When writing a film script, you should start by picturing the film critic, the person who is going to read and review the script first of all. Winning over a critic is your first step to success.
It will be up to them to decide whether what you have written is notable enough to get other people interested in the project. While writing a script, it is good to have your virtual critic in the back of your mind all of the time. It is easier to keep the discipline of writing.
A good script should be simple and compact, contain colourful characters and have a well-designed plot. A script should make it possible to be able to see a future film in it. It should be remembered that scriptwriting is different from writing novels. These are two different kinds of art, and both have separate rules that they are based upon. While writing a script you need to remember that it is just a structure or a frame for a film, on which, the base of a new piece of work can be, and will be, realised.
A script should be written concisely, avoiding monologues and wordy descriptions. The dialogues should run smoothly to move the plot forward. The fewer descriptions and the more dialogues, the better. Clear and transparent – these are the features of a good script.
And now a few words on the form of a script:
– the title page: the title, the author’s name, the contact address
– scene titles: information on when and where the scene is set that is the place and time of the scene, (time of day); if the plot returns to the same place within the script, it should be called the same
– Stage directions: they determine the plot, the place and the mood: they are supposed to outline the scene and to create its picture. Thanks to them we can picture the scene; writing the dialogues, you need to remember not to interrupt them with comments
– actors directions: instructions for the actors; brief information regarding characters
– directions for a DOP should be avoided
– it is allowed to place in the script directions such as ‘cut’, ‘cut to’ and ‘dissolve’ (the series of short scenes composing a story background), ‘flashback’, ‘off’, and the information that a character is speaking a foreign language.
The primary goal of a scriptwriter should be a well-told story, which awakes peoples’ emotions. First of all, he should be focused on building emotional tension to move the audience. Another necessary element of a good story is its reasonableness. The plot should put in order chaotic events. That’s what the audience expects: Touching and reasonable stories. To experience catharsis and to curb life’s disorder.
The base is determining a subject and a message. The subject is the necessary information and the central message of the film. It should be remembered that the primary film plot and a film story are different things than the subject and the message behind the film. The events told are just exemplification of the author’s intention and the message which he wants to present to the audience. A scriptwriter should keep this main intention in mind all the time and follow it; he should spin his story around it.
Writing a script, you should avoid instructions and obtrusive morality. Otherwise, a story changes into unbearable propaganda work. A plot is supposed to suggest the message and be its representation as a specific story. It should also be remembered what message is to be carried by the story and what the audience will be able to get from it.
A relevant element of a script is building a story world. A well-constructed world is a base to draw reliable characters. It is not only background but also a basic element of a film story, fulfilment is as important as the characters. Localization of the characters in a specific world affects their natures and their behaviour. Scenery „acts” on a par with the characters. Sometimes it is even an autonomous figure that dominates in the course of a plot, pushing the characters to the background. That’s why one should pay special attention to building the scenery.
The building of a film story world should be remembered as where the plot evolution originates from. It is from the film story world that the context, mood and characters’ conflicts originate. A story set in a specific time and place looks completely different from a story being set anywhere or wherever else, as it may appear unbelievable. It is also relevant that certain elements of surroundings harmonise with the internal world of the character. Otherwise, a story stops being believable. It is possible to build the surroundings in a way that it is possible to outline the character’s figure, nature, tastes and habits without words.
A world can be a source of the main adventures when a character is thrown into a completely unfamiliar place or when the world they knew starts to appear hostile. An idea for such a story boils down to the observation of a character trying with actions to tame the unknown reality and find their place in it.
Scriptwriters use contrast and irony to raise the attractiveness of a plot and the intensification of an effect. Contrast lets determination of a perspective and is limiting. Contrasting is more expressive and more meaningful. Contrasting the characters, the world and the plot is intriguing and moving. It lets us show the author’s intention, in a nutshell, raises interest and draws the viewer into the plot. It is similar to irony which causes even unexciting scenes to be engraved in the memory and unexpectedly become attractive. Contrast and irony make it possible to indicate a subject better and set a pace to the plot.
The key to building a perfect story world is extracting the smallest elements and details out of it. It should be expressed through them. Through detail, we get to know about the whole. To extract relevant aspects of a story world, a scriptwriter needs to have a complex knowledge about the scenery they’ve decided to set their story in, so a plot would run in a transparent, reasonable and at the same time attractive for the viewer world.
