Introduction about scope for scriptwriters

There is a huge scope for scriptwriters today.

Scriptwriters may find it a little difficult to break in initially to write for films and big banners but once you have one or two good films to your credit, work and money start flowing in.

In films, its not consistent income, money comes in installments or after the delivery of the story. Some also write for advertisements. 

In television there is a big demand for writers and the money is regular and decent. Some scriptwriters also end up getting assignments to write copy for advertisements, which also is good money and challenge.

The basics

A film’s script is the soul of the film. It needs to be profound enough to enable the actors and directors to do the best.

There is no ‘real way’ of writing a script. There are right or wrong method of scripting; however there are some basics that one needs to keep in mind while learning to script for a film.

Scriptwriter Shibhani Bhatija who has written the script for Aamir - Kajol starrer Fanaa and writer Anand Sivakumaran who wrote Kalyug for Director Mohit Suri share their inputs.

Read as many scripts as possible

Most of the Hollywood movie scripts are available online. Search for the name of the movie you want on the search engine then look for its script. Read it over. Try to understand how they are build upon. Watch the film and compare what was on paper and what came on screen. Understanding the process from this point of view is very important.

Break the script into a structure; see how characters develop and change or in film language how the character arc is formed. 

Shibhani recommends Story by author Robbert Mckee

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0413715604/026-8140233-1141207

, which is a guide to film scripting.

Then there are famous Hollywood scriptwriters like William Goldman who wrote The first time I got paid for it

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0306810972/002-5920407-9576008?v=glance&n=283155

This unprecedented collection of essays, gathered for the Writers Guild Foundation, investigates what it takes to succeed in Hollywood and what it takes to write well. There are over 50 contributors, including Steven Bochco, Eric Bogosian, Cameron Crowe, Delia Ephron, Larry Gelbart, Lawrence Kasdan, Carl Reiner, Alan Alda, Peter Casey and Amy Holden Jones.

Syd Field who wrote Screenplay : The Foundations of Screenwriting; A step-by-step guide from concept to finished script.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0440576474/qid=1142947331/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/002-5920407-9576008?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Some links to movie scripts

You can find a lot of scripts on The Internet Movie Script Database. http://www.imsdb.com/ 

Complete table of scripts available

http://www.script-o-rama.com/table.shtml

Pretty Woman script

http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Pretty-Woman.html

Memoirs of Geisha

http://www.script-o-rama.com/movie_scripts/m/memoirs-of-a-geisha-script.html

You’ve Got Mail

http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/You've-Got-Mail.html

There will be some similar points in what these authors tell you about script writing. There is no one-way to write a script.

Some can be researched on the net at http://www.screenwriting.info/ and http://breakingin.net/genre_faq.htm

However some basic principles can be kept in mind as the script needs to be filmed into a visual medium. It is unlike writing a novel as the script is mostly about what is unsaid.

Real life as inspiration

Most of the scriptwriters will recommend that you watch a lot of films. Read about them. Be open to the world. Read non-fiction, newspapers, magazines and keep abreast of current affairs. It some times helps getting that one line you want about your story -- the central idea or premise.

Shibani states the Jessica Lal case http://in.rediff.com/news/jessica.htm

as an example. A woman is killed in broad daylight with many witnesses and yet the accused goes free. That could be your one line inspired by real life.

The entire thing would comprise of who the girl was, the accused, did they have a connection, how the accused got free, what happens after that?

Is there retribution? Does the justice system break out?

Now this real life incident could be an inspiration based on real life. After this point it is up to you what you do with that story.

There could be so many endings to a story like that.

What is your story?

Before you start writing, you must have a broad story. It could be a one line on what the story is about. Do not lose track of your story while getting into details

Anand says: For example it could be about a girl and guy falling in love, girl’s father being in opposition and how they overcome this hurdle.

Or it could be like the kalyug story: http://in.rediff.com/movies/2005/dec/09kalyug.htm

A simple guy goes on a honeymoon with his wife and without their knowledge they are being filmed while making love. A CD is released, the husband is arrested, his wife commits suicide, he wants revenge against the porn mafia. Simplistically put, that’s your story.

Writing the story is a fluid process. It is important to stick to your basic story idea or else you will end up straying from the main idea. 

Flesh out your characters.

Anand says: After you have a fair idea about the storyline, flesh out your characters. This must be done before you start writing the script.

