Intro to Screenwriting

1. Intro to Screenwriting

2. Starter Questions 1. WHAT IS A SCREENPLAY? 2. WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF A SCREENPLAY? WRITE A LOOSE DEFINITION AND LIST AT LEAST 3 SCREENPLAY ELEMENTS

3. Starter Answers Other elements (and more…): Transitions; Voice over; Off screen; Montage/series of shots; Flashbacks; Cross cutting/ intercutting… The main elements: Scene Heading or ‘Slugline’; Action; Character Names; Dialogue; Parentheticals.

4. The Slugline or Scene Heading Interior – means the scene in shot inside a location/ set Where the scene is happening. Minimal info. No descriptions. Time of day. Important info for cinematographers… Be generic (day or night), unless you need it to be dusk, dawn, etc. INT. ANDY’S ROOM - DAY INT. PIZZA PLANET DELIVERY TRUCK - DAY – MOVING EXT. SID'S HOUSE - NIGHT

5. Slugline it!

6. Writing Action What Action Does 1) Describes the action happening in the scene;2) Describes the location of scenes (without excessive detail), if it’s the first time we see them;3) Describes characters when we first meet them (without excessive detail) or again if there has been a significant change in appearance;

7. Prose V Screen Writing BEFORE Charlotte was hurting inside, full to the brim with unpleasant memories. She had always been a fighter though, so finding her inner strength, she put the journal down on the table and praised herself silently. Charlotte looked Andrew in the eyes before saying… From a student’s first draft… What’s wrong here? One of the most common mistakes beginner screenwriters make is to use prose language when writing their scripts.

8. AFTER • Charlotte wipes away a tear before slamming the journal down on the table. She meets Andrew’s gaze without fear. • (Charlotte eventually kills the abusive Andrew in a final climactic scene – such bloodthirsty creatures we teach…)

9. Prose V Screen Writing Task BOOK SCREENPLAY

10. Rule #1: Write what we can SEE or HEAR on screen. • Rule #2: Write Visually! • No backstory and no abstract stuff like thoughts and feelings. • Write in the PRESENT TENSE, not the past, not the future... • Feel free to add the odd metaphor or textual reference to aid visualisation. • READ: THE MATRIX – TRINITY’S ESCAPE • Look at the evocative terms used, the visual verbs and the near absence of adverbs. Circle some verbs/nouns/adjectives you think are visually striking.

11. Guideline #3: Action paragraphs are better kept short, 3 lines or less. READ: SAVING PRIVATE RYAN – OMAHA BEACH OPENING Why do you think such short ‘snazzy’ lines are preferable to longer sentences here?

12. Action: some good student examples of visual language JASON walks into the room to find his girlfriend’s naked body tangled in silk sheets, soaked in blood. He gasps and rushes to her. As Jason holds her head, he notices there is a gaping wound on her neck. She is dead. The CREATURE crawls out of the dark cave, its glittering scales making a crunching sound across the dust covered ground. It emits a disturbingly soft noise, almost a purr, at odds with its size and menacing look. PEGGY MAY bursts into the saloon, silver and golden pistols in her hands. She smirks as she sees the look of shock in some of the patrons’ faces. Her eyes scan the room. BILLY WAYNE is at a corner table, playing poker with his sleazy friends. When he finally spots her, he blanches. PEGGY MAY cocks both guns with an ear to ear grin.

13. Your turn! Choose one of the 5 prompts below and write a brief scene, focusing on visual action. PROMPT 1: During a hike in Snowdonia, a woman comes face to face with an alien being PROMPT 2: A man recovering from an accident finds a magical object that creates a portal into another world PROMPT 3: A husband follows his wife only to find that her nightly escapade is not what he had assumed PROMPT 4: The family hamster escapes his cage and goes on an adventure PROMPT 5: In a derelict warehouse, 2 assassins face off a final time

14. Characters names The first time we are introduced to a character, you must write his or her name in CAPS. After this, you may continue to do so every time you mention the character (many professional screenwriters do so) but it is totally optional. A beautiful blonde enters the saloon. This is PEGGY MAY, early twenties. Her long skirts may cover her lower body, but the tight low cut corset she wears leaves little to the imagination. Her cornflower blue eyes are hard; PEGGY MAY is no damsel in distress. Every time someone speaks, you must select ‘character name’ on your screenwriting software. It will automatically use CAPS and centralise it. WOODY Uh, hey Sarge, you seen Slinky?

15. Your Turn In pairs, introduce one of the following characters, using visual language (action) and the character’s name appropriately:

16. Parentheticals (just another word for brackets) Beginner screenwriters tend to overuse parentheticals. If characters are saying mean things to each other, you don’t really need to add (angrily) or (hurt), for example. DO LUKE I’m gonna f*****g kill you, you bastard! DON’T – IT’S COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY LUKE (in anger) I’m gonna f*****g kill you, you bastard!

17. Dialogue • Keep dialogue to a minimum. • Avoid repetition. • “Dialogue is not the same as a conversation” • Robert McKee • Whilst in real life, we repeat ourselves and talk in circles, script dialogue is about vital information and no more. • The rule of thumb is “show, don’t tell”.

19. Your turn! TOM Bill, we need to get outta here. BILL Okay Tom. TOM Bill, come on! Let's go! BILL Tom, you know I don’t like pressure! TOM Bill, she’s here! Let’s go. Now! BILL Oh… What is the problem (s) here? Rewrite the following bad dialogue scene into a more visual, less talky scene. SHOW, DON’T TELL!

20. Other Screenwriting ‘musts’. DONOT allow them to write down camera or other technical instructions on the script. Make everyone’s lives simpler by using a screenwriting software, such as Celtxor Writerduet, in order to ensure appropriate industry standard formatting. Tell them not to overuse the passive voice: she is sat at the table. Write in the active voice whenever possible: she sits at the table. Tell them not to overuse the present continuous. Instead of Jane walking to Martha, write Jane walks to Martha.

21. Yeah, but, what about having an idea in the first place?! Some tools you can use when they simply ‘can’t think of anything’: News stories: https://news.sky.com/strangenews, https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/ , https://mysteriousuniverse.org/ Plot Generators (to be used if they already have a genre/type of plot in mind): https://www.writerswrite.com/fiction/plot-generators/ Images as stimuli: https://www.deviantart.com/ (for sci-fi, fantasy and horror), Pinterest Male and Female Archetypes: https://writingcooperative.com/how-to-create-authentic-and-powerful-fictional-characters-59def46cf960

22. Make them write a synopsis! I make them write between 200 to 400 words, including all major plot points. For the A Level brief, you will need a fully-structured narrative. For GCSE and AS, it is very useful if students know where the film is going when writing the opening sequence or where it’s come from, if writing a climactic sequence. Sight and Sound Magazineused to publish the film’s synopsis before its review in the ‘olden days’. These are perfect examples to show students.