Continuing our deliberations about scriptwriting. I’d like to start by pointing out that apart from a story world about which I told you in the first part, an equally important part of a film story are its protagonists.
Both elements are critical and a writer must put lots of effort into ensuring that neither of them dominates the other one. They need to be equally well thought out and built. Combined – they define each other. In creating a script, a scriptwriter must know his characters deeply. A plot results from the character and the motivations of the character and vice versa. Protagonists have to be placed in the situations which a story creates for them.
Protagonists express themselves through their actions. They can’t just be, feel and think. Actions and reactions in specific situations “tell” us about them the most. Their actions move the plot forward, and a scriptwriter must care enough for a plot to be dramatic. To make it more dramatic a concept of conflict may be, and usually is used, a conflict that must be solved by the protagonist. The audience desires to watch those, who are disregarding of lousy fortune and their weaknesses pursue a goal and overcome obstacles.
A scriptwriter must think very thoroughly about the roles which the characters will perform in a story. It is not enough just to make up who the characters are. The appearance of specific characters in a script needs to be sensible; it has to be coherent with a story subject and be purposeful. The characters should not be too similar. It is pretty relevant that they are of a different nature, have different personalities and perform different roles. Then a conflict itself may result from these differences between them.
Below are theoretical roles of film characters:
– The protagonist – main character; it’s a figure with whom the audience should identify themselves and with whose feelings they can empathize; even the most repulsive protagonist may be equipped with a weakness so the audience could empathize with them; usually there is one protagonist but there may be two or more performing equivalent roles; they are impulsion of the main conflict, a motive force; the motivation for the protagonist should be clear and believable, the audience must feel that they would act in the same way; it is best when protagonists act for the sake of other people and not only for their own good; the audience does not like selfish characters, they would like their heroes to sacrifice themselves for the others;
– The antagonist – their main task is to impede the actions taken by the protagonist. They may take various shape: a human being, a supernatural phenomenon but also the protagonist’s flaw; the antagonist must give the impression of being stronger than the protagonist; the antagonist’s figure should be constructed as well as the protagonist and a lot of time must be spent while building this character; a poor antagonist means poor conflict which means boring film; a good antagonist is a complex, complete character, often dredged up by the sweat of a writer’s brow out of the dark nooks of his imagination;
– Secondary (peripheral) characters – they support the protagonist and are necessary for the plot’s development; these characters are not as characterologically developed as the main characters; they realize ancillary plots which support or deny the main plot, adding a deeper trait and strengthening the whole story;
– Minor characters – it is enough that they are outlined and equipped with some dominating feature; their role is to fill the story world, they are the background to the story and they may even not approach the main characters, they may be treated as one group character whose presence is sensible nevertheless and results from the story.
Regardless of performed roles, characters must take actions. Taking actions involves making decisions and choices. These are the most critical elements of building drama. The harder the choices a character needs to make, the more interesting is the character and the stronger they influence the dramatic power of the film.
The character’s actions should cause the actions of other characters and create opportunities for change. The plot should be constructed in such a way that a character makes choices, takes actions and these actions bring effects. Action should be caused by clear and comprehensible motivation and be followed by another action. That’s why the motivation behind actions must be thought over thoroughly.
The most important thing is the distinction of the elements which distinguish and define the character. Why are they like this? Why do they act in this way, not another? A scriptwriter’s task is to create a character that is real and believable to the specific story. He should focus on what matters in the here and now, even if it refers to past events. That’s why he should extract from the story only these elements which are relevant to the script.
It is good when there is a missing piece in a character’s figure. It strengthens their motivation to take actions. A character may also do something terrible, but for noble reasons. They have to believe that what is bad will eventually turn out to be right.
In a character’s life, a conflict may appear. An internal conflict is a contradiction; they must dispose of. The most desired is a situation in which two opposing and equally strong desires clash. A conflict may also be shown as tackling a flaw, a weakness or results from the difference between what a character wants and what they need.
A scriptwriter should have a critical distance to their characters and cannot allow them to live their own lives. Otherwise, a story may drift away from his hands. At the same time, to know the characters you write about, you have to give them a part of yourself. And it would be perfect if they were unique, equipped with a single element that distinguishes them from the crowd.
