What we cannot see in Sound of Metal and Her Smell: Interplays of awareness, perspective and language in the screenplay text | Intellect Skip to content
1981
  1. Home
  2. A-Z Publications
  3. Journal of Screenwriting
  4. Volume 13, Issue 3
  5. Article
Textual Perspectives: Screenwriting Styles, Modes and Languages
  • ISSN: 1759-7137
  • E-ISSN: 1759-7145

Abstract

A common belief in screenwriting practice dictates that a screenplay should only include what can be heard and seen, keep emotions at bay and avoid literary inflections. Perspective, however, only becomes visible with the limitations of its visibility. What cannot be seen can be as meaningful for the story as what can. In considering the collaborative translation process from what is written to what is filmed, I will investigate the communicative effects of using different storytelling languages in the writing of perspective. Establishing the interrelationship of perspective, awareness and languages, this article will analyse examples from two screenplays, and , to explore the different impacts of writing styles on awareness and perspective in telling the screen story. I will argue that processes of individual and collaborative awareness play a crucial role in screenwriting to communicate outside and inside perspectives of character.

© 2022 Intellect Ltd
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/josc_00101_1
2022-12-02
2024-04-19
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Abes, C.. ( 2015;), ‘ From “what can be seen and heard” to “what can be sensed and thought”: Almodovar’s moving textuality in the screenplay of Todo sobre mi madre/All about my Mother (1999). ’, Journal of Screenwriting, 6:1, pp. 9–22.
     [Google Scholar]
  2. Al Subahi, A.. ( 2012;), ‘ Mise-en-page: An introduction to screenplay style and form. ’, master’s thesis, Lund:: University of Lund.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Batty, C.. ( 2010;), ‘ The physical and emotional threads of the archetypal hero’s journey: Proposing common terminology and re-examining the narrative model. ’, Journal of Screenwriting, 1:2, pp. 291–308.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Baughman, C., and Rush, J.. ( 1997;), ‘ Language as narrative voice: The poetics of the highly inflected screenplay. ’, Journal of Film and Video, 49:3, pp. 28–37.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Böhm, C., and Batty, C.. ( 2022;), ‘ Evoking character perspective in screenplay directions: A multilingual approach to writing the “big print”. ’, New Writing, 19:3, pp. 351–72, https://doi.org/10.1080/14790726.2021.1979591. Accessed 6 January 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Chamberlain, D.. ( 2016), Narrative Perspective in Fiction: A Phenomenological Meditation of Reader, Text, and World, Toronto:: University of Toronto Press;, https://doi.org/10.3138/9781442677531. Accessed 20 December 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Corley, E. L., and Megel, J.. ( 2014;), ‘ White space: An approach to the practice of screenwriting as poetry. ’, in C. Batty. (ed.), Screenwriters and Screenwriting: Putting Practice into Context, Basingstoke:: Palgrave Macmillan;, pp. 11–29.
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Dancyger, K., and Rush, J.. ( 2007), Alternative Screenwriting: Successfully Breaking the Rules, , 4th ed.., Amsterdam and Boston, MA:: Focal Press;.
     [Google Scholar]
  9. Ezer, H.. ( 2016), Sense and Sensitivity: Imagination and Praxis: Criticality and Creativity in Education and Educational Research, Rotterdam:: Sense Publishers;, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-241-7_9. Accessed 10 September 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Ganz, A.. ( 2010;), ‘ Time, space and movement: Screenplay as oral narrative. ’, Journal of Screenwriting, 1:2, pp. 225–36, https://doi.org/10.1386/josc.1.2.225/1. Accessed 10 February 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Harper, G.. ( 2014;), ‘ Foreword. ’, in C. Batty. (ed.), Screenwriters and Screenwriting: Putting Practice into Context, Basingstoke:: Palgrave Macmillan;, pp. viii–xii.
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Harper, G.. ( 2019;), ‘ Structuring empathy. ’, New Writing, 16:2, p. 127, https://doi.org/10.1080/14790726.2019.1601956.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Her Smell ( 2018), Alex Ross Perry (wr.), Alex Ross Perry (dir.), USA:: Bow and Arrow;.
