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Magic Hate Ball posted:How's that going? There are probably dozens of books you guys could read on the subject but Sondheim's Finishing The Hat is nearly priceless (as, I expect, will be part 2, which is due out in a couple months), and it's always, always worth it to read Jeffrey Hatcher's The Art And Craft Of Playwriting. Bookwriters are under-appreciated, remember that in any good musical the songs should come from the book, sometimes directly, in which part of a scene is replaced by a song. For example, "Franklin Shepard, Inc.", from Merrily We Roll Along, was originally a five-minute interview scene that without the crazed figures and patters of the song doesn't have much impact. What kinda projects are these? Interestingly, the musical aspect of it has been the easiest part (probably because this isn't my first musical--although it is my first musical screenplay). The songs come from the book, but they're not "book songs"; think Cabaret, where the songs are diegetic but also serve as commentary on the main action. My problem has been the "book" part of it--nailing down the plot--although I think I'm finally getting somewhere. I'm definitely with you on Finishing the Hat, by the way. Part 2 can't get here soon enough.
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Sep 29, 2011 03:37
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What trouble are you having with the plot? And yeah, Look I Made A Hat is pretty much a day-one buy for me. I think I've read the first one like six times.
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Sep 29, 2011 03:48
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Magic Hate Ball posted:What trouble are you having with the plot? And yeah, Look I Made A Hat is pretty much a day-one buy for me. I think I've read the first one like six times. Well, initially, I had characters but basically no story. I'm at the point now where I've pretty much got a central plot line (three-act structure and all), but I'm not totally certain on some of the smaller events/scenes.
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Sep 29, 2011 04:01
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I recently started an internship reading scripts at an LA production company (I'd rather not say which) and I just wanted to mention that today I read a script written from a second person perspective. So the action descriptions would be like "You walk over to the sink and splash water on your face, then gaze at yourself in the mirror." It was a confusing read, and seemed to imply that it was intended to be shot entirely POV, which seems like it would suck. I've also heard there's a script out there written from first person perspective, I think called "Passengers"? I guess my question is, has any so-written script ever been produced? Or is it just a writer masturbatorily pushing the textual limits in a form whose textual limits are totally irrelevant?
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Sep 29, 2011 05:19
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Something Else posted:just a writer masturbatorily pushing the textual limits in a form whose textual limits are totally irrelevant? Something Else posted:just a writer masturbatorily pushing the textual limits in a form whose textual limits are totally irrelevant? Something Else posted:just a writer masturbatorily pushing the textual limits in a form whose textual limits are totally irrelevant?
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Sep 29, 2011 14:56
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Magic Hate Ball posted:How's that going? There are probably dozens of books you guys could read on the subject but Sondheim's Finishing The Hat is nearly priceless (as, I expect, will be part 2, which is due out in a couple months), and it's always, always worth it to read Jeffrey Hatcher's The Art And Craft Of Playwriting. Bookwriters are under-appreciated, remember that in any good musical the songs should come from the book, sometimes directly, in which part of a scene is replaced by a song. For example, "Franklin Shepard, Inc.", from Merrily We Roll Along, was originally a five-minute interview scene that without the crazed figures and patters of the song doesn't have much impact. What kinda projects are these? Not so much project for me as it is a thought. But I am sure you all understand it when I say I have a million different stories running around in my head fighting for attention. But I personally have NO experience with screenwriting or play-writing at all so I guess I have NO idea how to get started. Thank you for the book recommendations though, will definitely have to pick these up.
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Sep 29, 2011 17:15
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Ok, here we go. Here's the link to the first short I wrote and directed. http://vimeo.com/26647636 And now, here's the tagline for my next short that I'm assembling a fundraiser for. "A woman in her 40's walks into a city diner wearing a funeral dress. The waitress by the cash register is spinning a wedding band on a glass counter top. She greets the woman and asks, "Just one?" The woman places a card on the table. The card is black with a finely etched red eye drawn into the center. The waitress looks at the card and instructs for the woman to follow her. She's lead into a closed section of the diner where a man in a charcoal suit sits with a cup of black coffee and a briefcase to his side. The woman is seeking an appraisal of her future under the impression that the man she's met is a clairvoyant. Though the man is not offering the service she's sought, he offers her a service that is hard to refuse, and one where the price is stranger and greater than she suspects." The script is about 12 or 13 pages long. This will be my first attempt at directing a scene with dialogue between two characters. I tried this with my first short, but we had way too many noise issues due to powering the equipment with a generator and the recordings were garbage. If anyone would be so kind as to give me a few notes on the script, I'd really appreciate it. Here's my email if you're interested. blankmage@gmail.com Thanks!
