Reading literature on screenplays.

Research when reading "Raindance writers lab, write and sell the hot screenplay" book.

When researching I read a book called “raindance writers’ lab write+ sell the hot screenplay” by Elliot Grove. When reading this book it gives you an idea of how to structure and write a screen play, it also shows examples on writing the screen play; how to do this professionally.

I have learnt when reading this book that there are seven elements to a script the first element is entertainment: this includes seeking to divert using tools when writing the screenplay. This is a task that is completed by a screenwriter, they have to take all the elements and weave them together into an entertaining story which is not only entertaining but interesting as well. If the screen play is well-crafted then it should be tight and invisible. The only things that should be effortlessly combined are the settings, action, characterization, plot, structure and dialogue. A writer that has thoroughly learnt to do this understands the craft of screenwriting.

The next element is the commerce: The commerce element includes basically setting up your own business developing scripts and treatments and learning as much as possible about the industry as when writing a screenplay you will be doing it alone as someone isn’t there all the time to help so learning about the industry will play a big part in writing screenplays of your own.

The third element is Contrivance: The contrivance element includes everything to do with the industry, the way images are viewed on a screen and to the way films have been created by technicians working in a group, and this shows the movie business to be unspontaneous of any art form in the world.

The forth element is peeping Tom: peeping Tom is the key for screenwriters to create a world or something that the public want to stare at and all the characters and dialogue etc. convincing that the audience cannot take their eyes away from the screen until the frame ,scene  and sentence in the script has finished.

The fifth element is maximize in minimal circumstances: maximize in minimal circumstances is that a screenwriter has to maximize everything that they have at there retention. Screenwriters are only allowed to write down what is seen e.g.  Therefore you can’t say “it’s very cold” because how do you show cold? You could say “hail bounces off the windscreen”. That statement was taken from the raindance writers’ lab write and sells the hot screen play book by Elliot Grove page 8. When writing a screenplay each word has to earn it’s keep on the page. This element also tells writers that they must handle there personal life so family members and friends will let them write their screenplays etc. and not disturb them this will become a skill when learning about screenwriting; this must be learnt so that screenwriters can write a perfect script.

The sixth element is Hollywood love it or leave it: Hollywood love it or leave it is about professional film and television community.  Hollywood is the main part or centre of film production and in many other cities. In these cities movies are put out to the public one after the other but not on the same scale as Los Angeles.

The last seventh element of a script is the Audience: The audience is what a screenwriter is aiming to appeal to the audience however in a film the filmmaker makes a film to play to an audience whether it’s in a cinema or a TV screen. However this is different for screenwriting as the writer is just focusing on one audience which is a reader. The only goal a screenwriter has is to stimulate emotionfrom just that one person. When writing a script you may not get it exact every time but it takes practice.

Revisiting My Original Research

In conclusion I have looked through all my research and have seen that the writing and research I have done has helped when trying to find out things about films/TV programme. When researching you have to always consider what research is what as there is primary and secondary research but in my case I have looked  into the aspects of both primary and secondary research to complete the assignment tasks.

Reading Existing Screenplays

For this step I have looked at existing screenplays. I tried to find some screenplay’s that are related to the genre I am using. I found one that is a little bit similar to mine but I was inspired by it. The existing screenplay I read was called Being Human written by Toby Whithouse which is broadcasted on BBC Three.

Being human is a drama TV programme where there are different types of supernatural beings as well as human beings; they all have different types of defences as well. 3 of the supernatural beings are prepared to live alongside the human beings rather than being apart from them. The 3 characters are attempting to live as normal as possible like ordinary humans even with the pressure and danger of their situation’s. They are being threatened constantly with harassment from other supernatural creatures and with problems that are caused by their attempts to actually deal with their own problems.

The website I used was the scripts and bibles website. The script can be found here: http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Being_Human_1x01_-_Pilot.pdf when reading the screenplay I gathered that using the right description is essential in screenplays. This is because of the visual and key elements used in drama screenplays, but the settings are just as important in screenplays because they help crew members when filming. Every scene in a screenplay is important to include the right description, location and time. When presenting screenplays the crew also use them to know what’s what and where the location is in order to film the scene. When looking in my point of view at my screenplay I think it is very important to be descriptive as when a reader reads it or the crew they can understand what’s going on and what they have to do in every scene.  

