Show and don’t tell – Film

Objectives – 

• To identify and integrate features of screenwriting and respond to a brief
• To experiment and think about using a different from e.g script writing
• Explore characters need
• Explore how a single image or series of images can have explicit and implicit meanings
• To explore ways of showing not telling using film
• To explore a brief in an original and creative way – risk taking
• Placing visuals in your readers head

 

Starter exercise – show and don’t tell

He felt tired – 

He let out a yawn and slumped atop the counter.

 

She loved him –

She gazed longingly into his eyes

 

They loathed one another –

Bill and Ben glared at one another with fire in their eyes

 

The children were bored – 

The children toiled around the room searching for action

 

Grandmother came home drunk –

She staggered in, her knees like jelly

 

• Film is a visual medium. ” Show and don’t tell.” Those are the golden rules of screen writing

 

• Film is about telling stories in pictures

 

 

Showing vs Telling in Film

• Theme
• Characters needs
• Plot
• Visual Signifies
• Use of colors
• Use of sounds

 

The Black hole –

Teacher – businessman

confusion – greed

sy-fi

humor

use of sound

 

Zombie Movie – 

Dad and son

Sacrifice — family

Sad music

horror – gore

 

Dog Tail – 

Poverty

cool chase scene

music sets the speed of the chase

character needs to provide for his family

 

 

My short film –

“Under one flag”

Theme –

racism in football

Setting –

Football stadium in Italy

Main character –

Adebayo – a refugee from Uganda

Plot – Synopsis

After stepping foot in Italy, Adebayo has to learn to adjust to his new life as a refugee. He has risked everything after fleeing his native country of Uganda where he worked as a teacher in the village school. With just the clothes on his back and a bottle for water, he has finally made it to Europe. But all is not as good as it might seem. The local people are not as accepting as he thought they would be and he is regularly mocked and frowned upon. He must win the hearts of these people and does so through his love and support of the local football team, with whom he creates a special bond.

 

 1. Opening scene 

Camera pans over the vast ocean, with the moon glittering and reflecting in the sea. The gentle sound of the waves lapping plays, as the camera slowly focuses on a yellow dingy floating in the ocean. As the camera gets closer we see a single man, barely clothed and looking emaciated, sprawled out and seemingly asleep. He is surrounded by bags, life jackets and items of clothing… but no one that owns them. Emotional music begins to play as the camera slowly zooms back out, and lights appear on the horizon. A close up of the mans face then appears, a single tear rolls down his cheek.

 

 2. Italian Port City

Morning

The sun is peeking over the horizon and sea birds are chirping from the rooftops. The yellow dingy is beached on the rubbish, strewn beach.

Camera follows a trail left in the sand

The main character is lying face down in the sand as people carry on with their day-to-day business around him. The hum of voices fills the air and a seabird lands beside him, seemingly checking if he is alive or dead. The main character stirs and lifts his head to take in his surroundings. People do not pay any notice to him, much to his surprise. He continues to lay down in the sand, exhausted.

Camera pans out to the sound of the sea 

 

 

3. Busy street

Afternoon

The sun is going down, casting shadows across the street

Sound of people talking and the intermittent whiz of scooter engines

The main character is trudging down a cobbled street when he accidentally knocks into a portly man who is going into the opposite direction. The main character then puts his hand up in a gesture of sorry but the other gentleman swats his hand away and sneers at him. The main character continues down the street in search of something to drink and somewhere to stay. As he rounds a bend in the street he spots a beautiful wishing fountain that looks to be spraying clean water.

Camera slowly pans to his face as a small smile appears

Sound of slashing water intensifies 

He hobbles over to the fountain and plunges his head in, taking a huge gulp of water. He sees money scattered across the bottom and reaches to take some before an elderly woman forcefully taps him on the shoulder and shakes her head at him. He tries to gesture to her that he is thirsty, but his hands are again swatted away. Feeling confused and embarrassed, he leaves and eventually sits down below a small bridge to rest . A tear wells up in his eye (Close up shot)

Sad music plays as the camera fades to black, signifying night time

 

 

4. Under a crumbling bridge, people walking past

Morning

The buzz of the Sunday market reverberates around the narrow city street

The main character stirs and rears his head from a fetal position. He notices that many of the people he sees are wearing blue football shirts, and are heading to what he presumes is the center of town. Stretching his legs out in front of him, he heaves himself up off the ground and decides to follow the crowd.

Cut to zoomed out shot showing vast crowds of people snaking their way through the streets towards the local football stadium – faint chants can be heard

Cut back to main character still walking

As the main character rounds a bend he sees a large open topped stadium that people are pouring into. He is in awe as he has only ever read about stadiums like these. He approaches one of the entrances, however a man in a reflective jacket blocks his path and points in the opposite direction. A look of sadness appears on the main characters face and he turns to walk away. However, a small child comes up behind him and tugs on his arm. Turning to see who it is, he looks down and smiles. The child, no more than 10, reaches into his pockets and produces 10 euros. He thrusts it into the mans hand with a huge grin and runs off into the stadium. Our main character is now faced with a dilemma. He looks to his left and sees a stall where they look to be selling food, and on his right is the football stadium with a sign that shows a ticket for 10 euros. Looking down at his stomach,

Stomach gurgling sound

he edges towards the food stand but then stops. He remembers

 

From this lesson I have learned a variety of show and don’t tell skills. I have made use of my characters 5 senses which will help the reader to understand how my character is feeling and what he is seeing. I learned a variety of skills relating to film, especially after watching some short films by other people. This taught me the importance of music and scenery in film, which I would  never have thought about before. I have tried to invoke human interest throughout my piece, with one of the main points being the meeting between a young boy and the main character. People usually react differently to children than they do to others so I decided to play on that, and I also used the child as a symbol of hope. My end product turned out to be a really effective short script. From the feedback I received, I know that others found the story interesting and could feel a connection with my main character.