Transcripts
1. Write Your 1st Movie intro with website resources: G. Hey. I'm Jordan the Mila, an accomplished
screenwriter with over 25 produced credits, and I've sold
several screenplays. I've been writing movies
for over 15 years, and I lived in the middle of Hollywood for most of that time. I learned a lot in my
screenwriting career and have applied that knowledge
and experience to this course to make
the process of writing and selling new screenplay
easier for others. This course will cover the three structure needed
for every screenplay, and we'll break down what
would happen in each check. Each lesson will help you plot and move your
story forward. Throughout the course,
I'll use examples from critically acclaimed and
commercially successful movies. Now, let's dive right in
and start screenwriting. For free student resources
that correlate to this course. Visit my website at
www Jordan emola.com. There you can also
find my ebooks, podcasts, script coverage
services, and a whole lot more. My website offers one on one writing sessions and
group courses over Zoom. Can teach you to write
your first movie, TV show, or how to write and produce
your series or film. I have clients who work
nine to five jobs, and have had ideas for movies
or TV shows for years, but they just haven't taken the action to put their
ideas into a script. And I can guide you on how to do that and make sure
you finish it. You can find more
information on my website at www Jordan emola.com.
2. Writing Your 1st Movie: Hey, I'm joining them viola and accomplished screenwriter with
over 25 for these credits. And I've sold
example screenplays. I've been reading movies
for over 15 years. I lived in the middle of
Hollywood for most of that time. I learned a lot and my
screenwriting career. And I've applied
that knowledge and experience to this course to make the process of
writing and selling the screenplay
easier for others. This course will cover the
three-act structure needed for every screenplay and will break down what should
happen in the chat. Each lesson will help you plot and move the story forward. Throughout the course,
I'll use examples from critically acclaimed and
commercially successful movies. Now, let's dive right in
and start screenwriting
3. Act 1 - Opening and Advice: From the start of your story, you want to hook in the
reader and introduce your protagonist or
your antagonist. Before we start, let's go over
some writing terminology. Protagonist. The protagonist is the
hero of your story. It's your main character. And the person who
we're rooting for. The antagonist is the villain, the entity that's
fighting against two hero and causing
them a lot of problems. I want to cover a few more terms that I think will help break it down even more and make it
easier for you to write beat. A beat is a moment or
action by a character. For actors, when
they read a script, beats help them determine how
to act in a given moment. A group of beats
is called a scene. And usually a scene takes
place in one location. When your character moves
to a different location, it becomes a different scene. Your very first scene should
set the tone for the rest of the story and pique the
interest of your audience. The first scene of jaws is
the first shark attack. Even though we don't
see the shark, we are being introduced to
the antagonist right away. The first Harry Potter book, harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Voldemort is defeated. The baby who survives
the attack is dropped off at the Dursleys
house by Dumbledore. The best superhero films have
excellent opening scenes. And the first 4 min of Iron Man, Tony Stark is having fun and an army truck drinking and
taking photos with soldiers. When boom, the army
truck in front of him gets blown up and
they are under attack. Then Tony Stark gets kidnapped. That's the start of an excellent foreseen and great story. Another great superheroes
scene is from the first X-Men. When we see magneto as a little kid bending
metal to try and get back to his
parents when they are taken away from him in
a concentration camp. The opening makes us feel for the antagonists
of the movie. And this scene was so good. They did the scene again, an X-Men first-class,
The Dark Knight. And the first scene, we are
introduced to the Joker. We are hooked by a six-minute
bank robbery scene. Whatever your genre, you
want to set the tone. If you're writing a comedy, you want to make your audience
laugh from the very start. One great comedy opening is from National Lampoon's
Vacation from 1983, written by John Hughes. This is the first of
several vacation movies. We are introduced to Clark
Griswold and his son Rusty, for the first time when a Clark tries to trade in his
car for a sports car. But by the end of the scene, the car dealership has
crushed his old car, and Eugene levy
convinces Clark to buy a new model of the same
car, they just crushed. This first scene sets the tone
for the rest of the film. If you're new to screenwriting,
don't be intimidated. It's super easy
nowadays to write a script as long as you have
an internet connection, script software is
super easy to find. There's a ton of free script
writing software out there. My screen reading software
of choice is right, or do they have an online
version and a desktop app? I like the online
version because it automatically saves
as you write. I don't have to
worry about saving. But if you think
being online will distract you from writing it, then use the desktop app. You can write your first
three projects for free at Ryder, do at.com. Pretty much all script
writing software uses the same keyboard strokes
to move things around. Press the Enter key to change between action,
dialogue and character. If you're new to script writing
software, just dive in. It's not that hard
to figure out. And you can find tutorial
videos on YouTube. Usually, you'll
be able to master the basics after riding
with it for five-minutes. Here are a few
things you should do today to help build inspiration. Give every character
a name today, write down all the names, your main characters,
and start to think about their wants and
their goals in your story. It's important to give your
characters names as soon as possible because it helps build and remember the
characters in your brain. Saying a story about
a dude is very general and a dude can
be literally anyone. But if you use names like
Alex or marvin or Zoe, this helps you build
a character more in your head and it will
help draw inspiration. Use names with
