Just Shoot It! A Complete Guide to Filmmaking From Script to Screen - 2nd Edition

Filmmaking

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In one example cited by Jane Espenson , screenwriting is a "sort of three-tiered system": Espenson notes that a recent trend has been to eliminate the role of the mid-level writer, relying on the senior writers to do rough outlines and giving the other writers a bit more freedom. Regardless, when the finished scripts are sent to the top writers, the latter do a final round of rewrites. Espenson also notes that a show that airs daily, with characters who have decades of history behind their voices, necessitates a writing staff without the distinctive voice that can sometimes be present in prime-time series.

Game shows feature live contestants, but still use a team of writers as part of a specific format. Writers may not script the dialogue used by the contestants, but they work with the producers to create the actions, scenarios, and sequence of events that support the game show's concept. With the continued development and increased complexity of video games, many opportunities are available to employ screenwriters in the field of video game design.

About Making Short Films

Video game writers work closely with the other game designers to create characters, scenarios, and dialogue. Fundamentally, the screenplay is a unique literary form. It is like a musical score, in that it is intended to be interpreted on the basis of other artists' performance, rather than serving as a finished product for the enjoyment of its audience. For this reason, a screenplay is written using technical jargon and tight, spare prose when describing stage directions. Unlike a novel or short story , a screenplay focuses on describing the literal, visual aspects of the story, rather than on the internal thoughts of its characters.

In screenwriting, the aim is to evoke those thoughts and emotions through subtext, action, and symbolism. Several main screenwriting theories help writers approach the screenplay by systematizing the structure, goals and techniques of writing a script. The most common kinds of theories are structural. Screenwriter William Goldman is widely quoted as saying "Screenplays are structure". Usually, in a two-hour film, the first and third acts both typically last around 30 minutes, with the middle act lasting roughly an hour, but today many films start from the confrontation point and then goes to the setup act or they might even start at the last act and then go back to the start.

But since the climax is part of the action, Yves Lavandier maintains that the second act must include the climax, which makes for a much shorter third act than is found in most screenwriting theories.

Besides the three-act structure, it is also common to use a four- or five-act structure in a screenplay, though certain screenplays may include as many as twenty separate acts. The hero's journey, also referred to as the monomyth , is an idea formulated by noted mythologist Joseph Campbell. The central concept of the monomyth is that a pattern can be seen in stories and myths across history. Campbell defined and explained that pattern in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces Campbell's insight was that important myths from around the world, which have survived for thousands of years, all share a fundamental structure.

This fundamental structure contains a number of stages, which include. Later, screenwriter Christopher Vogler refined and expanded the hero's journey for the screenplay form in his book, The Writer's Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers In his book Screenplay Syd Field posited a new theory, which he called the Paradigm. Field noticed that in a page screenplay, Act Two was notoriously boring, and was also twice the length of Acts One and Three.

He also noticed that an important dramatic event usually occurred at the middle of the picture, which implied to him that the middle act was actually two acts in one. Field also introduced the idea of Plot Points into screenwriting theory. Plot Points are important structural functions that happen in approximately the same place in most successful movies, like the verses and choruses in a popular song. In subsequent books, Field has added to his original list, and students of his like Viki King and Linda Seger have added to the list of Plot Points. Here is a current list of the major Plot Points that are congruent with Field's Paradigm:.

The first image in the screenplay should summarize the entire film, especially its tone. Often, writers go back and redo this as the last thing before submitting the script. Provides some background information to the audience about the plot, characters' histories, setting, and theme. Also called the catalyst, this is the point in the story when the Protagonist encounters the problem that will change their life. This is when the detective is assigned the case, where Boy meets Girl, and where the Comic Hero gets fired from his cushy job, forcing him into comic circumstances.

The last scene in Act One, Plot Point 1 is a surprising development that radically changes the Protagonist's life, and forces him to confront the Opponent. In Star Wars , this is when Luke 's family is killed by the Empire. He has no home to go back to, so he joins the Rebels in opposing Darth Vader. An important scene in the middle of the script, often a reversal of fortune or revelation that changes the direction of the story.

Field suggests that driving the story towards the Midpoint keeps the second act from sagging. Both scenes remind us of the Empire's opposition, and using the Stormtrooper attack motif unifies both Pinches. A dramatic reversal that ends Act 2 and begins Act 3, which is about confrontation and resolution.

Sometimes Plot Point 2 is the moment when the Hero has had enough and is finally going to face the Opponent. Sometimes, like in Toy Story , it's the low-point for the Hero, and he must bounce back to overcome the odds in Act 3.

About midway through Act 3, the Protagonist will confront the Main Problem of the story and either overcome it, or come to a tragic end. An epilogue, tying up the loose ends of the story, giving the audience closure. This is also known as denouement. In general, films in recent decades have had longer denouements than films made in the s or earlier.

The Complete Guide from Script to Screen

The sequence approach to screenwriting, sometimes known as " eight-sequence structure ", is a system developed by Frank Daniel , while he was the head of the Graduate Screenwriting Program at USC. It is based in part on the fact that, in the early days of cinema, technical matters forced screenwriters to divide their stories into sequences, each the length of a reel about ten minutes.

The sequence approach mimics that early style. The story is broken up into eight minute sequences. The sequences serve as "mini-movies", each with their own compressed three-act structure. Next, it is released, normally at different times several weeks or months apart, into different market segments like rental , retail , pay-per-view , in-flight entertainment , cable , satellite , or free-to-air broadcast television.

The distribution rights for the film are also usually sold for worldwide distribution. The distributor and the production company share profits and manage losses. Filmmaking also takes place outside of the mainstream and is commonly called independent filmmaking.

Since the introduction of DV technology, the means of production have become more democratized and economically viable. Filmmakers can conceivably shoot and edit a film, create and edit the sound and music, and mix the final cut on a home computer.

However, while the means of production may be democratized, financing, traditional distribution, and marketing remain difficult to accomplish outside the traditional system. In the past, most independent filmmakers have relied on film festivals such as Sundance, Venice, Cannes and Toronto film festivals to get their films noticed and sold for distribution and production. However, the Internet has allowed for relatively inexpensive distribution of independent films on websites such as YouTube. As a result, several companies have emerged to assist filmmakers in getting independent movies seen and sold via mainstream internet marketplaces, often adjacent to popular Hollywood titles.

With internet movie distribution, independent filmmakers who choose to forgo a traditional distribution deal now have the ability to reach global audiences. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Filmmaker disambiguation. Cinematography Principal photography Videography Shooting script Film inventory report Daily call sheet Production report Daily production report Daily progress report Daily editor log Sound report Cost report.

Screenwriting

Distribution Film release wide limited delayed. Film history Filmography Guerrilla filmmaking. Glossary of motion picture terms. Cinematography , Audiography , and Principal photography. Film distribution and Film promotion. Film treatment Producer scriptment Step outline Screenplay process spec script film adaptation Hook Option Film budgeting Film finance pitch Green-light. Film distributor list Film release wide limited delayed Roadshow Streaming media. Computer art Filmmaking Printmaking. List of artistic media.

Making Short Films

Unit production manager Production coordinator Production accountant Assistant director Script supervisor Script coordinator Casting director Production assistant Location manager Location scout. Matte painter Illustrator Scenic design. Director of audiography Production sound mixer Boom operator Utility sound technician Dialogue editor Re-recording mixer Foley artist Composer Music supervisor Music editor Orchestrator.

Special effects supervisor Visual effects supervisor. Animator Visual effects Modeling Rigging Layout artist.

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In other projects Wikimedia Commons. This page was last edited on 13 December , at By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Part of a series on. Production Cinematography Principal photography Videography Shooting script Film inventory report Daily call sheet Production report Daily production report Daily progress report Daily editor log Sound report Cost report.

Distribution Distribution Film release wide limited delayed Roadshow.

Related topics Film history Filmography Guerrilla filmmaking. Glossary Glossary of motion picture terms. Library resources about Filmmaking. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. Refresh and try again. Open Preview See a Problem? Thanks for telling us about the problem. Return to Book Page. Preview — Just Shoot It! This 2nd edition provides a complete film school in a book, covering screenwriting, your audience, budgets, contracts, scheduling, casting, pacing, permits, shooting plan, cinematography, directing, sound, editing and more. Not only a filmmaking book, but a success book written in a motivating style to give you the tools you need to succeed in the film industry.

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