19:15:58 [goober99] Screenplays consists of different elements.
19:16:09 [goober99] We talked about the basic elements yesterday.
19:16:19 [goober99] The first element was the scene heading.
19:16:32 [goober99] Anybody want to jump in and give an example of a scene heading?
19:17:26 [goober99] Review: A scene heading has a 1.5" left margin and is all caps.
19:17:27 [Nancy] BOB'S HOUSE, KITCHEN
19:17:28 [Mitch] INT. MITCH's HOUSE, KITCHEN
19:18:01 [FM] LOL, fine!
19:18:12 [goober99] Good. Nancy, each heading is supposed to begin with either INT. or EXT.
19:18:18 [Mitch] oops I forgot the -DAY
19:18:32 [Nancy] okay
19:18:46 [goober99] Yes, you also need to add a time. The time can be general like Day or Evening.
19:18:54 [goober99] The next element was the Action.
19:19:18 [goober99] An action has the same left margin as the scene heading, but it is mixed caps.
19:19:45 [goober99] Yesterday I mentioned that a rule in screenwriting is "Show it, don't tell it."
19:19:48 [Nancy] and present tense
19:20:01 [goober99] This comes to play mostly in the Action (though sometimes in dialogue).
19:20:10 [goober99] Yes, it is supposed to be in present tense.
19:20:23 [goober99] You must remember that a screenplay is not a novel.
19:20:45 [goober99] In a novel it is okay to write that Mitch was frustrated because he got home from work late.
19:20:55 [goober99] You don't want a line like that in an Action.
19:21:02 [goober99] You are telling the reader about a feeling.
19:21:21 [goober99] A screenplay is destined for a movie screen (or at least a computer screen).
19:21:27 [goober99] You've got to show the emotion.
19:21:56 [goober99] I'll give time for some more participation: what are some ways that you could describe emotion in the Action without telling the reader what the emotion is?
19:22:34 [goober99] I'll give an example for the first one:
19:22:44 [Mick] You mean like "Smiles, frowns, cries, etc?"
19:22:51 [goober99] Mitch shakes his head and sits down in front of his computer.
19:22:52 [Mitch] "looks like he bit a lemon" LOL
19:23:04 [Nancy] action verbs, such as: Mitch rushes in the door, ??
19:23:07 [FM] lol
19:23:47 [goober99] There are two occasions that you use all caps in an Action.
19:23:52 [FM] Mick I think you got it right
19:24:01 [goober99] The first time you use a character's name in an Action, you write it in all caps.
19:24:12 [goober99] Only the first time.
19:24:25 [goober99] The other occasion is sound effects.
19:24:43 [goober99] The baseball flies through with windows and the glass SHATTERS.
19:25:08 [goober99] A lot of the formatting rules for scripts are in place so that different members of the crew can quickly find what they are looking for.
19:25:31 [goober99] Capitalizing sound effects tips off the sound crew that they have work to do for that scene.
19:25:32 [Nancy] makes sense
19:25:55 [goober99] A new rule for today: Show it, don't direct it.
19:26:22 [goober99] Your Actions are meant to show the story from your point of view, but not for you to direct the scene.
19:26:33 [goober99] Examples of this would be Actions that read like:
19:27:02 [goober99] Bob walks into his kitchen. We see a shot of the refrigerator. Then we see Bob again as he opens the refrigerator.
19:27:31 [goober99] When we get into a few new elements of a screenplay today, there is one for shots.
19:27:39 [Nancy] but shouldn't the first one be BOB in all caps?
19:27:40 [goober99] It is advisable that you use it sparingly.
19:28:08 [goober99] If this was the first time Bob was mentioned in the entire screenplay. This line could be from the middle of the screenplay.
19:28:24 [Nancy] okay. thanks
19:28:43 [goober99] The next element was the character name, which is all caps and 3.5" from the left.
19:28:59 [goober99] Just like Scene Headings, you want to stay uniform throughout your script.
19:29:31 [goober99] If you use WILLIAM in one scene and WILL in another, it will only serve to add confusion.
19:29:53 [goober99] The Dialogue comes after the Character Name.
19:30:13 [goober99] It is 2.5" from the left and 2.5" from the right.
19:30:45 [goober99] The "Show it, don't tell it" rule comes into play here also.
