SCREENPLAY NOTES. OPENING SCENE zMAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION!

SCREENPLAY NOTES

OPENING SCENE

MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION!

THE OPENING IMAGE SHOULD SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE STORY--THE LOCATION, THE MOOD, OR EVEN THE THEME.

MOVIE EXAMPLE:

YOUR TWO KEY CHARACTERS:

1. YOUR PIVOTAL CHARACTER--Often appears in the first scene. (The protagonist)

2. YOUR OPPOSITION CHARACTER:This is your antagonist

Movie example:

THE CATALYST:

Around page 10-17, something happens to your pivotal character.

(A goal, desire, mission, need, or a problem)

MOVIE EXAMPLE:

FORESHADOWING

(SET-UPS AND PAY-OFFS)

You can get away with almost anything if you set it up early in your story!

Audiences love little clues along the way! A good writer drops subtle/non-distracting hints, though.

EXAMPLES:

TITANIC: -The necklace, the drawing, the spitting lessons, the number of lifeboats, the gun, “You jump, I jump”.

THE PINCH/RISING CONFLICT

ACT TWO--THE LONGEST ACT

The protagonist has decided to do something about the difficult situation in Act 1…….

In Act 2 there will be many setbacks, obstacles, breakthroughs and small triumphs.

MOVIE EXAMPLE:

RESOLUTION:

(The climax or showdown)

THE GOAL IS ON THE LINE

This is the biggest scene in the movie! Everything has led up to this moment.

MOVIE EXAMPLE:

GENRE

Love storiesAction/adventureThrillersHorrorScience fiction

Traveling angelDetective/mysteryFilm noirFish-out-of-water

Myth

SCREENPLAY FORMAT:

First of all, you should change your font to Courier New.

Next, the words FADE IN: SHOULD APPEAR IN THE UPPER LEFT HAND CORNER OF YOUR SCRIPT.

PAGE NUMBERS:

Page numbers should appear in the upper right-hand corner of every page except page one.

SCENE HEADINGS

A master scene heading consists of 3 parts...

1. Location of camera--EXT.--Outside; INT.--Inside; or both EXT./INT.

2. LOCATION OF THE SCENE--the bathroom, football stadium, restaurant, etc.

3. Time of day--DAY or NIGHT will suffice; CONTINUOUS is used to indicate that the scenes are occurring in a continuing order (back to back).

SCENE HEADINGS ARE IN ALL CAPS. The location and time of day are separated by a dash.

EXAMPLE:

EXT. STADIUM --DAY

SPACING AFTER SCENE HEADINGS:Double or triple space after a scene heading.(Triple spacing creates more white space, which is a plus!)

DIRECTION/DESCRIPTION

Narrative description is written in present tense to show what is going on in the scene.

Double space between paragraphs of description and do NOT indent.

Allow one paragraph per beat of action or image.

DON’T WRITE ANYTHING THAT CAN’T BE EXPRESSED ON SCREEN (Thoughts, motives, feelings, etc.)

EXAMPLE:Duke sneers at the catcher. He spits on the plate.

The catcher refuses to notice.

CHARACTER NAMES:

The first time a character is introduced, CAPITALIZE the name.

CATHY SMITH,a woman in her twenties, smiles at the CROSSING GUARD.

Always capitalize the character cue/caption

EXAMPLE:

CATHY Why did you do that to John?

PARENTHETICAL/ACTOR’S DIRECTION

If you want to show what the character is doing, write instructions in parentheses below the dialogue.

EXAMPLE:

CATHY (smiling) What do you have for me?

MONTAGE:

A montage is a sequence of brief shots expressing the same or similar idea (passage of time, stream of conciousness, etc.)

MONTAGE -- SUZY AND BILL HAVING FUN TOGETHER

--They run along the beach.

--They bicycle through the park.

END THE MONTAGE WITH THE SCENE HEADING:

BACK TO SCENE

SERIES OF SHOTS:Similar to Montage, Series of Shots consists of quick shots that tell a story. The images lead to something specific instead of focusing on a single concept.

SERIES OF SHOTSA)The classroom spins.B)The student screams.C)The teacher leaves.

Usually a Montage is accompanied by one of the theme songs.

Series of Shots are sometimes accompanied by music, sounds, or songs as well.

SERIES OF SHOTS ARE ALSO FOLLOWED BY:

BACK TO SCENE

INSERTSINSERTS are also known as CUTAWAYS--they are used to bring something small into full frame(a news headline, sign, letter, etc.)

INT. LIMO--NIGHTThe driver hands Sam a letter.

INSERT--THE LETTER “Dearest Sam,…...

ALWAYS FOLLOW WITH:BACK TO SCENE

OS AND VO

OS MEANS OFF SCREEN; VO MEANS VOICE OVER

Use OS to indicate that someone is talking in the scene, but isn’t in the camera frame (someone might be in the bathroom talking to someone in the living room for example).

EXAMPLE:

STEPHEN (OS)Can you hand me a towel?

A VO is used to indicate someone’s voice is heard, but they are not in the scene (a voice in someone’s head, a faceless narrator, radio announcer, etc.)

EXAMPLE:CHARLIE (VO)

You’re done for old man.

The voice fades.

MOS:

MOS-- A SCENE “WITHOUT SOUND”

INT.BAR-NIGHT-MOS

SOUNDS

IF YOU MENTION A SOUND IN YOUR SCRIPT, IT MUST BE CAPITALIZED!

For example:

John turns on the radio and ROCK MUSIC fills the air.

Or...

The phone RINGS.

FLASHBACKSFLASHBACK-A CAR

A much younger Suzy sits behind the wheel.

BACK TO SCENE

OR

INT.CAR-DAY-FLASHBACK

A much younger Suzy sits alone.

BACK TO PRESENT DAY

TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS

To illustrate two people talking on the phone, use INTERCUT in the scene heading...

INTERCUT TELEPHONE CONVERSATION - ZACK AND JEN

ZACK HEY!

JEN ZACK? Hi!

TABS...

Left margin…………..15Dialogue……………...25Actor’s instructions..31Character’s name….37