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Oct 1, 2011 23:05
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That's not a tagline (or a logline). It's a...description. A tagline is pithy text for a movie poster caption. "Slow justice is no justice." "In Space, No One can hear you scream." [This tagline stood up so well, it's still a force in pop culture decades later.] A logline is the basic plot of the movie, doable in a sentence. "A man learns that true wisdom can only come from winning the WPGA tour."
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Oct 2, 2011 05:50
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The more you know I guess!  Still, at least you know now what the plot is about? I guess?
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Oct 2, 2011 07:36
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Basic, stupid question presented in longform. When a character gets two consecutive blocks of dialogue, do I always have to put "(CONT'D)" next to the second character slug? Right now I have it so that if a character isn't reacting to anything in the middle of his dialogue, I use a (CONT'D), like so: quote:Patrick’s on his cell phone, reading from a script on his computer screen. However, if a character is reacting to something out loud, or has otherwise moved on to an entirely new thought, I don't use the slug: quote:CHIRP-CHIRP-CHIRP! Audrey stops herself from plopping on the couch. I think it works, but I get the creeping suspicion that I'm being retarded. Can you guys confirm?
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Oct 11, 2011 05:04
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How would you write out a scene where a character is saying something, but after every line you want it to jump cut to him saying his next line. An example is kind of how on a mockumentary you have a character talking to the camera listing things, but instead of just one long shot it has jump cuts to next line so you think the character has been thinking of all sorts of crazy stuff. If it needs to be more clear I'll try to dig up a YouTube clip.
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Oct 14, 2011 23:10
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I wish I could help you two but I'm not 100% sure of the answer myself. ------------ Want to get depressed? quote:The sale of Des Moines-based author James Erwin’s first screenplay pitch was accomplished via an unusual route: the social news aggregator website Reddit.com. Warner Bros just bought Rome, Sweet Rome after Reddit users voted to elevate his idea to the top of the site’s home page. Madhouse Entertainment told Deadline it spotted the post and contacted Erwin, a two-time Jeopardy! champ, to develop his concept for a quick sale. The idea? Contemporary U.S. Marines by some quirk of fate are transported to Ancient Rome where they are forced to contend with Roman legions. Because the Marines’ presence disrupts history’s timeline, they must set things back on course to return home. http://www.deadline.com/2011/10/wb-looks-to-rome-sweet-rome-pitch-2/ I swear, sometimes I think I should scrap everything I'm working on and type up some stupid poo poo like Swine Of The Dead posted:The dead have come back to life but they don't want your brains...they want your bacon! With the world on the brink of oblivion, Chuck Norris and a rapping dog (voiced by Eddie Murphy) try to overcome their differences so they can put the dead back in the ground and the bacon back in your belly. Call Me Charlie fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Oct 15, 2011 |
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Oct 15, 2011 00:36
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They do that a lot on Parks and Rec. I guess you could just set up the concept in the scene description, something like: INT. OFFICE - DAY Danny tries out various slogans - the dead time is edited out via jump cuts . DANNY "All ham is good ham"..."The winner of the ham battle is you"..."Turkey's for turkeys"...
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Oct 15, 2011 05:18
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Rome sweet Rome is actually really, really detailed and was universally beloved by everyone who read it. Going off the back of Cowboys vs Aliens's success, it's reasonable someone would like the concept.
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Oct 15, 2011 18:30
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Magic Hate Ball posted:They do that a lot on Parks and Rec. I guess you could just set up the concept in the scene description, something like: Thanks, I was thinking something along these lines.
