I usually write comic scripts with a pretty specific idea of what each panel will look like when drawn: the setting, who’s doing what, facial expressions, and so on. What I almost never do is write any of that down. Except for specific actions that characters have to respond to (e.g. John kicks Tom in the shin, Tom: Ow!), my scripts are usually something like 90% dialogue, 10% settings.
The problem with this technique is that while I generally have a clear idea of the action while I’m writing the script, I don’t always remember my ideas when it comes time to draw everything. Sometimes seeing the dialogue is enough to call back the memory, and other times I’m just left with a vague feeling that I wanted something specific out of a scene. Despite this, I still find it just too cumbersome and time-consuming to describe every panel as I write it.
How much of the “action” in a comic do you describe while you write it? Do you just stick to dialogue and the important bits, or do you painstakingly describe each scene? Or do you have a different technique, like thumbnailing as you go along?
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Directing Action in Comic Scripts
HippieVan at 12:00AM, Sept. 11, 2015
4 likes!
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Banes at 4:24PM, Sept. 13, 2015
Just like others here, any action I write before hand is likely to change completely while doing the finished page. It's kind of like the writing is like screenwriting: separate, where the story, plots, character arcs, themes and general scenes and emotions are figured out (maybe with SOME dialogue) and then drawing the pages is like directing, where actions, jokes and dialogue can completely change. That's for my own stories. For my collaboration with Ozoneocean, I've been breaking down the basic action and dialogue into panels...I'm still figuring out the best way to handle that process when the artist is a different person. Luckily that person is a talented, patient bastard like Oz!
bravo1102 at 9:22AM, Sept. 12, 2015
Dialogue and brief description of action. Whenever I do long descriptions of the action it does not survive the actual shoot. Though at times I have been too brief and I have to do a total re-imagining of the scene. However, all the story-boarding in the world does not replace the actual view through the camera eye. Since I can be hands-on with moving stuff around I tend to be that much more aware of how one gets from point A to point B in a shot. I use lots of stage and movie terminology because that's how I approach it. And using figures and photography makes it even more applicable.
Abt_Nihil at 5:24AM, Sept. 12, 2015
I do it the way ironhand does it - scripts for myself are usually limited to dialogue and brief descriptions of what's going on. "Action" is usually figured out when I do the page layouts, which I do by going over them in my head on the days before drawing the page, and sometimes with extra thumbnails.
Ironscarf at 5:16AM, Sept. 12, 2015
That's a good point ironhand! I've worked from several sample scripts where the writer's directions were so detailed and specific, it was a real chore to try and draw it, especially when you can see a better way to do it. You're then torn between following the script or ignoring it. This is compounded by the fact that some writers are not artists and sometimes ignore the relative positions of the characters in a scene, or forget the five things they asked for cannot be shown in one panel all at once.
ironhand at 2:36AM, Sept. 12, 2015
It depends who the script is written for. A script for myself would look completely different to a script I write for a Heroes Alliance chapter, for instance. I try to keep things to a minimum, though...I don't want to keep artists restrained to a camera angle or specifics. Sometimes I'll have a clear image in my head so I'll make sure I describe it, but I tend to try and make sure the artist gets as much freedom as I do in the writing.
TheDeeMan at 8:37PM, Sept. 11, 2015
My scripts look like movie scripts. For example, from "The Continentals" finale: Panel One: Close shot: Foreground, Smythe and Fiona, seen from behind, recoil in surprise as the huge, hulking protoplasmic form of "Dante's Beast" (Abbeline) crashes through the floor sending burning pieces of floor board flying everywhere as smoke and flames from the basement lab spreads out of the hole in the floor. Sound FX: KKRRRRAAASSH!, Dante's Beast: RRRRRRRRRRR!!!, Smythe: Abbeline's transformed into the primordial ooze itself! I try with my scripts to give Coydog/Monique enough information to be able to draw a clear picture in her imagination so that she can draw a clear picture on the page. Dee - TC writer dude
KimLuster at 7:09PM, Sept. 11, 2015
@HippieVan: Ha I don't deserve too much credit! ;) I have to make sure I have a pretty good idea of the panel layouts, action to take place, and general dialogue in my head before I start a page... Since I add all my dialogue digitally after scanning, I can edit it pretty easily, so I don't have to have it exact, just as long as I have the general stuff down...
cdmalcolm1 at 6:56PM, Sept. 11, 2015
action scenes to me is fairly easy to deal with. i like writing action scenes over wordy non action scenes, however, i love writing over all. the only bad part is i wish my art could keep up with my writing. i write quick decriptions and get right into diolog to keep my flow going.
Sway at 2:37PM, Sept. 11, 2015
I don't really map out action, unless I have a clear idea of what I want to do well before-hand. I've found scripting action scenes to be fairly boring. However, creating action scenes in the moment and burning through the pencils keeps things exciting and experimental.
Ironscarf at 9:44AM, Sept. 11, 2015
Once I get past the outline stage and to the actual script, I'll turn a sheet of A4 horizontally and have thumbnail on one side and some writing on the other. It could be dialogue or just an idea of what's being discussed, with scene directions and notes - anything to remind me of what was on my mind at the time. Experience teaches me those images and ideas will fade away all too soon, so it's a case of anything that helps to pin them down. I'll probably change the whole thing around when I get to the finished page, but until then, I don't want to loose anything.
HippieVan at 8:46AM, Sept. 11, 2015
@KimLuster: So you actually just write everything as you go along? I never would have guessed!
usedbooks at 7:13AM, Sept. 11, 2015
Basically, it looks like a play's script. Like " [Scene: In the Hardings' Cabin. Brigit is cooking. Seiko and Mike are sitting in the living room. Puck is lying near the fire. ... ] ... ... SEIKO(happy): dialogue dialoge ... MIKE(looking away, wringing his hands): dialogue dialogue " I used to do a lot of acting, so stage play format is how I think.
usedbooks at 7:09AM, Sept. 11, 2015
My scripts are almost all dialogue, but I start each new scene's script with a description of the scenery and what characters are doing while talking. My scripts are not written by panel and usually not by page breaks either. I just write out all the dialogue with a description of what's going on. I have at least two visual drafts per page, though. When I sit down to drawn, I figure out where the page breaks should occur, then I figure out what action and from what angle and how to divide panels. I draw a little thumbnail showing the layout beside the script and make a full size draft page from that.
KimLuster at 4:34AM, Sept. 11, 2015
I've never actually written any script for dialogue and action prior to starting a page - but I do have a fairly detailed image of what I want in my head so I guess I mentally do. For action scenes I have a pretty idea of what's gonna happen, camera angles, etc... I picture it almost like a movie scene - someday I hope I can duplicate exactly on paper what I see in my mind's eye!
KAM at 4:28AM, Sept. 11, 2015
When I remember to write it down, it's dialogue and maybe a brief description of what's going on.