Abstract
'This paper will examine the role of improvisation within the screen production process.
There is nothing new about improvised acting in film. It has a significant but relatively
minor position in the history of screen drama. The prevalence of improvisation is
arguably increasing in an era where the costs of filming are reducing, which previously
was a strong disincentive to take the looser, less controlled approach of shooting
unscripted dialogue and action. Through looking at the recent production of a film
drama where unscripted dialogue was used, it will be argued that approaches that more
explicitly engage with concepts of improvisation offer both risks and possibilities for
the creative process of screen production. The relevance of the theories of M.M.
Bakhtin around the concept of the dialogic will be considered in relation to developing a
better understanding of the qualities that distinguish improvised performances from
scripted ones. In this discussion, reference will be made to performance theory and
discussions about improvisation in theatre (Schechner, 1988) and in jazz music (Soules,
2004). The paper will highlight tensions in the screen production process between
improvised performances and accepted modes of production, which are often premised
on concepts of control developed in the early years of the Hollywood film industry and
widely applied throughout the screen production field. The paper will also discuss
attempts to more broadly structure a production around the concept of improvisation,
which has significant implications for both the way a film is shot and the nature of the
story being told.' (Author's abstract)