different initials. Try to avoid names with
the same first initial. It'll be easier for your
brain to remember them right now and not to get
them mixed up. Instead of naming
character is like Dana, Diana and Denise. Try to have Lana,
Diana, and Shirley. Nothing is permanent. If you want to change the
name of the characters later, That's an easy fix. Watch a movie or movies
similar in tone to yours. Today, watch a movie,
or if you have time, watch several movies
that are similar in tone and jhana to
the one you're writing. If you're writing an
action buddy comedy, than watch critically acclaimed and
commercially successful buddy action comedies
like rush hour, the heat or 21 Jump Street. If you're writing a
movie about hockey, than watch the money
ducts, snapshot or Goon. If you're reading an
animated road trip movie, then watched Ice
Age Finding Nemo or the Mitchell's
versus the machines. Before moving on, jot down
some ideas for an opening that introduces your hero or villain and sets the
tone for your story.
4. Act 1 - Inciting Incident + Hero's Hesitation: After you set up your story, your main character will
experience an inciting incident. This is the thing
that will forever change their lives and
push her story forward. The Hunger Games, we learn
one boy and one girl from each district are selected by an annual lottery to participate
in the Hunger Games. Were they must
fight to the death. Cat and a sister is
selected for this, but keratinous decides to
take her place instead. And Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer's Stone, mysterious letters
start coming to the house that Harry is
not allowed to open. Then Haggard comes to
the house and informs Harry that he's a
wizard and home alone. A storm causes all of electricity to go out
at McAllister house. And the whole family is
running late to the airport. They leave the house and forget the Kevin is still in the attic. Kevin's mom doesn't
realize he's not with them until they are
on the plane to Paris. In most origin superhero movies, the inciting incident will be the thing that will give them their powers or make them use their powers
to save the world. In Spider-Man, Peter Parker gets bitten by a radioactive
spider. And Dr. Strange, Stephen is a
neurosurgeon who gets into a car accident that
will prevent him from using his hands and
operating everywhere. Again, Wonder Woman,
Steve, Trevor, crashes in the water
of the mascara, aka Paradise Island, and Diana dives into
the water to save him. This will forever change her world for the
rest of her life. Your main character doesn't
necessarily know that the inciting incident will rock the world and push them
in a new direction. And the Goon is, the setup is about a group of
friends who have to move away from
each other when they find a treasure map in an attic, the treasure map will
push them into adventure. After the inciting incident, the hero will often
hesitate to accept change. Change is necessary for life, but that doesn't
mean people like it. Your hero maybe latching
onto their old world, even though it's best for
them to enter a new world. In Toy Story, what he doesn't like buzz and wants
him to go away. They don't become friends
until much later in the movie. In the mask, the inciting
incident is when Jim Carey's car breaks down
and he finds the mask. He almost puts the
mask on right away, but hesitates when
the cops bottom. It's not until he's back in
his apartment is when he puts a mask on in Wonder Woman, we find out what's going
on outside of the island. Steve, Trevor is wrapped
in the lasso of truth and talks about the
circumstances of World War II. This triggers Diana to
want to leave the island for the first time
and save the world. But Diana's mom doesn't
want her to leave. And this will bring
us into act two. When the hero
enters a new world, write down some ideas for
the inciting incident. What's that thing that will forever change your
main character's life? And then think about how they
might hesitate to change
5. Act 1 - Setting Up Your Story: After an entertaining opening, you want to set up
your main characters. Think about their wants, their problems in the
world they live in now before it all changes. In Harry Potter and
the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry has a terrible
life with the Dursleys, who taught him and
treat them so unkindly. He lives in a cupboard
under the stairs and has no idea of what's about
to come in Home Alone. Kevin wants to get
away from his family. The first 10 min, we see him in constant
conflict with them. Kevin tells his mom, everyone in this
family hates me. His mom replies, then maybe you should ask Santa
for a new family. He replies, I don't
want a new family. I don't want any family. Family suck. I hope I never see
you jerks again. And he wishes they
would disappear. Setting up how how soon get his wish and he'll
be home alone. As much as you can
find ways to show. Don't tell. If you ever write
a character saying something the audience
needs to know. See if you can find
a way to show it. This is called show. Don't tell. What's the second
scene of Iron Man. We're told of Tony
Stark's history, but it's also shown to us with pictures and magazine covers. We find out Tony's dad was a tightened and
the weapons industry. And Tony is a genius, but it's presented very
quickly at an award ceremony. And we have already
been introduced to Tony Stark through an
excellent opening scene. In general, a good
guideline when setting up your story is you want to meet all your main characters
who afford the story. The first 10 min of
meet the parents. We meet Greg, his girlfriend
Pam, and her parents, Jack and Dina will meet the
rest of pants family later. But for now, we know the
foremost important characters, Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, are the most essential
to the story. You want to give each character a strong introduction and make them distinct
and interesting. Make sure your characters have a specific attitude and
no one sounds the same. If they do sound similar right
now, for your first draft, it's okay because this is something you can
fix in later drafts. Don't make it too
hard on yourself. The most important
thing right now is to keep moving forward
with your story. To help you develop your
characters and set them up. I've added a character
questionnaire that will help you discover your
characters. Even more. Brainstorm and write down
all your main characters. And what is their
life like right now before it all changes? Also, think about their
wants and their problems.