19:31:08 [goober99] Sometimes it is easy to have a character launch into a long narrative about something.
19:31:47 [goober99] For instance, in a spy movie where a terrorist has developed a biological weapon.
19:32:17 [goober99] You don't want to have the American scientist give a three minute on screen speech about the effects of the biological weapon.
19:32:56 [goober99] I find that the first time I write a screenplay, the dialogue is usually too long.
19:33:38 [goober99] We usually try to find the shortest way to say what we want to see in every day conversation.
19:33:46 [goober99] You want your characters to do the same thing.
19:34:00 [goober99] After you write your dialogue, go back through and trim, trim, trim.
19:34:21 [goober99] Unless you are going for a campy batman style, you want your dialogue to sound natural.
19:34:34 [goober99] The best way to do this is to actually read your dialogue aloud after you write it.
19:34:42 [goober99] If it sounds unnatural to you, it probably is.
19:35:18 [goober99] You want to keep your dialogue and action balanced.
19:35:25 [Nancy] okay
19:35:33 [goober99] You want approximately as much dialogue on a page as action.
19:35:45 [FM] fine
19:36:04 [goober99] In Hollywood, they actually look for stuff like that. A script is regarded as amateur if there is more of one than another.
19:36:27 [goober99] Sometimes rules like that don't have as much impact on filmmakers like you and I who do it as a hobby or small business.
19:36:51 [goober99] That brings me to the third rule: Format the screenplay how the director expects.
19:37:04 [goober99] I'm assuming for most of us here, you are the director and the writer most of the time.
19:37:34 [goober99] We also touched on the Parenthetical.
19:37:52 [goober99] It was 3" from the left and 3.25" from the right.
19:38:10 [goober99] Does anyone have any questions about the basic elements?
19:38:30 [Mitch] no, sounds good
19:38:34 [FM] I'm ok
19:38:44 [goober99] I'm going to introduce some new elements then.
19:38:59 [goober99] The Extension is an element that comes at the end of the Character Name.
19:38:59 [Nancy] I'm good.
19:39:21 [goober99] You place a space after the Character Name and place the Extension in parenthesis.
19:39:36 [goober99] There are two Extensions: (O.S.) and (V.O.)
19:39:43 [goober99] O.S. = Off Screen
19:39:49 [goober99] V.O. = Voice Over
19:40:26 [goober99] You would type BOB (O.S.) followed with the dialogue underneath if you do not see Bob on the screen while he says the line.
19:40:41 [goober99] For example, BOB could have a friend over.
19:40:46 [goober99] The Action could read:
19:41:01 [goober99] Bob walks out of the room as his friend sits on the couch.
19:41:35 [goober99] Then as Bob's dialogue starts you would add the O.S. extension to have Bob shout from Off Screen:
19:41:43 [goober99] Would you like anything to eat or drink?
19:42:13 [goober99] V.O. is used for dialogue from a character that is not in the scene at all.
19:42:25 [goober99] Like NARRATOR (V.O.)
19:42:52 [goober99] Question: Would a voice on an answering machine be V.O. or O.S.?
19:43:09 [FM] VO
19:43:19 [goober99] Correct.
19:43:28 [goober99] What about a cheering crowd at a football game?
19:43:30 [FM]
19:43:44 [FM] ALL CAPS?
19:43:53 [FM] lol
19:44:03 [Nancy] O.S.?
19:44:18 [FM] it is a sound FX... lol
19:44:25 [goober99] O.S. is correct.
19:44:41 [FM]
ok, sorry...
19:44:56 [goober99] A cheering crowd could be a sound effect, but lets imagine that one fan cheers a specific comment we want in our movie.
19:45:25 [goober99] Another element is the Shot.
19:45:43 [goober99] The Shot is separated by one blank line above it and one blank line below it.
19:45:59 [goober99] It has the same alignment as Action.
19:46:14 [goober99] If you are using one of the templates or RoughDraft, the Action alignment is default.
19:46:24 [goober99] A Shot would usually come in the middle of Action.
19:46:43 [goober99] To properly write the example of directing I gave before you would start your Action:
19:46:52 [goober99] Bob walked into his kitchen.
19:47:04 [goober99] You press enter twice to leave a blank line.
