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A GUIDE TOFEATURE FILM WRITINGa screenwriter’s workbookby j.t. velikovskywww.joeteevee.com2003This work is intended as a critical review of theory in the field of feature film screenwriting.It is not intended for sale. Wherever possible, please buy and read all the texts referenced within.Guide to Writing Feature Films1
INTRODUCTIONSo, Feature Screenwriting: big field. Twenty years ago, there were two books on thesubject. Now there are hundreds. Where to start? Right here is a good beginning First of all, I should say that this workbook is just an Overview of the field. It is intendedmore as an introduction, than a set of free tools’ for feature film writers it is certainlynot meant to replace the original texts themselves.- It contains various facts and figures about the Australian and world film industries (allcurrent at the time of writing, Jan 2003), and various story templates’, but most usefully- it contains summaries of the most important texts on Writing Feature Scripts.This booklet also contains an Overview’ of all the basic career info you need as a featurescreenwriter, ranging from: contact info for the Writer’s Guild, to getting an Agent, andthe Funding Bodies URL’s - right through to formatting and binding your feature script.Perhaps most usefully, it also has tables and worksheets, where you can fill out your ownfilm’s plot beats and character info’ in preparation for writing your masterpiece.But, for the actual nuts-and-bolts of all these writing theories (and let’s face it, that’s allthey are - there are no magic formulae, or else all writers would always write perfectscripts. But if there is one formula, it’s this: Learn all the rules, the forget ‘em and writefrom the heart.) - I implore you, please buy and read the actual original texts themselves.- I don’t wish to deny the likes of Linda Aronsen, Syd Field, Linda Seger, Viki King,John Truby, or Robert McKee their dues. - Lord knows, they all sweated blood for them.(And this also goes for John Lonie, Ron Blair and Helen Carmichael too, from my days atAFTRS. Thank you to a wonderful, hugely-talented, amazingly generous bunch of bornteachers.)So. Hopefully this Workbook will be useful for you, whether you’re a new, or anexperienced screenwriter.- We need great scripts, and more of them; they make great films, which the world needsmost right now Our film stories are our myths. Our myths are what we live by.And just remember, screenplays are never finished - they are only ever abandoned!But hey, you can sure have a blast in the meantime ; )cheerz,j.t. velikovskyscreenwriterwww.joeteevee.comGuide to Writing Feature Films2
THE AUSTRALIAN WRITERS GUILD . 5AUSTRALIAN BOX OFFICE HITS. 6TOP TEN AUSTRALIAN FILMS OF ALL TIME IN AUSTRALIA . 6THE TOP TEN HIGHEST-GROSSING FILMS OF ALL TIME IN AUSTRALIA: (BOX OFFICEGROSS) . 6TOP 50 FILMS in AUSTRALIA. 7U.S. BOX OFFICE MEGAHITS. 8U.S. BOX OFFICE HITS (INFLATION-ADJUSTED). 9TOP 100 AUSTRALIAN FILMS AT THE AUST. BOX OFFICE,1966 TO 11 JULY 2002 . 10AFI WINNERS for BEST SCREENPLAY. 12OSCAR -WINNING SCREENPLAYS. 13A FEW OTHER FILM CLASSICS. 14ONLINE SOURCES FOR FILM SCREENPLAYS. 15WHAT IS A SCREENPLAY?. 16AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS:. 17WHERE TO START?. 18THEME. 19THE CREATIVE PROCESS. 20THE GREEK LEGACY: 3-ACT STORY STRUCTURE. 20THE PREMISE. 21CREATE A GREAT CHARACTER. 22SCREENPLAY CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS. 23CHARACTER DESCRIPTION TEMPLATE:. 26EXAMPLE SYNOPSIS:. 27THIS FILM’S PREMISE:. 27THE HOOK – and THE VERBAL PITCH. 28ONE-PAGE PITCH’ CASE STUDY: OMMADAWN. 29CONFLICT IS DRAMA . 31CHARACTER. 32ENNEAGRAMS. 33THE 4 HIPPOCRATIC HUMOURS. 34PHYSICALITY: SOMATYPES. 34JUNG’S PERSONALITY TYPES . 35ASTROLOGICAL STAR SIGNS. 36HERO'S JOURNEY CHARACTER ARCHETYPES . 38SYD FIELD'S CHARACTER TEMPLATE. 393-D CHARACTER PROFILE - STRIKING POINTS. 40CHARACTER ARCS . 41STAKES . 42THE HERO or PROTAGONIST . 43CHARACTER PROFILE WORKSHEETS. 44CHARACTER INTERVIEW . 46CREATE 5 MEMORABLE SCENES . 50A CHARACTER’S BACKSTORY. 51JOHN CARROLL’S “9 CORE THEMES”. 52TOBIAS’ 20 PLOTS . 53POLTI’S THE 36 DRAMATIC SITUATIONS’. 54JOHNSTON/BLAKE’S 9 PLOTS. 55GENRE IN FILMS. 56FILMS PRODUCED (BY GENRE) IN AUSTRALIA since 1990. 57AUSTRALIAN FEATURE FILM GENRES . 58STRUCTURE. 59THE HERO’S JOURNEY. 60ROBERT McKEE’S SCREENWRITING METHOD . 63THE STORY MAP. 63BARRY PEARSON’S STRUCTURE. 64ECO & THE JAMES BOND PLOTS . 65DAVID SIEGEL’S NINE-ACT STRUCTURE. 65RICHARD MICHAELS – MEGAHIT STRUCTURE. 66ON THEMATIC VISUAL METAPHORS. 66Guide to Writing Feature Films3
Viki King's INNER MOVIE METHOD. 67THE SCREENPLAY BEAT SHEET’. 68PLOTS and SUBPLOTS - or A,B and C stories . 69QUESTIONS TO ANSWER BEFORE YOU WRITE:. 70THE 15 COMMANDMENTS’. 71OF FEATURE FILM SCREENWRITING. 71SCENE LENGTH. 72EXPOSITION. 73FEATURE FILM LAYOUT. 74BINDING. 74SCREENPLAY TERMS - GLOSSARY. 75DIALOG. 77SOME OTHER DIALOG RULES’: . 78SUBTEXT. 79FAMOUS LINES from films of the 1990’s . 80MEMORABLE LINES FROM AUSTRALIAN FILMS.
they are - there are no magic formulae, or else all writers would always write perfect scripts. But if there is one formula, it’s this: Learn all the rules, the forget ‘em and write from the heart.) - I implore you, please buy and read the actual original texts themselves.File Size: 257KBPage Count: 108People also search forfeature writing pdfsample feature writing10 rules of writingfeatures of good writinglist of writing rulesthe features of academic writing
