Screenplay Writing
Converting an Epic idea to Screenplay is a creative process. We need to convey each and every essence of that idea completely in to screenplay. Simply Screenplay is a blueprint of a movie. What we see in a movie, even a shadow already there in screenplay. It’s a set of directions for the director, the actors, cinematographer and each and every one of the crew to recreate.
In a story or novel the writer describe the plot and situations and let the readers to imagine the whole thing in their own way, But in Screenplay we have to pixel clear about what/ how audience should see the plot. It’s like we show our imagination to them. So For that we have to take some measures while converting an epic idea in to screenplay.
Read
First and best thing you need to do before start writing your screenplay, you have to read a lot of screenplays, especially the movies which did very well in the box-office. It will help you to understand the way of presentation of an idea, the way they choose to introduce characters, how they plan for a plot etc…. A good Screenplay is as good as watching a movie. You can buy a lot of screenplays from bookstore and there is some sites from you can download for free.
Preparation
We need to prepare well before start writing, means we need to fix the beginning, the middle and the End first. When I started writing my first screenplay i only had a fantastic idea of main plot, after a while it goes endless and finally it got no connection with my basic idea and I give up .If we know the exact Beginning , the Middle and the End in our mind we can create an effective flow in our screenplay. We know what our character need, what our situation need… So Be prepared about what we going to include in the screenplay, what the genre etc. before start writing.
Three Act Structure
It’s an invisible rule but it will give life to the script. It’s like three acts in magic (which is explained in “The Prestige” by Christopher Nolan). Audiences don’t want to give a shit about three acts but it’s a true factor which helps them to enjoy the show.
- Act One – Establishes your character, sets up the story
- Act Two – It’s the stage where our protagonist face the problem (figuring out the problem, suffering)
- Act Three – Resolution (In this stage He/She (Protagonist) find out a solution and solve the problem) – Among this three Acts, Act 3 is Challenging.
You can check each and every movie you watch; it probably follows the three act structure. We not able to find a three Act Structure in classic movies like Pulp Fiction or Memento But I can say for sure they are improvised versions of three act structures. We need a base for improvisation.
Let’s Begin with the End
Writing from Climax to the Beginning is one of the effective way, since it will help us to figure the problems of the plots/ sequences which is in our mind and we can solve it easily. It’s a good way to avoid writers block.
Sometimes I face starting troubles, so I used to write
the sequence which is clearly in my head first. It will be a sequence from the first half or from second half or even a minute shot. And that method worked out for me every time.
Format Screenplay
During the Pre-Production/ Production/ Post Production the crew need to know what props / which characters / what type of music etc. in respective scenes, if we don’t follow a proper screenplay format they need to read the entire sequence. To avoid this inconvenience we need to write the screenplay in proper format which is almost common for all Film Industries. In that crew can easily figure out what they need. Following is a Screenplay format……
You can also download Celtx, awesome screenplay writing software for free.
Write Script including all this steps. So here it is am signing off and hope that you will turn your fantastic idea in to an epic Screenplay.
Expecting your questions about Screenplay writing…. and I need your suggestions for our next topic….
