Here’s Your Screenplay Cue!
The Bare Bones: What Is a Screenplay?
A screenplay or film script is a blueprint from which, eventually, a motion picture will be made. This blueprint is the most important element of a film—you can’t produce a film without a screenplay just as you can’t construct a skyscraper without architectural blueprints. A screenplay is what the musical score is to the symphony, what the human skeleton to is to the body. It is the bare bones and without it there would be nothing. Essentially the screenwriter provides everything—every time you write the dialogue you are the actor, every time you create the locale you are the director, every time you cut between the scenes you are the film editor. The scriptwriter provides the bare essentials, and hopefully well enough to attract other creators who will bring their special talents to the project.
The Bare Bones: What Is a Screenplay?
The Only Writing Series You’ll Ever Need Screenwriting: Insider Tips and Techniques to Write for the Silver Screen!
What is a Screenplay?
In the most basic terms, a screenplay is a 90-120 page document written in Courier 12pt font on 8.5″ x 11″ bright white three-hole punched paper. Wondering why Courier font is used? It’s a timing issue. One formatted script page in Courier font equals roughly one minute of screen time. That’s why the average page count of a screenplay should come in between 90 and 120 pages. Comedies tend to be on the shorter side (90 pages, or 1 ½ hours) while Dramas run longer (120 pages, or 2 hours).
A screenplay can be an original piece, or based on a true story or previously written piece, like a novel, stage play or newspaper article. At its heart, a screenplay is a blueprint for the film it will one day become. Professionals on the set including the producer, director, set designer and actors all translate the screenwriter’s vision using their individual talents. Since the creation of a film is ultimately a collaborative art, the screenwriter must be aware of each person’s role and as such, the script should reflect the writer’s knowledge.
For example, it’s crucial to remember that film is primarily a visual medium. As a screenwriter, you must show what’s happening in a story, rather than tell. A 2-page inner monologue may work well for a novel, but is the kiss of death in a script. The very nature of screenwriting is based on how to show a story on a screen, and pivotal moments can be conveyed through something as simple as a look on an actor’s face. Let’s take a look at what a screenplay’s structure looks like.
What is a screenplay?
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Before you start writing a screenplay, it is very important that you understand what it is and what it is not. One of the biggest misconceptions about screenplay.biz/top-screenplays/" 786 target="_blank">screenplays is that they are like plays in which the storytelling is driven by the dialogue. While good dialogue may be important in a screenplay, it is not essential. In fact, if you can cut out dialogue and express the same ideas visually, it is your duty as a screenwriter to do so. This is because a screenplay is visual storytelling more than anything else. You must always show, never tell.
To illustrate, let’s say we want to show that two characters are in love. In a play, we would have the two characters come out and talk about how much in love they are or discuss their relationship. In a screenplay, however, this would not be acceptable. Instead, we would find a way to show visually that they are in love, such as, for example, showing them cooking a meal together and laughing throughout the process or walking through the park, completely lost in each other while ignoring everything that goes on around them. In other words you should show the feelings of the characters for each other through their external actions.
Although it is important to tell your story visually, one thing you should avoid is directing on the page, since this would be insulting to the director whose job it is to realize your script as a film and understandably, does not appreciate being told how to do his job. To illustrate, let’s say you’re writing a scene in which a woman witnesses a murder in the park. An inexperienced screenwriter could write it like this:
CLOSE UP of the murderer’s hand as he plunges the knife down. Quick ZOOM IN to Sarah’s terrified face.
Instead, rewrite it to make it more visual in order to evoke the image that you want to see on the screen. For example,
The murderer brutally plunged the knife down. Sarah stared on in horror, unable to scream, her hand covering her mouth.
If you do your job correctly, then the director would visualize the scene the way you see it in your head. But even if he doesn’t you should keep in mind that film is ultimately a director’s medium. While a good screenplay is important to the success of a movie, it is not essential. A talented director can still make a good movie even from an inferior screenplay.
If it is absolutely necessary to have a dialogue-heavy scene, for example, to provide exposition, you should still strive to make it dynamic rather than static. For example, if there is a character that has to explain how something works, you can add some visual interest to the scene by, for example, using a display screen to display some of the information. Or you can turn it into a dialogue scene in which instead of the character simply explaining, he is interrupted by other characters asking questions or contradicting him. Or you can stage the scene by having the character walking through the campus while the students follow him around.
How to Write A Screenplay: Screenwriting Made Easy