Story. Screenplay. Sale.
Improve your format & style and get ready to write ‘FADE IN’.
Here’s a scene from a script by our good friend Pat who participated in almost every study on our blog. When I posted Write the Shots, Pat shared a scene from her script and I just loved it. This captures exactly what we mean by writing the shots. Good job, Pat. INT. CELLAR -- NIGHT It’s … Read more
Here’s a scene taken from the completely visual screenplay written by a longtime friend, Bob Thielke. This writer found himself so inspired by Jennifer van Sijll’s book Cinematic Storytelling that he wrote for himself a nearly dialogue-free screenplay. The result is a creative exercise, just to practice the art of telling a story through visuals. The … Read more
Here’s a sequence from Robert Towne’s Chinatown, a script that really deserves no introduction. This is my favorite sequence in this script in terms of screenwriting techniques. Reading this for the first time was such a revelation to me. by Mystery Man I love the way Towne uses Secondary Headings to cut back and forth … Read more
First, the opening scene from Hampton Fancher’s Blade Runner. He never used “we see” or camera angles, but his writing clearly implies with a Secondary Heading “THE EYE” that the scene opens with an extreme CU of an eye, which is essential to the story. His descriptions help visualize (without taking you out of the … Read more
Below is yet another example of narrative paintings. This one by Wes Christensen and titled “John’s Dilemma.” As strange as I know this will sound, the painting above brings to mind two films: The Conversation and Raging Bull. THE CONVERSATION Notice all of the straight, rigid lines – the walls, the shelves, the books, the television, and even … Read more