Im writing a movie script and have no idea what im doing. Any "script writi!
Question: real answers please, i am trying to write a real script i can send off to a studio.
Answers: real answers please, i am trying to write a real script i can send off to a studio.
here's a related answer i gave yesterday:
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker
sadly, there is no hotline in hollywood you can call to tell people your ideas, even if they're amazing. you need to learn how to put your ideas into screenplay or teleplay form to have any chance of selling them. the good news is there are plenty of how-to books out there, which teach you the basics, like this very famous one:
http://www.amazon.com/Screenplay-Foundat...
once you've read the books, you should read some professional screenplays, which you can find here at drew's script-o-rama:
http://www.script-o-rama.com/snazzy/dirc...
then it's time to put your original idea down on paper, which is real test of any idea. stick with it. don't try to be perfect the first time. just get the scenes down and then refine them, comparing them to the pro scripts for guidance.
once you've written your first script, you should enter a screenplay competition, which doesn't cost much money and could get you an agent. the nicholl competition is the most prestigious, they pick ten finalists every year, but even the semi- and quarter-finalists get attention. here's the link with an online application:
http://www.oscars.org/nicholl/
anyway, that's where you send your movie ideas. save your tv ideas until you get an agent. good luck.
(end of previous answer)
ok, now, screenwriting for dummies.
STRUCTURE
as you write, keep in mind is that every story has a beginning, middle and end. every story. and since you're just starting out you should probably stick to a linear structure, meaning tell it chronologically, as it happened. the beginning, middle, and end of a story each serve a different dramatic function.
this is screenwriting for dummies so i am going to be very general. the beginning establishes the characters and presents them with a problem they need to address, the middle dramatizes the conflict this problem creates -- the escalating struggle to solve it, and the end builds to a climax that ultimately resolves the conflict by presenting a solution to the problem. drama is conflict. remember that. write it down and tape it to your computer. drama is conflict. what that means is your characters have to want something enough to fight for it. again, a huge generalization, but you get the idea. movies about people that don't want anything are called character sketches and studios have no interest in character sketches.
a screenplay these days should be around 100-110 pages. people used to say 120. now it's 110, unless you're writing an epic, which i wouldn't recommend. if you break that 110 page total into a traditional three-act structure it means you have about 25 pages for Act 1 (beginning), about 50-60 pages for Act 2 (middle), and about 25 pages for Act 3 (end). usually, a dramatic turning point marks the transitions between acts, an event that crystallizes the problem and compels the characters to take action.
CHARACTERS
you want your characters to be three-dimensional, meaning you want them to have lives and hopes and dreams and insecurities -- to feel like real people, even in a comedy. accomplishing this is the tricky part, there is no dummy way to explain it, the ability to write good characters is what separates aspiring screenwriters from professional screenwriters, and even among the professionals there are those who are truly gifted and stand head and shoulders above the rest. you just have to have an eye for human behavior, and be able to convey it quickly, economically on the page. more on that in a minute.
DIALOGUE
listen to how people talk. record your friends and write down what they say and study how it looks and reads. you'll see they don't speak in complete sentences a lot of the time. you'll see how a conversation bounces around from person to person only loosely tethered at times to the central idea. that's the kind of dialogue you want to write. naturalistic, lively.
ECONOMY
110 pages is very little screen time. you need to choose your words carefully and only use as many as you need to convey the idea, unless using more words is essential or a stylistic choice you are deliberately making, like tarantino where the characters talk and talk. but he's a genius at dialogue so err on the side of economy. move the story along.
ok, i guess that covers the basics. hope that helps. good luck. have fun.
First you want to write a treatment for your movie. Its about 15 to 20 pages that just outlines what is going to happen in your movie. Not the dialoge. Just the set up where it will happen in the scenes and what will happen. Then from there you fill in the blanks with dialoge and other actions that will take place between the scenes you have written in the treatment. I don't exactly write any of mine in order that I want the story to go either. If I come up with a good scene in my head I go ahead and write it and store it for use when I get to that part. Best advise, just finish it. That is what Kevin Smith told me to do when I meet him. Good luck on it.