If you want to write a script, you need a really good original story. So study the news, make notes of things that intrigue you, watch films and TV, and find inspiration everywhere. If a feature is too much of a challenge, start with two minutes (two pages) and work up to 10, then 30.
Work out your story in prose form first – someone will want a synopsis at some point.
- Horror? then keep it short and breathless.
- Romance? make it fizz with sexual tension.
- Comedy? make us laugh.
Keep it Simple
If you worry you’ll not know how to write a short film script, remember your main focus should be on characters, story, and emotion. Practical thinking can help as well. Think of Steven Soderbergh’s classic Sex, Lies, and Videotape.
Above all else, the fascinating characters and compelling plot make you forget the movie takes place inside average-looking homes.
Speaking of average-looking homes, keep location in mind for your short film script. As in, an easy location. There are several reasons to keep locations self-contained:
- First, a single location makes for an interesting script dynamic. Consider the warehouse in Reservoir Dogs. Tarantino took a boring garage and made it feel like a massive event occurred both in and outside its walls.
- Second, moving sets can bust a budget.
- Finally, you’re apt to have more control over a single environment than you would balancing several. Expecting the unexpected is part of filmmaking, so why not limit the potential surprises with a single location story?
When it comes to surprises, another element for a first-time short film script can be an imaginative gimmick concept. For example what do It Follows, The Blair Witch Project, and Tangerine have in common?
It Follows features an out-of-focus background figure to fill in for a terrifying monster.
The Blair Witch Project was the first “found footage” thriller.
Tangerine is a tale of friendship and acceptance that also happened to be the first iPhone movie.
All of these concepts creatively worked with what the filmmakers had at their disposal to make their films stand out.
Avoid Ideas With High Production Costs
Staying within budget is a hallmark of independent filmmaking. Before you write a full-scale alien invasion for your opening scene, remember that stories are about character and emotion.
Essentially, every choice you make should be in service of telling an emotional story about a compelling cast of characters. You’ll be surprised how little you’ll need of the other stuff.
Consider how effectively movies can infer ideas with images, sound, and light. Remember how much Jaws scared us with a few floating barrels?
Or how some simple cutaways to the wind blowing through the cornfield gave us the willies in Signs?
We didn’t need to see a shark or an alien to be thrilled. Great screenwriting makes us imagine images far more frightening than anything you could show.
Plot, Plan, Re-plot, Re-plan
First, work out what happens in every scene. Some people create this step outline using screenwriting software, while others use index cards that can be laid out and moved around.
Stories need sound foundations and building blocks. People who suffer from writer’s block usually haven’t worked out their stories. They gallop through 40 pages to write a script quickly and grind to a gut-wrenching stop, often abandoning the project.
Any Fool Can Write The First Draft
The first draft is great fun. You can write a script without restraint, throw in the gags, and add locations and characters without worrying about cost implications.
As a scriptwriter, you must follow a certain style to be taken seriously. Hopefully, you can find out the script format from places like the BBC Writersroom or buy specialized software like Final Draft. Ignore the format at your peril, and check your work with a fine toothcomb – typos and literals also mark you down as an amateur scriptwriter.
Find The Poetry
Characters should be differentiated by the way they speak: their poetry, while you can demonstrate your writing skills by crafting the stage directions in your poetry. As in the treatment, write the stage directions implying the effect you want to have on the audience.
For example:
Eric freezes in his tracks.
What was that?!
He holds his breath, heart thudding in his throat.
Someone… something insinuates out of the shadows.
He flinches, dares to turn his head a little…
Oh my god, no…..
Be Concise And Avoid Adverbs
Some producers or agents will not read a script with adverbs in it. If you need an adverb, then your verbs aren’t working hard enough.
Example: She opened the door, slowly, carefully, and walked in on silent feet. (12 words)
Alternative: She tiptoed in (3 words)
Remember, when writing a script, you have a limited amount of time to tell your story so cut the waffle.
It’s Finished. Erm, not quite.
It may take a year or more to write a script. Take a moment to congratulate yourself. Now put it in a drawer and forget about it. Clear your head and go back to it with a steely, objective eye after a month.
If you have friends whose opinions you trust, give the script to them to read. Or pay script readers for a report. Check out what work they have produced before you hand over your cash. These professional reports can be useful, as friends hesitate to tell you if your grand opus is a crock and may not know why.
Taking Notes
Your first script draft is just the start. Be ruthless when you return to look at it – does every character earn their lunch? Does every scene move the story along?
Study any feedback you’ve had. It’ll annoy you and furniture can be harmed during this time. Every criticism can feel like an injection of battery acid.
It may take you a couple of days to get over it. Once you do (and you have to if you want to succeed in this business), go back and see whether you agree with the point being made. It may trigger a better solution or a wittier line.
The Art of Writing a Script is Rewriting
Now the hard work of editing, thinking, re-thinking, re-structuring, and rewriting starts. Your script should be about 90 pages or the project becomes too expensive and unappealing: longer films mean fewer screenings equals fewer ticket sales.
All of this must happen before you send the script out. Make sure it’s the absolute best it can be. And even when you think that, allow it to rest for another while before giving it a final polish and tighten.
Producers and agents will only read your script once.
Wrapping Up
So that’s pretty much it, well it’s enough for now. Are you still stuck for ideas?
A quick way to get in the scriptwriting zone is to rewatch your favorite films and figure out why you like them so much. Make notes about why you love certain scenes and bits of dialogue. Examine why you’re drawn to certain characters.
