“Script Treatment” Season Two, Episode 1, Watchmen (2021 ..., Lecture notes of English Literature

Download “Script Treatment” Season Two, Episode 1, Watchmen (2021 ... and more Lecture notes English Literature in PDF only on Docsity! Formal Exercise 4: “Script Treatment” Season Two, Episode 1, Watchmen (2021, HBO) Your final exercise in this class draws from the skills you’ve developed throughout the quarter to create a 2-page Script Treatment for the opening episode of season two of Watchmen. In obvious ways, this assignment invites you to speculate and indulge in creative freedom. Let your imaginations roam free, with one caveat: you must focus on either Angela or Bian as your central character. You will also need to clearly demonstrate the relationship of the action/meanings in your imagined episode to the story world of Watchmen built in Season One. What is a script treatment? First things first: a script treatment is not a screenplay. While a treatment is usually a multi-page document, it is much shorter than a screenplay. Generally, a writer or creative team would produce a 10-12-page script treatment for what would be a 60-80-page screenplay for an episode in Watchmen or another series. A treatment is written in prose. It includes the main settings, characters, sparse dialogue and action to tell the story that will happen in the screenplay. What is the purpose of a script treatment? Outside of this class, the script treatment generally serves two purposes. On one hand, when a writer is trying to sell a screenplay, the script treatment is a synopsis that works as a roadmap for the producer, director, agent, reader, etc. It is an easy-to-follow snapshot of a larger screenplay, and should be accessible and engaging to anyone who picks it up. On the other hand, the script treatment is also a way for writers to work through an idea to test it out before committing to producing a full screenplay. Writing script treatments is a good way to figure out the tone of a story, its characters and basic plot lines.. Ok, does this mean I’m supposed to write a full script treatment for the first episode of Season II of Watchmen? No—a script treatment for a full episode would likely run at least 10-12 pages. You are only writing a script treatment for the OPENING SCENE of the episode, approximately 1 page. This is Part I of your assignment. Part II will connect your imagined episode to the larger story world of Watchmen, also approximately 1 page. Part I: “Opening Scene.” (1 pp., single space, 12-point font). Here your task is to clearly signal what happens in the scene that opens season 2 of the HBO show. Ask yourself: Who is in the scene in the first few minutes? Where are they and when? What are they doing, and why? *Make certain to give your episode a TITLE at the top of the page. *Make certain to list locations on left side of page (see tips below) *Make certain to place main character names in CAPS *Make certain to focus on either ANGELA or BIAN as your central character, although you may include other characters in the scene as well, if you wish. For formatting guidelines, see additional instructions below. Also see the “Mock Script Treatment for Episode Five” in the Canvas Window titled “Preparing for Formal Exercise 4.” Part II: “Relationship to Story World.” (1 pp, single-space, 12-point font) Here you must clarify how the episode you are imagining extends and/or transforms one (or more) of the themes prevalent in Season One (1 page, single space, 12-point font). *You must detail an earlier action/meaning/event associated with your character from Season I (be specific!) and then describe how this episode extends or transforms those actions/meanings/events and/or character. *Make certain your writing is free of typos and grammatical errors. *Make certain the connection with specific details and concepts from the first season of the show is clear. Part II of your assignment demonstrates your careful study of the show to date, while also providing space for you to speculate on what happens next in the story world.