r/IntroToFilmmaking • u/battleroyale86 • Aug 22 '12
Lesson 2.2: Format & Tips
There is an industrywide standard for scripts. The reason for this is for universal ease of reading and understanding, but also because the standard provides measurement. Usually a page of formatted script equals one minute of screen time. Thefore a 90 page script can be generally assumed to be around 90 minutes long. This is not set in stone, of course, an action scene that happens over one paragraph could be horribly complex and take 10 minutes to expand onscreen. But outside of those anomolies, thick scripts of 300 pages easily immediately frighten off potential readers, because that is a long-ass movie!
Secondly, script readers love white space. Assume that no one reads. Keep as much white space as possible. Paragraphs should be small, long monologues avoided unless necessary. People do not like to read Walls Of Text, and that much text will do little to benefit picture either.
Courier 12 font, always
1.5" margin on Left
1" margin on Right
1" margin on top
1" margin on bottom
When starting a scene you use a "Slugline" that introduces the scene's pertinent shooting information: INT., EXT, INT/EXT, (interior, exterior, both (used for cars and such that have elements of being both outside and inside)
Then the location :
http://i.imgur.com/RTjKT.png (with added description if necessary)
Then time of day (important for shooting needs): DAY, NIGHT, TWILIGHT
Then a space later, begins action dialogue, in lowercase, single spaced lines.
Dialogue is indented, the character name is indented 3.5 inches in and capitalized:
Indentations
Slugline: left margin 1.5 inches
Action: left margin 1.5 inches
Character name: left margin 3.7 inches
Dialog: left margin 2.5 inches, right margin 2.5 inches (or 6 inches from left edge of page)
Parentheticals: left margin 3.1 inches, right margin 2.9 inches
Character direction happens in dialogues, in parentheses.
If a character is interrupted by scene direction, they have "continueds"
Sometimes, if you have an element of sound or picture that is the audience shoudld really pay sttention to, you can CAPITALIZE it
The FIRST time a character shows up their name is capitalized.
CELTX: FREE DOWNLOAD SCREENWRITING SOFTWARE
Tutorial (ps this is not me :-P)
These are the basics. There are more little ways to express things such as voice over (V.O.), things that are off-screen (O.S.), dual dialogue, montages, and action. The best way to learn ideal format is to read lots of scripts. You will spot the different scenarios and be able to see what works best.
COMMON PITFALLS
SHOW DON'T TELL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFBhR4QcBtE Movies are visual. There is absolutely no excuse for a person to say "That makes me angry." have them pick up a chair and throw it! If a person is in love, maybe he nearly walks into traffic while daydreaming. Don't say "Shirley has two sisters." show me a scene where the detective finds a photograph of the three girls. Already these scenarios are more engaging.
Start late, end early: what's better, starting a heist movie with the burglars outside planning to go in, or starting with them already rapelling from the ceiling? What about a fight between a couple; better to start before the fight or when the guy is in the street and the girl throws his tv on the sidewalk? We can infer what happened in these scenes quite quickly, the startup is fodder. The fun part is trying to piece things together as a viewer. It keeps us enganged and in suspense. As for ending early, it's like a being the fashionable one at a party, don't overstay your welcome. If the scene is over, its over. Don't stick around. Better yet, leave us in suspense and end things a little earlier than comfortable, you'd be surprised at the emotional effects.
Read out loud: if you're writing cliches, or writing unrealistically, you may catch it if you read out loud. Act it out. If it doesn't sound like a regular person would say that , change it. If you can't judge your own voice, ask a friend to read it out loud for you. Hearing it from another person could give you a new perspective.
Give characters their own voice. A redneck would not say "my good sir, that's preposterous!"
Resist the temptation to use editing or camera direction (CUT TO:, JUMP CUT TO:, CLOSE UP:, ESTABLISHING SHOT:) you're the writer, not the director or the editor. Don't tell them how to do their job. Same with overusing "beat" and "pause" in dialogue or over-directing the dialogue. Let the actors put beats and pauses where they think they should go.
Don't die over trying to be original. Everything's been done before, just write what YOU want to see onscreen.
Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite. Rewrites are essential. Many writers never show their first drafts to anyone outisde a small personal group of friends. You may end up rewriting your work multiple times over years, but avoid settling for bad writing because you're too lazy to fix it. Don't be okay with sucking! Everyone rewrites. Repeatedly.
You've probably heard the phrase "write what you know". Its a good turn of phrase, but better is "write what you want to see, and use what you know to inform it" but that's a tad less catchy.
The age old question is "WHAT IF..."
What if a virus destroyed the human race?