This is a continuation of our deliberations on scriptwriting. First, we gathered the basic formal rules and covered the subject of a story world, then we told you about characters. Now let’s carry on. The foundation of a script is its structure. It is a scheme according to which all elements are connected and fit together. A script must be coherent integrity.
A script structure has its own rules. It has constant elements which every scriptwriter should know. The bible for everyone who builds stories is a scheme of the Greek tragedy listed by Aristotle in his Poetics. It’s a canon model of building a drama structure.
The scheme of the Greek tragedy looks as follows:
– the beginning – a protagonist lives with a flaw that is revealed as a result of fortune at some point.
– the explication – a protagonist tries to object to the fortune and makes an irreversible mistake
– the conclusion – there are some suffering and tragedy that lead to the katharsis (purgation) and order reappears
Aristotle was giving priority to a plot and a form over a character’s structure. He thought that minor and lateral plots should be limited to a minimum or even completely removed because they disrupt the unity of time, place and plot. It means that all that disrupts the ideal dramatic form should be removed.
The opposite conception was proposed by a classical scriptwriting author, Lajos Egri. He stated that a plot and a form are not superior but a character and the conflict associated with them. A plot is just a result of specific actions and poses by a character. Otherwise, characters will be only puppets subordinated to the form requirements.
An anthropologist Joseph Campbell methodized a story structure on the basis of the myths analysis. He stated that there is one everlasting model of a story construction appearing in every culture throughout ages. The main element around which a story is built is a character’s journey. It begins from the moment when a problem appears in an ordinary world of a protagonist and it disrupts the existing order. A protagonist fears the challenge but they meet a sage who shows him a way and the protagonist sets off on a journey to restore the order. A protagonist is put on a number of tests, encounters enemies and allies. On their way, they have to enter a zone of darkness, evil and pain to gain new strength for fighting after all. A protagonist confronts an antagonistic force. Reborn and enriched with new experiences they come back to their world to restore its balance. This pattern is successfully used in the construction of adventure films.
The most fashionable form of scriptwriting is the theory of three acts. It refers to Aristotle’s scheme of drama. In each act there should be plot points, that is turning points in which something significant happens.
Below there is a scheme of a script written according to the canon of three acts:
Act I
– original balance – characters live unhurriedly in an ordered world in which some disruption leading to conflict appears
– fundamental event – sudden or unique event which disturbs the balance and confuses a character’s everyday life
– disruption – a turning point of the plot, the conflict between a protagonist and an antagonist swells and the proper action starts
– conclusion – original situation is disrupted, and this state is getting worse and worse; the protagonist must take action, the conflict which is a carrier of a story topic becomes aggravated, tension intensifies and bears the question: will the protagonist cope with the new situation and how will he do that?
Act II
– crisis, conflict, complication – in the protagonist’s way there are obstacles appearing which hinder them from reaching the aim
– increasing tension – nothing is what it is used to be anymore, the disruption of the balance intensifies tension; a number of events in which the protagonist suffers defeat
– moment of despair – the protagonist starts doubting and stops fighting, it seems that the antagonist overcame
Act III
– revelation – the protagonist experiences crisis and finds a way to conquer the antagonist, revelation should be something surprising, kind of deus ex machina
– culmination point – revelation made the protagonist fight again, the plot is getting ever faster and everything heads for the antagonist’s defeat
– katharsis – final purgation of the protagonist; everything is balanced and the story is going to the end, the ending should refer to the beginning and make the impression of something inevitable
Some theoreticians lean towards the so-called numeric concept. Its assumptions say that certain events and fundamental moments must happen on the specific pages of a script and therefore at the specific moments of a film story. This method is very rigorous and it causes the impression of falsehood. Alike the ready-made computer programs designed to write scripts which without help generate the ancillary plots subordinated to the main plot.
It should be remembered that there is not one, the golden formula for writing a perfect script. The above-presented models are only theoretical suggestions. Telling the truth the only universal method of scriptwriting does not exist. However, all agree about one thing. The foundation of every good script is a well-outlined conflict. The relation between a protagonist and a conflict is the most important element of a story and this aspect needs the most attention while writing a script.
Welcome back to our little guide on scriptwriting. The construction of a script is like a map of consecutive events that characters take part in, and it constitutes a draft according to which all elements fit one to another. Every scene is supposed to contain relevant events and conflict.
