scriptwriting

EXAMPLE OF parenthetical

(into phone)

Rules for Dialogue

- make characters sound different to one another: speech pattern, word choice, sentence structure, rhythm, regional dialect, frequency -must only be in script to move plot along -No small talk -only discussing things with a purpose -If a line doesn't serve a purpose or relate to the story and character it doesn't belong

AVOID REPEATS

-Voice-over : narration should never merely repeat what were seeing in action unfolding on the screen -action: When you can "say" the same thing with a visual image, action, behavior, or sound effect do that - character reveal: Never simply state exactly what's on their minds, without nuance or subtext, nor appear to be giving "exposition."

CHARACTER RULES

-give them personalized names that reflects dialogue Ex) NERVOUS BANKTELLER -never reveal exactly what's on their mind until they have mental breakdown -All other characters need to give the protagonist a problem(arguing, persuasion) - every character has individual way of talking, thinking, reacting -imagine the way they tackle the story's obstacles to find their personality ex) wether they bravely tackle it or run away from their problems The intention and obstacle of the story is like the drive shaft of car. Who wants what, and what is stopping them from getting it? Developing the intention and obstacle in your story creates the friction and tension needed to create a strong screenplay. Have you seen a movie where you thought: "That's not that hard of a problem!" Avoid that by pressing on your intention and obstacle. Make the stakes high, urgent, and convincing to keep your story compelling and believable. Introduce intention and obstacle early. If you're writing a movie, you have a few minutes. If it's a TV show, you need to do it immediately. If it's a play, you have a bit of time. ou have an idea for a screenplay — great! The next step is to make sure you have a story. Aaron's test is simple: You don't have a story unless you can use the words "but," "except," or "and then," which means an obstacle has been introduced and now there's conflict. If it's the location that attracts you, consider the idea for TV. Watching ESPN's "SportsCenter" inspired Aaron to create a story set behind-the-scenes at a cable sports show. Setting the idea in a workplace allowed for enough stories and characters that could last multiple seasons. The result was his show "Sports Night." If an idea is centered around a character that metaphorically "dies" at the end, consider it for a feature screenplay. CHAPTER REVIEW A character is born from the intention and obstacle — they want something, and something stands in their way of getting it. How they overcome those obstacles, or what tactics they use, define who the character is. Stick to the facts of a character that matter to the conflict — this saves you the trouble of writing long, unnecessary character bios. Focus on their intention and obstacle, rather than details that are irrelevant to the story. When writing characters unlike yourself, try to surround yourself with people from different backgrounds and with different perspectives. This helps inform your writing and maintain realism for the character and the plots that you are writing about. When writing anti-heroes, it's important to identify with and not judge them. By believing in their point-of-view, you avoid creating overly cartoonish villains or, as Aaron says, "hanging Christmas ornaments" on them. TAKE IT FURTHER • Listen to this interview with Emmy Award-winning actor Richard Schiff, who played Toby Ziegler on "The West Wing," where he discusses his character and his experiences working on the show. ASSIGNMENT • Write a scene where one character is asking another for money. The other character won't give them the money. Determine each character's intention and obstacle. Why does Character A need money from Character B? Why doesn't Character B want to give money to Character A? Now come up with three different tactics the characters could use to overcome their obstacle. How do the different types of tactics define who that character is, how they speak, and how they behave? SUBCHAPTERS • Start With Intention, Obstacles, and Tactics • Intention & Obstacle: Mark Zuckerberg • Tactics: Toby in "The West Wing" • Tactics: Leo in "The West Wing" • Don't Write Long Biographies • Write Characters, Not People • Writing Characters Unlike Yourself • Identify With Your Anti-Heroes • The Actor Will Complete the Character AARON SORKIN 10 4+5. NOTES There are two types of research when it comes to writing a screenplay. The nuts-and-bolts research is specific and leads to hard facts about a place, a subject, or a person. Then there is the research done when you are breaking the plot of a movie. Avoid meaningless research, and look for nuggets that can lead to an engaging plot point. When talking to experts, use open-ended questions like: "Tell me something I don't know about..." When it comes to interviewing, keep it under an hour with your subjects. If you have the opportunity to have several meetings with someone, like Aaron did with Lisa Brennan-Jobs while researching for Steve Jobs, save the difficult questions for later. Focus first on building trust and a rapport with your source.

