The Traditional Screenwriting Processclivefrayne.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/... · get a concept create a plot write the script find faults rewrite The Traditional Screenwriting

get a concept

create a plot

write the script

find faults

rewrite

The Traditional Screenwriting Process

THE PROCESSof Screenwriting

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ideas

theme

compass logline

the fictional world

characters

plot

write

the process







ideas

theme

compass logline

the fictional world

characters

plot

write





Writing

the process







In this session I want to teach six screenwriting techniques

seed scenes

using prose for development

smart use of auto-complete

the causes of drama

fighting for attention with every sentence







seed scenes

we write seed scenes to develop our ideas

we use them to develop characters

we use them to build a fictional world

we use them to practice and perfect dialogue

a seed scene is a scene we write before we write the script as part of the development process. It’s

not meant to go into the final script



what does a seed scene look like?

using prose for development

we write prose to develop our ideas

we use prose to develop characters

we use prose to build a fictional world

we use prose to explore the inner-life of our characters

how do we use prose?

Malcolm slid the bookmark into the book and closed it. He knew he’d never finish it. It was another book he started with good intentions but which, like life, bored

him rigid. It was one hell of a realisation to come to at sixty-four years old. I am, he thought, still someone who wants to appear well read but who can’t be bothered

to make the effort. Yet more evidence of his feckless and irrelevant nature to add to the list. Not so much a man, more like the illusion of a man. In the shade of this

tedious and mediocre tree he looked out over the cliched lake. He tortured himself with the worst and most shameful moments of his life. All the moments he could

gather as evidence of his petty, lazy and corrupt nature. All the lies he’d told others and himself. The broken women he seduced for the pleasure of rejecting them. The incident with the duck! The depravity of his masturbatory life. His shallow pursuit of praise from any source. The lovers he’d manipulated and abused. The jobs he’d talked his way into only to immediately feel were beneath his glorious and shining

talent. Whatever that was. There was scant little evidence of it anywhere. Yes, there was the book, the book that paid for the house and his self-indulgent semi-retirement. He knew all too well, anyone can write a book that preys on people’s natural self-loathing. One which offers of redemption. Perhaps, he reflected, that

was the greatest of all his sins. Not the drunken self-pity, porn depravity or temper tantrums. He was the man who persuaded thousands of people that a positive

attitude was the answer. Self belief would manifest their dreams. That, he suspected, would be carved on his tombstone. Here lies the snivelling shit who sold us the lie, anything is possible! As usual, his self-loathing transformed into thoughts

of suicide. But even these were tainted by his worthlessness. Deep down he recognised his plans to die were nothing more than cheap drama. Petty revenge

and a childish cry for attention. What an utterly useless piece of shit!

smart use of auto-complete

screenwriting software

autocompletes character names and scene headings. we can use this to our

advantage

pre-load your auto-fill with your key characters and locations

the causes of drama

1. What is the role of conflict in the creation of drama?

2. What is the role of the exploration of human nature in

drama?

3. What is the role of morality in the creation of drama?

4. What role does forcing characters to overcome problems

play in creating drama?

5. How important is it for a writer to force characters to face

their vulnerabilities?

6. What role does the idea of a dramatic theme play in creating

drama?

conflict, vulnerability, theme (the cost of), problems

conflict

pushing against the conflict + vulnerability

conflict + theme (paying the price)

conflict + theme (paying the price)

vulnerability

she isn’t in control of her own destiny and is being dehumanised

conflict

conflict + vulnerability + theme

fighting for attention with every sentence

Does this sentence create drama?

Does this sentence take the audience deeper into the fictional world?

Does this sentence take the audience deeper into the characters?

establishes city and time of day

establishes mood of city

something dramatic happens

we create a visual metaphor for the disturbance to the city

we move to the scene of the action & establish the world of

our storywe create a visual link to the

gun shot

we answer the question, what kind of culture is this story set

in?

we introduce our first character and

demonstrate our theme “the cost of ambition”

we introduce our protagonist and

demonstrate our theme “the cost of ambition”





ask me questions on twitter @clivefraynewww.clivefrayne.co.uk



https://twitter.com/clivefrayne

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The Traditional Screenwriting Processclivefrayne.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/... · get a concept create a plot write the script find faults rewrite The Traditional Screenwriting