Notes taken from www.filmscriptwriting.com on how to write a good script, how to write an opening sequence and how to present a script
The story structure of a script:
Generally 100 to 120 pages. Each page is on average one minute long although this depends on how much goes on in the page. If you go under 100 pages it is assumed you don’t have enough material, if you go over 120 pages then the script is seen as boring and too long.
As we are going to be doing the opening sequence I researched how to write the beginning of a script in more detail:
Act 1 – The Beginning (roughly 30 Pages)
The first ten pages of your script are the most important. You need to grab the reader’s attention or they’ll move onto the next script in the pile. In the first ten pages of you need to establish the following:
- The Main Character – Who is he/she? Strengths? Weaknesses? Lifestyle? What’s normality for the character?
- Location– Where does the main character live? Where is the film mostly set? What is the mood of the location?
- Genre – By the end of the first ten pages the genre of the film has to be clear.
- The Premise – What is the basic story?
After the first ten pages there are two important plot points in Act 1:
- The Inciting Incident – A major situation occurs which the character will have to try to resolve during the film.
- Plot Point 1 – Around page 25 another huge event occurs. ‘ Thus far the story has been driving along and now is the time a tyre blows and sends the car careering off in another direction.’ This event will test the main character.
Here is a list of several ways to open a film. You can use each one separately or you mix a few together:
The Blatant Opening - Within a few moments you know exactly who the hero and the villain are and what the film will be about. This works well in action films.
A Regular Day – This shows a regular day in the life of the main character. Then and event which changes the normal life of the character will occur and they will need to resolve this to return their life to normal. For example, in ‘Wanted’ (2008, Timur Bekmambetov).
True Beginning - The script starts with the start of the story for the main character. For example, they might have just landed in a new country.
Dramatic Irony – The main character would not be in this opening. Instead the audience will be given some information that the main character would not know but that would soon affect their life. Dramatic irony allows the audience to be in a superior position and sets up both tension and anticipation.
Foreshadowing - This opening takes place before the main story begins and anticipates what is going to happen later on. Like the dramatic irony opening the audience is put in a position to predict what’s going to happen. This is used for horror films.
Narrator - The narrator can be the hero, another character or just a narrator. They tell the audience what happened to the main character at an important time in their life.
Flash Forward - The flash forward has two stories running side by side at the same time. The ‘B’ story has a narrator who tells the main story, which has already happened. At certain points there’s a flash forward to the narrator who continues with their story. The ‘A’ story is the main story and the ‘B’ story is of the narrator looking back.
Montage - This is the best type of opening if you have a lot of information to get across before the main story begins. Also known as a shotgun opening, a collection of short clips accelerate through the information until the story properly begins. Then the speed of the story can slow down to a normal pace. In a few of minutes you can explain years of your main characters life.
How to Present a Script:
- The industry standard font is Courier or Courier New - font size 12.
- The left margin should be 1.5 inches while your right margin can be between 0.5 inches to 1.25 inches. Both the top and bottom margins should be 1 inch.
- Dialogue should be 2.5 inches away from the left margin and should not go past 6.0 inches from the left margin.
- Actors instructions should be 3.1 inches away from the left margin and no longer than 2 inches.
- The characters name should be 3.7 inches from the left margin
- Each page of the script should have about 55 lines, not including the page number and blank line after the page number.
- Page numbers should be in the top right corner, 0.5 inches from the top edge.
- No page number is required for the first page of your script.
- At the end of the script you should signify it is the end, either with ‘The End’, ‘Fade Out’ or ‘Fade To Black’
- If there is somewhere in particular you want the opening or closing credits to appear then you can include this in your script.
There are three bodies of a script. Each of these has three points to remember:
Headings:
- Master scene headings which include:
a) Camera location - EXT. (exterior or outside) or INT. (interior or inside)
b) Scene location (LOCAL RACE TRACK)
c) Time (DAY or NIGHT)
- Secondary scene heading
- “Special headings” for things such as montages, dream sequences, flashbacks, flash forwards, etc.
The story structure of a script:
Generally 100 to 120 pages. Each page is on average one minute long although this depends on how much goes on in the page. If you go under 100 pages it is assumed you don’t have enough material, if you go over 120 pages then the script is seen as boring and too long.
