Screenplay Writing on SENSITIZE ©

For active members of Sensitize © to offer tips to each other on screenplay writing and work on new collaborative film scripts together.

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Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
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Post by Louis P. Burns aka Lugh »

I have just phoned the the BBC World Service number and spoke with a really helpful man called Gary. I asked if we could link directly to their screenplay writing guidance pages and explained our concerns about copyright and how we did not want to breach anyone else's rights. He told me he would contact the relevant department, took my email details and said they would be in touch soon.

Thanks...
Last edited by Louis P. Burns aka Lugh on Mon Oct 09, 2006 11:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
Administrator, editor & owner of the Sensitize © online community of forums and domain for artists, e-poets, filmmakers, media/music producers and writers working through here. To buy the Kindle book of Illustrated Poetry, Sensitize © - Volume One / Poems that could be Films if they were Funded by myself with illustrations by Welsh filmmaker and graphic artist; Norris Nuvo click here for N. Ireland and UK sales. If purchasing in the U.S.A. or internationally then please click here.

ASIN B00L1RS0UI

My writing is not covered by Creative Commons policy and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved. All Sensitize © Arts sponsorship donations and postal inquiries to:

Louis P. Burns
42 Farland Way
DERRY
N. Ireland.
BT48 0RS
Telephone (UK): 028 71219225


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Catherine Edmunds
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Post by Catherine Edmunds »

Thanks for starting this section, Lugh. I know nothing about screenwriting, but I did, a while ago, find "Script Smart Gold 2" as a free download on one of the BBC writing sites (can't remember exactly where, but it should be easy enough to find).

I haven't figured out how to use it properly yet, but it's a Word program that's designed to take the hassle out of getting the formatting right and therefore enables you to present a professional looking product. Should be useful. Of course, you still have to write the stuff...
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Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
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Post by Louis P. Burns aka Lugh »

delph_ambi wrote:Thanks for starting this section, Lugh. I know nothing about screenwriting, but I did, a while ago, find "Script Smart Gold 2" as a free download on one of the BBC writing sites (can't remember exactly where, but it should be easy enough to find).

I haven't figured out how to use it properly yet, but it's a Word program that's designed to take the hassle out of getting the formatting right and therefore enables you to present a professional looking product. Should be useful. Of course, you still have to write the stuff...
Hi Delph :)

Yes, the most important thing is writing your script/screenplay but it does make sense to familiarise yourself with the many different software programs available and to find one you're happy with. Final Draft is also a good package. about a year ago Kate and me joked on the Mort & Suzi Show (msn dome) about a feature of it that actually spoke your lines but did so in a robotic 'Stephen Hawking-like' voice. Perhaps they'll improve upon this in the future. Final Draft is an exceptional package though and worth checking out.

If you can get your hands on a copy of The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier you'd be doing yourself a great favour. It's packed with everything necessary to help the screenwriter put together the best possible screenplay from; writing technique to presentation and right up to marketing your screenplay. It covers many of the pitfalls writers can get caught up in and draws examples of proper layout from many leading filmscripts.

We are limited with these phpBB messageboards in what we can do and how we can present our work and while I fully accept that The Crafty Fecker (collaborative new media screenplay script on Sensitize) is a work in progress, it may serve to show a general layout that is workable. Please note that not all the scenes have been edited properly by me yet but I do chip away at them.

Another point to make is that the whole process of screenwriting can be a lot of fun if it's a shared (collaborative) experience. Dave (spacecadet), Kate (Essexcowgirl) and Salvador (Argie) have given me invaluable input to the scenes I write for The Crafty Fecker and the interaction between us or suggested ideas for storyline keep the whole thing ticking over nicely...

Adaptation to screenplay of a novel is another interesting way to explore screenwriting. There are many writers out there who will (for a fee) work with a novelist to bring about a filmscript. What is good about this is that because the book has already been written and published, funding agencies would be better placed to assist any writing team who chose to work this way.

I hope some of what I have written here is of use to you delph and other members. I'm still learning myself and freely admit I don't know it all...

