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I wouldn't be surprised if the number of submissions they receive run into the thousands. It would be nice to be able to contact them directly and ask a couple of questions, but they don't seem to have any contact details; as far as I can tell, their Twitter is for publicity and announcements, and they don't have an e-mail address.
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Jan 23, 2015 21:53
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I'd be willing to bet they don't want a "part one" script. Part of these contests is being able to show that you can tell a complete, sustainable story within the boundaries of the guidelines. That being said, most good pilot script these days have a good cliffhanger hook to get the reader wanting to know more.
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Jan 23, 2015 22:05
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I hadn't thought of trying a "pilot" script; I assumed they'd want something that was complete in and of itself. In retrospect, I'm not sure why. 
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Jan 23, 2015 22:47
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Pilot or one of is good. Obviously give some sort of resolution. I can't remember how many they got last time but they tweeted it. I was less than I expected, but still a fair amount. In addition their Twitter has been good at responding to queries in the past.
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Jan 23, 2015 23:43
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I'll have a go on their Twitter, in that case. I'm pretty new to Twitter (literally started using it in the past week); I presume I just "tweet" them, or does it have a private messaging system of some sort?
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Jan 24, 2015 01:08
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Metal Loaf posted:I'll have a go on their Twitter, in that case. I'm pretty new to Twitter (literally started using it in the past week); I presume I just "tweet" them, or does it have a private messaging system of some sort? There are DMs, but you both need to follow one another so don't do that. Just @ them ( @BBC Hey, just a quick question... ) If "@" is at the start of your tweet only users that follow you both will have your tweet appear in their steam (though it's still visible when looking at a profile directly, or if changed in user settings to display your @ tweets), so it's sort of private.
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Jan 24, 2015 09:31
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Have you read the guidelines? They're pretty clear on this and it's generally a bad idea to tweet a question that is covered on their site. . http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/send-a-script/medium-and-format-guidelines As an aside, I won Scriptroom 7 for children's, and am happy to answer specific questions, although I haven't had my meeting with them yet so can't really answer about what happens after you win.
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Jan 24, 2015 12:53
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SuBeCo posted:Have you read the guidelines? They're pretty clear on this and it's generally a bad idea to tweet a question that is covered on their site. I've seen that before, though I must have overlooked some of it. I'm still keen to clarify if they'll take "part one of two" submissions but I'll assume that's not what they're looking for and squash the story into one part. Of course, it may be the case that I've overestimated how much of a story I actually have, so maybe that won't even be a problem! Do they send feedback for every entry they get, or does it depend on how far you get in the competition?
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Jan 24, 2015 13:49
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Metal Loaf posted:I've seen that before, though I must have overlooked some of it. I'm still keen to clarify if they'll take "part one of two" submissions but I'll assume that's not what they're looking for and squash the story into one part. Of course, it may be the case that I've overestimated how much of a story I actually have, so maybe that won't even be a problem! I think the guidelines look pretty clear. The film category asks for a "complete, self-contained story". The others have room for serializing. I can't be arsed to go through the complete rules now but I'd say it's highly unlikely that all scripts get feedback. Frankly I think you might want to spend some more time on the actual script instead of worrying about this stuff yet.
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Jan 24, 2015 17:08
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Fire Safety Doug posted:Frankly I think you might want to spend some more time on the actual script instead of worrying about this stuff yet. I know, I know; I'd started having a go and I had reached a certain point when I thought, "This seems like it would be more effective if it was in two parts," and that's what prompted me to ask in the first place. As you say, though, that's what I ought to be concentrating on.
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Jan 24, 2015 18:20
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Any books on screenwriting/storytelling you guys would recommend? I'm in a screenwriting class at my school as part of their filmmaking program and I've found that screenwriting might be my favorite aspect of the filmmaking process. Our instructor suggested "Your Screenplay Sucks" by William Aker and "The Tools of Screenwriting" by Howard and Mabley.
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Feb 14, 2015 02:42
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The only one you'll need is Tom Lennon's one, Writing Movies for Profit. He's actually sold screenplays this decade, unlike 95% of screenplay writers.
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Feb 14, 2015 05:26
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Haha. I might get shot if I get seen on campus with a book like that. But I guess that is what I get for going to an art school in San Francisco. Majority of the other students all come from rich families and have never had to work a day in their life. So they get pissed off when ever anyone talks about making art for profit. To them, if you aren't making art for art's sake, then you are worthless. I will totally check out that book though. Thank you for the recommendation.
