BAFTA Screenwriters’ Lecture Series: Sean Baker 18 November 2017, Princess Anne Theatre, BAFTA 195 Piccadilly, London Jeremy Brock: Good evening. Thanks so much for coming. I’m Jeremy Brock and I’d like to So be patient, be kind. OK, so then there’s a welcome you to the second in this year’s rewrite during production and that happens quartet of international Screenwriters’ Lectures, basically through my direction. This plays out a to be given by the prolifically talented few different ways: first off I always encourage multidisciplinary filmmaker Sean Baker. Sean’s improvisation on set—I find it exciting and I films include Take Out, Tangerine and his usually work with actors who have that gift of beautiful, colour-startled paean to innocence, improvisation. And I work with my actors in that The Florida Project. In collaboration with his co- process. So it’s basically another aspect of writer Chris Bergoch, Sean produces writing, it’s writing on set. If my actors are willing screenplays of matchless integrity and to discard the written word and riff on the authenticity, creating a social realism, which is themes of the scene, it’s my duty to guide both brutally real yet awash with an incredible them through that. And sometimes it’s a humanity. Nobody who has seen the dance, it’s a back and forth where I hear performances in The Florida Project can be in something I like but it might need tightening or any doubt as to the extraordinary vision and fleshing out. So as a writer I take what my actor veracity at work here. We’ll run a short gives me in that moment and think of a montage of Sean’s work, Sean will then lecture, different approach and direct them on how to followed by a moderated Q&A with the British change it. Sometimes it’s asking questions in Council’s Director of Film Briony Hanson, and the moment, sometimes it’s simply feeding then we’ll, as always, open it up to the floor. So them alternate lines that are thought of in the if we could cue the montage. Thank you. moment as the camera’s rolling, and it’s really just—it’s almost having a dialogue with my [Clip plays] actors, it’s a back and forth. [Applause] So that’s how dialogue may be actually reworked and rewritten, but then there are the Sean Baker: Good evening, hello everybody. Is changes to plot and character arcs that we, as this working? Hello, hello? Yep, OK. I’d like to my filmmaking team, we do our absolute best thank BAFTA for inviting me to be part of this to keep an open mind to that stuff during series; it’s quite an honour. So first off, I’m production because I want it to organically speaking with you tonight not as a screenwriter live. I want it to organically grow. So my initial but as a screenwriter-director-editor. I’ve been screenplay is, is more than a blueprint but I still all three on all of my films, and, well to be clear like to see it as a blueprint. a co-screenwriter on five of my six films. I bring this up because my screenwriting is actually We usually shoot just enough in chronological very interconnected with my directing and order that we’re able to see the film from a editing, and so I’m going to be speaking in that bird’s eye perspective and notice if things way, from, basically from the point of view of need adjustment. And my co-screenwriter Chris all three, of all three things. Bergoch, it’s very important for him to be present on set. You know, that’s not usual, So when I write my films, when I co-write my that’s not the normal—the normal thing to do. films, I feel as if I write my films three times: The Usually a screenwriter, you’ll never see him or initial screenplay, written in a fairly her on set. But it’s important for me because conventional way—the only thing that may not we are basically in the process of finding the be standard about that initial screenplay is film, the screenplay, for the second time there. slightly more screen direction on the page and And I’m going to give you an example with sections in which I clearly state that I’ll be using Tangerine. Chris actually was present and a documentary-style approach to capturing a realised that, just by observing on being on set moment. So these are sometimes paragraphs that we needed something more in our third or little sections in the screenplay that give my act. And this was about two and a half to three actors sample lines, but I make it clear that weeks into production. And he came to me they’ll be interacting with pedestrians or non- and he goes, ‘we’re missing something: We professionals and improvisation will be required have, you know, our three act structure, we for them to, you know, for them. Forgive me; have our, you know we have our reveals, but this is my first lecture ever, ever. there’s a third act twist that seems to be missing.’ And this simply came from him, you [Laughter] know, analysing what we had captured up to BAFTA Screenwriters’ Lecture Series: Sean Baker that point and realising that our final scene would be more impactful if a betrayal So I can give an example of that: There’s a preceded it. So close to that third week of scene that now comes twenty-five minutes into production we just took the nights off, the the film, it’s the scene I call the Brazilian tourist nights that we had, and wrote a scene in scene. Two Brazilian tourists on their which it revealed that our lead character honeymoon show up to The Magic Castle Alexandra had slept with her best friend’s man. thinking it was going to be The Magic Kingdom And this changed—this is a big change and they, they’re complaining about the state because it requires us to then rehearse with our that they’re in. They’re trying to find—they’re actors, to figure out a night to shoot this. You obviously not in the right place. Well this scene know it’s a little bit difficult for a production to was originally written on page sixty, so handle this, especially on limited budgets and essentially sixty minutes, an hour, into the film. time. But in the case of all, well, of five of my six What I found during post-production was that features, significant adjustments like that and we needed that exposition earlier. We needed, additions have been made during production. in many ways those tourists were our eyes or So that’s the rewriting portion that takes place outsiders eyes, in a way representing the during production. And I just gave you a audience. So giving the audience that spoiler, as you heard. This is going to be ripe for information twenty-five minutes in seemed spoilers, I’m sorry about that, so spoiler alert right. It seemed keeping the audience in the from this point on. dark for any longer, I think would have, would have confused the audience too much. So OK, so then there’s the third stage: Post- that’s a big example of taking something, production. And this is where I write the film for taking it from page sixty and bringing it all the the third time. Because I edit my own films I way back to page twenty-five. Now because have the liberty to find the film for the third time the film, you know, is a series of vignettes to a in the edit room. And I really consider this part certain degree, continuity was OK—you know, of my writing very much part of my directing— kids are often wearing the same thing, you you know it gives it its signature, it gives it—at know it was a night time scene that it that moment I get to play with pacing, I get to separated, so it didn’t matter, you know, if play with, uh, I get to choose what I want in wardrobe changed. And this is something I do there and what I don’t. I approach it like a a lot, but Florida Project had a lot of this going documentary editor I guess you could say. on. And I also have had wonderful producers and So, that’s an example of basically—those are financiers who have actually allowed me to the way—that’s my screenplay writing. Three take a break after production to get distance parts. And I, the only reason I bring that all up is from the footage, so that, and sometimes up to because that’s a disclaimer. That um, you’re several months; you know, Mark and Jay basically, the way—it’s my way of saying that I Duplass on Tangerine actually gave me over don’t think I’m going to be able to speak to five moths to remove myself before going into the craft of screenwriting in the ways that you the edit room. And this was valuable, this was might be used to hearing it spoken about. You invaluable, because it allowed me to, when I know I studied filmmaking at NYU, and as came back to the footage it was—I was seeing required I had a filmmaking—I’m sorry, a it with fresh eyes.