/swg/ - Screenwriting General

How's that script coming along?

Other urls found in this thread:

trelby.org/
atom.io/
atom.io/packages/fountain
drive.google.com/file/d/0B-4uRiUlEn9MVVlvTUItbUEtbE0/view?usp=drivesdk
youtube.com/watch?v=ycfdfinG_P8
youtube.com/watch?v=hXDNGS9V4Us
youtube.com/watch?v=m4DyTjrruVo
youtube.com/watch?v=JcVGDV67L-g
youtube.com/watch?v=o_rz1bluG_k
youtube.com/watch?v=JLUjMWRCzic
fictionpress.com/s/3206139/1/
filehosting.org/file/details/589662/Purgats.html
youtube.com/watch?v=XOCqCGBCH30
youtube.com/watch?v=MwxiSGv9gh4
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.generalcoffee.fadeinmobile
fadeinpro.com/
screenwriting.info/22.php
twitter.com/NSFWRedditImage

>"Fade in"
>writing transitions in a specs script

I have to be loyle to my capo

Someone post a story idea so we can give some"constructive" criticism

>people are literally paying hundreds of dollars for screenwriting software
>meanwhile I'm writing Fountain scripts in a free open-source text editor

I mean, really.

>not just pirating Final Draft

>final draft
>good

Nah, f.a.m.

The "I can't afford to go to film school and don't know any better" demographic is a market too.

>mfw people say writing is hard

It's just writing. It's not hard to do, but the hard part is doing it. Everyone knows how to write. You know the dictionary, right? Open that thing up, look at all those words, and just think - your entire script, your dream script, your story, it's all in that dictionary. You just have to re-arrange the words to find it.

The thing that trips most people up is that they stay in their own head too long. They think about their story too much. They think about writing. They think about how it'll look on screen. They think about who will star in it. They think and think and think -- and then they never DO!

And don't get lost in that mentality of thinking "oh, writing isn't difficult, I can always shit this one out in a day or two." Try it. If it's so easy that you can do it in a day or two? Do it! I guarantee you can't. This shit takes time, but that's all it takes. There's no inherent skill or talent - all that can be learned. You could be a dribbling retard with a 80 IQ and I bet you could write a decent script if you put in the effort.

So stop thinking about it. Stop with the theory. Start putting words together. Figure out what it's all about, and what the story is. Get it out of your head, and onto paper. Or your laptop. Or that cork-board you own but don't use.

Trelby is love, works natively on Linux, and it's free.

trelby.org/

Why would you need 'screenwriting sofware'. What's the advantage over just using Word like a normal person.

>paying for film school
>not just downloading a copy of Story and Screenplay

What text editor do you use?

To be fair film school gives you hands on experience with expensive as fuck cameras that nobody on Sup Forums can afford.

But you'll just steal my ideas famm.

Why would you need to know how to operate cameras, that's what you hire cameramen for.

Atom with the Fountain package.

atom.io/

atom.io/packages/fountain

I like the sentiment but just sitting down and trying to write a script is a good way to frustrate yourself. It's called "writing from the outside in".

A better way is to start by mapping out your plot on cards, write about your characters, write about your setting, genre, all that. Then, once you've got all that down, start writing the actual script. in other words, "writing from the inside out."

>not writing a novel

Did you right this meme tier dialogue? Its awful.

if you want to go in directing that's true

But if you're just a screenwriter it's a waste

No, that's a stock screenshot.

tell that to Zod's snapped neck

Problem with writing novels is no one is ever going to read them, even if they're really good, unless you're amazingly lucky.

Wrote this kino when I was like 13 and never finished.

drive.google.com/file/d/0B-4uRiUlEn9MVVlvTUItbUEtbE0/view?usp=drivesdk

>working on a dead medium

>implying many of the greatest directors don't take it upon themselves to operate the camera themselves from time to time

Sometimes there are shots you want so much that only you can deliver.

Good, its like something from a badly translated anime.

you might want to fix that link user

Or you could pirate Celtx

Nice Quads user

You don't need to learn how to operate a fucking 10,000 dollar RED camera user

You can learn framing with a fucking iPhone

Isn't Celtx a web-based cloud service now? Kind of hard to pirate that.