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Oct 16, 2011 00:44
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DivisionPost posted:Basic, stupid question presented in longform. For the first one, I'd question why the description for the logos for the detective agency isn't in the first block of descriptive text. As it isn't a moment of great reveal, there shouldn't be a problem with leaving when to reveal them up to the director. As such, I can't see a problem with the whole thing then being: quote:Patrick’s on his cell phone, reading from a script on his computer screen. In the background of the computer screen are This would get rid of any need for breaking up the monologue in the first place. As for the second, I would personally use (CONT'D) as an automatic response in any situation where a single character's dialogue is broken by any action. I'd do that mainly just for the actors, so that when they're marking off their copy of the script for which lines are theirs don't automatically go to each second line of dialogue; the (CONT'D) is something they can keep looking out for to make sure they don't miss one of their own lines if they're doing it in a rush. This might be wrong, but I've used it for a while as a rule of thumb and never had it brought up as a problem.
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Oct 17, 2011 10:59
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fallingdownjoe posted:This might be wrong, but I've used it for a while as a rule of thumb and never had it brought up as a problem. Good enough for me. Thanks for the feedback!
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Oct 17, 2011 16:41
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Hey guys. I cleared this with pipes!, and he gave me the go-ahead to post it. I'm a professional script analyst and editor, and I'm offering up my services on SA-Mart in this thread for anyone who needs a full, in-depth analysis of their screenplay, pilot, spec, short, sketch, etc. My rates are comparatively the low end of the industry standard. There's a lot of great advice in this thread. I'm certainly not taking away anything from any of you, but my education and experience could probably help some of you out, especially if you're wanting a whole new draft. I'll throw out a few samples in this thread if I see something though; I have no problem with giving simple advice. @DivisionPost: You don't have to use (CONT'D) at all, honestly. It can definitely help the reader if there's no implied passage of time, but it's optional. You can even turn it off in Final Draft. Chances are nobody will ever notice it's missing. @Peacebone: For your jump cuts, you could do a 'SERIES OF SHOTS:' as well. Just separate each line of dialogue with something like "- Later, Bob has yet another suggestion." or "- Bob is still going. He's clearly been at it for quite some time."
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Oct 18, 2011 12:40
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What are some great spec scripts by first time writers that were purchased? I'd like to see what they do right.
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Oct 20, 2011 16:11
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Angora posted:What are some great spec scripts by first time writers that were purchased? I'd like to see what they do right. As far as I'm aware, Little Miss Sunshine was a spec script. Michael Arndt wrote the first draft in a stupidly short length of time, then spent about a year rewriting it again and again. It won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar, so he must have done something right with it.
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Oct 20, 2011 17:26
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sticklefifer posted:There's a lot of great advice in this thread. I'm certainly not taking away anything from any of you, but my education and experience could probably help some of you out, I'm not taking anything away from you, but I am better than you. 
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Oct 27, 2011 09:49
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Promoted to lead writer (and manager!) at my film gig last night, today got an email asking me to turn in a spec script for Frederator by Friday. As a screenwriter, I just came in my pants a little. Gonna be a good loving week.
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Nov 1, 2011 16:19
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MixMasterGriff posted:Promoted to lead writer (and manager!) at my film gig last night, today got an email asking me to turn in a spec script for Frederator by Friday. Congrats! Always good to hear good news in the screenwriting world. I just pitched a few things to Eric at Frederator. What a nice guy!
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Nov 1, 2011 18:58
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Are you specing Adventure Time? I can't believe I didn't have it considered (although I'm working on Archer and A.N.T. Farm, I don't know if there's no crossover there).
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Nov 2, 2011 00:49
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Nothing that big yet. Channel Frederator is our online "thing," basically our online PR division and whatnot. On the Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, we post animation news, stories, and videos of our favorite toons. We're launching a new show (simply called Channel Frederator) that fits with this type of thing. It's not a fictional narrative show, think kind of like The Daily Show meets Ray William Johnson if it wasn't terrible. And I think it's animated too. I'm planning on working my way up to doing "real" shows, but for now this is a big breakthrough. Huzzah! Also, Archer is my favorite show on Television. Good work. My email is glmclain(at)gmail.com if you ever wanna shoot me an email. We can be friends and I can scam favors and gain leverage at studios-I MEAN GET ICE CREAM AND LONG WALKS ON THE BEACH I'VE SAID TOO MUCH Digi_Kraken fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Nov 2, 2011 |
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Nov 2, 2011 01:08
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I finished the first draft of my screenplay yesterday. Ended up at 112 pages. This thread kept me going so thanks.
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Nov 3, 2011 23:44
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Congratulations! I wish I had some kind of wise words or sentiments to give to you, but nothing comes to mind. gently caress, I really ought to start writing soon, huh.
