{"id":1175468,"date":"2024-08-21T08:18:47","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T15:18:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/?p=1175468"},"modified":"2024-08-21T08:19:31","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T15:19:31","slug":"screenplay-advice-michael-klug","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/screenplay-advice-michael-klug\/","title":{"rendered":"The Simplest Screenplay Advice: ‘Don\u2019t Do the Work of the Other Artisans’"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m Michael Klug.\u00a0 I\u2019m a screenwriter, an actor, a script consultant, a filmmaker, a novelist, a film critic and an overall movie nerd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my 20 years of screenwriting, I\u2019ve discovered shortcuts, preferences and things to never do again. And whether they\u2019re the<\/em> rules, they\u2019re my rules. Most of my screenwriting pet peeves developed out of my own shortcomings \u2014 things I habitually did, despite knowing I could do better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Things like using the ridiculous \u201cShe begins to\u201d instead of just having the character do the thing. Describing things my characters are thinking or feeling that can\u2019t be presented on screen. Making things convenient for a character by not properly establishing them beforehand \u2014 like a weapon we\u2019ve never seen before that handily appears at the last second. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had to train myself to avoid these missteps. Now they\u2019re part of the rules from which I don\u2019t depart. As a screenwriting consultant, I try to pass along these tricks or rituals to my clients \u2014 but again and again, one of the biggest mistakes I see writers make is over-describing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I once had a friend\/development executive (who now works in the Star Trek<\/em> universe \u2013 ahem, anonymous name drop) explain why I needed to trim my descriptions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t do the work of the other artisans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s amazing how much this simple phrase covers: Casting, costume design, fight scenes, makeup, cinematography, music, set design. And not just those things.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also Read:<\/strong> Michael Klug on How to Build (and Burn) a Confessional<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unless specific elements of description are necessary to showcase the character or serve the plot, leave them out of your screenplay. They are to be determined by artisans who are trained in such specialized skills, and hired for their special insights and gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s use a few examples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fight Choreography: Let\u2019s say our hero, Roger, gets into a fight. He ends up getting his jaw broken, and his broken jaw is important to the plot because his difficulty speaking leads to further misunderstandings. In this case, the screenwriter needs to explicitly include a moment in which someone breaks Roger\u2019s jaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if he just gets in a general brawl, and everyone comes out more or less OK, you can write simply: They fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And let the fight coordinator figure out the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Costume Design: As a child, Sally always hated the color of the paint in her room \u2014 a terrible magenta. What were her parents thinking? Since then, she\u2019s had nightmares about that particular shade. It gives her migraines. So when her loving husband surprises her with a magenta scarf, not knowing of her absolute hatred for this color, she goes into a blind rage. It\u2019s a trigger. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this case, it\u2019s necessary that you describe in the script that the scarf is magenta, because it means<\/em> something. Otherwise, does it matter if we know what color the gifted scarf is? Probably not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Set\/Production Design:  Most of Roger and Sally\u2019s story takes place in a house.  Does it matter whether the house is blue or green? Probably not. Does it matter that it\u2019s run down or pretty? Probably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key is to figure out the bare necessities<\/em> to set the scene.  Adding too many details is infringing on someone else\u2019s artistic vision and only serves to expand your page count.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And look, I\u2019m a big<\/em> proponent of trimming and cutting \u2013 to the point of obsession. If it can be nixed, then do it. If it can be combined, do it. I make games out of my script drafts, beyond the first: How many pages and words can I remove? There\u2019s a legitimate high in getting your page count down, especially when you know that it\u2019s just too long (and isn\u2019t it always?). Get what you need to establish the scene or the character, and move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Final Screenplay Advice From Michael Klug<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Finally, I\u2019m also quite opposed to camera directions within a script. Certainly if it\u2019s a shooting script, and you\u2019re going to direct, you can do what you want. It\u2019s basically the Wild West as far as rules and formatting in a shooting script, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, It\u2019s not really your job to suggest camera angles. If you\u2019re sending your script to sell it, find representation, or win a screenwriting contest, please: Camera directions are a classic case of \u201cdon\u2019t do the work of the other artisans.\u201d The director or cinematographer will decide whether to use Dutch angles, not the writer. The other artisans will bring their own expertise to the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which brings us to the debate over \u201cWe see\u2026\u201d Is it OK to say what the audience sees? If not, how do you describe certain discoveries that the audience may make at the same time as a character \u2014 or just before, or just after? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve let down my guard from time to time and have used POV to describe how a moment should be seen. I don\u2019t like it, but I\u2019ll do it. And I think that\u2019s the same for \u201cWe see\u2026\u201d As in, \u201cWe see a splotch of blood on the corner of the rug as we move into the kitchen.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re basically suggesting a camera movement, but on rare occasions you may need to, for dramatic purposes. It\u2019s a tough thing to straddle, and frankly, I continue to search for ways to describe what I want without resorting to \u201cWe see\u2026\u201d or \u201cPOV.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If someone passes on your script because of the story or pacing or whatever, there\u2019s not much you can do about that. It\u2019s all subjective. But don\u2019t handicap your chances by submitting an unpolished or overly descriptive screenplay.  The devil\u2019s in the details\u2026 just not too many<\/em> details.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can learn more about Michael Klug and receive more detailed screenplay advice at klugulascreenplayconsulting.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Main image: Michael Klug. Photo by Johnny Call<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I\u2019m Michael Klug.\u00a0 I\u2019m a screenwriter, an actor, a script consultant, a filmmaker, a novelist, a film critic and an","protected":false},"author":1855,"featured_media":1175469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_comments":false,"cm_data":"","cpt_newsletter_id":0,"tpd_coauthor":[],"tpd_feed_delay":[],"is_tpd_lists_single_post":false,"tpd_featured_posts_arr":"","tpd_franchise_content":"","hide_featured_img_single_post":false,"msn_featured_video":[],"_msn_custom_title":"","tpd_featured_video":[],"tpd_sponsored_post_logo":"","tpd_sponsored_post_logo_link":"","tpd_sponsored_post_logo_width":0,"tpd_sponsored_enable_nofollow":true,"tpd_disable_incontent_ads":false,"tpd_disable_right_rail_ads":false,"tpd_disable_after_content_ads":false,"tpd_disable_header_ads":false,"tpd_disable_sticky_footer_ads":false,"tpd_disable_video_ads":false,"tpd_disable_outbrain":false,"tpd_affiliate_disclaimer":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4516],"tags":[8900,41842,5664],"coauthor":[],"feeds":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1175468","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-screenwriting","8":"tag-advice","9":"tag-michael-klug","10":"tag-screenwriting"},"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/klug-428x241.jpg","fimg_url_thumb":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/klug-428x241.jpg","fimg_url":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/klug-788x444.jpg","author_name":"Michael Klug","author_avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/737ad55edcbdfdeb64d29913bf13a753cc6847e43b398f1bfcdceeb43a08ee0d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_link":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/author\/michael-klug\/","coauthors":[],"primary_category":{"term_id":4516,"name":"Screenwriting","slug":"screenwriting","taxonomy":"category","url":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/category\/archives\/moviemaking\/screenwriting\/"},"featured_img_medium":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/klug-788x444.jpg","post_categories":["Screenwriting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175468","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1855"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1175468"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1175468\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1175469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1175468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1175468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1175468"},{"taxonomy":"coauthor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthor?post=1175468"},{"taxonomy":"feeds","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.moviemaker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/feeds?post=1175468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}