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Screenplay The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field

Screenplay The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field. Dramatic Structure. What is a Screenplay?. Not a novel Inside the mindscape of characters Not a play Audience is the fourth wall, eavesdropping Language of characters Screenplay story told With pictures In dialogue and description

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Screenplay The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field

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  1. ScreenplayThe Foundations of Screenwritingby Syd Field Dramatic Structure

  2. What is a Screenplay? • Not a novel • Inside the mindscape of characters • Not a play • Audience is the fourth wall, eavesdropping • Language of characters • Screenplay story told • With pictures • In dialogue and description • Within context of dramatic structure • Person(s) in place(s) doing things (actions)

  3. Dramatic Structure • Linear arrangement of related incidents, episodes or events leading to a dramatic resolution • Paradigm of a screenplay • Model, Example, Conceptual Scheme • Typical movie is two hours,120 minutes • One page of screenplay equalsone minute of screen time

  4. Dramatic Structure

  5. Acts • Three units of dramatic structure

  6. Act I, The Setup • The beginning ≈ 30 pages • Page 1 to 30 • Setup • Story, characters, dramatic premise (what story’s about), situation, relationships of characters • First 10 minutes/pages most important • Viewers decide like or dislike • Show main character, dramatic premise, dramatic situation (circumstances surrounding action)

  7. Act II, The Confrontation • The middle ≈ 60 pages • Page 30 to page 90 • Confrontation • Main character encounters obstacles to achieving his/her dramatic need • Dramatic need is what character wants to win, get achieve, etc. • If you know the need, you can create the obstacles • Drama is conflict • No conflict = no character = no action = no story = no screenplay = no movie

  8. Act III, The Resolution • The solution ≈ 30 pages • Page 90 to the end (page 120) • Resolution • Not the end, the solution • End is scene, shot or sequence that ends script • Resolves the story • Main character succeeds or fails • Win or lose, live or die, get or lose the girl, etc.

  9. Plot Points • How do you move from Act I to Act II and from Act II to Act III? • Plot points • Incident, event episode that hooks into action and spins it into another direction

  10. Plot Point I • Plot point I • Page 20 – 25 • End of Act I • Spins action into Act II • Function of the main character

  11. Plot Point II • Plot point II • Page 85 – 90 • End of Act II • Spins action into Act III • Function of the main character

  12. Paradigm as Form not Formula • Form • What holds it together • Structure • Configuration • Room for creativity • Formula • Elements put together in exactly same way • Results are exactly the same

  13. Rules of Creativity • Syd Field presents successful and commonly used form • All rules have successful exceptions • Five paragraph formula • Linear perspective • Composition • Know how to successfully use them in order to successfully break them • Picasso • Harlem Globe Trotters

  14. Activity • Diagram movies • Use Syd Field’s Dramatic Structure paradigm to diagram the following movies • The Godfather I, Star Wars IV, Citizen Cane and The Wizard of Oz • The class will pick five other movies and diagram them

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