It is but you can still find old versions without the cloud based service.

Yeah, celtx is good. All the stuff you really need is free

Pretty sure they have software for Macs tho

>FADE IN:

Stopped reading there

The old desktop version of Celtx has always been free. I remember writing my first feature-length screenplay back in 2008 when I was 16.

A boy falls in love with a girl.

Unable to confess, he is gifted by a deus ex machina with the girl's phone number. Never minding the strange area code, he immediately calls her, and is overjoyed to find out that she has a crush on him as well.

But, the next day, when he recounts the previous day's confessions to the girl, she only looks at him with a perplexed expression. After some investigation, he finds out that the girl he called is not the same girl he fell in love with. In fact, she doesn't exist in this universe at all. She is the girl's alternate universe counterpart, who has fallen in love with the MC's own AU self, who too is blissfully unaware of her crush.

Hijinks ensue as the two strike up a deal to give each other their darkest, most private secrets in order to equip the other with the weapons they need to conquer the heart of their other selves. While the two chase their respective loved ones, DRAMA ensues as they begin to fall in love with each other instead and question the NATURE of LOVE.

OP: youtube.com/watch?v=ycfdfinG_P8
ED1: youtube.com/watch?v=hXDNGS9V4Us
ED2: youtube.com/watch?v=m4DyTjrruVo
PV: youtube.com/watch?v=JcVGDV67L-g
EP 1: youtube.com/watch?v=o_rz1bluG_k
EP 13: youtube.com/watch?v=JLUjMWRCzic

...

Can anyone suggest a good software with a damn night mode? (White Text on Black Background)

>Fade In

You already fucked up

No idea is original

Use writerduet senpai, clean interface, free, also saves scripts in the cloud

>posts a film idea
>doesn't attach a digital signature so in case someone takes it, the original poster can later verify that they were the creator of the idea

You're right.

But it's what I'm used to, and I'm lazy to switch to Trelby or whatever.

I've had a story idea for almost three years. I have the story complete in my head but I just can't find the time or desire to write any of it down.

Final Draft files are the industry standard, and it just speeds things up. Formatting is often very strict, and screenwriting software does it all for you, and does stuff like matching up the scene numbers when you switch a scene with another or add/delete a scene (if you did that in Word you'd have to manually change every single number).

>And don't get lost in that mentality of thinking "oh, writing isn't difficult, I can always shit this one out in a day or two."

Oh god, I know that feeling.

>I'll just knock out the first draft in a month, no big!

>Only just now finished the first draft, three years later

You'll never make it so who cares.

Nolan didn't go to film school.

In fact, the vast majority of "real" directors didn't go to film school, and most even advise against it.

I can sync Fountain scripts and collaborate with teams over GitHub with their objectively supreme version control system.

Well, certainly not with an attitude like THAT

Sorry, please don't hack me.
This isn't a virus ;) ;)
is there an imgur for other types of files?

Pretty great actually. 56 pages in on what I imagine will be a 75-90 page screenplay.

There are times when I'll be typing up a storm and it goes from light to dark outside. Fuck I love that I've found a passion to get me out of bed. Such a great feeling.

Stop posting that because it's already a thing.

fictionpress.com/s/3206139/1/

just do it

stop what you're doing right now and write the story out on cards

You took the time to post on Sup Forums so you've obviously got free time

The only way to get over a lack of motivation is to stop thinking and start writing

It could be the next classic, it could make you thousands, but in your head it's worthless. Get it out

filehosting.org/file/details/589662/Purgats.html
Fuck here's the link.

What's a about?

I NEVER THOUGHT IT'D BE SO SIMPLE BUT

youtube.com/watch?v=XOCqCGBCH30
youtube.com/watch?v=MwxiSGv9gh4

*it about

This

I'm glad i weaned myself off majoring in film before it was too late

Anyone got any tips on what i should get my degree in? Honestly the most value it will have is looking good on a resume

WHY CAN'T I GET AWAY!?