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Feb 15, 2015 19:39
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Mordiceius posted:Majority of the other students all come from rich families and have never had to work a day in their life. So they get pissed off when ever anyone talks about making art for profit. You've just described 90% of the artists in every field
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Feb 15, 2015 20:37
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If anyone is looking to read a really good book on how to not be a lovely, whining, poseur, "Starving Artist" type... Thomas Lennon and Ben Garant's Book "Writing Movies For The running theme is. "This Will Be Your Job" "Treat It Like A Job" "Hollywood Sucks" "In & Out Burger is Delicious." "This Will Be A Job"
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Feb 16, 2015 07:45
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I'm excited to read it. Ordered it earlier today. Should be here Tuesday. poisonpill posted:You've just described 90% of the artists in every field Well, I feel like it's even worse at my school. I'm currently attending the San Francisco Art Institute. The school has a long history of abstract expressionism. In the last few years, their film program has been trying to add some more structure to it - which has received significant pushback from a lot of the students. It's not even like there are a ton of strict requirements. A screenwriting class. Two production/post-production classes. A couple other classes. But a lot of the students are like "THIS IS STOMPING OVER THE PROUD HISTORY OF EXPERIMENTAL FILMMAKING AT THIS SCHOOL." As if learning anything about filmmaking that might actually be beneficial in getting a job is the greatest sin.
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Feb 16, 2015 09:30
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How do y'all handle action scenes in your work? I don't want to go into extreme detail, because that's the storyboarder/fight choreographer's job, but I also don't want to replace a big set piece with "big set piece goes here." The Terminator 2 script does the former and writes out the set pieces in detail, from what I remember on looking it over at a friend's house, but the Kill Bill script basically does the latter and just has a list of specific moments in the Crazy 88 fight. Is there any standard approach?
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Feb 16, 2015 10:02
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LORD OF BUTT posted:How do y'all handle action scenes in your work? I don't want to go into extreme detail, because that's the storyboarder/fight choreographer's job, but I also don't want to replace a big set piece with "big set piece goes here." The Terminator 2 script does the former and writes out the set pieces in detail, from what I remember on looking it over at a friend's house, but the Kill Bill script basically does the latter and just has a list of specific moments in the Crazy 88 fight. Is there any standard approach? I have seen it done a few different ways on official studio copies. //Slug Set Piece Number/Name ///Set piece is written in present tense as a script note. Set piece is formatted as traditional prose The Breaking Bad pilot is written as SCENE but in longer format detailed enough to communicate the idea but vague enough for art department to do their thing. (Included in Final Draft 7 samples) I don't remember where but I've also seen it done along the lines of what's below // A AND B ARE ENGAGED IN A DUEL A: Suck it bitch...I'm gonna teabag your corpse tryna haxorz this duel. B: Hawt THE TWO ARE EQUALLY MATCHED NEITHER SWORD SEEMS TO FIND IT'S TARGET B: OMG you're such a Noob A: Then, with your corpse slob dripping off my totes alive knob, I am going to throat gently caress your sister B: What? B IS THROWN OFF BY THE VERBAL ABUSE: ADVANTAGE A A: While your mom watches. B FRUSTRATED TAKES THE HIGH GROUND. BEATING A BACK WITH A FLURRY OF BLOWS // Basically you let it follow the dialogue. Forgive the crude wordplay and formatting. Day job is 3rd shift and I am dead tired. KEEP IN MIND: Set pieces are hard to time, with a normal dialogue/action balance you should be running about a page a minute. ALSO: As soon as you get that first paycheck the script no longer belongs to you, but studio execs have poo poo tastes and good instincts. Getting through rewrites is a balancing act of your vision and talent against their desires and knowledge. They know what sells but not why. It is your job to take their input and make it work. CHANCES ARE: you will communicate with the director on rewrites and maybe land a a job somewhere in production You may get chance to help develop these scenes. EDIT: made things slightly better. Will come back to gently caress with this when I can keep my eyes open and don't have to type into a lovely smartphone UI. Sorry about potential shitpost. SkaAndScreenplays fucked around with this message at 15:57 on Feb 16, 2015 |
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Feb 16, 2015 15:21
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There's no official rule for things. Be consistent, be concise and be readable. For some scripts (where I had specific gags), I used LOCATIONAL slugs, then MEANWHILE, then camera direction. So something like: quote:Debra drives the golf cart right past Gilly, who's finally picked up the knife. We follow DEBRA...right into a sand trap. If I were to cut to Tim, It'd be quote:AT THE WEDDING CAKE, If we were spending a lot of time at the sand trap, I might create another slug for it. But if you were doing a montage, you could easily: quote:OVER THE RECEPTION, we see a few scenes:
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Feb 16, 2015 23:11
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This is how I'm handling a fight scene in what I'm writing:quote:WILL Look good or should I be more detailed?
