From Page to Screen [EP1]: How Hard is it to Transform Pages of Book into a Visual Experience?

Exploring the difficulties in book-to-screen adaptations

A lot of people, particularly readers always say, ‘Books are better than the films.’ But are they? And how hard is it to transform pages of books for audience sitting in front of a TV or the big screen?

This three-‘episode’ post series will answer the questions about transforming pages to screens. In this post, we will explore the different elements that maybe considered in film-making and production when adapting a book into movies/ TV shows. (Btw, I’m not a film-making expert, these are just my observations and thoughts as a reader and a movie lover).

---

The Pacing of the Story

The pace of the story is extremely crucial when it comes to screen adaptation. An around 500 page book may take 11 hours to read (this is what I saw on Audible’s narration time). It is difficult for filmmakers to condense a 11-hour long story into a 2-hour long film, with a solid character development and storyline. Therefore some necessary sacrifice must be made, like some pivotal or important scenes for readers might be briefly summarised or might not be able to make it into the screen adaptations.