Script vs Film

Michael Herwald

Script vs Film

            Reservoir Dogs, directed by Quentin Tarantino is about an armed robbery gone wrong. I would consider this one of Tarantino’s better movies, and an instant classic in my book. I first saw the movie when I was in 7^th grade, and other than the violence I did not find it very entertaining, but when tasked with the assignment to re-watch the movie and compare it to its screenplay, I fell in love. What Tarantino is able to accomplish on the screen is truly unique and it makes him one of the most acclaimed writers/directors of our time. With that being said I first want to analyze the movie before it is in film, so I will take a look at the screenplay for Reservoir Dogs.

            One necessary part, perhaps the most important one, for achieving cinematic gold is to have a well though out and decisive screenplay. A screenplay is not like anything I have read before it is too dialogue based for a book and too bland with character description to be a play. When comparing a screenplay to a film I notice to key difference, one is in emotion and the other is visual appearance.

            Everyone has at least heard of the Twilight movies, and how one of the biggest complaints is that Kristin Stewart (the lead female) lacks emotion while she acts, unfortunately this leads to a crappy movie and horrible Internet memes. A screenplay does not convey any emotion directly like a film does that is mostly the job of the actors portraying the characters within the screenplay. How come some movies, with talented actors, are better than other movies, with talented actors? The reason is directly correlated with how well the screenplay is written and developed. An actors job is to read the script, but if the script is poorly written then there is not much even a good actor can do, in fact with a bad scripts the acting can seem phony and not sincere.

            The biggest difference between a screenplay and a film is one does not see what is happening in front of them while reading. Especially with Reservoir Dogs there is a lack of character description within the screenplay, which can be good because one does not want that to get in the way of the story. This is part of the reason Tarantino is so good because he writes and directs his own movies, so he already has an idea of what he wants his characters to look like and who his actors will be.

            What I have learned is a screenplay is not supposed to be this amazing work of art, it is supposed to be the anchor to a story. A screenplay is the steppingstone for the movie, and one cannot coexist without each other. It is the foundation to a work of art.

            As a side note I find it very interesting the varying levels of change between movies from screenplay to film.  I would most likely note that as director’s discretion, for example if he sees something that needs changing while filming there is no need to change the screenplay. 

Instructions:

Write two fifty-word mini-sagas. The origins of the saga comes from Icelandic prose dating back to the 12th century when locals would recount their warrior battles. Today, a saga is referred to as a modern heroic narrative.
Your mini-saga should have 50 words. No more, no less. The stories must have a beginning, middle and end. They must be interesting, and they may not be autobiographical. Engage the reader. Here are two example 

My sagas

Jazz, the oldest of three joined the army at 18. He was never good at following orders, till they shipped him to Iraq. His blind devotion to his commander kept him alive. When he got back he worked at a McDonalds where he was fired because he can’t follow orders.  

The day Joey was murdered was a very beautiful day. The sun was shining and there was not a cloud in the sky. He remembered his mom saying never trust a stranger, but this one had candy. They found his body in a field next to an abandoned parking lot. 

My ideas for an Audio Doc.

Idea Number 1

My first idea falls under the category of food, but not actually eating anything. I want to focus on food etiquette more specifically on the idea of double dipping. My audience is everyone because everyone eats and everyone at some point in time has double dipped and I think it would be quite interesting to hear people’s different reactions to this food taboo.

I would most likely start of reminding my audience about the infamous Seinfeld scene where George double dips, and Jerry starts to yell and say what a terrible thing it is. This is when I would insert other people’s stories on their particular situations that involve double dipping. I then think it would be humorous to end on how people try and get themselves out of such an awkward situation.

Idea Number 2

My second idea involves the cold weather. Not everyone is born in a state that has winter or even gets cold. What is freezing in Los Angeles is most likely shorts and t-shirt weather in Alaska. I think it would be cool to interview people who where born in a so-called warm state, but that are now living in a so-called cold state. I would interview them about how they are adjusting and if there is really noticeable difference in climate.

I would probably keep the interview process to about two people, one from a warm state and one from a cold state that is now living in Ohio. I think Ohio is the perfect state to do this in because it can be cold and hot and really all over the place.

I would like to find out how the weather affects these people’s everyday lives and if it makes a noticeable impact on something like grades.

Idea Number 3

What does it take to be a hero? For my third idea I would want to interview people that live their life truly for others. To make it a more unique takes I would avoid the obvious people such as soldiers and nurses, but I would focus on people such as teachers or maintenance workers. People who may not know that they are sacrificing their lives for others, but they are.

I think this would provide a unique perspective on people who might think they are average and really have no idea on what kind of impact they have on strangers.

Idea Number 4

My idea number four might not be so unique, but I still find it very interesting, and that would be the classic question of, if one could have a superpower what would it be? I would try and take it a step further and ask, how would you help other people with this superpower? Everyone wants something that will make him or her special, but if they are unwilling to use it to help others then maybe they are not ready for being special.

It would be cool to hear how other people feel about this and if their superpower choice would actually make a difference.

Idea Number 5

For my fifth idea I would want to interview people who where just trying to help someone but it did not go their way and the person trying to help ended up getting in trouble or hurt. This is relatable because everyone has tried to help someone and it has ended up backfiring.

It would be interesting to see the varying level of trouble the initial help cause and how he or she recovered, if they recovered from the situation. And in the later part of the audio doc I would interview the person that was being helped and see if retrospectively they appreciate the help or not. 

My hypothesis on why such apps like Zombies, Run! (http://www.sixtostart.com) is an effective one is quite simple. It works because it embodies something people crave and that is instruction. We may not want to admit it but when there is someone telling one what to do it is more likely to get done. Combine this with exercise and the ever healthy american population will jump all over it.

My idea would be for people to eat healthier. According to CBS eating healthy is a privilege for the rich (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/study-healthy-eating-a-privilege-of-the-rich/) my idea would be to make an app that a person could plug in what they want to eat and the app would spit out healthier suggestions. For example if someone wanted fried chicken, instead of deep frying it in canola oil or some other sort of fatty oil the app would suggest something like omega