From
Page
To Stage…
Creating Great Movies from Great
Literature
Mrs. White and Ms. Richmond
Did You Know???
When you make a movie of any kind, it
is a race against the clock to tell your
story completely and engagingly to the
audience…
Why Is This?
It’s impossible to get every single element
of a book into a 90 minute film
 There’s normally not enough money to get
everything that a director would like to
include in the movie
 You only have so much time to write,
design, shoot and edit a film

How Do They Do It?
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PLAN PLAN PLAN!!!!
You MUST have a clear vision of the story
 You MUST have a good understanding of
theme
 You need to be realistic about your resources
 Communication and decision making skills
within the group responsible for producing the
finished product is also important
 Every member of the group needs to know
their job and do it

Knowing Mood Of Your Book

Can you identify the overall mood and
feeling of the story?
Look for descriptive quotes in the text
 Pay attention to major incidents or events in
the text and how different characters react to
them
 What types of clothing do your characters
wear
 What is the setting of the book

It’s Psych 101 Time

Getting into the heads of your characters
is also important

If you choose to show one or more characters
in your movie
 What
kind of person are they
 What do they look like
 What do they want out of life
 What do they want from other characters around
them
 What is the motivating force for each character
Are There Any Symbols?
Does the author continuously use an
object to represent a theme or idea in the
book?
 Is it something that your audience would
connect to the movie?

How Does the Setting Influence
The Story?

We are all a product of our environments –
so are your characters…
Does the setting of the book cause any
characters to behave a certain way?
 Is it a very distinctive or significant feature of
the story?
 Does the setting reflect the theme of the
book?

What Is The Overall Theme Of
This Book?

What is the author saying with this story?

This is often closely related to the “If you
could sum up this book in one sentence, you
would say, “This book is about…””

A book can have multiple themes
What Are Major Plot Events?
This should be easy if you’ve read the
book
 A movie might focus on any number of
small events and one or two large events
 A trailer might focus on one or two major
events

Helpful Brainstorming Tip:

If you could sum up this book in one
sentence, what would you say?

Ex. - This book is about…
So How Does a Book Become a
Movie Become a Trailer…?
I Hate It When They Cut The
Good Parts!
 time
is money
 it is a race against the clock to tell your story
completely and engagingly to the audience
**THEREFORE**
 You’ll
have to cut some things
 A good film retains it’s meaning and direction
despite not including EVERY SINGLE STINKIN’
ELEMENT FROM THE BOOK!
 A good trailer captures the main ideas of the movie
without giving away everything in one to two
minutes
Let’s Focus Here…
You are not creating a movie, just a trailer
 This means shorter and more condensed
– pick one or two major events that
capture the point of the book and focus
your story around that
 Your job is to tell just enough of the story
to captivate the audience and convince
them to go see your film
 Believe me when I say that this is both
your boon and your curse…

Did I Hear You Say Shorter…?

This means that you…
 Must CLEARLY communicate the theme of the book
 Must give the audience an idea of where the storyline
is going with this trailer
 Must clearly identify the traits
 If you choose to focus on a character you must be
able to show the motivation of the character
 You must be able to communicate the feeling or
mood of the rest of the film
 You should draw attention to unique aspects of the
book
Hey Don’t Point That Thing At
Me…
When you point and click a camera, every
angle means something
 Wide shots
 Facial close-ups vs. Body shots
 Meaningful objects that symbolize things
other than themselves
 Up-angles vs. down-angles

It’s All Done With Smoke And
Mirrors…
Good editing can make or break your film
 Something as simple as the order in which
you pair two pictures can say paragraphs
without saying anything at all…
 The music that the editor incorporates is
every bit as important as the images
 Special effects are just that – special
 Don’t think that a fancy transition means
that you made a fancy film…

Actors…
A good actor understands the motivation
of the character and can communicate it
through both voice and body language
 A good actor can listen to a director react
to what they are asked to do
 A good actor is both flexible and brave
 A good actor understands that sometimes
less is more

Costumes
Do they match the time period
 Do they reflect the character
 Do they reinforce what the film is about
 Do they add to the overall vision of the
project without overpowering it

Sound


Good film soundtracks is like ketchup on a
hotdog – they add to the final project without
becoming the main focus of what you are doing
Just because you like a song, doesn’t mean that
it’s appropriate for your film

Things to consider in your sound selections…

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lyrics
rhythm
instruments used
melody
COPYRIGHT
Setting…
Your choices will be narrow, so you will
have to work within the bounds of what
you are allowed
 Be creative


Last year’s classroom and library became
A
grocery store
 A restaurant
 American Idol
 A mountain chateau
 An exotic mansion
 A jail
Does the audience understand
what the book is about from your
trailer?
If you can’t tell what the book is about you
might have a few problems
Are you incorporating enough cues for
theme?
Is your characterizatin clear?
What major events in the story do you
highlight?
Have A Clear Vision of Your Book
Trailer…
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Does it match the theme of your book?
Do you have a clearly defined voice?
Did you capture the motivation of the character
correctly?
Does the audience understand what the book is about
from your trailer
Does the sound match what you are talking about?
Do the visual elements match the theme of your
trailer and the theme of the book?
Acting
Angles of shooting or filming
Editing, editing, editing
Communication and Leadership