How to Write a Screenplay

     Hello and happy week two ! Today I want to further explore the nature of a short film in terms of how the screenplay is written. I imagine it’ll be one of the first steps in this creative process once I figure out my narrative, and, according to my handy schedule the screenplay should be going up sometime next week so let’s get right into the lesson.

     How to write a screenplay: as explained by my Media Studies teacher, Mrs. Stoklosa (a condensed version). The first thing I wrote about was the importance of listening and observing the world around you, in order to make a successful script the conversations have to seem plausible and natural; an individual’s way of speaking has a certain flow and it is important to try and capture and emulate that in a dialogue. As far as other tips concerning dialogue we learned about the importance of giving characters their own unique voice that remains their consistent way of speaking and sets them apart from other characters just like in real life how people have specific styles of speaking. We learned to economize our words, since a short film entails limited time to get a story across the dialogue can at times become unnecessary and lengthy if not checked.

     Screenplay production was split into four main steps:

1.) BRAINSTORMING: We were told to begin with one character or major plot point and then consider a genre and how it can be developed. The most important piece of information I took away from the brainstorming step was to “WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW,” it is a million times easier to create a strong story if it engages you and you are familiar with it

2.)OUTLINE: This step is about developing the spine of the production which includes major plot points and characters.

3.)SCREENPLAY: The third step is to write the screenplay ! In this step you should focus on developing the story through dialogue and visuals. A screenplay can be thought of in three acts.

Act One:
- 2 minutes (for a short film length)
- Establishes setting
- Develop characters
- Exposition

Act Two:
- 3 minutes
- Develop a conflict
- Have the characters react to the conflict

Act Three:
- 2 minutes
- Present a resolution
- Illustrate character evolution


4.)REVISIONS: Feedback! Feedback! Feedback!

     We learned how to format the actual script.
CENTER OF PAGE:
- Dialogue
- Character names (typed in all caps)
- Character actions: only actions that are important to the scene (typed in parenthesis)
LEFT OF PAGE:
- Scene heading: setting and time of day of scene (typed in all caps)
- Action: actions that can be seen or heard. Important sound effects should be described in all caps

     Here is a short excerpt i have written in the screenplay format as practice, enjoy.




SCHOOL - 10:50 AM

Students sit in the classroom, a BELL RINGS announcing the dismissal of class, the students get up to leave the class.

STUDENT A:
Wow what a great class! I feel so knowledgeable and educated, I can’t wait to go on with the rest of my day and share my new knowledge with my friends.

(STUDENT A drops their pen from such excitement.STUDENT B picks it up)

STUDENT B:

Hey you dropped this.

STUDENT A:

Thank you so much, it's my only one.

FIN

     Additionally the article “5 Tips for Screenwriters: How to Write a Short Film” form screencraft.org provided me with a few other pieces of advice. Including but not limited to:
- Delivering visuals in the most dynamic, interesting, and important way for your given genre.
- Tell a complete story, don’t let the story feel unfinished.
- Make it more concept driven rather than plot driven to work around time restraints
- Don’t force your film to have a twist, as it could compromise the storytelling