Catching a Vision 019
Writing I: The Script
Catching a Vision, the (really not doing so well at this) weekly column on Comic Related from C. Edward Sellner, Founder and Creative Director of Visionary Comics Studio. CAV provides practical guidance on how to break into the comics industry, as well as insights into this medium we all love. With resources you can order online, interviews and debates with comic professionals, and online workshops, this is your best introduction into the wonders of creating comics!
Okay, so I admit it...
I'm sucking at the whole weekly thing. Summer was a lot of fun, a lot of travel, a lot of schmoozing with industry folks and Visionary's growing number of fans. In the last few weeks I've been jetting off to Philly, Maryland, San Diego, etc. Missed Chicago, but will now be regularly popping into LA for various and sundry networking and professional get togethers. Not to mention our growing line of digital books, my own projects taking off and the personal life I try to fit in.
But, I'm keeping at it and will continue to get columns out as able, so bear with me. In other news, I will also be debuting another column here at CR (like I should do another when this one is behind!) entitled State of the Industry, written for the bi-monthly, maybe quarterly catalog COMICS! from Haven Distribution and Enemi Entertainment. The column will debut in their catalog and then be reprinted here on CR. I'm also setting up and will be hopefully syndicating both on some other comic media sites. More details as I have them and be sure to check at the end for some other announcements and goodies.
I'm going to use the next few columns to do a run on writing. Let it be said here and now, I'm doing this column for every aspiring talent, from new beginners, just learning the basics, to folks who've been at this a while. So, you'll notice with every series, I start from a basics viewpoint and get more into the fine art of each arena as I go. However, as a word of advice, I wouldn't skip reading a column and just assume, ';oh, that's pretty basic, I know all about that'. I'm willing to bet there will be at least one nugget of wisdom in each that you didn't know, even if you've been in this business a while. So, put that to the test and let me know how I do.
Writing: The Script
If we look at the most basic fundamentals of writing comics, you can't get much more basic than looking at the form in which comics are written.
You will find throughout the production process of comics that they have far more in common with TV/ Movie production than prose. That commonality begins here. Comic stories are written in script format and that script, as I've mentioned before, will be the central tool everyone else on the team producing the book will use in their work.
The penciler uses it to determine layout, pacing, story flow etc. They are drawing the events outlined in the script, so the connection here is pretty obvious. The inker might be the one person who doesn't really need to review the script, but my bet is most quality inkers do anyway. True, they can pull most of their cues for their work from the pencils themselves, light/shadow, depth, etc. However, some subtleties not evident in just plain pencils might be more obvious in how a scene is scripted. Colorists will most definitely look to the script for ideas of tone, setting, mood, feel etc. This will influence their color palettes for scenes, using colors that will re-enforce the scene as it is written. Finally, letterers obviously need the script to plug in actual dialogue and sound effects.
Since this tool is so central to the production of a comic, there should be some care and consideration in how it is crafted. There is no universal rule of format for comic scripting but there are some pretty general and shared guidelines that you will find most companies either require or prefer. Following these guidelines not only makes you look better and more professional as a writer, it will also make things much easier for anyone working with you in producing the book, from the editor on down to the letterer.
All of which means any writer wanting to work in comics needs to have a good mastery of the technical form of the comic script. With that in mind, let's look at the script and its format.
General Rules of Formatting
1. Keep your page margins at a healthy one to one and half inches.
Again, since multiple people will be using this, space for notations and edits is always helpful. Granted, a lot more ';editing' is done on computer file versions of the script these days. Still, an editor might prefer reading a hard copy and making notes to pass on to the writer. Likewise, many artists like having a physical copy of the script they can keep at their drawing board, jot notes on for ideas in layout, camera angles, colors, even thumbnails. Give them room to annotate for their own use.
2. Mark Page breaks in the Comic with page breaks in the script.
Most comic pages should not require a full page of text to setup in the script. Unless you're putting a lot of detail into the art direction, or probably too much dialogue, most comic pages will only require a half to three quarters of a standard 8.5x11 letterhead page. You should still start a new page of the script for every new page of the comic. That way there is a clear distinction from one page to the next so that everyone else can see where one ends and the next begins.
3. If a page of the Comic runs over a single page of script, notate it accordingly.
In general, this is to prevent any confusion of what belongs on what page. If it runs over, the script page should have a note of MORE>> at the bottom corner, and a heading of PAGE # CONTINUED at the top of the next page, with the a ctual page number inserted. In these cases, hopefully the continued page will only be a small paragraph at best. Still start the next page of the comic on a new page in the script.
