SCRIPT TO SCREEN - SCREEN WRITING MASTER CLASS - WITH STEVE COOMBES

SCREEN WRITING WORKSHOP WITH STEVE COOMBES

Today we had the pleasure of meeting Steve Coombes whom has been a screenwriter for 30 years, he has worked on shows such as , Vera , Hustle, birds of a feather, New tricks, Lovejoy and many more.

At first he came across like a screenwriter is a 'nobody' when it comes to the industry as a production doesn't lose money if the screenwriter don't deliver but if the 'Talent' don't show or refuses to work it does cost the production money.

He then went on to continue to ask us the question of what our favourite film was? there was a few answers, then he asked who wrote them and nobody could answer. It really made me question if I wanted to write because I wanted to be famous? I then sat back and thought 'No, the reason I want to be a writer is so I can see my visions put into moving images'

The lesson Brief was as follows but in my own words as I heard it.

• Every screenplay has to have 'Moment's

1. The more moments in a screenplay the better
2. We have to think about the moments even before we start writing
3. A screenplay can be written 10 times just to capture them moments
4. The Audience are on a need to know basis

Workshop Exercise - To create a moment for a pitch.

I worked with 'G' and Lauren and this is the moment pitch that we presented to Steve.

'It's raining and it's dark, Georgina stands on the train platform with tears rolling down her face, she is looking down at the tracks, A train is approaching in the distance, the other side of the platform we see her mother, Georgina proceeds to put one foot over the platform-her mother scream Georgina's name as the train speeds by - the train passes Georgina has gone.

A man taps her mother on the shoulder she opens her eyes, its a sunny day, birds are cheeping, the man says "is this your train?" ' END

• Need to Know.

1. Imagine you are the head of the CIA and you have 30 seconds with the president, you have to tell them what they need to know within that time, its the same with pitching a screenplay, any producer/director wants to be sold on the story with 30 seconds and the audience needs to be intrigued within this time frame.

• What can be shown don't need to be said.

1. The character doesn't have to give away the story, we should be able to tell the story with Mise-en-scene as well as dialogue. 
2. Seeing is believing.
3. If you can't show it don't tell it.

• The set up for a screenplay.

1. Set up - Twist - Punch line.
2. Use the same structure for a screenplay as you would for a joke.

• In the end there is my beginning.

1. If you know where you are going you know if you are there. There is no point in starting a screenplay if you don't no where you are actually going with it, no your ending.

• Love big buts.

1. An audience loves messed up material .
2. As a civilisation we very caught up in being 'comfortable'.
3. Drama gives significant to a screenplay.
4. fiction puts a bit more meaning into our life's.
5. There has to be - there for - then this happened - but this happened - in able for this to happen, if there is a story where it is 'this happened , then this happened, then that happened' it would be a pointless film/tv project to watch.

• Characters.

1. We have to make all our characters different, it is easy to make the tone of the characters the same in the language that we use in our dialogue, this will be very boring and monotone.
2. Don't write in an accent that you can't actually in vision yourself doing, it will be embarrassing for the people actually reading it if it is wrong.
3. A character is like a suspension bridge, a suspension bridge works by forces pulling in the opposite directions, it the same with our characters, they must have some sort of flaws to make them interesting.
4. Give a character a 'Tell' like they have in poker.

There was many thing that we discussed within the session, some points I didn't agree on, like the film ' Full Metal jacket' Steve said it should have been a play because there was too much Dialogue and focused on the one officer for 45 Mins, but in my opinion, that is one of my favourite films and when I was a TA, the camera work on that film was well executed for the era that it was made, we always referred to that film when we was out in the filed, so like the film 'Diner' that we was shown in the scene about the records, that moment that we was shown in 'Full metal jacket' bought back some really great memories for me.

I have to have my own mind when it comes to constructive criticism, I didn't agree with that.

Interesting afternoon with Steve, I am looking forward to seeing his points on my screenplay that I produce and I hope that because of the characters that he likes to portray in his screenplays wont be a reflection of what kind of writer I am, so shall we see.