Month: January 2023

SUMMARY

Role

Screenwriter

Intention (SMART Goal)

By March 1, as SCREENWRITER, I will have evidence of MUSICAL DIALOGUE by following How Aaron Sorkin Creates Musical Dialogue In ‘The Social Network’ for Session 4.

PRE-PRODUCTION – INQUIRY

Leader in the Field & Exemplary Work

Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network

Quick dialogue that draws you in and is impossible to look away from. The flashbacks work and are not hard to follow because they’re recounting events in discovery and then showing the happenings in real time. The Social Network is based off a real story and real people’s lives, and Sorkin respects this fact while also making the film entertaining.

Training Source

0:50 – Aaron Sorkin writes with a specific rhythm that sounds musical and makes dialogue more interesting.

1:15 – Sorkin uses longer lines of dialogue than other writers (mini speeches). 2x as many as When Harry met Sally. He also varies the length of the lines to keep avoid boring repetition.

2:12 – Very few action lines to ensure faster dialogue, as well as characters interrupting and speaking over each other more like a real conversation.

2:40 – Faster dialogue allows for variation in tempo of scene.

3:10 – Sorkin has an extreme amount of repetition. 15% of the sentences in the scene are repeated almost verbatim.

3:56 – “What the words sound like is as important to me as what the words mean.”

5:32 – Sorkin writes in meter, or often has lines that have a repeated stressed and unstressed syllable.

Project Timeline

Pre-Production

January 23: Session start

February 1: Complete Pre-Production Blog Post

February 6 – 10: Set goals, storyboard, build trello

February 13 – 16: Finalize Pre-Production

Production

February 14: Test shoot

February 15 – February 21: Shooting

February 22 – February 24: Re-shooting

Post-Production

February 27 – February 28: Editing

March 1: Evidence due

Evidence of Team Planning and Decisions

PRODUCTION – ACTION

The (FILM, SOUND, or GAME Creation)

Escape

Skills Commentary

Slideshow

POST-PRODUCTION – REFLECTION

21st Century Skills

Ways of Thinking (Creativity, Innovation, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving)

I grew in my creativity when I took on the challenge of writing in iambic pentameter, I had to be flexible with my ideas and fit the vision into a certain format.

Ways of Working (Communication & Collaboration)

I have grown in my communication skills because I was absent for a significant part of the session and I had to stay in contact with my team to be up to speed.

Tools for Working (Info & Media Literacy)

I continued my use of celtx and trello.

Ways of Living in the World (Life & Career)

I continued to develop my skills on working with others towards a collective goal.

Reactions to the Final Version

Positive feedback from Miguel: said the last scene looked like the show Hunter.

Gracen said ADR needed work.

Self-Evaluation of Final Version

I think our group had to overcome some obstacles to finish this film, and as a screenwriter, my job wasn’t huge because our script wasn’t dialogue driven but I was proud of my team as a whole.

Grammar and Spelling

Grammarly

Editor

Oscar R.

Who is one of your favorite directors?

Darren Aronofsky

IMDB Page

Notes About What Makes Their Style Unique

Aronofsky retells classic stories in new and beautiful ways. mother! (2017) is a retelling of Genesis, and the story of mankind. I believe that many of his films follow the typical Icarus arc as well, with tales of people who push the limits of humanity and passion which eventually burns them (Black Swan, The Wrestler). He doesn’t specialize in any genre, but has mastered intense psychological themes that make for movies that physically change you after you watch them.

It is a rare and invaluable talent to be able to create a scene, a story, that makes the viewer feel they are in the body and minds of the characters. Aronofsky uses the basic elements of film such as cinematography and sound to make fiction come to life. After watching his work, I often feel strange in my own reality and mundane life because I become so immersed in the worlds that he has built.

Aronofsky uses Production Design and sets to reflect the mindset of the characters. He gives us something to look at while not distracting from the substance of what is going on.

Aronofsky uses two main shot patterns: center frames, and close ups. Simple, symmetric shots convey a clear purpose for a character, putting their goal right in front of them. In Requiem for a Dream, extreme closeups create a sense of discomfort for the viewer, overwhelming our emotions which relates us to the horror of addiction that the character is experiencing.

Editing is what puts a film together, and Aronofsky’s style sets him apart. He uses short cut montages which are a compilation of short cut sounds and short cut images. This technique takes a different approach to making us understand what the character is going through, as it is a shock to our senses.

Sound is the last sense that puts us into the psyche of the protagonist. When a character is descending into madness, we can hear the voices or chaos that echos in their mind.

Aronofsky focuses on characters, and creates an environment for empathy unlike any film I’ve ever watched. I am inspired whenever I watch his films and hope to write/create something as immersive one day.