"We see"

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  • "We see"

    A rouge waver wrote in with a question about the hot button - is "we see" okay or is it a burn-at-the-stake offense? Love your thoughts.

    Julie Gray




  • #2
    Re: "We see"

    I've used it once or twice in a script and nobody seems to care. I think, like anything, it's a problem when it's overused.

    It also helps if whatever "we see" doesn't suck.

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    • #3
      Re: "We see"

      i.e. avoid WE SEE a dark figure move through the pitch black night.
      "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
      - Screenwriting Friend

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      • #4
        Re: "We see"

        LOL scripted77 - you're right!

        Julie Gray



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        • #5
          Re: "We see"

          /gulps
          Ralphy's Fvcking Blog

          "
          Ever notice how 'monogamy' rhymes with 'monotony'?" -- Christian Troy

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          • #6
            Re: "We see"

            I don't think it's the worst sin, but I think there are probably a at least ten thousand other ways to describe something without using it. Just my thoughts, for what they're worth.

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            • #7
              Re: "We see"

              I use them in early drafts when I'm trying to puke out the story and most of the time try and find something different in subsequent passes. But I don't care if I read them, and I don't think they're a killer.

              Bot
              Since I sensed a sudden lack of appreciation for my presence, I hopped out of the Jumpy-jump, snatched my glow-stick from the fridge and galloped away on the Rent-A-Pony. - Stolen from Jcorona

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              • #8
                Re: "We see"

                i agree with scripted77... as long as you don't go overboard.
                I've played poker long enough to understand odds don't mean sh1t - Seamus Bronzeberg

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                • #9
                  Re: "We see"

                  Some readers will HATE that you use "we see."

                  However, no reader will ever be upset that you didn't you "we see" throughout the script.

                  So don't use it unless absolutely necessary, and it's never absolutely necessary.

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                  • #10
                    Re: "We see"

                    I can't speak for all readers, just my own experience and that of the 10 or 12 readers who are either colleagues, co-workers or friends and I don't know a one that would HATE "we see" unless it was ubiquitous and clumsy.

                    Julie Gray



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                    • #11
                      Re: "We see"

                      Originally posted by TheKeenGuy View Post
                      Some readers will HATE that you use "we see."

                      However, no reader will ever be upset that you didn't you "we see" throughout the script.

                      So don't use it unless absolutely necessary, and it's never absolutely necessary.
                      I don't know a single reader who hates the usage of "We see." But they do hate pointless scenes, meandering narratives, On the nose dialogue, cliched characters, and derivative stories.

                      But I guess it's easier to dwell on the "We see..." rather than focus on real weaknesses of writing.
                      -------

                      I didn't have time to write a short script so I wrote a long one instead.

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                      • #12
                        Re: "We see"

                        I've never used it, but I've also never been put-off by other people using it.
                        sigpic

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                        • #13
                          Re: "We see"

                          I hardly ever use it, myself. To me, most off the time, it's either pointless filler, or it just smacks of a screenwriter trying to sound ... I don't know ... screenwriter-y.

                          The only time I use it is when I'm basically cheating on directing on the page, and I want something to read in the action as a reveal, the same way it would play on screen. So I might have something like:

                          "Bob sits in a chair, doing the crossword puzzle and whistling to himself. The very picture of a mild-mannered man enjoying a quiet evening.

                          Until, that is, we see the DEAD BODY at his feet."

                          Now, again, that's just me totally cheating and putting in direction without actually typing the camera angles. And I still do it very, very rarely. But that's usually the only instance when I'm inclined to use "we see": when I'm actively trying to conduct the reader's impression of what the audience sees, and how it sees it.
                          The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter -- it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. - Mark Twain

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                          • #14
                            Re: "We see"

                            I guess it would really bother me if it said "we see Jcorona pace on the sidewalk in front of the grade school."

                            That would bother me.
                            Since I sensed a sudden lack of appreciation for my presence, I hopped out of the Jumpy-jump, snatched my glow-stick from the fridge and galloped away on the Rent-A-Pony. - Stolen from Jcorona

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                            • #15
                              Re: "We see"

                              Definitely not a "burn at the stake" offense. In fact, not really an offense at all.

                              We have had some long and detailed and hot discussions of this issue through the years.

                              My impression, after being on this board for at least seven years (even longer, I think), is the following:

                              People who actually work in the business do not give a damn about things like "we see." For them it is all about getting the greenlight for a project and making money. It is about product, in the long run. The "we see" issue does not affect what actors do or what the audience sees. Nobody ever knows, from the product, whether someone used "we see" or not. For most professionals, as I read the situation, "we see" is a non-issue, just like most matters that would be important in writing that is meant for publication.

                              So why the big debate? (At least people sometimes want to debate it.)

                              It is an aesthetic issue. It relates to the quality of the writing itself. If I were teaching a course in beginning screenwriting, I would tell the class that they could use "we see" but that they should avoid it for the simple reason that it is not good writing.

                              Most of the time the "we see" can just be dropped with no problem. The subject and the verb of the remaining sentence will then describe exactly what "we see." Many times authors use "we see" because they either cannot think of a verb to use, or they do not want to try.

                              Thus:

                              *We see snakes in the aisles*

                              is much more graphic as:

                              *Snakes slither in the aisles*

                              or, another example:

                              *We see flames everywhere in the room*

                              is better as:

                              *Flames leap to the ceiling everywhere in the room*

                              Sometimes (and, damn it all, I cannot think of a good example right now) it is not so easy to come up with a verb that works well. In those instances many writers just settle for "we see + noun"; but with a little thought you can always avoid the "we see" construction and write action that is much more forceful than it is when you settle for "we see."

                              But to repeat what I have said: In the professional world of film, things like "we see" are not important. At least that is my impression from many years of hearing the discussion of this topic.

                              "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

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