What is Screenwriting?
Any film project begins with the script or screenplay. Trying to make a film without a script would be like trying to cross the ocean without any type of navigation. It is the blueprint that everyone working on the film refers to when they are fulfilling their part of the process. Usually everyone working on the film has a copy and they refer to it throughout the making of the project.
So where does a script or screenplay come from?
Typically it works in one of the following ways.
- A Standard Script is pitched to Producers or the Studio and if they are interested, it is than developed and written with their input. Sometimes a well known scriptwriter will be approached to write a script based on a concept. I’ve recently negotiated this type of deal. There are a number of terms to negotiate, including compensation, payment structure and creative input.
- A Spec Script is written by a writer in advance with no solicitation in hopes that it will be optioned and eventually purchased by someone who can turn it into a film like a producer or a studio. These are considered more long shots because the writer is usually unknown, with little to no entertainment industry contacts and this is how they are trying to break into the business. Despite being a difficult route to Hollywood there are some famous examples of movies that originated from spec scripts like ‘Good Will Hunting’ and “American Beauty’.
- An Adapted Script is adapted from something that already exists in another form like a book, a play, TV show, prior film (remake) or even a real life news story. There are so many countless examples of this but probably the most common are best selling books. Now days if there is a best selling fiction book its almost a guarantee it will be adapted for film.
What exactly is a Screenplay and why is it so important?
The screenplay is the guide for the Producers, Director, Actors, Crew of exactly what will appear on screen. It is the common ground that everybody on the film will work with from start to finish of production.
It tells the complete story, contains all action in the film and all dialogue for each character. It can also describe characters visually so filmmakers can try to capture their style, look or vibe.
Since the script is the blueprint for the movie or TV show it also the best predictor of cost.
Making a film takes careful planning of the budget and cost estimation can best be gleamed from the script. For example if the script calls for scenes that only CGI can accommodate the producers know they are in for a bigger budget. If the film is mostly dialogue driven, with no special effects and limited locations the budget should be much lower.
As an example lets look at 2 recent Fox movies; Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Fault in our Stars. According to Box Office Mojo Apes (as of this writing) has grossed about $177 million while Stars has made about $124 million BUT…. Apes had a production budget of $93 million while Stars production was only $12 million!
If you knew nothing else about these films but looked at their scripts it would probably be obvious to you why there was such a difference in production budget. To interpret what’s on paper to screen for Apes it would be clear that it would take a ton of CGI and other costly special effects.
Stars on the other hand had no costly special effects and was mostly a character and dialogue driven story. Understanding what general budget your script portrays is important because financiers are mostly looking to invest in films like Stars (lower risk) and these are the films that a studio will greenlight.
The script also goes a long way in determining the schedule of your film. The schedule of the film is important because it has a direct impact on the budget. A common cause for budget overruns is when their are disruptions or rescheduling that needs to be done.
This is all meticulously planned out before hand using the script as a guide.
When it comes to actual filming time, typically filmmakers will decide how many pages of the script they will film per session.
Screenplay Terminology
Let’s take a look at some of the common terminology used in screenplays and by screenwriters.
Scene Heading or “Slugline”
A scene heading or “slugline” is a brief description that sets the upcoming scene. It includes: is it Interior or Exterior? What is the Location? What is the Time of Day?
Here is an example: INT. BANK LOBBY. DAY
This would show that the action is taking place inside a bank during the day. So for those hundreds of movies we have seen with bank robberies the script probably had a scene heading similar to that.
Action
Action is just what it sounds like and it describes in detail exactly what is happening, step by step.
An important thing to note and the main reason why screenplays are different than books is the writer cannot write internal feelings. Since the audience cannot ‘hear’ what the characters are thinking the writer must find a way to effectively externalize their thoughts and feelings. (having talented actors who can emote well definitely helps in this area!)
Character Heading
The character head should always be capitalized and shows who is speaking.
Dialogue
The dialogue is what the characters say when they speak. The dialogue should reveal the characters personalities, feelings, and emotional state. Unless its strictly an action or horror movie, well written dialogue is typically a big part of how well received a movie will be.
Parentheticals
Parentheticals are brief descriptions of character’s attitude in speech, for ex. (happily), (distracted) (enraged); again good actors will go a long way in helping here.
Parentheticals also dictate where dialogue is coming from, for example; (O.S.) , (V.O.) O.S. stands for Off screen meaning it describes a voice that is not shown on the screen (coming from another room etc..) V.O stands for Voice Over and is used when the speaking character has no physical presence on screen (on the phone, television background, voice in head etc…) Parentheticals while helpful should be used sparingly and only when necessary.
Shots
Shots emphasizes camera angles or movement, describing camera direction. This is for the most part should be left up to the director so in the script the only time mentions of camera movement are normally in there is if the writer thinks its important for that part of the story.
Transitions
Transitions dictates how the story moves from scene to scene.
Here are some samples of transitions: Cut, Fade in, Fade out, Dissolve to.
Transitions are another thing that writers probably do not want to use to much. Especially with a spec script you may want to save some of that text for words that advance the story in a meaningful way.
Screenwriting rules of thumb
Here are some general rules of thumbs for screenwriting:
- One page of script = roughly one minute of screen time
- Average feature film script is approximately 100 – 110 pages
- Average one hour television series is approximately 43 pages ( leaving time for commercials)