Evoking character perspective in screenplay directions: a multilingual approach to writing the ‘big print’

ABSTRACT Screenplay directions, also known as the ‘big print’, form an integral part of the story on the page. While dialogue breathes the words of spoken language, screen directions evoke the literary qualities of the screenplay. In developing an approach to understanding the screenplay text as multilingual invitation to its collaborators, we show how the languages of filmmaking, literature and poetry can be used in the writing of screen directions for evoking character perspective. As an entry point to a character’s inner life, character perspective in screen directions have the qualities to not only depict what is intended to be seen, but also evoke inner thought processes. Revoking traditional opinions that a screenplay should only include what can be seen, we show that these ‘invisible’ screen directions form an integral part of the screenwriter’s craft. As counterpart to the physical, they drive the character’s inner journey. We discuss how language choice can attain different levels of physical and emotional perspective – a multilingual approach that initiates a translation process from page to screen.