How to write a movie script and die a bit in the attempt

Would you like to write a short film or a feature film and then, maybe, shoot it? Writing a film script has its complexity, and therefore it is convenient to approach the task calmly and with a certain methodology. In this article I am going to let you know the processthat professionals usually follow to write their film scripts. 

It is a process that consists of several phases , in each of which the work is worked with a greater level of detail than in the previous phase. They are the following: 

1. The initial idea

The first step you should take to write your script is to get an idea that is attractive to you and that impels you to put yourself to work. As an idea you can serve a peculiar character , an invented place , a news read in the press , an experience of its own, a topic ... 

For example, if you have always liked detective stories, your idea could be, simply, to write a script that tells how someone tries to solve a mystery. 

If you can not think of anything to write about, do not worry: you can get ideas from many places. Here are some creativity techniques that will be useful to you. 

It is important that this initial idea points to a script whose passage to the screen is viable . For example, if what you have thought is to tell a futuristic story, with its spaceships and robots, you have to bear in mind that the cost of producing the film will be high, with the problems that this will entail. On the other hand, if you tell a story that takes place in your neighborhood, the production will be much more affordable. 

2. The logline

The next step is, starting from this initial idea, to begin to specify a story. For now, it will be enough for you to fix its basic elements: who will be the protagonist , what the action will be in broad strokes , where and when it will pass, what tone will it have ... 

For example: starting from the idea of ​​telling a detective story , you could decide that the story will deal with the investigation of the strange deaths that are taking place in a nursing home. The protagonist will be one of the elders. The action will take place at the beginning of the 90s, simply because at that time you worked a few months in a day center for older people and you could see how everything worked. 

This first development of your initial idea can be translated into a logline : a short paragraph, of one, two or three sentences, in which the story is concreted before starting to work on it. The previous paragraph, the one that is in green, if we arrange it a little, we would be worth as logline. The logline will help you to be clear at all times what story you are going to tell, which will prevent you from dispersing during the following phases. You have detailed information on how to write a logline and some examples in this article . 

3. The plot and the characters

Once we are clear about what the script will be, we will proceed to work on the plot , that is, the facts that make up the story. An argument can be more or less complex: it can consist of a single line of action, but also two lines of action that advance in parallel, or even in a whole network of lines of action, for example. 

In any case, the recommendable thing in this phase is to write a plot synopsis: a summary of a page that explains, without going into details, the argument from beginning to end. For example, for the history of the investigation of the deaths in the nursing home, the first lines of the plot synopsis could be these: 

Ernestino, a retired man with mobility problems, is interned by his nephew in a geriatric of the periphery. Just installed, an old woman who seems to suffer from senile dementia babbles that in this residence people die and that she will be next. The next morning, Ernestino witnesses how some nurses remove a lifeless body from one of the rooms, which turns out to be that of the old woman. Throughout the day, Ernestino finds out that three of the residents have already died during the month, none of whom, in principle, had serious health problems ... 

The plot synopsis is useful because, among other things, it allows us to maneuver with the argument (for example, it allows us to exchange the order of two events) without having to deal with the bulk of the narrative. Here you have an article in which I explain what it is, what it is for and how to write a plot synopsis with complete example included. 

At the same time that the argument is worked, the characters are also worked on . Argument and characters form a unit: as a character is characterized, it will be likely or not to perform a certain action, and conversely, depending on how we want a character to act so that the story advances where we are interested, it will have to be characterized in a certain way, and not in another. 

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For example, if we make Ernestino go in a wheelchair, he will not be able to perform certain actions, such as going down the stairs to the basement. In the same way, but in the opposite direction, if history asks us that Ernestino can not escape from the residence just like that (for example, by jumping through a window into the garden), it might be better for us to go in a wheelchair or have limited mobility for any other reason. 

4. The runway

Now that we have the story to tell, we will decide how to tell it. For this, what we will do is divide the argument into scenes . A scene is a block of narration in which the action takes place in the same scenario and in a continuous time. 

An example that you will immediately recognize: in the movie Titanic , which you have surely seen, all the action that takes place in the forward railing to the three-quarters of an hour of film (the two protagonists meet at sunset, they climb to the railing, they lean and put their arms in a cross as if they were flying, and finally they kiss) it's the same scene. 

A list of scenes with which we plan the story we call history escaleta. It is advisable to include as few scenes in the scene as possible. If instead of telling something in two scenes we can tell in one, that we will win. 

For example, the beginning of the story of Ernestino we could count on the following scenes: one would take place outside the residence, when Ernestino arrives at her accompanied by his nephew; another, at the reception, when you register; another, in the room assigned to him, when installed in it; another, in the dining room, during dinner, which will be when the old woman speaks to her; another, again, in his room, when he goes to bed depressed; another, the next morning, in the corridor, when he witnesses how the nurses take the corpse of the old woman; etc. If we saw that we can do without any of them (the reception, for example), we would eliminate it. 

In the runway we will use to decide the orderof the scenes in the narrative: we can narrate the events in chronological order, but we can also break this order: start by showing a scene from the end of the story or count some events in retrospective, for example. If the argument consists of several lines of action, we can set the interleaving order of their respective scenes. 

If you wish, you can read more about how to work a runway . 

5. The literary script

Finally, in the literary script we will narrate the story in sufficient detail and in the appropriate format so that it can be taken to the screen without problems. The narrative should be audiovisual , that is, everything we have, even if we do it in text, will have to be visible or audible. Of course, at no time we will give technical indications for the realization of the film (plane sizes, frames, camera movements, etc.). That's what the director of the film will do when she writes the technical script . 

For example, the sixth scene of the scenario of the previous example we could write it in the following way: INT. RESIDENCE / HALL OF THE FIRST FLOOR - DAY

ERNESTINO leaves his room in his wheelchair. As you turn the corner of the hall, you see that there are some RESIDENTS in front of the open door of one of the rooms. Ernestino approaches, looks into the room and I saw how some NURSES are putting a body on a stretcher. 

ERNESTINO 
What happened? 

ELDERLY WITH VISOR 
Mrs. Lola ...

The nurses take the stretcher out the door. On the stretcher, covered with a sheet, goes an inert body. Ernestino sees that underneath the sheet a gray hair braid appears. 
The format in which the literary scripts are written is standardized. For each scene, it is written: 1) a scene header, in which the action is informed where and when ; 2) a text written in the present in which the scenario is described (only if necessary) and theaction that takes place in that scene is reported; 3) one or more paragraphs of dialogue. 


And with this you would have your script! Obviously, this has been just a general explanation of the process of writing a script, and I have not stopped to detail the specific technique of each phase. You can deepen them by following the links I have included. 

I just sent (23-10-2018) to the subscription list a PDF with a real case of using this method in the writing of a script: that of a well-known film. If you want to read it, join the literary army of Taller de Escritores and you will get a link so you can download it.