the screenwriter’s brain
Screenplays are an art form…and the process of screenwriting fascinates me. The screenwriter has the daunting task of expressing a story through vision and tone which requires structure yet, as a reader, I never want to see that structure working…I want to be so dazzled by the character and the emotional journey of the story that I am unaware of the necessary skeleton inside the body of the screenplay. I have been lucky enough to have read thousands of screenplays, a few of them utterly transcendent, and am consistently impressed with those that are able to paint a picture in my mind, cause me to laugh and cry, all with only a few select words. In my daily life, I speak to screenwriters and talk story…a lot. It’s one of the highlights of my job as both a producer and a casting director…and I constantly want to understand better, from the inside out, the language that many screenwriters use so I can more effectively communicate in daily life. I participated in a basic screenwriting class, as one can always learn more about the process even after having been immersed in the business for years. I learned more than I thought I would, and the stories and insights shared within the class environment have become touchstones within my communication on projects ever since. I just learned that this class is being offered again, and I love imagining that there are some lucky folks out there who may just get a glimpse into the inner workings of a screenwriter’s brain, like I did. Their artistic process will be the better for it.
*If you are curious, the class I took was taught by Michael Cordell. The class is being offered again here listed here. Note: it appears on p. 6 of the brochure (or p. 8 of the PDF file)