Format Rules for action, image, dialogue scripts (verbs, ect)

ACTION VERB EXAMPLES jump, hop, skip, fall, fake, steal, rotate

What is an insert

An insert is a shot — often a close-up — that focuses on a specific detail. If necessary, these shots can be written into a screenplay, but most inserts will be called for by the director.

EXAMPLE OF A transition

CUT TO new shot / setting /8d

Dialogue

Dialogue is centered on the page

what are the transitions

DISSOLVE to indicate that a large amount of time has passed.This is perhaps the most contemporary transition used in screenplays today. As one scene fades out, the next scene fades into place. This visual aide usually communicates a passage of time or is used for dramatic effect to connect one scene to another. CUT TO was a simple direction that stipulated the literal cut from one scene to another — usually, but not always, referring to a location change as well. WIPE TO IRIS IN IRIS OUT MATCH CUT TO FADE IN/FADE OUT/FADE TO: DISSOLVE TO has somewhat replaced any mention of these FADE transitions, to the point where FADE IN and FADE OUT are only used at the beginning of a screenplay (FADE IN) and at the end of a screenplay (FADE OUT). FLASH CUT TO: This denotes an extremely brief shot — flashing in front of the audience's eyes in as short as one frame — offering a somewhat subliminal effect. FREEZE FRAME: Whatever is on the screen freezing, basically becoming a still photograph, and then holds for a period of time. JUMP CUT TO: This transition suggests film editing where two or more sequential shots of the same subject are taken from the camera, actor, or prop positions that vary only slightly. This gives the effect of jumping forwards in time. MATCH CUT TO: A transition that cuts from one shot to another where the two shots are matched by the action or subject and subject matter. Case in point, the iconic scene from 2001: A Space Odyssey where the apes have used a bone as a weapon for gathering food and we watch as an ape throws the bone into the air — we match cut to a spaceship in space. MATCH DISSOLVE TO: Very similar to MATCH CUT, however, there is a clear fade in and fade out transition between the two, rather than a complete cut from one frame to the next. SMASH CUT TO: This technique in editing has one scene abruptly cutting to another for aesthetic, narrative, or emotional purpose. The smash cut is usually unexpected for dramatic effect. You can use this in horror films to suddenly cut away from a horrific moment to a calm one, therefore creating a jarring effect from one extreme to another. You can also use it in thrillers and any other genre to leave behind an outcome mystery of an action or enhance that moment by leaving the rest to the audience's imagination. The SMASH CUT forces the audience to be somewhat shocked to see the lead character in a mask — this is the first time he is seen as such in the film. It's a sudden change from the flashback sequence to him now in closeup, with the audience's unexpectedness of him in a mask — that's what makes this transition a SMASH CUT. STOCK SHOT: This is an older term used to transition from one scene to the use of stock footage — often seen in historical films of yesteryear. TIME CUT: This transition has appeared in scenes that take place within the same location — often, but not always, with the same character(s) present in that location — but at different times. For example, if a man is stranded on an island and sitting on a beach as he looks for passing ships, you could use TIME CUT to communicate different moments within that same location and time period of the castaway pacing back and forth, sleeping, waking up suddenly, and then being drenched in water by the rising tide. WIPE TO: Much like the IRIS IN and IRIS OUT, the WIPE TO offers a wipe from any part of the frame to another. George Lucas often used this editing transition in the Star Wars films he directed and produced. How NOT to Use Them The biggest mistake novice screenwriters make with transitions is using CUT TO between each and every scene within their screenplay. This practice was widely utilized as early as fifty ago. Since the advent of screenwriting software, the format has been streamlined to the point where it's automatically implied that between scenes, the editor is going to have to "cut to" another scene — thus, CUT TO between scenes isn't necessary. When to Use Them, When NOT to Use Them Screenplay transitions are part of a long, ongoing debate between pundits, screenwriters, and industry insiders. Pundits and gurus often declare that screenwriters should avoid transitions — or any camera directions — in their screenplays, with no exceptions. However, the truth is that there is a middle ground. Screenwriters writing on spec should be writing cinematic screenplays that offer readers a cinematic experience.

EXAMPLE OF DIALOGUE

FILBERT (V.O) This is my castle. I am sworn to protect it. Anyone that stands in my way shall bear the wrath of the almighty.

