A question on voice

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  • #31
    Re: A question on voice

    Originally posted by darkestbeforedawn View Post
    Again, per this discussion the singing voice is a very bad example
    Voice, imo, applies to all art forms, anything that involves creativity, style and personal interpretation.... painting, fashion, music, architecture, etc. It's a combination of any number of things - originality, flair, bravado, choice of words or colours, method of execution, rhthym, pace, contrasts. Torvill and Dean revealed their 'voice' to the world through ice dancing, when they presented their Boléro routine at the 1984 winter Oympics.

    I think the point everyone is trying to get across is that 'voice' comes from within. It's YOU. And the the only way to find 'your' voice is to allow yourself the freedom to create and interpret the world the way you see it.

    Learn and be influenced by other great writers, but don't try to think the same way they do, because you're not them. Let your own style flow onto the page. That is how to find your voice.

    Once you develop your own original and unique style, you will have a 'distinct' voice. And should you ever become a recognisable household name, then you have a famous voice
    "Writing is easy. All you do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead"... Gene Fowler

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    • #32
      Re: A question on voice

      As a WRITER, not a READER of scripts; I think it's what information you can add to the screenplay.

      Personally, I don't think there is any screenwriter, working professionally now-a-days that have anything close to A VOICE.

      lets talk about great novelists-
      Voice is 'Heart of Darkness'. Joseph Conrad, spending years on a boat traveling up and down rivers in Africa's Congo. Comes from real world knowledge.

      "Write what you know..."

      Then you have a Coppola who uses HoD to voice an opinion about the Vietnam war.

      "...write what you're passionate about."

      Michael Crichton studied medicine and inherently used a medical experiment as the catalyst for the plot. And I believe in his case it would be that he was able to go farther with his ideas in a fictional world than in the stern medical establishment.

      Voice is the dichotomy of ideas.

      Most the modern screenwriters are similar to what you discussed before, as are the producers that buy the scripts. Producers have a marketing plan for scripts and demographics that help generate numbers(money). This does not mean that the script is amazing or that the writer has a voice or what he did works, it just means it works in the producer's small eutopia.

      "don't follow trends; write what you know and what you are passionate about".
      But this wily god never discloses even to the skillful questioner the whole content of his wisdom.

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      • #33
        Re: A question on voice

        Wow, I couldn't agree less with you reddery. First off you compared two completely different mediums. If you don't read screenplays how do you know who does or doesn't have a voice?

        DD

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        • #34
          Re: A question on voice

          Originally posted by reddery View Post

          Personally, I don't think there is any screenwriter, working professionally now-a-days that have anything close to A VOICE.

          [/I]
          What about Aaron Sorkin? Charlie Kaufman. William Monahan. Christopher Nolan. Andrew Dominik. Michael Mann. Shane Black. Edgar Wright. Quentin Tarantino.

          Just off the top of my head...

          Say what you will about the quality of their movies. I don't think you'd ever confuse any one of their scripts (let alone movies) for one or another.

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          • #35
            Re: A question on voice

            I agree with reddery, voice isn't about what you're writing, it's about what you're saying.

            Reddery is an example of what is voice.

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            • #36
              Re: A question on voice

              Originally posted by reddery View Post
              Personally, I don't think there is any screenwriter, working professionally now-a-days that have anything close to A VOICE.
              huh?
              One must be fearless and tenacious when pursuing their dreams. If you don't, regret will be your reward.

              The Fiction Story Room

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              • #37
                Re: A question on voice

                Whoa, this topic has gotten way off track and has rebounded to the age old "what is voice" question. But I gotsta reply to...


                Originally posted by F.Scott.Frazier
                What about Aaron Sorkin? Charlie Kaufman. William Monahan. Christopher Nolan. Andrew Dominik. Michael Mann. Shane Black. Edgar Wright. Quentin Tarantino.

                Just off the top of my head...

                Say what you will about the quality of their movies. I don't think you'd ever confuse any one of their scripts (let alone movies) for one or another.
                Exactamundo.