6. Act 2 - Embrace Change: At two starts, when you hear it, Let's go their old ways
and there are Old World and they decide to take
action and embrace change. Many times, e2 will be the start of a brand new
world for your protagonist. And the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy
is not in Kansas anymore. Everything in Act One was back home in Kansas and not in color. But now enact to Dorothy
wakes up and a brand new world filled with color and new characters and wonder woman, Diana leaves her home for the first time and is now on
a new adventure with Steve. In act two of the Hunger Games, keratinous leaves her home
and district 12 and enters the capital Xi now prepares to fight and will enter
the Hunger Games. In act two of Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer's Stone, hairy leaves the
Dursleys family home and enters the wizarding world. Your hero doesn't need to
leave their world physically, but they need to have
a new way of thinking. They will meet new
characters and build new relationships to keep
the story moving forward. Think about their goals. And if they had one goal and X1, they might have
more goals and act to with embracing change
and meeting new characters. Act to also brings in B stories, which is another subplot. Many times, but not always. Abby's story is a love story. In Wonder Woman, Diana
and Steve flirt a little bit as they set sail over
the ocean and bridesmaids. And he gets pulled over by Officer roads and meets
him for the first time. In Spider-Man. Peter Parker
is in love with mary jane, and mary jane falls in
love with Spiderman. Your BI story does not
have to be a love story, but it usually involves
another character and gives us a break
from the story. You can also have more
than a bee story too. If you have several characters, you can have a c story, a D story, ie story, etc. But make sure you're, a
story doesn't get lost. Keep the, a story focused. And The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy's a story and goal is to get home, but actually meets
the scarecrow, the Tin Man and the
car or the lion. They get their own goals
which become the Beast story, story and D story. The Scarecrow is goal
is to get a brain. The tin man wants a heart, and the cowardly
lion wants courage. Think about your heroes
New World and how are they changing externally
and internally. Also write down their goals and brainstorm some
possible be stories
7. Act 2 - Entertainment Explosion: Once your trail has embrace
change and entered act to think about all the ways you can entertain your audience. These are the pages
that are the most fun. And whatever your genre is, you want to showcase your
genre in these pages. If you're writing a comedy, pump up the funny in these
pages in bridesmaids, the most memorable scenes
happen in this section, like when Maya Rudolph and
the other bridesmaids have to go to the bathroom and
they can't hold it. So Maya Rudolph has
to go number two and a designer dress in
the middle of the street. If you're writing a horror, the antagonist will
probably start killing or haunting characters. If you're writing an adventure, then launch your hero
into the adventure. In Harry Potter, all of
these magical things are happening is Harry
enters Hogwarts. And we're showing all
the awesome things that wizards can
do in this world, gets super creative
in these pages. You do want to push
her story forward, but you also want to
entertain the audience. This is the section
where we also get the most quotable lines and
moments and meet the parents. Everything Greg tries to do
to impress pans parents just goes wrong and backfires
on him. During dinner. Greg is caught in
a lie and he talks about how he used to
milk his sister's cat. Greg says, you can milk
anything with nipples. And Jack replies to
Greg, I have nipples. Greg, can you milk me? These pages are always
fun for the audience, but they might not be
fun for your hero. We laugh at Greg and
meet the parents, but he's not
laughing at himself. He just wants
things to go right? In these pages. Keep the
promise of the premise. In the Hunger Games, the premise is about kids who
kill each other. And this is where the
kids start killing each other and warm bodies. The promise of the
premise makes a story different than every
other zombie story. And the premise is a love story between
a zombie and a human. And this is the section
where we see are the zombie start to fall
in love with Julie, the human, for the
first half of Act to brainstorm several entertaining
moments and have fun.
