Use sparingly and only if absolutely necessary to tell the story. Focus on dramatic action and dialogue.

1. Screenplay!!!
March 15th, 2011

2. Why screenplay?
• A way to convey information to a lot of
people
• Visual
– Visual learners

3. First -
• An idea.
– Why is this idea well-suited to screen?
– Budget?
– Is it a fresh idea?
– Has it been done before?
– Can you make it unique?
– Can you relinquish creative control?

4. Storyboarding

5. Pitching
• Get your idea out there!
• Networking
– Parties
– Friends of friends
• Always have a pitch on hand for your
idea.

6. Pitching
• Refine your idea to one sentence.
• What is the essence of the film?
• The clearer you are, the better.
• Verbal - short - 3 minutes maximum.

7. Pitching
• What is the title?
– If need be, use a working title
• What is the theme?
– A broad sense of issues that are being discussed
• What is the story?
– Do people want to know the ending? Is it
interesting?
• What is unique?
• Why you?

8. Pitching
• What is the catchiest thing about this
project?
• Genre
• Where does the story come from?
• Why?
– Why now?
– Why do you love it?
– Why do you want to make it?

9. Elevator Pitch
• Think of an elevator ride - you want to
be able to pitch to somebody in the
same time it would take to ride an
elevator with them.

10. Next - the treatment

11. Treatment
• Telling the story of your screenplay -
take your script and write it like a short
story
• TWO PAGES OR LESS - brevity!
• Write the treatment with action that
advances your story

12. Treatment
• Here is an example of a treatment

13. Treatment
• Written in simple present tense
• Each paragraph is a scene
• No dialogue
– If there is any dialogue, it should aid in conveying the tone
• No camera directions
• Capitalize the names of characters the first time they
are introduced
• Capitalize every sound
• Indent (5 spaces) every new paragraph
• Flush left

14. Beat Sheet
• A beat sheet is another way of laying your story out
• Can be done or after the screenplay - often done
after the first draft of the screenplay
• It is composed of beats, which are the smallest unit
of screen story-telling
• A beat is a moment in which something happens
– Could be action or something dramatic (an explosion, a
fight, etc.)
• Beats are represented by a bullet point or a number

15. Beat Sheet
• More than one beat can happen in a
single setting or scene
• No required length - is as long as it
needs to be
• Written clearly and simply as possible

16. Finally - the screenplay!

17. Screenplay
• Here is an example of a screenplay.

18. Screenplay - basics
• Scene - screenplay is made up of
scenes. A scene is a unit of drama.
• A scene helps achieve coherence.
– Advance story/show conflict/develop
character/create suspense, etc.

19. Screenplay - basics
• Dramatic action is action in pursuit of a
goal
1. The protagonist has an
2. Objective which is opposed by
3. The antagonist out of which arises
4. Dramatic conflict

20. The Screenplay
• The main thing you need - FORMAT
– Screen is a genre where format holds a lot of
importance
• Programs for formatting:
– Final Draft
– Celtx (Free! But misbehaves)
– Word (for the brave)
• Remember - about 1 minute per page of
screenplay.

21. Formatting - History
• Screenplays were first typed on
typewriters - hence the Courier font
• This is how the timing standard was set
• And this is why it is still the same format
to this day - to keep the timing.

22. Screenplay
• Now, a screenplay written by Steven.
For real! Kind of.
• This will help answer formatting
questions in a creative way.

23. The Screenplay
• Screenplays are a bit of an odd genre to
write in
• Very specific brand of writing
– Sparse/brief
• Watch out for risk of offending
– Actors
– Directors

24. “No-nos”
• All rules can be broken, but here are some
loose ones to follow for screenwriting:
– Don’t write in camera angles or directions
– Don’t write in lighting cues
– Don’t write in nuanced acting (specific facial
expressions)
– Be aware of budget
– Be aware of special effects

25. “No-Nos.”
• Voice-overs
• Dream sequences
• Montages
• Flashbacks
• Narration