Screenwriting for Film and Television

Screenwriting for Film and Television PDF

Author: William Charles Miller

Publisher: Allyn & Bacon

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13:

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More and more people are writing scripts as they try to break into the "Hollywood scene." What makes a script stand out? Readers will find out in this comprehensive volume. This invaluable tool to the film and television scriptwriter offers two especially unique features: It contains valuable information on writing for TV (most books just cover film or tv, not both), and secondly, it contains a full chapter on Comedy (other books briefly touch this genre). Chock full of sample scripts and scenes, this book provides readers with the techniques that will enable them to move from concept to draft to final script with ease. Topics include: the writing process; choosing a story; character development; story structure; television narrative; comedy; dialogue/sound/music; marketing the script; and much more. Ideal for both novice and experienced screenwriters.

On Story—Screenwriters and Their Craft

On Story—Screenwriters and Their Craft PDF

Author: Barbara Morgan

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Published: 2013-10-15

Total Pages: 197

ISBN-13: 0292754604

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Introduction / by Barbara Morgan -- 1. Inspiration. A conversation with Randall Wallace -- 2. Story. What makes a great story : a conversation with Bill Wittliff ; Steven Zaillian on where the story originates ; Peter Hedges on crafting story ; Lawrence Kasdan on story and theme -- 3. Process. A conversation with John Lee Hancock ; Sacha Gervasi on getting started ; The basics with Nicholas Kazan ; Advice from Bill Wittliff ; Anne Rapp's writing routine ; Caroline Thompson's writing process ; Lawrence Kasdan on the challenges of writing -- 4. Structure. Structure and format : a conversation with Frank Pierson, Whit Stillman, Robin Swicord, and Nicholas Kazan ; Caroline Thompson on structure ; Lawrence Kasdan on the rules of script formatting ; Visual storytelling : a conversation with John August, John Lee Hancock, and Randall Wallace -- 5. Character and dialogue. Building characters and mapping their journeys : a conversation with Lawrence Kasdan and Anne Rapp ; Nicholas Kazan on writing characters ; Crafting characters : a conversation with Lawrence Kasdan ; Dialogue and finding the voice : a conversation with John August and John Lee Hancock -- 6. Rewritng. Writer's block : a conversation with Bud Shrake and Bill Wittliff ; Bill Wittliff on when to let something go ; Steven Zaillian on defining scenes : what to keep in, what to leave out ; Anne Rapp on keeping writing fresh ; Nicholas Kazan's rewriting process ; On rewriting : a conversation with Daniel Petrie Jr., Peter Hedges, and Sacha Gervasi ; Lawrence Kasdan on how to know when you're done -- 7. Collaboration. A conversation with Steven Zaillian ; Peter Hedges on collaborating ; Lawrence Kasdan on writing with a partner ; Randall Wallace on working with other writers -- 8. Go forth.

Inclusive Screenwriting for Film and Television

Inclusive Screenwriting for Film and Television PDF

Author: Jess King

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2022-05-16

Total Pages: 156

ISBN-13: 1000584240

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Breaking down the traditional structures of screenplays in an innovative and progressive way, while also investigating the ways in which screenplays have been traditionally told, this book interrogates how screenplays can be written to reflect the diverse life experiences of real people. Author Jess King explores how existing paradigms of screenplays often exclude the very people watching films and TV today. Taking aspects such as characterization, screenplay structure, and world-building, King offers ways to ensure your screenplays are inclusive and allow for every person’s story to be heard. In addition to examples ranging from Sorry to Bother You to Portrait of a Lady on Fire, four case studies on Killing Eve, Sense8, I May Destroy You, and Vida ground the theoretical work in practical application. The book highlights the ways in which screenplays can authentically represent and uplift the lived experiences of those so often left out of the narrative, such as the LGBTQIA+ community, women, and people of color. The book addresses a current demand for more inclusive and progressive representation in film and TV and equips screenwriters with the tools to ensure their screenplays tell authentic stories, offering innovative ways to reimagine current screenwriting practice towards radical equity and inclusion. This is a timely and necessary book that brings the critical lenses of gender studies, queer theory, and critical race studies to bear on the practice of screenwriting, ideal for students of screenwriting, aspiring screenwriters, and industry professionals alike.

Essentials of Screenwriting

Essentials of Screenwriting PDF

Author: Richard Walter

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2010-06-29

Total Pages: 400

ISBN-13: 1101664681

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Hollywood's premier teacher of screenwriting shares the secrets of writing and selling successful screenplays in this perfect gift for aspiring screenwriters. Anyone fortunate enough to win a seat in Professor Richard Walter's legendary class at UCLA film school can be confident their career has just taken a quantum leap forward. His students have written more than ten projects for Steven Spielberg alone, plus hundreds of other Hollywood blockbusters and prestigious indie productions, including two Oscar winners for best original screenplay—Milk (2008) and Sideways (2006). In this updated edition, Walter integrates his highly coveted lessons and principles from Screenwriting with material from his companion text, The Whole Picture, and includes new advice on how to turn a raw idea into a great movie or TV script-and sell it. There is never a shortage of aspiring screenwriters, and this book is their bible.

Going to the Movies

Going to the Movies PDF

Author: Syd Field

Publisher: Delta

Published: 2009-09-16

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0307569578

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Featuring insights ... analysis ... great films and filmmakers from “the most-sought-after screenwriting teacher in the world” (The Hollywood Reporter). A life in film. An extraordinary career. An unforgettable story — from noted lecturer, teacher, and bestselling author Syd Field. What makes a great movie great? ... An actor legendary? ... A screenplay extraordinary or just ordinary? Syd Field has spent a lifetime seeking answers to these questions. His bestselling books on the art and craft of screenwriting have become the film industry’s gold standard. Now Syd Field tells his own remarkable story, sharing the insight and experience gleaned from an extraordinary career. Using classic movies from the past and present — from Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane to Andy and Larry Wachowski’s The Matrix — Field provides a guided tour of the basic elements common to all great films. Learn what makes La Grande Illusion a groundbreaking, timeless classic ... how Casablanca teaches one of the most important elements of creating memorable characters for the screen ... why Pulp Fiction might be one of the most influential films of our time. Discover the legendary filmmakers, films, and stars who shaped Field’s understanding of the medium.... Meet Jean Renoir, the great French director who steered his young Berkeley protégé away from medicine into film.... Watch a dazzling young Francis Ford Coppola as he directs his thesis film at UCLA.... Spend an amazing summer with Sam Peckinpah as he shares the screenwriting techniques behind his classic western The Wild Bunch. Rich in anecdote and insight, Going to the Movies will both entertain and inform, deepening every moviegoer’s appreciation of the magic behind the silver screen.

The Anatomy of Story

The Anatomy of Story PDF

Author: John Truby

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Published: 2008-10-14

Total Pages: 405

ISBN-13: 1429923709

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John Truby is one of the most respected and sought-after story consultants in the film industry, and his students have gone on to pen some of Hollywood's most successful films, including Sleepless in Seattle, Scream, and Shrek. The Anatomy of Story is his long-awaited first book, and it shares all of his secrets for writing a compelling script. Based on the lessons in his award-winning class, Great Screenwriting, The Anatomy of Story draws on a broad range of philosophy and mythology, offering fresh techniques and insightful anecdotes alongside Truby's own unique approach for how to build an effective, multifaceted narrative. Truby's method for constructing a story is at once insightful and practical, focusing on the hero's moral and emotional growth. As a result, writers will dig deep within and explore their own values and worldviews in order to create an effective story. Writers will come away with an extremely precise set of tools to work with—specific, useful techniques to make the audience care about their characters, and that make their characters grow in meaningful ways. They will construct a surprising plot that is unique to their particular concept, and they will learn how to express a moral vision that can genuinely move an audience. The foundations of story that Truby lays out are so fundamental they are applicable—and essential—to all writers, from novelists and short-story writers to journalists, memoirists, and writers of narrative non-fiction.

Story Sense: A Screenwriter's Guide for Film and Television

Story Sense: A Screenwriter's Guide for Film and Television PDF

Author: Paul Lucey

Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages

Published: 1996-01-01

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780070389960

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This is the first true textbook for a course in screenwriting. Story Sense provides specific strategies for writing story, character, and script. A wealth of techniques are suggested so that screenwriters can select those that work best for them. The book has been conceived as a working manual for screenwriters and offers hands-on advice for solving the many problems that crop up as the work progresses. In addition, the book includes examples of script format, a glossary of film terms, the Writer's Guild's compensation terms, and such insider examples as a sample studio script evaluation form, a sample script analysis, a sample studio reader's questionnaire, and a sample re-write.

What’s the Story? The Director Meets Their Screenplay

What’s the Story? The Director Meets Their Screenplay PDF

Author: Peter Markham

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2020-09-07

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1000173895

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A structured perspective on the crucial interface of director and screenplay, this book encompasses twenty-two seminal aspects of the approach to story and script that a director needs to understand before embarking on all other facets of the director’s craft. Drawing on seventeen years of teaching filmmaking at a graduate level and on his prior career as a director and in production at the BBC, Markham shows how the filmmaker can apply rigorous analysis of the elements of dramatic narrative in a screenplay to their creative vision, whether of a short or feature, TV episode or season. Combining examination of such fundamental topics as story, premise, theme, genre, world and setting, tone, structure, and key images with the introduction of less familiar concepts such as cultural, social, and moral canvas, narrative point of view, and the journey of the audience, What’s The Story? The Director Meets Their Screenplay applies the insights of each chapter to a case study—the screenplay of the short film Contrapelo, nominated for the Jury Award at Tribeca in 2014. This book is an essential resource for any aspiring director who wants to understand exactly how to approach a screenplay in order to get the very best from it, and an invaluable resource for any filmmaker who wants to understand the important creative interplay between the director and screenplay in bringing a story to life.

Storytelling for Film and Television

Storytelling for Film and Television PDF

Author: Ken Dancyger

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-04-30

Total Pages: 184

ISBN-13: 1351245961

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Storytelling for Film and Television is a theory and practice book which offers a definitive introduction to the art of storytelling through writing, directing, and editing. Author Ken Dancyger provides a comprehensive explanation of the tools that underpin successful narrative filmmaking and television production. The book takes a unique approach by connecting the different phases of the creative process of film and television production. It shows how writing, directing, and editing all contribute to the process of storytelling and function together to advance the narrative goals of a screenplay, to tell the best story. A case study approach provides numerous examples of effectiveness and brings together the core areas of aesthetics and production to make these concepts more accessible. Case studies include classic and modern films, foreign films, limited and series television, with examples including Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The Revenant, and Son of Saul. This is the ideal text for film and television production students at all levels. It is written in a style which makes it accessible to anybody interested in learning more about the storytelling process and is written for a global audience addressing a global industry.