u64022 screenwriting advanced

U64022 SCREENWRITING ADVANCED

WEEK 2

SCREENPLAY STANDARDS (1)

FINAL DRAFT

TOPICS TODAY

Lecture: screenplay standards (1)

Seminar: class discussion on “Shrek 2” (homework)

Tutorial: Final Draft

Homework/Exercise for week 3

U64022 Screenwriting: Advanced Level

Week 2 - Screenplay Standards

SCREENPLAY FORMAT

GENERAL RULES

Font: Courier New 12 (1page=1minute rule of thumb)

Page numbering: top right

Single spacing: applies to Action Dialogue

Double carriage return: between Scene headings and action and dialogue Scenes (?)



SCREENPLAY FORMAT/STANDARDS


HEADINGS (scenes, shots, slug lines)

BUSINESS (action, direction, description)

DIALOGUE

TRANSITIONS

PUNCTUATION

DRAFTS & SPECIAL PAGES

SCREENPLAY FORMAT – SCRIPT ELEMENTS



SCENE HEADING / SLUG LINE (all caps)• Scene intro (location) EXT./INT.

• Description (location)• DAY/NIGHT (DAWN/SUNSET• Info for production manager• Production plan• Production design (sets)

• Photography

ACTION / BUSINESS• Description of action, people, places

• Single-spaced• Margin-to-margin (not justified)

• Sound effects capitalized

SCREENPLAY FORMAT – SCRIPT ELEMENTS


Week 9 - Screenplay Format

...

DIALOGUE•Character’s name (capitalized)•Character’s extension (O.S. or V.O.)•Parentheticals (stage direction; keep to a minimum, only if essential, e.g. reactions)•Dialogue lines: single-spaced

TABS (from left margin)•Action / Business = 0•Dialogue = 2•Parentheticals = 3•Character’s name (before dialogue) = 4

TRANSITIONS•Only if/when necessary

SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - HEADINGS


LOCATION- Always from GENERAL to SPECIFIC, separated by comma- If interior plus name of city, name of city in brackets

at end- Multiple locations: separated by hyphen (short)- No articles- ALL CAPS



TIME - Mainly DAY or NIGHT, but also DAWN, SUNSET, MORNING,

EVENING- Separated by hyphen- More specific: e.g. FIVE MONTHS EARLIER, SAME TIME, 15

MINUTES LATER (only if necessary)- CONTINUOUS or CONTINUOUS ACTION, don’t overuse (don’t use

if evident from context)- Dates: DAY (1966)- Weather within brackets: e.g. NIGHT (RAIN)- DAY (NEWSREEL FOOTAGE)



SHOTS- Don’t overuse- Limit to special situations (establishing shots, aerial,

POV shots)



NEW HEADING - Change in location or time- Logic flow of narrative- Special cases: SAME – 90 MINUTES LATER

SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - HEADINGSSpacing between scenes• Usually double (one blank line). More material on one page.• Possible triple (two blank lines). Longer but more readable. Not

recommended.

Style• Always present tense• Short, direct sentences• Visual• Break blocks into smaller paragraphs

Underscoring• Continuous but no final period• Looks amateurish, don’t overuse.


SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - HEADINGS• Page breaks

• At least after one sentence of action after heading

• Never after just heading (except if ESTABLISHING SHOT)

• Never in the middle of a sentence.


SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - DIRECTIONS

CAPITALIZATION

• Introducing a speaking character (each scene, ONLY first occurrence)

• If name soon after generic description, only name• If name well after generic description, first description then name too• If characters played by two actors at different ages, two different

descriptions (ex. YOUNG HARRY, HARRY)

Describing sound effect onscreen (ALL but not living characters) • Both sound and source of sound

Describing ALL offscreen sound• Do not add O.S. if evident from context


SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - DIRECTIONS

CAPITALIZATION

Describing camera direction

• The word CAMERA

• Camera movement

• All prepositions related to camera or movement

Other

• INTO FRAME, INTO VIEW, OUT OF FRAME, OUT OF VIEW

• FREEZE FRAME – MILLS

• SUPERIMPOSE:

“THEN NEW LINE, CENTRED”

• SUPER: “THURSDAY”


SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - DIRECTIONSALWAYS CAPITALIZE

• AD LIB(s)• V.O.• O.S.• Signs, banners, headlines (within action, within commas)

• Anything written and seen on screen

NEVER capitalize

• “We see” (never capitalize and use sparingly, usually only with POV shots)• b.g.• f.g.


SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - DIALOGUE

• CHARACTER’s name

• (O.S.) and (V.O.): ALL CAPS

• O.S. physically present in the scene but not in view

• V.O. all other cases

• NO BOLD, NO ITALICS


• Spell out all spoken words (no abbreviation)

• Don’t overdo incorrect grammar and colloquialism

• Underline accepted to give emphasis

• Never break a page in the middle of a line of dialogue• Add (MORE) and (CONT’D) beside character name

• Speech broken by direction• (cont’d) is no longer used


• Parentheticals (character directions)• Never capitalize• Never add period at the end• No more than 4 lines• Not at the end of a speech• Never break page with parenthetical (instead, new page,

name of character (CONT’D) then parenthetical)• (sotto voce) or (sotto)• (beat)

SCREENPLAY STANDARDS - TRANSITIONS

• Always begin script with FADE IN:• Always end script with FADE OUT or THE END (centred, after 5

blank lines)• Use CUT TO: and FADE TO BLACK. to underline particular

situations only• Other

• QUICK CUT TO:

• HARD CUT TO:

• CUT TO BLACK.

• DON’T OVERUSE. ONLY IF ESSENTIAL.

SEMINAR

- View and analyse Shrek 2 plot and apply Vogler’s hero’s journey model (12 steps)

- Grab screenshots for every step to use as slideshow/storyboard; write down your analysis of the 12-step pattern. Save on pendrive and bring to class

- Be ready to discuss your findings in class at next week’s seminar


EXERCISE FOR WK 2- Analyse Shrek 2 plot and apply the hero’s journey

model (12 steps)


PLOTS

Prologues 1 and 2

Summary of Shrek 1

Antagonist Plot A (main plot) action (goal/quest)

Charming / Fairy Godmother

Romance Plot B (subplot) themes (moral, change)

Fiona / Family

Themes and character pattern/relations structure (parallel threads A/B)


SCENE BREAKDOWN


3-ACTS & STORY ELEMENTS (Field)


3-ACT STRUCTURE - Summary• ACT I – SETUP, pp.1-30

• What? Setting + info (hero)• How?

• Inciting incident conflict action/goal• Plot point #1 (end of Act I – pp.25-27)

• ACT II – CONFRONTATION, pp.31-90• What? Obstacles and problems • How?

• Reversals, recognition, suffering• Mid-point (p.60)• Plot point #2 (end of Act II – pp.85-90)

• ACT III – RESOLUTION, pp.91-110(120)• What? Climax resolution• How? Initial problem solved/unsolved goal achieved


HOMEWORK FOR WEEK 3


1) Watch and analyse WHEN HARRY MET SALLY

- Write down a scene breakdown- Add Act breaks- Bring to class for lecture

NOTE – Check email for additional movie assigned (one between “Notting Hill”, “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, “Pretty Woman”) and obtain DVD. You will need it to do homework for week 4.

HOMEWORK FOR WEEK 3


2) Exercise for seminar discussion in wk 3

- Download “Exercise wk3 – Script formatting.doc” file from module webpage

- Format scenes from “The Silence of the Lambs” by applying industry standards for screenplay. You do NOT need to use Final Draft. Do not change anything in the text.

- Highlight in yellow any errors you notice (i.e. formatting rules not followed and/or incorrect standards used)

- Bring your homework in class in Week 3. We will discuss it during the seminar hour.

u64022 screenwriting advanced

Documents

advanced levelweek

advanced levellocationalways

advanced leveltime

week 3u64022 screenwriting

advanced levelheadings

continuous action

dialogue scenes

slug linesbusiness action