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Nov 4, 2011 00:49
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MixMasterGriff posted:Congratulations! I wish I had some kind of wise words or sentiments to give to you, but nothing comes to mind. I can't remember which screenwriter said this or the exact quote but... - edit Hey I found it. quote:Whenever I hear this question, I remember a few years back when I screened A History of Violence for my scene writing workshop. Josh Olson, the writer of the film, came in for a Q&A, and one particularly eager student presented this: “So I’m done with my screenplay. What do I do now? How do I sell it?” Call Me Charlie fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Nov 4, 2011 |
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Nov 4, 2011 01:52
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"Yeah but mine is different though!" - Every undergrad ever.
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Nov 4, 2011 02:16
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I recommend taking it out everyone once in a while, looking at how thick it is, and saying to yourself, "at least I filled it all up with words. I sure did write it!" That's what I do with my college novel.
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Nov 4, 2011 02:39
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I hand wrote my first screenplay, my friend lost it. I think the gods were telling me something. Just like the Ronco Rotisserie, "Set it and forget it."
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Nov 4, 2011 14:51
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York_M_Chan posted:I hand wrote my first screenplay, my friend lost it. I think the gods were telling me something. Just like the Ronco Rotisserie, "Set it and forget it." Jesus, why on earth would you hand write a screenplay? How would you even edit it? It may be best to let it scatter to the winds.
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Nov 4, 2011 19:39
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bartlebee posted:Jesus, why on earth would you hand write a screenplay? How would you even edit it? It may be best to let it scatter to the winds. This was many years ago, before laptops were accessible to poor like me. I was working the graveyard shift at a gas station. I was the first time I could focus for long periods of time. The plan was to type it into my computer at home.
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Nov 4, 2011 19:53
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Story Structure is legitimately my favorite thing in the entire world. It's baffling how many writers don't seem to understand it. It's so awesome.
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Nov 5, 2011 01:44
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Griff M. posted:Story Structure is legitimately my favorite thing in the entire world. It's baffling how many writers don't seem to understand it. It's so awesome. With some writers, I don't think it's so much that they don't understand structure as it is that they refuse to understand it because they think it'll make their screenplays "formulaic." Which is a crock of poo poo.
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Nov 5, 2011 13:50
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York_M_Chan posted:This was many years ago, before laptops were accessible to poor like me. I was working the graveyard shift at a gas station. I was the first time I could focus for long periods of time. The plan was to type it into my computer at home. I have so many short stories written in notebooks that one day 'will be typed up'. Uh huh. One day.
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Nov 5, 2011 13:56
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CoolZidane posted:With some writers, I don't think it's so much that they don't understand structure as it is that they refuse to understand it because they think it'll make their screenplays "formulaic." Which is a crock of poo poo. I just can't wrap my head around that. Like, at some point they realize that's wrong, right? I dunno. One of my first lessons was learning story structure and I was like "but it's so formulaic!" Then I was told to write the plots of my favorite movies using the story structure I learned. Star Wars, Ghostbusters, and many other films later, I got the point.
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Nov 5, 2011 21:13
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Griff M. posted:I just can't wrap my head around that. Like, at some point they realize that's wrong, right? Deep down, I think they already do, but they can't be bothered to learn the rules that they're breaking, so they put up this arrogant facade and write these meandering pieces of poo poo under the guise of being a fresh, different voice. They're not just rebels without a cause, they're rebels who pretend to have a cause.
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Nov 5, 2011 22:22
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DivisionPost posted:Deep down, I think they already do, but they can't be bothered to learn the rules that they're breaking, so they put up this arrogant facade and write these meandering pieces of poo poo under the guise of being a fresh, different voice. They're not just rebels without a cause, they're rebels who pretend to have a cause. And it's really a shame, because the whole reason you learn the rules is so that you can break them. I wonder how many of those writers are literally the stereotype, just sitting around in Starbucks all day, desperately trying to write the next Pulp Fiction.
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Nov 5, 2011 22:27
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Hell, I'm glad not everyone knows how to write. It's hard enough to get a job with the amount of people around, and hard enough to decide what to watch between the 7-10 acclaimed series that I "absolutely have" to see. Working on my Archer Spec. It's liberating to work with established characters, instead of having to introduce new ones and make them clear and distinct while maintaining pace and tone.
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Nov 5, 2011 22:43
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