At first a story, a story world and characters need to be created. The next step for a scriptwriter is to juxtapose these elements in such order they fit one to another. A film is a continuous story. Conflict is the most critical element of a story as a whole, of each scene and every moment in a movie. A script starts with a conflict arousing, growing until its final resolution and purgation. It’s when a film ends. That’s the basic scheme of a film story.
A conflict is a result of the fight for power which is associated with an intention to take charge. Such understood conflict lies at the bottom of an idea enclosed in a film and rules over every scene in a film. That’s why it is so important to know about the conflict’s dynamic and its source, which is the fight for power.
Fight for power includes three basic elements: a goal, an obstacle, an aversion to compromise. A good story is one where the protagonist’s dreams come up against some obstacles and can’t be easily met. A protagonist is forced to defeat them to achieve the goal. The determination and action based on „all or nothing” are relevant. No indirect solutions or compromises because it softens dramaturgic power. A compromise is equivalent to the end of a conflict and to a sympathy loss of the audience for the protagonist. The opponents can not negotiate. A protagonist and an antagonist must duel. It is a driving force of the story. On the other hand, a compromise may appear in a minor plot or as a contrast to the main plot which is strengthened that way. It is good when the conflict effects in some new quality, new value, knowledge, change for better, spiritual enlightenment, etc.
A conflict situation and an emotional situation should not be mixed up. The appearance of an event with a high emotional charge does not mean it is a conflict. Nevertheless, it should be as many emotional events and situations in a script as possible. However, they must result from conflict. It is not enough if they are touching on their own because they lose their power to influence the audience.
The task of a scriptwriter is to design a relation between an antagonist and a protagonist in such a way that a conflict between them is inevitable. The next thing is to build such a script structure that as events progress the battle grows.
A protagonist must be a weaker figure than an antagonist. However, they should be equipped with such features which finally let them defeat a mighty antagonist. Nevertheless, the final success of the protagonist should be up in the air through the whole script what intensifies merely tension.
It happens that both opposite sides are close to each other and the barrier standing in the way to their mutual settlement is that they both desire the same thing. Their similarity and common origin cause that the conflict between them is more dramatic.
In general, conflict should be graduated so a script could absorb more and more. It is also possible to use different kinds of conflict within one story. The more obstacles there are, the more meaningful and sharper is a fight between an antagonist and a protagonist.
Types of conflict:
A) external – caused by an antagonist or an outside situation
B) internal – a flaw or a protagonist’s dilemma
– a character versus character / when two characters want the same thing
– a character versus „them” / when a protagonist opposites against a society which constitutes an anonymous threat
– a character versus nature / a protagonist is entangled into battle against surroundings, some kind of disaster or forces of nature
– a character versus fate / a protagonist struggles against their own limits and fears
– a character versus „self” / struggle against own weaknesses, moral dilemmas, psychological traumas; these internal flaws are supposed to arouse sympathy for a protagonist
Different types of conflict may be found within one script. For example, the „character versus self” conflict can be found in also every film alongside other conflicts. Generally different levels of a conflict should penetrate through the structure of every good film. It is best to accumulate tension by putting a character in such a position that to fail means to lose everything. It is called raising the stake. The higher stake is, the more likely will a protagonist lose everything. It is here where it’s worth to use a trap in which a protagonist is stuck. The trap excludes a compromise that could weaken the motivation to struggle. It causes that the opponents can not retreat and they have to fight. The trap forces the protagonist takes action. They need to have a strong motivation to act so the conflict would be inevitable. The conflict gets more interesting when the characters’ motivation is as complex as possible.
The tension is built the best when an omen of something unexpected is brewing. All unnecessary details and elements without conflict should be removed. To keep the tension scriptwriters frequently cut a scene before its final unravelling, so the energy of a conflict could be moved to the next scene.
Slowly but surely we’re getting to the end of our journey through scriptwriting. This time we are going to concentrate on script structure. Script structure consists of takes, scenes and sequences.
Takes are the smallest parts of any film story. These are single thoughts, actions, fragments of conversation. An always take the results of another take.
Takes comprise of scenes. A scene is a situation, in which there is a change of time or place of action. It may take place at one time and one place or in different areas if a goal and a sense of action remain the same.
