week 7.

Character objectives

This week in class we concentrated on the characters and their objectives in a script.
when breaking down a script you should make sure you know everything about the characters and their motivation to overcome the obstacles they must face.
the characters objectives in a script are broken down into...
super objective: the life goal of the character.
overall objective: Their objective in the story.
scene objective: their intention in the scene.
unit objective: their goal in the unit (Beat).

Using the example from the previous post Chris's unit objectives can be separated into the two units.
unit 1:
C: to be agitated
              Enraged
              Annoyed
Unit 2:
C: to Confront
         Interrogate
         Accuse

Deciding what you want the character to do is the easy part; its finding the best word to describe their objective that can be difficult. It is very important to find the right word to tell the actors so that they can portray the character in the best way.

week 6.

This week we continued to look intro breaking down a script. It is very important that a script is broken down enough, so that the director is familiar with the scene and how to instruct the actors.
A scene can be broken down into scene action and unit action.
Each scene will have its own story action (scene action). this is the psychological actions of the characters.
A scene can then be broken into unit actions. This is when the emotion of the character changes in the scene. Each time this happens the scene can be broken down into beats.

An example is...
Chris walks into the classroom, looks around then throws his pen down and leaves the room.
scene action: Chris is Fuming about the accusation.
fuming- the action word
Unit action:
unit 1. Chris is fuming about the accusation.
unit 2. He storms out to interrogate the accuser.

Although it can be difficult to separate a scene into a scene action and unit actions it can be very helpful during production to be able describe the emotion of the beat to the actors accurately.

week 4.

breaking down a script

This week in class we discussed the steps that a director should take to understand and break down a script.
 The first thing a director has to do when they get a script is to read it several times. It may seem obvious but you should know the script inside out and back to front so that you can visualise it accurately.
You then have to imagine it. creating the film in your head allows you to avoid the technical aspect and concentrate entirely on the creative side. It can also help with...

• visualising the characters- what drives them
• the 'feel' of the film
• sound
• VFX
• Theme
• moral Premise
• possible location/era

You can then turn it into a shot list that conveys the emotions and themes of the scene.
breaking down a script proved to be a lot more difficult than I expected as everything has to be thought out very thoroughly to avoid doubts about the story later on.