Public Domain & Writing a Screenplay
- Thread starter Semiazas
- Start date
If a novel or play is truly in the public domain then that
means that anyone can adapt it to any medium. So that
means that you can write a script based on Shelley's Frankenstein
and all of Shakespeare's plays. You can even shoot Shakespeare's
plays word for word.
Awesome.
Where can I find a list of novels that are public domain?
My first movie was an adaptation of a PD H.P. Lovecraft story. I think an adaptation isn't a bad way to go for a first time screenwriter. In a good story the three act structure is already there for you. You're just translating it to another medium.
Is it online or somewhere I can watch it? I do love me some Lovecraft.
Yeah, I was thinking of doing a Shakspeare adaptation, as a first feature anyway, I'll probably do some shorts too (possibly Othello or Hamlet) but I'm wondering if it's a good idea to just do it word for word?
The first "serious" films I made were adaptations
of stage plays. Few actors, one location. I feel that
really helped me as a director. I chose plays not in
the public domain so I could do anything with them.
A good thing in a way because they weren't very
good, but I sure learned a lot about directing actors.
Doing a scene from Othello or Hamlet seems like a
good way to learn.
of stage plays. Few actors, one location. I feel that
really helped me as a director. I chose plays not in
the public domain so I could do anything with them.
A good thing in a way because they weren't very
good, but I sure learned a lot about directing actors.
Doing a scene from Othello or Hamlet seems like a
good way to learn.
Film is here
http://www.vimeo.com/11242311
Not necessarily. It's the story. Know the story, know what it means to you, then tell it. They are different mediums. Prose (or a stage play) is WAY too "Talkie" compared to film. In film the best rule is show me, don't tell me. Characters actions, posture, expression, etc... can replace dialogue (or a character's internal monologue). I did the film above as semi "noir" film, so voice over was an ok element to use a little. This movie is still a little "talkie" though, it was my first.
http://www.vimeo.com/11242311
Not necessarily. It's the story. Know the story, know what it means to you, then tell it. They are different mediums. Prose (or a stage play) is WAY too "Talkie" compared to film. In film the best rule is show me, don't tell me. Characters actions, posture, expression, etc... can replace dialogue (or a character's internal monologue). I did the film above as semi "noir" film, so voice over was an ok element to use a little. This movie is still a little "talkie" though, it was my first.
Too "talkie in films"?
By that, do you mean too much bland dialouge and just people talking or something along those lines?
I mean the tendency to have too much dialogue in a film. Instead of having a character tell you how they feel, they should SHOW you through their actions how they feel. Very easy, especially for a beginning filmmaker, to have the characters jibber jabber at each other too much. If it works, like Clerks or Pulp Fiction because the dialgue is brilliant, that's one thing, a stylistic choice, but not every movie is meant to be that way. The more you can convey without words the better usually.
I do love Pulp Fiction hehe.
So, it's more about using less dialouge and having the actors show feeling through expression, gesture etc.? But not neccessarily an overly minimalist approach.
Kind of... How much is too much, or really this whole topic is subjective. My point was, in prose (like a short story or a novel) you usually have the narrator blabbering on inside his head. How he feels, what he's thinking, etc... you can't have him verbalize all that in a film. In a stage play, without the ability to communicate with angles, shot choice, facial closeups, all the techniques a filmmaker has, more of the story is usually carried by the words they speak.
To get slightly more to the original topic, does anyone know if the following books are in public domain:
-The Phantom of the Opera (by Gaston Leroux)
-The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wylde)
-Any of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels (preferably The Great Gatsby)
Just because they're things I'd quite like to try adapting at one point or another
Cheers
-The Phantom of the Opera (by Gaston Leroux)
-The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wylde)
-Any of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novels (preferably The Great Gatsby)
Just because they're things I'd quite like to try adapting at one point or another
Cheers