CHARACTER

                                                                                          Creating Characters in your film is an easy job,only if your Character have nothing to do with the Story.Useless Characters never attract audience.So it’s very important to do a research work while creating a Character in your Script. The best technique to create a good Character is-Know your Character first. Write a Character biography. It helps a lot. Write about the childhood life,college life etc of your main characters in your Screenplay.Writing the biography in four pages is more than enough.Sometimes you may find an interesting aspect in your Character,while writing this biography. Every Character has an Interior and Exterior life. Interior life refers to emotions,fear,point of view etc…Exterior life refers to the Character’s physical action,dialogues,Professional(work),Personal(like marital),private(alone). Your Character’s Interior life will definitely have something  to do with Exterior life of the Character.

•  How to Create a best Character?

        ->The very first thing to keep in mind while creating your main Character is “perfect dramatic need”.What is your Character’s dramatic need? Does he want to win the race,meet his loved one,to take revenge or to kill his enemy? whatever it is…Your Character should have a dramatic need.

        ->Your Character should have a unique Point of View.How does your character see the world? Does he believe in god? What is his opinion on marriage? Does he/she think whatever he/she do is right? Does your Character have any Philosophical thoughts? whatever it is,make sure your Character have a unique Point of View.

        ->Mannerisms make your Character to be remembered by the audience for lifetime.Don Corleone in The Godfather ,delivers his dialogues in an unique way.Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond ,will be smoking in most of the scenes.He attracts the audience through his unique way of acting.Dressing,hair style,way of speaking etc., are called as mannerisms.Some times Characters will be remembered forever just because of their Mannerisms.Try to create some mannerisms for your Character.

        ->”Change in your Character”-Does your Character change at any point in your Script? Will he realize and go back to his love at the ending?  Does he/she sacrifices his/her goals for any reasons?…Change in your Character is not compulsory.If your Character’s Point of View is in such a way that he believes in himself and he won’t change for anything or for anyone..,then it is not necessary to change your Character at the ending or at any stage of your Script.

Tasks for you:-

• Watch films like BURIED, BLOOD DIAMOND, THE GODFATHER, MEMENTO, etc., to have a clear idea about the four techniques I mentioned above. Don’t try to postpone this task.Remember that visual learning have greater impact.Learn through watching films rather than reading more and more about the topic(Character) in different sites.
• Write a four page biography of each Character that helps to move your story forward.
• Determine your main Character’s dramatic need.
• Know your Character’s Point of View.
• Create Mannerisms for your main Characters.

SCREENPLAY TREATMENT

                                                                                       Before I explain this topic,I would like to ask you few questions…Do you know who is your story about? How many characters do your film have? At least,do you know how many important characters does your Script consists of? It will help you a lot in Screenwriting process,If you ask these questions yourself. Know your characters first.

                                                                                       Few months ago,when I started writing my Script,I opened my first Scene with a long action sequence.I felt very happy after I completed writing that Scene.The Scene was extraordinary. So I continued writing further Scenes of my Script.Guess what happened? Those were the worst Scenes.I wondered,how could I write these horrible Scenes.!My further studies on Script Writing, helped me to know the importance of TREATMENT .The reason for my horrible way of creating scenes is, I was not aware of my Content.At that time,I knew the beginning,ending,Plot point-1 and Plot point-2 of my Script,but I was not aware of the important Scenes and Sequences of my Story. To overcome this disability, there is superb Technique- FOUR PAGE TREATMENT.

• What is a Treatment(in Screenplay)?
• Treatment is the outline of your whole story.But remember Treatment is not your entire Script.

                                                                                      Now the question is,Why four page Treatment? Because at this stage,you don’t know much about your Story.This four page Treatment does n’t need more description.You know the beginning,ending,PP-1 and PP-2 of your Screenplay.So you can write your four page Treatment with the help of these parts of your Script.This Treatment helps you to know more about your Story.Attaining more Clarity about your story makes u to write your Script with Confidence.

•     Remember,not ten,not eight,not five,only four pages.