Best wishes :) ...
Last edited by Louis P. Burns aka Lugh on Fri Sep 08, 2006 12:25 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
Administrator, editor & owner of the Sensitize © online community of forums and domain for artists, e-poets, filmmakers, media/music producers and writers working through here. To buy the Kindle book of Illustrated Poetry, Sensitize © - Volume One / Poems that could be Films if they were Funded by myself with illustrations by Welsh filmmaker and graphic artist; Norris Nuvo click here for N. Ireland and UK sales. If purchasing in the U.S.A. or internationally then please click here.

ASIN B00L1RS0UI

My writing is not covered by Creative Commons policy and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved. All Sensitize © Arts sponsorship donations and postal inquiries to:

Louis P. Burns
42 Farland Way
DERRY
N. Ireland.
BT48 0RS
Telephone (UK): 028 71219225


Click here to Join Sensitize © Arts via Facebook or to contact the site owner: Louis P. Burns aka Lugh with any forum hosting or site related inquiries.
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Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
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Post by Louis P. Burns aka Lugh »

I got a call from a very helpful lady at BBC World Service yesterday who said that we could link/quote from their How To Write A Screenplay pages as long as we acknowledged and respected their copyright at all times. I think you will find the helpful guidelines from both Shane Connaughton and Robert McKee on those pages highly beneficial.

All hyperlinks in this post are the copyright property of BBC World Service - How To Write A Screenplay
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/ ... play.shtml

and the intellectual copyright property of the guest screenwriters;
Shane Connaughton
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/ ... s_sc.shtml
Robert McKee
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/ ... s_rm.shtml
Last edited by Louis P. Burns aka Lugh on Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
Administrator, editor & owner of the Sensitize © online community of forums and domain for artists, e-poets, filmmakers, media/music producers and writers working through here. To buy the Kindle book of Illustrated Poetry, Sensitize © - Volume One / Poems that could be Films if they were Funded by myself with illustrations by Welsh filmmaker and graphic artist; Norris Nuvo click here for N. Ireland and UK sales. If purchasing in the U.S.A. or internationally then please click here.

ASIN B00L1RS0UI

My writing is not covered by Creative Commons policy and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved. All Sensitize © Arts sponsorship donations and postal inquiries to:

Louis P. Burns
42 Farland Way
DERRY
N. Ireland.
BT48 0RS
Telephone (UK): 028 71219225


Click here to Join Sensitize © Arts via Facebook or to contact the site owner: Louis P. Burns aka Lugh with any forum hosting or site related inquiries.
the_leander
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Post by the_leander »

Good call lugh!

I will be interested in reading that. Nothing's likely to come of it, but I'll learn about something new regardless.
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Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
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Post by Louis P. Burns aka Lugh »

the_leander wrote:Good call lugh!

I will be interested in reading that. Nothing's likely to come of it, but I'll learn about something new regardless.
Happy Days 8) ...
Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
Administrator, editor & owner of the Sensitize © online community of forums and domain for artists, e-poets, filmmakers, media/music producers and writers working through here. To buy the Kindle book of Illustrated Poetry, Sensitize © - Volume One / Poems that could be Films if they were Funded by myself with illustrations by Welsh filmmaker and graphic artist; Norris Nuvo click here for N. Ireland and UK sales. If purchasing in the U.S.A. or internationally then please click here.

ASIN B00L1RS0UI

My writing is not covered by Creative Commons policy and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved. All Sensitize © Arts sponsorship donations and postal inquiries to:

Louis P. Burns
42 Farland Way
DERRY
N. Ireland.
BT48 0RS
Telephone (UK): 028 71219225


Click here to Join Sensitize © Arts via Facebook or to contact the site owner: Louis P. Burns aka Lugh with any forum hosting or site related inquiries.
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Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
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A few screenwriting tips by Lugh © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Post by Louis P. Burns aka Lugh »

Below I have posted a small part of a screenplay for a short film I'm currently working on. It's the first draft and if worked on by a Director and film crew would go through a series of rewrites. Hopefully it will give you an insight into the required layout. However, due to the standard limitations of writing on these messageboards the layout will be different from a printed screenplay. Please note that in a regular screenplay layout all montage (action/direction text) alignment would be set to 'justified' and in capitals. This includes character names. All dialogue should be aligned the same but in lower case and preferably in italics.

You might want to include P.O.V. directions in your screenplay. P.O.V. is the abbreviation of the words 'Point Of View' and can be handy if not used excessively as a means of communicating camera angles to a Director of Photography (D.O.P.). Please note; the D.O.P. may not be the Director of the film. However, they both work together and sometimes with the writer/screenwriter. All scene directions such as CUT TO, P.O.V. etc, normally appear justified but on the righthand side of screenplay pages.