First is the protagonist -- the main lead in the film.

Then comes the antagonist. The antagonist can be a person or a situation The antagonist is basically a force that is stopping the main character/protagonist from reaching his/ her goal

Define who your are characters are, their fears, their aspirations, their family background, who are their friends and their relationship with them, their likes, dislikes etc

Side characters can be developed as one goes along with the plot. Spend a lot of time developing your characters -- it’s a good investment. The better you understand your characters, the easier it will be to develop the story.

Break down your film into one-liners or a step outline

Write down each sequence in one line.

Anand says: For example Kunal is arrested and taken to the court. At the court his friend Bhaskar introduces him to his lawyer who will fight his case. Kunal tells the lawyer how he actually got framed in the case. Then there is flashback. 

So these are the broad strokes that you give to your entire script.

For example if you want to work out a kidnap sequence, find out where the sequence will happen. Will it be on land, sea or an airplane? Will it be at a hotel, etc. You decide it will be set at a hotel.

Next, what happens in the sequence?

Five gunmen burst in, grab Kunal, take him out into a van and drive away. 

Suppose you have five scenes in mind for a particular sequence, then you can change the order in which they will appear.

Read all the one-liners in sequence. This will help to create a mental picture of the film and the direction the story is taking.

Then starts the actual screenplay

What is a screenplay?

The script for a movie, including descriptions of scenes, and some camera directions. A screenplay or script is a blueprint for producing a motion picture. It can be adapted from a previous work such as a novel, play or short story, or it may be an original work in and of itself.

The actual screenplay starts after all your one-liners and sequences is in place. These one-liners get expanded into 3-4 line scenes with the dialogues.

Some people write their screenplays in English for a Hindi movie and cannot write the dialogues in Hindi. In that case they should write the dialogues in English (without that scene is meaningless).  

Certain times, the director, producer discusses the basic story with sequences and you are asked to make a step outline.

After their feed back on the same, you inculcate changes and write the final screenplay.

Here you have the final screenplay with all the dialogues in place. The first draft is over. 

Rewriting

Then comes the hardest part, rewriting.

But first says Anand, “Post draft one, go out and celebrate.

Take a week’s break, send the draft around to your friends, get their feedback on what is working, what is not working

You may want to sulk a bit. Then get back to work.

Do a second draft; a third draft, etc. It could go up to many drafts.

Show the draft

After you are reasonably satisfied with your draft take it to a producer, director or star.

Shibani says: For example, for Fanaa - my first script to be released. I happened to be chatting with Kajol, and we were talking about her comeback. Now that she has a baby, she can't do a film that involves a lot of traveling. That set me thinking. I came up with a basic plan that she loved. Later, when I bounced the idea off Aditya, informally, he loved it too. The first draft was written in three weeks.

Get their comments.

A star may want more footage, more scenes, something more dramatic for him to do. Those changes need to happen – a producer might tell you to set the script in a particular location, or tell you that a particular scene will be very costly to shoot, try to work it out within a budget.

The story will keep evolving. The point is the minute more people get involved there will be changes, which you may need to inculcate. You will need a lot of patience.

For Fanaa Aamir had a couple of valid points to make about the script. Nothing drastic. Director Kunal Kohli contributed his inputs too.

Discipline issues

The hardest thing is to sit down and write. You think of forty other things that you can do like getting a glass of water, going to the loo, go shopping, almost all the writers face the same problem. It’s so much easier to think of story, chat with people but the actual thing to sit down and put on paper or computer screen is a lot more difficult.

Writers are at the lowest end of the spectrum when it comes to compensation. One can work on television scripts simultaneously for that important cheque and in free timework on the scripts.

General tips

Discuss movies with your friends, colleagues, the ones you have liked, the ones you have hated.

Try to break down and see why you like or hate something, break away from the concept that a movie is actually about a story.

It’s not just the story, if the screenplay isn’t good enough; it’s not going to work. That’s where the characters come in, and the setting comes in.

You could join movie clubs in your city. Like there is a moc-ha film club in Mumbai. A lot of film festivals keep happening in Mumbai. You could keep a tab by reading the what’s happening in your town columns in newspapers.

There are online forums like Caferati- the writers network: http://bwc-network.ryze.com/ or Indi filmmakers at http://actorsworkindiefilm-network.ryze.com/