Scriptwriting: The Writers Room Masterclass

1. Intro: Hey everyone, I am Crystal joy and welcome to part two of my creative muse workshop. If you have not already watched part one, Then I would highly suggest you stop this video. Go back and watch that course to bring you up to speed. By using the materials from part one of this course, I am going to help you write your first short film by giving you tools on how to structure a short form script. Resources on how to become a better writer and ways to access your creativity. 2. What is a short film: So what is a short film? According to the Academy of Motion Pictures, a short film is 40 minutes or less. So what is the purpose of making a short film? Short films are a prelude to feature films, and it's a great way to build your portfolio. Show people what you can accomplish as a writer, director, or actress. Short films don't typically make any money, but it's common that they are entered and film festivals. This helps with exposure for the cast and crew, networking with other filmmakers and producers, getting other opportunities to share your work, building new professional friendships, and sharing your film in front of a larger audience. So what can your short film about? It can be literally about anything you want. It's your story, your voice in a window to your perspective. It's your world. So you have the freedom to shape it. Anyway, you'd like, like Amy feature film, a short film has a protagonist and an antagonist. A protagonist is the hero and the antagonist is the villain. Heroes and villains aren't just people. You're antagonists can be the time, the weather, environment, the government, even a flat tire. The antagonist stops at nothing to keep your protagonist from achieving their goal. It can be very easy to want to protect your protagonist. But there always has to be tension. If there's no tension, there is no story. 3. Format slugline: A slug line, also known as a subheading, is a short descriptive line. All locations require this. You cannot go into a new scene without it. A new slug line is needed. Every time you change locations, you will be using a lot of these. Interior, abbreviated for interior means inside. Exterior, abbreviated for Exterior means outside location. Keep these short. For example, interior bathroom. There will be room to describe the location under the slug line. Time. Just use day or night unless it's an important detail to the story. Example, interior bathroom day. Example number two, interior or exterior car de Carr scenes are a little bit different because they're inside, yet outside. You always have to put interior slash exterior. An action block is where you will fill in details about your location and what your characters are doing right now. Example number one, Murray is chewing her food slowly. Marie choose her food slowly. As you can see, the green checkmark is the correct way to write an action block sentence. Don't describe every little detail unless it is necessary to the plot. You don't need to talk about the style of the room or furniture that's in there. Unless it is vital to your story. If there's a weapon on the wall that your character will be using, then yes, it needs to be described. It is necessary to establish the settings and environment that character is in. But keep your descriptions brief. Never use we see or we realize your script isn't being written from a bird's eye view. Just say what it is presently. Example number one, interior motel day. Samantha opens the door to a grungy motel. She covers her nose. A stench hangs in the air, unimpressed. She places her gun on the side table. Example number two, we see Frank looking at his car. His tire has gone flat. Frank stares at his car. The tire is flat. I'll let you decide which is the correct scene description. 4. Character: No matter how short your story is, your character always has to have a want. There needs to be an obstacle that gets in their way, or they believe is getting in their way. What does your character believe about their problem that holds them back in life? What does your character want and what belief does that character hold that stops he or she from getting their desires. Characters want plus external obstacles equals beliefs. This becomes the conflict. Understand this. There must always be tension. This is created by characters that want different things or have opposing views. If you don't have tension, you don't have a story. Establish their beliefs by establishing your character's world. This could happen in the very first minute of your film or less. Don't think that just because this is a short film that this can be bypassed. What does their apartment look like? Is their card junky? Is their desk neat and tidy? How do they walk? Talk? There needs to be something that establishes the environment your character lives in. Remember the environment exercise and part one of this class where I asked you to describe your surroundings. That exercise would pertain to this very point. Show don't tell. You, don't have to have pages of descriptions. But if someone else would have read your script, they should be able to visualize your film. Don't skip out on writing brief details on the people and places the story takes place in. Describe your environment and the people that are in it. 5. Dialouge: You must uppercase character names the first time they appear, lowercase all times after that. This goes for functional names such as police officer or driver. Keep character names consistent. Your characters may call each other nicknames, but as the rider, use one or the other and stick with it. Identify your character when introducing them with brief descriptions. Examples, Dean Perry, era, 30 years old, hefty slaves and a lazy boy. Lose 30. Pure primal ID. If there's music, it's in his head. Disconnected. Pharaoh, driven by dollar signs and a dream of some imagined Eden. When you introduce a character, briefly describe their type and function. When it comes to physical characteristics, you don't have to be overly specific. Keep it simple. When it comes to age. Use brackets, teens, middle age, young adult, or 40s, 50s, etc. Your characters should have different personalities. They shouldn't sound the same because your scripts will be redundant with characters that have no tension between them. You might have one character that is aggressive and uptight, but the other is laid back and relaxed. Let there be a range. If you introduce a new character, they shouldn't reveal something new about your main character. Don't have them there just because what is their purpose? What do they add to the story? What information are they revealing? Write dialogue, how you want your characters to speak. Characters should sound like everyday people. So if they use slang, speak between two different languages. That's how it needs to be written. People do not always say how they feel. Think about how you are in your everyday relationships. We don't speak our innermost thoughts all the time. If it helps, the next time you go out, drop-in, listen to other people's conversations. Listen to how they cut each other off, finish each other's sentences, or hesitate. Doing this will help right? Authentic dialogue. Also, a character's inner thoughts should be in their actions. Remember what I said earlier, show, don't tell. Your character should do the opposite of what they are thinking or feeling. Your character might want to punch someone in the face, but instead, he or she flashes a smile. This makes some pretty realistic. Dialogue should show off a character's personality. Have an organic flow. Reveal things about your characters. Make them human. 