SCRIPT PROCESS

There are NO rules in scriptwriting, filmmaking, or art.

Art is not science, mathematics, technology, or academic theory.

(Even in science, mathematics, technology, and academic theory, rules always change.)

Art (including film) comes from the always-changing human spirit and heart.

Books and teachers only give you opinions.

Sometimes the opinions are stated very strongly, and you may feel intimidated.

Think deeply about the opinions, use the opinions that are useful, and forget the rest.

The following are not rules, but only suggestions.

These suggestions are based on my personal experience, and that of other professionals.

They can be very useful.

IMPORTANT:

Give your imagination complete freedom.

Do not try to judge your own work.

Artists are usually the worst judge of their own work. They are too emotionally close to it.

Do not show your script drafts to anyone (except good teachers)….

Normal people do not know how to read scripts, or how the films will look.

Classmates opinions may be too limited, or they may feel jealous.

Friends don’t want to hurt you.

Parents want you to quit being a writer and get a good job.

Bad teachers want to prove they are smarter than you.

Do not edit your script until after the Rough Draft is completely written.

Show the Final Draft of your script to carefully selected people whose opinions you respect.

IDEA
Your idea can start with something you see, read, or dream.
Begin to develop the idea from any of these points:                          
Character

Story                                                                                

Scene

Single Image or moment

Ending                                                                       

Feeling

Point/Goal

LOGLINE (PITCH)

Used to get money from producers, studios, private investors, or the government.

Used for future marketing ideas.

Used to interest a director or actor in working on the film.

Used to make the main dramatic points of the story clearer to you.

CONSIDER YOUR:
Target Audience

Genre

Film rating

SYNOPSIS

1-2 paragraphs, up to 1-page maximum (for a feature-length film, 85-120 minutes).

Only the MAIN plot points and characters.

Should be very clear, interesting, marketable.

Do not use self-promotional or advertising words.

WRITE                                             
You can begin writing the script focusing on one or more of these:
Plot                                                                                 

Hero

Villain

Relationship                                                                                

Dialogue

Plot twist                                                                       

First scene                                                                           

Last scene

Climax                    

WRITER’S BLOCK

Every writer and artist has many “artistic blocks”.

These self-destructive psychological blocks stop artists from creating.

The only way to break through such blocks is to understand them.

You must NOT allow yourself to judge, condemn, and hate yourself.

You must accept the frightening artistic blocks, then continue working anyway.

You do NOT have to be happy, sad, angry, passionate, or inspired to create.

It is just your job, which you must do...like breathing, eating, having sex, and sleeping.

WRITERS' BLOCKS ARE CAUSED BY IMAGINATION.

THEY ARE STRONG, BUT NOT REAL.

Writers' Blocks are caused by:

Fear of failure.

Fear of success. (Really.)

Fear of being attacked by critics, audiences, and friends.

Fear of being ignored.

No self-confidence.

Brutal self-criticism.

TREATMENT

All the action and important details in the script, but no dialogue (or only a few important lines of dialogue). A treatment is about 1/3 to 1/2 as long as a completed script.

CREATE                                       

When you write, do not edit at the same time.

If you mix creating and editing, you will keep changing the script and never finish writing it.

Use the right side of your brain - the creative side, not the left side - the critical side.

ROUGH DRAFT (1^st DRAFT)

Focus on:

Story

Structure

Characters

EDIT                                        
Draft 2 is when you should start the editing process.

You can think about your script, find the problems, and fix them.

But you should not judge your work harshly, like a critic.

You still must primarily be a creative artist, not a critic.

DRAFTS: 2-3-4-etc.

New drafts are when you change important things in the script:

plot, major characters, key relationships, many scenes, structure of the storytelling.

REVISIONS: 1-2-3-4-etc.

Revisions are when you change small things in the script:

minor story points, minor characters, small parts of scenes, location and time details.

FINAL DRAFT  

This is the completed script that satisfies you.

It is the script you give to producers and directors.

It is the script the director may give to the actors.

(But producers and directors often tell you to write new drafts or revisions to satisfy them.)

 SHOOTING SCRIPT

The script that the director actually shoots.

The director makes notes to the actors, camera, sound, and to himself.                                   

PUBLISHED SCRIPT

A script you buy in bookstores is usually transcribed from the film after it is shot and edited. It is rarely the director’s Shooting Script, or the writer’s Final Draft.

Published scripts are useful and interesting to read, but it doesn’t give you the true idea of the real process of transforming a written script into a visual film.

Try to buy and read scripts in unpublished manuscript form (written before films are made).

Final Drafts and Shooting Scripts are available on the Internet, and from Hollywood stores.