1. Early 1950s Film production in Czechoslovakia
Jan Černík
Department of Theatre and Film Studies
Faculty of Arts
Palacky University Olomouc
Potsdam
October

2. Introduction Introduction Screenplay development Dramaturgy units
Sources and literature
Methodology
Analyses
Conclusion

3. Screenwriting in Czechoslovakia 1945 – 1970: Technical screenplay and dramaturgy
Ongoing dissertation research

4. Screenplay development
Theme
Story idea
Synopsis
Film Short Story
Literary Screenplay
Technical Screenplay

5. The Director's Screenplay Draft Instructions
NFA, ČSF, organizace, správa, konference tvůrčích prac. R9/A1/4P/8K
Technical screenplay = director's screenplay
How many Steps to the Shooting Scripts?A Political History of Screenwriting (Szczepanik, 2013)

6. Dramaturgy units 1945 – 1948 Production Groups 1951 – 1954
Collective Board
1948 – 1951
Creative Collectives
1954 – 1970
Creative Groups

7. Otakar Vávra's TS 1945 – 1948 Production Group (Karel Feix)
Rozina Sebranec, Nezbedný bakalář, Předtucha, Krakatit, Němá barikáda
1948 – 1951 Creative Collective /
1951 – 1954 Collective board
Nástup, Jan Hus
1954 – 1960 Creative Group (various)
Jan Žižka, Proti všem, Občan Brych, První parta, Srpnová neděle, Policejní hodina

8. TS with contribution of Vávra
1945 – 1948 Production group (Karel Feix)
Hostinec „U kamenného stolu“, Revoluční rok 1948, Dravci, Vzbouření na vsi
1948 – 1951 Creative Collective (Karel Feix)
Bílá tma, Dva ohně, Rodinné trampoty oficiála Třísky, Posel úsvitu, Racek má zpoždění
1951 – 1954 Collective board
Botostroj, Haškovy povídky ze starého mocnářství, Výstraha
1954 – 1960 Creative Group
Not enough data

9. Czechoslovak New Wave TS
1963 – 1969
Creative Groups
Šebor – Bor
Černý Petr, Hoří, má panenko
Šmída – Fikar
O něčem jiném, Okurkový hrdina, Sedmikrásky
Švabík – Procházka
Démanty noci
Novotný – Kubala
Odvahu pro všední den, Bloudění, Návrat ztraceného syna, Mučedníci lásky, Den sedmý, osmá noc
Juráček – Kučera
Případ pro začínajícího kata, Skřivánci na niti

10. Literature Ian MacDonald: Screenwriting Poetics and the Screen Idea
Steven Price: The Screenplay: Authorship, Theory and Criticism
Steven Maras: Screenwriting: History, Theory and Practice
Petr Szczepanik

11. Research questions How has technical screenplay changed?
How were these changes influenced by USSR production standards?
What was the standard of screenwriting and were there some exceptions?

12. Methodology of statistical analyses
Intrinsic components
Technical components
(MacDonald)
Seven groups of elements

13. Elements of TS 1. Basic information 2. Crew a. Author b. Title
c. Screenwriter
d. Director
e. Film production
f. Dramaturgy unit
g. Year
2. Crew
a. Director
b. Director of Photography
c. Music
d. Decoration designer
e. Make-up
f. Editor
g. Advisor
h. Producer

14. Elements of TS 3. Cast 4. Length 5. Music a. Music a. Number
b. Character
c. Actor
d. From which theatre
e. Characteristic
4. Length
a. Studio
b. Exterior
c. Combined shot
d. Special effects
e. Credits
5. Music
a. Music

15. Elements of TS 6. Core technical screenplay a. Heading
b. Number of scene
c. Length of scene
d. Place of story
e. Place of shooting
f. Time of story
g1. Number of shot
g2. Distance of framing
g3. Camera imformation
g4. Plot
g5. Editing information
h1. Character (dialogue)
h2. Post/synchronous sound
h3. Sound Effects
h4. Music

16. Elements of TS 7. Approval information i. Description of decorations
a. „The End“
b. Final length
Signatures
c. Director
d. Producer
e. Executive producer
f. Director of Photography
g. Head of DU
h. Head of Collective board
i. Description of decorations
j. List of people authorized to recieve copy of TS

18. Levels of analyses 1. Inventory of elements 2. Historical level Repeat
Modify
Refuse

19. Levels of analyses 3. Reception level (MacDonald) 4. Function
Writerly
Readerly
(MacDonald)
4. Function
Report
Comment
Description
Speech
(Price, Sternberg)
5. Specification

20. Otakar Vávra's TS analyses
Modification
1f – Dramaturgy Unit, 2 - Crew, 3b - Character, 3c - Actor, 4 - Length, 5 - Music, 6c - Length, 6e – Place of shooting, 6f – Time of story, 6h2 – S/PS Sound, 7i decorations
Immediately refused
3d - Theatre, 7b – Final length, 7c – h - Signatures, 7j – List of people...
Gradually refused
1f – DU, 3c – Actor, 3e - Characteristic , 5 - Music, 6h2 – S/PS Sound , 7i - decorations

21. Otakar Vávra's TS analyses
The most significant modifications:
2 – Crew
1945 – 1948 PG – 0%
1951 – 1954 CB – 66 %
4 – Length
1945 – 1948 PG - /
1951 – 1954 CB – 100%
1954 – 1960 CG - 100%
6 – Core TS (Length, Place of shooting, time and S/PS sound)
Length, S/PS sound emerged in 1951 – 1954 CB period.

22. TS with contribution of Vávra
Modifications – similar to Vávra's TS

23. Soviet production standards in practice
Dramaturgy units – Jan Kloboučník, Miroslav Galuška, Jiří Hájek
1948 – 1951 CC period – implementation of the USSR standards

24. Soviet standards in Vávra's TS
Botostroj
Consultation in the USSR in film studio Mosfilm
Výstraha
Propaganda movies
1951 – 1954 CB (dramaturgy of Otakar Vávra)

25. The Czechoslovak New Wave's TS analyses
1963 – 1969
Creative groups
Bohumil Šmída
Novotný – Kubala
Šmída – influenced by Karel Feix

26. The Czechoslovak New Wave's TS analyses
Real locations
Improvisation
CG Šmída – Fikar
Věra Chytilová – O něčem jiném, Sedmikrásky (Daisies) – influence of Jaroslav Kučera
CG Novotný – Kubala
Antonín Máša, Evald Schorm, Jan Němec
Missing elements of core TS: number of shots, distance of framing, camera information, editing information

27. Conclusion How has technical screenplay changed?
The USSR production standards
The Director's Screenplay Draft Instructions
1950

28. Conclusion
How were these changes influenced by USSR production standards?
Sovietisation of culture
Centralisation and control over production and screenplay development
Gradually modified screenplay

29. Conclusion
What was the standard of screenwriting and were there some exceptions?
Precise copying of soviet standards
Gradually modified screenplay using functional elements

30. Element 7a The End
Thank you