarily about storytelling, the other is about collaborating with a client and their requirements.

Both would probably attract enough attention and be a success since this website is already very well attended.

As for the other writing websites thats have already been mentioned, it's quite possible that as these two writing sub-forums grow. other writing websites will be suggested as well for the really serious. These two new writing forums not only help regular DV members here, but hey act as a "feeder" for other writing websites as they get "recommended" by the forum members.

What fuels the purchase of most DV gear? I would say it's work for hire, such as weddings, local corporate video, commercials, etc...

A lot of Filmmakers buy DV equipment and use it shoot work for hire (to finance those projects and general living). I do it and many others do too so what about people who're doing work for hire and finally decide to go shoot a movie? There's more crossover than many would like to either believe or admit.

-Nate

A lot of Filmmakers buy DV equipment and use it shoot work for hire (to finance those projects and general living). I do it and many others do too so what about people who're doing work for hire and finally decide to go shoot a movie? There's more crossover than many would like to either believe or admit.

-Nate


There can even be crossover in terms of shooting a movie or a scripted corporate video. Clients sometimes get confused over what needs to be shown visually and what can be easily explained and when it's necessary to do both.

Chris,

Is this issue dead or is it a possibility?

Thanks,

I would be very interested.

this is about writing for dv. So basically members could discuss how to write for a no budget shoot. compromises that someone has made.etc

tips and tricks like the rest of dvinfo

Thanks a bunch for the feedback fellows... and yes this is still under consideration.

I've gained a great deal of information from this forum. All from people who unselfishly take their time to try and help those of us that are less experienced.

It would be a great asset to many of the members of this fourm to have a new addition, dedicated to scriptwriting.

Help us convince Chris, that there are many of us who would use the new forum and would find value in having it here, with the other DV forums where we get so much community support.

Brendan's suggestions on observations ... help with understanding and creating character, and writing dialog.

There is a huge piece of screenwriting beyond that, however, that is about structure, development and plot. As much as we would like this to come from observations, there are also just a lot of tried and true techniques that work here. They are things that experience and exchanges of information and techniques can really help.

At night-school in middle-age (no, not in the Middle Ages) I was fortunate to learn from a great teacher about writing in English for most purposes ... I'm happy to share the little I remember with anyone interested ... it included a short list of rules called Al's Straight Six (for advanced students [advanced in depravity if you like] there was a collection of scurrilous limericks to be studied as examples of power-writing, nothing to do with script-writing, but illustrative of the power of Anglo-Saxon words in preference to words of Latin origin.) As a bit of background to that, it is rarely denied that the particular "brand" of English that evolved through the last 4 centuries in the USA was largely based on the language spoken by the Pilgrim Fathers and their immediate successors (coming from now-English-speaking Ireland I know that the standard of English spoken by the main migrant groups from here in past 3 centuries was generally weak and semi-literacy was common).

The outcome of all this is with us and with many north Americans today ... a great deal of language and literature around us is not as clear as it could be, not as easily understood as it should be, at times the literate seem to make a show out of using "posh" or obscure words and phrases as if that makes them superior to those who don't use such words. If you're interested in THAT angle of writing I have a bit to pass on ... but keep your eye on what Barry Gribble wrote above and get him to come forth and contribute ... what questions would you like him to explore for you? It is sometimes argued that the American language is different from English, full stop. That's not an argument. It's an excuse for not trying to make your language work for you and all your listeners.

... beware, at age 7, my siblings called me soapbox!

Great stuff. I seem to have quite a lot of scenes, flashes or perhaps shots in my head (or written down by now). But I never really have gotten a feeling for a story (encompassing multiple scenes / shots etc.).

I'm wondering if this might be that I'm more "suited" for directing or editing? Or do I "just" need to find "my" stories in the elements that present themselves?

I am not sure if I can figure this out or how to proceed at the moment....

Personally I could care less about structure etc., at least for now ;)

I'm in for this too, with a little twist...

What we do here, I believe, that isn't discussed as much any more on other fora, is not so much screenwriting per se, but iconography.

In other words, what a DVInfo person shoots, and how that person shoots it, is not discussed much at all, and IMO this should be the central spine of a thread, at least.

What we're seeing, more than what we're hearing.

Stuff like this needs, IMO, to have a home:

The problem with what we do is that we don't have an equivalent of a music score. We're using an imprecise method of description that's from another discipline, and run into grey areas where the outside interpretation of an inner vision becomes a hit-and-miss affair at best.

It's like describing a building with words. You can do it, (fifty foot high frontage, white pillars..etc) but a blueprint or a picture is much, much faster and better.

The storyboards we use are fixed in the forth dimension (they don't represent time passing) and the main tool that we do use to describe time passing (text in the form of a script) doesn't convey the actual pictures precisely enough so that people who aren't actually trained to read a script, can't.

