What we cannot see in Sound of Metal and Her Smell: Interplays of awareness, perspective and language in the screenplay text

Abstract

A common belief in screenwriting practice dictates that a screenplay should only include what can be heard and seen, keep emotions at bay and avoid literary inflections. Perspective, however, only becomes visible with the limitations of its visibility. What cannot be seen can be as meaningful for the story as what can. In considering the collaborative translation process from what is written to what is filmed, I will investigate the communicative effects of using different storytelling languages in the writing of perspective. Establishing the interrelationship of perspective, awareness and languages, this article will analyse examples from two screenplays, The Sound of Metal and Her Smell, to explore the different impacts of writing styles on awareness and perspective in telling the screen story. I will argue that processes of individual and collaborative awareness play a crucial role in screenwriting to communicate outside and inside perspectives of character.