Will making movies get me women anons?

FINDS
I
N
D
S

Just finished the first draft.

Now I'm looking back on it, and, while I'm still madly in love with the concept, and the characters and setting and a lot of the setpieces are solid, the piece as a whole is shit.
Which is alright. It's a first draft, it can be shit, I get that.
But man. Finishing a first draft is like the morning after a great bender. You remember the night being amazing, but the car is in the pool, there's a donkey on the couch, and you're not sure how the hell you got peanut butter on the ceiling, and you know the only thing to do is roll up your sleeves and clean shit up, but you're just not ready to re-live the night with a now sober mind quite yet.

No

Women only care about celebrity actors

If you just want women start working out and going to bars/clubs. It's not that hard if you're not literally autistic/putrid ugly

No one cares about the screen writers.

After the first draft I like to put it down and forget about it for at least a week, then go into revisions with a fresh mind

Nah, it's being purged there.

It's a coming of age tale. On paper, think Heathers meets Fight Club.

I plan on directing it, possibly acting in it, and filming it in my city.

Acting is way out of my comfort zone but I've heard it can help with writing (like when Christopher from the Sopranos was in those acting classes)

>not literally autistic/putrid ugly
Shit

Shit

nice

Step 1: Write out a two sentence log-line. Start there. Just two sentences. This is what you will tell people when they ask you what your story is about. This is where you figure out what the real thrust of the story is. The reason why you want to write it, and why anyone would want to read/see it.

From there, write out the general story outline. Don't worry about emotional impact or anything like that, you don't want any meat yet, just the bones. This is where you wrestle your story into the general three-part structure, and then later the five-act structure.

From there, using the outline as a general guide, but allowing yourself to go off of it as you see fit, sit down and WRITE THE DAMN SCRIPT. Take your time, but allow yourself to make mistakes.

Get a piece of paper or a sticky note or something. On it, write out the words "Get it wrong as fast as you can", and then stick that paper somewhere you can glance at it easily. I set it as my desktop background, personally. Refer to it whenever you get stuck.
It doesn't have to be good, it doesn't even have to be coherent, strictly speaking. Just get it the fuck out there. If you're not typing because what you have in mind isn't "good enough", you're fucking doing it wrong.
It is important, however, to watch for burnout. Try to find a rhythm you can work in. Find a time of day you feel most comfortable and productive writing in; for some people, it's right after waking up, and for some, it's right before bed, and do nothing but writing for an hour or two at a time. Experiment with your timing and rhythm, and find one that works for you. At this stage, dedication is more important than inspiration. Write even, and ESPECIALLY if you don't feel like writing.
Do not stop and don't go back for any reason. If you have an idea for a scene you've already written, jot it down in a separate document to include in the second draft. The key is to keep going forward no matter what.

>he isn't using Fade In
play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.generalcoffee.fadeinmobile

fadeinpro.com/

Got Celtx recently and have just started writing the first in a series of 5 episodes [of my own] to a show that already exists and is actually over already (and I'm doing this cause I like just jumping into stuff I'm familiar with before doing original works which I do however have ideas for in my head, just not fully fleshed out).

One thing I'm confused about in scripts though is how to approach capitalization. What exactly do I capitalize and when is it appropriate? I get you capitalize the names of characters when first mentioned in 'action' and sounds (?), but I've seen in some people's scripts numerous times certain important objects titles being capitalized. Should I do this too?

Also, is putting in the "Teaser" and "Act One, etc." parts in a TV show episode script REALLY necessary?

For step one:
The best way to write the sentences is in terms of Subject, Action, and Location.
The Subject is who the story's about.
The Action is what happens in the story.
The Location is the setting, which includes time and place.

ex.:

Two lovers from rival families (subject)
fall in love (action)
in 1300 Verona. (locations)
They try to run away, but fail, and die together. (action)

This is one way of presenting a high-concept script.

Personally, i capitalize names the first time a major character enters the story, usually followed by an age (if necessary.) for example;
JAMES, 35, Sarah's husband, enters the room just as she's about to climax in Jamal's powerful arms.

