A beginner's Guide for Screenwriting

  

What is a screenplay? A screenplay is an instrument or blueprint in which words are transformed by a collaborative effort, into images and sound in the film. It is a collaborative idea which requires effort from different people not just from one person. Therefore when you are

working a script, at different intervals, it is important to share your ideas with people you trust so that you can have a great script at the end of your project.

What is the most important part of a screenplay? According to William Goldman, it's the first 15 minutes, and/or the first fifteen pages. Screenplays should snap, crackle, and pop on page one! Start with the story in motion, and that scene should foreshadow the story and the ending but according to actor Paul Newman, the most important part of a movie is the last 15 minutes.  Every story is good but what matters most is the creativity in that story. If it is a traditional story that someone told you about, share the idea with some of your creative friends and some professionals in the entertainment industry so that you can get more ideas from them before you start writing. Before sharing your story with friends first, write a high-concept Logline, telling the story concept in no more than two sentences. A Logline is a concise and informative summary of your entire screenplay in 20-30 words.

Next, write a one-page synopsis, which is selling a story, not telling a story. Now write a treatment, three to ten pages, double-spaced, present tense, selling each and every scene of your story, little or no dialog. Whose story is it? What happens? Some studios or production companies want a step outline, which describes each and every scene, one line for each scene. You may also want to write up a character list, with lead roles, supporting roles, speaking/action parts listed.

 

Screenplay story components 

1. Most important element? Structure! Act I, II, III. Beginning, middle, end. 

2. Protagonist, bigger than life, someone with whom the audience can identify. 

3. Conflict (vital, early on), well-defined. 

4. Protagonist changes by end of Act I. 

5. Antagonist(s) should be equal to or greater than protagonist. 

6. Focus of story, start story just before most interesting part. 

Screenplay Story structure: 

ACT I: who is protagonist and what is his/her story? Set up dilemma for protagonist. Introduce characters. 

End of Act I, most conflict, protagonist is ready to change to new direction. 

ACT II: This is where the real story begins, and is the longest part of your screenplay. "A story is built around an active protagonist who struggles against primarily external forces of antagonism to pursue his or her desire, through continuous time, within a consistent and causally connected fictional reality." (From Robert McKee's Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting) 

Screenwriters sometimes have a lot of trouble with Act II. It can seem monotonous, episodic, or aimless. This may be because they've conceived of it as a series of obstacles to the hero's final goal, rather than as a dynamic series of events leading up to and trailing away from the central moment of death and rebirth. (Chris Vogler, The Writer's Journey.) 

At the End of Act II. Crisis at high point, realisation has set in for protagonist, confrontation with antagonist coming up, moment of truth about to occur, movie moment happens. 

ACT III, no more than fifteen minutes long, resolving all conflicts. What's the hardest part of the script to write? The ending. The climax usually happens about one to five pages from the end of the script, followed by a short resolution that ties up all loose ends. The big finish, the problem is resolved, the question is answered, the tension lets up, and we know everything will be all right! 

Next week Wednesday: we will talk about five phases of film production screenwriters need to know.