8. SkillShare Superpeer Coaching Promo: Hey, if you're interested in one on one coaching sessions, I'd love to help you during your creative process to make sure your project gets finished. You're interested, you
can book a session on SkillShare using their
new Super purer feature. To book a coaching session, just click on my SkillShare
profile and click Book Now. These coaching
sessions can be weekly or bi weekly,
whichever you prefer. I offer coaching sessions on
writing movies, TV shows, web series, producing
your own film or series, and much more. I can coach you once a week or every two weeks to
make sure you stay on track and create the
accountability you need to finish your
story and project. Contact me to book your
first session now. Thank you, and now back to your regularly
scheduled course. H.
9. Act 2 - Midpoint: After delivering
on the promise of the premise about halfway
through your story, your hero, Wade, the midpoint, and this is a major
turning point. Think about what's
the major thing that happens halfway through your story that could shock your main characters
and elevate the story. In Jurassic Park. The mid point is when the
Tyrannosaurus Rex escapes the gates and attacks are heroes thought
the park was safe, but now it's definitely
not safe anymore. And the godfather, the midpoint is when the godfathers
oldest son, sunny, shot and killed. Sonny was next in line to be the next godfather of the
family, but not anymore. Now it falls to the youngest
son and protagonist Michael. This moment marks a total shift in Michael's involvement
with the family business. When the story started. Michael had nothing to do
with the family business. But now he's next in line
to be the godfather. In psycho, the midpoint is the famous shower scene when Norman Bates kills the hero
that we were following. The movie takes complete turn. After our first
protagonist is dead, a similar beat
happens in Gone Girl. In the first half of the movie. The girl has gone, but now she comes back and
the story changes. We all thought her husband
might have killed her, but that can't be the case now, if she's alive, spend time on figuring out
what your midpoint is. If you're having trouble, think what is the biggest
thing that can happen here? What is the one thing that
creates the most conflict?
10. Act 2 - Amp Up The Stakes: From your mid point to
the end of Act two, you want to raise the stakes
and increase the conflict. Amp up the stakes. You want to raise the stakes and conflict even more as they say, Let the **** hit the fan. In psycho, Norman Bates
is winning as his lies, let him get away with murder. In alien. The alien keeps
growing more and more. It kills crew
members one-by-one, including the
captain of the ship. The more people the alien kills, the bigger the alien gets. The crew tries to go after
the alien, but nothing works. The alien is getting
more and more powerful. Keep thinking about how
the antagonists can win. Interior hero has reached
their lowest point possible. This is called the
all is lost moment. An alien, it's when Ellen Ripley has no
one else to help her. She's all alone in the ship, just her and the
alien in bridesmaids. And he has fired from
the jewelry store and it's kicked out of her
apartment by her roommates. She then throws a tantrum
and Lillian's bridal shower, Lillian than kicks Annie out of the shower and the wedding. Annie is no longer
the maid of honor. Making this the all is lost. During the first
half of your story. You're introducing
characters, but now you may be
losing characters. Often in all is lost moments. Characters close to your hero
will die in Happy Gilmore. Happy his mentor
Charles Peterson dies after seeing the alligator
that took his hand away. In the Hunger Games,
ketogenesis friend and companion Ru gets killed
off. And Star Wars. Luke loses Obi-Wan Kenobi. Towards the end of Act two, relationships may be ending and family and friends
maybe killed off. All the plans your hero is
made may fail epically. These pages, think about how to make your
protagonist lose at the end of act to your hero should be worse off than
one. The story started
11. Act 3 - The Comeback: After the all is lost moment, your hero has been beaten down, but they are still alive. And where there's a
will, there's a way. It often helps to think about these pages as the comeback. Give your character hope, and prepare for the finale, your team will assemble
and work together here. The Incredibles bile that helps the family escaped
from syndromes layer. And they decide
to fight syndrome together for the first
time as a family. Before this, Mr. Incredible was working
alone and hiding it from his family,
but not anymore. Now, everyone is a part of it. An alien, Ripley decides to
self-destruct this spaceship. There's no way she's letting
the alien get to earth. She'll fly out and escape pod. The alien blow up
in the spaceship behind her. In the matrix. The comeback is when Neo and Trinity go and save Morpheus. Sometimes your hero
would join forces with someone else they didn't
get along with before. So they can take down a
common enemy, a warm bodies. The zombies and humans joined forces to take down the bones. In Independence Day, it looks