                                                                                     Generally,Treatment consists of two categories.Syd Field(Best Screenwriting teacher), named these categories as DRAMATIC RECREATION   and  NARRATIVE SYNOPSIS . Coming to first one,Dramatic Recreation describes the action.For example “He is drinking water,when he turns around,his lover will be holding a knife,she rushes towards him,she tries to kill him.But he shoots her with his Gun.She’s dead”. Coming to second one,Narrative Synopsis is a category,where we will just summarize the incidents that takes place in your Script.It should not be more descriptive like Dramatic Recreation.

                                                                                     Write Dramatic Recreation of your first Scene in half a page.What is the first Scene or Sequence of your film.Is it an action episode or the main Character of your Script trying to kill his wife or does your film starts  with an erotic sex Scene? What ever it may be,describe it.write it with an effort.You can add Dialogues if needed.

                                                                                     After you are done with Dramatic Recreation,write a Narrative Synopsis of the remaining part of Set-up or Act-1 that occurs in your Screenplay.Remember it should not be more descriptive.It is a general description.It is the summary of action that takes place during Act-1 after the first Scene.If your Story is about a man who need money and you opened your Screenplay with an action Scene,the Narrative Synopsis may be like,your Character will be searching for best deals.He meets new people and the important characters of your Script.He will be in the hit list.He will meet a Don.You can say this as Narrative Synopsis.Write this part in half a page.

                                                                                    Now write Dramatic Recreation of Plot Point-1 that comes at the end of Act-1 in half a page.Describe it clearly.Now coming to Confrontation part,here create obstacle that your main Character will face,in a fresh page.Remember your obstacles should create a kind of tension in the Script,they should move your Story forward.Create the obstacles in such a way that,they should not be guessed.An obstacle may be an internal(emotions) or external(physical actions).Some times your internal obstacles will effect the external one.You may create two internal or two external obstacles or you may choose only external ones.It’s up to your Creativity.Now write a Narrative Synopsis in a full page,about how your main Character overcome or fail to overcome those obstacles.Creating obstacles needs lot of Creativity and effort.Don’t ever create these obstacles in order to complete your Script quickly.Best obstacles will create the best conflicts.Trust the process.Do it.Don’t give up and don’t postpone your work.Now you got an idea about two and half pages.

                                                                                 After you are done with Confrontation part,write Dramatic Recreation of Plot Point-2 in half a page.After completing this,write a Narrative Synopsis of summary that occurs in Resolution part of your Script in half a page.You know what is Narrative Synopsis right? If not refer the Narrative Synopsis explanation in this article again.Now the last part is ending.Write Dramatic Recreation of your ending Scene in half a page.Syd Field refers this task(Treatment) to “Kick ass exercise”.Yes it’s true.Probably this will be the difficult task in Screenwriting process.Trust the process.Work hard to complete this task.You have time.

                                                                               The important thing is,never let your wife,lover,mom etc., to read your Screenplay’s Treatment.They may even beg you sometimes.But don’t let them to read.Because you may get disappointed with their opinion.Sometimes you may feel nothing new in your Story.No problem,Screenplay is not about the Story,it’s about the way of telling your Story.

TASKS FOR YOU:-

•  Be clear  in the beginning,ending,PP-1 and PP-2.
• In half a page,dramatize the first Scene of your Script in a Dramatic Recreation.
• In half a page,write a Narrative Synopsis of what happens in Set-up.
• In half a page,write a Dramatic Recreation of Plot Point-1 like you did in your opening Scene or Sequence.
• On a separate sheet of paper,write four Obstacles that your main Character will face in Confrontation part.These Obstacles may be Internal or External.
• In one page,in Narrative Synopsis,summarize the four obstacles that your Character Confronts.
• In half a page,in Dramatic Recreation,write what happens at Plot Point-2.
• In half a page,in Narrative Synopsis,write what happens in Resolution part of your Screenplay.
• In half a page,in Dramatic Recreation,write the ending Scene or Sequence of your Screenplay.
• Never go for a new Screenplay unless you finish this one and never postpone this Treatment task of your Screenplay.

PLOT POINTS AND THE PARADIGM

In previous chapter, First page and the Structure, you learned about Set-up,Confrontation and Resolution.Now the question is how can we transform our Screenplay from Set-up to Confrontation and from Confrontation to Resolution? The answer is PLOT POINTS . Plot points are the key incidents that moves Story forward.In other words for better understanding, Plot points are nothing but Twists. Without Plot points you can never transform your Script from Set-up stage to Confrontation and from Confrontation to Resolution.

