Wednesday, March 05, 2014

I recently completed the first draft of my first action screenplay. Some of the action sequences take up two-and-a-half pages of (two-lined) description. With no dialogue in between that. I use the 'montage' approach in the way you described in "Crafty Screenwriting". Should this be avoided this at any cost?

Why, no. Movies often have two-and-a-half-minute sequences where nobody says anything. And the screenplay should create the experience of a movie. So QED, scripts can have three pages without dialog. Of course it depends on the genre. THE AVENGERS is all about action with snappy banter. But if you are telling the story purely visually, well, that is what movies are supposed to do!

12:47 PM

1 Comments:

I was so scared that this would turn readers off.

After I heard some "guru" talk white-space, I wrote with the fear of having to many of it.

But if the sequences deserve it, I will keep describing it vividly!

Re-writing the thing will be much more fun with that in mind!

Thanks for the extensive answer, helps me a lot

-C.

By  ChRiS , at 3:20 PM  

Post a Comment

Back to Complications Ensue main blog page.