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Feb 17, 2015 10:36
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LORD OF BUTT posted:This is how I'm handling a fight scene in what I'm writing: Good rule of thumb - Narrative Action should only include things that can be seen. In fact, I have been told NEVER to include a character's thoughts unless it's in a VO by several reliable sources. If you can't write it as action Parenthesis are for description of dialogue or brief character action that doesn't deserve its own action line. Action should be written as concisely as possible. Avoid big words and character thought/motive. That should all be left to dialogue. Your story is driven by the dialogue, if you can't develop a strong character on wordplay alone you need to address that first. I can get that this character is the badass/lone wolf type from the brazen way he calls out Biker Guy. You don't talk poo poo to a guy like that without having the skills to back it up. If your main character kicks rear end without subjecting himself to the bureaucratic nightmare of having to take names show us that by his actions/witty dialogue. Knock his tooth out with a good left hook and have him spit it out in his opponent's face. Additionally, your word choice in action scenes should leave no doubts. "But Then" is passive conveys a sense of apathy. 'Well Maybe We Should Fight this Dude?'. "Suddenly" or "Without Warning" present the doomed intern reading your spec with a sense of immediacy to the action. It also doesn't fit right with the rest of the 'tense/voice' stands out in an odd way. That's my two cents. And see, I promised I'm more articulate when I'm awake. I'm sick of bbcode already. But I wanted to add this; quote:He takes down one, then two, then three, then:  also avoid 'they' when referring to factional groups (You have 2 in this scene - Dude and the Bikers) it can make things hard to follow. Plural pronouns should be kept to a minimum, only use it to keep things from being repetitive in long blocks of action. Look at it this way:quote:...Without warning; the BIKERS charge. Oh, and ellipses are rare use and exclusively dialogue. If you find one on every page start figuring out where they don't make sense. http://writingclearandsimple.com/2009/03/05/pauses-and-omissions-using-ellipses/ If at any point in a screenplay a reader has to re-read a line of action or dialogue a studio/agency will probably reject it outright. Also, keep all roles in dialogue in all caps/bold to further distinguish the action. <-I believe it is industry standard to do this. Each studio/medium has different formatting though, so the way it is done can vary. BBC 1 Hour Dramas are written in all caps, so character names in action are made bold (I think. My comp with final draft decided to literally shatter the hard disk.) BTW: GET FINAL DRAFT/SOME REPUTABLE SCREENWRITING PROGRAM. You can easily reformat any document to any studio format in less than a minute. I think FD8 even has a 'save as all formats' feature. Also being able to hotkey/macro your line type is great. SkaAndScreenplays fucked around with this message at 11:51 on Feb 17, 2015 |
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Feb 17, 2015 11:13
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I'm frustrated. I thought I had been making good progress for my first attempt, but then the memory stick with the Trelby file and the MS Word document which had the outline had to be reformatted and the files I was able to recover beforehand were hopelessly corrupted. It's a confluence of bad luck (they were only on the memory stick in the first place because I was switching files over to my new laptop) and ineptitude (it's my own fault for not keeping a spare copy; I thought it'd be a routine switch so I did a Ctrl+X on the files instead of Ctrl+C). I'm having trouble summoning up the enthusiasm to start again; I probably need to take a break from it and rethink my ideas, anyway.
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Feb 17, 2015 13:47
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Wheat Loaf posted:I'm frustrated. I thought I had been making good progress for my first attempt, but then the memory stick with the Trelby file and the MS Word document which had the outline had to be reformatted and the files I was able to recover beforehand were hopelessly corrupted. It's a confluence of bad luck (they were only on the memory stick in the first place because I was switching files over to my new laptop) and ineptitude (it's my own fault for not keeping a spare copy; I thought it'd be a routine switch so I did a Ctrl+X on the files instead of Ctrl+C). I'm having trouble summoning up the enthusiasm to start again; I probably need to take a break from it and rethink my ideas, anyway. Find your clipboard folder they might be there. Talk to a computer tech.