4. Use Numerals for Numbers to designate things in the script
PAGE 1 / PANEL 1
Never spell numbers out when using headers or tags. Using actual numerals makes it easier for artists and letterers to glance at them and get a feel for totals. The eye can pick out the numerals quicker than the spelled out versions.
5. Use Page Headers, include appropriate information needed.
If the script is a submission, then the main thing to include here is all your personal contact information so if the script is accepted, they can get in touch with you. If you're doing the book professionally the company may have specific things needed, in which case, follow those guidelines.
In general a script Header should include the following:
- Your name
- Name of the series
- Issue number of the series and total issues if limited (such as #1 (of 5))
- Version or revision number or date (such as Draft 1, or Revision 3, or Revision 8/15/09), this can help ensure people know they are working on the most current version.
- Script page number, and total script pages.
Pros reading this may think I'm being a bit anal in the amount of info included here, but, trust me, it doesn't hurt. A well-established pro friend of mine just commented on his twitter that he needed to send an entire issue back to be re-lettered because it was done using an older draft of the script. Likewise, I've seen artists print a script, lose a page of it and not even realize.
Again, if this is a tool, then the easier you make it for everyone else, the smoother things will go. If any other member of the team is missing a page, or somehow jumbles the pages, and can't determine what happened easily, it slows things down. Likewise, trying to confirm which version a letterer has by having them check something changed is awkward. Good, clean formatting can help people quickly figure out if something is wrong or make sure everything is indeed okay.
Here is a sample of my typical script page header:
THE KNIGHT #1 (of 3) 2 / 23 Visionary Comics
BLUEWATER 8/15/09 C. Edward Sellner
As you can see, I list the series and issue number as well as the publisher on the left. In the middle, I list the Page of the script (2) and the total pages (23) on the first line, and then the date of the script on the second, which lets people know which is most current. On the right, I list more personal stuff, my name and VCS so people know who it came from.
Again, this might change with different companies, but this is a good general setup.
Breaking down the Script
The script, like a movie script, should properly be laid out almost in an outline form, so that various people know directly where to go for the information most pertinent to them.
PAGE 1
Every page of the script should have the comic page number clearly at the top and set off so it's the most noticeable. Again, this tells each following person on the team what page they are actually working on and helps to make sure things flow smoothly.
If it runs over a page of text...
PAGE 1 (CONTINUED)
Again, always starting a new page of the comic on a new page of the script.
PANEL 1
Panels need to also be clearly designated so the story breaks at the appropriate moments, from penciling to lettering.
Art Description:
This is one of the key elements of a script and one of the main sections editors will look at to see how well a writer knows his or her craft. The art description should be formatted in more standard, single spaced lines, like a regular paragraph. It should also include full sentences that provide a brief, yet detailed description of the setting, characters, actions and interactions important to the telling of the story. These, obviously should focus on cues and details the artists need to know to include.
I generally like to describe the setting at the beginning of a scene...
Setting: This scene takes place outside, at night, on a street and a nearby alley in downtown Manhattan, one of the seedier parts of town, so some boarded up buildings, trash on the street, etc.
This gives the artist the environment right away, let's them picture the space the action is happening in so they can set up and lay out that space to use it effectively in the following panels.
Then each panel gets a specific art direction immediately under the heading...
PANEL 1
Our main character, Joe, is standing on the sidewalk, back to an alley, looking nervously up the street, waiting for his contact to arrive.
I will expand on this more when I focus more on the art of writing a good script, but notice the description very succinctly gives the artist the most important elements of the story: Who? Joe. Where? On the sidewalk next to the street his back to an alley. Action? He's looking up the street. Feel? He's nervous.
It also allows for the artist to take cues in the script and perhaps add something of his or her own flair to help emphasize. Maybe Joe is sweating from his nervousness, maybe he's tapping his watch. In other words, the art description should setup the scene, but not obsessively describe it to its most minute detail.
Obviously some scenes will require more detail if there is more happening than a character simply gazing up a street, but the writer should scrub descriptions down to the most basic level they can before moving on. Include what helps move the story forward and let the artist do the rest.
Now, sometimes a writer can include suggestions to the artist as well. For example, I'm a very cinematic comic writer, I like including scenes where the camera stays put, so the action moves across it to help emphasize the movement, or to use a visual play to make a point in the story. Usually on these scenes, I think they work best when the panels stretch across the page, and are stacked, like so...