19:47:15 [goober99] CLOSE ON REFRIGERATOR.
19:47:22 [goober99] You would press enter twice again.
19:47:28 [goober99] Then resume your Action:
19:47:33 [goober99] Bob opens the refrigerator.
19:47:38 [Nancy] ahem - walks right - not walked?
19:47:59 [goober99] You're right.
19:48:16 [goober99]
19:48:26 [FM] lol
19:48:37 [goober99] It is advisable to use Shots sparingly.
19:48:48 [goober99] There are times when Shots are appropriate though.
19:49:20 [Nancy] so shots are directions for the camera operator?
19:49:35 [goober99] If it is important to build suspense that a certain character is not seen, you may want to add a Shot to focus the attention on something else in the room.
19:49:39 [goober99] Yes.
19:49:54 [goober99] Here are some of the standards Shots used:
19:50:05 [goober99] CLOSE ON ...
19:50:12 [goober99] ANGLE ON ...
19:50:23 [goober99] BOB'S POV.
19:50:28 [goober99] POV = Point of View
19:50:37 [goober99] INSERT - ...
19:50:54 [goober99] Does anyone want to know more about one of the Shots?
19:51:05 [goober99] I don't know if I've mentioned: Shots are all caps.
19:51:07 [Mick] If you overuse shots, does this violate the rules you spoke earlier of showing your action, but not directing it?
19:51:36 [goober99] Yes, that is why you want to avoid overusing Shots.
19:51:44 [goober99] Then there is the third rule:
19:51:48 [goober99] Do what the director expects.
19:51:57 [goober99] If you are the director, add all the Shots you want.
19:52:28 [goober99] The last element I'm going to introduce is the Transition.
19:52:44 [goober99] Almost all books I've read on screenwriting say don't use this element.
19:52:53 [goober99] It ventures way too far into directing.
19:53:01 [goober99] It exists, so I'll mention it.
19:53:29 [goober99] The Transition is also all caps. It is 5.5" from the left and followed by a colon.
19:53:39 [goober99] Possible Transitions are:
19:53:42 [goober99] CUT TO:
19:53:49 [goober99] DISSOLVE TO:
19:53:53 [goober99] WIPE TO:
19:54:14 [goober99] There are two special transitions that you use in every script.
19:54:22 [goober99] The first one is FADE IN:
19:54:31 [Mitch] FADE OUT
19:54:39 [goober99] It is the very first thing written on every script and it is right aligned with the Action.
19:54:41 [Mitch]
19:54:49 [goober99] And Mitch is right. FADE OUT is the second one.
19:55:02 [goober99] It is the only one not followed by a colon and it too is left aligned.
19:55:16 [goober99] Typo about FADE IN: It is left aligned with the Action.
19:55:42 [goober99] If you are using one of the MS Word tools, these elements are automatically added for you.
19:56:05 [goober99] If you are using RoughDraft, just leave the cursor in the default position, and type FADE IN: or FADE OUT.
19:56:38 [goober99] Those are all the elements that a screenplay consists of.
19:56:59 [goober99] There are two special kind of scenes I want to briefly touch on: The Montage and the Series of Shots.
19:57:00 [Mitch] cool
19:57:22 [goober99] The difference between the two is that the Montage usually consists of different locations.
19:57:36 [goober99] The Series of Shots usually consists of different shots at one location.
19:58:00 [goober99] A Montage could be a day spent together by a romantic couple.
19:58:24 [goober99] The first shot would be of them shopping, then of them on the beach, then of them going to a restaurant, etc.
19:58:36 [goober99] Usually a music track is laid behind all the scenes.]
19:59:17 [goober99] An example of a Series of Shots is the popular technique where someone who is getting a makeover visits the mall and you cut between several shots showing them in different outfits.
19:59:43 [goober99] For a Montage you write a special Scene Heading:
19:59:47 [goober99] MONTAGE OF ...
20:00:11 [goober99] In the case of my example you would write MONTAGE OF ROMANTIC COUPLE
20:00:50 [goober99] The you start with the Action. The Action for a Montage is a list of scenes A), B), C).
20:01:00 [goober99] You put a blank line between each point.
20:01:24 [goober99] For the first one you would write A) Jim and Jill go shopping together.