6. Concept plot: When it comes to your concepts, this is the most important aspects of your project. Find a plot that works quickly. A plot, also known as the storyline, is a series of events that make up the main part of your story. Simply put, what is your story about? When it comes to this? Be sure to focus on one thing. Don't try to cram several different concepts because remember, this is a short film. You only have so much time to get to your resolution. So keep it simple. It is very obvious when a story has no plot because the writing goes in several different directions and you will lose your audience by doing this. Find the single moment, and stick with it. Think back to the exercise we did in part one where I asked you to write about a recent situation that took your power away. And you wrote out the timeline of events that exercise would pertain to this point. The pacing to your plot is incredibly important. When you have a plot, there is an order your film goes in. But when you are too focused on multiple concepts, the pacing of your writing is off. This is why it is important to stick to one idea. 7. Developing Your Concept: When it comes to finding topics to write about in your scripts focused on subjects that bring you the most emotion, the most painful, most upsetting, the most sad. Why? Because there'll be more motivated to write and finish a script you're passionate about versus something that makes you feel a lukewarm. You can not be bored writing your scripts. I've said this several times. If you are bored writing it, your audience will be bored watching it. You might be scared at first because maybe you feel like you're exposing yourself. But you'll be creating a relatable plot with relatable characters. Really think over your life in the past few years. I'm sure you can think of something. Once you do that alone will hopefully give you the pool. So start writing your script. 8. Conflict ensemble: No matter how short your story is, your character always has to have a want. There needs to be an obstacle that gets in their way, or they believe is getting in their way. What does your character believe about their problem that holds them back in life? What does your character want and what belief does that character hold that stops he or she from getting their desires. Characters want plus external obstacles equals beliefs. This becomes the conflict. Understand this. There must always be tension. This is created by characters that want different things or have opposing views. If there's no tension, there's no story. Establish their beliefs by establishing your character's world. This could happen in the very first minute of your film or less. Don't think that just because this is a short film that this can be bypassed. What does their apartment look like? Is their card junky? Is their desk neat and tidy? How do they walk? Talk? There needs to be something that establishes the environment your character lives in. Remember the environment exercise and part one of this class where I asked you to describe your surroundings. That exercise would pertain to this very point. You don't have to have pages of descriptions, but if someone else would have read your script, they should be able to visualize your film. Don't skip out on writing brief details on the people and places the story takes place in. Describe your environment and the people that are in it. 9. Plot Diagram: Every story has an arc. See your plot as a roller coaster. This arc applies to feature films and TV shows as well. It's good to remember when you need a guide. We start off with our exposition, the details, the beginning of the story where the character's role is introduced. You want to introduce to your audience the details of what your characters everyday world looks like. This happens in the first few minutes of the script. The critical moment, also known as the rising action, is where the character encounters a series of conflicts. For your script, your character will face they're single issue that will drive your story to its next point, which is the climax or the most exciting part of the plot happens because it is where the tension and conflict is created. It moves your story forward and is the major turning point where a very significant change occurs that forces your character to make a decision which leads to the falling action. This is where the tension shrinks and your characters, Given a little breathing room to loosen up and unwind after any emotional and poignant scene. This is also the part that leads to the end of the story where your plot and all other loose ends come together to bring you your resolution, where your story concludes, how you end your story is up to you. But this is normally where you learn what happens to your characters after the tension has weekend and the conflict is resolved. 10. Outlining: Every writer approaches the writing process differently. The method of outlining has been useful for me. But find a process that works best for you. As you write. Understand that your outline isn't the way things absolutely have to go. Don't be married to just one idea, right? With abandonment and be flexible as if no one will read it. Allow your story and characters to speak to you and let the story flow. It's really easy to get stuck in the outlining or first draft phase because you think it needs to be perfect. It doesn't, your script won't really take shape until your second or third draft. Write the story from beginning to end. Once it's done, then you can go back and tweak it. And some of those scenes might even get deleted. So don't change anything until you're on draft two. You should be writing every single day. You will see no progress in your craft. If you don't stick to a schedule, maybe you can't write every day, but you can write every weekend. Regardless, you need to do it. Get an accountability partner. This will help you keep your commitments of finishing your script. But you can also bounce ideas off this person. Good feedback, and just all around support to help you stay motivated in your writing, your story. 