Notice anything? Yes, each panel is essentially a movie screen and the reader will see this as a continuous pan of the camera. Other layouts tend to diminish that, so when I use this, I will include direction, so the top of this page in my script would look something like this...
THE KNIGHT #1 (of 3) 2 / 23 Visionary Comics
BLUEWATER 8/15/09 C. Edward Sellner
PAGE 1
Setting: This scene takes place outside, at night, on a street and a nearby alley in downtown Manhattan, one of the seedier parts of town, so some boarded up buildings, trash on the street, etc.
Layout: This sequence might work best as stacked panels, stretched the width of the page.
PANEL 1
Our main character, Joe, is standing on the sidewalk, back to an alley, looking nervously up the street, waiting for his contact to arrive.
The point here is most artists don't mind some direction from the writer in layout or camera angle, if there is a particular reason for it. To create a cinematic sequence that really emphasizes a critical moment, or a layout that makes a nice visual setup or foreshadowing in the story, is something that a writer can include and feed to the artist to make it work.
The important thing is that unless there is some specific reason for such direction, I otherwise leave it to my artist. I let them pull together a layout, choose camera angles, how much or how little to include in the background. I'll focus more on this when I talk about the writer collaborating with the artist, but again, another good point to be mindful of.
Dialogue / Narration / Sound Effects
Under the art direction for each panel, then comes the dialogue section of the script.
This section is important to the artist who needs to be aware of how much text is going in a panel in order to leave sufficient space for balloons and captions in the art. They should also be mindful of the sequence of dialogue, so empty space, characters and such can be placed to facilitate the proper layout of the dialogue.
For example, if you have three characters in a panel, and they are each talking, the ideal layout would be to have the characters go from left to right in the sequence they speak. So, if Joe speaks first, he's to the left, then Mary second, so she gets put in the middle, and John speaks last, so he goes to the right.
It's also the main focus of the letterer who will be translating the dialogue from the script to the actual comic page. Like the other sections, it should be setup to help make their work as easy as possible in order to help ensure fewer mistakes.
Lines of dialogue, narration and sound effects should be indented and double spaced between each, so they are clearly set off from one another. Each line should start with a tag identifying the source in all caps, and the text in normal type, like so...
1 CAP: New York, 10:30pm
2 JOE: Man, I wish he would get here already.
Notice, I number my lines. This is not as important, but I like to do it so the letterer can easily glance and see how many lines, balloons, caption boxes etc. go on a page. It's also a good reminder for me, because if I get up to 7, I know I'm starting to crowd the page and probably need to shut up more and let the art talk.
The tag at the beginning is set off by being IN ALL CAPS, identifying it easily so the letterer knows what the source of the line of dialogue is. Having the actual dialogue indented from the source tag and double spaced from other lines makes each bit clearly visible at a glance, so the artist and letterer can more easily picture the space needed and where to place lettering.
Also, note in the actual line of dialogue, some words are in bold. These are called Stressors. When we read a line of comic dialogue, we tend to emphasize the words in bold. By choosing certain words to be stressed, we help the reader create a rhythmic tone and lilt of voice that makes it sound more conversational or ';spoken' in the reader's mind. This is a standard motif in comics.
Also, note that using normal caps and smaller letters in dialogue is something fairly new in comics. All dialogue used to be in ALL CAPS to help set it off visually. However, this was before the majority of letterers worked digitally and often pulled text right out of the script, to paste in as lettering, putting in breaks where needed and formatting it to fit in the balloon. Now if something is in all caps, the letterer may need to retype all the text and silently curse the writer's name.
Likewise, I know a number of writers who feel the formatting and layout doesn't matter. They often put single line spaces and breaks and everything clutters together. The writers who feel that way are often not writer / artists, and usually are less visual in their thinking. Part of the reason behind the spacing, especially in dialogue, is that it helps an artist to glance at dialogue and get a feel for how the spacing will work in the drawn page. The more set off each line is, the easier to picture it in a balloon on a comic page and then leave enough room for it in the artwork. When everything runs together, this becomes more of a challenge.
The source tag is important to the letterer for obvious reasons, such as ensuring the dialogue balloons point to the right person, but they also provide a wealth of other information for the more subtle aspects of lettering. Let's review some common source tags.
- CHARACTER'S NAME: Indicates the person speaking.
