ON SCRIPTS:
I'VE READ MY FAIR SHARE OF SCRIPTS FOR ANTHOLOGY PIECES AND GRAPHIC NOVELS. HERE'S SOME DO's & DON'T'S. MOSTLY QUIRKS THAT MAKE MY JOB WAY HARDER THAN IT HAS TO BE. IN A NUTSHELL, THE SCRIPT HAS TO HIT THAT SWEET SPOT BETWEEN A 'STAN LEE' style SCRIPT & AN ALAN MOORE OVERLOAD. IT'S FAIR TO GIVE ME SOME GENERAL DIRECTION BUT IF IT'S TOO LOOSE, I FEEL LIKE I'M DOING IT ALL. MY GOAL IS TO BE HELPFUL AND I HOPE THIS DOESN'T COME OFF TOO SNARKY.THE 'MOVIE' PITCH.
YOU ARE NOT PITCHING A MOVIE, YOU'RE PITCHING A COMIC. CUT IT OUT. I DON'T KNOW WHEN THIS STARTED, BUT EVERY OTHER SCRIPT I GET, THE WRITER FAILS TO SUMMARIZE THE STORY, INSTEAD HE or SHE REFERENCES A TV SHOW OR MOVIE TO DESCRIBE THEIR STORY. THE WORST IS WORKING IN ACTORS AS A WAY OF DECRIBING THE CHARACTER. ONE SCRIPT, I DIDN'T FIND OUT THE GIRL WAS A STRIPER TILL 30 PLUS PAGES INTO THE SCRIPT. ALL I GOT WAS AN 'ANNA FARIS' like DESCRIPTION DURING THE CHARACTER DESIGN PHASE. ANNA FARIS IS NOT WHO I WOULD CAST AS A STRIPER .
SCRIPTS W/ ART DIRECTION!
a.k.a. THE ALAN MOORE SCRIPT. WRITERS THAT FLAT OUT TELL YOU THE LAYOUT AND OR OVERLY DESCRIPTIVE. NO NO's ARE HIGHLIGHTED IN RED. IT'S COOL AND I PREFER A PANEL COUNT AT THE TOP OF EACH PAGE. IF IT'S NOT THERE I WIND UP GOING BACK AND COUNTING THE PANELS. THERE HAS TO BE SOME TRUST BETWEEN THE WRITER AND ARTIST. IF YOU HAVE TO HAND HOLD WITH YOUR ARTIST THEN WHY ARE YOU WORKING WITH HIM/HER? LAYOUT, CHARACTER DESIGN, AND 'SET DIRECTION' SHOULD BE MY ARENA. I CALL THIS THE ALAN MOORE SCRIPT BECAUSE HE REALLY DOES GO OVERBOARD WITH HIS SCRIPTS. DON'T BELIEVE ME, CHECK OUT EDDIE CAMPBELL's POSTS ON FROM HELL! BRILLIANT BOOK BUT THE TITLE'S SOMEWHAT APPROPRIATE WHEN EACH PANEL DESCRIPTION'S A LARGE PARAGRAPH.
EX.
Five panels.
1. This panel stretches the width of the page, occupying, say, the top third. The taxi speeds off. Alvin is on the sidewalk. He props himself up on his arms. Flowers are scattered around him. There are passersby on the sidewalk. They don't react.
CAP: NO ONE'S HELPING ME.
CAP: GUESS THAT'S NO SURPRISE.These three panels can occupy the middle third of the page, side by side:
2. Alvin drags his bike along the sidewalk. It's totally useless. In his other hand are his flowers. They're sad, with bent stems.
SCRIPTS W/ OVERLY LARGE DIALOGUE.
I HAVE A RULE WHEN WRITING DIALOGUE ON A PAGE. IT'S A GOOD RULE: NEVER GO OVER TWO SENTENCES IN ANY GIVEN WORD/THOUGHT BALLOON or CAPTION. KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET. COMICS READ BETTER WHEN YOU LET THE WORDS AND PICTURES DANCE TOGETHER ON THE PAGE. I ENJOY READING SOME OF THESE WRITERS THAT PLAY OFF LIKE FRUSTRATED PLAYWRIGHTS. IT COMES OFF MORE LIKE A SCREENPLAY THAN AN ACTUAL COMIC. NEITHER DOES GOING OVERBOARD WITH DIALOGUE WITHIN PANELS. TWO OR THREE BALLOONS IN A PANEL: GREAT. MORE THAN FOUR PANELS OR CAPTIONS: YOU'RE ON THE CUSP OF CROWDING OUT THE ART. MAYBE YOU SHOULD LOOK INTO WRITING PROSE OR PITCHING TO HOLLYWOOD. I'VE HAD MORE THAN ONE NIGHTMARE OF A SCRIPT WHERE WHOLE PARAGRAPHS OF DIALOGUE TAKE UP 3/4's OF THE PANEL. SOMETIMES OVERLAPPING INTO OTHER PANELS. THIS SUCKS WHEN YOU'RE BOOK IS IN THE MANGA FORMAT. A POPULAR FORMAT NOW A DAYS.