The scene is a miniature of the script. Every scene goes by the same rules as the whole scripts. It is a story inside another story with a beginning, explication and conclusion. It is supposed to contain a turning point, conflict and possibly denouement.
Like scenes are composed of takes, sequences are composed of scenes. A sequence is a series of scenes joint by a common message or action. Within a sequence, there should appear growing tension or obstacles in the protagonist’s way. Just like a take and a scene, a sequence also has its beginning, explication and conclusion. All elements must be connected with the causal connection which causes: takes create scenes, scenes develop sequences and sequences comprise a film story.
In every script, the most important is the first sequence. Any film must/should have an intriguing beginning. There are those who claim that the first 10 minutes of a film (or 10 pages of a script) are the most crucial part. Everything that’s important in a film should appear within these 10 minutes: a story, main problem(s), leading characters and an outline of the central conflict.
Most films are built to specific genre standards. Genres are a story style ruled by its rights. Genre rules should be obeyed if you decide to write a script using the specific convention. It is also relevant to keep a sufficient level of credibility (that is a probability that the story can run in a way the audience wouldn’t lose their contact with the film).
A key part of a script is stage directions and dialogue. Stage directions contain the description of what is going to appear on a screen, that is the plot, set design, characters and mood of the scene. The whole trick is to express a film world as concisely as it’s possible, without using too many words. There is no place in a script for wordy descriptions. It’s best to use singular sentences and present tense. Adverbs and adjectives should be used frugally so they don’t retard the reading. Obviously, they are necessary but should not be overused. Also, directions for cameramen should be abandoned. A director and a DOP are there to do it.
Dialogue is considered to be the cheapest special effect. The dialogue may fulfil three functions: to speed up the progress of a plot; to bring nearer the characters and to refer to a world the audience watches. In general, a picture is stronger than a word and if it’s possible it is better to show something rather than speak of it. It is simply the nature of film as an art: to give as much information as possible without words.
Writing a script, it is necessary to take care that dialogue sounds natural. It should sound common but obviously tailored to fit a film. It should express characters and be an essence of what a scriptwriter desires to tell using the mouth of a given character. Exchange of opinions, like any other scene, needs to have a beginning, explication and conclusion. Dialogue should be concise, contain conflict and end glitteringly.
Dialogues enable to get to know characters better. The most interesting are meanings hidden within the dialogues. The more interesting a character is, the more elliptically they express themselves. They don’t say directly about their aims, goals, desires, fears. It’s a character who defines dialogue as they speak with their voices, through their experiences and personalities.
Basic techniques of writing dialogue:
– writing for an actor – when a scriptwriter knows who they would like to see in a given part and writes this part for this person.
– writing with slogans – when a dialogue is limited only to indispensable elements without going into details, it’s essential to remember that a character acts much more significantly without words and everything can be shown on a screen; less crucial fragments may be left out for the benefit of the most important feelings and thoughts.
– omitting redundant statements – one shouldn’t put into characters’ mouths clichés and prepared conclusions, details of dialogue should put the audience on the right track.
– not speaking of the feelings / showing them – characters should speak of circumstances that cause the emotions and not about the emotions directly; feelings can also be shown with an implied meaning because what is not spoken and heard of is sometimes much more important than directly said words.
– how characters listen to – characters interpret what they hear in their own ways; they filter the words of others through their own emotions and expectations; that’s why a scriptwriter must know how a character listens to and what they hear, characters’ emotions depend on that.
Writing a script one should avoid so-called fillers. These are lines that fill a space between true thoughts and bring nothing in. Unnecessary lines cause that a script loses its energy and dialogues lose. Equally needless are long speeches and monologues which usually sound unnaturally and retard a plot. Characters should solve their dilemmas through dialogue with other characters, not long presentations. Also, hackneyed phrases and truisms should be avoided as well as obtrusive teaching and moralising. The message should be implied to the audience, and not obtrusively imposed.
The best way to check if a dialogue is written well is to read it aloud. Only hearing it, a scriptwriter may see its weak points and correct them.
This is the end of our short journey through theoretically trivial but genuinely not an easy art of scriptwriting. We hope that each of you finds something useful to extract from our deliberations. So take your computers, typewriters, pens or pencils and create.
GOOD LUCK!!!
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