Screen Writing

Screen writing

• - you should have a protagonist with an objective
• -conflict/obstacles
• -Premise/opening
• the situation 
• find it out through dialog 
• gets the whole thing started
• 
  
• -tension
• conflict creates some sort of tension 
• -culmination/resolution 

 Things you want to constantly be thinking about

• theme
• how can you touch on it throughout the movie
• unity
• of action
• time 
• place
• one thread that runs through the movie that keeps it all as one
• exposition
• mostly at beginning
• explain to audience about the characters, plot, the details  
• come across incidentally , besides saying it straight forward
• characterization

Tools that work

• dramatic irony
• when the viewer knows something that the character doesn't yet know
• Hitchcock "suspense vs surprise"
• preparation and aftermath
• an important element that comes back  
• pause before something big happens 
• ie: the plotted plant on ET - ties into the plot knows that ET is not dead
• preparation - get ready 
• after math - calm realization, think about what has happened
• planting and payoff
•  
• elements of the future/advertising 
• helpful for viewer - talks about when a timeline is established in a movie audience has an inrose in what is going to happen

• Plausibility 
• most audiences will be conditioned to believe what has happened at the start
• don't put in anything that is unexplained

• Activity vs. Action  
• Activities - are keeping your character occupied on screen
• IE: ET mimicking each other 
• actions - build plot and contribute to what is happening
• IE: ET mimicking, turns into action from activity 
•  Dialog
• it must characterize the speaker
• maintain individuality of speaker - maintain unity of film
• relfect speaker's mood, convey their emotiion or provide some window into their inner life
• reveal the speaker's motivation or attempt to hide motivation
• reflect the relationship of the sepaker to other characters
• be connective from the past to the future
• advance the aciton 
• carry information and exposition
• foreshadow what is to come