When reading the screenplay “Being Human” I have learnt that you can’t just write  paragraphs and cut the big important parts out to explain the small things because it doesn’t help you get anywhere so you actually have to explain every little detail of what goes on at what time and what location.  Also I have learnt that when writing screenplays there is a lot of planning because if you have lots of ideas you need to take note of them and then come up with a screenplay that actually makes sense and that will be enough information for the crew to take in and act out. When writing screenplays I have learnt that it takes time because of the length of them and, as there are a lot of things that have to be include in screenplays that I actually didn’t realise until I read the being human one and when reading the literature on screenplays.

By reading the Being Human screenplay it inspired my own writing because there are a lot of sad parts to it as well as happy ones. Once reading the screenplay it put ideas into my head of different screenplays I could plan out, also I read it and thought of ways that I could change story’s from films and take parts from films and mix them with other parts to create screenplays.

Reading Literature On Screenwriting

All Information has been adapted from the BBC writers room website.

I have read 2 screenplays; they mainly tell you the same information as everything has to be lined up when producing a script, bold capital letters must be used when stating characters either by first name or last but 1 of them may remain and used throughout, also it must be underlined with a colon at the end. The dialogue what the character says is placed under the name and with a single line space. Parenthetical instructions appear in capitals and are enclosed with brackets that are rounded e.g. (PAUSE).

 Scene headings are to be put in bold stating whether it is ext or int and if it is day or night. The scene action must be in capitals and enclosed with brackets that are square and with double spacing used between each paragraph.  Sometimes you can include the time of day but it isn’t essential. The scene actions should only state what it happening on the screen and should certainly not drift into unnecessary novelistic text associated to characters. Scenes can continue across the page so you don’t have to skip to another line and type another heading and scene.

Drama scripts are typed with wide left margins for the camera and sound cues to be inserted when the script is sent into the studio to be recorded. In a script as well you must avoid technical information. It is traditional to indicate a transition at the end of each scene.

If you start a new scene it must start on a new page even if it is really short and that scene headings are always to be followed with a scene action. If there is a scene where it is always moving then it must state ext/ int or the other way around depending on where the scene starts of. If there is a scene with a small amount of dialogue then it is best to split the scene actions in two paragraphs as it makes it easier for readers to read because lots of text on a page is off putting.

If (O.O.V) is stated next to a character then it means that the character is not actually present in the scene but can be heard from other rooms. If (V.O) is stated next to a character’s name then it means that voiceover is used when a character isn’t in a scene, but they can be heard through a mechanical device like a telephone, this can also be used when a character narrates a story. If (INTO PHONE) is stated under the characters name then this is the character we see on the phone but if you want to show both people on the phone then use (INTO PHONE) and state that both characters are on the phone. However if you want to show one person on the phone but only hear the other person then use voice over (V.O). But you don’t need to do that for every single speech, but it is essential to show when the people hang up (HANGS UP).

If cutting back and forth to scenes then the scene heading should look like this as it states the inter cut, and what time of day it is for example. (LOCATION #1 / LOCATION #2 - NIGHT 1 (INTERCUT).  

If flashbacks were included in the film then you should state (FLASHBACK) and once ending it state (ENDFLASHBACK). Also include the number of each page and staple the pages together so they don’t get separated.

The last thing you have to do with a script is to sign it off properly.

Finally i have learnt that there are many things you must do when are writing a screenplay and that there are also lots of rules to follow but if you never no how to write a screenplay or are stuck there are many websites that help on the internet. I have also learnt how to write a screenplay properly as i have read through the screenplay formats.