  14. Igelström, A.. ( 2014;), ‘ Narration in the screenplay text. ’, Ph.D. thesis, Bangor:: University of Bangor.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Igelström, A.. ( 2016;), ‘ Communication and the various voices of the screenplay text. ’, Journal of Screenwriting, 4:3, pp. 43–56, https://doi.org/10.1386/josc.4.1.43_1. Accessed 20 February 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Maras, S.. ( 2017;), ‘ Towards a critique of universalism in screenwriting criticism. ’, Journal of Screenwriting, 8:2, pp. 177–96, https://doi.org/10.1386/josc.8.2.177_1. Accessed 6 June 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Marder, D., and Marder, A.. (n.d.), Sound of Metal, screenplay, USA and Belgium:: Caviar and Flat 7 Productions;, https://variety.com/2021/film/news/sound-of-metal-screenplay-riz-ahmed-1234891655/. Accessed 24 September 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Millard, K.. ( 2013;), ‘ Writing with light: The screenplay and photography. ’, Journal of Screenwriting, 4:2, pp. 123–34.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Nash, M.. ( 2014;), ‘ Developing the screenplay: Stepping into the unknown. ’, in C. Batty. (ed.), Screenwriters and Screenwriting: Putting Practice into Context, Basingstoke:: Palgrave Macmillan;, pp. 97–112.
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Niederhoff, B.. ( 2013;), ‘ Perspective – Point of view, paragraph 5. ’, in P. Hühn,, J. Pier,, W. Schmid, and J. Schönert. (eds), The Living Handbook of Narratology, Hamburg:: Hamburg University;, https://www-archiv.fdm.uni-hamburg.de/lhn/node/26.html. Accessed 28 September 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  21. Pasolini, P. P.. ( 1986;), ‘ The screenplay as a “structure that wants to be another structure”. ’, American Journal of Semiotics, 4:1&2, pp. 53–72.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Perry, A. R.. ( 2018), Her Smell, screenplay, USA:: Bow+Arrow Entertainment Faliro House;, https://theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/HER-SMELL-Screenplay.pdf. Accessed 10 September 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  23. Price, S.. ( 2010;), ‘ Character in the screenplay text. ’, in J. Nelmes. (ed.), Analysing the Screenplay, London:: Routledge;, pp. 201–16, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203843383. Accessed 12 December 2020.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Rosenblatt, L. M.. ( 1988), Writing and Reading: The Transactional Theory, technical report no. 416, Urbana, IL:: University of Illinois;.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Schepp, L.. ( 2021;), ‘ Cinematic counterpoint: What screenwriters can learn from composers. ’, Screenwriting Research Network 1st Research Seminar Series Online – SRN 2021, 31 August–17 September, https://srn2020.com/schepp-cinematic-counterpoint-what-screenwriters-can-learn-from-composers/. Accessed 11 September 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Sound of Metal ( 2019), Darius and Abraham Marder (wrs), Darius Marder (dir.), USA:: Caviar;.
  27. Sternberg, C.. ( 1997), Written for the Screen: The Maerican Motion Picture as Screenplay Text, Tübingen:: Stauffenburg Verlag;.
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Taylor, S. L.. ( 2016;), ‘ Funny/peculiar: A creative practice approach to flipping perspectives for female protagonists in comedy screenwriting. ’, Ph.D. thesis, Melbourne:: RMIT.
     [Google Scholar]
  29. Tieber, C., and Wintersteller, C.. ( 2020;), ‘ Writing with music: Self-reflexivity in the screenplays of Walter Reisch. ’, Arts, 9:1, pp. 1–13, https://doi.org/10.3390/arts9010013. Accessed 11 September 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  30. Tremblay, G.. ( 2021;), ‘ The experience of reading screenplays as a scenaristic practice: Pushing the boundaries of screenwriting studies. ’, Screenwriting Research Network 1st Research Seminar Series Online – SRN 2021, 31 August–21 September, https://srn2020.com/tremblay-the-experience-of-reading-screenplays-as-a-scenaristic-practice-pushing-the-boundaries-of-screenwriting-studies/. Accessed 4 October 2021.
     [Google Scholar]
  31. Böhm, Carina. ( 2022;), ‘ What we cannot see in Sound of Metal and Her Smell: Interplays of awareness, perspective and language in the screenplay text. ’, Journal of Screenwriting, 13:3, pp. 283–98, https://doi.org/10.1386/josc_00101_1
     [Google Scholar]
http://instance.metastore.ingenta.com/content/journals/10.1386/josc_00101_1
Loading
  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): character; Her Smell; screen directions; screenplay; Sound of Metal; we-formulations; ‘big print’

Most Cited Most Cited RSS feed

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error