the basics of filmmaking

screenwriting, producing, directing, cinematography, audio & editing

blain brown
the basics of filmmaking
screenwriting, producing, directing, cinematography, audio & editing

blain brown
First published 2020
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

the basics of filmmaking.......................................................................... iii

There are no rules in filmmaking, right?......................................................................................xi
Telling Stories Visually......................................................................................................xi
Top Ten Ways to Screw Up Your Movie....................................................................................xii
Production Mistakes.........................................................................................................xii
Writing Your Story..................................................................................... 1
Telling Stories With Pictures ...................................................................................................... 2
Is It Plot Or Story? ............................................................................................................ 2
How Short Films Are Different........................................................................................... 2
It All Starts With Conflict .......................................................................................................... 3
External Conflict................................................................................................................ 3
Internal Conflict................................................................................................................. 3
Protagonist v Antagonist............................................................................................................. 4
The Need........................................................................................................................... 4
Changing Direction.................................................................................................................... 5
Obstacles............................................................................................................................ 5
Roadblocks......................................................................................................................... 5
Premise....................................................................................................................................... 6
The Theme: What Is Your Story Really About?.................................................................. 6
Aristotle............................................................................................................................. 6
Creating Characters.................................................................................................................... 7
Write Their Backstory........................................................................................................ 7
Point-of-View.................................................................................................................... 7
What is their Dramatic Need? Their Goal?........................................................................... 7
25 Words Or Less................................................................................................................ 7
The Cards and the Outline ......................................................................................................... 8
The Step Outline................................................................................................................ 8
The Cards........................................................................................................................... 8
Synopsis............................................................................................................................. 8
Three Act Structure.................................................................................................................. 10
Beginning, Middle and End............................................................................................... 10
Story Points ............................................................................................................................. 11
Getting The Story Started ................................................................................................ 11
Plot Point One.................................................................................................................. 11
Act Two................................................................................................................................... 12
Midpoint.......................................................................................................................... 12
Plot Point Two......................................................................................................................... 13
Wrapping It Up................................................................................................................ 13
Don’t Jump The Shark!............................................................................................................. 14
We’re Gonna’ Need A Bigger Boat!................................................................................... 14
Emotionally Satisfying Ending.......................................................................................... 14
Let’s Review..................................................................................................................... 14
Dialog That Is Not On the Nose ............................................................................................... 16
Subtext............................................................................................................................. 16
Fully Cooked.................................................................................................................... 16
Not Exposing Your Exposition.................................................................................................. 17
Why is it a necessary evil?................................................................................................. 17
Show, Don’t Tell............................................................................................................... 17
Formatting A Script.................................................................................................................. 17
A Sample Script Page................................................................................................................ 18
Loglines, Treatment and Synopsis.............................................................................................. 19
Synopsis........................................................................................................................... 19
Logline............................................................................................................................. 19
Presentation.............................................................................................................................. 20
Binding............................................................................................................................ 20
Pitching.................................................................................................................................... 20
The Elevator Pitch............................................................................................................ 20
Production...................................................................................................21
What Is a Producer? ................................................................................................................. 22
Executive Producer........................................................................................................... 22
Producer.......................................................................................................................... 22
Associate Producer............................................................................................................ 22
Line Producer................................................................................................................... 22
Unit Production Manager................................................................................................. 22
The Production Team............................................................................................................... 23
The Production Office...................................................................................................... 23
On The Set....................................................................................................................... 23
The Basics of Filmmaking v
 Pre-production ........................................................................................................................ 23
Other Departments........................................................................................................... 23
Location Scouting............................................................................................................. 23
Making a Budget ...................................................................................................................... 24
The Budget Form............................................................................................................. 24
The Top Sheet.......................................................................................................................... 25
Budget Details.......................................................................................................................... 26
Script Marking ......................................................................................................................... 27
Eighths of a Page.............................................................................................................. 27
Breakdown Pages...................................................................................................................... 28
Tech Scout................................................................................................................................ 29
The Walk Through .......................................................................................................... 29
Script Pages and Scene Numbers ............................................................................................... 30
Locked Script.................................................................................................................... 30
Script Page Color Code..................................................................................................... 30
Putting a Crew Together .......................................................................................................... 31
Permits .................................................................................................................................... 32
Stealing Scenes ................................................................................................................. 32
Pickup Day....................................................................................................................... 32
Reshoots.......................................................................................................................... 32
Location Scouting .................................................................................................................... 33
Location Checklist............................................................................................................ 33
Tech Scouts...................................................................................................................... 33
Location Checklist.................................................................................................................... 34
Contact Lists............................................................................................................................. 35
Day Out of Days.............................................................................................................. 35
Transpo .................................................................................................................................... 36
Transpo Coordinator........................................................................................................ 36
Production Report ................................................................................................................... 37
Releases and Deal Memos ......................................................................................................... 38
Contracts.......................................................................................................................... 38
Deal Memos..................................................................................................................... 38
Crew Deal Memo............................................................................................................. 38
Talent Releases......................................................................................................................... 39
Why Releases Are Important............................................................................................. 39
Talent Release Form......................................................................................................... 39
Location Release....................................................................................................................... 40
Sides......................................................................................................................................... 41
Catering/Craft Services ............................................................................................................ 42
Walkie-Talkies.......................................................................................................................... 43
Setiquette ................................................................................................................................. 43
What Production Assistants Do................................................................................................. 44
Receipts........................................................................................................................... 44
The AD Team...................................................................................................45
Running the Show.................................................................................................................... 46
First Assistant Director...................................................................................................... 46
Second AD....................................................................................................................... 46
Second Second AD........................................................................................................... 46
Production Assistants........................................................................................................ 46
The Jobs of the First Assistant Director...................................................................................... 47
First AD — Pre-production.............................................................................................. 47
Things you should do: ..................................................................................................... 47
Things not to do: ............................................................................................................. 47
Creating the Schedule............................................................................................................... 48
Strip Boards...................................................................................................................... 48
Cover Sets........................................................................................................................ 48
Strip Boards on Computer......................................................................................................... 50
Other Schedule Considerations......................................................................................... 50
How the First AD Runs the Set................................................................................................. 51
Rough In.......................................................................................................................... 51
Blocking Rehearsal........................................................................................................... 51
Lighting........................................................................................................................... 51
Final Rehearsal................................................................................................................. 51
Last Looks ....................................................................................................................... 51
Second AD............................................................................................................................... 54
Second Second AD.................................................................................................................... 54
Production Assistants ............................................................................................................... 55
What a PA doesn’t do........................................................................................................ 55
Ways for a PA (or anybody) to Get Fired ................................................................................... 56
How to Survive As An Extra:............................................................................................ 56
vi The Basics of Filmmaking
Continuity and Coverage........................................................................57
Continuity: Making Sure It Works............................................................................................ 58
Continuity ...................................................................................................................... 58
Cutability......................................................................................................................... 58
Screen Direction .............................................................................................................. 58
The Line........................................................................................................................... 58
The 20% Rule................................................................................................................... 60
The 30 Degree Rule ......................................................................................................... 60
Two Lens Sizes................................................................................................................. 60
Point-of-View........................................................................................................................... 60
True Subjective POV........................................................................................................ 60
Screen Direction In Dialog Scenes............................................................................................. 61
Jump Cuts ....................................................................................................................... 62
Ellipsis.............................................................................................................................. 62
Door and Window Match................................................................................................. 62
Location Stitching............................................................................................................ 63
Faking it with Redressing................................................................................................. 63
Types of Continuity................................................................................................................. 64
Wardrobe......................................................................................................................... 64
Screen direction................................................................................................................ 64
Props................................................................................................................................ 64
Time................................................................................................................................ 64
The Work of the Director........................................................................65
Director and Producer .............................................................................................................. 66
The Director’s Jobs .......................................................................................................... 66
The Stages of Filmmaking................................................................................................ 66
Getting Started ........................................................................................................................ 67
Understanding The Script................................................................................................. 67
Table Read....................................................................................................................... 67
Rehearsal.......................................................................................................................... 67
Page Turn......................................................................................................................... 67
Director’s Pre-Production......................................................................................................... 68
Casting............................................................................................................................. 68
Location scout.................................................................................................................. 68
Collaborations.................................................................................................................. 68
A Director Prepares .................................................................................................................. 69
The shot list...................................................................................................................... 69
Setups.............................................................................................................................. 69
Sketches........................................................................................................................... 69
Overheads........................................................................................................................ 70
Storyboards...................................................................................................................... 70
Working With Actors ............................................................................................................... 71
Action, Attitude, Activity................................................................................................. 71
Blocking the Actors.................................................................................................................. 72
Blocking For The Camera................................................................................................. 72
Block, Light, Rehearse, Shoot ................................................................................................... 73
Action, Cut, Circle That ........................................................................................................... 74
The Shooting Methods.............................................................................................................. 74
The Master Scene Method................................................................................................. 74
Overlapping or Triple-Take Method................................................................................. 75
In-One............................................................................................................................. 76
The Developing Master.................................................................................................... 76
Walk and Talk.................................................................................................................. 76
Freeform Method............................................................................................................. 76
Montage........................................................................................................................... 78
Invisible Technique........................................................................................................... 78
Cinematography.........................................................................................79
The Camera Department........................................................................................................... 80
Director of Photography................................................................................................... 80
First AC........................................................................................................................... 80
Second AC....................................................................................................................... 80
Clapper-Loader................................................................................................................. 80
DMT............................................................................................................................... 80
DIT.................................................................................................................................. 80
Operator.......................................................................................................................... 80
Second Unit .................................................................................................................... 80
Shooting Digital....................................................................................................................... 81
Aspect Ratio..................................................................................................................... 81
Frame Rate....................................................................................................................... 81

