Syd Field

Sydney Alvan Field ( born December 19, 1935 in Hollywood, California, † November 17, 2013 in Beverly Hills, California ) was an American non-fiction author who dealt with the art of writing screenplays.

Life and work

Syd Field taught in the 1980s screenwriting at the USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles. Among his students were there John Singleton and David S. Goyer.

Syd Field wrote books and gave lectures that will help writers to write screenplays that are of interest to the American film industry.

Fields concepts for writing a screenplay were very considered also from the producers in Hollywood to create concepts for successful Hollywood screenplays.

Fields most important contribution to the subject area was the location of a script in the "three- act structure " ( referring back to Aristotle ).

In this division of a screenplay, a screenplay begins in the first half hour with input information about the people and the background story. After the plot of the film reaches a " plot point " that pretends the protagonist of the film a goal which he must achieve. Half of the film, the hero of the film tries to achieve his goal, called the Field and the " Confrontation period." The last quarter of the film is the finale of the film, which ends with the completion of the film.

He died in November 2013 at the age of 77 years.

Writings (selection )

  • The manual for the screenplay. Exercises and instructions to a good screenplay (The screenwriters workbook, 1984). 13th edition Zweitausendeins, Frankfurt / M. 2001, ISBN 3-86150-035-3 (EA Frankfurt / M. 1991).
  • Script writing for television and film. A handbook for training and practice. 4th edition Ullsteinhaus, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-548-36473- X (EA Berlin 2001).
  • The screenplay. The basics of screenwriting. Step by step from concept to finished script ( Screenplay. The foundations of screenwriting, 1999). Revised and enlarged edition. Author House Publishers, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-86671-019-1.
  • The most common problems with the script writing and Solutions ( The screenwriters ' problem- solver, 1998). Revision. Author House Publishers, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-86671-030-6.
  • Selling a screenplay. The screenwriter 's guide to Hollywood Field. Delacorte Press, New York, 1989, ISBN 0-385-29859-5.
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