Course Curriculum

There has never been a bigger market for screenplays that are needed to fill the voracious appetites of the streaming services. These days, around 10,000 films get made worldwide with Nigeria being the largest consumer of feature films followed by India and the U.S.

In the U.S. the Writers Guild of America (WGA) registers approximately 50,000 scripts and story ideas a year. Of these, 2000 are bought or optioned and only around 200 get made. In practical terms this means you cannot take learning screenwriting and going pro casually. This means acknowledging the three masters who will determine the fate of your screenplay.

• The Money Source (often a studio)
• The Talent
• The Public

With franchise film sequels, prequels, movies based on songs or board games or comic books there’s little room for a unique idea unless it stands out on its own merits, satisfies the three masters and guarantees (as much as possible) a return on investment.

There’s one other master who you must serve, the coverage reader (otherwise known as the gate keeper). There the ones who can send your script up the food chain IF they feel great about it. Perhaps 10% of the scripts they read get moved to the next step. While coverage readers can’t green light your script, but they can kill it before it’s born.

So, if you want to be screenwriter understand that the discipline and commitment to writing is as important as the writing itself. 95% of what you do in this business is rejection. Therefore, it is imperative that you understand screenwriting at a deep level.

• No one wants to read your script.
• Commerce first, art second.
• You need to find your unique voice and develop it.
• 95% of what you do in this business is rejection. Learn from this process.

All story logic should spring from character, not plot. The plot moves forward by the logical actions of your characters. Compelling characters are the reason your script exists.

Conflict is the basis for ALL narrative. Without conflict you have no story.

Conflict can be defined by this six-word equation: Define the need, create the obstacle. There are three narrative elements to make this equation work:

• Stakes and Consequences
• Dramatic Tension
• Emotional Investment

The six-word equation demands that we have:

• A protagonist with a need/goal.
• An antagonist or obstacle which stands in the way of that need.
• Stakes that keep the protagonist focused and the story moving forward.
• Consequences and failure of not reaching the need (which ramps up the dramatic tension).
• An emotional investment by the audience wanting the protagonist to succeed.
• A story arc which is often a transformative journey for the protagonist.

Your mindset as you write your script should be:

• What is your character really after?
• What engages us?
• What’s underneath the goal.
• What motivates the protagonist to go after it?

Remember, all storytelling is emotional. You can take any film and reframe it emotionally. Try to do this with every film idea you come up with.

Oftentimes the harder you think of THE IDEA that will inspire you to write, the harder it will make itself known to you. Ideas rarely show up fully formed. Don’t put pressure on yourself to find a STORY! You’re actually looking for a “narrative springboard” which will lead to a story. That may be:

• A notion
• An arena
• A character
• A location

Figuring out what your story is about is a process. Question: What are you looking for? Answer: An interesting basis for conflict. Open Yourself Up to the Stories Around You:

• Observe
• Listen
• Read

You can’t copyright an idea.

Public Domain: Any work published in the United States before 1923 or works published before 1964 for which copyrights were not renewed, expiring by 1992 at the latest, is in the public domain.

Facts cannot be copyrighted nor can the history that’s generally taught. Parody and satire are protected as a form of Fair Use. Parody must make fun of the original work or its author. satire – is considered its own genre or literary form in which behaviors follies, abuses and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often in the hopes of changing attitude or inspiring improvement.

When you finally come up with that brilliant, magical idea, consider:

• Is it something you can be passionate about? Otherwise, why care about this idea?
• How do I make the audience care as much as I do? How can I get them emotionally invested?
• Do I clearly see where this story is headed? If the ending of your movie comes easily to you, it might also come easily to the audience.

Here’s how Pixar pitches the three-act structure to their animators:

Act One:

• Once upon a time
• And every day
• Until one day

Act Two:

• And because of that, this happened
• And because of that, this happened
• Until finally

Act Three:

• And ever since that day
• And the moral of the story is

While some writers like to write by the seat of their pants. Ron stresses--and does this himself--knowing six things before beginning to write:

• Your Starting Point
• First Act Break (Conflict kicks in)
• Mid-Point
• Second Act Break (All is lost moment”
• Ending
• Your Theme

Coverage readers expect a good script to grab them in the first ten pages and around page 17 the protagonist makes a decision that pulls them down a path for the rest of the movie. A standard feature film screenplay is around 100-120 pages--in a 100 page script, the first 20 get us to the first act break, the next 60 get us to the second act break, and the last 20 get us to the resolution of the conflict and the end of the screenplay.

Theme is the most misunderstood, underused and underappreciated tool in the writer’s toolbox. In terms of your story, protagonist, goal, and obstacle, what is your story in the service of? What is the central, underlying idea that unites the plot and the character’s actions? Theme is the dominant idea underneath your story. It’s the something we can all relate to as humans. Examples of common themes:

• War is hell.
• All men should be brothers.
• Love conquers all.

Why you should know your theme: It informs every scene you are about to write, as well as how you should be approaching it. It informs what makes your characters, and especially your protagonist tick. If you know what your theme is, it will serve as a compass which keeps your story consistent and pointed in the right direction. It will even suggest scenes and sequences to write. No one sits down to write a theme. You write a story, and the theme will ultimately reveal itself to you.

A scene is a segment of story that takes place in continuous time and in the same place. A scene should end with a “but” or “therefore” which launches us further in the story. A scene:

• Has a beginning, middle, and end.
• Always has an objective, even if the audience doesn’t know what it is at the time.
• Illuminates an aspect of the story of a character.
• It can set up something that is paid off later.
• It can be the pay-off to the something which was set up earlier.
• It can be a transition ahead or backwards in time or be used to change location in the present time.
• Whether it’s the protagonist or another character, their goal is either reached, advanced, or stymied until a later scene.
• It always moves the story forward.

A scene ends when it has served its purpose to advance the plot.

A sequence is a series of scenes conjoined by a single thought. A sequence should also end with a “but” or “therefore” which launches us further in the story.

Give Your Protagonist a Defining Entrance

Give your character a distinctive introduction that speaks to who they are, establishes a distinctive factor about them. Oftentimes what you think of a person for many years comes only after a first impression. Thus, you should never, ever miss an opportunity to make a first impression of a character, to give him/her a telling introduction. Create a first impression to play into or play against.

Before You Start Writing

Put a lot of effort into your protagonist. Delve into the history and key life moments, really find the building blocks that have made him or her what they are today…how that history manifests in your protagonist’s world view…personal quirks…unique mannerisms, habits, or pastimes. What you think of a person for many years comes only after a first impression.

Lajos Egri’s Character Breakdown:

• Physiology: Gender, Age, Height, Color of Hair, Color of Eyes, Skin, Posture, Appearance, Neatness, Health, Birthmarks, Abnormalities, Heredity
• Psychology: Sex life, Morality, Ambitions, Frustrations, Temperament, Attitude, Complexes, Superstitions, Imagination
• Sociology: Class, Occupation, Education, Home Life, Upbringing, Relationship with parents, Relationship with siblings, Religion, Community’s perception, Political affiliations, Amusements

This lesson looks into the elements that manifest character through how the characters express themselves both in text and subtext. Dialogue is informed by the definition and establishment of character and how well you know that character. This is the most important thing for you to know and for your audience to learn.

Subtext is the meaning beneath the words. Subtext may be inferred through a character’s actions, even through silence, when no dialogue is stated. It is the meaning inferred by bearing witness to a situation or deducing the deeper meaning beyond the words expressly stated.

Exposition is the nuts-and-bolts type information that must be given in a scene to the audience for the plot to move forward, for characters’ motivations to be clear, and for relationships and backstory to be understandable. Define your character in terms of the goal. Exposition is the enemy of good writing and good drama, nevertheless it is necessary. It is not plot but it advances the plot. How to relate exposition without being obvious about it requires work. Avoid whenever possible having a character recap what the audience already knows but other characters still need to know. Exposition trick: Introduce a character to ask the questions for the audience.

Truly listen to how people speak in real life. People talk across purposes, or elliptically, incomplete, use clichés. Read your dialogue aloud, and often. Do not be afraid of silence.

Through whose eyes is your story being told? P.O.V. is of crucial importance and can change the entire approach or attitude of your story, depending on the P.O.V. you have chosen. Consider: How is the plot best revealed in terms of who knows what, when (including the audience)?

Factors that Determine Your Choice of P.O.V.

• First: the needs of the story… a plot is the essential information necessary to move the story forward, so the primary factor is how to best unfold that information.
• Second: remember, all storytelling is emotional…it succeeds or fails in how well it connects emotionally with your reader, viewer, or listener.

Types of P.O.V.

• Omniscient – in writing, in reference to a P.O.V. that is all-seeing, like God or a God-like or mythical being.
• 3rd person Limited Omniscient – in writing, in reference to a P.O.V. in which only the thoughts and feelings of a main character are revealed.
• Epistolary – a P.O.V. in which the story is told in the first person through letters, notes, and/or diary entries, all written in the first person.

P.O.V. can change the attitude of your story.

Many believe that to write comedy you must begin with a comedic premise. That’s simply not true. While there are comedies which have a comedic premise, many successful comedies do not. In fact, the more potentially tragic the consequences, the more potential for comedy.

The Narrative Needs are the Same: All drama, all comedy have exactly the same needs. Take any comedy or drama. Deconstruct them side-by-side, you will see no core difference.

Serious Subject Matter as Comedy: The more serious the subject matter, the greater the comedic potential. With the separation of time, we get laughter.

What is Taboo in Comedy? Answer: not much. Ultimately, it isn’t the tragic or taboo aspects we’re laughing at. It’s the human condition that tragedy and taboo reveal about what we find funny. We, as human beings, are so monumentally flawed and those flaws are revealed in our actions which are sometimes very extreme and hence funny. Don’t be afraid to take chances. Don’t limit your thinking because of societal taboos or political correctness.

Comedy of the Absurd? Ground It in Reality: To be funny, absurdity in a narrative film needs to be grounded in reality or, at least, grounded in emotional reality. Start with one foot on the ground and you have some freedom to be absurd.

Character is Comedy: If you design your characters with a well-defined overriding quirk or pronounced personality flaw, or unique left-of-center view of the world (which is still consistent with the story and theme you’re telling) then the humor that comes out of your character’s mouth isn’t so much a joke as a consistent perspective.

Enter Laughing: Always make a statement about your Give them a funny, revealing introduction that makes a statement about who they are.

Not Every Protagonist is Funny: Don’t be afraid if your protagonist is not the comedic center of the film. Use it and build a broader universe which orbits around them. Having a grounded protagonist at the center of the show, who represents the audience and to whom they can relate, allows you to go much broader and funnier with the side characters.

Romantic Comedy: Wonder why romantic comedy is moribund? There’s no seemingly insurmountable obstacle standing in the way of the two leads getting together. Where’s the real conflict? The larger the obstacle, the greater the conflict, the better the comedy, and the more satisfying then when the two people finally get together.

Structure and Formula are Your Friend, Especially in Comedy: Beginning, midpoint, end, and act break one, act break 2 give you signposts around which to build your story. Each of them gives you an opportunity for humor.

Don’t be afraid to suck. All writing is rewriting.

Genre – a film category having specific content, style, narrative convention, imagery, settings, narratives, iconography, and characters or types of characters, all of which evinces a specific emotional response to the material.

High-Concept – A subset of various film genres, it is based on a premise that can be summed up in one sentence, even a few words, and it has an automatic hook.

Other genres include:

• Musical, Western, Historical, Action, Adventure, Romance, Comedy

These writer/directors started out in genre, specifically, horror and science fiction genres:

• Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, James Cameron, Joel Coen, Kathryn Bigelow, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg

Genres are Good for the Film Industry: The strength of the approach of thinking in the genre area... is that it gives you a built-in audience. It’s invariably something that is highly promotable. The concept doesn’t depend on big stars. The concept is the star. Low budget, great hook, no stars necessary. Writing in genre is not easy and your idea must be interesting and special in order to get noticed and potentially sold. You must satisfy the expectations of the genre you’re writing in as well as deliver something new and different. As the writer, you need to balance the tropes they expect with their need to see something new and different. Use the familiar as a springboard to present the new.

Sure, it hurts to hear it, but it must be said again: No one wants to read your script. For that reason, format is vitally important. Poorly formatted scripts, typos, and other errors signal to the reader that your work lacks professionalism. Bear in mind that every time someone passes your screenplay up to their superiors, they’re putting their own necks on the line. No one in Hollywood and film in general has ever lost their job for saying no to passing a script up to their bosses. It is easier to say no. There are zero repercussions for doing so. Pass an inferior script up and their reputation, and job, could be on the line. Format is the easiest thing to master and to make your script look professional. It sends a subconscious message to the reader that they are dealing with someone who knows what they’re doing. Sure, if your script sucks, format will not save you. But if your format sucks, it sends the opposite message and that may be your downfall.

Format Correctly:

• Industry Standard: Use industry-standard screenplay formatting software like Final Draft, Movie Magic Screenwriter, or Celtx. This ensures your script is easy to read and understand.

Consistency:

• Maintain consistency in formatting throughout the script. This includes font, margins, spacing, and scene headings.

Remember, writing is not easy. If it were, everyone would do it. It gets easier over time, the more you practice it. Hence, the vital importance of discipline, developing a routine of writing regularly, and especially, rewriting. The idea and conception of this workshop has been to give you a huge leg up on the thousands of others who want to sit at the same table as you do... If you have done the homework and come up with a basic idea you can now work on, this course leaves you at the next step—realizing that idea and getting it into a first draft by working with a mentor who is an actual professional working in the industry. With them, you can develop that first draft into one or more rewrites.