Story. Screenplay. Sale.
The first step for many aspiring screenwriters is to purchase a piece of pricey screenwriting software. Some call it retail therapy. You are not a screenwriter until you have made that sacrifice, until you have invested money in your career, right? I call it a waste of $250. Your first draft should be a quick … Read more
Your primary focus is on story and less on writing scenes, sharp dialogue or gripping action. Inevitably, though, once figured out your characters and their journeys, you are down to the daunting task of writing that next draft. You will be writing at the scene level, and a slightly different set of rules comes into … Read more
When I asked this student which one thing she remembered above anything else, she replied: “That you can break the rules, and get away with it.” She was not my student. In itself there’s nothing wrong with trying, but it saddens me that Heath Ledger’s last Australian film, Candy, was an example of a film … Read more
This bibliography I often include in my course notes. It contains publications that I regularly consult or quote from. Aronson, Linda: Scriptwriting Updated, Allen & Unwin Field, Syd: Screenplay, Dell Publishing Gulino, Paul: Screenwriting: The Sequence Approach, Continuum Hauge, Michael: Writing Screenplays That Sell, Harper Resource Howard, David & Edward Mabley: The Tools of Screenwriting, … Read more
The following is a basic list of terms I believe you should have an understanding of. To be a professional, it is crucial you can communicate with others to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your work. It is not enough to know and understand Syd Field’s set of phrases, as some hot shots may … Read more