Screenplay without Dialogue

[ClayCox]

Sorry, can't help you, but I'd be just as interested to learn how to approach this type of work.

[nikfaulkner]

hey mindsample,

my short cg film is silent as well and i kinda took the unusual route of not writing a script in a traditional sense. i pretty much wrote a very detailed synopsis describing all the characters actions (and motivations). i then broke each scene into its own document and then worked out my shot list from this.

obviously this is only viable if you are working by yourself or with somebody (or a team) who have a total understanding of the project. if you are just script writing and then passing it on for development there is probably some "standard" way of creating this kind of script. unfourtunatly i couldn't find any help in this matter either.

nik

[Joe Burnham]

I would recommend that you don't use the dialogue section for action elements. In accordance with proper scripting layout you should probably keep the dialogue section out. Instead, make full use of the action and shot sections since the reader will be more interested with the description.

[JWood]

I'm with Burning Joe Burnham (clever, eh?), when he recommends you not use the dialogue section for the character action. I understand that a character's action can be put there, but that kind of action usually refers to how a character delivers a line. For example...

JOE
(seething)
I dare you to come here and say that, punk.

Or if his action is integral to his dialogue...

JOE
(rolling up his sleves)
... and I'll show you how they used to do labotomies.

You've got a couple other things that need addressing though.

1) Avoid repetition. In your second line, Newman is described as lying on the floor, looking into the room. Job done. You don't need the following description.

But I bet you weren't pleased with that, and felt you needed to be clearer. So go right to the description.

2) If you're writing a spec script, not a shooting script, you don't do the [MEDIUM SHOT] stuff. Rather (and this I think will work better in your case too), use your descriptions to direct the camera.

For example...

Newman lies on the floor, his chin resting on the carpet. He sighs, blinks sadly, and rolls his eyes up. (This suggests establishing shots, then medium shots)

Newman's eyes widen like saucers. (This suggests a close up)

Good luck.

[mindsample]

Jwood, thanks for your reply, helped a lot. I just read through the beginning of a few scripts such as Terminator2 and they basically do exactly the same thing, the Action Section becomes a description of what is going on with hints on camera angles and type of shots, but actually without declaring them. Dialogue section is being left out.

Where would you suggest are the type of shots established, would that be in the storyboard or does it really only happen once the director and DOP start shooting/rendering? I always only see hints of shots, no definate declarations in screenplays ...

[JWood]

By asking "Where is the type of shot established", do you mean "Where does the writer do the MEDIUM SHOT, CLOSE UP kind of camera direction?" The writer in the spec script (the first one written) doesn't do camera directions, because that's not their job. Their job is to tell the best story they can.

BUT... once that script is a go, a shooting script is written and it does have camera directions.

From the movie "Colladeral" ...


FADE IN:

INT. BRADLEY TERMINAL - BLURS - DAY

slide past in a 400 mm lens. Then, entering a plane of focus is VINCENT.


So in this case, the camera directions are given right below place and time directions. Sometimes they are given in the MEDIUM SHOT, CLOSE UP kind of terminology.

I'd recommend not doing this kind of camera direction in your screenplay, because you spoke of wanting to write something readable. Camera directions really kill the flow of reading. I'd leave all that camera direction for the storyboarding stage when all the shots can be figured out and chosen with the director.

[Joe Burnham]

JWood is correct.

Essentially, the script that is sold prior to being given the green light for production, is a story, not a technical aspect of the film. Like he said, the story must be read like a story, not a descriptive manual. Good cinematographers, DPs and directors are talented because it's their job to convey the story of someone else either the way the writer intended or in a way they feel the characters and the story can be better presented. In some cases, the writer is brought in to help tell the story more completely. Hopefully that makes sense.

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