Project Brief 2: Question 3
The reading “To make you see: Screenwriting, description and the lens-based tradition” by Adam Ganz has got me thinking on how I should improve on my screenwriting. Thereafter, it will help me in developing my ideas for the final project. The reading has made me understand better the difference between lens-based writing and screenwriting. Lens-based writing is based on ready framed that is already been viewed while screenwriting is describing something that will then be projected through the lens (Ganz, 2013, p. 19). I feel that lens-based writing will help me with improving my descriptive words by describing what I see in that frame. On the other hand, screenwriting will help me improve in expanding my imagination and the experience I want the audience to feel.
I used to write a script through narrative. I wrote the whole story first and then planned out the scenes and dialogues. After reading this article, I felt that it would good practice to start off with lens-based writing. Since I am lacking in expressing descriptive words, I can start off doing exercises on lens-based writing such as “Study Buddy” where we took photos first and then start to describe each frame. Lens-based writing will help me describe framing and details better by looking through telescopic and microscopic lenses (Ganz, 2013, p. 10). This will make me describe the smaller details that I may have overlooked which could affect how the story flows. I can explore describing different framing shots and the details I see in the frame by taking at least three photos or more a week. This exercise will give me a sense of the kind of frame shot that I want to use in my final project. Besides, it will help me find the tone and mood I want to reflect on my story.
Hopefully, through lens-based writing, I will be able to describe better in screenwriting. I am planning my story along the genre of crime and thriller. I will explore the kind of shots and locations that will fit into this genre through lens-based writing. There are a few points that I will need to keep in mind when I start writing the script. I have to make sure that when I write it, it has to communicate the relationships between the objects and actions that I visualise so that audiences will be able to experience what I feel when I see that particular scene in my mind (Ganz, 2013, p. 20). Unlike, lens-based writing it is what you see is what you get while screenwriting allows you to describe the characters and environment in a more intimate manner thus reflecting the emotions in that scene.
In addition, I will be looking at scripts, films and TV shows especially with the genre in crime. I need to look into more scripts to get used to the language and the types of tone they create through describing the big print. I will be looking into films and TV shows for inspiration to build my characters and scenarios for the world that I am creating.
Above all, it will help me develop my story through more practice. Lens-based writing will be the starting point to generate ideas for my screenwriting. I hope that through this process I will be able to gain in expressing better descriptive words. Also, through reading more scripts and watching films will help me find more ideas to build my own story world.
Reference List:
Ganz, Adam. (2013). ‘To make you see’: Screenwriting, description and the ‘lens-based’ tradition. Journal of Screenwriting Volume 4 Number 1, 7-24.
