Writers Should Turn "On" the Film's Commentary and Learn
If you're a writer interested in writing screenplays, a great exercise to really learn the medium of film is to invest in the DVD of Blu-Ray discs and listen to the commentary. I've learned a lot about film and specifically the intent of the writing by doing this on a regular basis. The directors, writers and producers (and sometimes actors) will lend their insight into the scene-by-scene action. I recently purchased Generation Kill, an HBO series I really enjoyed, and watched it with the commentary on. The screenwriter was on discussing working with the book's author and how he wrote the series; how they filmed it; where they filmed it. It's also fun because the commentary often answers nagging questions you might have that you weren't clear about. For example, I kept wondering, "Where the heck did they film this series -- it looks just like Iraq but it couldn't be filmed in such an unstable country." I found out by listening to the commentary it was ...