/swg/ - Screenwriting General

what have you been up to lately?
you haven't given up on your project, right?

Other urls found in this thread:

shortoftheweek.com/news/how-we-launched-our-film-online-the-thomas-beale-cipher
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm0N7Su8RyE
docs.google.com/document/d/1fRtPitSZD3Dkn2vffHOOTf4vGJUGdzIYVAn7ZTMFn_k/mobilebasic
docs.google.com/document/d/14-1fZvZCOiOW9ByovzhJsFsdjfRBfB43oxTGl_oz5og/mobilebasic
twitter.com/SFWRedditVideos

Someone posted some tips last thread and I saved them because I thought they were good. Feel free to add to them. I'll keep saving them and posting them whenever I see a /swg/.

Some tips that have helped me (I prefer more general tips than specific structures that say you have to have this event happen by page so and so). I'm also more into t.v. writing than features.

>Don't show what the character's like, show how they try to get what they want. This is from Aaron Sorkin. I feel like this helps create more realistic characters rather than cliches like manic pixie girls.

>BUT THEN or THEREFORE, never AND THEN I think this is from the coen bros.? Helps me punch up my scenes so that I'm not just writing plot points.

>Where's the character's head at? What are they having trouble getting? Vince Gilligan. Helps me set up what situations I should put the character in and how they'd react so that plot flows from character. And by using "having trouble getting" rather than "conflict" it helps me focus on the character rather than throwing violence into my script (which I have a problem with b/c who doesn't love guns)

>If you have a gun in the first act, it has to go off in the third. Of course the great Anton Chekov. But it helps me to think of it a little differently - "If a gun goes off in the third act, show it in the first". If I think of it like that it helps me to set-up events rather than just happening haphazardly.

And finally one generic structure tip from the man, Billy Wilder:

>Put the character in a tree. Set the tree on fire. Get the character down.

I like it because it's really general. Also you can see the inciting incident and initial problem, then see it progress as a direct result of the first act, and then finally resolve. I hope others can find use from these.

>you haven't given up on your project, right?
No, I just gave up on these threads. Anyone who frequents them is really doing a huge disservice to themselves. Horrible tips. Horrible writing. A lot of misguided advice. Critique's are vague and insubstantial because the people people reviewing work, like the ones posting it, haven't got a clue. Too much emphasis on format, rather than on story, character, and all the other things of actual substance in a screenplay. It's really a joke.

Here's a tip. If you guys want to get good, stop wasting your time here. You'd learn more from reading 1 page out of McKee's Story or Field's Screenplay than from spending 100 days posting in these garbage threads.

you're doing it wrong then, I don't come here for advice, I just want to motivate myself into working and talking about it makes me more eager to work.

I come here just because it's nice to know there are other people here struggling to break into the industry
I'm a filmmaker more than a writer, but I still write and it's all connected

have you made anything bro? a short? also don't think too much about 'breaking in the industry', just focus on making a short you think people will be drawn to and submit it to every festival you possibly can. you will eventually meet people who share your interests, and even if you don't make it, at least you will have something tangible to remember one day.

I've got one and a half shorts and another I didn't like
So I made half a short that ran into production problems (which is a shame cause I really liked it)
I made a full short that I rushed which has been rejected from every festival I submitted it to (for obvious reasons, it was shit)

I made another quick one in a day as a test of sorts that I did nothing with
And I'm just finishing up on my latest one which I think/hope might actually be good but I need to do some reshoots which I can't do for a month

I'd link you but I'm paranoid about being associated with Sup Forums
Yourself?

Finished the second draft of my project. It's about a group of antisocial high school kids that are planning a hostage situation. It's not much, but it's something I can realistically film in my city.

as a joke, i submitted an altered version of the first three chapters of yurope 2 with stage directions added to a friend that handles pitches for adult swim
he told me he handed it to mike lazzo, who returned the pages to my friend, shredded in a burger king bag and told my friend to think harder before bringing in further submissions

That's great bro, keep it up
>I'd link you but I'm paranoid about being associated with Sup Forums
nobody really cares about that in the end, if you look at /soc/ every piece of shit knows each other there and there's nothing else to it, you won't get doxxed or stalked if you worry about that. But if you don't feel like it it's alright too, can you at least talk about them? Mostly the technical stuff?
>Yourself?
I remember getting really into screenwriting maybe 4 years ago, 2 years ago I submitted a cookie-cutter script to a script-only local festival where I met some nice people I've been keeping in touch with. Right now I have around 100 pages worth of notes and scattered shit for 3 different scripts I'm trying to write, but I'm not actively writing at the moment (doing research).

I'm currently writing a feature-length film to be cheaply animated basically in the style of "Life and Times of Tim". I want to put it on Youtube and try to gain attention from there.

The creators of "The Thomas Beale Cypher" wrote on festivals versus internet marketing. They've concluded that the latter is far more effective in gaining views, media interest, etc.

Another reason that I want to use Youtube, etc., is because of the freedom. Festivals often fuck with your rights and abilities to expose your film/short (for example, if you submit it to one festival, you may not be able to submit it to another).

I know that the average attention span is mere minutes, but I'm hoping that the first few minutes are enthralling enough to draw at least some viewers in, and hopefully more than I could get at any festival.

Do you have any experience in that realm? Am I wrong?

>Do you have any experience in that realm? Am I wrong?
I think you're misunderstanding the point of festival submissions. It's not really about notoriety, it's about those people in higher chains of command who are literally fetching new talent from those festivals. If someone likes you and wants to help you make something better, it's infinitely better than whatever temporary publicity you can grab on the internet.

wrote a 3 page short, it's the first thing I've written since school

>Don't show what the character's like, show how they try to get what they want.
but that's the same thing. you show what a character is like by how they struggle to get what they want. maybe he meant, Don't TELL what a character is like [through expository dialog], SHOW them trying to get what they want? makes more sense that way.

Gotcha.

Here's a link to the article that I was referencing.

shortoftheweek.com/news/how-we-launched-our-film-online-the-thomas-beale-cipher

They also reported more industry interest from releasing online than in Film Festivals. Then again, I rarely hear of online -> tv/film success, whereas I constantly hear of festival -> tv/film success.

The film is a poorly-animated (hopefully, in a charming way) ~80m comedy-thriller. I imagine that anything that's genuinely good will be rewarded as such, but this is only my third screenplay, so I fear that the aesthetic, subject matter, and quality may have far better luck on the 'net.

I'm not trying to be combative -- I'm really just looking for advice.

was here last week. i'm still struggling with putting the story i'm trying to tell within the framework of a concise 30 minute screenplay. i'm not the kind of writer that writes every thought i have and the kitchen sink and then goes edits down. i tend to tryand develop character arcs and sequences in my head before i jot anything down. honestly, i thought i'd be done by the weekend, but it'll probably take another week of writing and editing and throwing things across the room.

>can you at least talk about them? Mostly the technical stuff?
Yeah, no problem. What do you want to know?
I use a canon 70d atm, edit on pp, mostly focus on cinematography over story (though I' working on balancing that now)
I try and use natural light where I can because, as well as saving on costs and figuring out where to place lights, it reduces the bulk of equipment that we have to carry. And, on my latest film in particular, I've been doing some quite rural filming
I mostly stick to prime lenses but I've just bought a decent zoom lens the other day at constant f/2.8 so I'll be using that mostly now

>2 years ago I submitted a cookie-cutter script to a script-only local festival where I met some nice people I've been keeping in touch with
That's actually pretty cool. I'm really hoping to get into a local festival soon just to meet some other filmmakers (I know a couple but...). I don't want to just show up to a film festival without having a film I'm showing though in case people see me as a failed-filmmaker
>Right now I have around 100 pages worth of notes and scattered shit for 3 different scripts I'm trying to write, but I'm not actively writing at the moment (doing research).
What sort of genre are they?

i have to be loyle to my capo

Interesting, I was always skeptical of the idea of viral marketing because few people who make a viral video ever go on to do anything decent afterwards. But using youtube just to gain notoriety is an interesting idea

Personally, if I were you, I'd still submit to a couple of festivals and then just put it on youtube after the run's finished. It couldn't hurt and would allow you to use the festival name in advertising/marketing
>official selection at Pointless Film Festival, Nowheresville

Would anyone like to screenwrite for the Sup Forums comic? Im the producer. Here is some dialogue from the first issue. Needs panelling


*Ted, Jeb, and Ann running from a unknown evil out the darkness. Ted's backpack grabbed by black arms. He is pulled back, his backpack opening to reveal dollies. Jeb and Ann look back to help him. Ted contending with black arms in the tug of war regarding the backpack*

Ted : "AURGH! Let GO!"

Ann : "leave them Ted!"

Ted : "t-the DOLLY-GETS, AHNN!"

Jeb : "even -i- say we cant be slow and steady! we gotta g-"

*Jeb's pants grabbed by black arms, falls to floor. dragged*

Jeb : "no! not my turtles!"

Ann: "JEB!"

Jeb : "just take my guaaaaaaaaac!"

*Ann rushing into the darkness where Jeb was dragged into. pulls him out enough to reveal black arms pulling Jeb's legs while Ann pulls his arms*

Ann : "T-TED! Help!"

*Ted still contesting with the black arms for backpack. grip of backpack slips through his fingers. A look of shock takes over, a tear and and face of angry acceptance follows after. Ted rises to his feet to help Ann win the tug for Jeb, with the prize losing his pants in the process. She grab's Jebs hand*

Ann : "exit's not far! come on!

*Jeb crying, still on floor pansted. Ann trying to pull him*

Jeb : "m-muh TURTLES!"

Ann : "UP ya KEK!"

*Ann loses her grip, hits head on locker*

Ted : "dangit, JEHB!"
"wake up Ahnn!"

Jeb : "we're done for! exists too far!"

Ted : "a nearby room then!
"come ON Ahnn!"

*Ques to Donny looking out Counselor Paul's office window, thinking*

Donny : ~this school..~
~USED TO be great...~

Made a dumb sketch yesterday: m.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm0N7Su8RyE

I have a couple of more scripts for that web sitcom that only got half made

docs.google.com/document/d/1fRtPitSZD3Dkn2vffHOOTf4vGJUGdzIYVAn7ZTMFn_k/mobilebasic

docs.google.com/document/d/14-1fZvZCOiOW9ByovzhJsFsdjfRBfB43oxTGl_oz5og/mobilebasic

i agree with your needing a screenwriter. i would also advise starting over from scratch as the humor is quite...not evident.

this sounds like the worst abomination imaginable
Keep it up!

>Im

This was actually crippling with me, in terms of actually getting anything finished.

Oddly enough, for some reason it's ten times easier for me to write down my thoughts, dialogue, plot points, etc. when I physically write them with pen and paper as opposed to typing it out on a computer.

pretty good [Enter

Hope everyone is doing their job and pushing lots of interracial romances and storylines where a white male is the villain.

>I physically write them with pen and paper as opposed to typing it out on a computer.

I do this as well. Computer work for me is just to copy things already written on paper.

I only write bad people because Im edgy like that. No happy endings either.

I've been doing this unironically because a 'good' protagonist seems cliched and forced and happy endings are unrealistic
Maybe I should play to the cliches

it's about finding a middle ground. Half the time realistic scripts are boring. Same with ones filled with cliches.