The Basics of Filmmaking vii

 Camera Terms........................................................................................................................... 81
Focal Length............................................................................................................................. 82
The personality of a lens................................................................................................... 82
Iris/Aperture............................................................................................................................. 82
Rack Focus / Focus Pull.................................................................................................... 83
Shallow Focus................................................................................................................... 83
Exposure .................................................................................................................................. 84
Don’t Blow Out the Highlights, Don’t Get Into Noise....................................................... 84
Histogram........................................................................................................................ 84
Zebras.............................................................................................................................. 84
Color Balance .......................................................................................................................... 85
Composition............................................................................................................................. 86
Point-of-View........................................................................................................................... 87
The Shots: Building Blocks of a Scene....................................................................................... 88
Character Shots................................................................................................................ 89
Typical Character Shots ............................................................................................................ 91
Inserts....................................................................................................................................... 92
Framing People ........................................................................................................................ 93
Camera Support........................................................................................................................ 94
Camera Angles.......................................................................................................................... 95
Camera Movements.................................................................................................................. 96
The Prime Directive.................................................................................................................. 97
Managing Your Media............................................................................................................... 97
Marking................................................................................................................................... 98
Marking During Blocking Rehearsal................................................................................. 98
Pulling Focus ........................................................................................................................... 99
Some focus practices:........................................................................................................ 99
Shooting Greenscreen............................................................................................................. 100
Background Plates.......................................................................................................... 100
The Foreground Plate..................................................................................................... 100
Tracking Marks Are Important........................................................................................ 100
Lighting and Grip..................................................................................... 101
Why Lighting Matters ............................................................................................................ 102
The Most Important Thing About Lighting..................................................................... 102
The Lighting Process...................................................................................................... 102
Types of Lights ...................................................................................................................... 103
Fresnels.......................................................................................................................... 103
Open face....................................................................................................................... 103
LEDs.............................................................................................................................. 103
Fluorescent..................................................................................................................... 103
Practicals........................................................................................................................ 103
Hard vs. Soft .......................................................................................................................... 104
Hard Light...................................................................................................................... 104
Soft Light....................................................................................................................... 104
Lighting Terms and Concepts ................................................................................................. 105
Basic Principles ...................................................................................................................... 106
Let The Set and the Scene Motivate Your Lighting........................................................... 106
Back Cross Keys ............................................................................................................. 106
Less Is More.................................................................................................................... 106
Lighting Methods................................................................................................................... 106
Controlling Light.................................................................................................................... 108
The Amazing C-Stand.................................................................................................... 109
How To Set a Light................................................................................................................. 109
Getting Power......................................................................................................................... 109
Expendables............................................................................................................................ 110
Lighting Order....................................................................................................................... 110
Lighting Definitions................................................................................................................ 112
The Art Department.................................................................................. 113
The Art Department............................................................................................................... 114
Production Designer....................................................................................................... 114
Art Director................................................................................................................... 114
Set Construction, Scenic Artists...................................................................................... 114
Set Decorator................................................................................................................. 115
Set Dresser..................................................................................................................... 115
Props.............................................................................................................................. 116
Finding the Look of a Film...................................................................................................... 116
The Right Details........................................................................................................... 117
Wardrobe....................................................................................................................... 117
viii The Basics of Filmmaking
 Continuity..................................................................................................................... 118
Makeup and Hair............................................................................................................ 119
Building Sets........................................................................................................................... 120
Slating and Scripty.................................................................................. 121
Scripty.................................................................................................................................... 122
Lining A Script............................................................................................................... 122
A Sample Lined Script............................................................................................................. 123
Sample Script Notes................................................................................................................ 124
Script Notes Key..................................................................................................................... 125
End of Day Report................................................................................................................. 126
Anatomy of a Slate.................................................................................................................. 127
Slate Numbers For Coverage........................................................................................... 127
Clapboards.............................................................................................................................. 128
Scene Numbers............................................................................................................... 128
Slate Like A Pro.............................................................................................................. 129
Tail Slates....................................................................................................................... 130
Reshoots........................................................................................................................ 130
VFX Plates and Room Tone............................................................................................ 130
Audio Basics................................................................................................ 131
Double System vs. Single System Sound.................................................................................. 132
Sound Recordist Team ........................................................................................................... 132
Microphones........................................................................................................................... 133
Phantom Power.............................................................................................................. 134
Audio Basics............................................................................................................................ 134
Rule #1.......................................................................................................................... 134
Rule #2.......................................................................................................................... 134
Scratch Track.................................................................................................................. 134
Room Tone.................................................................................................................... 135
ADR Is Expensive.......................................................................................................... 135
Headphones ................................................................................................................... 135
Boom Operating............................................................................................................. 135
Mixing Audio......................................................................................................................... 136
Shooting To Playback..................................................................................................... 137
Sound reports ................................................................................................................ 137
Syncing.................................................................................................................................. 138
Timecode Slate............................................................................................................... 138
The Work of the Editor........................................................................... 141
Why Do We Edit? .................................................................................................................. 142
What the Editor Does..................................................................................................... 142
The Director/Editor Collaboration.................................................................................. 142
The Six Steps of Editing.......................................................................................................... 142
Logging.......................................................................................................................... 142
First Assembly................................................................................................................ 142
Rough Cut..................................................................................................................... 142
First Cut......................................................................................................................... 143
Fine Cut......................................................................................................................... 143
Final Cut........................................................................................................................ 143
What Is an Edit? ..................................................................................................................... 143
Post-Production.............................................................................................................. 143
Continuity Cutting......................................................................................................... 143
Seven Elements of Editing ...................................................................................................... 144
Types of Edits................................................................................................................. 145
Establishing The Geography............................................................................................ 146
Invisible Technique................................................................................................................. 146
J and L Cuts.................................................................................................................... 146
Jump Cuts...................................................................................................................... 146
Hidden Cuts................................................................................................................... 146
Walter Murch’s Rule of Six..................................................................................................... 147
Emotion......................................................................................................................... 147
Story.............................................................................................................................. 147
Rhythm......................................................................................................................... 147
Eye-Trace....................................................................................................................... 147
Two-Dimensional Place On Screen................................................................................. 147
Three-Dimensional Space............................................................................................... 147
Ellipsis and Cross-Cutting .............................................................................................. 148
Safety on the Set....................................................................................... 149
Get Out Alive! ....................................................................................................................... 150
The Basics of Filmmaking ix
 Getting Started in the Business............................................................ 151
Film School?........................................................................................................................... 152
Working as a PA.............................................................................................................. 152
Shoot a Trailer................................................................................................................ 152
Make a Short Film, or Even A Whole Movie.................................................................... 152
Work as Background/Extra............................................................................................. 152
Terminology.............................................................................................. 153
Resources.................................................................................................... 161
How To Read a Movie............................................................................................................ 162
The Story....................................................................................................................... 162
The Frame...................................................................................................................... 162
Movement...................................................................................................................... 162
Lighting......................................................................................................................... 162
Editing........................................................................................................................... 163
Time.............................................................................................................................. 163
Audio............................................................................................................................. 163
Resources............................................................................................................................... 164
Books............................................................................................................................. 164
Movies About Movie Making.......................................................................................... 164
Great Movies Made on Absurdly Small Budgets............................................................... 164
Short Films Worth Seeing............................................................................................... 164
Movies To Watch To Learn About Filmmaking........................................................................ 165
Websites for Filmmakers.......................................................................................................... 166
Job Search....................................................................................................................... 167
Online Classes in Filmmaking......................................................................................... 167
Dedication...................................................................................................................... 168
About The Author..................................................................................................................168
The Website................................................................................................................... 168
index............................................................................................................. 169

What’s On The Website

The website that accompanies this book is at: www.routledge.com/cw/brown

Videos
• Lighting basics
• Seven ways of lighting a scene
• Types of lights and controlling light
• Exposure and color balance
• Microphones, audio recording, and timecode
• Boom operating technique and how to use lavaliers
• Methods of shooting a scene
• Proper slating techniques
Downloadable Production Forms
• Budget Form
• Budget Top Sheet
• Breakdown Sheet
• Call Sheet
• Lighting and Grip Order
• Expendables Order
• Actor Release
• Location Release
• Crew Deal Memo
• Location Scout Form
• Wardrobe Continuity Sheet
• Camera Report
• Sound Report
• End of Day Report

x The Basics of Filmmaking

There are no rules in filmmaking, right?
People often say “there are no rules in filmmaking.” I’ve probably even said it myself.
Well, as it turns out, there are dozens of rules in filmmaking. Not creatively, not artisti-
cally, not in what you want to say in a film — for those, the sky’s the limit! But for the
fundamental mechanics of getting a film made, there are rules that if you break them, your
movie might be uneditable, unwatchable, or unreleasable, and possibly all three. While it
is not at all easy to get your first movie made, a lot of people manage to do it. The real
barrier comes when you try to make your second movie. Many people never get a chance
to make a second movie because their first film demonstrates that they lack knowledge of
these basic principles of filmmaking — and it’s there for everybody to see. Don’t be one
of those people!
Much of what we are going to explore here are not so much rules as SOP ­— Standard
Operating Procedures. These are important for a lot of reasons. If you get a chance to
observe the first day of a project being produced professionally, you will see that some-
times, few of the people actually know each other, and yet everybody knows what to do,
what others are doing, and what is expected. They can all work together for one simple
reason — professional film crews know “how things are done.” They have learned the
techniques and procedures of how a movie gets made. Sure, there are small variations in
how people do things, but overall, they all share the same knowledge of techniques.
Over 30 years in the film business and ten years teaching in film schools I learned “the
hard way” what works and doesn’t work in film production. Fortunately, you learn from
your mistakes, and I made plenty of them, especially as I was new to the business working
as a gaffer, then a DP and then a screenwriter, director and producer. Before that, as a PA
and then electrician (lighting technician), I was able to observe the people in charge doing
it the right way, the wrong way, and the very, very wrong way. Small mistakes that make
editing a project difficult (and expensive reshoots necessary), up to big mistakes that mean
disaster — to the point of a film being unreleasable, or even not getting finished.