Task 3 researching into television and Film

All information has been addapted from wikipedia.
I have been looking at some drama television shows that have a lot of sad parts in, this will help me so I can start researching about all the different type of drama television programmes and films, but mainly films.  The television programmes I have chosen to look at are:

·         Ashes to ashes

·         Hustle

The reason I have chosen these are because I used to watch ashes to ashes and hustle sometimes however bonekickers I have never watched so I will have to do some more research into that to get the idea into my head of what goes on in the programme. Because my short film is a drama genre based film I will have to look in to the different types of sad parts there are in the programmes.  Not only will I be looking into television programmes bit I will be looking into drama films as well.

The drama films I have chosen to look at are:

·         Saving Private Ryan

·         Red Riding hood

I chose these drama films to look into because I have watched Saving Private Ryan when I was at school for my GCSE’s so I still have a clear imagination of what goes on and red riding hood is a classic childhood film that I watched when I was younger, but honey 2 I have never watched I will have to research into that to get a clear understanding of what happens in that.

 

Television Programmes

Ashes to Ashes Plot

Ashes to ashes is a fictional police procedural drama television programme. The programme began airing on BBC 1 in February 2008 and then a second series began in April 2009 and finally the third series starting broadcasting in April-May 21^st 2010 which was also broadcasted on BBC HD as well as BBC radio 1 altogether there were 24 episodes of the programme. The programme tells a fictional story of Alex Drake who’s played by Keeley Hawes a police woman who was in service with the Metropolitan police in London, is shot in 2008 but curiously regains consciousness in 1981.

 

Hustle Plot

      Hustle is a British TV drama series which is made by kudos film and television, made for      BBC One. The Television programme was created by Tony Jordan from the makers of spooks. The first series was broadcasted in 2004. The series follows a group of con artists, who specialise in making someone believe in something that isn’t true, that requires a large responsibility.

Films

Saving Private Ryan Plot

Saving Private Ryan is an American 1998 war film that was set during the invasion of Normandy (WW2). The film was directed by Stephen Spielberg. It also had a screenplay made by Robert Rodat. The film is famous for the passion of it’s opening in 27 minutes which shows the Omaha beachhead assault June 6^th 1944. Throughout the film it follows Tom Hanks playing as U.S Army Captain, John H Miller and seven other men as they search desperately for a paratrooper Private First Class James Francis Ryan played by matt Damon he is the last surviving brother of 4 other servicemen.

Robert Rodat gathered the idea of saving Private Ryan through watching a memorial event which was dedicated to 8 siblings who was killed in the American civil war. Robert Rodat then imagined a similar sibling narrative that was set in World War II. There was a script that was created and submitted to the producer Mark Gordon who then handed it to Tom Hanks. It finally ended up with Stephen Spielberg who directed the film. The film idea is based on a real-life story of the Niland Brothers.

At the start of the film we see an elderly person with their family visiting the Normandy American Cemetery and memorial at France. It then cuts to the morning of June 6 1944 the beginning of Normandy invasion, as the American Soldiers prepare to land on the Omaha beach, they struggle due to German troops, machine gun nests and also artillery fire. The scene then cuts to the United States where General George Marshall is told that 3 of the 4 brothers in the Ryan family have died in a space of a couple of days apart and their mother will be told and the captain is told that James Francis Ryan is claimed as missing in action. The Captain orders that Ryan is to be found and sent home because of the sole survivor policy. 6men and 1 who speaks fluent French and German are sent to search for Ryan.

Ryan is found among 3 paratroopers ambushing a German half-track. Ryan is then told about his bothers deaths and their mission to bring Ryan home safely and also that 2 people have lost their lives in the search to find him.

Captain Miller dies after being shot and Ryan was with him as he dies and says his last words to James which were “James...Earn this. Earn It”.

At the ending of the film it goes back to the scene of the elderly veteran who is made known as Ryan at Captain Millers grave, the camera pans down showing the gravestones and then to a peaceful American flag.

Red riding Hood Plot

Red riding hood is an American/ Canadian fantasy film that is directed by Catherine Hardwicke and Amanda Seyfried staring as the title role, David Leslie Johnson made a screenplay for the film. It is very freely based on “The little red riding hood” which are collected by Charles Perrault who is known as "Le Petit Chaperon Rouge" (little red riding hood) and many years later by the Brothers Grimm Rotkäppchen known as little redcap.