A Screenplay consists of two plot points.The first plot point comes at the end of Set-up and the second one comes at the end of Confrontation. For better understanding of Plot points,I will provide you a PARADIGM of Set-up,Confrontation,Resolution,Plot points-1 and 2.Check below:

If you hang your Script on a wall,it will look like above image.From the above image you clearly understood that Plot point-1 comes at the end of Set-up and Plot point-2 comes at the end of Confrontation.

Now the question is what can be a Plot point in my Script? There is no rule that a Plot point should be a Romantic scene,Action scene,a dialogue or a shot.Listen the basic principle of Plot point is,it should be a twist,i.e.,it should transform your Script from Set-up part to Confrontation part.So it can be either a Scene,a dialogue etc.The main story of your film begins from Plot point-1.

For better understanding let us consider some films.Have you seen THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION,  if not watch it. Now I will provide you a brief description of Set-up part of this film. In Set-up we will be introduced to character Andy Dufresne(Tim Robbins).He will see his wife and her lover preparing to have sex.Andy’s wife and her lover will be murdered and Andy is convicted of the murders,he enters into prison with “two life sentences”.In prison he will meet Red( Morgan Freeman),an another convicted murderer.We will see the problems faced by Andy in prison.We will see different characters in prison. This is the Set-up of The Shawshank Redemption.At the end of Set up Andy meets Red and they establish their relation here.The whole story is established in Set-up.Here the Scene Andy meeting Red is the PLOT POINT-1,because it develops a relationship between them and the main story begins from that Scene.

Now let us consider an example of well known film TITANIC.In Set-up,we will know the main characters and what the story is about.In TITANIC, can u say which scene or dialogue or sequence is the Plot point-1? well, let me explain…Plot point-1 is the scene of saving Rose from jumping overboard,by  Jack.This scene develops a relation between them.This scene can be said as a twist because,it brings the concept of love between Jack and Rose.It turns the story into another path,i.e.,Confrontation.

Now the question is What is Plot point-2? Is there any difference between PP-1 and PP-2? There is no difference between the principles of Plot point-1 and Plot point-2.The only thing is,it is an other twist that comes at the end of Confrontation,which drives the story towards the Context Resolution.What is context? consider a glass,it is context and water,coffee,beer etc.,can be referred to Content.Context holds the Content,as glass holds the Beer.Resolution part is Context and the scenes,dialogues etc.,in it are known as Contents.

For better illustration,again consider TITANIC.The Confrontation part in this film holds the Content of relation between Jack and Rose,they get to know each other,they overcome the obstacles before and after Ship hitting the Ice berg,they stay together,Jack convinces Rose to enter into the boat. Here the Plot point-2 which moves the story towards Resolution is,Rose jumping from the boat again into the ship.This scene makes them to stay together again till the end.

Generally Plot point-1 comes in between the pages 25-30.Plot point-2 comes in between the pages 85-90.In order to avoid getting Plot points very early or very lately,you should know what you are going tell about your story in Set-up and Confrontation.Take  fourteen small cards may be 3 by 5 cards or fourteen papers of small size.Write the sequences or Scenes which you want to show in SET-UP on them in order.Don’t write the whole Scene on them.Just write an outline of each sequence on them.Don’t bother about grammar. Just write.Why fourteen cards? why not fifteen,ten or twenty? No,take just fourteen cards for Set-up,because it works.It is a technique suggested by best Screenwriting teachers including Syd Field.

TASKS FOR YOU:-

• Prepare Sequences(series of Scenes) of SET-UP in fourteen 3 by 5 cards.
• Read as many Screenplay as you can.You can get free Screenplay online.Search in Google.
• To start Writing your Script, know your story’s beginning,ending,plot point-1 and plot point-2.
• Watch as many films as you can,to have a clear idea on SET-UP,CONFRONTATION,RESOLUTION,PLOT POINT-1 AND PLOT POINT-2.
• Start doing the process today.Never postpone.
• Sys Field says-“Writing is personal responsibility,either you do it or you don’t”.

WHAT IS A SCREENPLAY?

