Syd Field

Syd Field

:"This article is about the screenwriting guru; for information on the British comedian, see Sid Field."Syd Field is an American writer who has become one of the most popular screenwriting gurus in the movie industry. Field has written several books on the subject of screenwriting, and occasionally holds workshops that help aspiring screenwriters to produce the kinds of screenplays that will sell in Hollywood. Field's ideas about what makes a good script have become very influential on Hollywood film producers, who have increasingly used his ideas on structure as a guideline to a proposed screenplay's potential.

The Paradigm

Field's most important contribution has been his articulation of the ideal "three act structure". In this structure, a film must begin with about half an hour of 'setup' information before the protagonist experiences a 'turning point' that gives him or her a goal that must be achieved. Approximately half the movie's running time must then be taken up with the protagonist's struggle to achieve his or her goal: this is the 'Confrontation' period. Field also refers, sometimes, to the 'Midpoint', a more subtle turning point that should happen in the middle (approximately at page 60 of a written screenplay) of the Confrontation, which is often an apparently devastating reversal of the protagonist's fortune. The final quarter of the film depicts a climactic struggle by the protagonist to finally achieve (or not achieve) his or her goal and the aftermath of this struggle.

In 1999 the German media scientist, movie maker and game developer Dr. Michael Bhatty expanded the Field-paradigm in the media science thesis (Interaktives Story Telling, 1999) for narrative role-playing and computer games, combining it with Christopher Vogler's Hero's Journey and defining the chaos paradigm.

Criticism

While Field's structures have helped many screenwriters to tailor their ideas to the Hollywood model, his rigorous demands (sometimes stipulating that the first turning point must happen in exactly the 27th minute of the filmFact|date=April 2008) have been accused of stifling innovation and experimentation, and it is said that many studio executives have now become reluctant to consider a screenplay that does not perfectly match the three-act structureFact|date=November 2007. Field himself, however, does not consider his guidelines for screenplay structure (or his 'paradigm') to be so rigid.

2005—2007

In addition to his occasional workshops, Syd Field currently teaches screenwriting at the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California

Field is also included in the screenwriting software program Final Draft under the section "Ask the Expert" which gives help on writing screenplays.

In Jan 2007, Field began a series of interview webcasts with screenwriters called "Screenplay Series with Syd Field". The project will attempt to give a voice to the generally silent, creative force behind today's films - the screenwriters. The series will focus on writers and films whose work is current, relevant and challenging. Interviews will cover a broad range of topics surrounding a particular film & the specific writer's career. The event will take place via: [http://www.screenplay-series.com/]

Films Field has consulted on

* "White Palace" (1990)
* "" (1991)
* "City of Joy" (1992)

Published books

*"Screenplay" (1979)
*"The Screenwriter's Workbook" (1984)
*"Selling a Screenplay: The Screenwriter's Guide to Hollywood" (1989)
*"Four Screenplays: Studies in the American Screenplay" (1994)
*"The Screenwriter's Problem Solver: How To Recognize, Identify, and Define Screenwriting Problems" (1998)
*"Going to the Movies: A Personal Journey Through Four Decades of Modern Film" (2001)
*"The Definitive Guide to Screenwriting" (2003)

Filmography

Directing, writing and production

External links

*imdb name|id=0276055|name=Syd Field
* http://www.writersguild.org.uk/public/008_Featurearticl/032_SydField.html Syd Field interview by Jamie Sherry


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Syd Field — ist ein US amerikanischer Schriftsteller, der zu den einflussreichsten Drehbuchautoren der Filmindustrie geworden ist. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Field — (engl. Begriff für Feld) bezeichnet: einen Ausdruck aus der Fernsehtechnik, siehe Halbbild einen Ausdruck aus der Datenbanktechnik, siehe SQL Field ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Albert Field (1910–1990), australischer Politiker Anthony …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Syd Barrett — in 1969 Background information Birth name Roger Keith Barrett Born 6 January 1946( …   Wikipedia

  • Syd Jackson (New Zealand) — Syd Jackson (1939 ndash; September 3, 2007) was a prominent Māori activist, trade unionist and leader.Syd Jackson, of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Porou descent, first came to prominence at the University of Auckland, where he gained an MA. He was… …   Wikipedia

  • Syd Shores — Sydney Shores (September 4, 1913 June 3, 1973) was an American comic book artist known for his work on Captain America both during the 1940s, in what fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic books, and during the 1960s Silver Age of comic …   Wikipedia

  • Syd Gregory — Infobox cricketer biography playername = Syd Gregory country = Australia fullname = Sydney Edward Gregory nickname = Little Tich living = dayofbirth = 14 monthofbirth = 4 yearofbirth = 1870 placeofbirth = Randwick, New South Wales countryofbirth …   Wikipedia

  • Chris Field — For the Nobel laureate director of the Carnegie Institution s Department of Global Ecology, see Christopher Field. Background Chris Field Origin London, England Genres Rock Pop Labels …   Wikipedia

  • Spielfilmdramaturgie — Dieser Artikel wurde wegen inhaltlicher Mängel auf der Qualitätssicherungsseite der Redaktion Film und Fernsehen unter Angabe von Verbesserungsvorschlägen eingetragen. Beteilige Dich an der Verbesserung dieses Artikels und entferne diesen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Drehbuch — Beispielseite eines Drehbuchs mit Dialog und Handlungsbeschreibung Der Begriff Drehbuch bezeichnet die textliche Vorlage für einen Film. Meist wird er im Zusammenhang mit fiktionalen Stoffen gebraucht. Durch die Vielzahl an filmischen Varianten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Fi — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”