The Scriptwriting process
The Sister was written as a means to explore French writer/director Claire Denis' approach to the screenplay.
It would be apt to describe Claire Denis as a collaborative writer as all of her dramatic feature film works have been co-written. Screenwriter Jean-Pol Fargeau is central to this collaboration, having worked with Denis on eight films since her first, Chocolat, in 1988. In the press kit for 35 Rhums (2007), Fargeau likens their collaboration to that of musicians composing an album. ‘Since the start… I always compared the excited complicity which binds us, Claire and I, to that of the musicians reunited to compose an album’ (2007).
Adrian Martin describes the script devising work of Denis and Fargeau as involving the creation of a ‘basic network or diagram of relations,’ a process raising questions concerning ‘what does each character see, whom do they look at; what are the lines of desire, or hatred; who tells which part of the story; significant back story elements connecting the characters in their shared or overlapping pasts; the real or imaginary status of each event’ (2005). This particular method of construction suggests a departure from traditional methods of screenwriting, which often focus on character objectives, obstacles and three-act structure. Moreover, it could be likened to the character-based approach of veteran British director Mike Leigh, who creates story from a web of actor improvisation and interactions. The idea of a ‘diagram of relations’ between characters echoes Leigh’s approach to the creation of drama, but unlike the British director’s method of screenplay construction, this writing stage for Denis and Fargeau does not appear to involve actors in the process of devising. Instead, plot conflicts seem to be driven by the positioning of characters as opposites: for example, who is on the inside/outside or who is the chaser/chased?
Denis considers her strong rapport with music, and its influence on her films, as the only element that identifies and individualizes her body of work, stating ‘I look to music for what my collaborators cannot give me, for what a project cannot give me on its own. And what is fantastic is that, at the moment of filming, I share it with others… I play the soundtrack to Agnès Godard, to the actors, and then to the editor… it is as though, finally, I was able to reveal my sources’ (quoted in Castanet 2004: 153). The process of identifying characters and arranging the narrative, considering rhythm, emphasis and tempo, is one that finds resonance in Fargeau’s album composition analogy. The construction of a diagram of character relations could be seen to mirror the process of layering instruments in the devising of a song, with characters being the instruments that produce sounds playing against one another.
Denis’s approach to devising the screenplay appeared to be the most distinct and different from my own established method of writing and one that would offer the most opportunities for experimentation and exploration; hence, I decided to explore it when devising The Sister. The adoption of Denis’ approach in the undertaking of this project is one of the most significant modifications to my own practice as Australian writer/director.
As described above, the Denis/Fargeau method of constructing a ‘diagram of relations’ appears to be driven by a series of questions to determine character positioning, relations, point of view and the revelation of plot (Martin 2005). Working around a particular theme, pertinent questions include:
Who is on the inside/outside?
Who is the watcher and who is watched?
Who is in motion/who is immobile?
What are the lines of hate and desire?
What is the shared back-story?
Who reveals these elements of back-story?
What is real/imagined?
These questions were used to map character relationships and trajectories in The Sister.
Kath Dooley
REFERENCES:
Castanet, D (2004), 'Interview with Claire Denis, 2000', Journal of European Studies, 34 (1-2), 143.
Martin, Adrian (2011), 'Ticket to ride: Claire Denis and the cinema of the body', <http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/20/claire-denis.html>, accessed 16 February.
UNKNOWN (2007), '35 Rhums- Dossier de Presse (Press Kit)'.
FOR MORE DETAIL SEE http://www.textjournal.com.au/oct14/dooley.htm
It would be apt to describe Claire Denis as a collaborative writer as all of her dramatic feature film works have been co-written. Screenwriter Jean-Pol Fargeau is central to this collaboration, having worked with Denis on eight films since her first, Chocolat, in 1988. In the press kit for 35 Rhums (2007), Fargeau likens their collaboration to that of musicians composing an album. ‘Since the start… I always compared the excited complicity which binds us, Claire and I, to that of the musicians reunited to compose an album’ (2007).
Adrian Martin describes the script devising work of Denis and Fargeau as involving the creation of a ‘basic network or diagram of relations,’ a process raising questions concerning ‘what does each character see, whom do they look at; what are the lines of desire, or hatred; who tells which part of the story; significant back story elements connecting the characters in their shared or overlapping pasts; the real or imaginary status of each event’ (2005). This particular method of construction suggests a departure from traditional methods of screenwriting, which often focus on character objectives, obstacles and three-act structure. Moreover, it could be likened to the character-based approach of veteran British director Mike Leigh, who creates story from a web of actor improvisation and interactions. The idea of a ‘diagram of relations’ between characters echoes Leigh’s approach to the creation of drama, but unlike the British director’s method of screenplay construction, this writing stage for Denis and Fargeau does not appear to involve actors in the process of devising. Instead, plot conflicts seem to be driven by the positioning of characters as opposites: for example, who is on the inside/outside or who is the chaser/chased?
Denis considers her strong rapport with music, and its influence on her films, as the only element that identifies and individualizes her body of work, stating ‘I look to music for what my collaborators cannot give me, for what a project cannot give me on its own. And what is fantastic is that, at the moment of filming, I share it with others… I play the soundtrack to Agnès Godard, to the actors, and then to the editor… it is as though, finally, I was able to reveal my sources’ (quoted in Castanet 2004: 153). The process of identifying characters and arranging the narrative, considering rhythm, emphasis and tempo, is one that finds resonance in Fargeau’s album composition analogy. The construction of a diagram of character relations could be seen to mirror the process of layering instruments in the devising of a song, with characters being the instruments that produce sounds playing against one another.
Denis’s approach to devising the screenplay appeared to be the most distinct and different from my own established method of writing and one that would offer the most opportunities for experimentation and exploration; hence, I decided to explore it when devising The Sister. The adoption of Denis’ approach in the undertaking of this project is one of the most significant modifications to my own practice as Australian writer/director.
As described above, the Denis/Fargeau method of constructing a ‘diagram of relations’ appears to be driven by a series of questions to determine character positioning, relations, point of view and the revelation of plot (Martin 2005). Working around a particular theme, pertinent questions include:
Who is on the inside/outside?
Who is the watcher and who is watched?
Who is in motion/who is immobile?
What are the lines of hate and desire?
What is the shared back-story?
Who reveals these elements of back-story?
What is real/imagined?
These questions were used to map character relationships and trajectories in The Sister.
Kath Dooley
REFERENCES:
Castanet, D (2004), 'Interview with Claire Denis, 2000', Journal of European Studies, 34 (1-2), 143.
Martin, Adrian (2011), 'Ticket to ride: Claire Denis and the cinema of the body', <http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/20/claire-denis.html>, accessed 16 February.
UNKNOWN (2007), '35 Rhums- Dossier de Presse (Press Kit)'.
FOR MORE DETAIL SEE http://www.textjournal.com.au/oct14/dooley.htm