• I think it wont work going deep into the definition at this stage. So in simple words, Screenplay is a story told in images.Every scene,shot in a film has its own purpose.Here, purpose refers to either moving the story forward or revealing the characterisation.If a scene or a shot does not have its own purpose,obviously it will lose its importance in the film. World’s best screenwriting teacher Syd Field says that “The difficult part in writing screenplay is knowing what to write”. With the help of further articles in this site, I will let you know every aspect in script writing.

FIRST PAGE AND THE STRUCTURE

                                                                               Let us start from the first page of a Script.Few months ago when I decided to write a Script,I had an idea about the concept of my film.But when i reached to my cabin to start writing,I could n’t even write a single word on a paper about my story.The reason was though i knew the concept of my story,I had no idea where my story begins and where it ends.

                                                                              I mentioned in my earlier article( out line of a Screenplay),that every story has a beginning,middle  and end, irrespective of style of a film,i.e.,either it may be in linear form or in non-linear form like MEMENTO. OK let us consider what i said is wrong,now play any DVD or go to a film.Examine the story of the film,you will find that it has a beginning,middle and end.

                                                                              Now coming to the point, HOW TO START WRITING A SCRIPT?-the first thing you have to do before writing first Scene of your Screenplay is,knowing your complete story or at least figure out the beginning,middle and end. Technically we refer them to SET-UP, CONFRONTATION and RESOLUTION. They can also be called as ACT-1, ACT-2 and ACT-3.

SET-UP:-  The normal Hollywood film is approximately two hours long,or 120 minutes.Every aspiring Screenwriter will be confused about the maximum number of pages of a Screenplay.Every Screenwriting teacher,production company etc,who are associated with films will advice you to write a Script within 120 pages,i.e., one page=one minute of a film. The reason is,it costs approximately $10,000 to $12,000 per minute to shoot a Hollywood studio film and this cost increases higher and higher every year. Though the Script consists of only action or only dialogue or combination of both,one page of a Screenplay is equal to one minute of a film.But of course there are exceptions like LORD OF THE RINGS:THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING .This film has a Script of 118 pages(I read it in Syd Field’s book),but the film length is more than three hours.

                                                Now coming to SET-UP,it is the first part of a Script or a film. Here we introduce our main character of the film and we show the relationship between main character and the remaining characters.We will describe what the story is about,and who the story is about.Setting up the story is the crucial part of the film.You got only 10 minutes to grab the attention of the audience,i.e.,You need to show your skills within the first ten pages of the Script.For example watch a film and check how much time u require to decide whether to like the film or not.If you think about something else when you are watching a film then it shows that you lost your interest in the film.So its very important to grab the attention of the audience through first ten minutes of your film.You can’t bluff the audience writing unnecessary shit.

                                                 Let us consider the film TITANIC, in SET-UP of this film we will know that the story is about travelling in a huge ship called Titanic,we will be introduced to main main characters Jack(Leonardo Dicaprio),Rose(Kate Winslet),Rose’s fiancé and her mother.we will know that Rose is a unhappy girl and she does n’t want to get married to person whom she does n’t like.She decides to commit suicide.All these elements are shown in first few pages of the film.Set-up will be approximately twenty five to thirty pages long.

CONFRONTATION:- Confrontation is the second part of the Screenplay.It is approximately 60 pages long. Here the main character encounters obstacle after obstacle that keeps him/her  from achieving his/her dramatic need,which is defined as what the character wants to win,gain,get or achieve during the course of the Screenplay.If you know your character’s dramatic need(goal),you can create obstacles,then your story becomes your character,overcoming obstacle after obstacle to achieve his/her dramatic need.Every obstacle should either move the story forward or should help in revealing the characterization.

                                                    In Titanic(Confrontation part),Jack  and Rose starts connecting to each other and they overcome every obstacle they face from Rose’s fiance and her mother.After the ship hits the iceberg they overcome every obstacle in order to save themselves and till the end they stick together.

RESOLUTION:-  Writing resolution part in your Screenplay is the easy part when compared to setup and confrontation.But it does n’t mean this part does n’t require creativity.Every single scene in a Script should be written with Creativity. Creativity grabs the attention  of the audience.Remember that resolution does not mean ending.It’s a solution to your story.What is the solution of your story? Does your main character live or die? will he succeed in his life,or will he learn something through his failure? What ever it is,Resolution means Solution,not an ending.

