An Introduction To Screenwriting UEA (University of East Anglia)

An Introduction to Screenwriting
UEA (University of East Anglia)

Screenwriting is a dramatic form. We create a script for the actors to perform. It’s
constructed with “dramatic action”-character movement with consequence. It builds the
story on a sort of causality. A movie story is told ‘in the cut’, or in the editing process. The
screenwriter uses this fragmentary process to shape the rhythm and pace of the story.
It’s an external form, so we see what characters say and do, but we aren’t privy to their
thoughts and feelings, as in a novel. Screenwriter creates action that implies the character’s
inner life.
David Mamet: Stories happen because somebody wants something and has trouble getting
it. “Somebody”: gives us a character. Not just a name, but a person in a specific place, at a
specific time, living a specific life. “Wants Something”: gives us a goal, the ‘story question’
that will be what this film is ‘about’. “Has Trouble Getting It”: gives us the conflict. It
provides obstacles that the character must overcome to achieve their goal. This approach is
often used to create a movie logline.
When we first write, we write quite lengthy scenes which have a lot of stuff going on, and
we know that the dramatic beat happens somewhere in there. Actually, if you just honed it
down to that- if you asked a question and left that answer suspended, you’d probably have
a much more interesting cinematic experience. That you don’t have to do it all in the scene.
You can leave those gaps which make the audience work and that’s a much more exciting
way.
A short verbal “pitch” is a simple way to summarise a story. It also makes a very good tool to
start the writing process.
Five finger pitch:
1. Genre: e.g. teen drama, a gentle rom-com.
2. Main protagonist: e.g. a sixteen-year-old runaway, a middle-aged widower.
3. Goal: e.g. to find an estranged dad, to start dating again.
4. Obstacles: “has trouble getting it” of our story. This often adds a massive “but”. e.g.
haven’t dated in 30 years, or have to compete with the boss’s future son-in-law.
5. What’s important: The reasons why you love the story and the reasons why it’s
different from all the other stories in the same genre. Ways in which we can make
this particular story specific and interesting. e.g. it tackles the embarrassment and
the fears and rewards that come from trying to date again after being married for so
long.
Story structure: It is concerned with the order and timing of the events that take place in
the film, so, it’s concerned with the flow of information – who knows what, and when – and
the pace and rhythm of that flow.
Irving: A screenplay is merely the scaffolding for a building someone else is going to build. I
never feel as if I’ve been writing at all. I’ve been constructing a story.
Three Act Structure: The first act usually lasts half hour and has the task of setting up the
story. It’s all about our ‘somebody’ and the ‘wants something’. The act introduces most of
the basic story elements – protagonist, setting, period, genre, characters, themes, conflicts.
Protagonist’s choice will send him in pursuit of a clearly identified goal that will ask the
‘story question’ - the “What’s this about?” - that defines the story and drives the rest of the
action. The second act usually lasts for an hour, and it’s all about the ‘has trouble getting
it’. He is thwarted by obstacles at every turn. It usually ends with the failure of the original
plan of action, and often leaves the character lower than at the start of the story. The third
act takes the movie’s final half hour to resolve the story. In most cases, the character has
learned from the struggles in the second act, so a changed person will gather their strength
for a final confrontation that will answer the story questions and bring the story to a close.
Character-based causal Three Act Structure
 It’s helpful to introduce your main character with an action, with something - a choice or
decision which establishes who they are before the story gets going. What are the rules
of this world? And then you’ll have your inciting incident or a call to action. And then
usually there’s a climax at the end of Act One where the character has to make a
decision: are they in or out? Also Act 1 tells the audience how to watch this particular
film.
 In Act 2, we know what they’re trying to do. We know their wants, and we might be
beginning to understand their need. we’re going to see them trying to get it and we’re
gonna see them constantly failing. Usually, by the end of the Second Act, things have
become desperate.
 Third Act is where we find out if the protagonist gets what he wants; he doesn’t get the
want but the need, or perhaps neither. There’s going to be a new equilibrium at the
end.
There are many other ways to organise a screen story other than the 3-act structure.
Ten Finger Pitch: The first five fingers remain the same. In the second hand, the first three
fingers cover second act. The Thumb will summarise the first half of the second act. It’s all
about the protagonist heading off with the original plan. At this point, the action may go
more or less to plan, despite the obstacles. The Index Finger will address the story’s
midpoint. Events at a story’s midpoint often address the changes that occur within the
protagonist(s). Until this point, the audience may see the characters more clearly than they
see themselves. Midpoint action often forces the characters to recognise their own changes,
bringing some of the internal wants and desires to the surface. At this point, the characters
often must take note of their inner needs, as well as the external goal that drives the plot.
The Middle Finger will summarise the second half of the story, right up to the crisis moment,
when everything goes wrong. In most cases, it leads to near disaster. The last two fingers
cover third act, the resolution. The Fourth Finger covers the character’s moment of doubt
and change, which sets him off to the final confrontation. The small finger describes the
story’s climax, the final events, confrontation or action that will, once and for all, resolve the
story question.
In a drama, it’s all about behaviour: characters are what they do. Each character will make
different choices and act on them in a distinct way. The story will be driven by the
consequences of these choices. If the novel is concerned with the flow of thoughts and
feelings, then the screenplay will be concerned with the flow of dramatic action, of change
within characters.
It is a mix of many desires that will create complexity in our characters. Each character will
exhibit a mix of strengths and flaws; all will have different mental processes; and each will
have a variety of physical characteristics. It’s the writer’s job to construct a story that keeps
testing our characters, asking new questions and forcing hard decisions. Over the course of
the story, the response to these challenges will trigger the internal changes commonly
known as a “character arc.”
We’re creating roles, not finished characters, as you would in a novel, for example. We have
to leave space for a performance.
One opinion: Characters need to be compelling. They need to be interesting. There should
always be an element of mystery. There should always be an omission - something left out.
They should be fathomable, relatable, understandable on one level and then tantalisingly
unfathomable on another.
As we move deeper into the story, the scenes will have less obligation to introduce story
elements, so the scenes may find a leaner style that focuses more on character change and
thematic development.
In most cases, the character must face internal conflicts, as well as at least one form of
external conflict. In common practice, scenes with little conflict will be short, while the
story’s major turning points will be situations fraught with difficulty.
In scene, we describe what the characters are doing, where they’re doing it, and under what
conditions. We’re limited to what we can see and what we can hear, and that’s it. The
screenwriter describes the flow of action and provides enough expository detail to make it
clear.
While film dialogue carries less story weight than theatre dialogue, it’s still a major part of
scene construction.
The primary function of dialogue is dramatic, that is, to carry the story forward. Characters
speak because they need something and saying something will help them get it. It may
seem counterintuitive, but the actual purpose or goal of the scene is frequently the one
thing that cannot be said aloud. Dialogue will reveal character, both in what is said
and how it’s said. The dialogue will reveal immediate needs and desires, but it also reveals
background, education, social class and a host of other attributes.
Some ways to develop character voice: Try to use material that does not appear in the final
story, which frees the action to go in any direction it leads. Character questionnaires can
help, but only when answered in the first person. Create situations to make sure that the
character will have to struggle to extricate themselves from the situation. The character’s
dialogue and action will combine to create the basic elements of voice.
In screenwriting much of the creative work occurs before we begin to write the script.
To make an effective “Beat Sheet”, also called a “Step Outline”, you must list each dramatic
step in the story. It needn’t contain great detail, but it helps to see the steps from start to
finish.

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