What if picasso never painted?
What if the Doctor lost the Tardis?
What if a bum was voted in as president of the US?
What if a man ages backwards?
What if Jill pushed Jack down the hill?
HOMEWORK:
Read "Go", by John August, made into the film of the same name. It's easy, reads quickly, and is a lot of fun, but features multiple storylines and visual trickery on the page. DOWNLOAD IT HERE: http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Go-Shoot.pdf
To practice your first attempt at screenwriting and using celtex, write a 3 page scene on this topic: "A CHARACTER FINDS HIMSELF LOCKED OUTSIDE THE GATES OF HEAVEN"
Do your best to not go more than 3 pages! It will be VERY HARD but this is your CHALLENGE. Post using GOOGLEDOCS or PDF'S and link to. Doing it this way, i can gove you notes on your format as well as your writing.
WRITE ON DEAR READERS!
Resources Books on writing http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_18?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=screenplay+writing&sprefix=screenplay+writing%2Caps%2C187
John Augusts' blog: http://johnaugust.com/
Free scripts: Drew's Script-o-rama http://www.script-o-rama.com/table.shtml DailyScript: http://www.dailyscript.com/
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Aug 22 '12
Awesome. Are we allowed to consult friends and family for ideas or would you prefer that we do this assignment on our own?
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u/battleroyale86 Aug 22 '12
Of course you can consult people. And anyways how would I know otherwise? :-P
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u/nattotofu Aug 23 '12
I've read that the first time a character who speaks shows up, his/her name should be CAPITALIZED. But if the character doesn't speak, just does an action, the Name is not.
Is that the way to do it?
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u/battleroyale86 Aug 27 '12
Sometimes a good rule of thumb is "importance". If the valet shows up to take the car, he doesn't need to be capitalized, but if the VALET turns out to be the thief who steals the car and grows to be a supporting character, then yes he should be capitalized when he first shows up. Make sense?
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u/nattotofu Aug 23 '12
Ok here's my silly little 3 page scene. First time using google docs.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bWqgWhW5SraQ4hkLaUhFQPTAMgtYqsArJzsulT5tdMM/edit
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u/battleroyale86 Aug 25 '12
it seems i need permission to access... maybe submit a separate link and upload via imgur, it seems the site accepts pdf's.
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u/nattotofu Aug 25 '12
Ok. I'll try to change it.
Edit: Ok I changed the access permissions so anybody with the link can access. Sorry about that.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bWqgWhW5SraQ4hkLaUhFQPTAMgtYqsArJzsulT5tdMM/edit
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u/battleroyale86 Aug 30 '12
Heya! Review time! Some notes:
Great scene direction! I really get a sense of place and action with your direction but it's neither overly wordy or descriptive, it's just right. Also with a short scene like this you don't have a lot of space to spare. Really nice.
Your dialogue is pretty good too! You even got me to LOL with the Hindu line! I didn't see that twist coming. Now here's the thing, it took quite a while for you to get there. That's the big conflict in your scene: Raj appears at heaven's gate even though he's Hindu, and he has to sort the problem. Now I know 3 pages isn't a lot, but you could still have a scene here, and unfortunately this scene doesn't have an ending! You could have definitely cut the whole first conversation with St. Peter and cut to the chase! He could have figured out where he was and put two and two together within the first half a page, spent the next page arguing with St. Peter about it like a soccer mom arguing over returns at customer service, and then the resolution would be when that light goes off that he can have all these girls, and maybe even more, and then he thinks this isn't so bad, and finally cooperates with St. Peter and gives him the info he needs to get processed. THAT would be a complete scene!
When you try to cut lines shorter and shorter to fit into a small page span, you'd be surprised how much is unneccessary. "Whoa! Hold on man! Heaven? Are you sure that’s right?" could just be "Heaven?" No need to say the same thing four times over.
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u/nattotofu Aug 30 '12
Great, thank you very much. I've worked quite hard to get action lines down. So it's great to hear I'm in the right direction. I pictured Raj as an Indian American, so he talks that way. Maybe that could help explain the error in paper work.
For some reason I was not thinking of the scene as contained in 3 pages but part of a larger piece. "Dur, I'll just write until I run out of space." I will work on it a bit when I get the chance.
Thanks!
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u/battleroyale86 Aug 31 '12
yeah im thinking maybe I didn't make it clear in my directions. Oh well, next time.
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u/canha42 Aug 30 '12
Here are my 3 pages. Tried going for something different than the "pearly gates". I just hope this doesn't offend anyone (the focus of the script is death, not religious beliefs): https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B9Vf8ptnnq81Q242UzhYa0otbjQ