- CAP: Refers to a caption box for narrative or internal monologues.
- CHARACTER NAME CAP: Distinguishes when more than one character has captions or any kind of narrative appearing in a caption. Letterer's will often use different shades of color in the captions to distinguish them so reader's can more easily track who is talking. This motif is often used when the reader is hearing a conversation taking place somewhere other than the scene visible in the panel.
- CHARACTER NAME (OP): Usually refers to when someone is speaking, so their voice would be heard in that scene, but the character is not seen, thus Off Panel
- CHARACTER NAME (SHOUT) or (whisper): Indicates the voice of the character speaking, shouts are stressed with bold or all caps, whispers in smaller fonts.
- SFX: Indicates the line is a sound effect.
- DEVICE (Electric) or CHARACTER NAME (Telepathy): Such notations here help to distinguish when a voice is coming through a device, like a radio, or when a character is using telepathy. In these cases, it's important to note, because the letterer will most often make the balloons for such dialogue distinct to stand out.
There are many others that can be used. Basically, the point I'm making here is that the source tag is a handy way to alert the letterer as to what they are doing with that line of dialogue. Is it a sound effect? Is someone speaking in a standard word balloon? Are there dialogues off panel that need to stand out in unique caption boxes? Is a specialized balloon needed to show the dialogue is different than normal conversation?
Clearly noting such things helps ensure the letterer can easily track what they are doing and plug things in accordingly. It's also common practice to use abbreviations, or simpler notations if something is a standard motif in a certain book. For example, PROFESSOR XAVIER could be tagged as PROF X, or XAVIER. A book that has telepaths reading each other's minds might have a note at the beginning saying that an * next to the name tag means it's telepathy. The important thing here is to be consistent and clear to make the letterer's life easier.
A writer who leaves such to the guess work of the letterer can't really complain when it comes back wrong.
In Summary...
Basically as a writer, keep in mind your script becomes the central tool for your entire team to create this comic book you've written. The more care you put into crafting that tool, the more professional you appear and the more the people working with you will enjoy the process. Not to mention the less chance of complications in the process.
When you're reviewing a script you've written, try to look at it as your penciler, then as your letterer. Are things clear? Laid out neatly to be picked out easily? Is everything noted so they don't have to go back and infer things? The more care you take in your scripting, the less likely mistakes will happen down the road!
To get a better feel for scripts, check out the Comic Script Archive. Or find special editions that include the original script as a special feature, or look for writers with blogs or other online presence where they will often post scripts to stories they've done. Also, a lot of comic companies that will look at submissions often include script guidelines and samples.
If anyone wants, also feel free to email me and request a script sample. I will happily send a full script your way to review!
I've attached one small example just so you can see how a page of script is translated into a page of art. The script is the first page to my soon to be published Vincent Price Presents story from Bluewater, drawn by Manoel Magalhães, and colored by Osmarco Valladão. Enjoy.
NOW ON A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT SUBJECT...
THE INDUSTRY ROUND-UP
The Small Press Spotlight
While at San Diego Comic-Con this year I was gifted the first four issues of Sparks, the premiere title from William Katt's Catastrophic Comics, for the promise of reviewing it in my column. Special thanks to writer Christopher Folino for hooking me up.
For the first series put out by a small press publisher, I was pretty impressed. The package was very nicely done: full color, quality paper-stock, nice finish. On the creative side the unfortunate thing is the series could be so much more than it sometimes comes across as. At moments it shines with a light that hints at Watchmen status, but then something breaks in the art, storytelling or story in general and you feel like it just missed its mark.
The premise is great. The series explores the past of a hero named Spark, as he reflects on his origin, his rise to fame, and his fall from grace. All the while though we are caught up in the manhunt for the hero, now apparent rapist and murderer, who opens the book, claiming he's been murdered himself. We get a rich background and history, pieces being filled in nicely to setup the various stages of orphaned child, local hero, big-city schmuck, media star, then washout.
The story is definitely a pulp-noir, with a modern dark and gritty gloom cast over it. From the very beginning of the series, where our hero comes up from the rat infested sewers and storms into the newspaper office looking just this side of hell, you know this story is going to be dark. It succeeds in that. Violent, gory, with failed heroes and failed relationships, it is obviously a story meant to peek into the dark corners of the psyche and stir up trouble.