20:01:32 [goober99] Then you would press enter twice to leave a blank line.
20:01:43 [goober99] B) Jim and Jill walk along the beach.
20:02:30 [goober99] The Series of Shots is exactly the same except for you start it SERIES OF SHOTS OF TRYING ON CLOTHES AT THE MALL
20:02:46 [goober99] These are both devices used in movies a lot.
20:03:13 [goober99] Someone think of another example of a Montage. Then someone else give another example of a Series of Shots.
20:04:04 [Nancy] Series of Shots - a baseball game - the different players, the crowd, the scoreboard
20:04:37 [goober99] Good. Anyone have an example of a Montage?
20:04:46 [Nancy] Montage: players parking lot, locker room, playing field, at home later.
20:05:02 [goober99] Another great example.
20:05:17 [FM] LOL, nancy got it all civered for us
20:05:23 [Nancy]
20:05:29 [FM] civered = covered
20:05:38 [FM] LOL
20:05:46 [goober99] There are going to be some times that you want to add specify text to be showed on screen.
20:05:54 [Mitch] lol
20:06:05 [Mick] MONTAGE OF MICK EDITING...A)Mick opens PPro B) Mick gets confused C) Mick has a meltdown
20:06:17 [goober99] You've seen the war movies that type the time and location in block font along the bottom of the screen.
20:06:27 [Nancy] LOL
20:06:31 [goober99]
Mick,
20:07:03 [goober99] To add text that is supposed to be showed on screen you type SUPER in all caps aligned along the left like Action.
20:07:15 [goober99] It is separated by a blank line above and below it.
20:07:32 [goober99] Then you place a space, a dash, and a space followed by the text.
20:07:49 [goober99] SUPER - 1200 Hours, CIA Headquarters
20:08:39 [goober99] I've used all of my time once again, but since we got started late, I'll keep going unless someone objects.
20:08:59 [FM] ok, by me
20:09:01 [Mitch] go ahead
20:09:07 [Nancy] I'm okay for a few more minutes
20:09:21 [Mick] Me too!
20:09:37 [goober99] As for the storytelling part of screenwriting, the most popular format is a 3 Act Movie.
20:10:02 [goober99] You can think of the three acts as the Introduction, the Body, and the Conclusion like you would an essay.
20:10:17 [goober99] The first act is used to introduce all of the characters.
20:10:38 [goober99] You don't want this act to be too long. Generally this act is shorter than the second act.
20:10:56 [goober99] The length of this scene depends on what kind of movie you are making.
20:11:23 [goober99] If you are making a road trip comedy with three or four main characters, you don't want to take a long time introducing them.
20:12:12 [goober99] If you are making a war movie that involves scenes at the pentagon with main characters there and scenes on the battlefield with several main characters there, your first act is going to be a little longer.
20:12:25 [goober99] Your second act is where the story really happens.
20:12:49 [goober99] You want the conflict to come together in this act.
20:13:11 [goober99] You also want to resolve the conflict in the second act.
20:13:26 [goober99] The only thing you reserve for the last act is concluding everything.
20:13:41 [Nancy] question
20:13:44 [goober99] The third act is the part where you might show how the characters are living 10 years down the road.
20:13:54 [goober99] Nancy?
20:14:43 [Nancy] I realize we are not writing a screenplay that hollywood would ever make, but why is it that some of them seem to have a very very long first scene/act - taking forever to introduce characters?
20:15:19 [Nancy] two-parter question....
20:15:29 [Nancy] and can characters be introduced later also?
20:16:07 [goober99] These rules aren't set in stone. If you want a long first act, go for it. Just generally the first act is shorter.
20:16:19 [Nancy] okay thanks
20:16:26 [goober99] The only reason to introduce all the main characters early is to have more time to develop them.
20:16:37 [goober99] If it lends to the story, you can introduce a character later.
20:16:49 [goober99] No example is coming to mind right now.
20:17:21 [goober99] Does anyone have an example, maybe from a popular movie, maybe a unique idea, of story where you would need to introduce a character later in the movie.
20:17:50 [FM] I'm not sure of the name of the film, but...
20:17:54 [Nancy] I was thinking of a movie where a number of years has gone by.