The title of the screenplay and screenwriter's name appear on page one / front page.

Opening scene / Scene One begins on the second page.

Another rule-of-thumb is that each page of screenplay script should be able to be read in one minute. The average screenplay script for a feature film should be 120 pages. This is only a rule-of-thumb and not a set rule. You can have pages and pages of montage (action/direction) before your first piece of dialogue. Also note; all action/direction should be double line spaced between each chunk of montage.

All new scenes must begin on a new page.

Anyway. Here is a working example of one scene (without POV directions) for you to look at and become familiar with:-
  • THE INTERVIEW
    A screenplay by Louis P. Burns. © 2006. All Rights Reserved.


    SCENE ONE


    EXT: DAY. STREET. HEAVY RAIN.


    A MAN IN HIS LATE TWENTIES WALKS FAST UP THE STREET. HE IS SOAKING WET. IN HIS HAND SWINGS A WHITE PLASTIC SHOPPING BAG. IT APPEARS HEAVY. HE IS SUCKING HARD ON A CIGARETTE. AS HE APPROACHES IT BECOMES CLEAR HE IS INTENTLY LISTENING TO MUSIC THROUGH AN IPOD.


    HE REMOVES A KEYRING FROM HIS POCKET AS HE TURNS AND WALKS UP A SMALL GARDEN PATH TOWARDS A FRONT DOOR.



    CUT TO:


    INT: DARK HALLWAY. STAIRS.


    DOOR OPENS AND MAN WALKS IN. HE CLOSES DOOR BEHIND HIM AND CLIMBS THE STAIRS.


    CUT TO:


    MAN REACHES TOP OF STAIRS AND APPROACHES FRONT DOOR IN HALLWAY. HE STILL HAS KEYS IN HAND AND UNLOCKS THE DOOR.


    CUT TO:


    INT: APARTMENT. LONG PASSAGE-STYLE HALLWAY. DARK.


    DOOR OPENS AND MAN WALKS IN. HE CLOSES DOOR AND PUTS HEAVY SHOPPING BAG ON THE GROUND. HE SWITCHES ON HALLWAY LIGHT. HE QUICKLY BEGINS TO REMOVE HIS WET CLOTHES. HE SNAGS HIS T-SHIRT ON HIS HEADPHONE LEAD. HE PULLS IPOD FROM TROUSER POCKET AND TURNS IT OFF. HE DISCONNECTS IPOD AND PLACES IT ON SMALL TELEPHONE TABLE. A LIGHT IS PULSING ON A TELEPHONE BUT MAN APPEARS NOT TO SEE IT.


    CUT TO:


    INT: BATHROOM. BRIGHTLY LIT BY NATURAL LIGHT.


    MAN REMOVES HIS T-SHIRT. HE TOWEL DRIES HIS HAIR AND UPPER TORSO. HE USES TOILET TO URINATE. HE EXITS.


    CUT TO:


    INT: BEDROOM. CURTAINS CLOSED. DARK.


    MAN SITTING ON EDGE OF BED. HE REMOVES SHOES, SOCKS AND TROUSERS. HE SIGHS DEEPLY. HE STANDS AND APPROACHES CHEST OF DRAWERS. HE OPENS TOP DRAWER AND REMOVES DRY CLOTHING.


    CUT TO:


    INT: HALLWAY. MAN WITH DRY CLOTHES LIFTS HEAVY SHOPPING BAG AND WALKS DOWN LONG HALLWAY TOWARDS A CLOSED INNER DOOR. MAN USES SHOULDER TO PUSH DOOR OPEN.


    CUT TO:


    INT: MAN ENTERS LARGE, BRIGHTLY LIT, OPEN-PLAN, LIVINGROOM WITH BREAKFAST BAR SEPERATING KITCHEN FROM MAIN AREA.


    A PC AND ACCESSORIES, BOOKS, CD'S, ELECTRIC FIRE, LAMPS, LP'S, LARGE PLANTS AND A TELEVISION ON SERIES OF DESKS AND SHELVES ALMOST FILL THE LENGTH OF ONE WALL TO THE CURTAINS.


