Screenwriting Tricks of the Trade
by William Froug
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Book Summary Information
Author: William FrougEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1992-09
ISBN: 1879505134
Number of pages: 156
Publisher: Silman-James Press
Book Reviews of Screenwriting Tricks of the Trade
Book Review: The Vice President Of How To Screenwritng Books!
Summary: 5 Stars
Screenwriting Tricks of The Trade by William Froug
Froug a well known and more importantly and well respected teacher of screenwriting uses his years of experience and the same clever lessons he shared with his students as a teacher at two small schools you may have heard of USC and UCLA in this wonderful book. Screenwriting Tricks Of The Trade (STOT) is a fine gem amongst the many "How To Be A Screenwriter" books on the market. Automatically what separates this book from everyone else is that STOT has found the rare balance of juggling the classical elements that make up a screenplay (old-school) and the chaotic yet beautiful way movies are now being written (new-school). Like or not digital technology especially when it comes to NLE non linear editing has forever change the way movies can be made. Froug being the lover of film and screenwriting that he is has realize this and written a book taps into the creativity of Billy Wilder, Herman Mankiewicz and Scott Frank if these names are not familiar to you I suggest rethink this whole screenwriting thing. Yet at the same time Froug is one of the few authors willing to go on record and challenge all the so called screenwriting gurus who preach that all screenplays should follow a particular formula or template such Act I should end on page blah and by page blah you want to have establish blah.
Now there are rules to everything but formulas like everything else become dated but art and screenwriting is an art just as much as it is a craft is about exploration and creativity and that becomes very difficult when one is bind by so many rules.
Besides challenging the formulas, the paradigms and current screenwriting templates that plagued too many screenplays. Froug lays out some of best advice on creating excellent dialogue that I have ever came across in his simple dialogue test I will not share it, you have to buy the book. However, I will leave you with this, " great dialogue is immediately recognizable because the reader can immediately recognize if the screenwriter is putting words in the mouths of the characters or if the characters are speaking for themselves. " William Froug on creating dialogue. STOT is even delivered in a screenplay like fashion and by that I mean broken into three sections. Act I is Thinking About the Script. Act II is Writing The Script and Act III is selling the scripts and just as Act II is usually the longest part of the screenplay Act II is the largest part of STOT. Between challenging the template style of screenwriting and creating excellent dialogue this book is already worth the purchase but when you add the love that Froug has for screenwriting combine with is wit and insight this is a must have book for any screenwriter. STOT may not have information for some to be the only screenwriting book on one's shelf but it is definitely the best second book or an add on book you can have in your collection. Do not overlook this book.
Summary of Screenwriting Tricks of the Trade
One of the most respected screenwriting teachers distills his many years of teaching at USC and UCLA into an insightful and witty primer that is both fresh and timeless. Froug does not rehash the time-worn formulas promoted in most other screenwriting books. Instead, he presents a practical approach to following one's own muse. Abundant examples from numerous films, this popular book will take the reader from a first urge to write through the completion of a well-wrought script.Movies Books
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