The Evolution of an Idea:!Scripts & Scripting"CS 5964"Who is the script for?"• Actors and crew--talent gravitates to a good script (voice is talent)"• Investors--selling your story"• Yourself--a good script directs itself"Script Format"• 1:1 ratio--1 page equals 1 minute of screen time"• 12 pt. Font--Courier New"• Spacing--done in www.Celtx.com"“I’m a Ute and I’m a Cougar #2 (Real Cougar)”!Celtx Overview"Script format*"EXT. FOREST - NIGHT"The moon shines on the pale, serene face of ELEANOR SAWYER."ELEANOR"(softly)"Midnight."She mounts a horse and rides into the darkness, the hoof beats muffled by the leaves and flora on the forest floor."*Extracted from “The Screenwriter’s Bible” by David Trottier"Script format"• EXT. (when outside), INT. (when inside), or EXT./INT. (when moving from inside to outside like with a car)"• CAPS for first intro of character"• CAPS for sound effects"• Voice Over (V.O)--for narration"• Off Screen (O.S.)--for character not visible"• “MONTAGE”, “SERIES OF SHOTS”, and “BACK TO SCENE”"Script Grammar"• Subject-Verb-Object (S-V-O)"• ex.– “Jack and Jill walk up a hill.”"• Simple present tense (mostly)"• ex.– “Jack and Jill walk up a hill.” Not “Jack and Jill were walking, or walked, or might walk”, just “walk” works. (watch for gerunds)"• Active voice (not passive)"• ex.– “Jill hit Jack.” Not “Jack was hit by Jill.”"• Action verbs (use a Thesaurus)"• ex.– “Jack and Jill bound up a hill.”"Script Writing"• Descriptive adjectives/adverbs-- impressionistic rather than elaborate; the essence of a person or place"• ex.– “Stale pizza and Rock Band” in a dorm room captures the essence of a college student instead of listing everything in the room and on the walls"• Beats of action, or units of action--not a shot, but two or three"• Keep paragraphs short"• Spec script--not about camera yet"Script Guidelines"• Show don’t tell--if it’s not an action, you can’t show it"• Read out loud"• Keep the flow of the story"• Let your own voice and the style of the piece come out"• Finding the right word is like hitting the right note; take time with it"• Writing is rewriting"“I’m a Ute and I’m a Cougar #2 (Real Cougar)”!Celtx"Celtx"“Cute”"an original piece written in class"“Shitty first draft” or “child’s draft” -- Anne