"Damn you for walking by, silent and alone.
For the tattered wisps of your despair
entangled with the ribbons of my joy...
and clinging as we passed, you have drowned my soul." -Rick Wood, prelude to Tideline
Writing, especially screenwriting, is a lot like painting. Every word lays down texture, color and meaning. Elegant words feel elegant...harsh words feel harsh. If you put them together in the right way they can also be open-ended and interpretable on several levels.
To say, "it was a dark and gloomy night," is far less powerful than paint in the abstract.
"An icy blackness, intermittently pierced by the tepid vapors escaping her mouth, crept in like an army of shadowy wraiths. Kept awake only by the pain of hunger within, she drew her knees closer for what little comfort they could provide."
Granted, that is definitely a lot longer and wordier then saying, "it was a dark and gloomy night," but it paints a better image - one left open to some interpretation.
For a short film like Tideline these words not only have to work on the level of being readable, they also have to paint images so vivid that they can easily translate onto the screen.
That's my challenge. Take 18 pages of words and turn them into 18 minutes of film.
Right now, seeing the finished script, I'm pretty confident it'll be done and done quite well.
Cheers,
-Rick
To say, "it was a dark and gloomy night," is far less powerful than paint in the abstract.
"An icy blackness, intermittently pierced by the tepid vapors escaping her mouth, crept in like an army of shadowy wraiths. Kept awake only by the pain of hunger within, she drew her knees closer for what little comfort they could provide."
Granted, that is definitely a lot longer and wordier then saying, "it was a dark and gloomy night," but it paints a better image - one left open to some interpretation.
For a short film like Tideline these words not only have to work on the level of being readable, they also have to paint images so vivid that they can easily translate onto the screen.
That's my challenge. Take 18 pages of words and turn them into 18 minutes of film.
Right now, seeing the finished script, I'm pretty confident it'll be done and done quite well.
Cheers,
-Rick
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