11. Outline Example: Earlier in the plot diagram, I talked about the structure you should have for your concept. Understand that next to your plot diagram are your X. The way I like to write my outlines are very simple and straight to the point. I'm going to show you how I write my outlines. But understand you can create your outlines any way you choose. But this is just my way. When it comes down to your outlining. Only write the beats, which means the actions that happen in the script. You fill in the details and flesh out the plot more when you start writing the actual script. If you did part one of this course, be outlining should be easy because you already have something written out. All you have to do is write out the major points of your story and your outline. Act one is the beginning of your script where your character's world is introduced. This is similar to the details portion on the plot diagram. Depending on the length of the short film, how long this takes can vary. But in this portion, you want to introduce your protagonist and their environment right away. Act two is the middle of your story and we'll take up most of your film. This is your rising action climax and even some of your falling action. It's also where your protagonist is, goal is introduced. Act three is the ending, which will take up the rest of your falling action and all of your resolution. This act is also considered to pay off where the protagonist achieves the goal. Here's an example of an outline. It's a simple story about Henry and his in-migration for his coworker, Alex. Pause this video and read act one through three. This is how I like to write out the beats and my script before writing your first draft. Writing up the key actions in your script beforehand will make your process a lot easier. 12. Let's bring this all together: Interior bathroom day, the bathroom heat or whistles and the bathtub faucet drips. The sink is covered and bronze are dressed. Makeup brushes, hair Joe and lipstick, Face towels and tanktops hanging from the shower pole. The bathroom has a bit of a mess, but not disgusting. And abroad and panties, Kendra, 29 braids as mascara to her eyelashes. Her phone rings. Hello. Okay. That I'll be outside waiting for you. Did you get my text message? Okay, cool. Alright. See you soon. Bye. Kendra dabs lip gloss on her lips. She rubs her lips together. Pleased with what she sees. She admires her face, her body, her hair, She's feeling herself. Kendra exits the bathroom. We start off with our subheading, which lets readers know exactly where the scene is taking place and time of day. As you can see, I establish the character's environment by describing the bathroom and it's setting. These details add personality to the character's world and provides a visual for audiences. The name of the character is introduced in all caps, followed by her age with a very vague description of herself and what she's wearing. This script is set in modern day times. So Kendra talks like an everyday person. If your script is a period piece, meaning it's a Western or sediment, 30s, 40s, etc. Makes sure you understand how the people spoke in those times. So you can write dialogue that mattress, that time frame. As you can see, this action block describes what the character is doing right now. This was from my short film, the world chronicles. Hello. Oh, okay, cool. I'll be outside waiting for you. Did you get my text message? Okay, cool. Alright. Alright. Interior living room, night, Bradley and Paula. And to the living room, you're never on beat. Then why was everybody trying to steal my moves? Rarely takes off his jacket and tosses it on the arm of the couch, shoes in hand. Paula places her heels next to the table and plops on the couch. She takes off her earrings. No one tried stealing your moves. They just laughed and mocked you. Bradley lights the candles on the table. Don't be jealous. We'll call it honest. Paula removes her bracelet. You know how lucky you are. We start off with our slug line, which describes where the scene takes place in the time of day. Because these two characters aren't being introduced for the first time. Their names are lowercase. This is just the regular conversation between two characters. And as you can see, it's written as if it's happening right now. This was from my short film, behind the silence. Worry about all of that. Why don't we never own? Then? Why was everybody trying to steal my dance moves? I steal your dance moves. It just laughed about you. Don't be jealous. We'll call it honest. Know how lucky you are in Miami. 13. Conclusion: What's helped me stay sharp as a writer is educating myself and remaining a student. Watch masterclasses and breakdowns of scripts on YouTube. Stay open to learning and continue the process of sharpening your tools. Go to workshops and enroll in classes. You can use your teacher as a resource to read your scripts, as well as your fellow students. You never know who you can be sitting next to or where your next opportunity can come from. Another way that helped me become a better writer was the fact that I read other scripts. I paid attention to how established writers use their words to show versus tell, their format. And the pacing. Reading other scripts helps you become a better writer. Make it a goal to attend events where there'll be other filmmakers in the room. Join collectives. If you are a producer, join a writers group. If you're an actress, join a director's group. You get the point, but get connected with other creatives, expand your network and who you know. Because filmmaking is all about community, who you have access to and relationships. Be a consumer of all art, photography, music, theater, museums. It all helps with the creative process. Don't discriminate against anything that can help with the flow of ideas. Be open, stay flexible, and remain inspired by all that is surrounding you. It's always beneficial to watch films. Recognize how other foreign filmmakers tell stories and relationship to their country, customs, and culture. This promotes understanding as an audience member and helps you to recognize the humanity and other people on the other side of the globe. I cannot stress this enough, but make sure you register your work with the copyright office and register it with the Writers Guild. This is incredibly important, especially if you're sending your scripts out to people. You did all the work to write it. Make sure you do the work to protect it, to. Thank you so much for participating in this two-part workshop. I hope you got something out of it. Keep writing, keep creating, and stay inspired.