                Give each one the same topic and exact same beats - a man who gets up, still sleepy, realises he is out of milk and has to go to the shop - not happy - which is full of kids buying sweets, returns home for his corn flakes and then sets off to work - and you will end up with very, very different takes on the exact same subject matter.

                It's their approach, their word usage. Their timing and phrasing. Their interpretation of the material. Just like George Bush and Tony Blair said the same things about Saddam Hussain but in very different ways and if you had transcripts from their interviews - but weren't told who said what - it'd be easy to identify who said what. Their voices are different. Voice, to me, is how you speak, how you express yourself. Yes, it includes content (subject matter, themes, message) too but by and large, for me, it's how someone says something.

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                • #38
                  Re: A question on voice

                  Mick Jagger had been clumsy and stiff on stage until Tina Turner taught him how to dance and move and command the space. He learned from her and got better, but he didn't end up moving or sounding much like Tina Turner. He went from being Mick Jagger to being MICK JAGGER.

                  All the British groups that came to the US were eager to meet and learn from the rhythm and blues performers that came before them. (There was an Isley Brothers Twist and Shout before there was a Beatles version.)

                  I think Ronaldhino is right. The Beales and Jagger, through a combination of talent, persistence and learning from others, achieved mastery of their craft, and through mastery, they didn't come to sound like those they learned from. They became skilled enough to become the best versions of themselves, with their own unique voices.

                  Originally posted by darkestbeforedawn View Post
                  You want to start getting picky, Mick was born with that voice. What did he master exactly? One day he woke up and bam, he's Mick jagger, so it's not really even close to the same thing.

                  DD

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                  • #39
                    Re: A question on voice

                    Lol. I find the argument that teaching Mc Jagger how to move on stage had anything to do with his voice, laughable. We are talking about his 'voice'. One of the most unique voices of all time.

                    DD

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                    • #40
                      Re: A question on voice

                      I think you're taking "voice" too literally.
                      Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.

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                      • #41
                        Re: A question on voice

                        The original post by dino was talking about 'his voice', only. This is why the entire comparison to singing voice and writing doens't work.

                        Antics on the stage are different from 'singing voice'. Elvis and Mc and ozzie all have unique singing voices. They also have a unique style.

                        Writing is about a combination of the two in a much more detailed way, it's more complicated. A voice is all you need behind the mic, but other people craft your style into something. Each of these guys mentioned became something that showed off their voice.

                        But all these guys where born with that unique singing voice that won't lie behind the mic. Now writers have to craft a world around their pov which takes into account a lot more than just 'born with it'. Being born with it is still a pre-requisite in my opinion, but not a deal breaker.

                        Image isn't voice in the vocal world. Image is something created around the voice.
                        DD

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                        • #42
                          Re: A question on voice

                          Originally posted by sarajb View Post
                          I think you're taking "voice" too literally.
                          Really? With all this Jagger talk I thought singing all of Let It Bleed might help me when I'm writing, I hope my voice comes through on the page now.

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                          • #43
                            Re: A question on voice

                            Originally posted by darkestbeforedawn View Post
                            The original post by dino was talking about 'his voice', only. This is why the entire comparison to singing voice and writing doens't work.
                            Who's dino?

                            http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNR1G7Knz_w
                            Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.

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                            • #44
                              Re: A question on voice

                              Originally posted by nojustice View Post
                              ... voice isn't about what you're writing, it's about what you're saying.
                              Agree.
                              Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

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                              • #45
                                Re: A question on voice

                                Originally posted by F.Scott.Frazier View Post
                                What about Aaron Sorkin? Charlie Kaufman. William Monahan. Christopher Nolan. Andrew Dominik. Michael Mann. Shane Black. Edgar Wright. Quentin Tarantino.

                                Just off the top of my head...

                                Say what you will about the quality of their movies. I don't think you'd ever confuse any one of their scripts (let alone movies) for one or another.
                                most of these people are what you call the "hollywood writer", which hasn't changed in about seventy-five years. They're adapting material and what you perceive as voice is actually their style.

                                BTW, you're focusing one sentance of what I wrote, basically taking something out of context.
                                But this wily god never discloses even to the skillful questioner the whole content of his wisdom.

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