As we are going to be doing the opening sequence I researched how to write the beginning of a script in more detail:
Act 1 – The Beginning (roughly 30 Pages)
The first ten pages of your script are the most important. You need to grab the reader’s attention or they’ll move onto the next script in the pile. In the first ten pages of you need to establish the following:
- The Main Character – Who is he/she? Strengths? Weaknesses? Lifestyle? What’s normality for the character?
- Location– Where does the main character live? Where is the film mostly set? What is the mood of the location?
- Genre – By the end of the first ten pages the genre of the film has to be clear.
- The Premise – What is the basic story?
After the first ten pages there are two important plot points in Act 1:
- The Inciting Incident – A major situation occurs which the character will have to try to resolve during the film.
- Plot Point 1 – Around page 25 another huge event occurs. ‘ Thus far the story has been driving along and now is the time a tyre blows and sends the car careering off in another direction.’ This event will test the main character.
Here is a list of several ways to open a film. You can use each one separately or you mix a few together:
The Blatant Opening - Within a few moments you know exactly who the hero and the villain are and what the film will be about. This works well in action films.
A Regular Day – This shows a regular day in the life of the main character. Then and event which changes the normal life of the character will occur and they will need to resolve this to return their life to normal. For example, in ‘Wanted’ (2008, Timur Bekmambetov).
True Beginning - The script starts with the start of the story for the main character. For example, they might have just landed in a new country.
Dramatic Irony – The main character would not be in this opening. Instead the audience will be given some information that the main character would not know but that would soon affect their life. Dramatic irony allows the audience to be in a superior position and sets up both tension and anticipation.
Foreshadowing - This opening takes place before the main story begins and anticipates what is going to happen later on. Like the dramatic irony opening the audience is put in a position to predict what’s going to happen. This is used for horror films.
Narrator - The narrator can be the hero, another character or just a narrator. They tell the audience what happened to the main character at an important time in their life.
Flash Forward - The flash forward has two stories running side by side at the same time. The ‘B’ story has a narrator who tells the main story, which has already happened. At certain points there’s a flash forward to the narrator who continues with their story. The ‘A’ story is the main story and the ‘B’ story is of the narrator looking back.
Montage - This is the best type of opening if you have a lot of information to get across before the main story begins. Also known as a shotgun opening, a collection of short clips accelerate through the information until the story properly begins. Then the speed of the story can slow down to a normal pace. In a few of minutes you can explain years of your main characters life.
How to Present a Script:
- The industry standard font is Courier or Courier New - font size 12.
- The left margin should be 1.5 inches while your right margin can be between 0.5 inches to 1.25 inches. Both the top and bottom margins should be 1 inch.
- Dialogue should be 2.5 inches away from the left margin and should not go past 6.0 inches from the left margin.
- Actors instructions should be 3.1 inches away from the left margin and no longer than 2 inches.
- The characters name should be 3.7 inches from the left margin
- Each page of the script should have about 55 lines, not including the page number and blank line after the page number.
- Page numbers should be in the top right corner, 0.5 inches from the top edge.
- No page number is required for the first page of your script.
- At the end of the script you should signify it is the end, either with ‘The End’, ‘Fade Out’ or ‘Fade To Black’
- If there is somewhere in particular you want the opening or closing credits to appear then you can include this in your script.
There are three bodies of a script. Each of these has three points to remember:
Headings:
- Master scene headings which include:
a) Camera location - EXT. (exterior or outside) or INT. (interior or inside)
b) Scene location (LOCAL RACE TRACK)
c) Time (DAY or NIGHT)
- Secondary scene heading
- “Special headings” for things such as montages, dream sequences, flashbacks, flash forwards, etc.
Narrative Description:
- Action
- Character and settings (visual)
- Sounds
- Action
- Character and settings (visual)
- Sounds
Dialogue:
- The name of the person speaking appears at the top, in CAPS.
- The actors direction (AKA parenthetical or wryly).
- The speech.
- The name of the person speaking appears at the top, in CAPS.
- The actors direction (AKA parenthetical or wryly).
- The speech.
By the end the script should look something like this (Pulp Fiction, 1994, Quentin Tarantino)
No comments:
Post a Comment