creative essentials Screenplays.indd 1 27/09/2012 12:53 Screenplays.indd 2 27/09/2012 12:53 Craig Batty SCREENPLAYS how to write and sell them creative essentials Screenplays.indd 3 27/09/2012 12:53 First published in 2012 by Kamera Books an imprint of Oldcastle Books, PO Box 394, Harpenden, Herts, AL5 1XJ www.kamerabooks.com Copyright © Craig Batty 2012 Series Editor: Hannah Patterson The right of Craig Batty to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the written permission of the publishers. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. 978-1-84243-503-8 (Print) 978-1-84243-643-1 (epub) 978-1-84243-642-4 (kindle) 978-1-84243-644-8 (pdf) 2 4 6 8 10 9 7 5 3 1 Typeset by Elsa Mathern in Franklin Gothic 9 pt Printed and Bound by CPI Group (UK) ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY Screenplays.indd 4 27/09/2012 12:53 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To family, friends and students who’ve played their part in the making of this book. In particular, to RMIT students in the Anatomy of a Screenplay class, who were both insightful and inspiring. To Hannah for commissioning the book, and to Anne for doing a brilliant job editing it. To all the great screenwriters and filmmakers out there who’ve given me wonderful material to write about. And to all the book’s readers – may it serve you well. 5 Screenplays.indd 5 27/09/2012 12:53 Screenplays.indd 6 27/09/2012 12:53 CONTENTS Introduction .................................................. 11 1. THE NATURE OF SCREENWRITING .............. 15 Just a working document? ............................. 16 Layout ............................................................ 17 Form .............................................................. 21 A film about screenwriting ............................. 25 2. FINDING IDEAS ............................................. 27 Sourcing ideas ............................................... 28 What’s in an idea? ........................................ 31 Knowing when an idea’s ready ...................... 32 3. DEVELOPING IDEAS ..................................... 35 Where to start? ............................................. 36 Development documents .............................. 40 4. CREATING A WORLD ..................................... 45 Building your world ........................................ 47 Case studies .................................................. 52 5. SHAPING CHARACTERS ............................... 59 Inner character .............................................. 61 Backstory ....................................................... 63 Outer character ............................................. 64 Protagonism and antagonism ........................ 67 Cast design .................................................... 68 Minor characters ........................................... 72 7 Screenplays.indd 7 27/09/2012 12:53 6. DESIGNING A STRUCTURE ........................... 75 Character journeys ......................................... 76 Three-act structure ........................................ 78 The inciting incident ...................................... 81 Case study ..................................................... 83 Tentpoles ....................................................... 86 Sequences ..................................................... 89 Alternative structures ..................................... 94 7. WRITING VISUALLY ....................................... 101 Thinking visually ............................................. 102 Visual grammar ............................................. 103 Setting ........................................................... 105 Visual objects and motifs .............................. 106 8. UNDERSTANDING GENRE ............................ 113 Who is genre for? .......................................... 114 Genre – or style, or form? ............................. 115 Writing genre ................................................. 118 9. WORKING WITH THEME ............................... 123 Defining theme .............................................. 123 Theme in action ............................................. 126 10. CONSTRUCTING SCENES ............................. 131 Finding a scene’s purpose ............................. 132 Driving a scene .............................................. 134 Scenes and story texture ............................... 137 Writing screen directions ............................... 139 11. WRITING DIALOGUE ...................................... 145 Stripping down ............................................... 148 Character voice ............................................. 151 Subtext .......................................................... 154 The key phrase .............................................. 157 Key lines ........................................................ 159 Voiceover ....................................................... 164 8 Screenplays.indd 8 27/09/2012 12:53 12. SELLING YOUR SCREENPLAY ....................... 169 Pitching documents ....................................... 170 Thinking strategically ..................................... 174 Finding funding .............................................. 180 13. SELLING YOURSELF AS A SCREENWRITER 183 Career planning ............................................. 184 Promoting yourself as a screenwriter ............ 193 14. SURVIVING AS A SCREENWRITER ............... 197 First steps ...................................................... 198 Joining forces ................................................ 201 Writers’ events ............................................... 204 Conclusion and Resources .......................... 211 Index of films ................................................ 217 9 Screenplays.indd 9 27/09/2012 12:53