PANEL OVERLOAD!!
THIS WORKS INTO BEATS. THERE HAS TO BE A REEEEEEALY GOOD JUSTIFICATION FOR 13 PANELS ON A PAGE. THE ACTION BETTER BE FAST AND SILENT. THROW DIALOGUE IN THERE AND IT WILL BE LETTERED IN 4 POINT TYPE. IN MY BOOK, THE ONLY ONE ALLOWED TO DO THIS IS CHRIS WARE. A PANEL COUNT OF NINE BETTER HAVE MINIMAL DIALOGUE. BUT I'VE SEEN SCRIPTS THAT SPORT THE FEATURE ABOVE. IT'S A BAD SCENE. ASK YOURSELF: WHERE IS THE ROOM FOR ANY ART? IF YOU'RE UNSURE ON HOW MANY PANELS ON A PAGE, PLEASE TALK TO ME ABOUT IT. I HAD A WRITER THAT GAVE UP AND RE-WROTE AN ENTIRE GRAPHIC NOVEL: EVERY PAGE WITH FIVE PANELS. REGARDLESS OF PACING IN THE STORY. THIS IS BAD.
MAKE A DECISION
BE DECISIVE IN YOUR SCRIPT BUT OPEN TO INTERPRETATION. IF I HAVE THREE OPTIONS FOR ANY GIVEN PANEL IN DESCRIPTIONS OF ACTION OR SETTING. IT GET'S OLD. IT GETS REALLY OLD IF IT'S THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPT. THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE. DROVE ME ABSOLUTELY NUTS.
DO THE HARVEY PEKAR
HARVEY HAS A GREAT SYSTEM DOWN FOR SCRIPT WRITING. THUMBNAILING OUT YOUR OPUS IS A GOOD IDEA TO HELP THE PAGE MAKE SENCE. ASK YOURSELF: DOES THIS READ AS A PAGE OR AS PROSE? I REALIZE THAT IF YOU COULD DRAW THE PAGE OUT THEN WHY ARE YOU WORKING WITH ME. BUT IT REALLY WORKS. MY OWN STRIPS ARE WORKED OUT LIKE THIS. THUMBNAILED OUT WITH NOTES ON THE SIDE. HARVEY'S SCRIPTS ARE BASICALLY STICK FIGURES WITH WORD BALLOONS. I DON'T THINK ALOT OF WRITERS TAKE THE TIME TO DO THIS. BUT IT WOULD BE A HUGE BENEFIT TO THE SCRIPT PROCESS.
SCRIPT STRUCTURE
I'VE GIVEN THE OLD MARVEL STYLE SCRIPT A GO AND I DIDN'T LIKE IT. YOU COME OFF FEELING CHEATED AND THAT THE WRITER IS TAKING TOO BIG OF A CUT. ESPECIALLY CHEATED IN SITUATIONS WHERE ONLY THE WRITER GETS OPTION RIGHTS AND YOU DON'T. IT WAS ALSO ANNOYING WHEN I GOT HANDED A SCRIPT WHERE IF FELT THE WRITER, HALF-HEARTEDLY, BROKE UP HIS PROSE NOVEL INTO A COMIC SCRIPT. GENERALLY SCRIPTS SHOULD BREAK DOWN LIKE THIS...
EX.
PAGE ONE: 6 PANELS
ADDITIONAL NOTES; FIGHT'S NOT OVER YET.
PANEL 1; JONNY IS FALLING. PULLS OUT HIS GUN SHOOTING AS HE FALLS.
JONNY: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!
PANEL 2: ON THE ROOF. A STRAY BULLET HIT'S JENNA IN THE CHEEK. LOGAN RETURNS FIRE (USING JENNA AS A HUMAN SHEILD)
PANEL 3: JONNY GRABS ON TO A LAUNDRY LINE. INJURED, HE'S IN AGONY AS HE GRABS THE LINE.
SOME ADDITIONAL NOTES ARE FINE. IT GETS MY HEAD BACK INTO WHERE WE'RE AT IN THE SCENE. LIKE I SAID IT'S BEST TO KEEP THINGS SHORT AND SWEET. MAYBE SOME STAGE DIRECTION OR A NOTE THAT THE SCENE'S ENDING OR CHANGING.
