Posted by Hamster69 at fennec.ups.edu on March 28, 1998 at 16:52:48:
In Reply to: Screenwriting Q for Kevin, Vincent, or anyone else who cares to reply posted by Sandrene on March 28, 1998 at 16:23:16:
: Sorry for such a long subject. But anyway, here are my questions:
: 1) How long does it usually take for you to write the first draft, after you get the original idea?
Depends on how much time and effort you put into the draft. If you work day in and day out, plugging away at the thing, it will obviously take less time. Mine took about three weeks for the first draft.
: 2) How many revisions do you usually make before you actually start production?
Uh, still haven't started production, but the script has gone through two revisions so far. Mostly minor tweakings and puffing up on the subtle shit that needs puffing up.
: 3) Since you direct your own films, do you still use the standard screenwriting format, or do you adapt it to whatever works best for you?
Can't answer yet, but when I direct my own film I hope to use whichever format works best. At this point, I have a modified screenwriting format that plays almost more along a dialogued novel. It's one of those things that will be worked on during the final revision.
: 4) Do you often find yourself changing the script after rehearsals because it didn't sound the way you thought it would?
In my opinion, if you find the right actors for the role then the dialogue will work because those actors will be as you saw them when you wrote the characters. Once again, minor tweaking may be involved, but that's more along the lines of the early revisions. I'm not against changing dialogue after a reading, but it is rare so far.
: Thanx.
No, thank you.