Watching "The Incredibles"; Two questions...

erlend · Leopard Joined: 08 Aug 2008 Posts: 32

Hey guys.

I'm watching "The Incredibles", and the following questions popped up in my head.

a) What do you suggest is the B-story? Who Mr. Incredible is working for before it's revealed around the midpoint? I really have a hard time figuring out the B-stories in movies.

b) This may not be so movie-spesific, but I would like to hear some suggestions. I've seen suggestions on the forum to write silent movies. Segments that don't have any real dialogue, but just alot of small "out-of-the-moment" things happening. Such scenes seem very threatening to me. I don't have any clue as to how I can describe and visualize such scenes in a script. Dialogue is more streamlined, but stuff like "Then she gets stuck in the elevator door trying to grab the keycard, on the other end a guy comes and..." - It just seems so.... lame. What to do? Smile

Thanks in advance.

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With Best Regards,
Erlend

crazrick · Bengal Tiger Joined: 28 Mar 2008 Posts: 224

a) The Incredibles is a story about a super-hero family trying not to show off their super-hero selves any more, and the dynamic of being 'retired' super heroes but still retaining their powers while being asked/forced not to use them in public displays of heroics any more. the A Story is the super hero story stuff, the B Story is the family dynamic stuff, the goth daughter, the hyper young son, a new baby, the disheartened dad and supportive nurturing mother, all struggling to be a normal family in a super-hero-vs-super-villain-dominated world... at least that's my take, how I remember the story... I'll have to watch it again to double-check.

b) telling and selling visual imagery, word-pictures, is a huge part of the craft of screenwriting. Some people can do dialogue, some can craft the perfect outline, others can write like the wind and hammer out a passable draft within days. But capturing the essence of visual imagery trumps all (some say...)

so, if you can tell a compelling and primal, fully-realized visual story without use of any dialogue, more power to the rest of the endeavor of screenwriting.

You start out by doing as you sorta suggest, writing every detail of every beat of every scene.

Mike Rinaldi · Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:52 pm Post subject:

The second best thing I ever did to improve my writing (besides reading Blake's books) was take a cinematography class. By learning the visual art of what should be seen on camera, you learn what to describe in your script. A good writer leads the eye and the camera with his description.

If you don't want to take a class at your local community college (and lots of people won't since you don't know what kind of quality you'll get), there are some great books on this. Check around your local booksstore or on Amazon for a good cinematography book or some screenwriting books that focus on describing action. I'm sure you'll find plenty to choose from.

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Brooke · Posted: Thu Aug 21, 2008 5:05 pm Post subject:

Sometimes I watch a movie and when the action scene starts I think of how it would be described in the screenplay, without music, without some moviestar, without a genius director, and I think, man, that's lame. Your responsibility is to describe the action as best and awesomely(is that a word??) as possible. When put to film everything else will fall into place. Or so we hope.

crazrick · Bengal Tiger Joined: 28 Mar 2008 Posts: 224

Rachel T. · Ocelot Joined: 15 Jan 2008 Posts: 306 Location: Michigan

You give me far too much credit.

The acceptability -? The acceptableness? . . . no, dang-it, that's not right. Hold on. . .

Ok.

The privelege (that'll work) of making up words is open to anyone with the brains, skill, genius, desperation, or pure dumb luck who can find them.

But I think awesomely is in the dictionary.

Wink

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Brooke · Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 5:54 pm Post subject:

writingmama · Leopard Joined: 13 Aug 2008 Posts: 30

Hi STC Writers!

Yay Rick, Mike, Rachel and Brooke!

I think you all answered Erlend's topic AWESOMELY Smile

I learned something too!

THANKS!

erlend · Leopard Joined: 08 Aug 2008 Posts: 32

Hey.

Sorry for the delayed reply. The semester started with a bang, and my priorities got twisted. Well, I'm back, and have had some fun reading. Smile

-First off; Thanks for the great replies.

@ crazrick - Yeah. I guess I agree that the B-story is the family sub-plot. Man, I have trouble linking up these A- and B- stories. Anbout the description, that was both entertaining and educational... in several ways. ;) - So basically, when it comes to descriptions:
(a) Less is more.
(b) Show, don't tell.
I can see that working. - By the way... I think I've seen that movie. Very Happy

@ Mike Rinaldi - Thanks. That's a good idea. Unfortunately, Amazon - as always - has a bit too many books on the suggested topic. Any recommendations?

@ Brooke - Yeah, that's a great exercise... Mentally reverse-engineering the movie... The word you introduced got me thinking, though. What is our no.1 goal as script writers - (a) to describe in the most intriguing way, or (b) to describe in the most effective way? I'm guessing option a. There may not be a conflict between the two, but it will make some difference in the choice of words.

Thanks for all great answers so far. Smile

_________________
With Best Regards,
Erlend

Mike Rinaldi · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 5:47 pm Post subject:

I like The Five C's of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques by Joseph V. Mascelli.

http://www.amazon.com/Five-Cs-Cinematography-Picture-Techniques/dp/187950541X/ref=cm_lmf_tit_5

Your primary job as a screenwriter is to be as effective as possible and communicate clearly. You may have noticed that often the loglines that don't work have sacrificed effectiveness for an attempt at intrigue. Intrigue is great, but is non-existant if you're ineffective.

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Brooke · Posted: Wed Sep 10, 2008 10:27 pm Post subject:

Effective should be intriguing.

orbie · Kitten Joined: 13 Sep 2008 Posts: 1 Location: los angeles

Brooke · Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2008 11:02 pm Post subject:

Very well stated, orbie! (and welcome!)

I wouldn't say that Mr. Incredible is a poor father figure(I imagine a dead-beat dad), but he's definitely out-of-touch. I know what you mean, though.

I had never thought of how fitting the name Syndrome was. You're so right. Mr. Incredible was a super who wouldn't let others be supers. He was kind of a hypocrite. Learning to trust his own kids with their powers is what saved the day.

A personal ephipany! What a day!

erlend · Leopard Joined: 08 Aug 2008 Posts: 32

@ Mike Rinaldi : Thanks for the suggestion. The five C's are on their way, so this should be good. Thanks! Please let me know if you come to remember any other good titles that I can't live without. Smile

@ Brooke : Yeah, I guess effective is intriguing. At least in a screenplay it should be... In a novel, intriguing would probably be to draw out a scene for all it is worth, without jumping ahead leaving an unexplored suspense-opportunity hanging. Or maybe effective is intriguing there as well? I'm sure there are different views on this, anyway. Smile

@ orbie : Thanks for sharing. I agree, it is definitely a very well-written movie. As I read it, you agree with crazrick about the B-story showing the development of the family. However, while crazrick's focus is on the family dynamics as a whole, you feel that the B-story is more about the Mr. Incredible's individual attitudes towards both his family and other people surrounding him - while the family is more like a secondary set of characters whose archs help push the protagonist arch forward. Agreed?

_________________
With Best Regards,
Erlend

Mike Rinaldi · Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 8:20 pm Post subject:

Erland, if you study a cinematography book, you need to practice applying and observing what you are reading. Make sure you're watching good movies and reading quality scripts. I highly recommend studying Hitchcock. He was a master at drawing attention to the details that were important, whether you were conscious of it or not.

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The Slusho's gone? Why is all the Slusho gone?

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