Two Things Screenwriters Should Know About Action Lines In A Screenplay - David Wappel

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#writing #screenwriting #screenplay

[@derrickedmond6461]

"The more specific you can be with your nouns and your verbs, the less adjectives and adverbs you'll have to use in your screenplay." Brilliant

[@Darfaultner]

Oh My God!!!!! Someone actually addressing action lines!!! I honestly think this is the first time I've seen anything addressing action lines. Why is this not seen as important? Thank you. Give us more, please :)

[@filmcourage]

David does an excellent job here. Thanks, hope this helps you with your writing Dante!

[@Darfaultner]

@@filmcourage I'd love to see a special specifically on action lines and dialogue, featuring all the screenwriters with their two cents worth on these skills.

[@CluelessIndianGamer]

@@Darfaultner Ikr. Finally someone addresses it. I used to succumb to the thought that I not able to write short and well descriptive action lines.

[@marlodk]

literally my weakness. I think and people have told me I’m good at structuring stories, characters, even dialogue but I always fall short in action lines. This video was gold.

[@AKN8V]

I’d love to read his screenplays. He sounds like a true craftsman with the visual word.

[@markbarrera6807]

what films?

[@muchsalmina1227]

Long Gone By 2019

[@EasyZee69]

As a writer and storyboard artist, what David talks about here is intuitive, but it's nice to hear it articulated this way. Like he says, if I read "An orchard sprawls across the valley." That tells me the first panel I am storyboarding will be a wide shot. However, if the script reads "An apple sits on a branch." That tells me I am starting the scene in a close up. Every storyboard artist knows this stuff, sometimes the writers don't, so this interview is super helpful.

[@GlennDavey]

yeah wow, this is something that i might have been picking up on subconsciously but it's great to hear a professional verbalise it

[@yassineanaddam]

Thank you guys 🙏🏻 Writing action is one of the things I'm struggling with now. I find it hard to choose the right words when writing an action line as the wrong word could easily lead your reader astray. One of the things that helped me is reading other action screenplays.

[@myNarrator]

Your issue is the opposite of mine. My dialogue is so-so but I’m constantly getting praise on my action lines (not bragging just telling the truth).

[@ShawnPowerz]

This guy is great. His dissection of sentence structure and use of visual storytelling is awesome. Learned something here.

[@DebiBrady]

Word economy is good for any kind of writing, unless you get paid per word :D Creating action with kinetic word choices compels readers to do some of the "work" in their own minds, which means they're more engaged in the storytelling. Food for thought, thanks!

[@theblacksmith0880]

Oh this was a good one! One major thing he said and I was told early in my career was "don't do the director's job ". Plus in those action lines is where I believe you start to develop your style. Like to wrirte SUPER IMPOSE or SUPER and how you will guide the reader into your vivid imagination.

[@alexispapageorgiou72]

Doing the directors job is one thing. Not loving your script enough to describe what you're seeing is something completely different. If I'm a director let's say, why the hell would I be interested to work with someone who doesn't have a vision for his script? I'm a visual storyteller as well as a screenwriter, or I think so at least, and I couldn't agree more with what David is saying. And his noun and verbs idea is a weak point I really have to work on in order to get my writing to the next level.

[@lonjohnson5161]

I'm eager to get home to see my current script. Any chance to make it better...

[@ZackBellGames]

This is one of the best videos on the channel. Very helpful, very insightful.

[@Dailydawahman]

I love how he gives us visual examples using just words, he is very talented 👏

[@AndreasFilms]

This is one of the most fascinating videos on this channel. I’ll never read a script the same way again.

[@danbee998]

Fantastic video. I read about his post yesterday. Thanks for the video as a follow-up to his Tweet.

[@filmcourage]

Cool, great that you saw the tweet. Lots of great conversation on that one.

[@danbee998]

@@filmcourage Absolutely!

[@Thenoobestgirl]

This is a really good tip. Thank you for sharing it with us!

[@geetanjaliiyer3728]

Excellent video full of substance. I really loved it, this is really an educational video. I wish if we get a complete documentary where various screen writers give us their insight on key elements such as "ACTION LINES. Thanks film courage.

