There has been a lot of talk about a screenplay being a blueprint. Firstly no two words in english mean the same thing, so two different words mean they are not the same, but I digress.
Is a novel a piece of art?
If yes. Why does adding visuals and putting it into a different form removal the artistic value?
A screenplay is a final form. It tells a complete story using the elements of the chosen form. It is still art.
Why is that important?
Because artists are held in much higher regard in society. Since they have that elevated state, they start from that position. Non-artistic professions are not given that respect.
Think of the technical people in our industry that demand to be considered artists. Directors
are a good example. They didn’t create the story, their DP compose and control the shot, the editors compose the movie, etc. Yes a director can be involved in those, but not always. Yet, they demand and receive to be considered artists. Their output is art.
We produce a finished and finalised product. That can be used to make a film. This is not necessary for it to be considered art. It is not oats that need moisture to become porridge. A screenplay can be consumed as it is.
A blue print has no value until it is a building. A screenplay is still a story that has future value as well.
Devaluing our art to a blueprint, means we are not artists and can be treated accordingly. We are brainwashed into begging and scrapping. We ask “why can professionals do that?”. Because they refuse to be treated as anything less than an artist, and their work is given the weigh it deserves.
All respect, starts with self respect.
5 people like this
I don't mind people calling their scripts blueprints, Craig D Griffiths, but I consider my scripts art. "We produce a finished and finalised product. That can be used to make a film." Double art? Art on the page and art on the screen.
5 people like this
100% Craig D Griffiths I love the written word. I love literature. I love art. Many say that screenplays should be only a blueprint, but I believe that screenplays, like short stories, plays, novels, and even essays can and sometimes do rise to level of art. Perhaps in the future, screenplays, produced and unproduced, will be published for an audience hungry to read them?
5 people like this
Well said. I've little time for screenwriters who don't see their work as a piece of artistic literature. Someone reducing things down to a blueprint tells me everything I need to know about them and why they're in this world.
6 people like this
Well said, Craig D Griffiths! And I agree with CJ Walley as well. I've never read a quality script from anyone who claimed it to be a blueprint for the director - and I have heard that many times through the years when giving notes. Approach it like a blueprint and guaranteed it'll read generic and incomplete.
4 people like this
People in the industry have said a screenplay is like a blueprint for decades so this is nothing new. They compare screenplays to blueprints because they are used to help someone make a movie. I don’t consider my screenplays as art nor do I consider myself an artist. I don’t care if anyone respects me. I just do this for money if the opportunity arrives.
2 people like this
Fully agree, love your thoughts on this topic!
6 people like this
Thanks everyone.
This is the Britanica definition of art.
something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings
Sorry Dan Guardino looks like you may be an artist. I always find you “express important ideas”,
4 people like this
Craig D Griffiths You are probably right, but I was employed as a staff writer and worked for two companies as a script consultant so I feel like what I did was just a job and not even that good of one. However, I never really even thought I was a writer. I was just killing time when the real estate market was really slow. But now I will have to tell my wife you said I am an artist and see if I get any respect:)
3 people like this
Influence of a spouse…. I am an artist, not a magician
1 person likes this
You're welcome, Craig D Griffiths.