I have been reading a few articles on screenwriting do's and don't and almost every second article have mentioned this "Never start a script with character waking Up". I personally believe that a waking up scene tells a lot about an character. It is not just about everyday morning activities , its the approach the character have towards morning that tells about the present circumstances the character is in and how he/she works his way through them or around them . I strongly believe a well written wake up scene gives a very good idea of present situation of the character's life .
I want to know is it really a bad way to start a script with character waking up ?
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Haha yeah it's viewed as a cliché.
Camera zooms in on the alarm clock, coffee maker goes sploosh, birds chirping, whatever, a stock way to "start" the day i.e. start the story.
Sure it establishes their circumstances, but I guess the idea is that it's just super basic in terms of craft. As a writer your challenge would be to create something more innovative.
How?
You like it rightly because it shows the character's situation, circumstances, way of doing things. But hopefully there will be many scenes that show other facets of those things in due time.
Perhaps it's more risky to jump in to story action "in media res" or to establish some other elements. But if you want it then maybe rework it.
How?
Let's say it's the idea of "awakening" per se that can be a foundational element, then maybe instead of just rolling out of bed, what if the character enters the story in the midst of a spiritual or metaphorical awakening of some kind?
Or what if you show the character getting splashed in the face with a cup of someone else's coffee on the beach and someone says "Hey, wake up! There's a sandcrab crawling into your Speedo, bro!"
Right away the stakes are a bit higher than just being in the comfort of their own bed.
Maybe if you sketch out like fifty different scenarios based on that theme you'll come up with something innovative that you really love a lot more than just a comfort zone.
Everything we write is a metaphor for our own experiences, but the further we can vacate that comfort zone and use those two most powerful words "what if?" then the more innovative we can be as artists crafting something that's worth seeing on screen?
So maybe it's about challenging ourselves much more, instead of just falling back on the first convenient scenario that comes to mind?
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It's dumb, dogmatic advice. Try to stay away from sources which promote such over-simplifications. They'll only fill your mind with fear and doubt.
Your storytelling is either entertaining or it isn't. Avoiding cliches is a hack way to try and improve it.
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Nonsense.
Great filmmakers could make a boiling egg visually interesting
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The Others! First scene. Nicole Kidman waking up screaming. First scene.
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Yes, "great" filmmakers, but how many here a field tested "great" filmmakers? I'm not. He doesn't say the articles advise against wake-up scenes in at all. They only advise against STARTING you script with a wake-up scene.
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I purposely started a script that way, it's a Hollywood satire. The reason I did that was to mock some of the unwritten rules of screenwriting and it made the Nicholls Fellowship quarterfinals..
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Enzo Forleo that's a brilliant choice. We're left with so many questions in that single moment alone. The film provides the answers.
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With everything I've written so far, I try to serve the purpose of a few things: (1) setting up the time and place, (2) who my protagonist is and what he or she is doing, and (3) visually set up the central theme. While the "main character waking up" opening is cliched, it still has a purpose in establishing one of the three points I mentioned above. I can think of some wonderful examples off the top of my head: Stranger Than Fiction, The Others, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dark City, etc.
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Thanks everyone , I have got an fair idea how to pursue this further, I will write two versions one with wake up and another without it and see which one really gives satisfaction to me as an writer.
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When someone/people say "never" to me it means to pick your spots. Be creative and don't fall back on it because it's easy.
Just take a look at the movie "Harper" (Paul Newman) written by William Goldman. Very first scene is him waking up and, in less than two minutes, you get a good idea of who he is (his character and circumstances) and what he does.
I guess it could be boring sometimes but I never heard you shouldn't start a script that way. I guess I don't pay much if any attention to what other people say you should or shouldn't do.
I'm from the land of shorts. I don't have time for a 'he gets ready' scene.
A well written anything is good. By saying “well written” you are weighting the facts in your favour. A wake up scene is so done to death you are better off without one.
A well written anything else is better as it is unique and potentially thought provoking.
A guy wakes up, stretches and gets into the shower.
A guy is getting slapped by a girl. She stops. He gives her a kiss and gets in the shower.
Which one raises a question in your mind?