like the world is over. The aliens are going
to destroy Earth. But one little comment made by Jeff Goldblum is father
makes Jeff go bloom. Think of an idea that
could save the world. In these pages, you
want to give you here a small glimpse of hope after they experience
they're all is lost moment
12. Act 3 - The Big Event: This is the section
where your pin, your protagonist and antagonist against each other
for the final fight. Focus on the big event or mission that your
heroes must win. In Happy Gilmore is
the PGA championship. Pretty much in any sports movie. This is the championship or the biggest game the
team has to win. And Wonder Woman, It's Diana versus Aries,
the god of war. The entire movie has
led to this epic fight between good and
evil in whiplash. And he does that in
front of everyone. In alien. Ripley thought she was safe and
they escape pod. But she finds out
the alien is there to blowing up the spaceship,
didn't accomplish anything. Now, she has to get the
alien out of the escape pod. In Independence Day. After our heroes learn how to break the barriers of the UFO, it's an all-out battle between aliens and all of humankind. Even the President of the
United States goes into battle. If you're a big event
has already started, this is where your hero will
fight the best of the best. In the Hunger Games. After row is killed, there's only six
players laughing and they all die one-by-one. The very end, It's
only tetanus and peta. The capital tries to kill them both by changing the rules and releasing large amounts that are created by the capital to
use against the rebels. When Cantonese and PDA
refused to kill each other. And instead planet
double suicide by eating poisonous berries. This force is the
capital to concede. And they announced
that they have both won the games, right? And brainstorm your big
event and think about some twists and turns that could occur during your big event.
13. Act 3 - Wrap It Up: After your big event and
the big bad is destroyed, it's time to wrap up
all your storylines. If you have any be storylines tried to wrap this up as well. If you're obese story
was a love story, either give your main characters a happy ending or
not so happy ending. In The Godfather, we see the complete story
arc of Michael. He went from the person who
didn't want to be involved in the family business to now officially becoming
the new Godfather. In psycho, Norman Bates is finally found
out for who he is. Star Wars, a New Hope. All the main characters
are given metals and the galaxy is safe for now
until The Empire Strikes Back. It often helps if you're ending, can circle back to your opening. In Happy Gilmore. We started the grandma's house, and we end at my
grandma's house. And the Wizard of Oz,
Dorothy started in Kansas and now she's apparently
back home in Kansas. Eight mile starts with a rap battle and ends
with a rap battle. But we see how much
rabbit has changed. In the beginning,
he froze on stage, but in the end, it makes the
other guy freeze on stage. After you write and wrap
up your storylines, it's time to rewrite and then
get your story out there.
14. Thank You + Summer Course Promo: Thank you so much for watching this course. I really
appreciate it. If you're interested in one
on one coaching sessions, I'd love to help you during your creative process to make sure your project gets finished. These sessions are
$45 for 45 minutes. If you're interested,
you can e mail me at Jordan period
emola@gmail.com. These coaching sessions can be weekly or bi weekly,
whichever you prefer. I offer coaching sessions on
writing movies, TV shows, web series, producing
your own film or series, and much more. I can coach you over Zoom once
a week or every two weeks, to make sure you stay
on track and create the accountability you need to finish your
story and project. Contact me to book your
first session now. Also, this summer, I'm hosting a summer screenplay course
where I'll be teaching students how to write
a movie in one season. I've spent many summers over the past 17 years writing
summer screenplays, where I write the
first draft of a movie during the summer season
where I am in America. Starting June 20
to September 19, I'll be teaching and hosting 60 minute teaching sessions with groups of students on Zoom, teaching several students
how to write a screenplay. You'll be responsible for
writing about ten pages a week, and I'll guide you to keep
your story moving forward. This course costs $395. And by September 19, you'll have a finished draft of a feature film screenplay. Once a week we'll meet, and I'll be giving instructions
on story structure. And we'll be
interacting with each other to see where our
stories are going. Talking out your story and
your writing helps immensely. And having a group of writers who are along the journey with you creates amazing
accountability and discipline. Again, you can e mail me at
JORDAN period mla@gmail.com. I'd love to help you write
a screenplay this summer. Also, my website
offers services like script coverage and links to my podcast and other courses. Thank you again and
write on. Okay.
Jordan Imiola, Screenwriter