                                            Now coming to Structure.Structure is known as relation between parts and the whole.Consider World’s favorite game,cricket.Batsman,bowler,fielders,playground,umpire,rules,ball and bat…all these are said to be parts,combination of all these parts becomes Whole,i.e.,Cricket. Without the combination of parts there is no Whole. Similarly in a film story,dialogues,characters,etc.,are the parts and combination of all these is known as Structure.Drama plays a major role in a film.

                                            All drama is a conflict.Without conflict in the drama you cannot move your story forward.Without conflict you have no action,without action,you have no character, without character, you have no story, and without story you have no Screenplay.

                                           The most important key points in a Screenplay are PLOT POINTS. The role of plot points will be clearly explained in next chapter.

TASKS FOR YOU:-

• Write a synopsis of RESOLUTION part in TITANIC film.
• Know your story.Write thesis of your concept in two to three pages.Don’t worry obviously those pages will be awful.Write again and again,until you get a clear view about beginning,middle and end of your story.Never try to show those pages to your friend,lover,mother etc for suggestions.This is not the stage to show your work to others.My personal principle is “never ask for suggestions”.
• Remember,  All drama is a conflict.Without conflict in the drama you cannot move your story forward.Without conflict you have no action,without action,you have no character, without character, you have no story, and without story you have no Screenplay.
• Read as many Screenplays as possible.You can get them through internet for free.
• As a I said already,Know your story.If you don’t build your content,who else will build it?
• Syd Field says that,”Writing(Script writing) is a personal responsibility;either you do it or you don’t”.

OUT LINE OF A SCREENPLAY

• You understood that screenplay is a story told in images.But this is not the clear description of Screenplay.Now you need a detailed information about a Script.Most of my friends ask me.., what is the difference between a Screenplay and a Novel ? Does a Script need a form?
• Now coming to first question-difference between a Screenplay and a Novel-first of all let me clarify that Screenplay is not a Novel.Consider a Novel and examine it,you will see that the main story line or the dramatic action takes place inside the head of main character,i.e.,we will see everything through his point of view.In a Novel the Character and the reader go through the action together sharing every aspect of the emotion of the story.If a new character enters into the Novel we start seeing things through his point of view.But the main aspect of the story line is about the main character.Here,in Novel,the story is about the main character.But Screenplay is entirely different.Screenplay is the story told in pictures.
• A script is a blue print of a film.Every sentence in a Script can be analyzed visually.What we see in a film is already written in the form of Screenplay.In a film we see series of images.We see a boy standing on a hill.We see a man sitting on a chair with flowers in his hand.We see a girl being kissed by his lover and in the background we hear a sound of a train moving.This is Screenplay.This is Film.Every Scene,every image,every shot has its own purpose.There are different kinds of films,I mean different genres like horror,comedy,thriller,drama,romantic etc.,but all the films have one thing in common,that is-beginning,middle and end. Whether the story told in linear form like THE GODFATHER or in  non-linear form like MEMENTO,every story has a beginning,middle and end.
• Now coming to next question-does a Script need a form?-the answer is YES. As we know that Screenplay is a story told in images,there should be definitely a FORM or a PROCEDURE.Yes there is….but i don’t want to load your mind about the FORM at this stage.You will know in detail about it through next chapters.

WHAT IS A SCREENPLAY

• I think it wont work going deep into the definition at this stage. So in simple words, Screenplay is a story told in images.Every scene,shot in a film has its own purpose.Here, purpose refers to either moving the story forward or revealing the characterisation.If a scene or a shot does not have its own purpose,obviously it will lose its importance in the film. World’s best screenwriting teacher Syd Field says that “The difficult part in writing screenplay is knowing what to write”. With the help of further articles in this site, I will let you know every aspect in script writing.

site’s ultimate goal

Want to know about screenplay? interested in writing a script? you can learn in this site about all the detailed information of writing a perfect script.If you don’t want to waste your money by purchasing books about screenplay.,well this site helps you to know every detailed information about script writing from starting page to a well bound script.