Javid Rezai:
I have some sort of a complete picture,but not a complete one. No, that makes no sense.I'm Javid Rezai and I'm a screenwriter.
In 2017,I started writing my first TV pilot,which was a kid's adventure comedy,and I've been writingever since.
Inspiration for my own shows come and go.I constantly have to think of differentways to keep my creativity going,but the main thing that fuelsmy creativity, I find, is music.So I'm constantly listening to music.It's always in the background.
And this looks likea photo of Little Red Riding Hood.It's been told time and time again, soI think it would be really goodto sort of change the story upand make it very modernand for a newer, younger audience.I like the idea of making Little RedRiding Hoodnot so naive.Maybe she's a brave and recklessyoung girl.Maybe the hood has magical powers.Or maybe she's in the woods, looking fora lost friend or searching for treasure.
At this point, I'm sort of justthrowing out as many ideas as possible.That's really what we do in writers' rooms.Everybody has different ideasand we just throw them out there.It might not seem related at the time,but sometimes you could hit the jackpot,and these different ideas can piecetogether to create the perfect story.
I'm goingto get started writing on the script.The first thingI'll think about is setting,where am I going to set this story?I don't have to beincredibly detailed with it,but I do think having some sort of detailand your unique twist on thingswhen writing about the settingis still very important.
The next thing is dialogue.I think dialogue is one of thosetricky things.It can sometimes come off a bitrobotic on the page.So how do you make dialoguesound realistic?What I like to do is think abouthow I would talk to my friends.In the case of Little Red Riding Hood,it might not be your everyday reality,but she's still a girl who talkslike everybody else.
So put yourself in her situation.How would you interact with thewolf or any other character?Make sure everything is formattedcorrectly.Make sure there is no little mistakeslike the wrong characterin the wrong place,once I've checked through it a few times,I like to send it to peopleI trust within the industry,hear their feedback,take some notes on their ideasand then go back to my original scriptand put those notes to good use.You always start the scene with either EXT.which is exterior or INT.which is interior, and that tells youif you're insideor outside. Then the location.So in this case,an abandoned cottage or the forest,and then the time of day: night or day.This is just very clear for whoever'sreading your script exactlywhere they are in the scene.I'm really happy with that.So let's see how it sounds.
Exterior, abandoned cottage, night.We follow a spectacled ten-year-old girl,Red, in a red coat.Lightning flashes to reveal a wolfwith sharp fangs and a vicious smile.
RED: 'What big teeth you have.'
WOLF: 'All the better to eat you with.'
Hold on Wolf's face getting closer.Suddenly,we hear a monstrous roar from Red.Red karate chops and raises her eyebrowconfidently.
'Not today, Wolf.'
The wolf freezes and gulps.Hard cut to black.
Keep writing as much as you can,and the more you write,the more you'll find your own voiceand what works for you.Be yourselfbecause your unique voiceis the only onethat cantell that story in thatspecific way.
Video summary
Javid Rezai, a British-Iranian-Italian screenwriter, offers insight into his creative process and how a collaborative writer's room works.
He talks about how he always has music on in the background when writing, as it helps fuel his creativity.
Javid also talks about working in a 'writer's room', where everybody will throw ideas out until something works and then they'll piece it all together to create a story.
This short film is from the BBC Teach series Inside the Writer's Mind, and is supported by a free classroom resource from First Story.
Teacher Notes
Before viewing
Clarify possible unfamiliar terminology: Screenwriter, Treatment, Dialogue, Pilot.
Recap on plays read or studied in class and how these are laid out with stage directions embedded.
During viewing
Ensure students have knowledge of Little Red Riding Hood as either a fairy tale or moral/cautionary story.
After viewing
Use character images such as, historical, famous, fictional, legendary, etc. Students select two and write an interaction between them.
Show a short clip from a TV show with no sound. Students could try writing potential dialogue.
Give students a partial script to perform in pairs or groups. Students can write their own ending to the script.
Choose a novel/play they are studying; create a scripted dialogue between two characters that is beyond the plot. For example, Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff discussing their husbands or Miss Havisham and Magwitch having tea.
This short film will be relevant for teaching English language at KS3 and KS4 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and National 4 and 5 in Scotland.
Topics covered include character and plot development in narrative writing; making links to word meaning, effective punctuation and narrative structure; understanding characterisation, narrative planning, story structure, editing, proofreading and redrafting.
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