Valerie played by Amanda Seyfried lives in a village of Daggerhorn that is on the edge of a ghostly black forest. Valerie developed an attraction for haunting and sneaking out to see a boy who she admired when she was told not to do so. The boy she loved is known as peter played by Shiloh Fernandez. Her parents disapproved of peter and wanted her to marry another guy who was the son of a wealthy blacksmith. The small village was plagued by a werewolf who only comes out at night and only feeds on livestock. Things change around the small village once they find out that Valerie’s sister Lucie who is played by Alexandria Mailot is found dead killed by a werewolf. Valerie recieves a wedding gift early from her grandmother played by Julie Christie to help her emotions.

 

The gift was a red hooded cape. They take the wolf’s head back to Daggerhorn to celebrate their feelings but Valerie’s father Solomon played by Gary Oldman, who is a priest experienced in werewolves as he had to kill his own wife to protect their children. Normally once the werewolf kills someone it goes back to its human form but this didn’t happen so the villagers ignore this.  Valerie learns her mother was in love with Michael shanks that’s known as Adrian years before meeting her husband and she unexpectedly gave birth to Lucie as a result. Cesaire is unaware of this. Valerie confronts peter for rejecting her after she was forced by her mother to do that.

The werewolf appears again killing many of the villagers and injuring one of the guards. The wolf confronts Valerie and her friend Shauna Kain known as Roxanne they are both horrified but they learn that Valerie can understand what the wolf is saying and can talk to it as well.

Solomon kills the injured guard as anyone bitten by the werewolf will be cursed to become one. Harry tells Valarie he had seen her with Peter and they agreed to call of the engagement.

Peter disappears and Valarie suspects him, attacks him and rushes to her grandmother’s house but is unexpectedly greeted by her father using her grandmother’s voice. Cesaire tells that he is the werewolf but all his relations can speak to him because of this he realized that Lucie was not his daughter as she couldn’t understand him. He offers Valarie to become a werewolf, she refuses and he tries to force her into it. Peter is knocked out and Valarie kills her father, then peter sees he has been bitten and he would be cursed to become the werewolf, as an alternative of killing him, Valarie and he dumped Cesaire’s body in the lake as peter rows away, because he leaves Valarie behind he promises to return to see her. Valarie moves from Daggerhorn into her grandmother’s cottage waiting for the day peter returns. The film ends with Valarie smiling mischievously.

How has this influenced my idea for a short film?

This has influenced my idea for a short film because there are a lot drama films about relationships whether it is family or siblings as seen above. There are also a lot of deaths as well. The reason I came up with my idea for a short film was because as most people already know that drama films have deaths and family relationships.

Task 3-Research-Survey

This survey will consist of 7 questions. Please read my idea and then answer the questions below.

My idea is: Father dies because of car crash, mother survives and moves away leaving triplets behind, triplets end up in care and separated to be with foster parents. They meet after 3 years at a holiday camp and then they make plans to find their mother, in the end they end-up back in foster homes but together.

1)      Gender: Female/Male

2)      What are your opinions on drama films?

3)      What drama films have you watched?

4)      What do you like best about drama films?

5)      What is the worst part of drama films for you?

6)      If you don’t watch drama films what type of genre films do you like?

7)      Are there any improvements that I can make to my short film idea?

Schedule of my six steps

My final chosen idea, is idea 2.. these are the 6 steps i intend to complete by certain dates.

Step One: Gather 3 ideas and develop one.
Step Two: Publish a research plan on how i will utilise primary and secondary research.
Step Three: Collect research and publish it then state how it has influenced my idea for a short film.
Step Four: Read existing screenplays, blog about them saying what I have learned? and has this inspired my own writing?( To find screenplays use unit lowdown task two sheet.)
Step Five: Read literature on screenwriting, review it and say what the publications have taught me about writing.
Step six: Re-visit my original research.

Step one&two- Achieved.
Step three will be completed by 23rdOctober-Achieved.
Step four will be completed by 28th October.
Step five will be completed by 30th October.
Step six will be completed by 31st October.