Notes on scriptwriting videos
VIDEO 1:
- Having an idea, developing the idea and creating the basic plot structure is the way to start
- Ideas can come from lightbulb moments, a question, opinion, debate, hypothesis
- Have discussions with yourself in you head about ideas
- 4 pillars of story telling : people, places, purpose and plot
- developing character is important – protagonist, antagonist, love interest
- Dan Harmons story circle
- You. Protagonist introduction in a comforting, normal situation
- Need. What this person needs kickstarts the story
- GO. Entering a situation, story starts
- Search. Adapt to the situation
- Find. Get what they want
- Return. Returning to the comforting world
- Change. Back to normal but something is differernt now.
- This can easily be adapted, simplified or made more complicated to get a unique story.
Video 2
Tips from Aaron Sorkin
- Rules. 2000 years ago Aristotle. The rules of drama should be learnt
- Learn from other people, other script writers, but stick to your own ideas, genre and voice. Influenced work is good
- Be an audience member too and watch other films. Figure out why you like or dislike a film and learn how you would write it from that, knowing what you like and dislike
- Show what the character wants instead of who they are. Intention and obstacle of the character
- Speak script out loud as you write it to make sure it sounds natural and speakable
- Know that it takes time to learn and will be difficult at first
- For the dialogue to sound like they know what theyre saying not babbling on
- Avoid cliche storylines and have a unique approach. Research ideas you want and work out what you dont want
- Have your own quirks and motivations that get you into the mindset of writing. Music, car drives, showering, somewhere new for different perspectives
- Have a good story of what got you into writing
VIDEO 3
Tips from Quentin Tarantino
- Have your own writing processes that give you motivation to write, something that makes you feel happy
- Dont confuse the audience, loses the viewers and just makes them want to give up trying to understand. Keep them hooked and only confused momentarily
- Rewrite other scenes and fill in the blanks from memory, fresh ideas and ones that work better
- Take old stories and reinvent them, put your own ideas into old ideas
- Take morality out of the question, makes characters more interesting and their lives more gripping. Unique ideas
- Write the movie you want to see yourself to keep yourself interested
- Do subtext work
- Give characters choices
- Write extensive character backgrounds, get the best, deep characters so you can write them correctly
- Love what you do
VIDEO 4
Tips on how to format a screenplay
- Screenplays all look the same because they used to be written in that font and size on type writers in the 30s, they are kept this way so they are easily recognisable and stay professional
- Using writing software such as studiobinder, writer duet, to help you with the rules
- Slugline is the first thing, establishes a new scene and the setting
- EXT or INT – outside or inside
- More action than dialogue- shows what characters are doing and provides indepth detail. Also further describes the slugline
- Whenever a character is introduced it should be in caps
- Centralised dialogue and character names in caps
- ‘cut to’ and ‘back to’ when changing place frequently, put in the right hand side in caps.
- New slugline per scene
- If referring to a camera shot or a sound in the action, should be in capital letters.
Meri's film studies blog 