And The Word Became Footage

"In our romance with technology and our excitement at exploring all the possibilities of film and video, I think we've partially lost something that we now have to reclaim. I think it's time to renew our romance with the word." -Steven Spielberg

One of the most fearsome sights in the world is the blank page.

Acres of empty space, waiting to be filled with brilliant ideas representing our loftiest thoughts, our innermost demons. And so we place them there, and there they lie. Waiting for acceptance, for accolades of praise, for the occasional, inevitable avalanche of devastating criticism.

Creating a script can be a bittersweet experience. We experience joy when we're lit with ideas. We labor through the writing, feel relief at completion, with much trepidation present it to the world.

The script is a blueprint, a plan expressing the creator's vision. Without a script, a film or video will likely end up a series of sequences with little motivation.

Often videomakers, confusing camera with pen, shoot and edit blindly, believing a cohesive, brilliant, entertaining visual sensation can somehow, magically, be achieved.

Not to be. For it's a rare individual who can make something from no…