EXAMPLE OF A extension

FILBERT (VO)

EXAMPLE OF A SHOT

FILBERTS POV IN SLOW MOTION- the ball tumbles down the stairs. WE HEAR each bounce echo as the ball travels down the steps.

protagonist

Give main character spotline Main idea of scene Give big speech All the best lines Introduce early

Types of scripts

PITCH SCRIPT

what are the elements of a script

Scene Heading, or Slug Action Lines, or Big Print Character Name Parentheticals Dialogue Transitions

who are screenwriters

Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, developing the narrative, writing the script, screenplay, dialogues and delivering it, in the required format, to development executives.Screenwriters either pitch original ideas to producers, in the hope that they will be optioned or sold; or are commissioned by a producer to create a screenplay from a concept, true story, existing screen work or literary work, such as a novel, poem, play, comic book, or short story.

softwares

Screenwriting applications such as Final Draft (software), Celtx, Fade In (software), Slugline, Scrivener (software), and Highland, allow writers to easily format their script to adhere to the requirements of the master screen format.

what are scripts divided into

Scripts written in Master Scene Format are divided into scenes: "a unit of story that takes place at a specific location and time

what is an example of an insert

Some examples of details that may be inserts: a newspaper headline, a hand subtly reaching into a pocket, a sign on a shop door. Patton smiles as he flips slowly through the stack. He stops on one in particular. INSERT - PHOTO of a 12-year-old Patton and his father in upper deck seats at the 1997 World Series, hot dogs in hand. PATTON Go Marlins. He fights back the single tear that's trying its damnedest to fall.

Hero's Journey

The hero's journey, also referred to as the monomyth, is an idea formulated by noted mythologist Joseph Campbell. The central concept of the monomyth is that a pattern can be seen in stories and myths across history. Campbell defined and explained that pattern in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949). Campbell's insight was that important myths from around the world, which have survived for thousands of years, all share a fundamental structure. This fundamental structure contains a number of stages, which include a call to adventure, which the hero has to accept or decline, a road of trials, on which the hero succeeds or fails, achieving the goal (or "boon"), which often results in important self-knowledge, a return to the ordinary world, which again the hero can succeed or fail, and application of the boon, in which what the hero has gained can be used to improve the world. Later, screenwriter Christopher Vogler refined and expanded the hero's journey for the screenplay form in his book, The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (1993).

plot structure

The usual order of events in a particular story

EXAMPLE OF ACTION

WE OPEN on a modern suburban home. The front window illuminated by the lights inside. We see the silhouette of a small human figure as it runs back and forth. We push in closer as we slowly see a BOY running around the house.

extensions

clarifies where a character is when they cant be seen.A note placed after the characters name to indictate how the voice will be heard onscreen

Promoting a pitch

https://nofilmschool.com/2017/03/how-to-pitch-your-movie-tv-series 1. Research 2.pitch meeting 3. Comp films 4. Find a champion 5. Proof a concept 6.over prepare your pitch materials 7. Be personable during the pitch 8. Follow up politely

character

identifies the character who is speaking. Description of the character name should be Capped

Character cues.

indented about an inch more than the dialogue. may not refer to characters by a role, such as OFFICER

shot

indicates the camera angle or movement in a scene

intercut

instructions when cutting to multiple locations . Instructions for a series of quick cuts between two scene locations

fade in

marks the start of a screenplay

dialogue

the lines of speech your character says

transition

used in a transitional instructions for editing

subheader

used when they are minor changes in a locations . The one line description of the location and time of day of a scene

Example of a subheading

EXT. WRITERS STORE - DAY reveals that the action takes place outside The Writers Store during the daytime.

