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Showing reviews 11-15 of 94
 Essential Reading for Screenwriters June 2, 2008
S. P. Doran (Japan)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Some people are able to do creative things inherently, others are not. For those who are not naturally capable of writing screenplays, those who can't quite wrap their heads around what goes into a screenplay or how to even begin writing, then this is the book for you. If you're serious about learning how to become a screenwriter and don't quite know where to begin this book is the perfect start. Field lays out everything from the beginning of finding an idea of what to write, to turning that idea into a story, to coming up with solid and unforgettable characters to put into your story. "The Foundations of Screenwriting" could not be a more appropriate title for this book because Field covers exactly what the title promises. You WILL walk away from this book knowing how to write a good screenplay.
I'm Ready for Hollywood May 18, 2008
Cynthia Lyles Scott (Fort Lauderdale, FL United States)
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
Syd Field's guide to writing screenplays was so useful to me during my screenplay writing class in college, that I recommended a good friend of mine who expressed an interest in starting screenwriting, that she should buy her own book, since I was not giving up mine! Good job, Mr. Field.
The Pioneering Book on Screenwriting October 29, 2007
C. J. Singh (Berkeley, California, USA)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This review focuses on the latest edition of Syd Field's SCREENPLAY: The Foundations of Screenwriting, published in December 2005.
Syd Field published the book in 1979, the first book ever on the subject. In his memoir, GOING TO THE MOVIES -- A Personal Journey Through Four Decades of Modern Film, published in 2001, he says: "There were three printings within the first six months of publication, and it wasn't long before many of the major college and universities across the land were using it as a text (p 239)."
Introducing the SCREENPLAY book, Syd Field writes, "This not a `how-to' book....I call it a 'what-to' book, meaning if you have an idea for a screenplay, and you don't know what to do or how to do it, I can show you (p 8)." Very well, let's see.
Write down your answers to the following three questions. First: What is your story about? Who is the main character? What is the dramatic situation? ("You've got approximately ten pages of screenplay or approximately ten minutes of screen-time to establish this.") Second: What is your screenplay's ending? Third: What is your screenplay's inciting incident? -- which he defines as the incident "that sets the story in motion; it is the first visual representation of the key incident, what the story is about, and draws the main character into the story line (p 129)."
The major structuring form, Syd Field emphasizes is the classic three-act paradigm: Act I, set-up; Act II, confrontation; Act III, resolution. The typical length of a screenplay is 120 pages and the three acts take 30, 60, and 30 pages. Next, he introduces the concept of plot points: How do you get from one act to the next? "The answer is to create a Plot Point at the end of both Act I and Act II. He defines plot point as any incident, episode, or event that hooks into the action and spins it around in another direction (p26)."
Does this paradigm hold for most, if not all, screenplays? Yes, says Syd Field, and tries to establish it by analyzing the structures of linear screenplays such as CASABLANCA and THELMA & LOUISE as well as nonlinear screenplays such as THE HOURS and THE ENGLISH PATIENT.
In the companion book, THE SCREENWRITER'S WORKBOOK, Syd Field adds three plot points to the basic three-act, two plot-points paradigm. The new plot-points are the midpoint at about page 60 and pinches at about pages 45 and 75 in the standard 120-page screenplay. These concepts of midpoint and pinches certainly enhance the form guidelines presented in the earlier book. One of the strengths of Syd Field's books is his focusing on form, not on content, which is up to the creative writer. Form, of course, interactively affects content; nonetheless, Field wisely refrains from micromanaging techniques of content generation.
I must say the three Syd Field's books I've read so far could certainly use consultations with a professional copyeditor, a copyeditor who'd excise his annoyingly repetitive pedagogy. According to social psychologists, repetitive communication is the behavioral tendency in teachers caused by the practice of their profession ("deformation professionelle" carry-over to their communication pattern). Syd Field's penchant for repetition probably arose from leading numerous lectures and workshops? The three books, totalling over one-thousand pages, could be easily edited into an excellent 450-page book.
-- C J Singh
The Bible September 29, 2007
Josh Dobson (Los Angeles, CA USA)
5 out of 9 found this review helpful
If it didn't restate the same elements over and over I think this book would be about thirty pages long, but that aside it really is a fantastic resource. Something has to be said for those teachers who explain things in such a way that you believe you knew it all along (even though you didn't). I believe this is a must for not only screenwriters, but filmmakers in general. The basics can only make us stronger.
 Hollywood of the 80s August 17, 2007
Robert Baumgardner
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
I liked this book. Coupled with Syd Field's Screenwriter's Workbook, I managed to write a first draft of a screenplay. I've never been able to complete a play or screenplay before reading these books! This book gives you the background of screenplays and writing, plus his theory of what makes a good Hollywood screenplay. The workbook gives you a step by step process of writing one.
One drawback is that this book was written in the 80's. Sometimes it sounds so dated. The other drawback is it only explains one type of screenplay, the standard Hollywood 3-act narrative.
Overall, this book was a great help in writing a readable well structured screenplay.
Showing reviews 11-15 of 94
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