[@alyasoliman1986]

This was super helpful! Thank you very much! :)

[@confuciussays4789]

I've got some great tips from David ... Great interview

[@flubby178]

I didn't know this channel write is something I always dream and I got the opportunity last year the country I live stay closed...anyway I'd like to thanks a lot, certainly I'll tell m friends about this channel and those were great tips. Looks like this channel have a lot of good things and it seems is very direct to movie, and well is something I always like, and I believe every writer would like to see your book in a movie. So again thanks a lot from someone who lives in Brazl for giving us those amazing opportunity. Here are not many people knows this channel as my country too.

[@drshadowsfilms6059]

Great advice!

[@Tracks777]

lovely video

[@concernedcitizen7385]

Probably THE most important instruction on action line craft you’ll ever need.

[@Andrea-nom]

This is awesome!

[@renatozanardo9648]

Jenna quickly climbs the flight of stairs with a toothy grin, knocks hastily twice on the bedroom door and enters without waiting for an answer. Her smile goes off seeing the agonizing boy lying on the ground. - Is it descriptive enough?

[@pong6377]

That's great. Instead if saying agonizing, I suggest that you describe what does agonizing looks like.

[@passdasalt]

Jenna sprints up the stairs, with a toothy grin, raps on the bedroom door and bursts in. Her smile vanishes upon seeing the writhing boy on the floor. Same thing with a few less words : )

[@marlonxxx2000]

loved his advice 🙏✨️

[@skiatauli]

This was brilliant.

[@MarianoRodriguez]

It´s a good guerrilla tactic to influence the director without writing camera shots (which will get immediately rejected by a director). But, the thing is also actors, they won´t smile because you write it, they want to come up with their own stuff. All in all, it makes for a better reading.

[@ianhtexas]

That’s a great point. 🍻 You can convey more about a character with good word choice and tie that into the characters growth as well. She could start off unconfident so she shuffles or saunters. By the end, she gains her confidence and now she struts. I use a thesaurus a lot when I write.

[@janetlowden5960]

Helpful

[@nforngala3144]

Learning. This channel is clearly underated.

[@jdee8407]

One of the better interviews on this channel.

[@filmcourage]

Cheers!

[@CoupleMoore]

In other words, tell the director what camera shots you want without telling the director what camera shots you want. I like it!

[@Wordsley]

These Rock!

[@htruh15]

Gotta love a guy who can coin his own terms

[@filmcourage]

What other tips do you have about action lines in a screenplay?

[@jameschizzy6333]

Mostly an outline first.

[@atallguynh]

I've heard that one should be able to read just the slug lines and action lines, skipping all dialog, and still be able to follow the gist of the story.

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Don't put in things that can't be seen. "As soon as Mark walked into the bar, the pungent smell of day-old beer hit him."

[@jameschizzy6333]

@@scottslotterbeck3796 The smell of an age-old beer stings Mark on his entrance.

[@thetiltedcat6167]

@@scottslotterbeck3796 Disagree. I think you should read the script for Good Will Hunting.

[@Shade23753]

Captain Obvious walks into a room with a toothy grin, his face falls when he sees that Stunning Insight is dead on the floor.

[@hamfistsman6267]

This is really useful.

[@filmcourage]

Glad it was helpful!

[@surreal-wanderer]

I keep hearing things like "write don't direct" and to write visually rather than to depend on dialogue, which to me feels so contradictory. Especially when I am imagining myself directing, at least for the current script I'm writing. But this idea of using anchoring nouns to suggest the visual you're trying to communicate makes it make so much more sense!

[@eddyjuillerat835]

It seems so obvious now I heard it. But all I have written is more 'flat-descriptive' than action writing. I understand why my readers could sometimes not engage in the screenplay. Great tips, as always in this channel.

[@bryanalcantarfilms]

I took an advanced screenwriting class in film school in college and other students wrote 3/4 of the page completely with action lines and only one line of dialogue. Can you have too many action lines? It was totally ridiculous.

