Screenwriting Flashcards
Briefly describe the role of the story editor
Works alongside writer to identify script issues (fresh eye); pacing, structure, character development, thematic
Whose job is it to design action, behaviour, composition and editing juxtapositions to tell the story?
Director
What is the premise?
Critical, overall idea that informs each scene and holds the story together
What does dramatic narrative mean?
The way that story is told; which details/events are selected and emphasized, what order are they presented
What does plot point mean?
A moment in which a story pivots into new territory or where the dramatic circumstances become amplified
What classifies as an external vs internal conflict?
Person vs Person
Person vs Environment or Social Institution
Person vs A Task they are compelled to undertake
Person vs Themselves with conflicting traits or beliefs
External
External
External and Internal
Internal
List 5 things that maximizes audience involvement and emotional engagement
Specificity: REVEALING specificity makes things clear and memorable
Emphasis:
Plot:
Perspective:
Tone: what are the rules of the fictional universe in which we place this story? This establishes the credibility of the story’s world
What does it mean for a plot to be character driven vs plot driven?
Character driven: explores what it means to be human through examination and transformation of a character
Plot driven: momentum comes from patterns of external forces, not a lot of change in the character themselves
- designed to maximize capacity to generate action, suspense, mystery
What’s a ‘beat’?
A (dramatic) moment that produces an irreversible change of awareness in one or more characters
What is subtext?
The unspoken, often unconscious, motivational drive behind a character’s words or actions
What should a beat sheet do?
1-2 sentence description of each major narrative moment (who is in the scene, what happens) in third person, present tense.
Reveals the essential plot structure, the development of the central characters and the underlying dramatic logic
Name two things in general that make an overall story more dynamic and interesting
Parallel stories, smaller characters taking on greater importance
What are some good things to keep in mind when creating the central dramatic question/problem?
What problem needs to be solved?
Is it constant or does it evolve?
How does the character get involved in this problem?
Who or what represents the principle opposing forces?
Briefly describe the 4 dramatic units
Setup
Development (rising action/tension)
Crisis point
Result/Resolution
Briefly describe the 3 Plot Structure
Act 1: The Set up
Turning point: The tenacity of the central problem - it will not go away on its own
Act 2: Development
2nd Turning point: protagonist realizes they must make direct confrontation with the problem
Act 3: Resolution
Starts with Climax / Third crisis point: confrontation resolves the problem (how it’s resolved usually consolidates the thematic elements of the film)
What’s the difference between a Subjective vs Open POV?
Subjective: audience understands/discovers things the same way the protagonist does (they’re in every scene)
Open: audience learns things without the protagonist
List 3 examples of scenario scripts that would be preferred to shoot in chronological order
- Films dependent on a major physical change in the main character
- Films using a high deg. of improv (requires you to shoot in order to maintain control over an evolving storyline)
- Films that take place in limited space (ie., 1 interior loc.) with a small/constant cast - (little benefit to shooting out of order, shooting in order helps acting and continuity)
What is the standard work day on set
10-12 hours (>12 = overtime)
How many minutes of edited screen-time typically equates to a standard shoot day?
2-4 min edited screen time / 10 hour day
