Fade In: The Screenwriting Process, Second Edition [Paperback]

Robert A Berman (Author), Bob Berman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1977

Fade In is a concise, step-by-step method for developing a "story concept" into a finished screenplay. Used by professionals and universities around the world, this book covers the basics of dramatic writing; creating characters; screenplay structure, techniques and terminology.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Bob Berman is author of "Strange Universe" and "Secrets of the Night Sky," He has a weekly radio show and a monthly hour-long call-in show on NPR Northeast. He also writes a column for "The Old Farmer's Almanac" and is a monthly columnist for "Discover" and "Astronomy "magazines. He lives in upstate New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions; 2nd edition (May 1, 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0941188582
• ISBN-13: 978-0941188586
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 1.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,365,139 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Fade In: a.k.a. Why Won't Hollywood Listen To Me?, September 3, 1998

By 

DAMwriter "David Moore" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fade In: The Screenwriting Process, Second Edition (Paperback)

I wholeheartedly second the prior reviewer's thoughts. I, too, bought this book at a bookstore on the strength of its packaging, premise, etc., etc. It wasn't until I began reading it that I learned that the author wrote the first edition of this book after only about a year or two of trying to write and sell screenplays. That was my first indication of a problem. The second came when I learned that since then, and as of the 2nd edition, ten years have passed and the author has still not had a script seriously reviewed, much less optioned or produced, by Hollywood agents and producers. And this man is trying to tell us that he can reveal the secrets of writing well and selling your work? Buyer Beware!!!

Now, I have no problem with the "those who can't do, teach," philosophy. Many of my best instructors were people who were able to successfully convey information and develop talent, but were unable to do the same for themselves. However, this book breaks down into three main messages, each taking fully one-third of the book, and the first two worthy of a good, private journal, not a textbook:

Message One: The Story of My Life. Talk about vanity projects. The author gives us his life history, tells us about how good he is, how much confidence he has in his own ability, yada, yada, yada. Enough already. Save it for the psychiatrist's couch or group therapy. A book purporting to teach screenwriting and screen-selling is not the place for self-affirmations. Believe me, sales to suckers like me do not constitute success. (In fact, this is the first, and only time, I've publicly admitted to purchasing this book. P.T. Barnum, I love you.)

Real World Lesson #1: No one cares if you host jazz improvs in your house if you can't even write a screenplay that would make a dog howl.

Part Two: Nobody Understands Me. Under the guise of telling us the "truth" about the Evil Hollywood Conglomerate, we are treated to page after page of diatribe. Mr. Berman is right, everyone else is wrong, and if only he could find that one person who believes in him as much as he believes in himself, we'd all realize how mistreated he was and come crying to his door, begging to be allowed a second chance to produce his work. He acknowledges, but doesn't seem to understand, that Hollywood is a business. Until you have any sort of power, artistic or financial, in that world, don't expect to be able to make a change in how it operates or to get your work read - especially if it isn't very good.

Real World Lesson #2: If you're going to tilt at windmills, make sure you have a good product behind you. Mr. Berman's self-included full-length screenplay is an embarassingly poor knockoff of a noir thriller. I can't believe he had the huevos to include it in his book as a sample of anything other than what to avoid. I guess I'll grant him guts, in addition to a certain lack of sense.

Part Three: Nuts and Bolts. Believe it or not, there are a few gems in this book, but mostly resource lists and information about screenplay formatting, all of which can be obtained elsewhere (books, software, etc.) that also provide solid information on technicque.

Real World Lesson #3: Look further than the first and last few pages of a book before buying it.

My sympathies to the author's wife. He consistently refers to her patience in the face of his apparent lack of monetary or artistic success over the last ten years. I hope she can hold out. I hope Mr. Berman can start listening, and stop talking, long enough to improve his work. I don't wish him ill, I just want to let other potential readers know that there are hundreds of other resources that will provide much better, more solid information without having to wade through all the self-indulgent whining.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The blind leading the blind (to the movies!), August 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Fade In: The Screenwriting Process, Second Edition (Paperback)

I purchased this book on the strength of a quick flip-through. It promised a strong mix of resources for the tyro screenwriter: technical tips, industry advice, a variety of resource listings, and a complete 100-page formatted script bound into the back of the volume.

I was not prepared, therefore, to discover that the author (and, implicitly, scripting expert) is a former "sales manager" who, at the age of 42, decided to quit his job and re-invent himself as a Hollywood screenwriter.

This in itself is not a bad thing. There are plenty of wonderful poets, novelists, playrights, and screenwriters who tumbled to their particular gift or passion late in life.

Mr. Berman seems to have neither. Nor has he had any success in his chosen field. In the ten years since he switched careers he has not sold a single script. This fact is reflected in the writing: it appears that, for Mr. Berman at least, the Holy Grail of screenwriting is simply getting someone to read your script.

A possible reason for this lack of success may be that Mr. Berman has never been, by his own repeated admission, "a big reader." This is made embarrassingly clear in an anecdote about an attempted interview with William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid; Marathon Man; All the President's Men). Goldman asks Berman to name a few of his favorite authors. He can't. Not a single one.

Caveat lector on this alleged book. If there is ever a move toward consumer protection in non-fiction publishing, I will send a copy to every member of Congress. If there's any justice, there will be plenty of remaindered copies to pick over in the near future.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars There are better books!, September 4, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Fade In: The Screenwriting Process, Second Edition (Paperback)

This is a true stinker. The text is riddled with self-justification and the third draft of the included screen play is just a true prize. Buy Ken Dancyger's book "alternative screenwriting" instead, 'cause that's brilliant.