Tutor profile: Eve E.

"She is running for her life" is written in passive voice. Rewrite this sentence in active voice to see how much more powerful the sentence is written this way. You can embellish the sentence and add to it to create a scene or a story.

She runs for her life as the three-headed dog snarls and nips at her heels. She feels his warm breath on the backs of her legs. Adrenaline kicks in and her legs feel a power never felt before as she takes longer strides to put distance between her and the creature.

How much of your story can you tell without using dialog? Then, how do you tell this story in pictures only and is it more effective, especially in film, to use images rather than dialog to communicate what is happening in the scene.

In the movie Jaws, Chief Brody receives a phone call with the details of the first shark attack. He is on the phone while others are taking and the audio is chaotic. We discover that it is a shark attack because he is typing the death certificate and henpecks on the typewriter "S-H-A-R-K- A-T-T-A-C-K". Seeing the word materialize on screen is far more effective in creating the suspense and fear that continues throughout the movie.

When constructing a project, how do you want it to end? What emotions, feelings or response do you want from your intended audience? Then what visual cues are you going to use to get your audience to respond in the way you want?

I want my viewer to respond by supporting my cause. I want them to feel empowered to help other human beings. I will get this response by showing people struggling for basic human needs most of us use without thinking, such as water. My images of people walking miles for clean water will drive the viewer to support our cause to bring clean water to all people.