Is there any difference between writing and storytelling in the filmmaking world?

The film is magic. It is based on the writing and contains the story in its core. Even from this simple perspective, it becomes clear that writing and storytelling in the world of films are different. The actual question here is: why would one compare these two notions? Do people mix them up? And why is it essential to understand the difference between them?

Let’s start from the beginning. And, in this case, the beginning is in the definitions. Storytelling is the activity of telling or writing stories. Writing is a medium of communication that represents language and emotions via signs and symbols. If storytelling is the activity and writing is the medium, then it so happens that writing helps people to express their ideas and let’s say artistic traits of storytelling. But these are only general words from the common knowledge pool. If we take a look at the filmmaking industry, the case will go a little deeper.

In the film industry, an expert eye of Red Rock Entertainment reviews the notions of storytelling and writing from the fact that there is no mere writing in films. Writing here helps people with ideas get to the point, express their imagination with words and create scripts. Scripts are the storytellers to anyone in the industry. They contain the information about the characters, the setting, the situation, the emotions, and the ending. They describe to anyone involved in the filmmaking process what goes where and what everyone needs to do. So in some way writing, read screenwriting for films, is the way for a writer or idea-holder to explain how the idea must be turned into life. After the writing does its job, the storytelling comes.
Storytelling is the magic of developing shapes, sounds, colours, and the situation in a viewer’s mind. Using props, cameras, and actors directors tell their viewers stories. But what a story will and should say is written in the script. And this is the most important understanding of writing and storytelling in a film. These two concepts are interconnected and interrelated. And while writing can exist without storytelling, there is no possibility to get it the other way round. At the same time, a script that is not used in the filmmaking process will turn back into mere writing without the fascinating plot turns and exciting endings. It will only stay the writing on the paper.

As has already been mentioned above, a script is the basis of everything. But without the process of filmmaking or storytelling, a script remains writing in the drawer and no storytelling takes place. So there is, in fact, no disparity present here. Both storytelling and writing are indispensable parts of any filmmaking process, and one would not stand without the other one.
Still, the concepts have their peculiarities (please note that this point is not about the actual differences but rather special features that distinguish storytelling from writing).

• Descriptions vs demonstrations. The difference at this point lies in the fact that writing requires the description of every single detail mentioned. For example, a reader has no clue about the setting or the smell in a house to which a tired worker gets home. For this reason, writing requires more effort to describe the empty fridge, the smell of burning from the street, the deemed light, and the echoing apartment. In storytelling, viewers see all these details. The background music and the colour palette of the scene set the tone, the camera shows the empty apartment, and the sad face of the lead actor identifies the situation entirely. So what takes a couple of minutes to read and comprehend can be shown in a few seconds on the screen.
• Linearity vs timelessness. People say that writing is freer than storytelling in terms of linearity of a story. In books, we see that authors frequently jump from the very end of the story to its prehistoric period then include a new character and only a couple of chapters later explain who it is. In storytelling, the traditional view says that everything needs to be recounted step by step. While the latter is true for most cases when a story is told orally, in filmmaking the boundaries are almost razed. Film storytelling has the power of jumping through times and spaces to engage the viewers and to keep everyone’s attention. Moreover, such an approach was, for example, applied to the Star Wars saga. First, George Lucas filmed the last three parts of the epic story while the beginning has come many years later.
• Point of view. And the last but not least peculiarity is the point of view. Both screenplays and films can describe who the narrator is and what point of view prevails in a particular episode. But again, screenwriting requires lots of words to specify who the narrator is, what their stand is, and what kind of opinion they have toward a particular situation. In film storytelling, everything happens much easier. Producers from Red Rock Entertainment Ltd., for example, move the cam to show the scene from the speaker’s side or as if looking through their eyes. On the screen, viewers need only one glance to understand who the speaker is and to recollect the situation while in screenwriting it takes time and effort.

To sum up. The difference between writing and storytelling in the filmmaking world lies in the fact that the former is the medium while the latter is the activity. There is no argument whether one is more important than the other one since they both play a huge role in film creation. Writing or screenwriting is the foundation of a film while storytelling is the process of the story development and the actual product of the industry - the film.