Telling Stories Visually

As a teacher I assigned, helped with, or screened hundreds of student projects, so I was
able to see the kinds of mistakes that were made over and over again. I’m hoping this book
will help you avoid those kinds of mistakes, and even more, that the advice here will make
you a better filmmaker. I’ve seen that if you’re really solid on the basics of how to get a
film project made, you have much more time and attention to devote to the creative side
of things; more time to do what is the heart of filmmaking — telling stories visually.
We’re not going to get “inspirational” in this book — you know, “just do it!” “follow
your heart!” “write what you know!” that sort of thing. Nothing wrong with that, it’s all
(or pretty much all) true but that is not our purpose here. What I hope you get from this
book is the real fundamentals, the basic concepts of how to write, produce, direct, shoot,
record, and edit your movie — the things that every filmmaker should know.
I’ve had the good fortune to work on feature films, commercials, documentaries, music
videos, and corporate films in the US and many other countries, and also to observe local
film crews at work in places like India, Mexico, Singapore, Canada, Japan, and China;
they all follow the same basic practices. Why? Because there are ways that work and are
efficient and there are ways that don’t work, waste time and money, and don’t tell the story
effectively. Interestingly, it’s not really a matter of “they learned from how Hollywood
did it.” For the most part, film industries all over the world developed the basic methods
of how to make a movie the same way Hollywood did — by trial and error.
It’s in the editing room that most of these fundamentals were revealed; only because it
is there that you really see what works, and what doesn’t work. For example, if you don’t
observe proper screen direction in a dialog scene, you simply can’t edit it together, not
at all. At least not in a way that isn’t going to confuse and irritate the audience and make
them laugh at your incompetence. Same thing applies to lighting, use of lenses, continu-
ity, dialog, framing and all the rest.
It is heartbreaking to see student filmmakers put so much work, so much time, effort
and commitment into a film only to see them produce something that “might have been
great” if only.... Don’t let this happen to you!
If you plan to show your film in order to get a job in the industry, be recognized as a
filmmaker, or to try to get investors interested in your next script, then showing that you
actually know the mechanics of how a film gets made is just as important as showing your
creative inspiration and artistic drive. Think about it, what investor is going to give money
to someone who might make a film that is uneditable and unreleasable — that would be
throwing money down the drain. I really hope this book helps you avoid these pitfalls and
makes you a better filmmaker!

The Basics of Filmmaking xi

 Top Ten Ways to Screw Up Your Movie
There are some mistakes that beginning filmmakers make over and over again and then deeply regret when they are in the
editing room or, worse, at the first screening in front of an audience. The key thing to remember about filmmaking is that
reshoots (shooting a scene over again to correct mistakes) are always very expensive, and may often be impossible — the
location is no longer available, the actors are engaged elsewhere, you can’t afford to rent the equipment again, and so on.
Many of these mistakes are things that “seemed like a good idea at the time,” and most fatally, are made by filmmakers
who fool themselves into thinking “I know all the ways that filmmakers are supposed to do this, but I’m smarter than all of
them.” We will discuss what these mean and why they are important in later chapters. In order of occurrence and severity
they are:
• Not shooting enough coverage.
• Not shooting cutaways for every scene.
• Not getting good, clean audio of the dialog.
• Bad exposure.
• Bad focus.
• Not recording room tone at every location.
• Shaky camera movement when you don’t intend it.
• Camera off level.
• No establishing shots.
• Fooling yourself into thinking “we’ll fix it in post.”
• Undercooked script. “But I see it in my head.” “Yeah, but we don’t.”

Production Mistakes
On the production side, the most common mistakes include:
• Insufficient planning and pre-production.
• Director not prepared with a shot list for every shoot day.
• Thinking it will cost less, and take less time than it really will. Wishful thinking.
• The director and the DP not informing the crew of what their plans are.
• Schedule not well worked out.
• Not scheduling enough time to shoot scenes properly.
• Director saying “I’ll be my own AD” (assistant director).
• Not putting out call sheets so actors and crew know when and where to show up.
• Call sheet not including contact numbers for AD, UPM, Production Office, etc.
• Director trying to micromanage everything going on.
• AD not keeping control of the set and crew.
And finally: failing to properly feed the cast and crew — ­ this one really invites disaster. Doesn’t matter if they are being
paid or working free, a crew that doesn’t get coffee and breakfast snacks in the morning, craft service snacks all day, and a
decent lunch no later than 6 hours after start time is not going to perform at their best and may very likely develop resentment
and anger. Provide plenty of water and soft drinks as well. The craft services table should be well-stocked all day with a
variety of snacks and drinks.

xii The Basics of Filmmaking

Writing Your Story
 Telling Stories With Pictures
All films are about storytelling. Even films that are purely visual have some kind of story
to tell. It is a basic human instinct to respond to a narrative story. “Narrative” refers to a
sequence of events in verbal, written or picture form that are put together in a way that
tells a story. Features and short films are narrative fiction. A documentary is narrative non-
fiction. Reality shows are narrative fiction constructed from bits of non-fiction.
In filmmaking we are in the business of telling stories with pictures. Now of course this
is a simplification: most films use dialog, music, titles, subtitles and other media to tell the
story, but the visual images are fundamental to filmmaking: without them we’re really
just making radio. It’s an old saying that a film is well made if you can turn off the sound
and still have a pretty good idea of what is going on. In the end, it really doesn’t matter
if the visuals or the dialog are the stronger element — what really matters is that you are
telling a good story.
So what makes a good story? Many very wise people have analyzed and thought about
what makes good film stories and they have almost all come to agree on certain basic
elements that are essential to film narrative. We’ll talk about those basic elements in this
chapter.

Is It Plot Or Story?
There is a good deal of confusion about the difference between plot and story. Many people
There are a million ideas in a world of think they are the same thing, but they aren’t at all. Plot is the sequence of events that occur in
stories. Humans are storytelling animals. the narrative. “This happened, and then that happened.” It is possible to have a plot with
Everything’s a story, everyone’s got stories, tons of action and it turns out to be a boring screenplay — most often this is because the
we’re perceiving stories, we’re interested story isn’t engaging and interesting. What is story as opposed to plot? The most famous
in stories. So to me, the big nut to crack is example is this: “The Queen died, then the King died.” That is plot. One thing occurs and
how to tell a story, what’s the right way to then something else occurs. Two events, one after the other — nothing more.
tell a particular story.
The Queen Died, Then The King Died
Richard Linklater
(Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise)
Here is a story: “The Queen died and then the King died... of grief.” What is the differ-
ence? Very simple: causation. We see how they are connected; how one thing caused the
other. It’s heart wrenching; not only do we see how the two events are connected, we also
experience the sadness of a King so heartbroken by the death of his Queen that he simply
can’t go on living without her.
You need both: you really can’t tell a story without plot — it is the sequence of events
that tells the story, but don’t get so caught up in the details of the plot that you forget to
tell your basic story. Think of it this way: a story can be summed up in a few sentences,
whereas to tell a plot you have to start at the beginning and recite every major event that
takes place, beginning to end.

How Short Films Are Different

As a student or a beginning filmmaker, you are most likely going to start by making short
films. The concepts we are presenting here apply to all types of narrative filmmaking, but
there are some differences in a short film. The obvious one is that you have much less time
to establish characters, set up the situation, introduce the conflict, and then resolve it.
You have to be efficient in laying these building blocks, getting right to the point, and
making sure each and every scene is necessary and does its job of introducing the char-
acter, showing the action, and moving the story along. This is why making short films is
important to learning filmmaking ­— it gets down to the basics, the key elements of sto-
rytelling and forces you to carefully consider the need for each scene, each character, each
location. These skills will serve you well when you move up to longer form filmmaking.

2 Writing Your Story

 Figure 1.1. (left) Conflict is fundamental to
stories. There are many types of conflict that
propel a story forward.
Figure 1.2. (right) Really interesting char-
acters often have an internal conflict: some
mental turmoil that they have to deal with in
addition to the external conflicts of the story.

Stories are based

on conflict Some conflicts are internal

It All Starts With Conflict

There is one thing that is absolutely fundamental to storytelling: conflict. If there is no
conflict, there is no story, it’s really as simple as that. Conflict in the story is sometimes
referred to as trials and tribulations, or the “ring of fire.” No good story can exist without
some conflict the hero or heroine has to face and overcome. These troubles are part of the
rite of being the main character. This character should undergo some kind of change or
transformation, and the conflicts he or she faces is what causes this change. Conflict is the
obstacle or obstacles that stand in our hero’s way, and essential to any great film, drama or
comedy. These conflicts or obstacles can be external, internal, or both. No matter what
the kind of conflict the character faces, it is essential that they eventually confront them. If
the character spends the whole movie just avoiding conflict, how boring is that?

External Conflict
Some conflicts are big and obvious: Neo fights the Agents inside The Matrix. Austin
Powers battles Dr. Evil, Batman battles the Joker. These are large external conflicts: the Usually, we combine internal and external
main character has someone or something that they have to fight against. conflicts for a richer story. That means we
External conflicts might be person vs. person, person vs. society (Scarface), person vs. have to understand how our characters
machines (Terminator) or people vs. zombies (lots of movies). It might even be person vs. approach and resolve conflict.
supernatural (The Lost Boys) or person vs. monster (Alien). Jami Gold
Some external conflicts are small and confined: Vinny in My Cousin Vinny has to win (Using Conflict to Understand
the case by fighting the local district attorney in court while also overcoming the objec- Our Characters)
tions of the stern judge and also trying to maintain his relationship with his girlfriend —
multiple conflicts; one of the things that makes it such a good story.
When our main character is faced with conflict and opposition, either from the antago-
nist or elsewhere, they have to confront this opposition. Without confrontation, our pro-
tagonist would be just a victim who surrenders — not a very interesting type.

Internal Conflict
Sometimes, the basic conflict of the story is internal — it is something inside the main char-
acter that he or she has to overcome by themselves or with help. Think of the Bill Murray Usually, we combine internal and external
character in Groundhog Day. In the beginning, he is totally selfish and self-centered, he conflicts for a richer story. That means we
doesn’t care about anybody but himself. These are internal conflicts within his own person- have to understand how our characters
ality. It is only when he overcomes these internal problems and discovers the joy of being approach and resolve conflict.
nice to other people that he is able to stop living the same day over and over again. You
Jami Gold
might think of the fact that he can’t escape from living the same day over and over again as
his conflict but it’s really just a plot device that forces him to deal with his internal conflicts. (Using Conflict to Understand
Another example is Sgt. Riggs in the first Lethal Weapon movie. He faces external con- Our Characters)
flicts of course (drug dealers) but he also has an internal conflict — he feels suicidal over
the loss of his wife. Remember how we first meet him? He jumps off a building with a
potential suicide. After that, we see that he has a one special bullet that he sometimes loads
in his revolver and puts in his mouth — ­ that’s a serious internal conflict. A story can have
more than one conflict but almost always there is one main conflict that is central to the
story. A story can also have a combination of external and internal conflicts.

The Basics of Filmmaking 3

 Protagonist v Antagonist
Every story has to have a main character. A story generally has many characters, but there is
always one person who is at the center of the story. Also called the protagonist or the hero,
the main character doesn’t have to be male or female, young or old. In fact, it doesn’t even
have to be human; think of Wall-E, or a small fish in Finding Nemo. The audience needs
to feel empathy for our main character; otherwise why would they care what happens to
them? Empathy doesn’t mean they necessarily have to love the character, they just need to
care about them in some way.
Lt. Ripley is the main character in the Alien movies; most often (but not always) the
main character is “the good guy,” (male or female) and they are fighting against the bad guy,
which is also known as the antagonist.
As we said, the antagonist is not always a person: sometimes it is a horde of zombies, or
Figure 1.3. Conflict and tension between the “the machines” or society itself, but most of the time it is embodied by a single character,
protagonist and antagonist is crucial to a story. such as Ernst Stavro Blofeld. The antagonist is the person or thing the main character has
to fight against in order to resolve the conflict. In Thelma and Louise, it is society that is the
antagonist. In Gladiator, the protagonist is Maximus and the antagonist is Commodus, the
Emperor — it is a big story with dozens of characters but at its heart it is one man against
another. The antagonist is a very important part of the story; as Alfred Hitchcock said
“The more successful the villain, the more successful the picture.”

The Need
The absolute most important thing about a character, especially the main character, is
that they have a need — something that they absolutely must possess or achieve: it is what
drives the story forward. The main character is who carries the story. If the audience isn’t
involved with what is happening to the main character there is little chance that they will
be engaged by your story. So what makes the main character “work?” Some examples of
a main character’s dramatic need:
• She needs to save the world by getting the nuclear codes back from the spies.
• He needs to help the kids regain their self-respect by helping them to win the big
Figure 1.4. The characters, especially the main soccer game.
character (protagonist) must have a need,
something they desperately want; in this case, • The little dog needs to find her way back home.
a carrot. • The robot needs to find another robot to love.
• She needs to get that promotion so she can keep her home for her foster children.
All of these are things that the main character needs; this is what drives them to take action,
to constantly move forward. If a character doesn’t have a need, they have no reason to do
anything except brush their teeth and go to work. If a main character has a real need, such
as saving the world (which is usually James Bond’s character need), then they will take
action, they will do things. Watching characters do things is what interests us in a story.
What a character’s need is will not always be obvious from the first page; many times a
I don’t want to show you the character, I character might not even realize themselves what their need is until very late in the story.
want to show you their need. It would be pretty odd for a character to walk in the room in the very first scene and say
“Wow, I really need to find some purpose for my life.” Yeah, there are probably people
Aaron Sorkin
who say things like that but who wants to hang out with them? To summarize:
(A Few Good Men, Moneyball,
The Social Network) • The story is about somebody with whom we have some empathy.
• This somebody wants something very badly: their need.
• This goal is difficult, but possible, to do, get, or achieve.
• The story accomplishes maximum emotional impact and audience connection.
• And the story comes to an emotionally satisfying ending, not necessarily a happy one.

4 Writing Your Story

Changing Direction
So how do we kick off a story? What gets it going, sets it in motion? Most stories begin
by throwing the main character off balance — something happens that dramatically changes
their situation. In many cases at the beginning we find the main character more or less in
equilibrium, in balance. They might be happy or they might be miserable, but they are
relatively balanced — static.
This is what kick-starts the story ­— something happens to throw the character out of
balance: they are marooned on a desert island, he loses his job, her child is diagnosed with
a deadly disease, she discovers deadly secrets in the company safe­— all these things are a
major change in their situation. They force the character to take action. STORY POINTS are like
These things that force a change in direction in the story are major plot points. A single roadblocks — obstacles and
major change of direction in the beginning of the story is not enough to keep things going confrontations that the main
for a 90 minute or a two hour story; probably not even enough for a 5 or 10 minute short character must overcome.
film. That’s why a feature film script will have many changes of direction in the story — if
they didn’t it would be very hard to keep the audience engaged for two hours or more.
Let’s take the example of the woman who finds deadly secrets in the company safe. If Figure 1.5. As the main character pursues
the rest of the story was just this: she finds a clue, then she finds another clue, then she their need, they must meet roadblocks, ob-
finds another clue, then she finds another clue.... By the fourth or fifth time she finds a stacles that prevent them from achieving their
clue, the audience is going to be thinking “who cares, we’ve already seen this.” goal. Without obstacles, the story will be very
The story needs to change direction frequently. Let’s try this: She finds the deadly secrets, boring.
then she finds another clue, then... a big change in direction — the incriminating docu-
ments are found... in her own home. She is being framed for the secret, but she can’t prove
it! She has to escape from the police. She finds proof that the company she works for is a
CIA cover, and then a dead body turns up in her car, there is a gun with her fingerprints
on it!
These are major changes in direction for the story — they energize the story and keep it
turning. They accomplish one of the most important goals of a story: they keep the audi-
ence asking the essential question: “I wonder what is going to happen next?” Think of it
this way: if they already know what is going to happen next... you’ve lost ’em.

Obstacles
So the story is about conflict, but it can’t just be the same confrontation over and over
again — it has to build. If you start out with the big, final ultimate battle in the first The one story question that matters most
scene, then where do you go from there? Remember that a story has to have a beginning, is this: “I wonder what’s going to happen
a middle and an end. It would be a big mistake to just go right to the big fight that wraps next?” If the audience isn’t constantly
it all up. Usually, the conflicts start small and get bigger and bigger. It’s called “raising the asking that question — you’ve lost ‘em.
stakes.”
Cissi Colpits
From the very beginning, however, there have to be obstacles for the protagonist to (Project For a New Physical World)
overcome. Imagine this: you are describing your story to someone and it goes like this:
“Well, first he breaks out of prison which he was in for a crime he did not commit, and
then he has to elude the federal marshall who is obsessed with capturing him, and then he
has to trick his ex-wife into revealing the secret of where the money is buried and she tries
to poison him but he escapes, and then for about 60 pages we see some great scenes of him
fly fishing in Canada and the scenery is beautiful and he catches a lot of fish and there will
be some really great music. It’s really wonderful how much he loves to fish.”
Wow, you had a great story going and then it just stopped... ground to a total halt.
What happened? The character stopped having conflicts; there were no more obstacles to
overcome. Without conflicts there is no story!

Roadblocks
Think of these conflicts as roadblocks in the character’s path. Every time the character tries
to do something, there is something blocking her way — another obstacle to be over-
come. If something comes easily for the hero, then it’s boring. Overcoming these obstacles
is what makes a story move forward.

The Basics of Filmmaking 5

 Premise
The premise is sort of the “seed” from which the story grows; the basic idea that gets things
started. Generally, it is quite simple. The premise is usually expressed as a “what if...” It is
often what gets you started thinking about a story. Here are some examples:
• What if you lived the same day over and over again? — Groundhog Day
• What if the “real world” wasn’t real at all? — The Matrix
• In space, no one can hear you scream — Alien

The Theme: What Is Your Story Really About?

