When writing a screenplay, a “beat sheet” is an invaluable tool. After you’ve come up with your concept; characters; beginning, middle and end of your story, a beat sheet enables you to put it all together and take a 30,000-ft view of your story. A beat sheet allows you to check your work. It allows … More Constructing A Beatsheet
Are You Ready to Write Your Script…? Egri offers a checklist for making sure you’ve put the necessary thought into your work before you start. If you’ve done the following 11 steps, your script will be ready to go! Formulate a premise. Choose the protagonist. Choose the antagonist. Create a unity of opposites. Choose the … More Art of Dramatic Writing, Part 5: When You Write Your Script
Once you’ve defined your premise and created 3-dimensional characters with a “Unity of Opposites,” how to realize your plot on the page…? Point of Attack At what point do you attack a story? People always say “start late, end early.” What does that really mean? What sets a story in motion? What makes a character … More Art of Dramatic Writing, Part 4: Crisis, Climax and Resolution
People ask me how I developed my ideas and theories about writing for theater and the screen. They often ask where they can go to get more information and develop their own deeper understanding of the craft of screenwriting. Three Basic Rules I start by telling them my three essential rules: Put your butt in … More Art of Dramatic Writing, Part 1
Plotlines vs Loglines As we discussed last week, plotlines and loglines are different. Loglines are selling tools designed to excite an audience. Plotlines are designed to help you, the writer, clearly understand the beginning, middle and end of your script. A good plotline will distill the essential dramatic elements of your script down to their … More Plotline Essentials: “The 8 C’s”
From the Nitty Gritty to the 30,000-ft View Let’s take a break from dissecting the inner working of a scene. Let’s step back and examine the process from back to front. When you’re script is done and even before, when you’re in the middle of writing, if you tell someone that you’re working on a script, … More Loglines vs. Plotlines
How to Use Breakdowns. Now that I’ve given you some examples. Try to do a few for yourself. Watch some films and see if you can pick out the 20+ moments I’ve listed above. While you’re at it, note the elapsed time when these moments occur. General convention is that one page of a script … More Using Breakdowns In Your Work
Another Academy Award winning movie written and directed by Damien Chazelle is one of my favorites: Whiplash. A vicious game of psychological warfare between a talented pupil and psychotic teacher transforms into a fascinating character study and a meditation on what it takes to achieve artistic greatness. LOGLINE: Plagued by the failed writing career of his … More Structure Breakdowns: “Whiplash.”
Another independent gem from last year was Captain Fantastic places absolute and unquestioned faith in its free-wheeling stance. The story has strong ideas backed up by an even stronger conviction in its wholly unique belief system. It doesn’t exactly stick the landing, but it has a refreshing sense of ambition. LOGLINE: Ben Cash, a single … More Structure Breakdowns: “Captain Fantastic”
Kenneth Lonergan’s first writing/directing outing since 2011, Manchester by the Sea is a universal tale grief in which being your brother’s keeper includes all of the big and little baggage that we leave behind for our loved ones to care for, to mend to, and ultimately to preserve. LOGLINE: A troubled janitor must return, permanently, to … More Structure Breakdowns: “Manchester by the Sea”
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