Sometimes certain objects or actions may be capitalized in a shooting script. You don't really have to worry about that.

As for putting in the "Teaser" and "Act One, etc." parts, i'm not sure. You don't have to do any of that for a movie script, but I haven't written for the small screen yet. Can't help you with that one.

A pretty good site for formatting info is Screenwriting.info. That's where i learned formatting, and I usually go there when i'm not sure about something.

Thanks, I found what I was looking for on that site:

screenwriting.info/22.php

It says I have to force page breaks but I'm pretty sure you can't do that in Celtx so I don't know.

man, writing surrealism is fucking challenging. there's a fine line between "weird in a good way" and "weird for the sake of being weird" and it's fucking hard not to cross it

Just make sure all the weird stuff serves an overall purpose to the plot or characters

Watch/read some Kaufman movies for reference

How do you personally prefer to insert important sound effects into your scripts?

Leave them out unless you're directing

Exactly. When I start writing my script I already have all the scenes mapped out. Most of the time the final work is different from the original plan, but that's exactly what improvement is.
It honestly feels like making a puzzle, connecting the pieces.

Don't.

Unless you REALLY REALLY have to, in which case describe it in an action format

generally, I write the action first and in parentheses write "IMPORTANT SOUND EFFECT NEEDED!!!"

Been working on a script about guy who wants some hot sauce for some buns he burnt at a barbecue no one came to

Anyone else into t.v. writing and not features?

I want to break in but everything I've read suggests the only way is to move out to LA and get a job as a PA and work my way up (if you're lucky) and even that can take years.

I would say make your own content. If you do that and PA'ing and what not for connections, you'd be able to create a solid base for yourself

I would watch this movie.

Do some research.

A surprisingly large number of TV shows have an open-script policy, and even if they don't accept you, they're generally pretty good about constructive feedback. Find one you like and go to fucking town

Don't listen to the meme: 'don't unless you're directing' to questions about writing in certain details like camera shots and so on. They aren't eye sores that will put people off to your script unless it's really trivial nonsense for every little thing. Sometimes it's good to go into that much direction to show the director how this scene works only with this certain type of shot you've chosen. He can ignore if he wants.

The reason I was asking was just because a character breaks into a home, and as he's rooting around for valuables he hears a crash and footsteps off camera. Maybe you can help me by telling me how you'd set it up.

invert the colors on your monitor you fucking idiot

>summer rain
>thought this up while taking cover under a tree waiting for the rain to end

*an alternative universe where Russia becomes the great superpower after WW2
*russia/chinese is the #1 language/culture of the world, communism is the soveriegn ideology
*except for some commercial culture nothing else has changed....

We're in London, it's 2012. A man in a transparent plastic jacvet is running on the streets covering himself from the rain. It thundrs and the rain starts to fall heavier. Suddenly his jacket flashes, electricity sparks from and he falls to the ground, shocked, spasming and twerking his ass.

-sports commentator:
" yikes! That got to hurt! It looks like 1463 HUBK is outta here."
-expert
"Yeah, he chose the wrong moment to make his move. The humidity had gone up, the thunder was only 6 seconds away and hsi pace wasnt fast enough"
......

>Basically its about some silly "sport" were the goal is the run from one spot to another in London, without taking to much water on ya jacket. There will be this jerk who's won many times before by simply following the next best "runner" and then beat him up at the finish line. The movie will follow a young girl/boy/genderless/black person/nigger whos aim is to win the championship and his/her/its strugle to compete with the jerk.

I'd call the film "The Rainning Man/Woman/Nigger"....

Ya can steal this if ya want, if ya make it, plz thank user

Pretty good.

You are right, traditional broadcast TV is too inaccessible for outsiders.

The answer: Web series, which is the future anyway.

literally write "We hear a crash and footsteps. Tyrone looks back."

Thinking of getting into writing as a hobby more than anything with a buddy, I write content as my job but its all technical jargon.

Whats the dos and donts of screenwriting more or less?

>"we"

You weren't descriptive enough about where they where. Something to do with opium? You should try telling us that a bit more.