As such, the art by JM Ringuet is a perfect match in terms of style and tone. There are places where Ringuet's art just literally reaches in, clutches your heart and squeezes. Some of the panels drip with pain, wrenched emotions and broken dreams. The city, its dark alleys and byways, its heavy gloom oppresses the hell out of you. Even the scenes of lovemaking seem forced and cold.
But alas, while both these creators are extremely talented, there are moments where they hit snags. It's a complex story, no doubt. Folino is using what I like to call the LOST motif, using back story and flashbacks to set the scene and move the contemporary story forward, tying the threads together as he goes. Not an easy thing to do and a couple places I found myself wishing he had done it a little better. The art, while incredibly atmospheric and moody, has a few places where the fact that Ringuet is new to full sequential art breaks the flow of the story. Yes, his art has an abstract, more highly stylized look, but there are a few shots where the art is overly dark and muddy, places where anatomy is clearly off, or his page composition drops the ball in a scene.
I will give them this, few books I've read had such great opening and closing scenes that were perfect for what they needed to do. The opening to issue #1 virtually guaranteed I was going to read all four issues by itself. The ending to issue #2 would have made me hate the month interim to wait until #3 came out if I didn't already have all four issues in my hands.
And again, there are many moments this series REALLY shines. Original premise, bold storytelling, a complex story that has depth, history and emotional resonance. The art uses bold style and mood that really conveys the depth of emotion and experience in the story. If it weren't for just those few snags where the lack of polish to both creators shows through.... Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons did Watchmen after they were consummate professionals. Frank Miller did Dark Knight, Sin City and 300 after he had many years under his belt. It feels a bit like these guys did their magnum opus right out of the gate.
Still I heartily recommend it. The series is being turned into a motion comic and while I have yet to check that out, and will, I promised I would Chris, I get the feeling it will be one of the better motion comics done. The storytelling and flow of the story in the book has a very cinematic feel and should play well in motion.
Check it out! I intend to enjoy the full run in whatever format I can get my hands on!
Cheers and Jeers
Jeers to the Yellow-Hat guy who showed the internet community a rather ugly side to fandom recently. He then followed his self-glorifying moment with a pseudo-apology that was more like another spit in the face to comics. Even more disturbing were some of the comments posted on the blog after the fact, including one that sounded very much like a textbook stalker / abuser all but threatening some major comic creators.
Jeers also to a comics ';pro' (I use the term loosely) in his thirties, who shall remain nameless, but who has been publicly going on and on about his relationship with a high school aged girl he is now apparently engaged to. This after a year of internet dating which apparently started when she was still a minor. The girl is actually closer in age to at least one of his kids than to him. In my old job, we tried to get his kind arrested.
Folks, the comics' community has come a long way from when the public generally perceived pros as knuckle dragging misanthropes and fans as socially inept, basement dwelling freaks. Can we please not blow that? Oh, wait...
Cheers to the efforts to help John Ostrander pay his medical bills for his failing eyesight. I hear it raised over $30K and still counting! A true sign of the community coming together.
Cheers also to the organizers of a monthly gathering of comic, animated, movie and other creative folks in LA! I got an official invite for my first one this past Sunday and it was a great gathering of some 200 pros, with a ton of free comics, plenty to drink and lots of fun times! People were welcoming, very friendly, outgoing and all...perfectly...sane. Hmmm.
Ah, I feel much better now!
Next...
Look for some major press on Visionary Comics as we fully ramp up our Digital Publishing initiative. We have award winning and top rated comics coming out from our digital line, with at least one new book coming out every week! Press has already started and will soon be blossoming with announcements, interviews and sneak peeks. Once comics debut in one format, they will then soon follow in multiple formats from multiple venues until you'll be able to find us all over the place!
State of the Industry will debut soon here on Comic Related, following its debut in COMICS!
Then next time in this space, we get more into the art of writing comics! Join us!
Join the discussion and add your thoughts on this edition, or the column in general. If you have any questions or suggestions for resources, post them or email them to Sellner so they can be included in future columns. Are you an aspiring or up and coming creator and would like to share your story? Email Sellner and let him know who you are and what you've done.
C. Edward Sellner is the co-founder and Creative Director of Visionary Comics Studio, a studio that within its first three years has drawn high praise from the media and attracted the attention of legendary creators in the comics industry. They have been digitally and print published in the mainstream market and their creators currently work with over a dozen different publishers. Their work has been featured on television news shows, radio programs and internet podcasts as well as featured in every major comics news site online.
Contact him directly at cedwardsellner@aol.com
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