20:18:41 [FM] There was one developed around of a revolver or something, with 3 separate stories but the same gun all the time
20:18:50 [Mitch] What if you're doing a life story? The husband/wife would get introduced later
20:19:03 [FM] the stories followed chorological
20:19:11 [goober99] All good examples to show that the rules are not set in stone.
20:19:35 [goober99] Of course, there are other variations than just 3 act movies.
20:19:41 [goober99] 3 act is by far the most popular though.
20:19:51 [goober99] I like using 3 acts because it helps keep me focused.
20:20:00 [goober99] Hold that thought as I describe my last point.
20:20:03 [Nancy] makes sense
20:20:07 [goober99] Then I will relate the two points together.
20:20:26 [goober99] Before you start a movie, you probably know how long you want to make it.
20:20:42 [goober99] In Hollywood, they usually plan for a movie to be 120 minutes.
20:20:47 [goober99] Lets get realistic though.
20:21:05 [goober99] We are probably going to be making 5-10 min. movies or shorter.
20:21:28 [goober99] Either way it is important that you write your script to be the length you want the movie to be.
20:21:48 [goober99] When you use the formatting I've talked about, one page of script is supposed to be one minute of video.
20:21:52 [goober99] Is this always true?
20:21:57 [goober99] Of course not.
20:22:08 [goober99] Some pages will last longer and some pages will be shorter.
20:22:25 [goober99] It provides a rough guide that can be very helpful though.
20:22:46 [goober99] Before writing your screenplay, decide how long you want the movie to be.
20:22:59 [goober99] If you want the movie to be 30 minutes, write a 30 page screenplay.
20:23:12 [goober99] If you want the movie to be 6 minutes, write a 6 page screenplay.
20:23:20 [goober99] You can stray from this a little.
20:23:37 [goober99] If you are trying to make a 6 minute movie, and only come up with a 5 page script, that is okay.
20:23:45 [FM] good tip there!
20:23:47 [goober99] It is okay if you come up with a 8 page script.
20:24:04 [goober99] It is not okay if you come up with a 30 page script when you are trying to make a 6 minute movie though.
20:24:20 [Nancy] LOL
20:24:39 [goober99] When I divide my movie up into acts, it helps me focus because
20:24:55 [goober99] I decide for a 6 minute movie that the first 2 pages will introduce the characters,
20:25:15 [goober99] The next three pages will be the conflict and resolution,
20:25:25 [goober99] and finally the last page will quickly conclude it.
20:25:34 [goober99] You don't have to use these exact numbers.
20:25:44 [goober99] You would adapt them for the type of movie that you are writing.
20:26:01 [goober99] Chances are that a lot of things are going to change as you begin to film.
20:26:24 [goober99] I once heard that a movie is written three times: Once during scripting, once during filming, and once during editing.
20:26:33 [goober99] This is definitely true.
20:26:59 [goober99] If you have ever got the chance to read the script from one of your favorite movies, you might be surprised how many things are different in the movie from the script.
20:27:07 [Nancy] I've heard that also.
20:27:09 [goober99] Well, I'm done with all the points I wanted to discuss.
20:27:28 [goober99] I have a link to a website with scripts from popular Hollywood movies somewhere.
20:27:31 [FM] well done goober
20:27:33 [Mitch] thanks for all the info goober!
20:27:39 [goober99] If you give me a moment, I'll post that to end with.
20:27:42 [Mick] I've enjoyed this chat and looking forward to the next one!
20:27:44 [Nancy] and I've seen actors in interviews who don't know the complete story line until the editors get done.
20:28:15 [Nancy] thanks so much goober.
20:28:18 [goober99] Here's the link: http://www.script-o-rama.com/
20:28:28 [Mick] Yes, the links will be helpful, I haven't been able to get Word to install the screenplay macro....yet.
20:28:35 [goober99] This guy posts scripts from a lot of Hollywood movies.
20:28:49 [FM] cool
20:28:51 [goober99] What version of Word are you using?
20:28:59 [Mitch] There will likely be a 2 week break in discussions but I'm already talking to some real pros about some more discussions
20:29:01 [Mick] 2002 Pro
20:29:01 [goober99] I use 2003 now, and Screenplay doesn't work with it.
20:29:11 [goober99] It worked when I had 2002.