http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gryenlQKTbE everlxrk: memoirsofatrichotillomaniac: sirhellsing420: A zombie-bitten father tries to save his infant daughter in this bittersweet short film So you’ve been bitten by a zombie. So long, conscious brain activity, hello craving for human meat. But the protagonist of the short film Cargo has bigger problems than his impending demise: he has to find a…
Read moreHOW TO MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE READER: PART ONE
This is an easy one. Before you waste a lot of time describing something that’s familiar to both of us, like waking up, getting dressed, making breakfast, driving to school…yawn…sorry. WRITE it. We’re both writers. Readers are never not writers. INT. SUBURBAN BATHROOM – DAY JEN GLEN, the most indie/alt girl in the sophomore class,…
Read moreCAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?
Literally, your biggest problem as a spec script writer is overcoming the reader’s boredom. It’s a mistake to start with a typical flashback-y prologue-y ‘this is what the story is going to be about’ scene that conveys information without a hint why we should care. The art is in connecting the reader to a person…
Read more“Script Breakdown Tips” (Directing Tips)
“Script Breakdown Tips” (Directing Tips) Rather than write an article on how to breakdown a script I decided I would try something a little different today. I believe the visualization and “real life example” will help convey insightful t… A look at how your script is used by a director to make a movie. Looking…
Read moreWhy producers will not read your script – shocking case study from one exec
Why producers will not read your script – shocking case study from one exec writerofscreen: “A producer friend at a production company recently shared this email interchange with a writer. It painfully illustrates why most producers will only accept solicited submissions or via a reputable agent. Irrespective of the talent this writer may show in…
Read moreI get a lot of resistance about my wrathful judgment of flashbacks. Here’s the caveat. Flashbacks are not the enemy. Unless they are lazy. Then they are the enemy. Like any other expositional scene that spoon feeds the reader information. A good flashback is dramatic and illuminating, like the flashbacks in The Usual Suspects, to…
Read moreHOW MANY THINGS IS YOUR SCRIPT ABOUT?
CLONE SCRIPTS: THE M.E.S.
There is a whole family of spec scripts that is identified by these elements in the first ten pages. A male lead 20-29. Who is white. Who pines for a better class of girlfriend than his own materialistic and demanding one. Whose job is unrewarding. Who is put upon by people who have expectations of…
Read moreLET’S TALK ABOUT OTHER KINDS OF STRUCTURE
There are some. I leave it to Linda Aronson to explain how they work, because I can’t fit it in a gif. Except this one. And I get really down on writers starting out with big ambitions about complicated structure because, frankly, it’s hard enough to do one protagonist and one linear storyline to good…
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