MasterClass with Syd Field Part 1
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Ronnie Screwala recently organized an exclusive 2 day intensive screenwriting workshop with Syd Field, ‘the most sought after screenwriting guru in the world’ (Hollywood Reporter) and “the guru of all screenwriters” (CNN) for some of the important writers, directors and actors in Hindi films associated with Utv. The guest list for this entry-by-invitation-only event included stalwarts like Kamal Hassan, Govind Nihilani, Shabana Azmi, Tarachand Barjatya and Ramesh Sippy, current hotshots like Rajkumar Hirani, Farhan Akhtar, Vishal Bharadwaj, Rakeysh Mehra, Sanjay Gadhvi (Lol! Cult Filmmaker!) , Aneez Bazmee (No Entry) , Saurabh Shukla, kamlesh Pandey (Story – RDB) , Saket Chaudhry (Pyar Ke Side Effects) and Sanjay Gupta (Speechless!). Upcoming writer- directors Tigmanshu Dhulia and Aatish Kapadia and gifted actors like Atul Kulkarni and Pawan Malhotra along with columnists like Mayank shekhar and Nandita Puri were also present in the audience of a modest 150 people (approx.).
I had my apprehensions about posting this one, as the 18 hour workshop will require 5-6 long posts and besides, the workshop had nothing new to offer for those who have already read the Syd Field books. But Oz and Kartik insisted that I write the post since it will be helpful for new and upcoming writers who are not acquainted with Field and his techniques. So for those who have already read his books, you may skip this one without hesitation. For those who feel Syd Field is crap and methodical and blocks your writing, please forward your hate mails to him, not me. I personally feel that one should know the rules before bending them and thus every fresher should at least listen to what Syd Field has to say; to follow his path or not is an entirely personal choice. So here we go….
About Syd Field: Syd Field is an American writer who has become one of the most popular screenwriting gurus in the movie industry. Field has written several books on the subject of screenwriting, and occasionally he holds workshops that help aspiring screenwriters to produce the kinds of screenplays that will sell in Hollywood. Field’s ideas about what makes a good script have become very influential on Hollywood producers, who have increasingly used his strictures as guidelines to whether or not a proposed screenplay has potential. He is a creative screenwriting consultant to the governments of Austria, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Norway, and has collaborated with such noted filmmakers as Alphonso Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien), James L. Brooks (Broadcast News, As Good As It Gets), Luis Mandoki (When A Man Loves A Woman), Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields, The Mission), and Tony Kaye (American History X). Some of Field’s former students include Anna Hamilton Phelan (Mask, Gorillas in the Mist), John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood, Poetic Justice), Randi Mayem Singer (Mrs. Doubtfire), Laura Esquival (Like Water For Chocalate), Michael Kane (The Color of Money), and Kevin Williamson (Scream, Scream 2& 3).
Workshop Day 1
Introduction
Syd Field (SF): (Gives a brief intro about his background).
• I am a student of cinema. I was a writer and my scripts never got filmed.
• Then I read 2000 screenplays and 100 novels in 2 years. I realized that out of these screenplays, the good ones had certain common characteristics which the weak ones lacked.
• Thus I became a student and the audience became the teacher. They asked and I answered.
• An Indian film gets an international response due to its universal appeal.
• My presentation is in accordance with Hollywood and so it may be different from hindi films.
• Screenwriting is like a big cooking dish. Throw in the different ingredients you want and pick out the ones you don’t want. Anything that can express yourself correctly.
• Film is a fusion of art, science and technology
• Screenwriting in Hollywood is currently in 2 stages – Evolution and Revolution.
• One should be aware of science and technology to create a better screenplay. For example; In Casablanca, the flashbacks of the past love affair were just inserted in a linear narrative. Whereas in a modern film like Bourne Supremacy, flashes and fragments were mixed in a disintegrated manner with the present which is more effective.
• So technology should be used to expand the experience of movie going reality.
