"Moments" with Steve Coombes

Today we were given a session by Steve Coombes, a professional screenwriter for film and TV. Throughout this session we discussed many of the important things in how to write a screenplay that not only has a good story but a good plot line too. Steve showed us the first opening 9 minutes to 'ER' and we discussed how the pace of the opening created drama and also introduced to the spectator the main characters and part of their personality. I found watching and discussing this very helpful as it put all the pieces of the jigsaw of writing a screenplay into one moving sequence. It helped me to understand the "Show not Tell" when it comes to characters and also story, along with creating the theme of drama through the pace. "Show not Tell" is something that i am initially nervous about when we come to write our own screenplays however, after this session with Steve I am more confident in how to achieve this. 

 Another moment that Steve inspired me for writing my screenplay was the idea of "Juggling Balls". The balls are metaphors for the stories within a screenplay. I enjoyed Steve explaining how you've got to ignore anyone who tells you that you are "juggling too many balls" because as long as you can catch them by the end of the scene or screenplay, then you've achieved what you wanted to do. For example, the more interesting and complicated you made the story, as long as you ended the story, in any way you saw fit, the audience would always be hooked. I have attached a video of a rhythmic gymnast doing a ball routine. The way she performs with the ball reminds me a lot of this theory.



I'd say the main thing that has stuck with me from this session is talking about "Moments" within a screening. The moments that someone remembers the most from what they have just watched. "Moments" are something i had never actually thought about when either watching something or writing something, however i have always got a favourite part that i talk about with friends or family who are watching or reading it with me. This will be something that i definitely think about and brainstorm before writing my screenplay to ensure that i include moments in my 10 pages. 

 My favourite moment from 'Peter Pan' (2002, P.J Hogan)is when Tinkerbell is killed by Captain Hook's poison and the belief from the whole world saying "I do believe in fairies" brings her back to life. I first watched this film when i was about 7 and it has always been my favourite film. I think that it is this moment that has made it my favourite because of the emotional impact it had on me as a child. I can still remember the goosebumps it gave me, I still get them every time i watch it! I am going to aim to get a moment into my screenplay that will have the same emotional impact on my spectator, however for a different scenario. Here is a clip of my favourite moment from 'Peter Pan'.

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