Screenwriting workshop

Screenwriting Guide

Contents:

1) Principles of Screenwriting 2) Story Ideas 3) Developing Ideas 4) Genre 5) Screenplay Layout

1. Principles of Screenwriting

1) Know the story (logline) 2) Think about the audience … 3) Know your genre 4) Paint pictures with words. 5) Foreshadow. 6) Show! Don’t Tell. 7) If your hero has a weakness – attack it

2. Story Ideas

Think about your audience. Who is your audience?

Potential Sources:

Myths, legends, fairy tales, narrative poetry, religion, history…

o Gilgamesh – ancient epic story from the Middle East o Pygmalion – classic from Ovid’s Metamorphoses o The Arabian Nights o Local heroes and local folklore o Heroes from History, e.g. Joan of Arc, Mother Theresa

o The Classics: Pyramus and Thisbe o Shakespeare: ‘Romeo and Juliet’ o A song, e.g. ‘Last Christmas’ o Your Subconscious

3. Developing Ideas

Once you have the story, it is wise to go through the stages of development (usually collaborative) in order to get the story ready for the actual film.

o The Logline (useful for pitching / briefing) – 25 words or less…

e.g.

Gladiator A general who becomes a slave, who becomes a gladiator who kills an Emperor.

Alien – Jaws in Space.

Notting Hill - A London bookseller falls for a glamorous Hollywood star and finds himself out of his depth.

o The Synopsis – a one page outline that goes through exactly what happens. Objective and clear. The beginning, middle and end of the story.

o The Treatment – 3 pages or more where a great deal of depth is covered to give a real flavour of the style and content of the film. It may even be useful to write thumbnail sketches of the characters.

o The Script – think about how you set the scene; introduce your characters – an extremist moralist with a bottle of vodka just in shot behind him. A hero with a fear of heights – make sure he has to face this as he /she saves his / her friend. The bigger the journey, the greater the hero.

4. Genre Rules

The rules of genre are important; best achieved by watching films in the appropriate genre. If it is a Romantic Comedy, for example, then the expectation is that there will be a break-up / obstacle in the middle of the film and that the couple will be together by the end (not always, e.g. La La Land). There are also genres that are special to the region, e.g. Bollywood. When writing for foreign audiences it is worth seeing what they watch and what ‘ingredients’ are in their films. The plot may not be that d ifferent, e.g. boys meets girl; the way they get there may well be… There is, however, a general template, based on psychology and audience awareness / expectations.

1

Opening Image

The state of play (especially for your main character).

1

2

Theme Stated

Good vs, Evil

5

Corruption is Wrong

Loyalty at any costs.

3

Set-up

1-10

4 5 6 7

Catalyst Debate

12

12-25

Break into Act II

25 30

B Story (Sub plot)

8 9

Fun and Games

30-55

Midpoint

Probably the most important point in a story – time for a pivotal moment…

55

10

Bad Guys Close In

55-75

11 12

All Is Lost

75

Dark Night of the Soul Break into Act III

75-85

13 14

85

Finale

85 110 110

15

Final Image

This will often be in stark contrast to the opening image, think rags to riches, e.g. ‘Cinderella’ .

5. What does a screenplay look like?

The screenplay format stems from a time when the writers used a typewriter – hence:

Font: Times New Roman

(Size 12)

It is not the job (usually) to write the technical terms that a director will use, e.g. Close Up etc. but rather to indicate it by description:

INT. LIBRARY – NIGHT

(Wide Shot)

The library is crowded with industrious students.

Except for one: Sally Bonvive, dressed in sparkly party gear and high heels.

(Close up / Extreme Close Up)

Sally ’s eyes look around nervously.

Terminology

o Logline – a brief (25 words or less summary of the story)

o Synopsis – a brief (one page) summary of the story

o Treatment – a detailed narrative

o Dramatic Irony – the audience knows more than the character in the scene. It usually builds tension.

o Editing – the process by which the producer, the director etc. add notes and suggestions to the screenplay.

o Foreshadowing – dropping hints / clues as to what is to come and making this (future) scene more believable.

o Template – the set format for a screenplay, see ‘Save the Cat!’

o Establishing Shot / Wide Shot – where are we? o ECU – Extreme Close Up o CU – Close Up

Further Reading:

‘Save the Cat’ by Blake Snyder .

The latest thinking on structure in screenplays.

‘Seven Basic Plots’ Christopher Booker

A breakdown of potential story sources / plots.

‘Metamorphoses’ Ovid

Classic stories from the Roman Empire that may inspire, e.g. Pygmalion.

Internet Sources:

BBC iPlayer - ‘Mark Kermode’s Secrets of Cinema’

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0bbn5pt

Screenwriting Programmes:

Final Draft – formatting (speeds up writing process)

Format and Example Scripts:

BBC: Medium and Format - Writersroom (bbc.co.uk)

Script complete?

BBC Opportunities: https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunities