First drafts
Screenwriting, as a matter of fact, can't be learned fully by only reading. A truth repeated numerous times in the books and over the internet.
Therefore, I decided to not only continue my education by reading through the books accumulated from the library, but also by fleshing out first drafts of the script, along with other help documents.
(Most recent screenplay draft to the day of publishing will be on the bottom of the post)
But where do I start ?
In his book, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. Robert McKee suggests figuring out the premise and the controlling idea, and when the controlling idea is all figured out, taping it on the wall above your chosen screenwriting appliance. Another concept worth noting, which quite literally drives the story forward, is the protagonist's intention and obstacle, which translated is what the character desires, and the obstacles that prevent him from achieving it.
After that, it's really good and helpful to already have an idea about your story. Since I knew what I wanted, especially the ending (McKee also notes, that sometimes starting from the end to yields better results), I started fleshing out some index cards about the story beats. Since we are talking about a short film, and not a feature, some elements of arc structure, and similar, have to be either condensed or omitted.
Another point McKee brings up is story event, and beats, being charged with values. These directly relate to the character's intention and obstacle. Character, in all his knowledge undertakes an action, that he believes will bring him closer to achieving his goals, but meets with forces of antagonism from the world. It's almost like Newton's third law of motion. Thus, every action has to have a following action that changes the value charge of the story from one to the opposite. Having a story where everything is a + means that character does not encounter any formidable obstacles, and therefore breezes his way to his desire, causing the film to be boring to the audience.
So. here is the script for anybody to read, please do not redistribute or copy.
Therefore, I decided to not only continue my education by reading through the books accumulated from the library, but also by fleshing out first drafts of the script, along with other help documents.
(Most recent screenplay draft to the day of publishing will be on the bottom of the post)
But where do I start ?
In his book, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. Robert McKee suggests figuring out the premise and the controlling idea, and when the controlling idea is all figured out, taping it on the wall above your chosen screenwriting appliance. Another concept worth noting, which quite literally drives the story forward, is the protagonist's intention and obstacle, which translated is what the character desires, and the obstacles that prevent him from achieving it.
After that, it's really good and helpful to already have an idea about your story. Since I knew what I wanted, especially the ending (McKee also notes, that sometimes starting from the end to yields better results), I started fleshing out some index cards about the story beats. Since we are talking about a short film, and not a feature, some elements of arc structure, and similar, have to be either condensed or omitted.
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| Beat Board |
Another point McKee brings up is story event, and beats, being charged with values. These directly relate to the character's intention and obstacle. Character, in all his knowledge undertakes an action, that he believes will bring him closer to achieving his goals, but meets with forces of antagonism from the world. It's almost like Newton's third law of motion. Thus, every action has to have a following action that changes the value charge of the story from one to the opposite. Having a story where everything is a + means that character does not encounter any formidable obstacles, and therefore breezes his way to his desire, causing the film to be boring to the audience.
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| Image Credit: Robert McKee - Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting |
In the next two blog posts, I will try to elaborate on the characters, and better describe their characterisation and reference, with notes on how to implement some either design wise or action wise.
Everyday I ask myself though, is just trying to survive a good enough intention/obstacle ?
I am not entirely sure, some days it seem like it, some days it doesn't. As an argument I often tell myself that, in a way, survival is a basic human intention, and our way through the life is filled with obstacles, but then again, everybody has their own perception of survival.
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