Trying to adapt a classic short story into a movie script.
Early days on the job, so I thought I should document the process.
Began by reading and re-reading the story, to try and get at its essence. Sort of finding out what was it that led me to the story in the first. In the case of this story, I’ve known it for a long time. Had lost touch with it and then found it again a few months back. So this process of ‘knowing’ the story was comparatively simple, or is it seems right now.
I like knowing the contours of the story, the visuals that mark it out, the buildings and landscape. So I mapped all that out, I now knew my opening and the ending. I kind of know the way the story is flowing too, the overall structure of the whole thing- which is very well worked out in the story, I only have to ensure I don’t destroy the story’s structure.
The difficult part is trying to match the precision and economy with which a master story teller opens his story. In a few sentences you can visualise the character. Now I’ve got match that with scenes that conjure up the same atmosphere and deliver the same sense of character to a modern day audience. That’s a big challenge, but then who said adaptation was easy!
Early days on the job, so I thought I should document the process.
Began by reading and re-reading the story, to try and get at its essence. Sort of finding out what was it that led me to the story in the first. In the case of this story, I’ve known it for a long time. Had lost touch with it and then found it again a few months back. So this process of ‘knowing’ the story was comparatively simple, or is it seems right now.
I like knowing the contours of the story, the visuals that mark it out, the buildings and landscape. So I mapped all that out, I now knew my opening and the ending. I kind of know the way the story is flowing too, the overall structure of the whole thing- which is very well worked out in the story, I only have to ensure I don’t destroy the story’s structure.
The difficult part is trying to match the precision and economy with which a master story teller opens his story. In a few sentences you can visualise the character. Now I’ve got match that with scenes that conjure up the same atmosphere and deliver the same sense of character to a modern day audience. That’s a big challenge, but then who said adaptation was easy!
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