• We want to make the reality of films more real. For this, we can isolate the tools of the craft.
• My intention for this workshop is to expand, enlarge and broaden your knowledge, comprehension and technique of the screenplay and the art and craft of screenwriting.
What is screenplay?
• You have to learn the distinctions between the expressions of the written word which are novel, play and screenplays.
• A novel is the mindscape of the dramatic action and character. We feel what the character feels and we think what the character thinks.
• A play takes place on a stage. Actors talk about their feelings. A play takes place with the language of dramatic action.
• A screenplay is a story told with pictures in dialogue and description, and placed within the context of dramatic structure. It is behaviour.
• A simple scene in a film can give out the entire background. For eg: the photograph scene in ‘Ordinary people’ is a very simple one but says a lot about the background of the characters and what has transpired in the past.
• A scene either moves a story forward or reveals information about the character.
• Aspiring and new screenwriters clearly write in their scripts what their characters feel and think. That is not screenplay but a play.
That’s it for now. Will continue with the structure of a screenplay in the next post. Hope this is useful.
Tags: Teaching Film-making
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= Thanks for this Chaitanya… even though many may have read Syd Field, the goal here was to expose his works to readers who haven’t read his books or aren’t aware of him so far… Thanks for taking this post into neat details!
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Hey Chaitanya…Itne Bade bade logon ke saath Uthna Baithna ho raha hain..sahi baap…thanks a lot for the coverage…and yes we want an exhaustive coverage…no bahane baazi here,….nahi tho…b-(..lol
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Chaitanya – thanks for the post.
Other than Syd Field, there are a few who are worth reading – Aristotle and David Mamet.
It would be great to know the invitees take on the workshop and their experiences, sources and inspirations for Screenwriting.
Does every Indian screenwriter read Syd Field? What do the others do? Where do they get their education from(if not from Film Institutes)?
Looking forward to your next post.
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Chaitanya a good post concering the fundamentals of film making. Thoughtful for students like me:)waiting for the next.
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In times they had written about the workshop and listed few celebrities who walked off aftersometime:)
Some found the first day too basic.
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Hi,have read most of the books by syd field and some of the things he says has a lot of common sense in it. like the 3 act structure.plot points etc etc.i tried my best to attend the workshop but i was too late. was hunting for the passes with only one day to go for the workshop.thanx for the post.waiting for more.
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Thanks,
Loking forward for next post.:)
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oh .. thats a good one chaitanya ….
eagerly awaiting day 2 :-)
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Thanks, Chaitanya – for taking time to share this one, in detail. And thanks to Oz and KK – the forces behind the post. Looking forward to reading the next post.
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Chaitanya, useful overview, thanks. I am one of those who doesn’t fall into the Syd Field camp, for all the obvious reasons
I told Oz that I am going to share some thoughts on a workshop I attend, but considering all the experience floating around on PFC, not sure it makes sense…
http://tatvam.com/blog/2007/01/12/writing-workshop-an-overview/
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When I read about Field, I wondered if he was the stereotype-s’play-guru being mocked in ‘Adaptation’ by Charlie Kaufman?
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No Ramanand his name is Robert McKee. Actually Charlie Kaufman is his student and he was not mocking him but paying a tribute to him. I attended Robert McKee’s three day intense workshop in Toronto, Canada and was completely blown away by his knowledge of the universe and what a writer needs to do to understad the craft of screenplay writing. Many big Hollywood writers have attended his workshop and call his workshop STORY the best screenplay writing workshop. Many who attended his workshop have produced many films and a lot of them are also producing great television. His workshop is not only for aspiring writers it is attended by directors, editors, producers and anyone who is interested in the art of cinema,
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You can look for his book called STORY which is his entire workshop that he gives.
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Thanks Vipin – need to go back and watch Adaptation more closely :-)
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Chaitanya: great to see coverage of such a workshop. Keep it going all the way through!
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@Randramble: See part 2 and 3 as well if you liked this one.
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