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Feb 17, 2015 14:36
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SkaAndScreenplays posted:BTW: GET FINAL DRAFT/SOME REPUTABLE SCREENWRITING PROGRAM. Speaking of this, I moved from Final Draft to Fade In and I'm much happier. Final Draft would ramp up one core of my CPU to 100% when I was writing which would make my notebook heat up. Fade In doesn't do that. It's also actively being developed and only cost $50. http://www.fadeinpro.com/index.html
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Feb 17, 2015 16:24
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SkaAndScreenplays posted:I know the feeling. I had a hard drive shatter and have to recover from hardcopy. I asked the IT guy at work to take a look at it, but no luck, unfortunately. However, the possibility of looking for the clipboard folder hadn't occurred to me; admittedly, my hopes aren't high, but there's no harm in trying. Starting over normally wouldn't bother me, though most of the time when I rewrote something, what I'm actually doing is redrafting it. The stuff I've lost feels like it's "done" in my head and I can't get into the right frame of mind to start afresh. This is why I'm trying to think of ways I can change what I wrote in such a way that I'm rewriting it but not rewriting it, if you catch my drift. Work's been getting in the way lately in any case. 
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Feb 17, 2015 17:55
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Lord of Butt: I am one of the interns doomed to read your script. I've read a lot of bad action scripts lately (along with a couple gems), so here are my two cents. It's hard to get a good feel for the entirety of the script based on this one excerpt, but the dialogue here feels trite. Will doesn't feel like a badass, he feels like someone who's read too many pulp novels and watched too many movies and thinks what he's saying is badass. If that's what you're going for, then great. However if that is what you're going for, he should get his rear end beat. Character motive and thought should not be left to dialogue. That is what subtext is for. Story in a movie is shown through a mix of action, dialogue, sound, music, and editing. If you watch the lead up to an action scene in a Tarantino movie, what are the characters talking about? Usually some pop culture thing. But you know what is about to happen because of what's on the screen, the editing, the visuals, and the music cues. If a character has to tell you what he's thinking, it's because the other elements are weak and need to be strengthened. Please, please do not use voice over. It's so lazy and cheap. It's the ultimate form of telling instead of showing. I'm sure you can think of a hundred movies that use voice over effectively, but believe me, those are the exception and not the rule. For every good movie that utilizes effective voice over, there are 1000 lovely scripts that use it badly and will never get past an intern's desk. The action is pretty concise and goes for the feeling of the fight (which is good) instead of choreographing it (which would be bad). The character reactions to the fight are honestly fine. Saying that the bikers are scared of the man who took out their leader is fine because it's act-able and it gives an insight into the mood of the scene. Saying that the man who took out their leader reminded them of their mothers would be bad because that's completely internal and unable to be seen on the screen. These character reactions give emotional cues to guide the audience's emotions. Creating a scene is all about the emotional manipulation of the audience, or so thought Alfred Hitchcock. However, your VERB CHOICES leave something to be desired. 90% of the time you can find a better and more active verb than "is." Also in a screenplay people should never "begin to" or "start to" do anything. They either do it or they don't. The second you write an action is when they begin doing it. Anything else is fluff that slows the read. The action writing itself could be more punchy (pun not intended). Make me feel something with the action. Break it up more. Action scenes should be exciting to read. I actually like the line "but returning them with punishing ease," although "returns" would be a more active verb choice. It gives a sense as to how Will fights. Yes he can take these guys out, but this is how he does it. Plus it reads cool and action movies are all about the "Rule of Cool." NEVER USE THE WORD SUDDENLY: It's a word that is supposed to speed things up and imply that what is coming next will be a surprise, but in reality it just slows down the action and takes the reader out of the script for a split second. Now the reader is expecting a surprise. If something happens suddenly just put what happens down, if it is sudden the reader will get it and if it is exciting the reader will also be excited.
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Feb 17, 2015 20:28
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SkaAndScreenplays posted:BTW: GET FINAL DRAFT/SOME REPUTABLE SCREENWRITING PROGRAM. It looks like he's typing in fountain, so it should output properly when run through the right program. I just switched from Fade In to Highland, and it seems cool so far. I'm all over markdown for word processin', so I'm excited that there's an equivalent for screenplays! This was like the least useful way to introduce myself to this thread. I've been taking a screenwriting class, and I spend all my time agonizing over software instead of thinking about my script as a form of procrastination. 'Sup, everyone.
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Feb 24, 2015 21:51
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I'm actually working in Final Draft, funnily enough. I probably should have said that, up to this point in the story, Will is just a mildly dorky young adult who washed up in a small town on a Greyhound bus. Him not really coming off as a badass is deliberate, so that actually makes me happy to hear. This isn't supposed to be a major set piece (it happens within the first ten pages), it's essentially just table-setting and establishing to the audience that this doofus can wreck dudes, which is kinda why it's so short and simple.
