Lecture Notes: Structuring Your Screenplay
Introduction
- Film Riot: Educational platform for filmmaking techniques.
- Writing 101: A writing course by Seth Worley focusing on low-to-no-budget filmmaking and Hollywood storytelling.
- Writing 201: Upcoming advanced course.
Starting Your Screenplay
- Idea Generation:
- Starts with a concept, character, scene, or a pile of ideas.
- Referenced "Raiders of the Lost Ark" story meetings with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Lawrence Kasdan as an example.
- Ideas grow organically and may stop before the story is complete; need to ask questions to develop further.
Story Development
- Organic Storytelling:
- Comedy and story should be extracted from existing situations rather than externally injected.
The Hero's Journey
- Joseph Campbell's Monomyth:
- Stories follow a similar structure across different cultures and times.
- Three Acts: Departure, Initiation, and Return.
- 17 Stages: Specific events that occur across the acts.
Three-Act Structure in Screenwriting
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Act 1:
- Introduce hero in their normal world.
- Inciting incident disrupts balance.
- Hero is beckoned to an adventure and initially refuses.
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Act 2:
- "Fun and games" and "promise of the premise."
- Introduction of B stories and new characters.
- Midpoint twist where situations change drastically.
- Hero faces major challenges and dark moments.
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Act 3:
- Final battle and resolution.
- Hero settles into a new normal.
Practical Application of Structure
- Use structure to ask questions and identify story gaps.
- Organize ideas using the three-act structure.
Conclusion
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- Additional Resources:
- Writing 101 course and Story Clock notebook available for further learning.
These notes provide an overview of how to structure a screenplay, highlighting the importance of idea generation, storytelling techniques, and the practical use of the three-act structure to develop a cohesive story.