Learn to write a film script by linking theoretical training with professional practice and the particularities of the industry.
Script professionals require multiple capacities, since their work is essential for the entire team involved in the making of a film: it serves the director to articulate his staging or establish the key points of the filming; Likewise, it is important for the interpreters when it comes to analyzing the character of their characters and to know the dialogues; allows the production manager to draw up a work plan; the cinematographer helps you to imagine the chromatic climates and foresee the technical means that she will need, etc.
The multiple uses of the script show the need for a broad and multidisciplinary training for the scriptwriter, since the greater their knowledge of the production processes, the greater the facilities they will have in writing. Beyond technical knowledge, a mastery of cinematographic and/or television language is required, as well as the procedures necessary to use them properly in the writing process.
Origins of the script in the film industry
At the beginning of cinema, filming without sound allowed great flexibility in filming and editing, as well as in the intercalation of texts or dialogues, written once the recording of the images had finished. Over time, the increasing complexity of productions and the planning of directing professionals made it the script will begin to acquire greater importance. The development of talkies required more careful preparation, as well as collaboration between specialists to write dialogues. In addition, the rising cost of movies dictated the need for a more elaborate and detailed plan so that the production department could accurately assess the budget and financing before shooting the first take.
The result of these changes was the growing repercussion of a new type of script that had to include the description of all kinds of elementary details for the making of a film: sets, performers and extras, dialogues, music, camera and sound elements, etc. . In short, the script became a very precise text that could not undergo major changes or be subject to improvisation. However, this characteristic changed drastically with the technical and conceptual evolution of the sixties, allowing a greater creative spontaneity and freedom when putting into execution the imagined scenes.
Guide to writing a movie script
As in other artistic disciplines -music, painting, literature, etc.-, learning the expressive techniques It is possible, but it is not enough to acquire them and study film script to know how to write a good script. The main difficulty lies in knowing how to apply the techniques to obtain the desired result, which depends fundamentally on talent and one's own creativity. However, both aspects are intrinsically linked and reinforce each other.
As in any creative process, the possibilities to advance are endless and depend on the interests and artistic inclinations of each person. Film director and screenwriter Simon Feldman He considers that, in the specific case of the script, one of the greatest challenges lies in the enormous variety of genres that it must serve. For this reason, he indicates that what is really important is to acquire a series of general attitudes towards the work of writing:
- Learn to observe analytically both reality and fiction, valuing the most avant-garde works, but also the classic ones.
- Graduate the stages of the written exercises, going from the simple to the complex.
- Keep in mind that there is a narrative orderingthat is one internal structure that must be handled.
- maintain an attitude of humility to be able to recognize one's own mistakes and, at the same time, not accept criticism without the necessary reflection that it must imply in order to be constructive.
- forge one's own life experience as the source of creativity more genuine.
Example of a film script by Ainhoa Rodríguez
In short, scriptwriting techniques can be studied and learned in specialized programs such as Master in Screenwriting de TAI, but, as in any artistic activity, talent and creativity must be fostered and developed throughout life.
If you want to delve into an example of a movie script, you can download here the script of wild flash, the feature film by the filmmaker and teacher TAI ainhoa rodriguez.
Bibliography:
Feldman, S. (1990). Plot script, documentary script. Barcelona: Gedisa.