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Feb 26, 2015 00:48
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Looking for some feedback. No comments on formatting it's from final draft to wordpress and I'm too lazy to make it right. Is this whole thing too trite? How bad does the dialogue suck? Is the premise just dumb as poo poo?
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Mar 1, 2015 04:51
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jimcunningham posted:Looking for some feedback. There's not really a lot to go on here. Are these scenes from a feature-length story? An episode? The only part I find interesting is this idea that a super hero creates super villains. Unfortunately, this idea is declared through verbal exposition (generally bad). And I have no idea if the concept is something that's been done to death in the super hero genre. I suspect it's been done. On it's own there isn't anything particularly original here; it is trite. A hero beat up by his captors. The bad guys kill the damsel in distress. Laid out on a therapist's couch, a man recounts a childhood tragedy. What are you trying to accomplish? Keep at it and keep offering stuff up for critique. It's the only way to get better.
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Mar 1, 2015 05:29
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jimcunningham posted:Looking for some feedback. Right off the bat, there's no reason to have the location as INT. DARK ROOM and open with "The room is dark." That type of thing pops up all over your writing. You should also try to be more definitive in your description. "The hero spits out some blood, possibly a tooth." Which is it? And a little more spice wouldn't hurt. "The hero spits at Sevino." The hero's bleeding from the mouth. Maybe he spits blood all over the boss' suit, ruining it. And that's the catalysis for the boss killing his girlfriend. If you're writing comic book stuff, amp that poo poo up. Premise is bland but whatever.
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Mar 1, 2015 05:44
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Thanks guys. Its actually just a weird start to a movie about a rich depressed kid, who may or may not lie constantly. Mostly just for practice.
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Mar 1, 2015 14:31
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How do you properly convey something being inaudible? Example: if there is a quiet room and the viewer sees characters talking, but I don't want them to actually hear the exchange. What's being said isn't important, only how they react to what's said. I just don't want the viewer to know what is said and infer it from the reaction. Better example: boss is talking to employee. Employee is bored and fidgets. They are the only two in the room yet the bosses dialog is silent.
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Mar 3, 2015 02:01
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You pretty much hit on it in your second sentence there, just put it in the action. BOSS is seen speaking to EMPLOYEE but we do not hear any sound from him. Employee fidgets, bored.
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Mar 3, 2015 02:06
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I have a 15 min short that I am looking for some notes on. I would be happy to trade with someone else looking for notes.
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Mar 30, 2015 19:59
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I'll read it. Just finished my development internship and am looking to keep my notes muscles active.
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Mar 30, 2015 21:10
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I am doing this short film thing, I would be so happy if anyone could give me notes on this 28-page weird thing about one man running the smallest local news affiliate and failing that is kind of funny and kind of not. http://www.mediafire.com/view/3kkt39y6kca7zch/I_am_Kyle_Lewis_and_This_is_the_Local_News.pdf
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Apr 4, 2015 22:34
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Do you want notes in the thread or emailed to you?
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Apr 5, 2015 17:22
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emailed would be better, i left my email on the title page
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Apr 5, 2015 19:19
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I'm in a screenwriting class right now at my art school and I've learned so loving much from this class. It's the second class on screenwriting I've taken, I took one previously as a summer course at a state university (boy that class was loving poo poo). But the main focus of this class is the development of two 5-20 page short screenplays. I think one of my favorite things about screenwriting is just how loving much my ideas have changed and evolved over time. The process we have been using in this class is: 1 - Develop a premise/logline. 2 - Write 3-5 pages of character back story in 2-3 characters. 3 - Write a 3-5 page treatment. 4 - Write a vomit draft. 5 - Do class workshops/rewrites. I've been adding in doing a scene outline after the treatment, but I've found that every time I go to do rewrites, I end up gutting/rewriting about half of my script dropping and adding complete plot points. Granted, these have only been about 10-12 page screenplays. I'm sure I will get better and more focused on this over time, but right now I find it amusing how my scripts end up changing so much between the treatment and the first or second rewrite. Is this normal when you're a beginner? Also, the amusing thing to me is that my wife loves reading all my writings just because she's so curious. She's a bad critic and will always say "Oh, I thought it was really good!" but the thing that makes me laugh is how she is always so shocked by how easily I'm willing to drop/change plot points.
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Apr 8, 2015 00:09
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