Specs & The City: Show Don’t Tell and ‘Up’

Congratulations, it’s a brand new year! 2013 brings every writer another chance to reflect, refresh, and refocus on where we are with our craft. Taking stock and deciding what out next steps should be. With that in mind, I thought it would be fitting to take this week’s column back to the core of storytelling. That one simple truth that ultimately filters everything else you learn through it.

“Show, don’t tell.”

Screenwriters hear this maxim so frequently, from every possible source, that its importance can eventually be dulled. It becomes ubiquitous to the point of no longer carrying any impact when you hear it. So let’s take a moment to reflect on this advice, and what it really means.

First and foremost, it’s a reminder that, even though you’re writing your story out, film is a visual medium. Use that to your advantage, and make your scenes as visual as possible. Think about what would be interesting to you as a member of an audience – here’s a quick example. Would you rather watch a character walk into a room and proclaim “Man, do I have a headache”, or have that same character walk into a room, wince as the door closes a little too loudly, and grab the bridge of their nose between thumb and forefinger, massaging it gently with their eyes closed (if you answered the former, feel free to skip the rest of this column)? It’s that simple.

Show. Don’t tell.

I think getting this down is the most important thing you can learn as a screenwriter, but I’ll share a little secret with you. Personally, I don’t worry about this when I’m writing my first draft. Even if you aren’t a believer in a “vomit draft”, the goal of your first draft is still simply to get the basic story out and on paper; to birth it into the physical world. It’s the rewriting where “show, don’t tell” truly becomes important. At least one of your rewrites (that means, realistically, three or four) should focus on going through your script scene by scene, line by line, and asking yourself – “could I find a way to SHOW what is being said?”

Of course, as with anything, you can over reach. If you really worked at it, you could take out all of the dialogue and suddenly find yourself pitching a silent movie. That’s obviously not the goal. Sometimes dialogue will work better, so take each line in your script on a case-by-case situation. If the dialogue is description or exposition, chances are you can find a way to show this information in a visual way.

I don’t think there’s a modern example of this axiom that’s more effective or emotionally impactful than Pixar’s Up, so get your tissues ready, and let’s take a look at…

Show Don’t Tell and ‘Up’

The story of a Carl, a crabby old man who rediscovers the wonders of adventure, friendship, and life in general, Up captivated audiences from the very first shot. What follows is a completely visual exposition dump. We learn about Carl’s life with Ellie, how they put the hopes and dreams of youth aside, and, ultimately, how Carl finds himself in the dark and lonely spot he’s in as the film begins. Here it is:

It’s a beautiful sequence, and all the more powerful for showing us Carl’s journey. I can guarantee you that a beginning writer would have given us all of this information as dialogue – Carl telling another character why he is the way that he is.

Don’t be this writer.

Take advantage of the New Year to take a step back and exhale. Really think about “show, don’t tell”, and realize it is so much more than another piece of clichéd advice. In reality, it’s everything you’re trying to be. Everything you’re hoping to accomplish with all of the hours you put into your writing. It really is that important.

So pop a few aspirin, get rid of that hangover, sit down, and get writing!

Related Articles:

Tools to Help: