IntroductionWelcome| 00:04 | I love screenwriting.
| | 00:06 | It's such a thrill to see the words and ideas you put
down on paper literally come to life before your eyes.
| | 00:11 | And for me, the screenplay is by far
the most important thing in a movie.
| | 00:15 | A good script trumps even the most beautiful
cinematography or emotionally-real performance.
| | 00:21 | Telling a story is what filmmaking is all about.
And the story begins with a writer.
| | 00:26 | My name is Mark Tapio Kines, I worked in a
Motion Picture Industry for over 20 years.
| | 00:31 | I have written and directed two live-
action features and over a dozen shorts.
| | 00:34 | I am the author of eight full-length
screenplays of my own, and I have read hundreds of scripts
| | 00:38 | written by other people, from
Oscar winners to first-timers.
| | 00:42 | I have seen the good, I have seen the bad, and the
one thing I have learned is that every aspiring
| | 00:46 | screenwriter can truly benefit from mastering
the art of story structure and dramatic conflict.
| | 00:52 | This course is for all writers at all levels,
anybody who has an idea for a movie and wants
| | 00:57 | to turn it into a screenplay.
| | 01:00 | What we're going to do is attach a character
to your idea. This will be your protagonist.
| | 01:04 | We'll take your protagonist
and build the story around them.
| | 01:07 | The story will follow the rules of what we
call the Three-act Structure, which is
| | 01:11 | the foundation of all dramatic storytellers.
| | 01:14 | In the first of these three acts, we will
introduce your characters and establish your premise.
| | 01:19 | In Act 2 we will take your protagonist and set
them on an adventure full of dramatic conflict.
| | 01:25 | In Act 3 we will bring the
conflict to a satisfying resolution.
| | 01:29 | After you built out your story, I'll give
you some tips on how to format your screenplay.
| | 01:33 | I will even go over some legal
issues to help you protect your work.
| | 01:37 | Above all, this course is designed to make you
understand your number-one goal as a screenwriter,
| | 01:42 | which is always keep your
audience wondering what happens next.
| | 01:45 | So, if you're ready, let's start
exploring the fundamentals of screenwriting.
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| Overview of the course| 00:00 | Before we jump in, I want to take a couple
minutes to go over some of the basic questions
| | 00:04 | you might have about this course.
| | 00:06 | First, as a screenwriter, I'd like to
pitch you on why you should take this course.
| | 00:11 | I know there's a great deal of books and
classes on screenwriting, and what I'll be talking
| | 00:15 | about in terms of structure
will cover much of the same ground.
| | 00:18 | But here's where I think my course diverges,
I have read many first-time screenplays from
| | 00:22 | people who have bought those
books or taken those classes.
| | 00:26 | Most of them seem to understand the literal
rules of structure, but they haven't learned
| | 00:29 | the tricks behind telling a suspenseful story.
| | 00:32 | New screenwriters often
prioritize personality over drama.
| | 00:36 | So they create these rich characters
but don't know what to do with them.
| | 00:39 | It's like buying a really fun toy and putting
it on the shelf. Toys are meant to be played with
| | 00:44 | and so are your characters.
| | 00:46 | For this reason, you'll find me frequently
reminding you to keep your characters away
| | 00:50 | from spouting lengthy monologues about their
feelings, which is a common issue with debut screenplays.
| | 00:56 | My emphasis on action and
conflict has nothing to do with genre.
| | 01:00 | Even if you're writing a sweet little love
story that takes place in a country garden,
| | 01:04 | you still need to keep your
audience on the edge of their seats.
| | 01:07 | Now in terms of how long your screenplay should
be, I'll be focusing on feature-length scripts,
| | 01:12 | because those are what most
people want to write and sell.
| | 01:14 | That said, the three-act structure can
apply to any movie that's longer than 10 minutes.
| | 01:20 | If you're planning on writing a really
short film, especially under 5 minutes,
| | 01:23 | then the structure won't necessarily apply,
simply because you don't have time for three acts.
| | 01:28 | This is why a short film usually boils
down to just one or two setups and payoffs.
| | 01:33 | However, the setup/payoff model is also a major part
of feature-length screenwriting, so it's all relevant.
| | 01:40 | While we are on the subject of how long, I
should also mention that I know people who
| | 01:43 | can crank out a screenplay over a couple of days
and people who need a full year or even longer.
| | 01:49 | Every writer has a different pace.
| | 01:51 | Every script has a different pace, even
for me, it's taken anywhere from 1
| | 01:56 | to 8 months to finish a screenplay.
| | 01:58 | That's why this course isn't meant to cover
every page of your script from the first fade in
| | 02:02 | to the final fade out, but simply to get
to the point where you feel like you have truly
| | 02:06 | turned your idea into a cohesive
story that you are ready to type out.
| | 02:11 | As for what you need for this course, your only must-haves
are a stack of sticky notes and a pen or pencil.
| | 02:16 | We're going to develop your story on a
scene by scene basis and each scene will
| | 02:20 | wind up on one of those notes.
| | 02:22 | Of course, I also expected to spend a lot
of time watching movies and reading scripts
| | 02:26 | in order to recognize dramatic
structure in other people's work.
| | 02:30 | screenwriting is both an
art form and an industry.
| | 02:32 | So it's important for you to
know what's going on out there.
| | 02:35 | Fortunately, this is also the most
enjoyable homework you could ask for,
| | 02:39 | so I'm sure you won't mind doing it.
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1. You've Got an Idea, Now What?Think like a screenwriter| 00:00 | So you have got this fantastic idea for a
movie, and you want to turn into a script.
| | 00:05 | You're about to become a
screenwriter, that's very exciting.
| | 00:08 | Now you have to start
thinking like a screenwriter.
| | 00:11 | Here's what you do first,
read a few screenplays.
| | 00:14 | If you have never done this before, then I urge
you to go out and get three feature-length scripts
| | 00:19 | by three different writers for
movies that have already been produced.
| | 00:23 | Try to track down copies of the actual screenplays,
which look like this, 8 & 1/2 x 11 inches,
| | 00:29 | three-hole paper, maybe 90 to 120 pages.
| | 00:33 | You can find them on eBay or on
sites like simplyscripts or scriptfly.
| | 00:37 | Once you get your hot little hands on
those scripts, you quickly become familiar
| | 00:41 | with the standard screenplay format.
| | 00:42 | But more importantly, you'll see how different
writers approach their craft in different ways.
| | 00:48 | Not just in the dialogue, but in how
they describe action and character.
| | 00:52 | How they set the scene and
keep you engaged as a reader.
| | 00:56 | If possible, try not to read shooting scripts.
| | 00:59 | A shooting script is a screenplay that's
been especially prepared for production.
| | 01:03 | It's different from the writer's submission
script in that it's a bit more technical.
| | 01:07 | Each scene has a number next to it.
| | 01:09 | You may also see a lot of
indications of camera angles or shot setups.
| | 01:13 | This is the first
important lesson I can teach you.
| | 01:16 | Because you're writing a submission script,
not a shooting script, you're screenplay needs
| | 01:20 | to be in plain English.
| | 01:22 | That means no technical
details about shots or edits.
| | 01:25 | You're telling a story, not writing a manual.
| | 01:28 | Directors and crew members usually ignore
the screenwriter's technical advice anyway.
| | 01:32 | So when it comes to reading other people's
screenplays, try to avoid the ones that talk
| | 01:36 | about two shots, close-ups, high angles
and so forth. Just focus on the storytelling.
| | 01:42 | Anyway, once you have ingested a couple screenplays,
you'll see that they don't read like stage plays.
| | 01:48 | And they certainly don't read like novels.
Keep this in mind as you develop your script.
| | 01:52 | Stage plays emphasize dialogue, novels
emphasize description, screenplays emphasize visuals.
| | 02:00 | If anything--and I don't want to sound too goofy--
but writing a screenplay is a lot like writing a poem.
| | 02:06 | The poet's craft is in distilling a complicated
image or emotion or relationship into
| | 02:12 | as few well-chosen words as possible.
| | 02:14 | Guess what, that's the
screenwriter's craft as well.
| | 02:17 | So as we move forward, I want you to always
approach your work from a minimalist point of view.
| | 02:22 | Understand that a good actor can convey
just as much in 5 seconds of silence
| | 02:28 | as you can in five pages of dialogue.
That's the beauty of a great movie.
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| Figuring out your story's scope| 00:00 | For the sake of argument, this course will
assume that your script idea is entirely
| | 00:04 | the product of your own imagination.
Of course, it's not always like that.
| | 00:08 | And you might want to write about a real
person or event, or maybe you want to adapt a great
| | 00:12 | story that someone else has already written.
| | 00:14 | If that's the case, you should first take a
look at the videos later in this course that
| | 00:18 | cover legal issues, then come back, but if
your idea is 100% original, let's get to work.
| | 00:25 | By this point I hope you have at least given
some thought as to the kind of characters
| | 00:29 | that are going to be in your script, as well
as the setting and maybe some of the action.
| | 00:34 | If your idea right now is just one particular
image or concept, take a long walk.
| | 00:39 | Start thinking about people and places, attach a character
to your idea, even if it's just a fictionalized
| | 00:43 | version of yourself, place it in the setting,
your hometown, New York City, the desert.
| | 00:49 | Choose a time period, today,
the future, or the past.
| | 00:53 | This can all be temporary, it's just
meant to help you visualize your story.
| | 00:56 | Once you have got a rough idea of these things, the next step
is to give your professional goals some perspective.
| | 01:04 | Whether you're selling your script or
directing it yourself, your story needs to fit the size
| | 01:09 | and budget of the movie you think it should be.
| | 01:12 | Don't get too caught up in financial details.
Just keep in mind that special effects,
| | 01:17 | exotic locations, and cast of thousands all cost money.
| | 01:20 | Figure out your intentions and
give your story a corresponding scope.
| | 01:25 | For example, let's say you're self funding
your film, but your story is an epic fantasy
| | 01:30 | with fire-breathing dragons.
| | 01:32 | You need to be honest about how
you are going to pull that off.
| | 01:34 | Don't just plow your ahead and say,
"Oh, I'll worry about it later."
| | 01:37 | If you know you have only got a couple bucks,
then write for a budget of a couple bucks.
| | 01:41 | You can still make the wonderful movie,
just be realistic about your options.
| | 01:46 | On the other hand, if your idea is a simple
story about two people out on a date, but
| | 01:51 | you still want Hollywood to buy your script,
then you may need to think bigger.
| | 01:55 | Broaden your scope by adding characters
and locations, or forget Hollywood.
| | 02:00 | Scale your story back even further
and write it as a 15-minute short.
| | 02:04 | Not every movie has to be a feature, some stories
need 2 hours to be told and some only need 2 minutes.
| | 02:10 | Then you have those scripts that are small
and intimate but have one or two scenes set
| | 02:14 | in huge expensive locations, like hang-gliding over the
Eiffel Tower, this can work if it's a major story moment.
| | 02:21 | But I have seen a lot of scripts that use an
expensive location for a completely disposable scene.
| | 02:25 | I don't want you to let the business end
of filmmaking stifle for your creativity, just
| | 02:29 | remember that some things
cost a lot of money to do.
| | 02:32 | So if you want a big scene,
save it for big moment.
| | 02:36 | In any event, here's the important thing, once
you start making decisions about whether you
| | 02:40 | want to sell your script to a big producer or
make it independently, whether you're writing
| | 02:45 | for 100 characters or just 4,
whether your story takes place in ancient Egypt
| | 02:50 | or in your own backyard, you'll realize something,
that your creative process is already underway.
| | 02:56 | Your story is beginning to take shape, and
you haven't even written a single word yet.
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| Understanding suspense, drama, and conflict| 00:00 | I don't mean to go on about all
these abstract screenwriting concepts.
| | 00:04 | I know how eager you are to begin your script.
| | 00:06 | But it's important that you get to know and
love these concepts before you start writing.
| | 00:10 | So in this video I'm going to reacquaint
you with three words that I'll be using a lot
| | 00:14 | of in this course: Suspense, Drama, and Conflict.
| | 00:19 | I say reacquaint because obviously these
are very common words, and you already have
| | 00:22 | a sense of what they mean.
But I want to expand their definitions for you.
| | 00:26 | Let's start with suspense, and when I say
that word, you're probably thinking of a specific
| | 00:31 | genre, like an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
Well, suspense means so much more than that.
| | 00:36 | Remember how I told you at the beginning of
this course that your primary job as a screenwriter
| | 00:40 | is to keep your audience wondering
what happens next? Well, that's suspense.
| | 00:44 | The state of mind, if you will, of not knowing
what's going to happen but dying to find out.
| | 00:49 | And here's the good news.
You are already a master of suspense, why?
| | 00:55 | Because I know you have uttered the phrases guess
what and guess who probably thousands of times.
| | 01:02 | When you have a story you want to tell someone,
you don't just start off with, I did this,
| | 01:06 | or I saw this person, you say guess what
happened to me today, or guess who I just ran into?
| | 01:12 | You have a natural desire to pique your listener's
curiosity, so you're making them wait to find
| | 01:18 | out everything, you're teasing them, that's
how you get them interested in your story,
| | 01:22 | and that's what suspense is all about.
| | 01:25 | It's not just for thrillers, a good romance is
suspenseful, a good children's movie is suspenseful.
| | 01:30 | In fact, every good story is a suspenseful
story, because every good story makes your
| | 01:36 | audience anxious to find out more.
| | 01:39 | This sounds like a no-brainer, but I have
read tons of screenplays where the writers
| | 01:43 | clearly have other priorities.
| | 01:45 | These are the scripts with the 5-minute monologues,
these are the scripts that have endless scenes
| | 01:49 | of characters talking about their feelings.
| | 01:52 | Suspense is completely forgotten about and
the only thing readers are dying to know is
| | 01:56 | how many more pages they have to get through.
| | 01:58 | So embrace the word suspense, become obsessed
with it. No matter what kind of script you're
| | 02:03 | writing, keeping it suspenseful needs
to be the number-one thing on your mind.
| | 02:07 | And now let's talk about drama, again, you
might be thinking about a particular genre,
| | 02:12 | one where everybody is all
serious, nobody's having any fun.
| | 02:15 | But drama covers everything, including comedies,
it's an art form. You could say it's the art
| | 02:20 | of keeping people in suspense.
| | 02:22 | But I'll define it this way: a drama is a
story about somebody who wants something
| | 02:28 | but obstacles keep getting in the way.
| | 02:30 | If I want to leave my house, and
there's nothing to stop me, then that's boring.
| | 02:34 | But if I want to leave my house and my front
door is blocked by a fire or a zombie or an
| | 02:38 | angry mob, then it's drama, simple as that.
| | 02:43 | Finally, let's talk about conflict, the word
might make you think of fighting or war,
| | 02:47 | but it has another definition.
| | 02:49 | Let's say you want to have dinner with a friend,
but she can't make it because she has a conflict,
| | 02:54 | that's the definition I
want to use for this course.
| | 02:57 | Conflict simply means that you want to do
something, but there's something or someone
| | 03:02 | that's keeping you from doing it.
| | 03:04 | If that sounds a lot like drama it's because
conflict is the very substance of a dramatic work.
| | 03:09 | Just like an egg is the
very substance of an omelet.
| | 03:13 | You can see where I'm going with this.
| | 03:15 | Suspense, drama, and conflict are all things you need
to keep in mind while you're writing your script.
| | 03:20 | You might think they are elementary concepts,
but I promise you that it's very easy to lose
| | 03:24 | sight of them when you're trying to come
up with witty dialogue or lovable characters.
| | 03:29 | Those things are fine, but they should always be secondary,
that's why I'm going over these elementary concepts first.
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| Basic character construction| 00:00 | A dramatic narrative is all about
people, how they act and how they react.
| | 00:05 | And everybody agrees that three-
dimensional characters enhance every drama.
| | 00:09 | But I'm going to go against conventional
wisdom here and tell you that I don't want you
| | 00:14 | to spend too much time
developing your characters, here's why.
| | 00:18 | A lot of screenwriters get so caught up in
writing their characters' biographies that
| | 00:22 | they fall in love with these biographies,
so they try to shoehorn all this background
| | 00:26 | information into their story lines. As a result,
their scripts wind up focusing on the character's
| | 00:31 | past, instead of their present or future.
| | 00:35 | These are what I call therapy movies, where the
drama becomes all about why so-and-so was unhappy.
| | 00:40 | It happens a lot in independent film, and I have
even seen it popping up in some blockbusters,
| | 00:45 | where suddenly everybody
has mommy and daddy issues.
| | 00:47 | It's become a cliche, and
it's really a suspense killer.
| | 00:51 | So when you think about your own characters, I
don't want you to delve too deeply into their pasts.
| | 00:56 | When your story demand something of them, you
can always add some facet of their personalities
| | 01:00 | that will come in to play, a strength
or a weakness, some knowledge or some fear.
| | 01:05 | I'll talk more about this later.
| | 01:07 | For now, as you create your characters, I
want to write down only four attributes:
| | 01:12 | how old they are, what they do for a living,
what their romantic situation is like,
| | 01:18 | and what their financial situation is like.
| | 01:21 | You can tell a lot about someone just by
knowing these four things. If I say that Mary is
| | 01:26 | a 25-year-old firefighter who's single and
broke, it gives you a pretty good picture.
| | 01:31 | Same thing if I say that Joe is a 70-year-old
accountant who's married and financially stable.
| | 01:36 | You can easily imagine what
these people's lives are like.
| | 01:40 | I'm not saying that you should create
generic characters but that you should let their
| | 01:44 | reactions to conflict and
obstacles dictate their personalities.
| | 01:47 | For example, in the real world, if a building
is on fire, Mary the young firefighter will
| | 01:53 | probably run in to save the victims while Joe
the old accountant will hide behind a tree.
| | 01:58 | But if your script shows Mary hiding behind a
tree while Joe runs in and saves the victims,
| | 02:03 | suddenly Mary and Joe becomes
enormously complex and surprising characters.
| | 02:08 | I know we're just
beginning to flesh out your idea,
| | 02:11 | so don't panic about all the stuff right now.
| | 02:13 | You probably don't even know how many people
are in your story at this point. That's normal.
| | 02:17 | I'm just saying don't spend too much
time fine tuning each and every character.
| | 02:22 | Remember that actors will ultimately portray
these people, and that most of the time these
| | 02:26 | actors won't look or sound anything
like the people you imagined in your script.
| | 02:31 | You have to accept that 90% of each character's
personality will come out in the actor's performance.
| | 02:37 | That's how movies work.
| | 02:39 | But by making sure your characters do amazing
and unexpected things, you'll help the actors
| | 02:43 | deliver outstanding performances, and
your characters will truly come to life.
| | 02:48 | I want to close on one final note, earlier
I said that if you don't have a character
| | 02:52 | for your idea, you can just stick in a fictionalized
version of yourself, even if it's temporary.
| | 02:57 | I really mean that, and the reason is simple,
it establishes an immediate identification
| | 03:02 | with your character, asking yourself what
would I do in this situation is one of the
| | 03:06 | most important things you
can do while writing your script.
| | 03:10 | It ensures that your characters
will always have believable reactions.
| | 03:14 | When people complain that a movie has no
likable characters or someone to root for,
| | 03:18 | they're really saying that the writer didn't put
the characters in enough identifiable situations.
| | 03:24 | So seriously, don't bother try and make
the people in your script charming or cute.
| | 03:28 | Just push them into a conflict and make
them react in unique and realistic ways.
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| Overcoming defensiveness| 00:00 | Writers are the most defensive people
on the planet, I know, because I am one.
| | 00:05 | Many months from now, when you have finished your
screen playing, and you're shopping it around,
| | 00:08 | you will receive a lot of critiques.
| | 00:11 | Some of them may be frustrating to hear
and your instinct might be to tell everybody,
| | 00:14 | "No, you're wrong, you don't understand what
I'm trying to do, you are an idiot!"
| | 00:18 | Believe me, I have been there.
| | 00:19 | But I have learned that when you keep putting
yourself on a defensive, you may not be able
| | 00:23 | to tell the difference between useless
criticism and constructive criticism.
| | 00:27 | While I tell screenwriters that the most important
thing is for them to be happy with their scripts,
| | 00:32 | that's true only to a certain degree.
| | 00:34 | This is still a business. Unlike a novel,
your script is not the be-all end-all, it's
| | 00:39 | only the jumping off point for the many
people who are going to join you in telling your
| | 00:43 | story, the director, the cast,
the crew, and so on.
| | 00:47 | Your original vision will be changed to
some degree, there is no getting around it.
| | 00:51 | So, understand that you are just the first
in a series of creative collaborators who
| | 00:56 | are putting this movie together.
| | 00:57 | If you're flexible and open-minded from the
beginning, you'll be a lot happier in the long way.
| | 01:02 | Needless to say, I also hope you remain flexible
and open-minded about this course,
| | 01:08 | this is called Screenwriting Fundamentals for a Reason.
| | 01:10 | We are focusing on the basic
building blocks of dramatic narrative.
| | 01:13 | That said, I'll be the first to admit
that for every structural rule I will be talking
| | 01:18 | about there has been some brilliant
screenwriter who's thrown out that rule and written one
| | 01:22 | of the greatest movies of all time.
| | 01:24 | That doesn't mean the screenwriter never
learned the rule or rejected it from the start.
| | 01:28 | You could name a number of highly
individualistic filmmakers: David Lynch, Terrence Malick,
| | 01:33 | and Quentin Tarantino whose scripts do
all kinds of crazy stuff, but I guarantee you
| | 01:38 | that all of these filmmakers still have
a basic knowledge of dramatic structure.
| | 01:42 | Watch Blue Velvet, Days of Heaven,
or Jackie Brown, and you'll see it.
| | 01:47 | In other words, I hope that as you watch
this course, you don't save yourself, well, this
| | 01:51 | thing that Mark is talking about
doesn't apply to my script.
| | 01:54 | It's not only that you have to learn the
rules before you can break them, it's that if you
| | 01:58 | use the rules to your advantage, you can
create an astonishingly great screenplay, whether
| | 02:03 | it's purely meant to be entertaining,
or it's raw, challenging material.
| | 02:08 | I want to make it clear that I would never
encourage anyone to write something formulaic.
| | 02:12 | I would love it if everybody taking this course
went on to write fantastic revolutionary screenplays,
| | 02:18 | stories so good and so exciting that
they raise the bar throughout the industry.
| | 02:22 | So, if you're ready to be part of that, then
let's jump in and start developing your script.
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2. Laying the Foundations for Your StoryThe end comes first: Your story's event| 00:00 | You have probably heard that every good
story has a beginning, a middle, and an end.
| | 00:05 | But when you're plotting out a dramatic narrative, you
don't start with the beginning, you start with the end.
| | 00:10 | This is because the end is what we call
the event of your story, it's the moment that
| | 00:15 | everything else leads up to, this is
why you need to know what it is up front.
| | 00:19 | I realized that when you're excited about
your screenplay, your impulse is to start
| | 00:24 | typing it out from page 1, but this stream of
consciousness method will get you into trouble.
| | 00:29 | If you don't know where your story is going,
it will meander, and you'll get bored and
| | 00:33 | frustrated, and you might even abandon it.
We don't want that to happen.
| | 00:37 | So, by deciding on an ending first, even if
it is only a temporary one, you give yourself
| | 00:41 | a target to aim your story at.
| | 00:44 | Think of you went this way, I'm sure you have
read news articles about incredible coincidences.
| | 00:49 | For example, let's say that twins who were
separated at birth wind up bumping into each
| | 00:53 | other on the street 30 years later.
| | 00:57 | The headline for that story would be
"Twins Reunite After Three Decades"
| | 01:03 | that's the event, that's the
end of that particular story.
| | 01:05 | The story being all the twists and turns that had
to happen in order to reunite those long-lost twins.
| | 01:12 | Now imagine that your own story ends with
a newspaper headline, something that tells
| | 01:16 | the world what just happened.
| | 01:18 | Whatever that headline
says is your story's event.
| | 01:21 | You can try this with any movie out there,
the ones you love, ones you hate, think about
| | 01:26 | the story, think about how it ends,
and imagine what its headline might be.
| | 01:31 | Let's try Star Wars, the original one.
| | 01:33 | The headline isn't, oh, you know, some
people go out and fight some space battles,
| | 01:38 | it's Tattooine farm boy destroys Death Star.
That's the event, or let's try King Kong.
| | 01:45 | The headline isn't a giant ape falls in love
with a woman, it's giant ape falls from
| | 01:50 | Empire State Building, that's the
event, see the difference?
| | 01:54 | And notice how clear and concise these
headlines are, each contains a subject and a verb,
| | 02:00 | a character and an action, who does what?
| | 02:05 | This is how you need to define
the event for your own story.
| | 02:07 | Now certain genres have
events that are easy to nail down.
| | 02:11 | If you're writing a romantic comedy, your event is
probably something like boy and girl get together.
| | 02:17 | If you're writing a tragedy or a horror flick,
it's likely that someone dies at the end.
| | 02:21 | So, your event would be
hero dies, or villain dies.
| | 02:25 | If it's a cop or detective movie, your
event might be mystery solved or case closed.
| | 02:32 | What if your story is more subtle?
| | 02:33 | If no one dies or gets married or finds
any buried treasure at the end, do you still
| | 02:37 | have to nail down your ending before you
can write the rest of your script? Yes.
| | 02:41 | Does this still need to fit
into a concise newspaper headline?
| | 02:46 | Yes, more importantly, even if you're
writing a small independent film about emotions
| | 02:50 | and relationships, you need to make your
event something you can actually show.
| | 02:55 | Don't write it like this...
| | 03:01 | These are not good headlines, they are vague
ideas that need to be made explicit, learning
| | 03:07 | something is not an event, doing something is.
Feeling an emotion is not an event, doing something is.
| | 03:18 | I won't lie to you, nailing down your ending is one
of hardest steps in constructing a dramatic narrative.
| | 03:24 | Right now you may not be able to think of
an event that perfectly fits your story idea.
| | 03:30 | If you're in that situation, you can make up a simple
temporary ending to at least aim your story at.
| | 03:36 | This is the important thing, you can
always go back and change your event later.
| | 03:40 | If your story starts heading in a different
direction as you flesh it out, that's totally
| | 03:43 | normal, but you still need to
have something to shoot for.
| | 03:46 | So, come up with a temporary ending, no matter
how silly, obvious, or predictable it might be.
| | 03:53 | If you really stumped, I'll give you freebee,
your character moves to Paris, that's your event.
| | 03:58 | I don't care if your genre is sci-fi or western
or whatever, your story ends with your character
| | 04:03 | moving to Paris, that's your headline.
| | 04:06 | Hopefully you can do better than that, but
if you can't right now, this temporary event
| | 04:10 | will work as well as any other.
| | 04:12 | Remember, your ending is it written in stone,
the point is to simply not let writer's block
| | 04:17 | stop you at this early stage.
| | 04:20 | In any event, no pun intended, once you are
relatively satisfied with what you have come
| | 04:24 | up with, I want to take out one of your sticky notes
and write your story's event on it, only use one note.
| | 04:30 | Try to summarize your event in just a
few words, like in a newspaper headline.
| | 04:34 | Make sure there's a subject and
a verb, somebody doing something.
| | 04:38 | Once you are done, congratulate yourself.
| | 04:42 | Your story now has an ending, and you have just gotten
over the biggest hurdle in writing your script.
| | Collapse this transcript |
| The beginning: What's the status quo?| 00:00 | Now that you know how your story is going to
end, even if it is just a temporary solution,
| | 00:04 | the next task is to come up with the beginning.
| | 00:07 | Here's the basic rule, the beginning of your
story should be different from your ending
| | 00:11 | in as many ways as possible.
| | 00:13 | If your protagonist is successful at the end,
then they are unsuccessful at the beginning.
| | 00:18 | If the world is safe at the end, then it's in
danger at the beginning, and so on, the more the merrier.
| | 00:24 | Remember that drama is about change, it's
about how one status quo--meaning the current
| | 00:29 | state of affairs--becomes a different
status quo, and more change you depict,
| | 00:34 | the more that happens, the richer your story will be.
Let's look back at King Kong.
| | 00:39 | Even if you haven't seen the
movie, you know the basic story.
| | 00:42 | In the beginning, Kong is the mighty
ruler of the mysterious jungle island.
| | 00:47 | He's fighting dinosaurs, all the natives
are terrified of it, that's the status quo.
| | 00:52 | If nothing ever changed, Kong would have stayed
on that island for the rest of this life doing
| | 00:56 | the same thing day in and day out.
| | 00:59 | But things do change, and at the end of the
movie Kong falls to his death on the streets
| | 01:04 | of New York City, that's the event.
| | 01:07 | Now how did he get from one extreme locale
to another? How did he go from being mighty
| | 01:11 | and powerful to dying and miserable?
| | 01:13 | There are a lot of differences between the
status quos at the beginning and end of King Kong.
| | 01:18 | A lot of stuff happens between start and finish.
| | 01:22 | You can try this with any
story, a movie, a book, whatever.
| | 01:26 | Lists all the differences between what the
world was like at the beginning and what it
| | 01:29 | was like at the end, then pair them up.
| | 01:32 | Someone's dead at the end, and
they were alive at the beginning.
| | 01:35 | Someone's happy at the end and
they were miserable at the beginning.
| | 01:39 | List every difference you can think of.
Don't stop until you can't come up with any more.
| | 01:43 | Now look at that list.
| | 01:45 | If there's a lot of different status quos,
then that particular story depicted a lot
| | 01:49 | of change, that's a good thing.
| | 01:51 | The more things change,
the more dynamic the story.
| | 01:55 | Meanwhile, here you are with just the one
little sticky note that has your event on it.
| | 01:59 | Since that's all you have got right now,
let's focus on coming up with the one status quo
| | 02:04 | that is most unlike this event,
that will be your beginning.
| | 02:07 | Remember, this can also be temporary
until you come up with something stronger.
| | 02:11 | But you need to nail down the
status quo before you can move on.
| | 02:15 | The trick is not just to write down the
opposite of what happens at the end, which should be
| | 02:18 | fairly easy, but to take that beginning as far
away from the end as you can, let me explain.
| | 02:24 | If the event of your story has your character
moving to Paris, then it's easy enough to say
| | 02:29 | that at the beginning she doesn't live in Paris.
| | 02:31 | But make that difference more pronounced,
not only is she not living in Paris, but your
| | 02:36 | character moving to Paris should feel as
likely as moving to Mars, totally impossible,
| | 02:42 | maybe because she hates Paris, maybe because she's
in jail, maybe because she's got so many other
| | 02:48 | commitments and she can't even fathom the idea.
| | 02:52 | From the get-go, the odds should never be
in favor of your event happening, if they were,
| | 02:57 | your story will become predicable.
| | 02:59 | For your characters, there is a moment in
their lives when they could never remotely
| | 03:04 | foresee the event, and that's
the moment where your story begins.
| | 03:09 | Drama is all about overcoming obstacles.
| | 03:11 | By taking the beginning of your story and
placing it as far as you can from the end,
| | 03:15 | what you are doing is creating a sense of
all the obstacles that stand in the way between
| | 03:19 | the two points, even if you haven't
gotten around to finding them yet.
| | 03:23 | So if you're ready, take another sticky
note and write your story's beginning on it.
| | 03:27 | Unlike the event of the end,
you don't need to be so concise.
| | 03:30 | Fill up this note with as
much information as you need.
| | 03:33 | But seriously, don't use more than one note.
| | 03:36 | Each sticky note represents one scene in your
script, which is why I am forcing you to use
| | 03:40 | only one note per scene.
| | 03:42 | Also, rest assured that this scene doesn't necessarily
have to appear on the first page of your screenplay.
| | 03:49 | It just summarizes the status quo that
you're establishing at the beginning of your film.
| | 03:54 | Once you are done, compare your two notes.
| | 03:56 | If the difference between the two doesn't
seem that pronounced, feel free to tweak either
| | 04:00 | your event or your beginning
until there is more of a disparity.
| | 04:04 | If you're satisfied, then congratulate
yourself again, because now you know where your
| | 04:08 | story starts and where it's going.
| | 04:11 | That's an enormous accomplishment for any screenwriter,
so you should be very proud of the progress you're making.
| | Collapse this transcript |
| The three-act structure| 00:00 | Now that you have got the beginning and the
end of your story, there is a whole lot of
| | 00:04 | empty space between the
two that you need to fill in.
| | 00:06 | By dividing this space into smaller chunks,
it makes it easier for you to develop your
| | 00:11 | story one chunk at a time.
| | 00:13 | This is where the three-act
structure comes in handy.
| | 00:16 | It's a storytelling device that is designed not
only to help the audience, but the writer as well.
| | 00:22 | For more than half a century the vast
majority of mainstream American movies have followed
| | 00:26 | the classic three-act structure.
| | 00:28 | Over the last 20 or 30 years, it
seems like that number has risen to 99%.
| | 00:33 | Most foreign films now
follow this model as well.
| | 00:35 | So what is this three-act
structure and why is so prevalent?
| | 00:38 | Well, you might say that the acts represent
the Beginning, Middle, and End of your story.
| | 00:43 | But that's not quite accurate, after all
even the most abstract experimental film begins
| | 00:49 | at some point, ends at some point,
and has stuff going on in the middle.
| | 00:53 | So let's say that the three acts really derive
from the three steps of dramatic storytelling.
| | 00:58 | First, you introduce
somebody who wants something.
| | 01:01 | Second, you show them
trying to get what they want.
| | 01:04 | Third you reveal whether or not they succeed.
| | 01:07 | These three steps are the basis of
the three acts in dramatic structure.
| | 01:12 | Act 1 is what I call the Build-up.
| | 01:14 | I said build-up because here you're mainly
setting the stage for your story by introducing
| | 01:19 | your protagonist, establishing their status quo,
then upsetting that status quo and forcing
| | 01:24 | this person to leave their
comfort zone and go on an adventure.
| | 01:29 | No surprise then that I
call Act 2 the Adventure.
| | 01:33 | This is where your protagonist--in fact,
all your characters--are trying to get what they want.
| | 01:37 | Obstacles, including themselves
and each other, get in the way.
| | 01:41 | So this act is full of conflict.
| | 01:43 | After several juicy twists and turns, your
protagonist finally realizes what must be
| | 01:47 | done in order to resolve that conflict,
which is why Act 3 is what I call the Resolution.
| | 01:54 | This is where your characters engage in a
final decisive confrontation with each other.
| | 01:58 | The results of that
confrontation bring about your story's event.
| | 02:02 | Now whether a movie is 30 minutes long or
3 hours long, the three acts remain the same.
| | 02:07 | Build-Up, Adventure, Resolution.
| | 02:10 | Act 1, Act 2, Act 3, and this is
how they break down in terms of length.
| | 02:16 | Act 1 takes up the first quarter of your
story, Act 2 takes up the middle half, and Act 3
| | 02:22 | takes up the last quarter.
| | 02:24 | Feel free to pause this video so you can
copy this diagram, because it's important.
| | 02:30 | So the big question is why we don't
divide the story into even thirds?
| | 02:33 | My best answer is this: Act 1 doesn't require
that much time, since you're just introducing
| | 02:37 | the characters in the story's premise.
| | 02:40 | Act 3 doesn't require that much time either,
since your audience is anxious to see how
| | 02:44 | the conflict gets resolved and
they don't want you to drag it out.
| | 02:47 | But Act 2 really is an adventure, it's filled
with ups and downs and suspense and conflict,
| | 02:52 | it's what your audience really came to see.
| | 02:55 | So you don't want to rip
them off by making it too short.
| | 02:58 | Older movies didn't always have the structure
down pat, back then Hollywood studios
| | 03:03 | had to crank out hundreds of releases every year.
| | 03:06 | Many of those were cheaply made
vehicles for the studio's contract players.
| | 03:09 | So story structure took a backseat to witty
dialogue, that's why when you watch a 1930s comedy,
| | 03:16 | Act 1 might go on for half the movie, Act 2
goes on for almost as long and Act 3 is like 5 minutes.
| | 03:22 | In the decades after the studio system,
screenwriters had more time to perfect the length of each act.
| | 03:28 | Today, most agree that the first quarter,
middle half, last quarter formula creates
| | 03:33 | the most satisfying three-act rhythm.
| | 03:36 | It kind of resembles a three course meal,
Act 1 is the Appetizer, its job is to pull
| | 03:41 | people in and pique their interest.
| | 03:43 | Act 2 is the main course.
It is where the story's substance is.
| | 03:47 | And Act 3 is the dessert, it brings
everything to a satisfying conclusion, and it's often
| | 03:52 | what people remember the most.
Now these three acts don't just blur together.
| | 03:56 | Each new act begins after a specific twist in the
plot, something that sets the story in a new direction.
| | 04:02 | In the next video I'm going to show you where
these plots should appear in your script and why.
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Locating your plot twists| 00:00 | Writing a screenplay is
like planning out a road trip.
| | 00:03 | Knowing your final destination isn't enough,
your car can't make it the whole way on one tank,
| | 00:07 | so you need to figure
out where you can stop for gas.
| | 00:11 | In a similar vein, if you try to write your
script from beginning to end without refueling,
| | 00:15 | your story will run out
of energy and so will you.
| | 00:18 | Fortunately, the three-act structure gives
you several distinct points along the way
| | 00:23 | that literally show you where you're
supposed to give your script a boost of new energy.
| | 00:28 | These are your four major plot twists,
these are the scenes that say, okay, your story
| | 00:32 | can no longer keep going in one direction
or it'll get boring, it has to change now.
| | 00:39 | Let's whip out the diagram of the three-act
structure and start placing these plot twists.
| | 00:43 | Two of them are pretty obvious, they go right
of the tale ends of Act 1 and Act 2, so let's
| | 00:49 | be creative and call them the Act 1
plot twist and the Act 2 plot twist.
| | 00:54 | The Act 1 plot twist is the scene that spins
Act 1, the build-up, into Act 2, the Adventure.
| | 01:01 | The Act 2 twist is what spins the
Adventure into Act 3, the Resolution.
| | 01:06 | Have no fear, I'll be going into great detail
about both of these twists later in the course,
| | 01:11 | for now just place them along your
story line, so you know where they go.
| | 01:15 | You'll notice that we can't put a similar
plot twist before Act 1, since that's
| | 01:19 | the start of your story.
| | 01:20 | But we do have a twist that happens
about a third of the way through the act.
| | 01:25 | After you set up the status quo, like I
spoke about earlier, this twist pops up, and it
| | 01:29 | has one purpose, to destroy that status quo.
| | 01:33 | You could say it kills your
protagonist's day-to-day routine.
| | 01:37 | So I call this twist the Routine Killer.
I'll talk about this later as well.
| | 01:42 | Until then find a spot about a third of the
way through Act 1 and put the plot twist there.
| | 01:47 | We have one final twist to add, so
we'll stick it right in the middle of Act 2.
| | 01:52 | This is the halfway point, so
that's what we'll call this twist.
| | 01:56 | Unlike the Act 1 an Act 2 plot twists, the
halfway point doesn't spin the story into
| | 02:00 | a new direction so much as it raises
the stakes or marks a reversal of fortune.
| | 02:05 | Again, I'll explain all this
later on when I talk about Act 2.
| | 02:09 | For now just pinpoint the twist in the
middle of your story line, and you're all set.
| | 02:14 | I'm not saying you can only have four plot
twists in your whole movie, you can have 20,
| | 02:18 | if you can get away with it.
| | 02:19 | But these are the four major twists, and they really must
happen at these for particular points in your script.
| | 02:25 | What we're doing is dividing your story
into five chunks, this will make it easier for
| | 02:29 | you to write your screenplay, since you only
have to work toward one plot twist at a time.
| | 02:34 | So if you're writing a 2-hour feature,
which would be 120 pages, then you have to write
| | 02:39 | 10 pages to get to that first twist, 20 pages to
get to the second, and 30 for each of the rest.
| | 02:45 | For shorter scripts, obviously it's not as
many pages, but the idea is the same.
| | 02:50 | It's a great way to ease into the writing
process without getting overwhelmed.
| | 02:54 | And of course, it keeps your story exciting,
which is after all your number-one goal.
| | Collapse this transcript |
|
|
3. Act One: The BuildupIntroducing your protagonist| 00:01 | Now that you figured out the status quo that
begins your story, let's visualize it for your script.
| | 00:06 | In short, when your story opens, you should
be showing your main character is going about
| | 00:11 | their ordinary lives, their routines.
| | 00:14 | In most cases you can just depict a
typical day at work, school, or home.
| | 00:18 | But your characters could also be getting
ready for a wedding, moving to a new city,
| | 00:22 | or in the middle of a first date.
| | 00:24 | These may not sound like routine tasks, but my point
is that there should be nothing unexpected going on.
| | 00:30 | The wedding has been planned, so is the move,
that first date, nothing special in this case.
| | 00:35 | Remember, a big plot twist is just around
the corner, so first you have to show what
| | 00:40 | life is like before that twist, that way your
audience is going to appreciate the contrast.
| | 00:46 | Most movies introduce their protagonist during
these opening scenes, earlier I had you write down
| | 00:51 | and briefly describe some characters.
| | 00:53 | Now I want you to pick one of
them to be your main protagonist.
| | 00:56 | Even if you're writing about a couple, a
circle of friends, or a big old family, choose just
| | 01:01 | one of those people to be
at the center of your drama.
| | 01:04 | You're telling your story through
this individual's eyes and ears.
| | 01:08 | They don't have to appear in every scene,
but they remain at the heart of your narrative,
| | 01:12 | everything comes back to them.
| | 01:14 | Because we're still in the status quo, your
audience knows the drama hasn't kicked in yet.
| | 01:19 | So it gives them a chance to get to know your
protagonist pretty quickly, take this opportunity
| | 01:23 | to define that character in your script.
| | 01:26 | Remember those four attributes,
their age, what they do for a living,
| | 01:30 | their romantic situation,
and their financial situation.
| | 01:35 | You need to establish all of those things as soon
as you can, unless it's supposed to be a big mystery.
| | 01:41 | Age is easy. Just write down a number in your screenplay,
your character is 18, 30-something, middle-aged, whatever.
| | 01:48 | Their financial situation is easy too.
One little note about the clothes they wear,
| | 01:53 | the car they drive, or the home
they live in should say it all.
| | 01:57 | As for their job, well, you
introduce this person applying their trade.
| | 02:02 | If they are a farmer, they are plowing a field.
If they are a gambler, they're gambling.
| | 02:06 | If they're a student, they're
sleeping in class or running off to school.
| | 02:11 | Now if you feel like your protagonist's
job doesn't factor into your story, then show
| | 02:15 | them engaged in some other everyday routine, sitting
in traffic or watching TV are valid, but spice it up.
| | 02:22 | Make protagonist active from the start,
maybe it's routine for them to bump into things
| | 02:27 | at the supermarket or to start a bar fight
or to spy on their neighbors, that says
| | 02:32 | a lot about their character, and it gives
them a basic identity, klutz, agitator, snoop.
| | 02:39 | Here's a trick about that, though, whatever
they're doing, make sure it's something we
| | 02:43 | can all identify with to some degree.
| | 02:45 | If the character is a klutz,
well, we all do klutzy things.
| | 02:48 | An agitator, we should
understand why they got into that fight.
| | 02:52 | A snoop, whatever they're
looking at should be worth it.
| | 02:56 | The goal is to get the audience to see the
world from your protagonist's point of view.
| | 03:02 | Don't neglect the romantic situation either.
Remember that when an audience first sees
| | 03:06 | a character, they assume this
person is single until further notice.
| | 03:10 | So if your protagonist has a romantic partner,
make that clear early on, your audience wants
| | 03:15 | to know, and you shouldn't let a
half hour go by before you tell them.
| | 03:19 | But if you honestly feel that your
protagonist's love life will never come up in your story,
| | 03:23 | then accept that they will be
perceived as single and essentially asexual.
| | 03:29 | Who else should you introduce right now?
| | 03:30 | Well, whoever your protagonist deals with on
a regular basis, colleagues, family, lovers.
| | 03:36 | You don't have to cram everybody in there,
just enough to give your audience the impression
| | 03:41 | of your protagonist's status.
| | 03:43 | Status is really important, and I'll be
talking a lot more about this later on.
| | 03:47 | For now, use those other characters that
illustrate where your protagonist is at in their life.
| | 03:53 | Is the landlady banging on the door because
the rent is late? Is the best friend jealous
| | 03:57 | of your protagonist's sex life?
| | 03:58 | Characters are defined by their interactions
with other people, use that to your advantage.
| | 04:05 | Before I close, I want to talk about prologues.
| | 04:07 | Story-wise they're completely
optional, but you see them all the time.
| | 04:10 | For instance, a detective movies often starts
off with a heist, you see the bad guys stealing
| | 04:16 | a priceless diamond or something.
| | 04:18 | Now there's nothing status quo about that,
but my point is that if the movie is about
| | 04:22 | the detective assigned to this case, that
detective doesn't know about the heist yet,
| | 04:27 | they are somewhere across town going
about their status quo, that's one example.
| | 04:32 | You could start your movie with a
flashback, a flash-forward, or a written intro.
| | 04:36 | No matter what kind of prologue you might
use, understand that it's separate from your
| | 04:41 | main drama, that's why it's optional.
| | 04:44 | Now a good prologue can be useful in
setting the mood or providing some exposition.
| | 04:48 | But I'll put it this way, how your movie opens
is one thing, how your drama opens is another,
| | 04:54 | and your drama opens with a status quo.
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Superpowers and kryptonite| 00:00 | One of the most famous protagonists in
contemporary pop culture is Superman.
| | 00:05 | Now Superman is special because he's not some
ordinary human, he can do things nobody else can.
| | 00:11 | But if he was completely unstoppable, he'd
be boring, he would easily win every fight,
| | 00:17 | and that's not suspenseful.
| | 00:18 | So, his creators invented Kryptonite,
the one thing that renders him helpless.
| | 00:23 | Your protagonist may not be Superman,
but you can treat them the same way.
| | 00:27 | So, we're going to develop them a little
further by giving them a unique talent, which we will
| | 00:31 | call their superpower and a unique
weakness, which we'll call their Kryptonite.
| | 00:36 | In a nutshell, these two traits give your
protagonist the capacity for both success
| | 00:42 | and failure, and that creates suspense.
| | 00:46 | You can do this with any of your other
characters, too, as long as it's relevant to your story.
| | 00:50 | First, let's talk about the superpower.
| | 00:53 | This doesn't have to be anything superhuman
just a special talent that will inevitably
| | 00:57 | help your protagonist later in the story.
| | 00:59 | It's important to introduce this talent in
Act 1, because if you don't bring it up until
| | 01:03 | your protagonist actually needs it,
it'll come across as a contrivance.
| | 01:08 | Think of the Hunger Games, in this movie it's
made very clear in the first few minutes that
| | 01:13 | its heroine, Katniss Everdeen,
is a skilled archer.
| | 01:17 | If the script kept this as a secret until
halfway through the movie, when she uses this
| | 01:20 | talent to keep herself from getting killed, the
audience would think, well, wasn't that convenient?
| | 01:25 | But by establishing it so early on, we
accept that this is a story about an archer, not
| | 01:31 | a story about an ordinary girl who
suddenly picks up this incredible ability.
| | 01:36 | Every character's superpower
has to have a payoff later on.
| | 01:40 | Now I want you to write down a
superpower for your own protagonist.
| | 01:43 | Let them display this talent in Act 1.
| | 01:45 | For instance, if you know that your story
is going to end in a big shootout, then in
| | 01:49 | Act 1 we need to see that your
protagonist knows their way around a gun.
| | 01:54 | So, you show them at a firing range or something,
and remember, the skill doesn't need to be spectacular.
| | 01:59 | You could write my hero was just really funny,
and the sense of humor will come in handy
| | 02:04 | when he has to joke his way
out of a sticky situation.
| | 02:07 | That's totally valid, the point is to give
this person a special talent that they
| | 02:12 | and only they can use when the story calls for it.
| | 02:16 | If you're not convinced that your protagonist really
needs that special talent, here's another way to look at it.
| | 02:21 | You have probably seen a movie or two where the
protagonist does a favor for another character early on.
| | 02:27 | Later in the movie that character shows up
and returns the favor, proving to be a powerful
| | 02:31 | ally right when the
protagonist really needs one.
| | 02:34 | So, in this case the protagonist's superpower
is simply the ability to help the right person
| | 02:40 | at the right time. It serves the same purpose in
setting up the story for a positive payoff later on.
| | 02:47 | As for Kryptonite, well, this is
simply a character's great weakness.
| | 02:51 | It can be physical, emotional, or
psychological, the possibilities are endless.
| | 02:57 | Your protagonist's Kryptonite could be an
addiction, it could be commitment phobia,
| | 03:02 | it could be a broken leg, and I'm sure you have
seen a movie or two where the hero is betrayed
| | 03:07 | by his lover or best friend.
| | 03:09 | So, in this case that person's Kryptonite is just
plain bad judgment, trusting the wrong people,
| | 03:14 | it's a totally legitimate weakness.
| | 03:18 | With all that in mind, I want you write
down your protagonist's Kryptonite, like their
| | 03:23 | superpower, it should be
introduced or at least hinted at in Act 1.
| | 03:27 | Later in your story this weakness is going to
come into play at the worst possible moment.
| | 03:32 | So, you don't want it to
look like a coincidence.
| | 03:35 | Here's an example, in the movie Vertigo,
Jimmy Stewart's character has a debilitating fear of heights.
| | 03:39 | This plays a major role in the story
later on, but it would be ridiculous
| | 03:44 | to hide this information until that point.
| | 03:46 | So, it's made clear in the first few minutes,
and we accept it as part of his character.
| | 03:52 | One great side effect to these talents and
weaknesses is that by setting them up in Act 1,
| | 03:56 | you're forcing yourself to deliver two
separate payoffs later on in your script,
| | 04:01 | one for the superpower, one for the Kryptonite.
| | 04:04 | Since you're still in your opening pages
right now and you have a long way to go,
| | 04:07 | these two payoffs will give you something
to shoot for on top of your event.
| | 04:11 | Now you know in advance a little
something about the rest of your story.
| | 04:16 | I want to say one last thing, you should always
try to give your protagonist a unique talent,
| | 04:21 | because it makes it more active and interesting.
| | 04:23 | But your protagonist's great weakness is more optional
if you're writing a story where lives are clearly at stake.
| | 04:29 | In this case, the potential for death
itself provides all the Kryptonite you need.
| | 04:34 | In other words, if your protagonist already
has a lot of external conflict on their plate,
| | 04:39 | it's not necessary to further
complicate your story by adding an internal one.
| | 04:43 | But Kryptonite comes in handy when your
script is more subtle, a special character weakness
| | 04:48 | can turn an ordinary situation into
something much more suspenseful, even tragic.
| | 04:53 | It can really help you tell a riveting story,
and I encourage you to make full use of it.
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| Your characters's desires| 00:00 | Drama is all about desire, what people want
and what they do in order to get what they want.
| | 00:07 | And all the desires in the world can be
divided into two simple groups, the desire
| | 00:12 | for change and the desire for no change.
| | 00:14 | Everything a person does is influenced by
one of the two, if they're rich and happy,
| | 00:18 | then they want no change, they
want to continue being rich and happy.
| | 00:22 | So, everything they do will be to keep their
situation from changing, but if they're poor
| | 00:26 | and unhappy, then they want change.
| | 00:28 | So, everything they do will be
to try to make that change happen.
| | 00:32 | Remember, this basic dichotomy of change versus
no change, no matter whether your protagonist
| | 00:37 | is pursuing their scene desire, their
story desire, or their lifelong dream.
| | 00:42 | These are three basic desires
that every protagonist should have.
| | 00:46 | Now I am going to explain what they mean.
| | 00:48 | A Lifelong Dream is when your protagonist
wants to have a nice little house someday,
| | 00:54 | or sail around the world someday,
the key word is someday.
| | 00:57 | So, although it's nice to give your protagonist
the lifelong dream, as it gives their character
| | 01:01 | a little depth, there is no urgency in this
desire, and because there's no urgency, there's
| | 01:06 | no suspense in whether it happens or not.
| | 01:09 | That makes this desire
fundamentally non-dramatic.
| | 01:12 | So just introduce it in Act 1 and
mention it once in a while after that.
| | 01:16 | After the event when all the major conflicts
are resolved, you can finally revisit
| | 01:20 | this dream and reveal whether or
not it's going to come true.
| | 01:23 | The Story Desire is much more significant,
it's the biggest and most important thing your
| | 01:29 | protagonist wants to accomplish in your script.
| | 01:31 | It's what leads us to the event, it should be
specific, urgent, and tangible, like defeating
| | 01:37 | the bad guy, or winning the
contest, or getting out of jail.
| | 01:41 | Because this desire is established by the story
itself, it's not revealed until the drama kicks in.
| | 01:47 | And that doesn't happen until the Routine Killer,
which I'll talk about shortly,
| | 01:51 | or even the end of Act 1, but after that point
the story desire is behind everything your
| | 01:55 | protagonist says or does, it's
their number-one goal at all times.
| | 02:01 | Before I talk about the scene desire, let
me address what I call Intangible Goals.
| | 02:06 | Intangible goals are what you might come up with when
you haven't figured out what your protagonist actually wants.
| | 02:12 | And so instead of something like they want
to destroy the asteroid or they want to catch
| | 02:16 | the criminal, you say your protagonist wants
something vague, like to be respected or to be happy.
| | 02:22 | These goals are wimpy and non-dramatic,
you have to make them explicit and concrete.
| | 02:27 | Define these goals in tangible real-world terms.
| | 02:31 | If the character wants respect, then define
that respect as a job promotion, a rave review,
| | 02:36 | a prestigious award, or so on.
| | 02:39 | If they want to be happy, then define that
happiness as getting married, paying off the debt,
| | 02:43 | or starting their own business,
never keep it vague.
| | 02:48 | Now the most important desire you can represent
in your story is also the most underrated one.
| | 02:52 | This is the Scene Desire, it's what your
protagonist or any character wants to accomplish
| | 02:58 | in any given scene in your script.
| | 03:00 | You have probably heard the old line where the
actor is asking the director, What's my motivation?"
| | 03:04 | It's become a gag, but the question is valid.
| | 03:07 | A lot of screenwriters forget about this because
they are too busy trying to make big statements.
| | 03:12 | But scripts become movies, and movies are
filmed on a scene-by-scene basis, actors live
| | 03:17 | in the moment, so should your characters.
| | 03:20 | If your protagonist story desire is to solve a mystery,
then each scene desire feeds into that story desire.
| | 03:25 | You might be trying to get information out
of a witness, that's their goal for that scene.
| | 03:30 | They might be trying to steal a secret
file, that's their goal for that scene.
| | 03:35 | The story desire is still the driving force
behind all this, but at that particular moment
| | 03:39 | in the script, the scene desire
is front and center.
| | 03:43 | Keep the scene desire in mind whenever you
write an interaction between two characters.
| | 03:47 | What does each person want
out of this interaction?
| | 03:49 | If the answer is nothing, then
you need to give them something.
| | 03:53 | If your protagonist is talking about their
childhood, don't write it just because you
| | 03:56 | think it adds some shading to their character,
make it so your protagonist is trying to achieve
| | 04:01 | something by talking about their childhood.
| | 04:03 | Maybe they want someone to pity them,
give them money, or go out with them.
| | 04:07 | It might sound cynical,
but that's how drama works.
| | 04:10 | There has to be a motivation for every character at
every time, and that goes double for your protagonist.
| | 04:16 | Scene desire keeps your screenplay active
and suspenseful, make sure they remain one
| | 04:20 | of your top priorities and your
script will feel much more alive.
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| Who are your supporting players?| 00:00 | Your protagonist is surrounded by people,
friends, enemies, casual acquaintances, some
| | 00:06 | are there to help, some are there to get
in the way, each of these individuals
| | 00:11 | should be lively and unique.
| | 00:12 | Remember, actors are going to be playing these
parts and actors love having something to do.
| | 00:17 | So, make every character a little special,
even if they are only in one scene.
| | 00:21 | Give them a witty line of dialogue,
or a memorable bit of action.
| | 00:24 | The actor will thank you for it,
and so will your audience.
| | 00:28 | How many characters you have in your script
depends in your scope. That said, a number
| | 00:32 | of small but memorable bit parts
can really add life to your story.
| | 00:36 | They give the impression that it's
about a lot of people, not just a handful.
| | 00:40 | Too many movies, even big
blockbusters, forget to do this.
| | 00:44 | As a result their stories feel unexpectedly
minor and claustrophobic. Of course, if your
| | 00:49 | movie takes place in an isolated setting,
there is no point in adding a bunch of extra
| | 00:53 | people, but you should still try to
give a sense of the world at large.
| | 00:59 | As to when you introduce your characters,
there's a simple formula, all of your main
| | 01:03 | characters must be introduced in the
first half of your movie, that's it.
| | 01:09 | The reason is that by the second half
there's so much going on that you don't have
| | 01:14 | time to develop anybody new.
| | 01:16 | So this means you should introduce pretty
much all the important people in Act 1, then
| | 01:20 | save a couple notable characters for the first
half of Act 2, that's optional, but very common.
| | 01:26 | And keep in mind that a character can be
introduced long before we actually see them.
| | 01:32 | The classic film The Third Man is a famous example
of this, it takes an hour before Orson Welles
| | 01:37 | finally shows up on screen, but his
character dominates the story from the very beginning.
| | 01:43 | In any event, your screenplay concerns the
relationships between your protagonist
| | 01:47 | and the people in their life.
So, let's get to know some of these people.
| | 01:52 | First, we have the Foil character, often
this person is the best friend or side-kick.
| | 01:57 | They are not mandatory, but they're helpful, as
the foil serves as contrast to your protagonist.
| | 02:03 | If you want to make your hero look sophisticated,
then the foil is crude, if your hero is wild
| | 02:07 | and crazy, then the foil is more conservative.
| | 02:11 | But this character has another job, they
are the one who asks your protagonist all the
| | 02:16 | "Why don't you just..." questions
on behalf of the audience.
| | 02:20 | Let's say your stories about a teenage girl
who's painfully shy around boys, your foil
| | 02:24 | is her outgoing girlfriend who
asks her why she can't just relax.
| | 02:29 | If your protagonist is
Sherlock Holmes, your foil is
| | 02:33 | Dr. Watson, whose job is to say stuff like,
"Explain your theory, because I don't understand."
| | 02:38 | In other words, the foil is an elegant way
of getting exposition out of your protagonist
| | 02:44 | without it sounding like exposition.
Next is the Love Interest.
| | 02:48 | In romance, this person is obviously front
and center, but a lot of other genres employ
| | 02:53 | this character, too, here is why.
| | 02:55 | A love interest reveals the softer side of
your protagonist and makes them more human,
| | 03:00 | you can have as tough-as-nails gunslinger,
but if you show that he has got a sweetheart,
| | 03:04 | it means he's not just some killing machine.
| | 03:06 | The love interest can often be a thankless
role, especially when it's a woman whose only
| | 03:11 | purpose is to stand by her man.
| | 03:13 | If you do include a love interest, try your
best to develop them as a real person with
| | 03:18 | their own thoughts and feelings.
Don't just make them eye candy.
| | 03:22 | Finally, we have the Antagonist.
Here is the best way I can describe this person.
| | 03:27 | An antagonist is an obstacle with his own agenda.
A brick wall is an obstacle that doesn't
| | 03:33 | care what you do to it.
| | 03:34 | You can blow it up, climb over it, whatever.
An antagonist, on the other hand, cares very much.
| | 03:40 | So approach your antagonist the
same way you approach your protagonist.
| | 03:43 | They have their own desires, their own obstacles,
even their own foil characters and love interests.
| | 03:49 | In fact, you can put it this way.
| | 03:51 | Your antagonist sees themselves as
the protagonist of their own story.
| | 03:57 | By the way, antagonist
doesn't have to mean villain.
| | 03:59 | Lots of movies don't have villains at
all, but antagonists pop up everywhere.
| | 04:04 | Just as I was talking about story desires and
scene desires, you can have story antagonists
| | 04:09 | dominate your entire drama, and scene
antagonists, whose job it is to thwart your protagonist
| | 04:15 | at any given moment.
| | 04:17 | If a young couple wants to score a table at
a fancy restaurant but the Maitre d' won't let them,
| | 04:21 | the Maitre d' is the scene antagonist.
| | 04:24 | He's the obstacle preventing the couple
from getting what they want, but he has his own
| | 04:29 | point of view and his own agenda.
| | 04:31 | Of course, if your whole movie is about
this couple's fight with a Maitre d',
| | 04:34 | then he is your story antagonist.
| | 04:37 | In any case, an antagonist is simply a person
who stands in the way of your protagonist's
| | 04:43 | desires, conversely, your protagonist is
standing in the way of your antagonist's desires,
| | 04:48 | and that's as complicated as it gets.
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| The routine killer: Your first plot twist| 00:00 | The screenplay format has a very specific
formula, 1 page of script equals 1 minute
| | 00:06 | of screen time, so a 2-hour movie
has a 120-page screenplay.
| | 00:11 | Out of those 120 pages you can use no more than 10 pages,
or 10 minutes, to establish your status quo and move on.
| | 00:20 | The ratio stays the same no matter what, if
your movie is 30 minutes and your screenplay
| | 00:24 | is 30 pages, then you have just 2 & 1/2 pages
to establish your status quo and move on.
| | 00:29 | And by move on, I mean you literally have to
destroy that status quo and initiate the drama.
| | 00:36 | You do this by introducing your
first plot twist, the Routine Killer.
| | 00:41 | This is the scene that really kicks off
the action, the essence of this twist is that
| | 00:45 | it delivers a piece of news
that surprises your protagonist.
| | 00:49 | Joseph Campbell referred to it as a Call to Adventure,
some writers call it the inciting
| | 00:54 | incident or the unexpected event, I call
it the Routine Killer because that's what it does,
| | 01:00 | it kills your protagonist's routine.
| | 01:03 | It doesn't maim it or give it a boo-boo, it
kills it by triggering a major turn of events.
| | 01:09 | Now the Routine Killer could be a big shock or
it could be a small but intriguing discovery.
| | 01:14 | It could be bad news or good.
| | 01:16 | Let's say you're writing about a woman who
is very happy with her job, suddenly her boss
| | 01:21 | comes in and fires her, or maybe your protagonist
is a homeless man who is at the end of his rope,
| | 01:26 | suddenly he finds a big bag
of money on the street.
| | 01:30 | These are two very different twists that will
send these people on two very different adventures.
| | 01:35 | But both serve the same purpose,
they destroy the character's status quo.
| | 01:41 | The Routing Killer has three characteristics, first,
it has to be something your protagonist didn't plan for.
| | 01:48 | Second, it has to happen suddenly.
| | 01:52 | And third, it can't be easily undone,
because otherwise you'd have no story.
| | 01:57 | Watch the first 10 minutes of any movie you'll
find this moment, in North by Northwest,
| | 02:02 | Cary Grant is on his way to lunch, bossing
his secretary around and life is normal.
| | 02:07 | Then suddenly he's mistaken
for another man and kidnapped.
| | 02:12 | In Crazy, Stupid, Love, Steve Carell and
Julianne Moore play a long-married couple out on a date.
| | 02:18 | For him it's business as usual, then
suddenly she tells him she wants a divorce.
| | 02:24 | Not every Routine Killer is so jarring.
| | 02:26 | In a James Bond movie, this twist is
when M gives 007 a new assignment.
| | 02:31 | He takes it all on stride but we know it's
going to be one of his more difficult jobs
| | 02:36 | because that's what a
James Bond movie is all about.
| | 02:38 | So what is shaking him--not stirring him--out
of his status quo, he just doesn't know it yet.
| | 02:45 | The possibilities for the Routine Killer
are endless, it doesn't even have to be a bit
| | 02:49 | of news, it can be a new character.
| | 02:51 | This is really common in
romantic comedies and in buddy movies.
| | 02:55 | It's when the protagonist meets their sexy
new neighbor, their obnoxious new partner,
| | 02:59 | the guy who's going to be
their archenemy, whatever.
| | 03:02 | This person is about to change your protagonist's
life for better or worse, that means they're
| | 03:07 | killing your protagonist's routine.
| | 03:10 | This twist is crucial to your narrative. In fact, it should
be the scene that defines your story's very premise.
| | 03:17 | So don't make here some arbitrary thing
that won't have much to do with your drama.
| | 03:21 | Remember, every scene in your script needs to
take your story one step closer to the event.
| | 03:27 | The Routine Killer is that first step.
| | 03:30 | So take out another sticky note and describe
a scene that would kill your protagonist's routine.
| | 03:36 | Make sure you include your protagonist's reaction,
whether they're thrilled by this twist or horrified.
| | 03:42 | Now that you have set your status quo, imagine
what could really upset it in a nice surprising way,
| | 03:46 | it's got to be something or someone that will
eventually lead your protagonist on an adventure.
| | 03:52 | So be daring, impress yourself, your
story is now officially moving forward,
| | 03:57 | so you want to start it off with a bang.
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| Should I stay or should I go?| 00:00 | The remainder of Act 1 is all about how your
protagonist responds to their routine being killed.
| | 00:07 | Your next twist ends Act 1 and sends
this person on to the adventure of Act 2.
| | 00:12 | But that's still a ways away.
| | 00:14 | So why can't your protagonist just
go on this adventure immediately?
| | 00:17 | Well, because your audience still needs more time to get
to know them before they get swept up by the conflict.
| | 00:24 | If you jump right into Act 2,
your story is going to be rushed.
| | 00:27 | How you postpone the next act, while keeping
your script engaging is a classic conundrum.
| | 00:32 | Even ancient storytellers were
stumped but they came up with a solution.
| | 00:37 | Joseph Campbell was a writer who
studied myths from many different cultures.
| | 00:41 | He found that they had a lot in common
such as our Routine Killer or what he referred
| | 00:46 | to as the Call to Adventure.
| | 00:49 | The hero was going through his ordinary
life when suddenly he is told that he has to go
| | 00:53 | on a journey to save his village,
kill a dragon, or whatever.
| | 00:57 | If the hero simply obeys that call and leaves for his
journey right away, he would be shallow, brave but shallow.
| | 01:04 | So Campbell noticed that in a lot of the
old myths the hero refuses the call at first.
| | 01:09 | Of course, we all know that the hero will ultimately
heed that call because otherwise there is no story.
| | 01:15 | So we wonder how on earth that's going
to happen when the hero is so reluctant.
| | 01:19 | And that creates suspense.
| | 01:22 | There's also a healthy by-product in that
the hero becomes more identifiable.
| | 01:27 | Refusing the call to adventure is a
normal human reaction, we all do it.
| | 01:31 | If I ask you to go bungee jumping
tomorrow, you'd probably say no.
| | 01:35 | So it will take a lot of work to convince
you to go which makes for a more interesting
| | 01:39 | story than if you just said okay.
Your protagonist is in the same boat.
| | 01:44 | The Routine Killer is the universe telling
them that they need to go on a journey whether
| | 01:49 | it's literal, like crossing a desert,
or metaphorical like having a baby.
| | 01:53 | But your protagonist is only human,
they have got fears and obligations.
| | 01:58 | It's not easy for them to
leave their comfort zone.
| | 02:00 | So here's what you do.
| | 02:01 | You come up with reasons to make them go but
you also come up with reasons to let them stay.
| | 02:09 | If you want your script to be unpredictable,
you can't make the path ahead the obvious.
| | 02:15 | Here's an example, a young woman
suddenly gets an offer to study art in Venice.
| | 02:20 | That offer is her Routine Killer,
her Call to Adventure.
| | 02:24 | It sounds awesome, so why doesn't she just go?
Well, there's an obstacle.
| | 02:28 | Her father is very sick.
She has to stay home and take care of him.
| | 02:32 | So she refuses the call.
| | 02:34 | But the story is about her adventure in
Venice so we got to get dad out of the way.
| | 02:39 | Maybe she finds out that he's a terrible
person so she's happy to leave, or maybe he wants
| | 02:43 | her to finally have a life
so he moves to a nursing home.
| | 02:46 | Or maybe fate intervenes
and he simply passes away.
| | 02:50 | Whatever the case, something happens that
obliterates this obstacle so that the woman can go to Venice.
| | 02:57 | Not all protagonists refuse the call.
Let's go back to James Bond.
| | 03:00 | When he gets a new assignment, he takes it.
He's always ready for adventure.
| | 03:04 | So why doesn't he just fast forward to Act 2?
| | 03:07 | Because he's emotionally ready
but not physically ready.
| | 03:11 | He's got some obstacles in his way.
| | 03:12 | He doesn't have his car yet, he doesn't have his
gadgets yet, he hasn't done all his research on the bad guy.
| | 03:18 | So what does he do for the rest of Act 1?
| | 03:20 | He gets his car, he gets his gadgets,
and he does his research.
| | 03:24 | He knocks down those obstacles one by one,
and then he's finally ready for Act 2.
| | 03:30 | So no matter how your protagonist reacts to
the Routine Killer, your job remains the same.
| | 03:35 | You need to come up with obstacles
designed to keep Act 2 from happening.
| | 03:40 | Then you need to get rid of
those obstacles one at a time.
| | 03:42 | Do it believably and your audience will
sympathize with your protagonist's situation.
| | 03:47 | They'll be anxious to see what happens in Act 2
since you're teasing them by pushing it back.
| | 03:53 | So here's what I want you to do.
| | 03:54 | Develop the rest of Act 1 by coming up with
at least one major obstacle that's keeping
| | 03:59 | your protagonist from going on their adventure.
| | 04:02 | If you can do it, try to come up with three: a fear,
an antagonist, a lack of resources, anything.
| | 04:08 | Write each one on its own sticky note.
| | 04:11 | Every obstacle will have its own
individual scene where it's introduced as a problem.
| | 04:16 | Now come up with a way to overcome
each obstacle so Act 2 can happen.
| | 04:21 | Write each solution on its own sticky note.
| | 04:23 | Every solution will have its own scene
where we see the obstacle being knocked down.
| | 04:28 | And by the way, your protagonist
doesn't have to do all the knocking.
| | 04:32 | Other characters can get rid of obstacles
and so can mother nature and Lady Luck.
| | 04:36 | But make your obstacles potent and
intimidating and your solutions clever and believable.
| | 04:42 | Once you're done, you'll have laid out a substantial
and suspenseful first act for your screenplay.
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| The act one plot twist: Saying goodbye to the comfort zone| 00:01 | We have now come to the Act 1 plot twist.
| | 00:03 | This is the moment where your protagonist
realizes that they are about to go on an adventure
| | 00:08 | whether it's a trip to outer space,
or the ups and downs of a new romance.
| | 00:12 | Before I define this twist, let's go over
what your Act 1 should look like so far.
| | 00:17 | First, you establish the status quo and introduced your protagonist.
| | 00:21 | Then you destroyed that status quo with the
Routine Killer, a sudden and unexpected turn of events.
| | 00:27 | You showed your
protagonist's reaction to this twist.
| | 00:30 | You also made it clear that this twist is going to
eventually set your protagonist off on an adventure.
| | 00:36 | But to tease your audience and increase the
suspense, you threw in some obstacles that
| | 00:40 | could have prevented that
adventure from happening.
| | 00:42 | Then you cleverly knocked down those obstacles.
| | 00:45 | Now your protagonist has no
choice but to go on that adventure.
| | 00:50 | You should have at least four sticky notes
for Act 1: Status quo, Routine Killer,
| | 00:55 | obstacle preventing Act 2,
and solution for that obstacle.
| | 00:58 | Of course, it's not like your first act can
only have four scenes, you can have 40 scenes.
| | 01:02 | There are lots of room for exposition,
character development, relationship building, and jokes.
| | 01:08 | But make sure you have those four elements:
Status Quo, Routine Killer, Obstacle, Solution.
| | 01:14 | Now you're ready for the Act 1 plot twist.
| | 01:17 | This scene will spin your story
around and plunge it directly into Act 2.
| | 01:21 | So it has to be a big twist,
bigger than the Routine Killer for sure.
| | 01:25 | How ever big that twist was,
this one has to top it.
| | 01:29 | Like the Routine Killer, the Act 1
plot twist can come unexpectedly.
| | 01:33 | In Back to the Future, for instance, Marty McFly
certainly doesn't plan to go 30 years back in time.
| | 01:38 | But more often it's the
result of a character's choice.
| | 01:41 | In Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy and his
old girlfriend Marion agree to go to Egypt
| | 01:46 | to find the ark, end of Act 1.
| | 01:49 | In a nutshell, this plot twist is the point
where you stick a one-way ticket to adventure
| | 01:54 | into your protagonist's pocket.
| | 01:56 | Then you give them a mighty
shove to start them on their way.
| | 01:59 | Your protagonist could be excited or
filled with dread. It doesn't matter.
| | 02:03 | They still have to go.
| | 02:05 | This scene is where they
realize that adventure is inevitable.
| | 02:09 | There's absolutely no turning back now.
| | 02:12 | So take out another sticky note and write
down the scene that forces your protagonist
| | 02:16 | to leave their comfort zone and take that first
step on their emotional or geographical journey.
| | 02:22 | That's your Act 1 plot twist.
| | 02:24 | Once you have got something down, you have now
officially laid out your screenplay's first act.
| | 02:29 | I can't tell you how
difficult it is to get this far.
| | 02:31 | So you have my sincerest congratulations.
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|
|
4. Act Two: The AdventureWhy adventure?| 00:01 | We're now embarking on the adventure
of laying out your script's second act.
| | 00:05 | Some writers refer to Act 2 as the
confrontation, the conflict, or the journey.
| | 00:10 | I call it the Adventure because the word
encompasses all of these ideas, and it's not genre specific.
| | 00:16 | You don't need to stick your
protagonist in the middle of a jungle.
| | 00:19 | Your Act 2 could be the
adventure of them learning how to dance.
| | 00:23 | Whatever your story, I do
want you to embrace the word.
| | 00:26 | Adventure means excitement.
| | 00:28 | It means there's something special happening.
Something you don't see every day.
| | 00:31 | It's there to remind you to fill your second act
with twists and turns, no matter what you're writing.
| | 00:36 | It may go without saying but this adventure
isn't just aimless wandering. It's a mission.
| | 00:42 | And by now it must be clear to your
protagonist what the goal of this mission is,
| | 00:47 | defeat the bad guy, pull off the heist, prove
their innocence or their client's innocence.
| | 00:52 | This goal might have been explicitly announced
in your Routine Killer scene, or maybe it only
| | 00:57 | finally become clear at the end of Act 1.
In either case, make sure it's clear now.
| | 01:03 | At this point, your protagonist should understand
what they're supposed to accomplish on this adventure.
| | 01:09 | Now in Act 1, you showed your
protagonist in their comfort zone.
| | 01:13 | Act 2 opens with your protagonist
in a new environment.
| | 01:16 | A lot of movies will make this literal.
| | 01:18 | You'll see an actual and often extreme
change of scenery between Act 1 and Act 2.
| | 01:24 | It's an easy signifier to the audience that
the story has spun around into a new direction.
| | 01:29 | By all means, if you're comfortable
doing this then you should do it.
| | 01:33 | Film is a visual medium and a striking new
location can add a real spark to your movie.
| | 01:39 | Now if doesn't make any sense to move your
protagonist geographically, you need to
| | 01:43 | pick this departure from
their comfort zone in other ways.
| | 01:46 | Here are a couple of examples from two very different
movies: The Hunger Games and Crazy, Stupid, Love.
| | 01:53 | In both movies, the main protagonist
is forced to leave home early in Act 1.
| | 01:57 | Yet they each remain in a comfort
zone until the beginning of Act 2.
| | 02:03 | In The Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen's
comfort zone is simply an environment where people
| | 02:08 | are not actively trying to kill her.
Act 2 begins when The Hunger Games began.
| | 02:13 | There is a change of scenery but the important
distinction is that Katniss has left an environment
| | 02:18 | where at least she was safe and is now in an
environment where she can die at any moment.
| | 02:23 | In Crazy, Stupid, Love, Steve Carell's
character has been dumped by his wife.
| | 02:28 | A trip to the dating pool is his call to
adventure but he's refusing that call because he's afraid
| | 02:33 | to go out with anyone new.
| | 02:35 | Act 1 ends with a plot twist where
he meets Marisa Tomei's character.
| | 02:40 | In Act 2, they start dating.
| | 02:42 | So while there's no significant change of
scenery between the two acts, Carell's character
| | 02:46 | has definitely left his comfort zone.
He's now on his adventure.
| | 02:50 | These are just two examples, watch any of
your favorite movies and take note of what
| | 02:54 | happens when you're about 25 to 30 minutes in.
| | 02:57 | See how they depict the
change between Act 1 and Act 2.
| | 03:01 | What's the comfort zone?
And what's the adventure?
| | 03:04 | Now do the same with your own story.
Take out a new sticky note.
| | 03:08 | Write down what the first
scene in Act 2 looks like.
| | 03:11 | Try your best to create a distinct contrast from the comfort
zone of Act 1, change the setting or change the tone.
| | 03:18 | Be sure to mention what
your protagonist is doing.
| | 03:20 | They're probably just getting their bearings
in their new environment but write that down
| | 03:24 | and describe their emotional state. If they're
scared, excited, confused, or skeptical,
| | 03:29 | it should all be in that note.
| | 03:32 | In a sense, you are establishing a new status quo
just like you did at the beginning of your story.
| | 03:37 | Each act in your script really is
kind of like its own little movie.
| | 03:41 | So if Act 1 begins with your protagonist
going about their ordinary life and ends
| | 03:46 | with them leaving that life behind,
then how does Act 2 begin and end?
| | 03:49 | Well, it begins with your protagonist coming to terms with
what they're supposed to accomplish on their adventure,
| | 03:55 | and it ends not without accomplishment,
but with a crisis and a revelation.
| | 04:00 | That revelation will take your protagonist into Act 3
which resolves the crisis and leads us to your event.
| | 04:08 | I'm telling you all this now because you
have to keep your eye on the big picture.
| | 04:12 | You're still heading toward that event at
the end, and you still need to pack your story
| | 04:16 | full of obstacles to make it look
like that event's never going to happen.
| | 04:20 | It's daunting, but there are a lot of ways
you can fill out Act 2 to make it suspenseful,
| | 04:25 | and that's what I'm going to talk about next.
| | Collapse this transcript |
| Your plot thickeners: Adding two new twists| 00:01 | Because Act 2 is the longest of the three
acts, plotting it out can be intimidating.
| | 00:06 | After all, if you're writing a 2-hour movie,
Act 2 is a whopping hour's worth of material.
| | 00:12 | It can be a challenge to
fill it up with conflict.
| | 00:15 | This is why a lot of amateur screenwriters
wind up falling back on those long, boring
| | 00:19 | scenes where characters
talk about their feelings.
| | 00:22 | They think that writing 10 pages of stream of
consciousness dialogue is an easy way to fill up space.
| | 00:27 | I don't want you to resort to that, so here
is how you set some manageable goals for your
| | 00:32 | writing process while also
keeping your story interesting.
| | 00:36 | Take out that original
diagram of the three-act structure.
| | 00:39 | You will remember that we have already cut
this long Act 2 into halves, separated by a
| | 00:44 | plot twist that I call the halfway point.
I'll get to that later.
| | 00:48 | For now, you have still got ways
to go before you hit that point.
| | 00:51 | So let's make your writing process a little easier by
adding two new miniature plot twists to your story line.
| | 00:58 | One is right in between the
beginning of Act 2 and the Halfway point.
| | 01:02 | And the other is right in between the
halfway point and the Act 2 plot twist.
| | 01:07 | What we're doing is dividing Act 2
into four individual segments.
| | 01:11 | Each segment climaxes with a plot twist
which gives your story a burst of energy.
| | 01:17 | I'll call these two new mini-twists
your plot thickeners.
| | 01:21 | They don't spin your story around like the Act 1 and
Act 2 plot twists, but they do make it more suspenseful.
| | 01:26 | There are no hard and fast rules about what happens
in these scenes, just as long as something happens.
| | 01:31 | A new obstacle can be presented.
| | 01:33 | The stakes could rise.
There could be a reversal of fortune.
| | 01:37 | These are all great tricks that
are designed to enhance your drama.
| | 01:41 | I'll go into more detail
about each of these tricks soon.
| | 01:44 | For now just place these two plot thickeners
in the correct positions in your story line.
| | 01:49 | Now you only have to develop your second act
a few pages at a time instead of one big haul.
| | 01:54 | Just aim for that next burst of
energy which is only a few pages away.
| | 01:58 | It will make your writing process easier and
will also keep you from getting bogged down
| | 02:02 | in long scenes where nothing happens.
| | 02:06 | Now if your particular screenplay has a very
dense story line with tons of characters and
| | 02:10 | conflicts, your Act 2 isn't
limited to just four twists.
| | 02:14 | You can subdivide it even further by
placing plot twists between plot twists, dividing
| | 02:19 | Act 2 into eighths or even sixteenths.
| | 02:23 | Whatever the case, the underlying idea of this
exercise is that a dramatic narrative has a rhythm.
| | 02:29 | Things don't just go up, up, up,
or down, down, down.
| | 02:32 | They go up and down and up and down.
| | 02:34 | You have an exciting moment and a calm moment,
a scene so tense that it makes you hold your
| | 02:39 | breath followed by a scene where you can exhale.
It's like a roller coaster.
| | 02:43 | And even though you want your story to be
unpredictable, you also want your audience
| | 02:47 | to know that there's always something about to happen,
that's good suspense, and that's good story telling.
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| The need for obstacles| 00:00 | I have already mentioned
obstacles a few times in this course.
| | 00:04 | But I want to take a moment to really make
it clear how important they are in creating
| | 00:07 | good drama and why your screenplay
needs to be jam-packed with them.
| | 00:12 | One of the worst questions a screenwriter can hear
starts off with the words, "Why don't they just..."
| | 00:17 | meaning, why aren't your characters pursuing the
easiest and most obvious solution to their problem?
| | 00:24 | Why don't they just call the police?
| | 00:25 | Why don't they just tell
each other how they feel?
| | 00:28 | There's always some wise guy who's going to ask.
| | 00:30 | And if you get that question, it probably means
you didn't adequately address it in your script.
| | 00:35 | So during the writing process, you have to
be your own wise guy, so to speak, and ask
| | 00:39 | yourself that question constantly.
| | 00:42 | And each and every time you need to come up
with an answer that is both logical and concise.
| | 00:48 | I have seen a lot of screenwriters avoid this
because they're trying to force their story
| | 00:52 | or a character to do something that
might look cool but doesn't make any sense.
| | 00:57 | They hope nobody will notice but people do notice
and then somebody asks, "Why don't they just..."
| | 01:03 | So you need to be tough on yourself as a writer.
| | 01:05 | Don't let yourself try to get away with an action or
behavior that you can't logically and concisely explain.
| | 01:13 | That's why obstacles are so useful.
| | 01:16 | Obstacles provide explanations, solid reasons
why a character doesn't just do the easiest
| | 01:21 | and most obvious thing.
Why don't they just call the police?
| | 01:25 | Because the phone is dead or because they
are in the middle of nowhere or because the
| | 01:29 | police themselves are the bad guys.
| | 01:31 | Once the question has been answered,
your audience won't bring it up again,
| | 01:35 | and you can get on with your story.
| | 01:38 | Physical obstacles provide
the easiest explanations.
| | 01:41 | Why don't I just walk out my front door?
Because there's a zombie in the way.
| | 01:45 | But emotional obstacles are
more difficult to clarify.
| | 01:48 | Why doesn't that timid
woman just overcome her shyness?
| | 01:51 | Well, you see in real life,
it will be long story.
| | 01:54 | But in a screenplay, there needs
to be a logical and concise reason.
| | 01:59 | Something you can show
without 15 minutes of exposition.
| | 02:03 | We see the timid woman tell a joke or try
to flirt only to be ignored or made fun of.
| | 02:08 | Or we see her family and friends, and there are
a bunch of loud mouths who never let her speak.
| | 02:14 | We see something like that, and we instantly
understand why she can't just overcome her shyness.
| | 02:20 | We get it.
| | 02:21 | Obstacles add clarity to your story,
and you should always welcome clarity.
| | 02:26 | Now I have heard some writers say,
"But I want my audience to be confused."
| | 02:29 | Don't use that excuse.
| | 02:31 | If your audience starts
asking, "Why don't they just..."
| | 02:34 | it means they're no longer emotionally
invested in your drama and they're picking apart
| | 02:38 | your work as a screenwriter.
| | 02:39 | And there are basically two kinds of obstacles:
those that are impossible to overcome,
| | 02:45 | and those that must be overcome.
| | 02:46 | The impossible ones are those that would give
your characters an easy way out of the conflict
| | 02:52 | if they were able to overcome them.
| | 02:54 | You have to make them impossible because otherwise
your characters would take that easy way out
| | 02:58 | and your story would be over.
| | 03:01 | All the other obstacles in your
drama can and must be overcome.
| | 03:05 | The harder it is for a character to do that, the
more suspenseful and unpredictable your story will be.
| | 03:11 | Speaking of characters, remember that an
antagonist is merely an obstacle with his own agenda.
| | 03:16 | And antagonists fall into the same two counts:
those who are impossible to deal with,
| | 03:21 | and those who must be dealt with.
| | 03:25 | Okay, one more thing about characters, but this
is important, the most useful and most common
| | 03:29 | obstacle in drama is another
character's resistance.
| | 03:33 | In other words, if your protagonist wants
someone's help, that someone is usually
| | 03:37 | very reluctant or maybe even hostile.
This obstacle is tailor-made for drama.
| | 03:42 | Many great movies have their protagonist spending most of
their time trying to convince other people to help them.
| | 03:48 | Character resistance is an incredibly
versatile obstacle, use it whenever you can.
| | 03:53 | So to wrap things up, your screenplay is like
one big obstacle course for your protagonist.
| | 03:58 | To get to the end, they have to jump through
a bunch of hoops and climb a bunch of walls.
| | 04:02 | Especially in Act 2, you have
got a lot of territory to cover.
| | 04:06 | So throw in as many obstacles as possible,
that's how you give your story more substance.
| | 04:11 | Plus, we identify with your protagonist
more when we see them facing obstacles.
| | 04:15 | We get caught up in the drama and
your story becomes more memorable.
| | 04:19 | It's a win-win situation for everybody.
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| How high are your stakes?| 00:01 | Another question a screenwriter never
wants to hear is, "So, what's the big deal?"
| | 00:06 | You'll get this question if the
stakes in your story aren't high enough.
| | 00:09 | This is one of the most common
criticisms for new screenplays.
| | 00:12 | As usual, it's because a lot of writers
get caught up in character and dialogue and put
| | 00:17 | the drama on the back burner. That's why you need to
know what stakes are and why they are so important.
| | 00:23 | I'm sure you have heard the term in
poker or anywhere people make bets.
| | 00:26 | Low stakes means you're playing
for pennies, nickels, or match sticks.
| | 00:31 | If you win, it doesn't matter.
If you lose, it doesn't matter.
| | 00:34 | It's all just for fun, but a high stakes game
means you're playing for thousands of dollars.
| | 00:40 | Maybe you're betting your car,
your house, or your life savings.
| | 00:43 | If you win, you could walk away a millionaire.
If you lose, you could lose everything.
| | 00:48 | When the stakes are that high, the tension
becomes unbearable and unbearable tension
| | 00:53 | means lots of juicy suspense, that's
why your screenplay needs high stakes.
| | 00:59 | If you're working in a, shall we say,
violent genre like war, horror, or action,
| | 01:04 | then high stakes come with the territory.
| | 01:06 | Lives are on the line, people could die, as
far as stakes go, you have got it covered
| | 01:11 | but you can't just coast.
| | 01:13 | You still need to remind your
audience how dangerous things really are.
| | 01:16 | You do this by killing off characters and
putting your protagonist in situations where
| | 01:21 | they barely escape with their life.
| | 01:23 | Thrilling scenes like these are the ideal
way to fill out your second act, particularly,
| | 01:28 | at the halfway point or either of the
twists that I called the plot thickeners.
| | 01:31 | This can be chases scenes, surprise attacks,
full-blown battles, or other big set pieces.
| | 01:38 | Now, if you're writing a quiet story without any life
or death scenarios, you still need to have high stakes.
| | 01:44 | Here's how you do it.
| | 01:45 | First, you establish the single most
important thing in your protagonist's life,
| | 01:51 | what they want to hold on to
or what they want to gain.
| | 01:53 | This could be their story desire.
| | 01:55 | Then you put that very thing at risk, money,
freedom, their reputation, a college scholarship,
| | 02:02 | whatever is important to
your protagonist, put it at risk.
| | 02:05 | And you need to make your audience believe
that at any moment your protagonist could
| | 02:09 | lose this precious thing forever.
| | 02:12 | Once again, Act 2's various plot twists are
perfect for specific scenes that drive this point home.
| | 02:20 | One movie that creates convincingly high stakes out
of a low stakes premise is the comedy Bridesmaids.
| | 02:25 | Here's the setup.
| | 02:26 | Kristen Wiig, who co-wrote the script, plays Annie Walker,
a woman whose life has completely bottomed out.
| | 02:33 | Her relationship with her best friend
Lillian is literally the only good thing she's got.
| | 02:37 | So, what's the big deal?
Well, Lillian is getting married.
| | 02:40 | She's is moving away, and worst of all, she
has a new BFF named Helen, a seemingly perfect
| | 02:46 | woman who makes Annie feel extremely insecure.
| | 02:49 | So, now there are a lot of threats or
obstacles to Annie holding on to this friendship,
| | 02:54 | this one good thing, but Lillian is cool.
So what's the big deal?
| | 02:58 | Well, because Annie is so desperate about
their friendship, she does one stupid thing
| | 03:03 | after another, which
actually pushes Lillian away.
| | 03:06 | So, now their friendship
really does wind up at risk.
| | 03:09 | It's a nice bit of irony and the stakes in
Bridesmaids feel so high because the script
| | 03:14 | keeps finding new ways to put the
protagonist's most precious thing at risk.
| | 03:20 | So, you can see high stakes will help you
answer that question, "What's the big deal?"
| | 03:25 | And there is a ton of ways you can do this.
| | 03:27 | An antagonist can raise the
stakes like a poker player.
| | 03:30 | An explicitly treacherous obstacle can raise
them, too, like crossing a mine field or taking
| | 03:35 | a final exam, and your protagonist's
Kryptonite can raise them because it's a weakness.
| | 03:40 | And risk is always greater when someone is weak.
| | 03:43 | But whatever you need to do to raise
the stakes, I want you to enjoy it.
| | 03:47 | Use your imagination and push your protagonist
into increasingly dicey situations, no matter
| | 03:52 | what kind of story you're writing.
| | 03:54 | In short, you need to be sadistic and
turn up the heat on your characters.
| | 03:58 | It makes the screenwriting process more fun, and of course,
the higher stakes make your screenplay more suspenseful.
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| Status shifts and reversals of fortune| 00:01 | Early in this course, I asked you to write
down four attributes for each of your main
| | 00:05 | characters: age, job, romantic
situation, and financial situation.
| | 00:11 | Each of these attributes implies a
certain status for that character.
| | 00:15 | Now status can change and good
drama decrees that status must change.
| | 00:20 | But first, let's define the two different
kinds of status that you will be dealing with.
| | 00:25 | The first is what I call Universal Status.
| | 00:27 | This is how the world at large sees your
characters at least in terms of your story's setting.
| | 00:32 | Let's use the attribute of age as an example.
| | 00:35 | If your story takes place in a high school,
then a senior naturally outranks a freshman.
| | 00:40 | So, in this context, the older person has
the higher status, but if your story is all
| | 00:45 | about ballet dancers, a 40-year-old
ballerina's career is almost over while a 20-year-old
| | 00:50 | ballerina is at the top of her game.
| | 00:52 | So, in that context, the older
person has the lower status.
| | 00:56 | In both cases, though, universal status
is based only on a societal pecking order.
| | 01:01 | It's not about who's right and who's wrong.
Your lowly hamburger flipper could be a hero.
| | 01:06 | Your restaurant owner could be a villain.
| | 01:08 | That makes no difference
to the universal status.
| | 01:11 | The burger flipper remains outranked by
the big boss, and that's just the way it is.
| | 01:15 | The only way that your universal status
could shift is if the burger flipper winds up in
| | 01:19 | charge of the restaurant and the
big boss is demoted to janitor.
| | 01:23 | Now, the second type of status is what really changes
scene by scene, and it's what I call Relational Status.
| | 01:30 | This is based, as you might guess, on how
individual characters relate to each other.
| | 01:36 | Think of Frodo Baggins and
Gollum in Lord of the Rings.
| | 01:38 | The world at large sees both of these characters
as equals, two runty, insignificant little men.
| | 01:44 | So, universal status doesn't apply.
| | 01:47 | The only thing that matters to
Frodo and Gollum is who's got the ring.
| | 01:51 | That's relational status.
| | 01:52 | It all comes down to who has the
upper hand in any particular scene.
| | 01:58 | Here's an example of how
relational status can shift.
| | 02:00 | A bank robber steals a million
dollars and goes into hiding.
| | 02:04 | The police don't know where he is.
| | 02:06 | At that moment, the bank robber's got the higher
status because he's got the money and the freedom.
| | 02:11 | So, the police do some police work and
eventually discover his hiding place.
| | 02:16 | Now, they have got the higher status.
| | 02:17 | So, they send some cops down to arrest him,
but the hiding place is booby-trapped.
| | 02:22 | The cops fall in the trap and the bank
robber gets away through a secret exit.
| | 02:27 | Now, his status is higher again, but he wasn't
counting on the one cop waiting at the exit.
| | 02:32 | The cop arrests the bank robber and the
police have the higher status once again.
| | 02:37 | As I mentioned earlier, who's right and
who's wrong doesn't factor into status.
| | 02:41 | The only thing that matters is
who's winning and who's losing.
| | 02:45 | So, this is what status shifts are all about.
| | 02:48 | One character is at the top when another is at the bottom,
then something happens and suddenly the tables are turned.
| | 02:54 | This is one of the great sources of dramatic
conflict and your plot twists are the perfect
| | 02:58 | places for these shifts to occur.
| | 03:01 | Any of your script's three acts can accommodate
status shifts, but Act 2 is especially useful.
| | 03:08 | A Reversal of Fortune is similar to a
status shift, except that instead of involving two
| | 03:13 | characters, it really only affects
one person usually, your protagonist.
| | 03:17 | For example, if you don't know how you're
going to make the rent, then suddenly
| | 03:20 | you win the lottery, that's a reversal of fortune.
It doesn't change anyone's status but yours.
| | 03:26 | So, a reversal of fortune is like a twist
of fate, whereas a status shift is more often
| | 03:31 | the result of a character's strategy.
| | 03:33 | Reversals of fortune are good for
enhancing the unpredictability of your story.
| | 03:38 | Here's how you put them to work.
| | 03:40 | When everything is going well for your
protagonist, make something awful happen.
| | 03:43 | This throws them into a crisis
because they were unprepared.
| | 03:47 | Likewise, right when your protagonist is feeling
extra hopeless, make something miraculous happen,
| | 03:51 | that gives them hope again.
| | 03:54 | The joy of a reversal of fortune is in the surprise
just as long as it doesn't seem contrived or illogical.
| | 04:00 | Finally, I should mention that there is no
set number of status shifts or reversals of
| | 04:05 | fortune a screenplay should have.
| | 04:08 | But I want you to include at least two of
each in your script, especially in Act 2.
| | 04:12 | If you can get away with more, then go for it.
| | 04:14 | The point is that your audience should see
your protagonist both winning and losing.
| | 04:19 | That way the character becomes more
complex and the story becomes more unpredictable.
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| The first plot thickener: This is getting serious| 00:01 | You're about to write down the
next big twist in your story line.
| | 00:04 | Before you do that, I want to clarify something.
| | 00:07 | Just because there are four major twists in Act 2,
it doesn't mean there are only four scenes.
| | 00:11 | In order to explain why we're plotting out
your script this way, instead of moving forward
| | 00:15 | scene by scene, I'm going to borrow
some terminology from the animation world.
| | 00:20 | When someone's animating a character, what
they draw first are the Key Frames or the
| | 00:24 | extreme positions of that character usually,
the beginning and end of a particular action.
| | 00:30 | So, if the character starts like this and ends like
this, the animator draws those two positions first.
| | 00:38 | What happens next is called inbetweening where the animator
draws all the positions in between those two extremes.
| | 00:45 | Typically, they subdivide the action,
drawing the middle position first then draw
| | 00:50 | in the positions here and here.
| | 00:52 | If the character's movement isn't smooth
enough with those five frames, then they add more
| | 00:56 | frames in between where the
changes become more subtle.
| | 01:00 | Once the character's movement is finally
nice and smooth, the animator is done.
| | 01:04 | Now, what you're doing as a
screenwriter is the exact same thing.
| | 01:08 | You start with the beginning and end so
you know the two extremes of your story.
| | 01:13 | Then you fill it in a little with your
plot twists, which is what you're doing now.
| | 01:17 | Once all the twists have been defined, you'd
be filling in the gaps between them with as
| | 01:21 | many connecting scenes as you need
to give your story a nice smooth flow.
| | 01:25 | But that smoothing up comes later.
| | 01:27 | Right now we're still
focusing on the main twists.
| | 01:30 | So, let's talk about the
first plot thickener of Act 2.
| | 01:34 | Remember that you kicked off this act with your
protagonist embarking upon their new adventure.
| | 01:38 | After they took a few minutes to adapt to
this new stage in their life, this is the
| | 01:42 | scene where they realize that their adventure
isn't going to be all sunshine and lollipops.
| | 01:47 | This scene is their first big trial.
| | 01:49 | It will test them, frustrate them,
maybe disappoint them.
| | 01:52 | For instance, if you're writing a movie about
a soldier going off to war, Act 1 might show
| | 01:57 | him back at home signing up for duty.
| | 02:00 | Act 2 begins with the soldier
arriving at the battle front.
| | 02:03 | And this plot thickener shows that first big
battle where the soldier finally experiences
| | 02:07 | the seriousness of what he signed up for.
| | 02:11 | Although this moment isn't quite as big as
the Act 1 plot twist or the halfway point
| | 02:15 | just around the corner, it
should still have an impact.
| | 02:18 | The fun part is that you can do
pretty much anything you want here.
| | 02:21 | You can introduce a new
character or kill off an old one.
| | 02:24 | You can show your antagonist hatching a scheme.
| | 02:27 | You can test your protagonist's
commitment to their desires or beliefs.
| | 02:31 | It all boils down to the same idea, whatever
the situation already was, now it's intensified.
| | 02:37 | The plot literally thickens at this point.
| | 02:39 | So, throw in a challenging obstacle, raise
the stakes, give your protagonist the reversal
| | 02:44 | of fortune or status shift or all of the above.
| | 02:47 | Whatever you do, just make sure you're tightening the
screws on your protagonist and on your audience as well.
| | 02:52 | The scene can be grave, funny,
sexy, strange, or horrifying.
| | 02:58 | The only rule is that it has to feel
important to your story because you're still inching
| | 03:02 | toward that big event at the end.
| | 03:04 | So, once you have got a good idea of how you
want to thicken the plot here, take out a
| | 03:08 | new sticky note and write
down what happens in this scene.
| | 03:11 | Now you're ready to move on to plotting out
your next big twist, which is the halfway point.
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| The halfway point| 00:01 | Congratulations are in order, because we are
now at the halfway point of your second act
| | 00:06 | and of your screen play.
| | 00:07 | You have come along way, and while there's still
a lot of work left to do, you have gotten most
| | 00:11 | of the really heavy lifting out of the way.
| | 00:13 | So, pat yourself on the back and get ready
to write down your story's halfway point.
| | 00:18 | In terms of plot twist, this is a big one.
| | 00:21 | It's almost as big as the ones at the end
of Act 1 and Act 2, but there are differences.
| | 00:26 | For one, you don't usually see a change
of scenery or passing of time at this point.
| | 00:31 | We are still in the same location and
the drama is moving ahead at full speed.
| | 00:35 | But this is the longest act and your
audience is getting hungry for another big scene.
| | 00:40 | The Act 2 plot twist is still far away.
| | 00:42 | So, this extra twist is designed to tide
your audience over until that happens.
| | 00:48 | Like the first plot thickener I just talked
about, your halfway point could be just about
| | 00:52 | anything that spins the plot around.
| | 00:54 | But I found that it typically takes
the form of a reversal of fortune.
| | 00:58 | In other words, if your protagonist has
gotten to the point where things are going pretty
| | 01:02 | well, and their goals are almost within reach,
then the halfway point is where you pull the
| | 01:06 | rug out from under them with some
surprising and usually unhappy news.
| | 01:12 | On the other hand, if your protagonist has
been having a really tough time in Act 2
| | 01:16 | and is feeling frustrated, here's where
you give them some unexpected good luck.
| | 01:20 | In other words, the half way point is were
you lift your protagonist up or knock them down.
| | 01:26 | If you're looking for ideas on what to do with
your halfway point, here are a few suggestions.
| | 01:31 | Some movies kill off a major character in this scene
like the Avengers or the talented Mr. Ripley.
| | 01:36 | A death can turn the tables on your protagonist,
and it can raise the stakes as well, but if
| | 01:41 | your story is death-free,
there are other solutions.
| | 01:44 | For example, if you're writing about a
detective trying to solve a mystery, here's where they
| | 01:48 | find an important new clue or here's
where the trail suddenly goes cold.
| | 01:53 | In a romantic comedy, this is
typically where boy loses girl.
| | 01:57 | In a sports movie, this is where our team
either has an uplifting victory or a humiliating defeat,
| | 02:02 | something that changes their standing in the ranks.
| | 02:07 | You can even introduce one or two final
characters at this point, and I do mean final.
| | 02:11 | If you have been saving any characters, now
is your last chance to insert them into your
| | 02:16 | story line because your audience won't have
time after this to get to know anyone new.
| | 02:20 | Sure, you can still throw in some random bit parts
like someone who comes in for a minute and then leaves.
| | 02:25 | But if there's anyone left who's going to
change your protagonist's life, it's now or never.
| | 02:30 | So, take out a new sticky note and write
down what happens at your halfway point.
| | 02:35 | Make it whatever you want, as long as the scene spins
your story around in a surprising and significant way.
| | 02:41 | The idea is that your protagonist is now well
into their adventure and they know what their
| | 02:45 | mission is, what they have to accomplish.
| | 02:48 | But if they thought they knew how they were
going to do it or if they thought it just
| | 02:51 | couldn't be done, then the
halfway point changes it up.
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| The second plot thickener: The crisis| 00:01 | I know it feels like we're burning through
Act 2, and you might be thinking,
| | 00:05 | "Wait, this is a long act, how can I really make it
exciting with just four major twists, even if there's
| | 00:10 | "a bunch of scenes in between?
| | 00:11 | Won't there be a lot of
downtime between those twists?"
| | 00:15 | It's a fair concern, and it's why a lot of
screenwriters fill those gaps with lengthy bouts of dialogue.
| | 00:21 | But the truth is once you have set up everything
in Act 1, the substance of Act 2 is elementary.
| | 00:27 | Your protagonist is trying to accomplish their story
desire but there's a big pile of obstacles in the way.
| | 00:33 | That means every page of your second act is
about your protagonist trying to conquer an
| | 00:38 | obstacle, coming across a new obstacle, or very briefly
celebrating their victory over the previous obstacle.
| | 00:45 | If you want a good example of how full a
second act can be, look at Back to the Future.
| | 00:49 | The movie's first act is kind of unusual,
since it's mostly just exposition, but we
| | 00:54 | need that time to get to know Marty McFly
and all the people in his life.
| | 00:59 | Why? Because Act 2 is jam-packed with conflict.
First, Marty winds up back in time, 30 years.
| | 01:05 | So, a story desire is to return
to 1985, to go back to the future.
| | 01:10 | But look what's standing in his way: His time
traveling DeLorean doesn't have the energy to go back.
| | 01:16 | Then Marty accidentally gets in the
way of his own parents falling in love.
| | 01:19 | So, now his entire existence is at stake.
| | 01:22 | Not only that, but his own mother develops a
crush on him and his father is too wimpy to stop it.
| | 01:28 | On top of all this, there's big
bully who's constantly making trouble.
| | 01:32 | So, Marty's got a ton of obstacles on his
plate, all of which he has to overcome in
| | 01:37 | order to just get back to his normal life.
| | 01:40 | This movie doesn't waste a minute of Act 2
because it's got so much story to tell.
| | 01:46 | Now, your screenplay probably isn't anything
like Back to the Future, but you still have
| | 01:50 | to fill it with a story.
| | 01:51 | That's why you shouldn't let your Act 2
wander away from you plot, not even for one scene.
| | 01:56 | If you story starts losing
steam, throw in a new obstacle.
| | 02:00 | Don't psyche yourself out by
worrying about plausibility.
| | 02:02 | There are a million plausible
obstacles, no matter what your story's about.
| | 02:06 | Your protagonist might get
locked out of their house.
| | 02:09 | Their car could get a flat tire.
| | 02:11 | A character could say, "I won't help
you unless you pay me a million dollars."
| | 02:15 | An old flame might show up from out of nowhere.
Anything could happen at any time.
| | 02:20 | In other words, by the time you get to your
second plot thickener, you should have a whole
| | 02:24 | mess of unresolved conflicts that
your protagonist still has to deal with.
| | 02:29 | So many, in fact, that the conflicts become a genuine
crisis, and that's what happens in this plot twist.
| | 02:36 | I'll put it this way.
| | 02:37 | If things are already spiraling out of control,
then the second plot thickener is the last straw.
| | 02:43 | On the other hand, if your protagonist thinks
they have finally gotten a handle on this situation,
| | 02:47 | the second plot thickener makes
the whole house of cards fall down.
| | 02:51 | In a lot movies, this is where the
protagonist is at their most frustrated.
| | 02:55 | Everything might seem lost.
Don't worry, hope is just around the corner.
| | 02:59 | But for now, go nuts and make this
mess as tangled as it can possibly be.
| | 03:04 | Have the villains slip away.
| | 03:05 | Show the fed up love interest walking down
the street with a new lover, whatever you want.
| | 03:10 | This is also the perfect time for your
protagonist's Kryptonite to come into play.
| | 03:14 | When things are already stressful, that weakness you
introduced back in Act 1 can only add fuel to the fire.
| | 03:21 | As always, your goal is to make your event
look like it's never going to happen,
| | 03:25 | even though it's moving closer and closer.
| | 03:27 | So, keep treating your protagonist
sadistically and enjoy the power.
| | 03:31 | Now, take out a new sticky note and write down
how you're going to thicken the plot in this scene.
| | 03:37 | Make it something that
deepens the conflict into a crisis.
| | 03:40 | This crisis is about to lead to a revelation,
and that revelation is going to pull
| | 03:45 | your characters right into Act 3.
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| Preparing your character for resolution| 00:01 | You may have noticed that I haven't said
much about character development in this course.
| | 00:05 | That's not because I don't believe in it, but I do
feel that some writers put too much emphasis on it.
| | 00:10 | Because they have been told that every hero
has to have a big ark, their scripts become
| | 00:15 | all about how their characters grow and change.
| | 00:18 | But in real life, someone's fundamental
personality doesn't change, at least not drastically,
| | 00:23 | unless they fry their brain on
drugs or become mentally ill.
| | 00:26 | So, when we watch a movie, where for instance,
an enormously self-centered character winds
| | 00:31 | up becoming generous and humble at
the end, we never totally buy it.
| | 00:35 | That said, in drama, characters do
learn from their experiences just as we do.
| | 00:40 | As a result of their various ups and downs,
they discover what they're capable of,
| | 00:45 | who they can trust, and what's
really going on around them.
| | 00:48 | Each obstacle, whether it's concrete or not,
teaches your protagonist a lesson, that lesson
| | 00:53 | may be something obvious like, watch out for
the guy with a scar in his chin, he's trouble.
| | 00:57 | Or it may be more profound like remembering
to live your life to the fullest.
| | 01:01 | But in the either case, throughout Act 2,
your protagonist and in fact all your characters
| | 01:07 | should be picking up knowledge along the way.
| | 01:09 | They're all playing detective to some degree,
gathering up the information they need to
| | 01:14 | resolve the conflict and
hopefully achieve their desires.
| | 01:17 | Shortly, I'll be talking about the Act 2 plot twist,
which typically comes in a form of a big revelation.
| | 01:25 | This is where an essential mystery of the
story finally becomes clear to the protagonist,
| | 01:29 | so they can move on to the resolution.
| | 01:32 | In order to get there, though, they need to
gain the wisdom to put all the pieces together.
| | 01:37 | This wisdom comes out of facing
all those obstacles and antagonists.
| | 01:41 | Think of your own life and the obstacles
and antagonists you have had to deal with.
| | 01:45 | You have taken lessons away from these experiences,
whether it's knowing the shortest way to get
| | 01:49 | to the office, what not to say to your
mother, or how many drinks is too many.
| | 01:53 | To varying degrees,
they have made you a wiser person.
| | 01:57 | So, for this exercise, I want you to write
down what your protagonist might learn from
| | 02:03 | every obstacle you have already
thought to put in their way.
| | 02:06 | Maybe they now know how to shoot a gun or
climb a mountain, or maybe they now know who
| | 02:11 | can help them and who can't.
| | 02:13 | All of this knowledge should come
into play somewhere in your script.
| | 02:17 | If your protagonist learns how to shoot a
gun, you better give them the opportunity
| | 02:21 | to use that knowledge later on, or if they
manage to climb a particularly challenging
| | 02:25 | mountain, even if they never climb another
mountain again, they have still learned something from it.
| | 02:30 | Maybe it's given them the strength, the
courage, or the skill to do something else.
| | 02:36 | If you haven't thought of any specific
obstacles yet, you really need to do that now.
| | 02:40 | At least one of your plot twists in Act 2 should include
a new obstacle, but of course, the more the merrier.
| | 02:46 | If you have got 20 obstacles in Act 2
left to deal with, that's great.
| | 02:49 | It's complicated, but it's great.
| | 02:52 | The reason you need to start thinking about
the aftermath of obstacles and the lessons
| | 02:56 | they teach your characters is that there
should be a payoff for every lesson learned.
| | 03:01 | It's just like when I was talking about
your protagonist's superpower and Kryptonite.
| | 03:05 | Everything you introduce in
your story should have a payoff.
| | 03:09 | It's like telling a joke.
You can't have a setup without a punch line.
| | 03:13 | That's how you tell a satisfying story.
| | 03:15 | Now, if you have already thought of a few
payoffs scenes for Act 2, that's fantastic.
| | 03:20 | Just make sure you have still got plenty for
Act 3 because we're almost there.
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| The act two plot twist: The great revelation| 00:01 | We're now at the end of Act 2, and although
Act 3 is just moments away, your protagonist
| | 00:06 | is still deep into their adventure.
| | 00:08 | They're still on that mission they
set out on at the beginning of this act.
| | 00:12 | It's just that things have gotten really,
really complicated in the process, and now
| | 00:16 | this person isn't so sure
that they're going to succeed.
| | 00:19 | That last twist, your second plot
thickener, really did a number on them.
| | 00:23 | It's gotten them flummoxed.
| | 00:25 | Now, it's time for something to, shall we say,
unflummox them and put them back on track.
| | 00:30 | This is your Act 2 plot twist.
| | 00:33 | In older movies that
followed the three-act structure,
| | 00:35 | this twist could have been
just about anything, good or bad,
| | 00:38 | as long as it was enough to shove the protagonist
into the third act and justify a change of scenery.
| | 00:44 | Over the years, screenwriters have fine tuned
this twist, and now it seems like it's been
| | 00:48 | whittled down to just two basic variations.
| | 00:51 | The first variation is what
I call the Victory Moment.
| | 00:55 | Let's say your story is about a sports team, throughout
Act 2, they have struggled with many challenges and hardships.
| | 01:01 | For a while, it didn't look like they were
going to make it, but lo and behold at the
| | 01:05 | end of Act 2, they pull a surprise win over a rival
team, and now they can proceed to the championship.
| | 01:11 | Their mission, which of course is to win that
championship is far from over, but they just
| | 01:16 | overcame the second biggest
obstacle that stood in their way.
| | 01:20 | That's their victory moment, and the scene
where that happens is the Act 2 plot twist.
| | 01:24 | Now, I have noticed in the last couple of decades,
the victory moment has been overtaken by another
| | 01:30 | kind of Act 2 plot twist,
what I call the Great Revelation.
| | 01:34 | This is where your protagonist right when
they're at their most frustrated suddenly
| | 01:38 | comes across a piece of
information that makes everything click.
| | 01:42 | It's an "Ah-ha" moment.
| | 01:43 | In some movies, the "Ah-ha" is so obvious
that you can see it on the actors' faces as they
| | 01:48 | look at each other.
| | 01:50 | It's the scene where the protagonist says
something like, "If only I could figure out
| | 01:53 | where the villain is hiding."
| | 01:55 | Another character says, "Oh, I forgot to tell
you, this came in the mail for you,
| | 01:59 | and it's got the villain's address on it."
| | 02:01 | "Ah-ha!" Before you get too comfortable with
this concept, though, I should mention that
| | 02:05 | the great revelation can
also work the opposite way.
| | 02:08 | At this point in the script, you could have
your protagonist believing that things are
| | 02:12 | finally working out in their favor,
after the challenge of the previous twist.
| | 02:16 | Then suddenly this revelation complicates
matters even further, giving the protagonist
| | 02:22 | one last new obstacle and possibly
the biggest obstacle in the whole story.
| | 02:27 | In either case, the purpose
of this twist is undeniable.
| | 02:31 | It's the scene that puts your protagonist
in a position where they can finally start
| | 02:35 | resolving a conflict once and for all.
| | 02:38 | Of course, resolution doesn't come quick or easily.
If it did, you would have a very short Act 3.
| | 02:43 | That's why I kept badgering you to set up
a lot of obstacles and conflicts.
| | 02:48 | The Act 2 plot twist is only a hint at all the
resolution that's going to fill up your third act.
| | 02:53 | It sheds light on a mystery, answers a burning
question, or provides clarity to your character's situation.
| | 03:00 | If the event at the end of your story is
the light at the end of the tunnel, then the
| | 03:05 | Act 2 plot twist is the scene where we
finally see that light for the first time.
| | 03:10 | The tunnel is still long and treacherous,
and there's no guarantee that anyone is going
| | 03:13 | to make it out alive, but the end is in sight.
| | 03:17 | So it's time to take out a sticky note
and write down your Act 2 plot twist.
| | 03:21 | Make it as big and as bold as you can.
| | 03:23 | Make it a nice, clear
introduction to the resolution in Act 3.
| | 03:27 | Above all, make it so your audience
can't wait to find out what happens next.
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|
|
5. Act Three: The ResolutionHow should act three open?| 00:01 | I have already dropped plenty of hints
that make it clear what Act 3 is all about.
| | 00:05 | It's the resolution of your story's conflict.
| | 00:08 | It's where you tie up all the loose ends from Act 2
and maybe even a few left over from Act 1.
| | 00:14 | That means a solid third act has
several resolutions, not just one.
| | 00:18 | Some of those resolutions can be happy, some
can be tragic, and some can be bittersweet.
| | 00:23 | A great script gives the
audience a little of everything.
| | 00:26 | In any case, here we are at the beginning of Act 3,
and you might be wondering what that looks like.
| | 00:31 | Well, like the beginning of Act 2, many
films will open their third act with a change
| | 00:36 | of scenery and a small jump forward in time.
| | 00:39 | The Avengers does this, Inception does this,
Little Miss Sunshine does this.
| | 00:44 | The list goes on and on.
| | 00:46 | Like I said before, film is a visual medium, and
audiences always appreciate being taken somewhere new.
| | 00:51 | If you didn't get away with it, I recommend you
move your story to a new locale when you get to Act 3.
| | 00:58 | Of course, if that doesn't make sense, like
if your whole movie takes place in one house,
| | 01:02 | then don't do it, but just like Act 2, you
should signify the new act with a noticeable
| | 01:07 | shift in your story's pacing or tone.
Act 3 can kick off in a wide variety of ways.
| | 01:14 | It can start slowly.
| | 01:15 | If Act 2 ended with the revelation that the
enemy army is approaching, then Act 3 might
| | 01:20 | begin with your protagonist's army quietly
taking their positions and waiting for the
| | 01:25 | attack, or it can start quickly.
| | 01:27 | If Act 2 ended with your protagonist
realizing that the love of their life is about
| | 01:31 | to fly away forever, then the first thing we'd see
in Act 3 is your protagonist speeding down
| | 01:36 | the freeway, trying to
get to the airport in time.
| | 01:39 | These are cliched setups, but they serve
the same purpose, to deliver your protagonist
| | 01:44 | to your story's climax.
| | 01:45 | The climax, which I also call the decisive
confrontation is the scene that leads to your event.
| | 01:51 | It provides most of the substance of Act 3.
| | 01:54 | We're not there yet, but we're heading there with no
time for the story to take a rest or go on a detour.
| | 02:00 | So take out another sticky note and get ready
to write down Act 3's opening scene, but first,
| | 02:06 | think about how Act 2 ended, what was the twist?
| | 02:09 | What would make the most
bracing contrast to that scene?
| | 02:12 | If Act 2 ends in a dead of night,
Act 3 could start in broad daylight.
| | 02:17 | If Act 2 ends in chaos, Act 3
could start of in stillness.
| | 02:21 | Give it a bit of contrast, but
make sure the story still flows.
| | 02:24 | You don't want to confuse your audience and
make them wonder where they are or what's going on.
| | 02:28 | The beginning of Act 3 should feel like a
plausible response to the Act 2 plot twist.
| | 02:34 | Remember, you're in the home stretch now,
you still have plenty of time left for twists
| | 02:38 | and turns, but if you look at that stack of
sticky notes that you have been mastering this
| | 02:42 | course, Act 3's opening scene should fit
logically between your Act 2 plot twist and your event.
| | 02:49 | If it doesn't, you might
have to revise your event.
| | 02:51 | I'll talk about this later.
| | 02:53 | For now, just write down the
scene and keep moving forward.
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| The decisive confrontation (AKA the climax)| 00:01 | Early in this course, I
made you write down your event.
| | 00:04 | I hope you have been thinking about it all along,
and I hope you have been making sure that your
| | 00:08 | script keeps heading in that direction,
even if you have been teasing your audience that
| | 00:12 | your story could end in any number of ways,
but now we're at the heart of your third act.
| | 00:17 | This is the scene that's going to
finally make your event actually happen.
| | 00:22 | In a genre film, this scene typically follows
an archetypal model of good guy versus bad guy.
| | 00:27 | In the Western, it's the big shoot out, in
a war movie, it's the epic battle between
| | 00:32 | two armies, in a sports
drama it's the championship game.
| | 00:37 | All of these are variations in the basic
nature of a dramatic climax which is what
| | 00:42 | I call The Decisive Confrontation.
| | 00:44 | It's like if you have an argument with
someone, and it comes to a lot of pushing and name
| | 00:48 | calling and finally you say, "Let's take
this outside and settle it once and for all."
| | 00:53 | That fight is going to be the decisive
confrontation between you and your adversary.
| | 00:58 | In a nutshell, that's what Act 3 is all about.
| | 01:01 | Now, if you're writing a domestic drama or a
romantic comedy, you're obviously not going
| | 01:06 | to wrap things up with violent combat, but your Act 3
still has to boil down to a decisive confrontation.
| | 01:11 | This is where your protagonist
has to stand their ground and fight for what
| | 01:15 | they really want. It's the
last great test of their will.
| | 01:19 | Is the boy going to tell
the girl that he loves her?
| | 01:21 | Is the frightened witness going to
take to stand against the scary criminal?
| | 01:25 | It's a big, big scene, the biggest in your
story, and your protagonist might succeed or fail.
| | 01:31 | They might make the right
choice or the wrong one.
| | 01:33 | What happens is up to you, but Act 3 is
still has to force them into this confrontation.
| | 01:40 | This is where a lot of movies get in trouble.
| | 01:42 | Sure, they can provide some lengthy scene
involving confrontation, but if they didn't
| | 01:46 | set up enough unresolved conflicts in Act 2,
and there aren't that many obstacles or
| | 01:50 | antagonist left to deal with, their
third acts become overly Simplistic.
| | 01:54 | Often these movies wind up delivering one big battle
or chase or emotional monologue to fill up the time.
| | 02:01 | The audience might very well be treated to
lots of running or shouting or gunfire, but
| | 02:05 | if there isn't much story to wrap up,
all this stuff can get kind of boring.
| | 02:10 | Even though your decisive confrontation only
needs to take up one more sticky note, I hope
| | 02:14 | you'll take as many sticky notes as you can
and fill each one out with the little part
| | 02:18 | of the scene because even though your story has
one event, there are lots of smaller resolutions
| | 02:24 | that make that event possible.
| | 02:26 | In a classic fairy tale, the
hero doesn't just save the kingdom.
| | 02:30 | The hero overcomes his fears, helps his
sidekick or his horse overcome their fears, finds the
| | 02:35 | magic sword, kills the dragon, rescues the
princess, saves the golden chalice, and gets
| | 02:41 | everybody out of the dragon's cave in one
piece before the whole place explodes.
| | 02:45 | Only then is the Kingdom saved.
| | 02:47 | Now, that's a dramatic third act, but if
the only thing that happens is the battle with
| | 02:51 | the dragon, that fairy tale would miss
out on so much substance and excitement.
| | 02:57 | When you develop your own decisive confrontation,
think about how you can fill it out so that
| | 03:01 | it's not just one big fight or confession.
| | 03:04 | Act 3 is not all that short, and this confrontation
takes up the bulk of it, so draw it out
| | 03:09 | and make it suspenseful.
| | 03:11 | Throw in lots of little status shifts and
reversals of fortune, your protagonist is
| | 03:15 | winning, then they're losing,
then they're winning again.
| | 03:18 | Take their weakness, their Kryptonite and
put it in play if you can and absolutely let
| | 03:23 | your protagonist use their superpower in
this scene, whether it's their ability to fly
| | 03:27 | a jet or merely their gift of gab.
| | 03:29 | Keep your stakes high so your audience knows
how important this confrontation is to
| | 03:34 | your characters and to your story.
| | 03:36 | This scene is truly an everything but the
kitchen sink situation, so don't hold back.
| | 03:42 | As of that one enough, I also want you to think back
to the beginning of your story and your status quo.
| | 03:47 | With this confrontation, how many
different elements of your status quo are changing?
| | 03:51 | If someone dies in this scene, then that's
a serious change since they were obviously
| | 03:55 | alive in the status quo, but
it's not enough, think of more.
| | 03:59 | If someone becomes a hero, then back
in the status quo they were a nobody.
| | 04:04 | If someone gets over a fear or a prejudice,
then that's one fear or prejudice they had
| | 04:08 | in the status quo and so on.
| | 04:11 | I know you still have a lot of detail to
flash out in your story, and that we're just going
| | 04:15 | over the main plot twist in this course,
but when you start filling in the gaps between
| | 04:19 | those twists, think of all the set ups you
can add back in Act 1 and Act 2 because the
| | 04:23 | Act 3 Climax is where all the payoffs come in.
| | 04:27 | Like I said earlier, writing a dramatic
narrative is like telling a joke, for every setup,
| | 04:31 | there's a punch line, for every conflict,
there a resolution, the more you have of one,
| | 04:36 | the more you have of the other, and all this will make
your finished screenplay that much more engaging.
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| Your story's event, in all its glory| 00:01 | We have now come full circle, back to that very
first sticky note you filled out, your event.
| | 00:06 | Now, there's a saying that once you get going,
sometimes your story starts writing itself.
| | 00:11 | It doesn't always happen, but a logical scene-to-scene
progression can become evident as you lay out your script.
| | 00:16 | During this course, you may have had to go
back to your event now and then, adjusting
| | 00:20 | it to fit your ever-changing story line.
| | 00:23 | On the other hand, you may have already had
a clear idea of your script's direction from
| | 00:26 | the get-go, and you didn't
have to change your event at all.
| | 00:29 | In either case, that's fantastic
because the point is that you have done it.
| | 00:33 | You have successfully turned your
movie idea into an actual story.
| | 00:37 | Now, if your event no longer strikes you as
a proper finale for the narrative you have been
| | 00:41 | constructing, you're free to change it.
| | 00:43 | You also might want to do this if your
event doesn't match the tone of your script.
| | 00:47 | For instance, let's say that your original
event was that your protagonist dies at the
| | 00:51 | end because you thought
you'd be writing a tragedy.
| | 00:54 | Meanwhile, your actual story has turned out
to be much more lively and humorous than you
| | 00:58 | intended, so such a troubling surprise in the
last few minutes may not be emotionally satisfying.
| | 01:04 | It may not even make any sense.
| | 01:06 | Tweak your event so that it feels like a
logical conclusion to the story you just laid out.
| | 01:12 | Unless you truly think you can get away with
a major tonal shift, in which case go for it,
| | 01:15 | but be warned that it might not fly
with a lot of people reading your script.
| | 01:20 | In any case, now that we have essentially
reached the end of your drama, let's go over what
| | 01:25 | you have accomplished in this course.
First, you laid out Act 1 of your script.
| | 01:29 | This is the build-up to your drama, where you
introduced your main characters and your story's premise.
| | 01:34 | During the opening scenes of Act 1, you
established the status quo by showing your protagonist
| | 01:39 | going about their usual routine.
| | 01:43 | The next thing you did was destroy your status quo
with a sudden and unexpected piece of information.
| | 01:48 | This plot twist, the Routine Killer, gave
your protagonist the opportunity for adventure,
| | 01:53 | whether or not they immediately
accepted it or even recognized it.
| | 01:57 | For the rest of Act 1, you let your protagonist prepare
for this adventure, mentally, emotionally, or physically.
| | 02:04 | If they didn't even know the adventure was
waiting for them, you engineered some obstacles
| | 02:07 | to get out of the way so that your
protagonist would be free to move on to Act 2.
| | 02:13 | You then delivered a whopper of a plot twist at
the end of Act 1 which forced your protagonist
| | 02:18 | to move on to the adventure.
The adventure, of course, took up all of Act 2.
| | 02:23 | You took your protagonist out of their
comfort zone, gave them a little time to adjust to
| | 02:27 | their new surroundings or way of life, then made it
clear what their mission was or their story desire.
| | 02:32 | Then you have thickened the plot with a powerful
scene that raised the story's stakes and reminded
| | 02:37 | your protagonist of the
seriousness of their adventure.
| | 02:41 | Throughout the rest of Act 2, you introduced
a lot of conflict in the form of obstacles
| | 02:46 | and antagonists standing in the
way of your protagonist's desires.
| | 02:49 | This came to a major plot twist at the Halfway Point,
which may have seriously reversed your
| | 02:54 | protagonist's fortunes, for better or worse.
| | 02:57 | Now in the midst of conflict, your
protagonist kept forging ahead to fulfill their mission
| | 03:02 | only to get plunged into a crisis with another Plot
Thickener that may have seriously frustrated their plans.
| | 03:08 | Then your protagonist was given a Great
Revelation or possibly a victory that suddenly made it
| | 03:13 | clear exactly what they had to do to resolve
all the conflict that had been building up.
| | 03:18 | This was your Act 2 plot twist, which
forced your protagonist into the resolution phase
| | 03:22 | of your story, also known as Act 3.
| | 03:26 | You kicked off Act 3 showing your
protagonist Preparing for Resolution, then you played
| | 03:30 | out this resolution in your story's
climax or the decisive confrontation.
| | 03:35 | The results of that confrontation
immediately brought about your story's event,
| | 03:40 | and that event established a new status quo
for all the characters in your story.
| | 03:45 | The world they live in might now be better
for some and worse for others, but the point
| | 03:49 | is things aren't the same anymore.
| | 03:52 | You have just told a story about change,
and that is what drama is all about.
| | 03:56 | Now you still have a few pages left in your
script to let the dust settle and wrap things up.
| | 04:01 | In the next video, I'll go over some of your
options, but for now, you have my congratulations.
| | 04:06 | I guarantee you that you'll find the
screenwriting process to go much more smoothly now that
| | 04:11 | you have taken the time to give your story
a strong sense of direction and structure.
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| Aftermaths, epilogues, and twist endings| 00:00 | Your story's event brings
your conflict to a close.
| | 00:04 | That doesn't mean it's the very
last scene in your screenplay.
| | 00:07 | It can be if you like abrupt endings, and
if you think you can get away with it, but
| | 00:11 | you may prefer to let your characters decompress
for a couple of minutes before the credits roll.
| | 00:16 | After all, they have been through a lot.
| | 00:18 | They deserve a moment to look back
on everything that's just happened.
| | 00:21 | This closing scene also gives your audience a chance
to see your characters reacting to their new status quo.
| | 00:28 | If the scene takes place right after
your event, then it's the aftermath.
| | 00:32 | If it takes place a long time later,
then it's the Epilogue, simple as that.
| | 00:36 | There is no structural
difference between the two.
| | 00:39 | So it's purely a creative decision.
| | 00:41 | I will say this, though, aftermath scenes
weren't very common in movies up until the 1970s.
| | 00:47 | Before that, most movies would end
a few seconds after their events.
| | 00:51 | But today that scene is kind of jarring.
| | 00:53 | So, aftermaths have become ubiquitous, so
much so that your audience might actually
| | 00:57 | feel cheated if you don't include one.
| | 00:59 | Epilogues, in comparison, remain a lot
more optional, though, they're still accepted.
| | 01:04 | In any event, I'm sure you have seen movies
that were pretty good up until the last few
| | 01:08 | minutes and then some tacked-on happy ending or a
bit of corny dialogue left a bad taste in your mouth.
| | 01:15 | Remember that the final scene in your own movie
is what your audience is going to walk away with.
| | 01:20 | Put some care into it and
make it emotionally satisfying.
| | 01:23 | That doesn't mean it has to be happy
or sad, it could anything you want.
| | 01:27 | Emotionally satisfying just means that it feels honest
and thoughtful, instead of half-hearted or by the numbers.
| | 01:33 | Here are a few suggestions for how to
make your own closing scene more satisfying.
| | 01:39 | For starters, you may remember early in the
course when I talked about your protagonist's
| | 01:43 | life-long dream like wanting to buy a
little house or sail around the world, well,
| | 01:48 | this is the perfect moment to revisit that dream.
Have they achieved it now? Are they about to?
| | 01:53 | Or have their priorities changed
after everything they have been through?
| | 01:56 | This is an easy way to suggest an emotional
arc for your protagonist without bogging down
| | 02:01 | in a big monologue.
| | 02:04 | Just like that life-long dream, the end of
your movie is a great place to revisit anything
| | 02:07 | in your script that got
pushed aside by the drama.
| | 02:10 | Maybe you had an amusing character pop up
in Act 1, but there wasn't room for them to
| | 02:14 | play a central role in the adventure.
| | 02:16 | Now is the time to bring
them back for an encore.
| | 02:19 | Or if there was a minor bit of unfinished
business for your protagonist, bring that back too.
| | 02:23 | My point is that by recalling an old memory
from earlier in your story, you're actually
| | 02:27 | paying tribute to your audience's intelligence.
| | 02:31 | It's like when a standup comic finishes up
their act by tying in their final joke to
| | 02:35 | the one they told at the very
beginning, the crowd goes nuts.
| | 02:38 | People respond to this full circle approach
because it makes them feel smart for having
| | 02:43 | paid attention to those earlier moments and recognizing
them when they're brought back in the closing scenes.
| | 02:49 | It's like I said earlier in this course.
| | 02:51 | Writing a screenplay, even a very
serious one, is like telling a joke.
| | 02:55 | Every setup has a punch line, every conflict
has a resolution, every noteworthy thing you
| | 03:00 | introduce in your script has to have a payoff.
| | 03:03 | Before I close, I like to talk
touch on the option of a twist ending.
| | 03:08 | It can be a cheap gimmick, but when used well,
it can really make your screenplay stand out.
| | 03:12 | But don't get confused, a twist ending
does not change the structure of your script.
| | 03:16 | The twist ending is your event.
| | 03:19 | It's what everything in your story leads up
to even if you have tricked your audience into
| | 03:22 | believing that something else was the event.
| | 03:24 | That was just a fake out, the
twist ending is the real deal.
| | 03:28 | So make sure it feels like a logical conclusion to
your story, even if it plays out like a surprise.
| | 03:34 | If your audience watches the movie again,
they should be able to see how that twist
| | 03:37 | ending fits in with everything else.
| | 03:39 | If it doesn't make any sense, then
it won't be emotionally satisfying.
| | 03:44 | Now pretty soon, I'll be talking
about how to format your screenplay.
| | 03:47 | That doesn't mean you're
ready to start typing it out.
| | 03:49 | We have only gone over the
key scenes in your story line.
| | 03:52 | While they are enough to structure your drama, there should
still be a ton of story gaps between those scenes.
| | 03:58 | So first I want you to fill out a sticky
note for your aftermath or epilogue, but then I
| | 04:02 | want you to take a big stack of notes and
start filling in all the gaps in your story.
| | 04:07 | Make the whole thing run seamlessly, don't
leave any plot holes unaddressed, even if
| | 04:12 | it takes a few weeks for you to logically
hash out everything, I promise it will be
| | 04:16 | worth the effort, and don't worry, once
you're ready to start typing out your script,
| | 04:20 | I'll still be here, and I'll help
you through that process as well.
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|
|
6. Screenplay FundamentalsOne page = one minute of screen time| 00:00 | I have already given you a
number of rules in this course.
| | 00:03 | Now in terms of dramatic structure, most of
those rules can be bent a little if you know
| | 00:07 | what you're doing, and if it suits your story.
| | 00:10 | But screenplay formatting has hard and fast
rules that you simply must follow without question.
| | 00:16 | Fortunately, this is easy to do.
First, a little history.
| | 00:20 | I don't know who came up with the modern
screenplay format or when, but it was set in stone
| | 00:25 | by 1949 when screenwriter
John Howard Lawson wrote a book about it.
| | 00:29 | Chances are the idea was spearheaded years
earlier by Hollywood studios and the Writers' Guild
| | 00:34 | with the goal of establishing a
uniform industry standard for screenplays.
| | 00:40 | The standard followed a simple formula.
| | 00:42 | One page of script equals
one minute of screen time.
| | 00:45 | So they developed rules about how the action
and dialogue would be laid out so that the average
| | 00:49 | person could read 1 page
of script in about 60 seconds.
| | 00:53 | This uniformity is not only a convenience
to the reader, but to this day, films that
| | 00:58 | go into production pay careful attention to
the number of pages of script they shoot per day.
| | 01:04 | Of course, you might be able to read
through a 90-page script in less than 90 minutes.
| | 01:08 | And certainly, there were 2-hour
movies that had 100-page scripts.
| | 01:12 | It's not an exact science, but
it's as close as you can get.
| | 01:16 | That's why today's screenplays look the
same as the ones printed 60 years ago.
| | 01:20 | Back then, screenwriters all used typewriters.
| | 01:23 | So no matter what fancy software you write
with, your screenplay still needs to look
| | 01:27 | like it came out of an old Underwood.
| | 01:30 | Now for some specifics, use plain white 8 & 1/2 by 11 inch
paper, three-hole punched along the left-hand side,
| | 01:37 | nothing else will do.
Use only one font, Courier.
| | 01:41 | Courier New, Courier Final Draft
and Courier Standard are all fine.
| | 01:46 | Use only one font size, 12 point, single spaced.
| | 01:50 | That's the only way the
industry will take you seriously.
| | 01:54 | Now you might think that
using Courier is pure nostalgia.
| | 01:57 | But there's a reason why this font is important.
| | 01:59 | Every character in Courier takes up the same
width whether it's an upper case W,
| | 02:05 | a lower case I, or even an apostrophe or period.
| | 02:09 | You can't do that with Times or Arial
because their characters all have different widths.
| | 02:14 | In order to maintain the one-page, one-minute
formula, only the fixed width of Courier will work.
| | 02:20 | Now if you're using software like Final Draft or
Movie Magic Screenwriter, most of the formatting
| | 02:25 | will be done automatically.
| | 02:26 | For those of you who plan to use Microsoft Word
like I do or even an old-fashioned typewriter,
| | 02:31 | I'll show you how to lay out your pages.
| | 02:33 | I'll be demonstrating with Word 2010, but you can
follow with whatever software you feel comfortable using.
| | 02:39 | You can always check out the other lynda.com
training titles for your particular software
| | 02:43 | if you need more help.
| | 02:45 | Let's start with your title
page which is very simple.
| | 02:49 | Start with a blank page.
| | 02:51 | Set a 1 & 1/2-inch margin on the left
and a 1-inch margin on the right.
| | 02:55 | I know it's uneven, that's because you're making
room for the three holes on the left side of the paper.
| | 03:01 | The top and bottom margins can vary, but I
suggest you go with one inch from the top
| | 03:05 | and one inch from the bottom.
| | 03:07 | This does not include your header
and footer, which I'll talk about later.
| | 03:12 | Now, center your screenplay's
title right in the middle of the page.
| | 03:15 | Type it in all caps.
You can underline the title if you want.
| | 03:19 | I do it that way, but many writers don't.
| | 03:22 | Two lines below that, write by or Screenplay by,
I use Screenplay by, but it doesn't matter.
| | 03:30 | Two lines below that, write your name.
| | 03:33 | If you're adapting a preexisting work, and
I'll go over that in the part of this course
| | 03:36 | that covers legal issues, then you should
cite the source two lines below your name.
| | 03:42 | Now in the bottom right-hand corner, you
write your name again, usually with a copyright
| | 03:46 | symbol or circle C to the left of it.
| | 03:49 | You can make that little circle C on a
PC keyboard by pressing Ctrl+Alt+C.
| | 03:54 | On a Mac, you can make it by pressing Option+G.
| | 03:59 | If you haven't copyrighted
your script yet, don't worry.
| | 04:01 | I'll be talking about that one
when I go over legal issues as well.
| | 04:04 | Anyway, directly below your name, you can
put whatever contact information you want,
| | 04:09 | phone number, email address,
snail mail address, et cetera.
| | 04:14 | That's it for your title page.
| | 04:17 | Now for your cover, it's traditional to
take two pieces of Plain Cardstock in any color
| | 04:21 | of your choice, as long as it's not annoying.
| | 04:24 | Use one for your front
cover and one for your back.
| | 04:27 | Your entire script should be held
together with two metal fasteners called brads.
| | 04:31 | One goes in the top hole and one at the bottom.
| | 04:35 | The hole in the middle is usually empty.
| | 04:37 | I realize that some of these traditions sound
pretty arbitrary, but it shows you how strict
| | 04:41 | industry people can be
about screenplay standards.
| | 04:45 | They're always looking for a good reason to
throw a script away for being amateurish because
| | 04:49 | that's one less script they have to read.
| | 04:52 | This leaves me to the
final rule about your cover.
| | 04:54 | Never put any artwork or text on it.
Just leave it blank.
| | 04:57 | Trust me, a fancy illustration
will not make you look professional.
| | 05:01 | Remember, it's all about what's in
your script, not what's on the cover.
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| Screenplay page layout| 00:00 | Laying out your screenplay is easy.
| | 00:03 | If you have read any completed scripts while
taking this course, and I hope you have, then
| | 00:06 | you're already familiar with
what a typical page looks like.
| | 00:10 | But here's a quick
example to refresh your memory.
| | 00:13 | Now, as I have mentioned earlier, if you're using
screen writing software, the formatting should
| | 00:17 | be done for you automatically.
| | 00:18 | Here, we're going to set
up the page using Word 2010.
| | 00:23 | You have already set the margins for your
script on your title page, add a page break, and
| | 00:28 | now you're on your second page which is
the first actual page of your screenplay.
| | 00:34 | Your header should include your page
number and the title of your script.
| | 00:38 | Not every writer includes a title,
but I do, and I don't think it hurts.
| | 00:41 | So, double-click your header area.
| | 00:44 | First make sure Different First Page is
on and Different Odd and Even Pages is off.
| | 00:49 | Now, your header and footer will remain
the same everywhere except the title page.
| | 00:54 | After you do that, type your title in all caps.
Make sure it's in 12 point Courier.
| | 00:59 | Now, let's add your page number to the header.
| | 01:03 | Double-click the right side of the
header, now insert a page number.
| | 01:07 | Make sure you insert it at the current position, then format
your page number and start your page numbering at zero.
| | 01:15 | This will insure that the first page of
your actual script will say page 1, since page
| | 01:20 | zero is now your title page.
| | 01:23 | While you're still in header
footer mode, click your footer.
| | 01:27 | This area can be left blank if you want, but
I think it's a good idea to include your name
| | 01:31 | and a Copyright symbol.
| | 01:33 | Remember, that's Ctrl+Alt+C
on a PC or Option+G on a Mac.
| | 01:39 | Some shooting scripts also include the draft number or
date so that crew knows which draft they're looking at.
| | 01:44 | But you're not writing a
shooting script, so leave that out.
| | 01:48 | Double-click outside of the footer.
| | 01:50 | Now you're ready to set your
indents for your page elements.
| | 01:54 | There are basically four elements that appear
in screenplay page: Action, Character Name,
| | 02:00 | Dialogue, and Parentheticals.
I'll go through each one by one.
| | 02:06 | Action is the easiest.
| | 02:07 | You don't need to set any
special indents for this.
| | 02:09 | It goes from margin to margin.
| | 02:11 | This is where you write all the
visual directions for your script.
| | 02:14 | Whether you're introducing a character,
describing a setting or indicating a particular action,
| | 02:19 | each new scene starts off with
what's lovingly called a Slug line.
| | 02:24 | This line indicates the scene's location, whether it's
an interior or an exterior, and what time of day it is.
| | 02:31 | This will be important down the road when
the crew needs to figure out what kind of
| | 02:34 | shots they'll need to get as exterior
locations--especially nighttime exteriors--are usually
| | 02:39 | more expensive to shoot than interiors.
| | 02:42 | But it also gives your
reader a sense of what's going on.
| | 02:46 | Type INT for interior or EXT for exterior.
For time of day, stick simply to Day or Night
| | 02:52 | unless you envision a very particular time
like sunset or early morning.
| | 02:58 | Add everything that describes what's
going on two lines below the Slug line.
| | 03:02 | Now, let's set the indents
for your character names.
| | 03:06 | Write someone's name on your
page in 12 point Courier all caps.
| | 03:09 | Now, set the left indent, 2 & 1/2 inches from your
margin or 4 inches from the left side of the paper.
| | 03:16 | Don't worry about the right
indent for character names.
| | 03:18 | Now, create a new style.
Let's call it Character Name.
| | 03:23 | Now, every time you have a character speaking
you can just apply the Character Name style
| | 03:27 | to that person's name.
| | 03:29 | We are going to do the same for dialogue
which is a little different in that it has
| | 03:33 | both a left indent and a right indent.
| | 03:37 | Write some sample dialogue
again in 12 point Courier.
| | 03:40 | Set the left indent, 1 & 1/2 inches from your
margin or 3 inches from the left side of the paper.
| | 03:46 | Now, set the right indent 1 inch from your
margin or 2 inches from the right side of the paper.
| | 03:52 | This gives your dialogue a 3 & 1/2-inch width.
| | 03:56 | The reason dialogue has such a narrow width is that
it takes a lot longer to speak than it does to read.
| | 04:02 | It's set up this way to make sure the average
reader only needs about 60 seconds to get through a page.
| | 04:07 | Now, create a new style called Dialogue.
| | 04:12 | The last element is
what's called a Parenthetical.
| | 04:14 | It provides optional information about what a
character is doing while they're speaking a line of dialogue.
| | 04:20 | It goes below the character
name and above the dialogue.
| | 04:23 | You can also insert it in the middle of a
chunk of dialogue in case a character is addressing
| | 04:27 | different people or if you want to add a
pause or a beat, which is half a pause.
| | 04:34 | Type a brief bit of action below character name.
Enclose it in parentheses.
| | 04:38 | Set the left indent 2 inches from the margin
or 3 & 1/2 inches from the left side of the paper.
| | 04:44 | Set the right indent an inch and a half from the
margin or 2 & 1/2 inches from the right side of the paper.
| | 04:50 | Now, create a new style called Parenthetical.
Those are the basics, but we're not done yet.
| | 04:57 | Next, I'll go over some advanced formatting
tips that will undoubtedly come in handy
| | 05:02 | as you type out your script.
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| Advanced formatting tips| 00:01 | Most of what you're going to type in your
screenplay falls under the basic layout rules
| | 00:04 | that I just went over, but there are a few
situations that call for a special formatting.
| | 00:08 | I'll go through them one by one.
| | 00:11 | The most common formatting issue you'll
have is when you have a page break right in the
| | 00:15 | middle of a block of dialogue.
| | 00:17 | If you're using Word or other non-screenplay
software, it'll continue this dialogue at the
| | 00:22 | top of the next page, but the reader
might get confused as to who's talking.
| | 00:27 | Here's what you do when
your dialogue gets broken up.
| | 00:30 | At the bottom of the first chunk of broken
dialogue, hit Return to break it up officially,
| | 00:35 | then write the word MORE in
all caps inside parentheses.
| | 00:39 | Some writers center align this text.
I just give it the character name style.
| | 00:44 | At the top of the next page, type that character's name again,
then add CONT., short for continued, within parenthesis.
| | 00:52 | If your page break comes between the
character name and the dialogue, just hit Return a couple
| | 00:56 | times or add a page break, moving
the whole thing over to the next page.
| | 01:01 | Now, let's talk about any
titles you might want to include.
| | 01:04 | I don't mean opening or closing credits, but bits of
text that you want to appear on screen in your movie.
| | 01:10 | These are often used to establish locations
or dates, so your audience doesn't get confused
| | 01:14 | as to where or when they are.
Here's how you do it.
| | 01:18 | In the main action, on its own
slug line, write the words Title Over.
| | 01:24 | After that write whatever text you want to show up
on screen, either on the same line or two lines below it.
| | 01:29 | I put it on the same line, but it's flexible.
| | 01:33 | While we're talking about slug lines, here are a
couple of common variations on a usual INT and EXT.
| | 01:39 | First is Intercut.
| | 01:40 | You write this whenever you want to cut back
and forth between two characters in different
| | 01:44 | locations, like if they're talking on the phone.
There's a number of ways to structure this.
| | 01:49 | I usually start with a normal slug line for
the first character, like INT. OFFICE - DAY.
| | 01:55 | When the other character picks up the phone, I'll
establish where they are with a new slug line,
| | 02:01 | like INT. RESTAURANT - DAY.
| | 02:02 | Then I'll use the Intercut
line for the rest of the scene.
| | 02:06 | Another variation on the slug line is when a
scene takes place in a moving vehicle, like a car.
| | 02:11 | You just add the word Moving before the
time of day, so it looks something like this.
| | 02:16 | Again, it's not one of those things that every
writer does, but it helps tip off the production
| | 02:21 | crew, since it's more complicated
to shoot inside a moving vehicle.
| | 02:24 | Now, let's say you have a
character talking off screen.
| | 02:28 | You indicate this by adding the words Off Screen or
even the abbreviation OS after the character's name.
| | 02:36 | Similarly, if you're, including voice over narration,
you put the abbreviation V.O. after the characters name.
| | 02:42 | Now, as I mentioned early in this course,
you shouldn't include any camera angles or
| | 02:47 | editing directions in your screenplay, because
technical advice is not your job, you're just
| | 02:52 | there to tell the story, but if you think
it's really important to indicate when a
| | 02:56 | Fade In or Fade Out should occur or a Cross Dissolve
or a Hard Cut between scenes, then write that
| | 03:01 | direction on its own slug line.
| | 03:04 | Some writers will right-align
this text, but I keep it on the left.
| | 03:07 | Finally, don't forget the words THE END
on the last page of your screenplay.
| | 03:12 | Stick it a couple of lines below the end of
your script, make it all caps, then center-align
| | 03:17 | the text or give it the character name style,
then do a victory dance, because it's pretty
| | 03:21 | fantastic to be able to write The End.
| | 03:23 | There are a few other little tricks for more
obscure formatting needs, but this covers the essentials.
| | 03:29 | Next, I'll talk about how much screen direction
you should give, what you should and shouldn't
| | 03:33 | write in all caps, and other
advice for styling your script.
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| Screen direction: What to include and what not to| 00:00 | When it comes to learning screenplay style, your best
resources are scripts written by professional screenwriters.
| | 00:06 | At the beginning of this course, I told you
to haunt down at least three of those scripts
| | 00:10 | and read them from start to finish, but I
hope you managed to scrounge up a whole lot
| | 00:14 | more, even if you don't
read them all the way through.
| | 00:17 | Go back to a website like scriptfly.com or
simplyscripts.com, find some screenplays
| | 00:21 | on eBay or at a specialty store,
and skim through as many as you can.
| | 00:25 | You'll find that every screenwriter
approaches screen direction in a different way.
| | 00:31 | Screen direction is the action part of your screenplay,
which is to say, anything that's not dialogue.
| | 00:35 | This is where you describe characters,
locations, and of course action,
| | 00:41 | but you can describe something in
five words or in five pages.
| | 00:45 | Many new screenwriters can be control freakish
about screen direction and they often wind up
| | 00:49 | writing passages like this...
| | 00:52 | I hope I don't have to tell
you that this is excessive.
| | 00:54 | You're not writing a novel.
| | 00:56 | Remember, it should only
take a minute to read each page.
| | 01:00 | If you fill up your script with gigantic blocks
of text, it will take forever to get through it.
| | 01:04 | In the end, actors and directors don't
even pay much attention to screen direction.
| | 01:09 | So don't bother trying to dictate every
second of action because it will get you nowhere.
| | 01:13 | Focus only on what's
necessary to tell your story.
| | 01:16 | For instance, this exact same scene
could be written like this..
| | 01:21 | and that's much easier to get through.
| | 01:23 | By breaking up the action into separate
lines, you're filling up your page somewhat.
| | 01:27 | If you envision this scene taking about 10 seconds
of screen time, it should take about 10 seconds to read.
| | 01:33 | Now, there are a lot of professional screenwriters
who keep their screen direction to an absolute minimum.
| | 01:39 | As a result, their scripts can be a little dry.
| | 01:41 | Other writers use screen direction to set
the mood for each scene, whether it's funny,
| | 01:46 | spooky, exciting, or whatever, so their
writing tends to be a bit more subjective.
| | 01:51 | You have got your own style, so you're going
to approach your script in your own way, but
| | 01:55 | get acquainted with the work of other people.
| | 01:57 | See how they dealt with the same issues you're dealing
with in terms of describing action, setting, and mood.
| | 02:03 | Always keep in mind that your job is to tell
a good story and to keep your audience engaged,
| | 02:08 | so do whatever it takes to make that happen.
| | 02:12 | Another stylistic choice is what text in your
script needs to be written in all caps and what doesn't.
| | 02:17 | Nobody fully agrees on this, so
it's up to you as an individual.
| | 02:21 | Just make sure you don't annoy
the reader with too much all caps.
| | 02:24 | That said, there are some basic guidelines.
| | 02:28 | First, as you know, slug lines and
character names, the ones in the middle of the page,
| | 02:32 | should be always in all caps.
| | 02:34 | Whenever you first introduce a
character, write their name in all caps too.
| | 02:39 | For every subsequent mention just capitalize the first
letter of their name, as you would in normal English.
| | 02:45 | Now, sometimes I'll put that character's
name in all caps again, if they haven't shown up
| | 02:49 | for a few scenes, and I'm bringing them back in.
| | 02:51 | That's up to you, but you certainly don't
have to make every character name all caps
| | 02:55 | every time, because that
gets old really quickly.
| | 02:59 | Notable props should also be in all
caps when you first mentioned them.
| | 03:02 | If a knife, a wedding ring, or a love letter
is important to your scene, write it in all
| | 03:07 | caps, so the reader pays attention, but if
your character is just opening a door, you
| | 03:12 | don't have to write doorknob in all caps
or door for that matter unless you want this
| | 03:16 | door to be very
prominently displayed in the movie.
| | 03:20 | That's the basic rule.
| | 03:21 | If it's meant to be prominent on
screen, then write it in all caps.
| | 03:24 | If it's not, then don't.
| | 03:27 | The same goes for sound effects.
| | 03:29 | If you want to indicate a busy workplace
with a lot of phones ringing in the background,
| | 03:33 | you don't have to write the word ringing in
all caps, but if you're protagonist is alone
| | 03:37 | at night, the mood is creepy, and you want
to make them jump out of their skin, then
| | 03:42 | absolutely put that ringing in all caps.
| | 03:45 | Remember, there's no dogma when
it comes to screenwriting style.
| | 03:49 | Find the one you're most comfortable with,
but like I said early in this course, writing
| | 03:52 | a script is like writing a poem in the
sense that the true craft of the screenwriter is
| | 03:57 | in distilling complicated images and
emotions down to a few well-chosen words.
| | 04:03 | Don't expect everything to be
perfect in your first draft.
| | 04:05 | It's fine to write those big chunks of screen
direction, if it helps you figure out what's
| | 04:08 | going on just as long as you whittle them down
to more reasonable lengths in your next draft.
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|
|
7. Clearing the Legal HurdlesWorry about the legalities now, not later| 00:00 | I know you're anxious to start typing out
your screenplay, so the thought I'm going
| | 00:04 | through legal issues right now
might make your heart sink a little.
| | 00:08 | But if you don't take care of some of this stuff,
you could find yourself in a nasty situation.
| | 00:12 | The good news is that it takes relatively
little work on your part to cover yourself legally.
| | 00:18 | Now as I mentioned a long time ago, this
course has taken the assumption that your story idea
| | 00:23 | is something you came up
with completely on your own.
| | 00:26 | Of course, it's not always
like that in the real world.
| | 00:29 | Every year hundreds of movie scripts are adapted from
existing properties, books, plays, even other movies.
| | 00:37 | Both original and adapted screenplays can be
based on real events that happened to real people.
| | 00:43 | And many screenwriters work in teams or under contract,
all these things add legal complications to writing your script.
| | 00:50 | But these complications don't have to derail your
dreams, you just need to be smart and protect yourself.
| | 00:56 | Now if you want some serious knowledge, I recommend
the book Clearance & Copyright by Michael C. Donaldson.
| | 01:02 | He is an actual entertainment attorney,
so he knows what he's talking about.
| | 01:06 | The book is intended for producers and not
much for screenwriters, but it does a good
| | 01:10 | job in addressing the legal questions you
may have and even includes sample contracts.
| | 01:15 | In the meantime, in the next few videos I'll
go over some of the very basic things you'll
| | 01:19 | need to know, if you want
to cover yourself legally.
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| Has your movie been made already?| 00:01 | It's a terrible feeling.
| | 00:02 | You have got this brilliant idea, you get all excited
about it, and then you find out it's already been done.
| | 00:07 | It happens, especially in show business.
| | 00:10 | You can't possibly know the plots of the
thousands of movies and TV shows that already exist.
| | 00:14 | So how do you find out whether your
story ideas may be a little too familiar?
| | 00:18 | Well, one quick and easy way is a
keyword search on the Internet Movie Database.
| | 00:23 | Let's go to imdb.com and try one out.
| | 00:26 | Note that it works best if your story
has some fairly distinctive concepts.
| | 00:30 | Searching for romance or
murder isn't going to help much.
| | 00:34 | Let's look for something slightly more specific.
How about time travel?
| | 00:40 | Okay, this gives us a lot of results.
Let's see if we can narrow them down.
| | 00:43 | Click on Time Travel and check
out the Refining Tools on the right.
| | 00:47 | Let's say you want to make your
time travel movie a comedy, great.
| | 00:51 | Now, we can refine it even further by
scrolling down and selecting other keywords.
| | 00:56 | Because most of the IMDb's content is user generated,
| | 00:59 | some of these jokers will tag a movie with
hundreds of keywords, many of which will be irrelevant.
| | 01:04 | Let's just say that your basic premise is
about somebody who time travels at a party.
| | 01:08 | Hey, what do you know? There it is.
| | 01:10 | Now, you have a manageable number
of movies to compare your story with.
| | 01:14 | It's not an exact science to be sure, but it's a
big help when you don't know where to start looking.
| | 01:18 | The next step is a no-brainer.
Find those movies and watch them.
| | 01:23 | It's the best way to see if the script you
want to write matches not only the plot of
| | 01:27 | any of those movies, but the tone.
| | 01:29 | This can actually be a confidence building
exercise, by watching someone else tackle
| | 01:33 | similar material, you get to see what
works and what doesn't, what you would add,
| | 01:38 | and what you'd take away.
| | 01:39 | Hopefully, it will encourage you to make
sure your script has its own unique qualities,
| | 01:44 | even if it's treading unfamiliar territory.
| | 01:47 | Above all, though, I want to emphasize that
the mere existence of movies, books, or any
| | 01:52 | other materials similar to your story
doesn't need to stop you from writing your script.
| | 01:56 | I don't have to tell you that there are
already tons of stories about time travel
| | 02:01 | or vampires or mafia wars or funny dogs.
| | 02:03 | The difference between each one
is in the voice of the writer.
| | 02:07 | Keep in mind that you can't
copyright a basic premise.
| | 02:10 | This means that even if your movie sounds
a little like the Hunger Games, as long as
| | 02:14 | you're not actually ripping off
the Hunger Games, then go for it.
| | 02:17 | If your story is written from your own
point of view, and you're not willfully stealing
| | 02:21 | some else's ideas, you'll be fine.
| | 02:24 | In the end, what makes your
screenplay special is your voice.
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| Adapting existing work| 00:01 | As you know, there are separate Academy Awards for
Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay.
| | 00:07 | That's how accepted it is for scripts to
be based on previously published material.
| | 00:11 | Likewise, your own story might be inspired
by an existing property, a magazine article,
| | 00:16 | a one-act play, an old movie, whatever,
but no matter what it is if you want to adapt it,
| | 00:22 | you must, must, must acquire the rights
from the copyright owner first.
| | 00:28 | This is typically the
author or the author's estate.
| | 00:31 | Now sometimes getting the rights can be easy, like if you
want to adopt a short story written by your best friend.
| | 00:36 | If you want to adapt a novel by J.K. Rowling,
it's gong to be a bit more complicated.
| | 00:41 | In any event, you should never, ever believe
that you can just write your amazing screenplay
| | 00:46 | and then get the rights afterwards once the
copyright owner realizes what a genius you are.
| | 00:50 | That would be foolhardy, so I'll say it
again, you must first acquire the rights.
| | 00:56 | Now, frankly, this is a producer's job.
| | 00:58 | If you're already working with a producer,
they need to acquire the rights, not you,
| | 01:02 | but if you're flying solo, and you really
want to adapt something right now, you'll
| | 01:06 | have to be your own producer
and acquire the rights yourself.
| | 01:10 | Make sure it's in writing and make
sure you have an attorney go over it.
| | 01:14 | I'm not an attorney myself, so what I'm
about to tell you is not official legal advice.
| | 01:20 | These are the many things you
should have in your agreement.
| | 01:22 | Number one: make sure the copyright owner
grants you Exclusive Motion Picture Rights
| | 01:28 | to their property, emphasis on exclusive.
| | 01:32 | Number two: Negotiate a Term for these rights,
that's how long the copyright owner will
| | 01:36 | give you to make your movie.
| | 01:39 | This is where the concept
of that option comes in.
| | 01:42 | An option means that the copyright owner will
grant you a certain amount of time, 5 years
| | 01:47 | is common, to finish your
script and go into production.
| | 01:51 | If the option expires before you make your movie,
you can then decide whether to renew it or move on.
| | 01:57 | Usually, an option is for a small amount
of money with the agreement stating that the
| | 02:01 | copyright owner gets paid a lot
more if the film goes into production.
| | 02:05 | Obviously, these amounts are up to you to
sort out, which brings us to number three:
| | 02:10 | Always include a monetary transactions in the
agreement, whether it's an option or a complete buyout.
| | 02:16 | You need to pay for the rights, even if it's just literally
$1, which is not uncommon for deals between friends.
| | 02:23 | Number four and lastly, sort out screen credit.
| | 02:27 | For example, if your name is John Smith and
a copyright owner is Jane Doe, your agreement
| | 02:32 | might say, the screenplay credit on the film
shall read, "Screenplay by John Smith based
| | 02:38 | on the novel by Jane Doe."
| | 02:40 | Again, I'm not an attorney, so please don't
take my word for gold, but this more or less
| | 02:44 | covers what you need to worry
about when adapting copyrighted work.
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| Public domain, fair use, and parody| 00:00 | Okay, here's where I really have to
remind you that I'm not a legal professional.
| | 00:04 | The realm of public domain and fair use is vast
and complex, but I will do my best to summarize.
| | 00:11 | Public Domain refers to anything in the world
that is not protected by trademark or copyright.
| | 00:16 | So, you're free to base your screenplay on it.
| | 00:19 | This includes certain creative works,
real-life events, and public figures.
| | 00:24 | Let's start with creative works.
| | 00:26 | Generally, speaking if something was first
published before 1923, its copyright has expired,
| | 00:33 | and you're free to adapt it, but
don't take anything for granted.
| | 00:37 | You might want to adapt a Greek Tragedy
from 2500 years ago, but if you're lifting your
| | 00:41 | dialogue directly out of a recent English translation of
the play, you're violating that translator's copyright.
| | 00:48 | Here's another example.
| | 00:49 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was
written by the Brothers Grimm in 1812.
| | 00:53 | So, it's in the public domain, but if you
name your dwarfs Happy, Grumpy, Doc, and so on,
| | 00:59 | you're violating copyright because
Walt Disney came up with those names.
| | 01:03 | You can see how it gets messy.
So, do your homework, and be careful.
| | 01:07 | Now, let's talk about real-life events.
| | 01:09 | In a nutshell, all facts
are in the public domain.
| | 01:13 | You're perfectly free to
make a movie about the Titanic.
| | 01:16 | Nobody owns the film rights to any
historic event, as simple as that.
| | 01:20 | So, how about public figures?
| | 01:22 | Well, first, let's define a public
figure as anybody who's made a lot of news.
| | 01:27 | Like historic events, the publically
documented details of that person's life are free
| | 01:33 | to draw upon, as long as you do
it truthfully and accurately.
| | 01:37 | And I really must
emphasize publically documented.
| | 01:40 | These people still have a right to privacy.
Here's how I put it.
| | 01:43 | You can write a biopic about Katy Perry, but you
can't put her actual phone number in the movie.
| | 01:48 | So, that's public domain, more or less.
Now, let's talk about fair use.
| | 01:53 | In the simplest terms, fair use means you
have a right to depict the real world and
| | 01:58 | share your opinions about it, and of course,
the real world is filled with things that
| | 02:02 | are copyrighted and trademarked.
| | 02:04 | So, if you have characters driving around in
a beat up Ford Thunderbird, you're probably
| | 02:08 | covered since Ford wouldn't
expect you to invent your own car.
| | 02:13 | But fair use has its limits.
| | 02:14 | For example, if you are writing that Katy Perry biopic,
you can't just say, oh, in this scene she sings Firework.
| | 02:21 | That song is copyrighted, and you
can't use it without a licensing agreement.
| | 02:25 | Fair use doesn't help you there.
Here's a different example.
| | 02:29 | Let's say your write a scene where your
characters go to a real-life burger chain and get
| | 02:34 | horribly sick from food poisoning.
| | 02:35 | If that chain decides to sue you for
defamation, fair use might not protect you.
| | 02:40 | So, I say why even risk a lawsuit when
it's easy enough to just put your characters
| | 02:45 | in a fictitious restaurant and move on.
This brings us to Creative License.
| | 02:51 | When you're writing about real things and
real people, what are you allowed to make up?
| | 02:55 | Well, it comes down to intent.
Let's take that Katy Perry biopic.
| | 02:59 | You make up some of her dialogue and invent
some supporting characters for dramatic purposes.
| | 03:04 | If your script is otherwise truthful and
accurate, you shouldn't have anything to worry about,
| | 03:09 | but if you depict Katy Perry as a war criminal,
her people could sue you, or rather they could
| | 03:15 | sue the producers of the movie.
| | 03:17 | And look, it's true that people sue each other
all the time, whether or not they have a case.
| | 03:21 | But if it can be proven that your intent is
to ruin someone's reputation with your movie,
| | 03:26 | you might have a problem.
So, let's always be very careful.
| | 03:30 | Now, what if you make up a bunch of
stuff about a celebrity who recently died?
| | 03:35 | Can her next of kin sue you? Well, maybe.
| | 03:38 | If they can prove that you're smearing the
family name or trying to damage the estate.
| | 03:42 | Perhaps now you can see why screenwriters
prefer to write about people like Howard Hughes
| | 03:46 | and Marilyn Monroe. They are dead.
They have no descendents.
| | 03:49 | There's no one who can
truly deny all your claims.
| | 03:52 | So, how does parody fit into all these?
| | 03:55 | How the Scary Movie guys, Weird Al, and
South Park all get away with doing what they do?
| | 04:00 | Here's the rough answer.
| | 04:01 | Humor is associated with opinion, and
opinion is associated with fair use.
| | 04:08 | Audiences are expected to be in on a joke to tell
the difference between the parody and the real thing.
| | 04:14 | That's how these performers stay in business.
| | 04:16 | But even here it can be treacherous, many parodists have
been sued for defamation or for copyright infringement.
| | 04:22 | So, if you want to make a parody, you should
be aware of what you're getting into
| | 04:26 | and how far you want to take it.
There's one last thing I want to talk about.
| | 04:30 | If your story is inspired by actual events,
you can do all your own research or base your
| | 04:34 | screenplay entirely on one source.
| | 04:37 | But if you're doing the latter, that's an
adaptation, and in that case, you have to negotiate
| | 04:42 | the film rights with the author.
Here's an example.
| | 04:45 | David Seidler won the Best Original
Screenplay Oscar for the King's Speech.
| | 04:50 | That same year, Aaron Sorkin won the Best
Adapted screenplay Oscar for the Social Network.
| | 04:55 | Both movies were dramatizations of
real things that happened to real people.
| | 05:00 | But here's the difference.
Seidler did his own research.
| | 05:03 | Sorkin adapted a book called the Accidental Billionaires
by Ben Mezrich and Mezrich did all the research.
| | 05:10 | Now, why didn't Sorkin
just write an original script?
| | 05:13 | My guess is that the Social Network
producers already had the rights to the
| | 05:17 | Accidental Billionaires, and they just
needed someone to adapt to it.
| | 05:20 | One helpful fact was that nobody had
sued Ben Mezrich for libel or defamation.
| | 05:25 | So, it was safer to just buy the rights
to his book than to start from scratch.
| | 05:30 | Finally, Mezrich used a lot of his
own creative license in his book.
| | 05:34 | If the Social Network copied his unique spin on
real world events and didn't get his permission,
| | 05:38 | then he could have sued.
| | 05:40 | In short, you have a lot of rights
to make the script you want to make.
| | 05:45 | Just be aware that the people whose lives or whose
work you want to draw from have rights as well.
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| Working with a cowriter| 00:00 | Sometimes you don't want to go at it alone.
| | 00:02 | Many screenwriters
actually prefer to work in teams.
| | 00:05 | They get to bounce ideas and
jokes off each other. It's fun.
| | 00:09 | Still, before you sit down together to write
that script, you need to write something else.
| | 00:13 | That's right, another agreement.
| | 00:15 | I don't care if your co-writer is your best
friend or even your mom, you need to define
| | 00:19 | your professional partnership at the
outset, and you need to put it in writing.
| | 00:24 | Once again, here is my disclaimer that I'm
not an attorney, but when working as a team
| | 00:28 | you should nail down a few things.
First, how will you disperse payment if any?
| | 00:33 | Will it be 50/50, 60/40?
Second, what about copyright ownership?
| | 00:39 | Will you both register as co-authors, or will
you own the copyright and your co-writer will
| | 00:43 | just be a work for hire?
| | 00:45 | If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't
worry, I'll be discussing these things shortly.
| | 00:49 | Finally, perhaps the messiest thing
you'll have to sort out is screen credit.
| | 00:54 | Who gets listed first?
Will you split screenplay and story credit?
| | 00:58 | Hash it all out now before you get to work.
| | 01:00 | If you come to blows over something as
simple as this, maybe it's a sign that you won't
| | 01:03 | make the best writing partners.
| | 01:05 | In any event, sign the agreement, make copies for each
of you, and stick them away somewhere and start writing.
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| Being a work for hire| 00:00 | Being a work for hire is
exactly what it sounds like.
| | 00:03 | Someone is hiring you to
write a screenplay for them.
| | 00:06 | The upside is that you get
paid to write, which is awesome.
| | 00:10 | The downside is that you
won't own the copyright,
| | 00:12 | you have no say in the script sale, and
you can't take it to another producer.
| | 00:16 | Not like screenwriters usually have a lot
of control over the work anyway, but you'll
| | 00:20 | have even less when you're a work for hire.
| | 00:22 | Like everything else, if a producer hires
you to write a script, you'll need a signed
| | 00:27 | written agreement with them first.
| | 00:29 | Come to terms over any advance and final payments,
any profit sharing if possible, and of course your screen credit.
| | 00:37 | Your agreement should also stipulate what
happens to your credit if the producer wants
| | 00:41 | to bring in other writers, do
you still get the top billing?
| | 00:45 | Will you retain the
story credit all by yourself?
| | 00:48 | Likewise, you should try to get something
in the agreement that says you can remove
| | 00:52 | your name from the movie, in case you
don't like what happens to it, but don't expect
| | 00:56 | the producer to agree to all of these terms.
| | 00:57 | Remember, you're an employee.
You don't have a whole lot of leverage.
| | 01:01 | That said, a lot of films
fall apart during development.
| | 01:04 | So my advice is that if you can only negotiate
one thing, it's that you get paid up front.
| | 01:10 | Writing a script can take a long
time, and it can be a lot of work.
| | 01:14 | Don't do it for free if you can help it.
| | 01:16 | If the producer agrees to pay you something,
then all those other details can be more negotiable.
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| Registering for a copyright| 00:00 | You really should watch this video only after
you have finished the first draft of your screenplay.
| | 00:05 | After all, you can't really
copyright something you haven't written yet.
| | 00:08 | But if you want to watch this before you
start writing, let's pretend that your script is
| | 00:12 | complete and ready to be shopped around.
| | 00:15 | Before anybody can read it, you want to legally
protect it, that's why you have to register for a copyright.
| | 00:20 | It's a painless process, so don't put it off.
Go to the U.S. Copyright Office website at copyright.gov.
| | 00:28 | Click on Forms, there's a lot to choose from.
| | 00:32 | If you want to do it the old-fashioned way,
you can download the Form PA and print it out.
| | 00:37 | PA stands for Performing Arts, screenplays are
classified under this category, not under Visual Arts.
| | 00:44 | You can also register your script online in the
Electronic Copyright Office, which is cheaper and faster.
| | 00:50 | First, you'll have to create an account which
is free, then you'll go through a clunky but
| | 00:54 | generally easy to follow series of
pages as you enter your screenplay's data.
| | 00:59 | Both the online and the printed
form are pretty self explanatory.
| | 01:02 | They give you plenty of directions,
but here are a few extra tips.
| | 01:06 | When you're writing your screenplay's title,
I suggest you also include every potential
| | 01:10 | title you have been playing around with.
| | 01:13 | If you wind up changing your title to
something else entirely later on, have no fear.
| | 01:17 | Your script is still protected, but it can't
hurt to get those other tittles on the record.
| | 01:22 | Because it's a screenplay, this
is not a so-called published work.
| | 01:27 | Just put down the year you
finished writing the script.
| | 01:30 | Add additional authors only if you're working
one or more co-writers, and if you have agreed
| | 01:35 | to share copyright ownership.
| | 01:37 | If a co-writer is a work for hire,
they cannot share the copyright.
| | 01:41 | If you yourself are work for hire, then stop.
| | 01:44 | The person who hired you to write the
screenplay should be filling out this form, not you.
| | 01:49 | When talking about the nature of authorship
or what the author created, write text,
| | 01:54 | or even entire text on the Form PA.
| | 01:55 | The gist is that you're telling the
copyright office that you're the owner of the whole
| | 02:00 | screenplay, not just part of it.
| | 02:02 | On the Form PA, if you're adapting a
previously published work, write the title and author
| | 02:07 | of whatever it is that you're adapting, under
Material Added to This Work write in dramatization for Film.
| | 02:15 | Finally, if you're working with one or
more co-writers, decide which one of you
| | 02:19 | should be the primary contact.
| | 02:22 | When you're done, you submit your form with
a copy of your screenplay and the required
| | 02:26 | payment, but first, I strongly recommend that you
keep a printed copy of your completed form for yourself.
| | 02:32 | The Copyright Office can
take months to notarize a form.
| | 02:35 | Don't worry, you're still protected by
copyright even before you get that notarized version
| | 02:40 | back, but if you're rushing your movie into
production, you'll need to show proof of registration
| | 02:44 | to SAG-AFTRA, insurance companies, and
other people you might be doing business with.
| | 02:50 | Before I close, I want to address the practice of
registering screenplays with the Writers Guild of America.
| | 02:55 | For a small fee, the guild essentially
locks your script in a vault for 5 years.
| | 03:00 | The idea is that if someone steals you story,
and you have to take them to court, your time-
| | 03:04 | stamped screenplay will prove your ownership, but in
my opinion, Writers Guild Registration is optional.
| | 03:10 | If you copyright your script,
that's really all you should need.
| | 03:13 | That said, some screenplay competitions
and other outfits still ask for registration.
| | 03:18 | So, if you want to go this route, head
to wgawregistry.org for more information.
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ConclusionGoodbye| 00:01 | Looking back at this course, I realized that
I must have sounded like a broken record at
| | 00:04 | times, going on and on about suspense, unpredictability,
payoffs, and so on, but I kept repeating myself
| | 00:11 | because I really want you
to remember those concepts.
| | 00:13 | As you write your script, you're
going to have a lot on your mind.
| | 00:16 | I just hope you don't lose sight of
what's most important in dramatic storytelling.
| | 00:21 | The road ahead is going to be both
exciting and frustrating for you.
| | 00:24 | Hopefully, when all is said and done,
you'll be satisfied with your screenplay and even
| | 00:28 | more satisfied with what happens to it.
| | 00:31 | The film industry can be a little capricious,
but I found that if you keep pushing forward,
| | 00:35 | eventually you'll find your niche, not because
of some karmic reward for being a nice person
| | 00:39 | or even a talented writer, but
just because of the law of averages.
| | 00:43 | In other words, the longer you stay in the
game, the better the odds are for your success.
| | 00:48 | Even after you finally finish your script,
keep writing, keep thinking of new ideas,
| | 00:53 | build up a body of work, no matter what
happens in your career, you'll always feel better
| | 00:57 | knowing that you did your best and that
you produced some work you could be proud of.
| | 01:02 | I wish you all the luck in the world, and
hope you get to experience the sublime pleasure
| | 01:06 | of watching your story become an actual movie.
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