EXAMPLE OF SCENE HEADING

EXT/ INT EXT. PLACE. TIME

EXAMPLE OF SUBHEADER

HALLWAY

Dialogue and description

IMAGERY & DIOLOGUE Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)magery can be used in many metaphoric ways. In The Talented Mr. Ripley, the title character talked of wanting to close the door on himself sometime, and then, in the end, he did. Pathetic fallacy is also frequently used; rain to express a character feeling depressed, sunny days promote a feeling of happiness and calm. Imagery can be used to sway the emotions of the audience and to clue them in to what is happening. Imagery is well defined in City of God. The opening image sequence sets the tone for the entire film. The film opens with the shimmer of a knife's blade on a sharpening stone. A drink is being prepared, The knife's blade shows again, juxtaposed is a shot of a chicken letting loose of its harness on its feet. All symbolising 'The One that got away'. The film is about life in the favelas in Rio - sprinkled with violence and games and ambition. Since the advent of sound film, or "talkies", dialogue has taken a central place in much of mainstream cinema. In the cinematic arts, the audience understands the story only through what they see and hear: action, music, sound effects, and dialogue. For many screenwriters, the only way their audiences can hear the writer's words is through the characters' dialogue. This has led writers such as Diablo Cody, Joss Whedon, and Quentin Tarantino to become well-known for their dialogue—not just their stories. Bollywood and other Indian film industries use separate dialogue writers in addition to the screenplay writers.[21]Plot, according to Aristotle's Poetics, refers to the sequence events connected by cause and effect in a story. For Trey Parker and Matt Stone this is best summarized as a series of events connected by "therefore" and "but".[22]

Sub heading aka slug line

INT EXT time where the action is happening. It's a location, followed by a time

EXAMPLE OF INTERCUT

INTERCUT PHONE COVERSATION

action lines

It is the description of the actors in a scene. It tell us what the actors are doing. Remember - only things that can be seen and heard should be included

syds fields paradigm

Opening Image: The first image in the screenplay should summarize the entire film, especially its tone. Often, writers go back and redo this as the last thing before submitting the script. Exposition: Provides some background information to the audience about the plot, characters' histories, setting, and theme. Inciting Incident: Also called the catalyst, this is the point in the story when the Protagonist encounters the problem that will change their life. This is when the detective is assigned the case, where Boy meets Girl, and where the Comic Hero gets fired from his cushy job, forcing him into comic circumstances. Plot Point 1: The last scene in Act One, Plot Point 1 is a surprising development that radically changes the Protagonist's life, and forces him to confront the Opponent. In Star Wars, this is when Luke's family is killed by the Empire. He has no home to go back to, so he joins the Rebels in opposing Darth Vader. Pinch 1: A reminder scene at about 3/8 the way through the script (halfway through Act 2a) that brings up the central conflict of the drama, reminding us of the overall conflict. For example, in Star Wars, Pinch 1 is the Stormtroopers attacking the Millennium Falcon in Mos Eisley, reminding us the Empire is after the stolen plans to the Death Star R2-D2 is carrying and Luke and Ben Kenobi are trying to get to the Rebel Alliance (the main conflict). Midpoint: An important scene in the middle of the script, often a reversal of fortune or revelation that changes the direction of the story. Field suggests that driving the story towards the Midpoint keeps the second act from sagging. Pinch 2: Another reminder scene about 5/8 through the script (halfway through Act 2b) that is somehow linked to Pinch 1 in reminding the audience about the central conflict. In Star Wars, Pinch 2 is the Stormtroopers attacking them as they rescue the Princess in the Death Star. Both scenes remind us of the Empire's opposition, and using the Stormtrooper attack motif unifies both Pinches. Plot Point 2: A dramatic reversal that ends Act 2 and begins Act 3, which is about confrontation and resolution. Sometimes Plot Point 2 is the moment when the Hero has had enough and is finally going to face the Opponent. Sometimes, like in Toy Story, it's the low-point for the Hero, and he must bounce back to overcome the odds in Act 3. Showdown: About midway through Act 3, the Protagonist will confront the Main Problem of the story and either overcome it, or come to a tragic end. Resolution: The issues of the story are resolved. Tag: An epilogue, tying up the loose ends of the story, giving the audience closure. This is also known as denouement. In general, films in recent decades have had longer denouements than films made in the 1970s or earlier.

what side do transitions go on?

The exception to this rule is any transition that ends with "IN:" For example, "FADE IN:" must be placed at the left action margin. "CUT TO:" was once widely used to indicate the end of a contiguous sequence.

What do you capitalize?

Transitions Characters when they first appear Important props , sounds, camera momements

scene number

generally numbered only in the shooting script

what are scene numbers? how do you use them?

generally numbered only in the shooting script

Sluglines or scene

headings tell the reader where the action is happening. EXT/ INT EXT. PLACE. TIME

parenthetical

provides info on how the actor should say the line.Action or attitude or action for character.(not used when redundant or obvious, to clarify ) parenthetical will describe action, emotion or the way the character delivers the dialogue