[@ethantanti]

Depends on the story. Obviously, you should be breaking up the action lines. But a script like WALLE will have 25 pages of action lines before the first dialogue is spoken

[@funnyciscoleon]

Anyone else notice the rule of thirds grid on the background? 😂 obviously you guys used one of my folded up clothes. Except mine has more wrinkles.

[@renatozanardo9648]

I have a question, hoping you can answer me. As beyond dialogue, we must write the feeling that this scene must create. Is it acceptable that some indications are written before the action? For instance: (this place is sacred, intimate, highlight respect.) I'm thinking about the scene in Kill Bill 1, where Beatrix enters Hattori Hanzo's attic

[@NightmareCourtPictures]

Action lines should only describe the actions of the characters...but i like to add what's called a descriptor in the beginning of a scene to tell the reader where the scene is taking place...this is usually the place where i would want the director to insert an establishing shot. If there is no establishing shot, then the traditional CUT TO -- BLAH BLAH should be a good enough description of where it's taking place, without an establishing shot. I'm no professional so take my advise with a grain of salt. But this as a director has helped me establish the story to actors or anyone else who is reading my scripts.

[@hmmreally4029]

A question...can I have multiple action lines even in areas where no scene heading precedes it?

[@road2redemption259]

I think this degree of detail or nuance in a script is what the studios demand. Hollywood readers, producers and execs don't have the inclination to internalize or imagine the world of the screenplay. Also, they don't want directors to impose their vision on the script. The studios want it all on the page because filmmaking in Hollywood is ultimately a medium of expression for executives. I think these types of screenplays take a literary approach and read like short novels. In Europe, traditionally, they write in master scenes with brevity, which allows the director to bring nuance or subjectivity, hence the traditional European notion of the auteur director who stamps his identity on the film.

[@juju10683]

I film it/direct it myself so I just write how it will be shown

[@garyfrazier7738]

The slug line is already going tell you the location...such as the room.

[@KEP1983]

You're missing the point. The way you describe what's happening puts completely different images in the readers mind. Traditional (realistic) painters and illustrators have known this for years. For instance, "a woman with a subtle smile clasps her hands in front of a Mediterranean landscape" vs "a joyful woman stands within a landscape of gently rolling hills." One describes a portrait, medium shot; the other describes a landscape with a figure in it, likely a wide shot.

[@BuntyKumar-vq6ek]

Plot sample

[@luisvelez8096]

Im an actor. Is this like actioning a line/scene?

[@TyWooly42]

Interspersed between the dialogue lines, action lines say what the camera is seeing or hearing, or what the characters are doing, as the dialogue is delivered.

[@frenstcht]

Fewer words. Words are a count noun. He spewed less verbiage by using fewer words.

[@justanameonyourscreen5954]

I'm not a professional...but I write like this...wasn't sure if anyone would understand what I was trying to do...

[@GlennDavey]

Iron your backdrops, people

[@RichRayBeatsnFilms]

His term makes a lot of sense.

[@seekingthemiddleway4048]

It's not the first time I've heard an American say "mischievious". An extra i at the end and the stress on the second syllable. Is this a thing over there? I know....it's irrelevant. I'm a pedant.

[@tzeege]

"The correct spelling today is mischievous, although many people erroneously spell it mischievious. This misspelling is prompted by a variant pronunciation with stress on the second syllable, which was a valid alternative until around 1700, but is now considered non-standard."

[@RoddyTullenz]

It's not, "They wear a ten-gallon hat", it's "They tip their ten-gallon hat." Describe nouns with actions.

[@seyoumeigziabeher9348]

I swear western society has taken the art of storytelling and made it so freaking over complicated.

[@scottslotterbeck3796]

Sorry, but it's "fewer words", not "less words".

[@benjaminnewton8859]

Language is as language does, yo. Words change. Else we'd never have learned to use words at all! "Ugh" would have never meant "fire pit", and "bah!" would have never meant "shiny thing"!

[@equisefeka]

Sorry, but it's called descriptive linguistics.