    A LARGE TABLE WITH NEWSPAPER COVERING IT SITS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM. TABLE IS SURROUNDED BY LOOSELY ARRANGED CHAIRS. ON THE TABLE IS A STARTED SCULPTURE OF A MAN'S HEAD AND BUST. THREE EXPENSIVE DVD CAMERAS ON METAL TRIPODS SURROUND TABLE AND ARE SET TO DIFFERENT ANGLES AND HEIGHTS. ALL CAMERAS ARE FOCUSED ON SCULPTURE

    THERE ARE TWO OLD THREEPIECE SUITE CHAIRS BUT NO SOFA BEYOND THE TABLE AND NEAR THE LIVINGROOM WINDOW.


    MAN STRUGGLES AND SWINGS PLASTIC SHOPPING BAG UP ON TO TABLE. HE PEELS BACK THE PLASTIC TO REVEAL A LARGE BAG OF MOIST SCULPTING CLAY. MAN SMILES.


    MAN WALKS TO PC AND SELECTS A PLAYLIST. MODERN MUSIC FILLS THE ROOM. MAN SWITCHES ON ELECTRIC FIRE AND HEATS HIMSELF.


    BUZZER SOUNDS.


    MAN WALKS TO INTERCOM AND PICKS UP HANDSET.



    MAN:
    Hello. (pause). Who? (pause). Sorry luv I didn't. I'm just in. Hold on.


    MAN PRESSES DOOR ENTRY BUTTON. MAN EXITS LIVINGROOM.


    CUT TO:


    INT: HALLWAY. MAN PRESSES BUTTON ON TELEPHONE.



    VOICE FROM ANSWERPHONE:
    Hi. This is Rachel Doran from Sensitize Magazine. I've been trying to reach you on your mobile but there's no answer.


    MAN OPENS FRONT DOOR.


    RACHEL'S VOICE FROM ANSWERPHONE:

    We have to reschedule your interview planned for tomorrow.


    CUT TO:


    INT: STAIRWELL.


    MAN IS STANDING AT OPEN APARTMENT DOOR.



    RACHEL'S VOICE FROM ANSWERPHONE (cont'd):
    I'm in town today and was wondering if I could call up and do the interview.


    WOMAN ASCENDS THE STAIRS. SHE IS WET. SHE EXTENDS HER ARM TO SHAKE MAN'S HAND.


    RACHEL'S VOICE FROM ANSWERPHONE (cont'd):
    Can you please give me a call? Thanks.


    MAN USHERS RACHEL INSIDE AND CLOSES DOOR.


    CUT TO:



    INT: APARTMENT HALL.


    MAN:
    You must be Rachel then? (smiles) Just got your message.


    MAN POINTS AT TELEPHONE. THEY BOTH LAUGH.


    RACHEL:
    I hope I haven't called at a bad time.


    MAN:
    No no. You're fine. Can I get you a towel?


    RACHEL:
    Please. That'd be great.


    MAN WALKS OFF TO BATHROOM. RACHEL REMOVES HER COAT, GLOVES AND SCARF AS MAN RETURNS. HE HANDS HER A TOWEL. SHE SMILES AS HE USHERS HER TOWARDS THE BATHROOM. AS SHE ENTERS BATHROOM HE TAKES COAT FROM HER AND HANGS IT ON A HOOK ON THE WALL.


    RACHEL:
    I'll just be a minute. Thanks.


    FADE OUT.
Louis P. Burns aka Lugh
Administrator, editor & owner of the Sensitize © online community of forums and domain for artists, e-poets, filmmakers, media/music producers and writers working through here. To buy the Kindle book of Illustrated Poetry, Sensitize © - Volume One / Poems that could be Films if they were Funded by myself with illustrations by Welsh filmmaker and graphic artist; Norris Nuvo click here for N. Ireland and UK sales. If purchasing in the U.S.A. or internationally then please click here.

ASIN B00L1RS0UI

My writing is not covered by Creative Commons policy and may not be republished without permission. All rights reserved. All Sensitize © Arts sponsorship donations and postal inquiries to:

Louis P. Burns
42 Farland Way
DERRY
N. Ireland.
BT48 0RS
Telephone (UK): 028 71219225


Click here to Join Sensitize © Arts via Facebook or to contact the site owner: Louis P. Burns aka Lugh with any forum hosting or site related inquiries.
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