WRIT2120 Lecture 9: Lecture 9 - Screen Adaptation
Lecture 9 – 10/5/18 – Screen Adaptations
There are many circumstances where an adapted screenplay will be forced according to the image
the producer has imaged rather than the image the original writer or the new screenplay wanted.
The source is the source, but the film has to work on its own. They are two different entities. The
film maker treats the novel as raw material and ultimately creates his own structure.
What is different
- Number of characters (must cut down)
- What are the important steps in the story? Plot-driven novels are the easiest to adapt,
literary novels are much harder – conceptual novels are harder to show visually
- Much fewer plot steps in a film
The key is finding the heart of the story and being true to the book but then finding the images to
make it work. Making it gain something when it appears on the screen.
To adapt a work, figure out the following elements:
- The world and setting of the story
- The 5-8 main characters of the story including the protagonist and antagonist, what their
respective back stories are and why/how they come together
- What 5 things about your main protagonist/antagonist are the most important things for an
audience to know
- The major core conflict of the story and how/why this occurs
- The major one or two subplots, and how they feed the main plot
- The most visual and most key scenes in the book that connect to how that conflict plays out
- Your 10-20 favourite lines of dialogue that drive the plot, are vital to the story or character
development, and that really shine
- The major overarching theme of the book
- Then, all the normal guidelines about structure & character still apply
- The film is a stand-alone, not a companion piece
- You have to be faithful to the intention of the source material
Understadig the through-lie
- WHO (protagonist) wants WHAT (goal)?
- WHO (antagonist) or WHAT (some other force) opposes him or her?
Simple technique is to read the source material, set it aside for a few weeks, then write down what
you remember because that is the most important part.
Further questions
- If you’re ollaoratig, are you ad the other perso akig the sae fil? Chek this every
step of the way
- What is the main story you want to tell? The answer will determine what your film will be.
- What sub-plots and secondary characters need to go? How much will you need to discard?
- What plots, themes and characters can blend into one another i.e can three different
characters simply become one if they are serving the same purpose?
- Try to come up with at least 10 key scenes or sequences and/or images that will typify this
film. This is where your Film Treatment learning become particularly important
- Be willing to reinvent
- Turn what is mental into physical; turn what is internal into external
- Turn what is word-based into images
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
There are many circumstances where an adapted screenplay will be forced according to the image the producer has imaged rather than the image the original writer or the new screenplay wanted. The source is the source, but the film has to work on its own. The film maker treats the novel as raw material and ultimately creates his own structure. Plot-driven novels are the easiest to adapt, literary novels are much harder conceptual novels are harder to show visually. Much fewer plot steps in a film. The key is finding the heart of the story and being true to the book but then finding the images to make it work. Making it gain something when it appears on the screen. To adapt a work, figure out the following elements: The 5-8 main characters of the story including the protagonist and antagonist, what their respective back stories are and why/how they come together.