Robert McKee, one of the greatest screenwriting teachers ever, says this: “When you find
When you make a movie, always try to dis- out what your story is really about, print it out and tape it to your wall.” Now that may
cover what the theme of the movie is in sound odd — “when you find out what your story is about.” Wouldn’t you know that
one or two words. Every time I made a film, before you start?
I always knew what I thought the theme It is quite common to not really understand your story until you are well into the
was, the core, in one word. In The Godfather, process — indeed many failed screenplays result from the fact that the writer never really
it was succession. In The Conversation, it figured it out at all. What your story is “about” is the theme.
was privacy. In Apocalypse, it was morality. The theme is most often the “life lesson” or the “moral” of the story; think of it as
what the writer is trying to say about life (or adventure, or love, or death, or anything at
The reason it’s important to have this is all). Again, the best themes are often very simple. For example: “Love conquers all” is the
because most of the time what a director theme of many classic novels, plays, and movies. What are some other great themes?
really does is make decisions. All day long:
Do you want it to be long hair or short hair? • Money can make you do things you don’t want to do ­— Wall Street.
Do you want a dress or pants? Do you want • True love sometimes ends tragically — Romeo and Juliet.
a beard or no beard? There are many times • Crime doesn’t pay — Scarface.
when you don’t know the answer. Know-
ing what the theme is always helps you. • Clever and stylish crime pays well — Oceans 8, 11, 12, and 13.
• Money can’t buy happiness — Citizen Kane.
I remember in The Conversation, they • Money can buy happiness, and really good lawyers ­— The Wolf of Wall Street.
brought all these coats to me, and they
said: Do you want him to look like a detec- Aristotle
tive, Humphrey Bogart? Do you want him
to look like a blah blah blah. I didn’t know,
Aristotle was one of those crazy Greek guys who turned out to be right about a lot of
and I said the theme is ‘privacy’ and chose
things. Many writing courses still use his book Poetics as a standard textbook, over two
the plastic coat you could see through.
thousand years after he wrote it! His basic ideas are still very relevant for writers today.
So knowing the theme helps you make a
The ones that are most often referred to are The Unities. They are:
decision when you’re not sure which way • Unity of action: as much as possible, stick to the main story; don’t get lost in a tangle
to go. of subplots.
Francis Ford Coppola • Unity of place: the story is stronger the more it sticks to one place. Of course, this
(The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, isn’t always possible, but think of some of the great films that happen in one place
only: Die Hard, Titanic, Rear Window, Aliens, Dial M For Murder and so on. Confin-
The Conversation)
ing all the action to a single place makes it stronger and more intense. Obviously,
this doesn’t apply if you’re writing a James Bond movie where part of the adven-
ture is traveling to exotic places.
• Unity of time: the whole action takes place in a single span of time — it doesn’t lose
energy by jumping around to different times: past, present and future. Flashbacks
are something you want to be very careful with. Try to avoid them unless abso-
lutely necessary.
So does every story have to take place in one day in the same room? Of course not, but if
you analyze a huge story that sprawls across hundreds of years and takes place in 30 or 40
locations you’ll often find that the reason audiences lose interest is that it gets so far away
from these basic principles. If you see a movie that has more than one title that says some-
thing like “Ten Years Later,” you know there might be some trouble ahead. Having a plot
that at least approaches some sort of unity of time and place concentrates and focuses the
story and makes it more intense. As for unity of action — sticking to the main story and
not getting lost in a bunch of subplots — that is very much still a good idea.

6 Writing Your Story

Creating Characters
Your story needs characters; besides the protagonist and antagonist, there are likely to be
supporting characters on both sides and in between. You need every one of these char-
acters to be interesting, engaging and three-dimensional, in other words you don’t want
them to just be cardboard cut-outs, what is often called a “caricature.”
Your characters need to seem like real people, with complexity, many dimensions and
their own internal thoughts and processes. If your antagonist is just a “standard issue bad
guy” without anything else going on, they are likely to be uninteresting and drag your
story down. The same applies to the other characters as well: the more they seem like real
people, the more they will help your story.

Write Their Backstory

How do you come up with good, interesting characters? One way to start is to write their
backstory. The backstory is what happens to the character before the movie starts. Think of People, and characters are made up of
Indiana Jones’ backstory: he is an archeology professor, his dad was very strict, as a young their past experiences. When crafting
man he was frightened by snakes, he was given the hat by a guy who he was trying to stop a character, one of the most important
and so on. These are some of the things that helped make him who he is. aspects we consider is their past.
Gang Lion
Point-of-View
(Project For a New Physical World)
Every character has to have a point-of-view, a way of looking at things. In Austin Powers
movies, Dr. Evil has a point-of-view: he has a passion for doing evil, he looks at every
situation only in terms of how he can do something bad. Other characters may see almost
everything in terms of their search for love, money, or fame ­— these things heavily influ-
ence how they view things and think about things. A character’s point-of-view may not
always be obvious, often it is hidden; frequently the characters themselves do not under-
stand their own point-of-view.

What is their Dramatic Need? Their Goal?

Just as with the main character, other people in the story need to have a character need.
For the antagonist (the villain) it may very well be as strong and dramatic as it is for the Characters are the bedrock of your story.
protagonist; think of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. Secondary characters should have a Plot is just a series of actions that happen
need as well, although the more minor the character the less dramatic it might be. If the in a sequence, and without someone to
character is a bartender in one scene, his need might be “I just want to get through this either perpetrate or suffer the conse-
shift without punching somebody.” quences of those actions, you have no
But think about this example, see how much it tells us about this particular bartender? one for your reader to root for, or wish bad
If you start writing a character and just think “He’s a bartender,” it doesn’t tell you a things on.
great deal about him. If you think about the character as “A bartender who struggles to Icy Sedgwick
contain a hidden rage that drives him nearly to violence every night.” Wow, that’s a guy
we want to know more about; even if your story doesn’t have time to let us know what it (A Man of Good Character)
is, it certainly makes him seem like a real guy that interests you, even if he’s someone you
definitely want to avoid.
If nothing else, understanding the need of your characters will get you a long way
toward understanding how to write them; how they will act and react in certain situa-
tions. Kurt Vonnegut said “Before you write, take a moment to think about what each
character wants, even if it’s only a glass of water.”

25 Words Or Less
Before you really start putting things down on paper, it’s a very good idea to have a gen-
eral idea of the basic story. You probably won’t have every little plot point figured out;
you certainly won’t know how every scene will work out — that is all part of the writing
process. You have probably heard the phrase “tell me your story in 25 words or less.” (It’s
a scene in Robert Altman’s The Player, for example; a movie you should definitely watch
if you want to have an understanding of the motion picture industry at the studio level.)
The old joke is that you have to keep it to 25 words or less because producers have very
short attention spans — their lips get tired while reading. That may be true, but it’s not the
real reason. In reality, if you can’t explain your story in a few simple sentences, then you
probably don’t understand your story!
If you start telling your story and you get hung up in tiny details of a particular scene
or wander off on a tangent about some interesting location, then maybe it means you
don’t have a good grasp of the big sweep of your story, the narrative thread that is going
to propel the story forward and keep the audience engaged and involved.

The Basics of Filmmaking 7

 Crises
Climax
The Cards and the Outline
(Obstacles)
Some writers start by just opening up a word processor and starting to type. In the old
days, they just put a blank page in the typewriter; in fact most stories about authors who

Deno
have writer’s block center around the image of staring at the frightening sheet of blank
Tension

ueme
paper.

nt
To just start writing like that is, in fact, a terrible way to write. Taking notes on pieces
Beginning Middle End
of paper or even dashing out ideas for a scene are fine, but they are not an organized way
Time to doing things. Screenplays demand organization in their structure and they demand
Act One Act Two Act Three organization in how you think them through.
Figure 1.6. Stories should always have rising The Step Outline
action — as the story moves along, the tension Before you start writing dialog and action, it is extremely useful to make an outline of
gets higher, the stakes are raised, the conse- your story points — this is usually called the step outline. It’s important to keep it simple
quences become more serious. — stick to the main story points, don’t get bogged down in details or you’ll lose sight of
the big picture.
Different writers do this in different orders, sometimes even differently from project to
project — some people write an outline first and take the cards from that; some write the
cards first and develop an outline from that. Screenwriting software usually lets you do it
either way.

The Cards
Fortunately, there are some very simple but extremely effective methods that can not
A movie, I think is really only four or five only help you get started but can carry you through the entire process, even into revisions
moments between two people; the rest and “fixes.” It is called “the cards” and it couldn’t be simpler. Get yourself a pack of 3x5
of it exists to give those moments their index cards and a felt-tip marker. For every story point in your story, make a card. Keep it
impact and resonance. The script exists to a few simple words and write big, clear letters. Why write so big? Because one of the
for that. Everything does. most useful things you do with the cards is to pin them up on a wall or lay them out on a
table and look at them as a whole. This is what gives you the big picture — you can see the
Robert Towne whole flow of your story and not get lost in the details of each scene.
(Chinatown, Mission Impossible,
Many writers take their stack of cards with them wherever they go, just wrapped with
Tequila Sunrise) a rubber band. This way you can take them out, go through them one at a time and shuffle
them around to see if maybe there is a better order for the scenes to go in. You can also
see if maybe some of the scenes are not necessary or if some important story point is miss-
ing. Some writers even go so far as to color code them: maybe making action scenes on
green cards or very important plot points on yellow cards, or whatever system you prefer.
What’s important about the story cards is to not get hung up in too much detail — they
should only be the main story points.
Most screenwriting applications also have an outlining and index card capability. It can
Rewriting isn’t just about dialogue; it’s be very useful to have your cards on screen so you can easily rearrange them. The problem
the order of the scenes, how you finish a is that unless you have a gigantic monitor for your computer, it is hard to get the effect of
scene, how you get into a scene. seeing them all at once, so that you really get an overall idea of your story. Fortunately,
Tom Stoppard
most software also allows you to print them out. Printable 3x5 cards are available. Printing
or writing them out allows you to pin them up on the wall, keep them in your pocket and
(Brazil, Shakespeare In Love, quickly look at them in a different order.
Empire of the Sun)
Synopsis
A synopsis is a brief summary of your story points. It doesn’t get into dialog or long
descriptions of locations or scenes — it is just the bare bones of the story told narratively.
Some people write a synopsis and some don’t; some producers want to see a synopsis and
some don’t. If you’re writing a screenplay you should try to write a synopsis of the story
in 5 or 10 pages; if you find it helpful, great. If not, then at least it gave you another chance
to think through your story as a whole. Also, it gave you some practice at writing a story
synopsis — you never know when a producer or financier will ask for one.

8 Writing Your Story

Script Outline Raiders of the Lost Ark

Indy survives the booby-trapped cave.

Dr. Belloq steals the idol statue.

Indy escapes to his airplane.

The Army has a German cable about a Nazi dig in the Egypt.

They have discovered possible burial site of the Ark of the Covenant.

Indy needs the headpiece to the Sta of Ra.

Flies to Nepal to find Abner Ravenwood.

Introduce Marion, Indy's ex-girlfriend. Can outdrink anybody.

She’s not willing to help him locate the medallion.

Secretly, she wears the piece around her neck.

Toht about to torture Marion for the headpiece.

Firefight with Toht and Sherpa heavies in Marion's bar.

Indy and Marion escape with the headpiece.

Figure 1.7. (left) Part of a step outline for Raid-
Meet Sallah. Insider working on the Nazi dig. ers of the Lost Ark. Only the plot points, no dia-
log, no long descriptions.
Indy and Marion attacked by thugs.
Figure 1.8. (below) The cards are mostly just
Marion gets trapped in a truck of explosives. the step outline a little simplified, with each
plot point written on a single index card. This is
The truck crashes, and it explodes. a computer-generated example of a few cards
but many people just write them by hand with
Indy drowns his sorrows in whiskey. a felt-tip marker ­— it’s important that you be
able to read them at a distance when you pin
Belloq brags about finding the Ark.
them up on a corkboard.

The Basics of Filmmaking 9

 Three Act Structure
By far the most widely used story form in filmmaking is the three act structure. Very roughly,
Plot Point One (the first major story point) comes at the end of the first act, Midpoint occurs
somewhere in the middle of Act Two and Plot Point Two is about the start of Act Three.
These three acts are almost never equal in length. Specifically, Act One and Act Three are
almost always much shorter than Act Two. In the next few sections we’ll define these terms
more precisely.
The way of looking at scripts presented here is based on the ideas of Syd Fields and
Robert McKees, and many other great teachers. There are a few other ways of analyzing
story structure but the basics are really the same in all of them; sometimes they are just
using different terminology.

Beginning, Middle and End

The old saying is that “every story needs a beginning, a middle and an end — but not nec-
essarily in that order.” The exact order of things is not crucial: look at films like Memento,
Citizen Kane or The Usual Suspects — but for our purposes now, it’s better to focus on films
that take place in the traditional order: beginning, middle, end.
The beginning is pretty straightforward: there is a Setup where we get to know the situ-
ation and the characters. This is followed by the Plot Point One, which throws our main
character out of balance and presents them a challenge which they have to overcome.
As our main character struggles to overcome these obstacles and achieve their need, they
come to a Midpoint, where the stakes are raised and they have new, unexpected obstacles to
overcome. So after the Midpoint, where do things go? We need our story to achieve resolu-
tion and come to an end. This resolution comes about late in Act Two — where the main
character overcomes the obstacles and brings things to a conclusion.
So all of this adds up to a Three Act Structure. In Act One, we have the Setup where we get
to know the situation and the characters. Act One concludes with Plot Point One — where
the story changes direction and the main character is presented with a challenge.
At Midpoint, the story changes direction again, but not in a way that resolves the central
challenge. The characters are now presented with new challenges that raise the stakes and
Figure 1.9. The act structure of The Shaw- make it more difficult.
shank Redemption, as analyzed by Syd Fields. At Plot Point Two, the crisis climax starts to brings the story to a resolution. In the Crisis
The basic progression of SetUp, Confrontation Climax, the main character either wins or loses against the forces that oppose them.
and Resolution applies to films of all lengths, Act Three is what comes after Plot Point Two and the Crisis Climax. It sums up what has
from a short film to a multi-part series like happened and brings everything to a resolution.
Chernobyl.

Syd Fields Diagram of The Story: Andy Dusfresne is convicted of murdering his wife and
is sent to Shawshank prison. He meets Red, another
The Shawshank Redemption convict and they become friends and allies. Andy works
patiently for years to dig a hole through the prison wall
and finally escapes. Released, Red joins him in Mexico.

ACT I ACT II ACT III

Andy and Red become Andy uses his education to Andy and Red
Andy is convicted and friends while Andy help out other prisoners and reunite in Mexico
sent to Shawshank adjusts to prison life also works for the Warden

Midpoint

Plot Point I Andy plays opera Plot Point II

Andy asks Red over the prison PA Andy escapes
for a rock hammer and is sent to solitary from prison

10 Writing Your Story

SET-UP CONFRONTATION RESOLUTION
Story Points
There will be many story points in your script, but a few of them have special significance.
We talked before about how to get a story started by creating a serious change in the
circumstances of the main character: something that throws her or him off balance — a
challenge, an obstacle that they must overcome.

Getting The Story Started

This first change of direction that starts the story is called Plot Point One or the Inciting
Incident — they are the same thing — that one big change that presents the challenge that There’s some truth in an old saying:
the main character will be dealing with in our story. ‘Movies aren’t written — they are rewrit-
It generally comes about 30 minutes (30 pages) into the script (obviously this applies ten, and rewritten, and rewritten.’
only to feature films, in short films it occurs earlier). This is not an absolute rule, but you’d Cissi Colpitts
be surprised how often it turns out to be true. The first part of the story before the Inciting (Project For A New Physical World)
Incident is where the story is set up — characters are introduced, we learn about their situa-
tion, and the groundwork is laid for what is going to happen later. This is a very important
part of the storytelling — if we don’t get to know these people, how are we going to care
about what happens to them later?
Think about the first act of Speed. First we get to see the Keanu Reeves character stay-
ing cool and calm in a dangerous situation; he improvises to save the life of his partner. In Structure is the key to narrative. These
the next sequence we learn more about him: he takes the bus to work, not a BMW, he is are the crucial questions any storyteller
friendly with everyone at his regular coffee shop — he knows everybody by name. When must answer: Where does it begin? Where
a bus explodes, he doesn’t stand around screaming, he gets into action! When the bomber does the beginning start to end, and the
calls him and makes him personally responsible for saving the people on the bus — that is middle begin? Where does the middle
Plot Point One. There is no going back for him — something has changed in a way that can start to end, and the end begin?
only lead to obstacles, struggle, danger and some kind of dramatic resolution. Nora Ephron
Plot Point One (Julie & Julia, You’ve Got Mail,
Sleepless In Seattle)
You need to be sure that your Plot Point One is strong and clear. It’s what gets your story
started, so it’s important to have a good one. Here are some Plot Point One moments from
great films:
• Alien: A deadly life form is let onto the ship.
• Die Hard: McClain is trapped in a building held by a brilliant criminal.
• Saving Private Ryan: The Captain is assigned the task of finding Ryan.
Many writers consider Plot Point One to be the most important moment in the story — if
it doesn’t really change the direction of the story and put the main character in a seemingly
insurmountable situation, then it hasn’t done its job. It’s very unlikely that the rest of the
story is really going to grab the audience and keep them interested in the coming story
developments. The purest definition of the Plot Point One/Inciting Incident is this: it is the
moment when something happens in the story that seriously affects the main character’s
situation, forcing her or him to take action in response.

ACT ONE At PLOT POINT ONE the

character is put into the
"vehicle" (the STORY)
and the journey begins.

Figure 1.10. Act One is all about introducing

the characters, learning the main character’s
need (in this example, a carrot) and setting up
the story. At the end of Act One is Plot Point
In ACT ONE, we meet the Also, somewhere in here we One, which kicks the story off by throwing
characters and get to know learn the main character's the main character out of balance, by putting
the situation. dramatic NEED. them in a situation that they absolutely must
deal with.
The Basics of Filmmaking 11
 Act Two
Act Two is the bulk of the story. It’s where things progress and develop; where the main
character meets many difficulties and overcomes them. These obstacles cause the story to
change direction.

Midpoint
Somewhere around the middle of the story comes the Midpoint — it is a major change in
There is only one plot — things are not direction for the story but not one that solves the essential conflict. The Midpoint usually
what they seem. adds an extra twist to the story to keep the audience engaged and interested.
Jim Thompson Most often the Midpoint is also a way of “raising the stakes.” At first it seemed like all the
hero had to do was find the gold, but it turns out that she must save the life of the innocent
(The Killing, Paths of Glory, child in order to find the gold — a more difficult challenge; that’s why it is “raising the
The Getaway) stakes.” The Midpoint is also often The Point of No Return, the point in the story where the
main character has to totally commit and there is no way to just “bow out.”
The Midpoint Often “Starts the Clock”
Here’s a classic example of a Midpoint when both the “stakes are raised” and a “time clock”
appears: In the film Titanic, Kate Winslet plays a pampered Victorian debutante when she
begins her journey, engaged to the wrong man, tied to her mother, suicidal, and then she
meets the love of her life... Leonardo DiCaprio.
For the first half of Act Two, she and Leo fall in love, then at Midpoint, two key things
happen: they confirm their love and, most importantly, the ship hits an iceberg — a very
real obstacle. These two “stakes-are-raised” incidents force Kate to decide. Is she really in
love with Leo; can it last? Also, can she not die?
Is she really committed to leaving the world of wealth and privilege? Kate must decide
— and fast, because the ship is sinking. Meanwhile, the captain, having learned his ship
is sinking, asks “How much time do we have?” This “time clock” serves the function
of accelerating the pace of the story to the end. The clock makes it an “all or nothing”
proposition. If a story might lead to “well, we’ll try again next week” — that’s not very
gripping is it?
Most action films have some sort of ticking clock — ­ perhaps the most perfect is in
Figure 1.11. Act Two is all about confrontation Goldfinger, where there is an actual clock on the nuclear bomb that is counting down as
and raising the stakes, making it even harder Bond fights for his life and then the clock is only stopped at the last moment: 007 seconds
for our character to achieve their goal. Mid- to be exact. But it’s not just action films that have the time limit, the ticking clock, the “all
point happens somewhere in here — it is a big or nothing” moment. In Sleepless In Seattle, they need to meet at midnight on top of the
turning point for the story. Empire State Building. This is an “all or nothing” moment.

ACT TWO
MIDPOINT is a really
big change of direction.

In ACT TWO, the character overcomes obstacles

and confrontations with the antagonist and others —
always DRIVEN FORWARD by the character's NEED.

12 Writing Your Story

Plot Point Two
Most of the time, Plot Point Two is when all seems lost for our character; where things have
got as bad as they can possibly get, but then something happens that changes the story in a Generally speaking, things have gone
very big way ­— a dramatic reversal that ends Act Two and begins Act Three: the Resolution. about as far as they can possibly go when
Plot Point Two is usually together with the Crisis Climax. It is the do or die moment in the things have gotten about as bad as they
story. It’s often a big battle (as in the final Harry Potter or any James Bond film). Sometimes can reasonably get.
it’s the big game, which by Hollywood rules is never won or lost until the final pitch of Tom Stoppard
the final out of the final inning of the final game. Sometimes it is emotional, such as when (Shakespeare In Love, Brazil,
they finally meet at the end of Sleepless In Seattle. This is where the main character either Empire of the Sun)
wins or loses — where all the elements of the story come together for the big resolution.

Wrapping It Up
After the Crisis Climax there are still loose ends to be tied up: the hero rides off into the
sunset, the rogue cop gets his badge back, the guy gets the girl, all that sort of stuff. All
the loose ends of the story are resolved and tied up. Of course, this is also where you set
up the situation for the sequel!
Some Examples
The definition of Plot Point Two is a little fuzzier than for Plot Point One, so some examples
will help. Here’s one from the movie Bridesmaids:
• Plot Point Two is the moment when Megan comes to Annie’s apartment to ask her
help in finding the missing Lillian — the two frenemies combine forces.
• The Crisis Climax comes when Annie finds Lillian at her own apartment and Lil-
lian asks her to help with the wedding.
• The Resolution is when the policeman Rhodes returns and they are reunited: she
has found someone who loves her for who she is. Also part of the resolution is that
she is now back together with her best friend, despite all they’ve been through.
And what might have been a disaster turns into a great wedding.

ACT THREE
PLOT POINT TWO and
the CRISIS CLIMAX
bring everything to an end
and lead to resolution.
ACT THREE is also
the WRAP UP —
the character has
achieved the goal —
either for good or bad.
The story is resolved.

Figure 1.12. Act Three is all about resolution — the conflicts come to an end and the story wraps
up. In this case, it’s an up ending — she gets the carrot.

The Basics of Filmmaking 13

 Don’t Jump The Shark!
Figure 1.13. Like a shark, your story needs a
bite to hook the audience and get them in-
terested in your story, a body to let the story
play out and develop, and a tail, where things
are brought to a conclusion, and the story is
wrapped.

The Bite The Body The Tail

We’re Gonna’ Need A Bigger Boat!

Some writers think of story structure like a shark. The parts are not equal in size or pur-
pose, but each one has an important job to do.
• The Bite. You have to hook your audience right from the start. You need to get their
attention, and get them interested in the characters and their situation, even before
the big turn of Plot Point One.
• The Body. This is the main chunk of the film — Act Two. The story progresses
and develops. New twists and turns constantly up the stakes and make the situation
more difficult for our main character.
• The Tail. This is the Resolution — where the screenplay wraps up all the story
threads and resolves the body of the film. Plot elements and characters come to
Figure 1.14. (below) In an up ending (more or a climax. Finally we see where things have been heading, and as a result of their
less a happy ending), the main character has actions, the main characters have changed and grown.
achieved her goal and balance is restored — Here’s another important way that a story is like a shark: it always has to keep moving
she has her carrot! forward or it dies! Also, don’t forget: live every week like it’s Shark Week!
Figure 1.15. (opposite page) The basic ele-
ments of storytelling. Emotionally Satisfying Ending
Should your ending be happy or sad? If you ask Hollywood executives, they will always
say it should be a happy ending — but do you really want those folks to decide how you
conclude your story? Well, that’s really up to you.
Some stories end happily, some don’t. Take a look at The Bicycle Thief or Chinatown, two
truly great, memorable films that have decidedly down endings. In the end it’s not about
what’s happy or sad. The point is to have an emotionally satisfying ending — one that brings
the story to a conclusion in a way that makes sense within the realm of human emotion.
Amélie, Groundhog Day, and The Shawshank Redemption have happy endings. Do we love
them? Yeah, we do!
Do Scarface, Titanic, Se7en, or Gladiator have happy endings? Absolutely not, but some-
how they are emotionally satisfying. They are tragedies, and it should happen that way.
The great writer Tom Stoppard puts it this way: “The bad end unhappily, the good
unluckily. That is what tragedy means.”

Let’s Review
To sum up:
• The story is about somebody with whom we have some empathy.
• This somebody wants something very badly: their need. This goal is difficult to
achieve. They persevere.
• The story accomplishes maximum emotional impact and audience connection as
the main character overcomes obstacles through confrontation.
• The story comes to an emotionally satisfying ending. Things are resolved, one way
or another.

14 Writing Your Story

 STORY ELEMENTS

The MAIN CHARACTER

The STORY is the "vehicle" that

carries the main character forward.

That main character STORY POINTS are usually

has a NEED. The PLOT is the roadblocks — obstacles and
The main character has a roadmap that takes B confrontations that the
CONFLICT — usually with us from A to B to C. main character must overcome.
the ANTAGONIST. A C

Some conflicts There may also be

might be internal. other conflicts.

STORY STRUCTURE

ACT TWO ACT THREE

ACT ONE At PLOT POINT ONE the
character is put into the MIDPOINT is a really
big change of direction. PLOT POINT TWO and
"vehicle" (the STORY) the CRISIS CLIMAX
and the journey begins. bring everything to an end
and leads to resolution.

ACT THREE is the

In ACT ONE, we meet the WRAP UP —
characters and get to know In ACT TWO, the character overcomes obstacles the character has
the situation. and confrontations with the antagonist and others — achieved the goal —
Also, somewhere in here we always DRIVEN FORWARD by the character's NEED. either for good or bad.
learn the main character's The story elements
DRAMATIC NEED. are resolved.

The Basics of Filmmaking

©2017 blain brown

15
 Dialog That Is Not On the Nose
Writing dialog takes a lot of practice, especially if you don’t want readers or actors to
comment that your dialog is “on the nose.” When they say that it means that what the
characters are saying is obvious and not realistic.

Subtext
In reality, particularly in tense, difficult or awkward situations, people rarely just come
The lies are in the dialogue, the truth is in out and plainly say what they really mean. People tend to speak in subtext — rather than
the visuals. just saying things outright, they imply things, they hint around, they use irony or a joke
to make their point. Being obvious and overstated is a big mistake in any art form and
Kelly Reichardt certainly in filmmaking.
(Wendy and Lucy, Certain Women) You want to avoid anything that makes it seem like a character is “making a speech,”
or that what they are saying is pre-programmed and they have memorized it. Of course,
some of this is up to the actors, but even very good actors can have trouble with dialog
that is written in an artificial, unrealistic manner that isn’t at all like real people speak.
Sometimes we want to show that a certain character is stiff, inhuman and remote, so their
dialog should be written that way. After all, how not so scary would it be if the HAL 9000
computer in 2001: A Space Odyssey talked like this:

HAL
Yo, dude! Don’t touch that freaking
button!

Instead when he says:

HAL
I’m sorry, Dave. I can’t do that.

It is vastly more frightening. To have one of your characters say, “I’m very, very angry” is
totally on the nose. Better writing would be to “write around the emotion without actu-
ally stating it.” Here’s another example of on the nose dialog:

LENNY
Why don’t you trust me? You never do. I
love you so much but you always doubt
me. It hurts me so much when you do
these things, makes me feel worthless.
Why don’t you trust me? I don’t under-
stand.
Instead of having your character plainly say that they are angry, you might have them
My scripts are possibly too talkative. punch a wall, or throw a coffee cup at the wall. This is all the more convincing because
Sometimes I watch a scene I’ve written, it also shows that this particular character can’t express their emotions verbally, another
and occasionally I think, ‘Oh, for God’s source of frustration. Even more intriguing are characters are who intentionally hide their
sake, shut up.’ feelings, hide their true self or maybe don’t even know what their true inner self is like.
Many great scenes of characters who are about to explode with anger and rage are acted by
Tom Stoppard
having them suddenly become very calm and talking slowly and deliberately.
(Shakespeare In Love,
Empire of the Sun, Brazil) Fully Cooked
An undercooked script is one where there are lots of loose ends, key elements go unex-
plained and important points are only hinted at. They occur most often when the direc-
tor is also writing the script and when the writing and pre-production phases are rushed
because they want to get to the fun part — shooting the movie. And when there is no
feedback, not enough tough editing of the script, or outside critiques.
One of the danger signs is when the director responds to questions about the story
by saying “It’s OK, I see it in my head.” Maybe so, but the rest of the production team
can’t see it, which means their ability to help the director achieve that vision is limited.
Example: a few years ago, I worked with a production company that didn’t always trust
their writers and directors to make a story point visually. They insisted that every thought
be verbalized. They didn’t like the script to say something like “We know from her glance
exactly what she is thinking.” After I had written and directed a couple of films for them,
they saw that I really could say it with a visual instead of on the nose dialog, and no longer
bugged me about such things.

16 Writing Your Story

Not Exposing Your Exposition
Exposition is a necessary evil. What is exposition? It is things your audience needs to know
but it’s not part of the story or the action. Think of it as background information the audi-
ence needs in order to understand the characters and the action.
A great deal of it usually happens in the first ten pages, that’s when the viewer is likely
to need the most background information to understand what’s going on. You have to let
the audience know something about the backstory of the situation and the characters and
you want to do it as soon as possible so that you can get the story started.

Why is it a necessary evil?

What makes it difficult in movies is that we don’t have the tools that other kinds of writ-
ers have. A novelist can just stop the action for a while as she fills you in about the city Audiences are less intrigued, honestly, by
or the childhood of a character or about whaling (like all those chapters in Moby Dick battle. They’re more intrigued by human
about whales that you were supposed to read in high school but really you only skimmed relations. If you’re making a film about
through. Yeah, me too.) the trappings of the period, and you’re
You could possibly use a voice-over narrator to fill in the background; like in Full Metal forgetting that human relationships are
Jacket or Apocalypse Now. Surprisingly, neither Kubrick or Coppola originally wanted the most engaging part of the storytelling
voice-over narration; they only realized in editing that it would be useful. Certainly the process, then you’re in trouble.
narration is an essential part of those great films, but in general, you don’t want to use a Ridley Scott
narrator unless you really have to. Most filmmakers consider it something to avoid if at (Blade Runner, Alien, Gladiator,
all possible because it often becomes a crutch, an excuse for not telling the story properly
through dialog and action. Thelma and Louise, The Martian)
In both of these examples, it is the main character speaking his thoughts. It is also pos-
sible to have an anonymous outside voice narrating the action, but this comes off as very
old-fashioned. All this means that it can sometimes be tough to work in the exposition
without making it seem obvious or bringing the story to a grinding halt. Bad exposition is
something we make fun of; remember Basil Exposition in the Austin Powers films?
As a writer you will always be trying to hide the exposition — ­ to get it into the script
without making it obvious and delaying the story. Just try to slip it in wherever you
can. For example, you could start the movie by having a voice-over narrator say something
boring like “Lars Thorwald, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, awakens in his apart-
ment.” That would be on the nose: obvious and clumsy. Instead you might first see him in
the kitchen holding a cup of coffee and using his other hand to open drawer after drawer.
A woman in a bathrobe enters with some keys and says:

Ana
You’d think a Nobel Prize winner could
find his own car keys.

LARS
The prize was for physics, dear, not
housekeeping — that’s what I have you
for.
With this buried exposition, we have learned not only that he is an award-winning physicist
but also a little about his personality, and his relationship with his wife — which is about
to turn into a pretty big argument.

Show, Don’t Tell

Even better than using exposition is to show, don’t tell. Instead of explaining things to the
audience, show them. Let actions speak louder than words. Not only does it keep the
story going, it engages the audience by not lecturing to them. One basic idea of storytell-
ing is that action is character. We really know people by what they do, not what they say.
Let the actions of your characters tell us who they are; let the actions in the story give us
the background ideas — only use exposition if there is absolutely no other way to get the
essential information across.

Formatting A Script
How you format a script is important, for two reasons. First of all, it shows that you know
about the reality of the film business, but more importantly, it is a standard that is used for
film production, where page count is used as a measure of how the script is shot, budgeted
and scheduled. Figure 1.16 on the next page shows the important points of a properly
formatted script.

The Basics of Filmmaking 17

A Sample Script Page
Scene numbers Page number
16.
21 CONTINUED: 21

SLOW PUSH IN to his face. He stares after her; his eyes

burning with intensity.
Scene slug line
22 EXT. STREET - DAY 22

Amy as she hurries down a dusty side street, constantly

looking over her shoulder.

HIGH ANGLE from an upper floor, looking down at Amy -- she

looks small, alone and vulnerable. She scurries through and
then exits frame.

23 INT. HALLWAY - DAY 23

1.5” Amy enters and looks around, still looking a bit confused and 1”
lost. The place is almost empty, except for a people at the
far end of the hall.
Special shot within the scene
AMY’S POV
Her eyes search for a sign to direct her where to go.
Character names
Suddenly -- a hand on her shoulder. Amy jumps.
are capitalized
She turns and sees JENNI, a petite and intense brunette.
3.7”
JENNI
Hi, need some help? I’m Jenni.

AMY
2.5” I... I... guess so. This is my 2.5”
first time here.

Jenni smiles.

JENNI
Yeah, I figured. You’re new here,
right?

AMY
Yes, I am.

Jenni leads her around the corner. Amy follows. Everything

about her speech, her mannerisms, even her walk, emphasizes
her extreme shyness and discomfort in social situations.

Jenni is the opposite -- friendly, gregarious, at ease. She

takes the paper from Amy’s hand and reads the address.

(CONTINUED)
More’s and continued’s
are only for shooting scripts

Figure 1.16. Formatting a script page.

18 Writing Your Story
Loglines, Treatment and Synopsis
If you’re trying to sell your script or get financing for your movie, you’ll need to write a
synopsis, a treatment and a logline. So what are they?
A treatment is a long-form summary of your story. It may be anything from a couple of
pages to a hundred or more (although treatments this long are rare). It doesn’t need a lot of
detail, and including key bits of dialog is optional. Don’t get hung up in the little ins and
outs — focus on the main story. A treatment is very much part of the writing process and
it should help you get a better picture of the major through-lines of the story and a little
bit about any subplots and how it all fits together. A good way to start writing a treatment
is to create a one line summary of each scene of your script. Be sure the treatment explains
who the main character is, what their need is, what challenges they face, who the main
antagonist is, and how it is all resolved.

Synopsis
A synopsis is just a summary of the plot. Most of the time it is what you will show to people
to get them interested and help them understand where you’re going with this script. Even
more so than with a treatment — don’t get lost in the details. Stick to the major plot points
and key elements of your story — a couple of pages at the most.

Logline
Very often, producers don’t want to read scripts or even a synopsis at all until they have
seen your logline. If you’ve been writing for a while, producers who are looking for proj- You start selling the movie before you
ects will sometimes say “Send me your loglines.” A logline is a very brief description of make it.
your story. Absolutely no details or even story points. It is really just a one or two-sen-
tence description of the general idea of your story. Some sample loglines: David Cronenberg
(Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringer)
• A young man and woman from very different social classes fall in love on an ill-
fated ship destined to sink. Titanic.
• With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife
from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner. Django Unchained.
• A treasure-hunting archeologist is sent by the US government to recover the Ark
of the Covenant before the Nazis can harness its power. Raiders of the Lost Ark.
• A Las Vegas-set comedy centered around three groomsmen who lose their about-
to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their
steps in order to find him. The Hangover.
That’s it — very simple and to the point. A logline only has a few essential elements:
• Some idea of who the main character is.
• The main action: “searches for treasure,” “finds love in an unexpected place,”
“battles the Empire’s Death Star.”
• What challenge they are going to be facing.
• Some idea of the time and setting, especially if it’s not a contemporary story set in
the city. If it’s on a farm, say that. If it’s about 18th century pirates, it’s important
to say that.
It’s very few words, so you have to choose them carefully. Loglines may seem simplistic,
but they serve a purpose. You don’t want to waste your time pitching a love story to a pro-
ducer who never does anything but action films, and that producer certainly doesn’t want
to waste time reading a script that is absolutely not the sort of thing they are looking for.
Variations
You can say a lot with your logline. Here are two of them for the same movie:
• Mysteriously transported to a dangerous alien landscape, a young girl kills the
first woman she meets, then teams up with three bizarrely non-human strangers
to kill again.
• A tornado transports a Kansas farm girl and her dog to a magical land where she
must undertake a dangerous journey to battle a witch, then find the power to take
her back to her home.
They both describe The Wizard of Oz, but clearly one is a fantasy story for kids, and the
other sounds like a very disturbing horror/thriller alien movie.

The Basics of Filmmaking 19

 Presentation
As with everything you do, you want your script to present you as a professional. This
starts with how you package it. Obviously, be sure that you stick to the rules of format-
ting. Deviations from these formatting principles will scream out “amateur” to any reader
in the film industry or a potential investor.

Binding
The cover page can be plain white 20 lb. paper for shooting scripts, but many people use
card stock for the cover on sales or spec scripts. Always print on three-hole paper. Use
brass brads to hold them together. The most frequently used are Acco #5 Brass Fasteners.
Even though there are three holes, only use two fasteners. To really flatten the fasteners
and make them secure so they don’t stick out in the back, cover them with something
fairly heavy (like a magazine) and whack them with a hammer; it makes everything tight
and secure. Some copy shops have covers that fold back and cover the brass fasteners; these
are acceptable and are often used in the professional world, but are by no means necessary.
Cover
For a card stock cover, different colors are acceptable, but there should be no artwork
or logos, just the title centered on the page, and in the lower left corner, the author and
contact information. The next page after the cover is the title page, sometimes called the
fly page. There are three sections on the title page: title, author, and contact information.
Many people also include copyright and sometimes a WGA (Writer’s Guild of America)
registration number. Do not:
• Use clear plastic covers, spiral binding, or any other type of binding besides the
brass fasteners.
• Write the name of the script on the spine.
• Add any cute little notes or drawings on the cover or pages.
Be Prepared
Always have a copy of your script with you, in your bag, or in your car. You never know
when you’ll run into somebody who agrees to take a look at your script, or pass it along to
someone who can make a decision. Don’t be a clown, don’t show your script to everyone
you meet at the supermarket. Don’t leap out from behind a car and try to force a copy of
your script on an unsuspecting movie star or producer — this is more likely to get you put
in a headlock by their security guard than it is to get you a movie deal.

Pitching
Most of the time, you’re going to need to convince someone to give you money to make
your film. Just handing someone a script is not usually the best way to convince them —
people just don’t want to read a random script that someone just put in their hands. The
way it’s done is by pitching the project. It’s the same as a traditional sales pitch and that’s
what it really is — you’re selling the idea of your film to somebody who has the cash or
the ability to greenlight your project. There is no magic formula, but it’s best to keep it
short and sweet. You might want to start with your logline, just to get them interested,
then be sure you’re ready to answer their questions about the script, the budget, and where
you want to go with it.

The Elevator Pitch

Speaking of keeping it short and sweet, there is a special version of pitching your project
called the elevator pitch. It’s for when you happen (purely by chance, of course!) to get
on the same elevator as a producer. In this case you might only have 30 or 40 seconds to
deliver your message, so you’ve got to boil it down to the bare minimum.
Here’s one example: “I have an idea for an action film that takes place entirely in one
location — an abandoned hospital. I know one we can get for free. Our characters have
to fight super-strength zombies created by an insane scientist. We can do it for $600,000.”
If this gets their attention, you have to be ready to follow up with a logline, synopsis,
script, budget, and any other material they might ask for, such as casting ideas. For more
on pitching movie ideas, watch Robert Altman’s great film The Player. It works, I actually
sold a movie this way.

20 Writing Your Story