Screenplay

[Guest rusticmonk86]

I'm converting Angel into a screenplay, I hope to film by and screen at next year's Frameline festival here in San Francisco during the pride weekend. I am ignorant of the rules of grammar in screenwriting. Are any of you familiar with them?

I *think* I finished the first scene.

My ideal working partner is a critical thinker and prompt proofer. I want to find typos, plot holes, and needless words. I use MS Word's editing tools.

Email me.

[Tanuki Racoon]

I'm converting Angel into a screenplay. I am ignorant of the rules of grammar in screenwriting. Are any of you familiar with them? My ideal working partner is a critical thinker and prompt proofer. I want to find typos, plot holes, and needless words. I use MS Word's editing tools.

Good luck. I might be a good proofer in terms of finding tragic grammar errors and stuff like that but I wouldn't know a screenplay from a garage door opener. And as for plot holes, I've missed some doozies in my own work. I don't think I'm what you're looking for.

[The Pecman]

I am ignorant of the rules of grammar in screenwriting.

Screenplays have a very strict form, and have to be done in a very deliberate way -- both according to tradition and to necessity.

A couple of good books you can read on the subject include:

The Complete Guide to Standard Script Formats:

The Screenplay

by Judith H. Haag & Hillis R. Cole

published by CMC Publishing [iSBN #0929583000]

and

The Screenwriter's Bible:

A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, & Selling Your Script

by David Trottier

Published by Silman-James Press [iSBN #1879505843]

There's also a Screenwriting for Dummies, which I haven't read, along with dozens of other similar books available on Amazon.

I would also strongly suggest that you read as many legitimate feature and TV scripts as you can, to get an idea on the layout, the flow, the transitions, and all the other things that go into a script. You can download and read scripts for free here:

http://www.imsdb.com/

which has some of the greatest movie scripts ever written, including The Godfather, Casablanca, and scripts for many contemporary films.

Be warned that while it's possible to write film scripts with MS Word (and a dozen or so macros), it's difficult to revise scripts, particularly when dialog or action is split over multiple pages. To solve that problem, many screenwriters use dedicated programs like Final Draft (available for Macs and Windows PCs). I bought a legit copy for $79, so it's not all that expensive if you look around on eBay and other sources.

[Guest rusticmonk86]

thanks for all the info.

:D

[The Pecman]

And BTW, Mr. Monk, talk to me in email if you need some production and/or post-production advice. My day job is in post, and I can probably steer you to the right places once you're ready to actually make this thing.

I've seen many, many people with good intentions wind up wasting much too much money because they didn't ask the right questions before they started shooting. Having good, experienced people helps a lot, too.

[Guest rusticmonk86]

I've recently been accepted into Young Filmmaker's Project. The five minute film I'm making with my group will be showing at the Frameline Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in June.

My team will star, direct, write, edit and produce this film. So far, it has no name.

We'll see what happens after my first experience in filmmaking.

[Tanuki Racoon]

I've recently been accepted into Young Filmmaker's Project. The five minute film I'm making with my group will be showing at the Frameline Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in June.

My team will star, direct, write, edit and produce this film. So far, it has no name.

We'll see what happens after my first experience in filmmaking.

You gonna' let Dude post in on the site so we can see it? :)

[blue]

Hey, that'd be a candidate for a video on the web.

[Guest rusticmonk86]

shooting starts this saturday

[The Pecman]

shooting starts this saturday

Good luck, and break a leg (as actors say).

Be sure to be careful of microphone positioning and placement! Yo probably already know this, but don't ever use the mike on the camera if you can avoid it. Use some decent wireless mikes if you're in a noisy area; I'd loan you one of my Lectro systems if you were here in LA.

[Guest rusticmonk86]

I'm the kind of guy who drives to L.A. when he hears the expensive sound equipment is free, Pecman. :)

We've got several booms, though. I think, one boom and two cameras. Super low budget. This won't be too hard anyway. It's only a five minute film.

[The Pecman]

We've got several booms, though. I think, one boom and two cameras. Super low budget. This won't be too hard anyway. It's only a five minute film.

Oh, you'd be amazed how much work can go into a 5-minute film.

The key problem for movies like this is getting wireless mikes for situations where booms won't work. And using the right boom is a whole 'nuther problem. The wireless mikes have saved our butts many times.

I've worked in post my entire adult life, and now (having dabbled in it recently) have a much greater appreciation for people who do location sound mixing for a living. Very tough job.