Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field
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Book Reviews of Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
Book Review: Amazing Book (at least the first two thirds of it)
Summary: 4 Stars
"Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting" by industry giant Syd Field is considered to be the bible of modern screenwriting texts, and has been for many years. It's a well-deserved badge of honor.
Field approaches the art of screenwriting logically, positively, explaining step by step the hows, whats, and whys of the biz. He addresses the technical points of length, description, planning, all in a way that makes absolute sense to any reader... regardless of their knowledge of the film industry, educational level, or age. He uses popular film examples to underscore his methods, which help enormously. This book gives any reader the right foundation to begin a screenplay with absolute confidence.
As an aside..... let's also not forget that the way Syd Field writes--his prose--is so reader friendly, and so understandable... he could be writing completely random crap and it would still be an absolute pleasure to read it. I've found that most writing "how-to" texts are extremely boring, procedural... very INSTITUTIONAL... this book is not at all institutional, and it's very easy on the eyes and brain when you're reading it.
My only criticism with this book is a big one... though it doesn't necessarily diminish the importance of the work itself. This book is 18 chapters long, but for all intents and purposes, it basically ends after Chapter 13 ("Screenplay Form").
Chapters 14-18 discuss extreme subjects unrelated to the "foundations of screenwriting." They discuss adaptation and collaboration... matters FAR ABOVE (and not particularly applicable) the neophyte, aspiring screenwriters that would be reading a book such as this one. Yet, Chapters 14-18 also discuss very simplistic matters that are likely FAR BENEATH those that would be reading this... things such as getting into the mood to write, devoting time to your writing, dealing with family who may be opposed to you spending so much time writing, et cetera. These same chapters are also filled with personal, broad philosophical observations about writing in general, the process... observations that any B-average Freshman English student could spit out without thinking too hard. There are also boring, stereotypical observations about the film industry and Hollywood society... things that any resident of Los Angeles can tell you even if they've never in their life been involved in the entertainment industry.
I recently discussed this book with my best friend, a USC grad who had read this book as part of a film course in college. I was shocked, but very soothed, to hear him exactly echo my sentiments about the last third of this book. I hope Field spices this text up a bit if he does another revision.
Yet, despite my disappointment with the latter third of the book, the first two-thirds are absolutely brilliant. This book is a must-read... dare I say a REQUIRED READ... for anyone interested in the whole screenwriting process.
Kudos to Field. I really learned a lot from this book. I most certainly recommend it.
Book Review: Worth it? Probably.
Summary: 4 Stars
The writing is repetitive and the style goes from mediocre to poor ("the hub of the wheel of action"). Field has a decided Hollywoodistic tendency to name-drop; granted, he has known some huge names but he goes on about "hanging out" with them as if those hangouts were meaningful and true. It is his story that is supposed to be meaningful and true. Luckily, when we get past all the dross and dreck we do get to some good things, his Aristotelean schematic and his character development suggestions, his good citations to movies, script excerpts, and so on . . . for example. If he gets into free-based writing later on, that is unfortunate but forgettable. I am reading this book to the end and there appears to be a lot more substance toward the end, but mainly this is the book most people read, perhaps with others. I will read others, but as a neophyte Field is useful and informative for me. You can't really break the barriers unless you know what they are, and most people aren't breaking the skeletal ones anyway, so that Field is generally traditional might be a negative for Sam Peckinpah (whose niece gets a big mention, as well as the seaside house where she stayed one summer)and Clint Eastwood, etc., but not for most beginners. Screenplay is the first screenwriting book I'm reading, and I do not regret that.Book Review: This is what to expect: to learn how to form a script
Summary: 4 Stars
Very good book to learn the rules and structure of a screenplay. I believe this book really helps to breakdown the screenplay so that it's not as difficult to write. The only thing with this book I would like to have been different is some of the movies. Some of the movies he chose to talk about I have not seen before. When I rented them to understand what he was talking about I didn't really like any of the movies he picked. I guess it's just a different generation.
If you are looking at this book to buy this is what you should expect: you will learn the three act structure and how to break it down to focus on the important aspects of writing. Watch a lot of movies (that you like) and study them with the book, it helps. If you are a beginner, this book is a great place to start. He does get a little redundant at times, but it's still a good book.
Book Review: Hollywood of the 80s
Summary: 4 Stars
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.
Book Review: Good book...
Summary: 4 Stars
It's a good book. And you'll definetly get your money's worth. The problem is...you might get too much of the good. When you read page after page, and chapter after chaper you start to realize that you have read the same sentence before, maybe even two three times...
It's very repetative, and yeah, that can be a good thing. Easier to learn. But then again, I'd rather read a 100 page book three times, than a 300 page book once and read the same sentences time after time...
But still. A very good book, and you'll definetly learn a lot from it, and you want to start working on your screenplay right away.