Week 2 -Writing Your First Screenplay

You are a video producer, right? So why should you concern yourself with how to write a screenplay? Because a time may come when you have to get your ideas from paper to video, and you need to explain to a financial backer, crew and cast how your idea plays out.

So you've got a great idea for a video project and you want to get some people to help you do it. If it's really simple like “I want to get video of the sun coming up over that hill while the kids drop pumpkins from ladders as the tune of the 1812 Overture plays,” you can just tell someone. But if it was that simple, you wouldn't need any elaborate help. When your ideas get big, you need to write them down. When you need the help of big people, you need to write your ideas down properly.
How you present your script is the equivalent of how you would present yourself for a job interview. I am assuming this is the best you can do or be.

“Formatting, typos, proper cover page (with the title, authorship, date and contact information) all matter to me,” says Sandy King Carpenter, a Hollywood movie producer and former script supervisor whose credits include Sixteen Candles, The Outsiders, They Live, Big Trouble in Little China. “Passion goes into the idea behind the work, but discipline goes into creating it and carrying it forward. How you present your script is the equivalent of how you would present yourself for a job interview. I am assuming this is the best you can do or be.”

Formatting and Software

Nearly all script writing programs like Screenwriter and Final Draft come with templates already installed. There are a number of free applications and a number of not-free applications. As your career advances, you may switch from one to another.
Celtx (link is external) is a free screenplay writing software (the plus version is $15 and includes some extras like clip art and the ability to customize your desktop). Celtx includes a number of templates not just for screenplays, but also A/V scripts and radio plays.
Trelby (link is external) is also free software which includes not only templates but more than 200,000 names from numerous countries which can help if you're stuck for a character name.
Final Draft (link is external) is the best selling screenplay writing software – clocking in at $250, it's not cheap, but it boasts “for the last 20 years, nearly every film and TV show has been scripted with Final Draft software.” There's a free trial version as well as templates for different types of script and even special pricing for non-profit producers.
Movie Magic Screenwriter (link is external) In a similar price bracket is Movie Magic's Screenwriter, with an MSRP of $250. Happy users of Movie Magic Screenwriter include Paul Haggis, the screenwriter of Crash and Million Dollar Baby and also Jon Cassar the director and co-executive producer of many thrilling TV shows including 24.

Length, Structure and Story

Typically one page of script equals one minute of screen time – this is what people will be expecting when they read it; a 60-minute script means a one-hour show. Most dramatic movies and TV shows are based upon the three-act structure – this means that the action can be divided into three parts:

• Act 1 – The Setup
• Act 2 – The Conflict and Confrontation
• Act 3 – The Resolution

Act two will be the longest of the three parts and have the majority of your action in it. Act three might only be a few minutes long.
After years of opening thousands of envelopes and reading thousands of scripts, Carpenter talks of some of the most annoying pitfalls she's seen and warns of not properly following the story structure:
“If you are only writing a script because you have a cool scene you want to shoot, put it back in the drawer unit you have something to say that the scene will fit into because it will have no meaning without context. Three act story structure works, even if you cut it up and toss it in the air and rearrange it to do a flashback movie like Memento. You must have SOMEWHERE in your story a setup, an encounter or conflict and a resolution. Something must happen. Your characters must have an arc. Your story must have an arc. Or not...and no one will care.”