On top of that, nobody knows how to write paced scripts any more. Used to be that not only does a page of script run for a minute, but it also takes 60 seconds to read through, plus or minus.

That means you have to use grammar, syntax, slang, punctuation, and all of that to get your imagery across in the time alloted. You had to literally slow your reader's eye down with long words and sentences, or speed things up by doing the reverse. In other words, control the pace of the story.

Gone now, mainly. People write a bit of description, a ton of dialog and call it a script. It ain't. Well, it is. It's called a master scene script and it is the most un-cinematic document ever, and it's mainly written, big surprise, to make a sale or budget out a film. In other words, it's a loose description of the content of a film for business purposes.

The shooting script? What's that? Most people shoot from the master scene script these days, and "cover".

So now we have a succession of stills photos mainly, because movement within the frame is implied by the text, but intraframe movement isn't described at all save in the most general sense (pan follows, tilt to reveal, so on).

So we have this massive body of work from one of the most developed nations on the face of this planet - and it all looks the same as itself.

I contend that if we wrote differently, it would look different. Even Stanley Kubrick reformatted his scripts (the action being centered with short lines, and the dialog being long, continuous lines) because he thought that this better represented the true flow of a script. His production department disagreed, because the script was harder to break down, and the actors couldn't find their lines as easily.

Well well. Talk about the tail and the dog...

Maybe the comic book format? I don't know. At least that format doesn't use "and the door opens, and the world's most beautiful woman enters. She's so cute that words don't begin to describe her", and all of the other literary devices that work for text but not for iconography.

I could go on. LOL!!!

As you can see, you've hit on a sensitive topic as far as I'm concerned. I'm all for original screen content, and not borrowed stories. I believe that the screen has its own language, syntax, grammar and lexicon that is growing stale because people aren't concentrating on keeping it fresh any more.

And that's because nobody's studying the form any more. Everybody's into story, because story, as everybody knows, it king.

There's a huge caveat in this. Story IS king, but stories from other places don't always work on film. It's like saying "hey, the Mona Lisa is a great painting, no two ways about it. Let's make a musical about it."

And people (usually uninformed ones) say "sure, it worked as a painting, why not?"

So a place to build that kind of sensitivity? Absolutely, right here where the filmmakers live, please.

The writers want to write novels, really. The players want to be on stage, really. Only the editors and the iconographers have nowhere else to go, since film is the center of those pursuits.

So let's keep it here, where it belongs.

The problem with what we do is that we don't have an equivalent of a music score. We're using an imprecise method of description that's from another discipline, and run into grey areas where the outside interpretation of an inner vision becomes a hit-and-miss affair at best.
______

Interesting thread.

Part of the pressure for this is that, once upon a time, NOTHING got produced without major colaboration. Scripts, storyboards, et al, were just necessary communications tools to achieve some semblance of "buy-in" for concepts and ideas before the vast buckets of money started flowing.

It was left up to experienced team leaders, (the DP, the sound designer, the costume dept) to envision and make manifest what the script only hinted at.

Today, that collaborative process is under quite a bit of presssure.

A young "auteur", armed with a digital camcorder and an idea can produce a fully realized "work" with little colaboration required. So the concepts in his or her brain don't really need the same level of formal communication.

And no, you're right, this is NOT necessarily a good thing. And yes, he or she would likely HUGELY benefit from learning the discipline of pre-visualization.

But the reality is that no matter how much you might WISH to codify the asethetics of something as complex as a moving visual scene - when push comes to shove, the reality in the field will ALWAYS trump the written page.

One good thing is that the language of moviemaking is becoming commonplace in society as never before.

Today, I can sit down with a non-industry business owner and "talk" them through a series of shots, confident when I say "the shot of the barking dog slowly dissolves into the company logo" - that essentially nonsensical string of words will make sense to them. Because EVERYONE is now is expected to be at least somewhat "movie literate."

I agree it's important to talk about how "scriptwriting" is changing. And how it needs to evolve in an era where the script direction "the scene transitions to" can send a hapless young editor to an NLE menu where they have access to 10,000 relatively distinct "transitions."

iconography, story, motivation, conflict, the quality of the light falling on the roses on the table - perhaps it would be wonderful if we could codify it all to communicate better what the original writer imagines. Perhaps not! Since in doing so, we, to some extent, rob everyone else of their participatory contributations.

At the end of the day, the brains of the people involved in recording the pictures and sounds need to read, hear, see, interpret, and react. And communication about visual and auditory experiences - translated into ink on paper - will only ever do so much.

Good writing - and particularly good scriptwriting - needs to be honored.

But no matter how many marginal notes or storyboards we create to help others understand what we're thinking, in the end, if we want our scripts to withstand the slings and arrows of interpretation - the only way I can see is to learn to write as well as, say, Shakespere.

Good luck in THAT quest.