Week 7

Literary Adaptation using

Multimedia Tools
21st Century Literature from the
Philippines and the World
 LITERARY
A retelling of a previous literary piece to a new
ADAPTATION
format or medium. Although literary adaptations
are a trend in the 21st century, it dates back to
the Graeco-Roman period. Greek and Romans
create art that are based on the events of epic
poems written by Homer and Virgil. Although these
stories are ancient, they are being adapted until
today. In fact, the movie, Troy starring Brad Pitt
is a retelling of Homer’s The Iliad, specifically the
 LITERARY ADAPTATION

• Adapting of a literary source (e.g. a

novel, short story, poem) to
another genre or medium, such as a
film, stage play, or video game.
What are the different
literary adaptations?
 Different Literary Adaptations
01 02 03
Transforming Staging Drama Creating a new
poems to stories into Play. story from the
and transforming characters of a
04
stories to poems. Writing a sequel previously written
or a prequel story.
 Different Literary Adaptations
05 06 07
Transforming a Creating an Creating a story
story or drama to artwork (visual from a song and
a movie and art) from events creating a song
Transforming a in a film from a story.
story or drama to
a TV series
 Four Categories of Literary
Adaptation
Museum Adaptation Loose Adaptation

Transformative
Artful Adaptation
Adaptation

Whatts (2020)
 MUSEUM ADAPTATION
A historical museum exists to preserve and protect historical artifacts
and records; to alter them in any way is considered taboo. A museum is
also concerned with placing artifacts and records within their historical
context, through interpretive signage and other materials.

In the same way, a “Museum” Adaptation is concerned with preserving

every possible detail of the book exactly how it exists in the book, just
transferred to the film medium.
Example:
Most movies that are based on the biblical
sources exemplify this category of literary
adaptation. For example, the 1956 film,
The Ten Commandments which narrate the
story of Moses is an example of museum
adaptation. The movie even exerted
efforts of creating visual effects
considering the year when the film was
made just to be faithful to the events in
ARTFUL ADAPTATION
This type of adaptation is most concerned with finding
balance between being true to its source material, and
creating a film that can stand on its own as a work of
art.

Rather than preserving every detail like a museum, an

Artful Adaptation finds the essential elements of the
book and interprets them in ways that are meaningful
for the audience.
 In the movie Avengers: Infinity War,
Example: the villain Thanos was able to wipe
out half of the population in the
universe using the powers of what is
called the infinity stones. However,
in the comics it is prevented because
of the help of intergalactic heroes
who help the Avengers, a group of
earth-based heroes.
 LOOSE ADAPTATION
We’ve all seen a movie that we would call a “Loose Adaptation,”
a film that keeps a few elements or some semblance of the
premise of the book it’s based on, but then more or less does its
own thing with them.

We often discuss this type of adaptation in negative terms, as if

its lack of exact similarity to its source material is somehow a
failing. And for many people, it is. But a Loose Adaptation can
still be a really good movie.
 The movie, The Lightning Thief is an
Example: example of a loose adaptation. It is an
adaptation of the book, Percy Jackson
and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
by Rick Riordan. However, although the
characters and their abilities in the
movie is the same with those in the
original source, some events and details
where changed. As a result, the movie
adaptation garnered a low review both
from critics and the fans of the book
 TRANSFORMATIVE ADAPTATION
Works by Shakespeare, Austen, and Dickens,
as well as fairytales like “Cinderella,” are
common Transformative Adaptations. These
films set their source works in a time period
other than that in which they were written,
often in the contemporary era. They may
also take place in a different culture from
the source work, or in a subculture of
modern Western culture.
 Example:
The movie Eternals is an example of this adaptation. In the
movie, the character of Ajak is a male in the comic source.
But, in the movie, a female actor assumed the role. It is
also the same with Makkari who is also male in the original
source, but a female actor assumed the role. Moreover, in
the movie, the speedster is deaf; whereas, in the comic
source, he is not. Another change in the movie is the
character of Phastos. In the movie, he is gay, but in the
comic source, he is not. Despite these changes, their
What is Television
Writing?
 Television Writing
Television writing is the art of writing a TV
show. Television is an exciting medium for
writers because they get to control
everything from the stories that are told
to how the sets are built. TV writers
develop stories, write scripts, make edits
and revisions, and help determine what an
episode looks like.
 5 Ways TV Writing is Different from
Film Writing
The mechanics of writing a feature film script and
writing a television script are the same: Both
look the same on the page, both are typed up
with screenwriting software like Final Draft, and
both use location headings, character headings,
scene descriptions, and dialogue. But the two
script writing processes have a number of
Here’s Why Writing for TV is
different:
TV scripts are shorter than movie
scripts. Writing an episode of television
takes less time and results in fewer
pages. TV episodes are either 30
minutes or 60 minutes long with
commercial breaks, while feature films
are at least 90 minutes long.
Here’s Why Writing for TV is different:
TV shows have different narrative
structures. A movie has a clear beginning,
middle, and end, while TV shows are
episodic and allow for multiple beginnings,
middles, and ends. Each TV script is part
of a larger narrative, with multiple
character and story arcs divided across a
number of episodes and seasons.
Here’s Why Writing for TV is different:

TV scripts don’t have to resolve every story right

away. Every episode will come to its own conclusion,
but they don’t have to be wrapped up neatly; the
stories and characters will continue to grow into
the next episode. TV writers can take things slow,
play with cliffhangers, and allow plots to develop
over time.
Here’s Why Writing for TV is different:

TV scripts are dialogue-driven. TV shows

typically focus on the writing rather than
the visuals to drive the story. Movies are
more cinematic than most TV shows and
involve more considered cinematography.
Here’s Why Writing for TV is different:

TV shows require more writing in the

long-run. Individual episodes are shorter
than movies, but require more writing over
the course of a season or entire series.
A Guide to Formatting
TV Scripts
There used to be a lot of rules for writing television,
particularly around established formats, such as
procedural drama. But today, with the vast amount of
platforms your show can live on, any storytelling format
is possible. It’s beneficial to know the traditional rules so
you know which ones you’re breaking.

Before you begin writing your script, it’s important to

understand how to structure an episode of TV. Let’s
examine how a standard one-hour television show is
structured. Typically, on network television, there are
about five acts roughly lasting about 11 pages each.
 Here’s How Rhimes Views the
Structure of each of the Acts:
Act I: Introduce your characters and present the problem.
Act II: Escalate the problem.
Act III: Have the worst-case scenario happen.
Act IV: Begin the ticking clock.
Act V: Have the characters reach their moment of
victory.
It’s helpful to think about how you want each of your acts to end as you
begin to lay out the structure for your episode. Work these out ahead of
time and properly set your story up for them, rather than dumping a twist
at the end of each act just for excitement’s sake. The other essential
components of your episodes are your A, B, and C storylines:

A storyline: The A storyline involves your main character and is the core
of your show.
B storyline: The B storyline is secondary and helps the narrative keep
moving forward.
C storyline: The c storyline, sometimes referred to as “the runner,” is the
THANK YOU.