278 Moving Images: Making Movies, Understanding Media- Premise – Do you have a central situation or thematic context
that is already in your head? Write it out as a single sentence.
a. Write a list of possible settings for this premise.
b. Can you see any of your characters involved with this
premise?
c. From the premise, imagine a key dramatic turning point
with the situation. - Resolution - Fr om sections 1 to 3, choose a story idea to
develop.
B. Step Outline – As a result of the preceding brainstorming activities,
write a step outline of the story that you are starting to imagine. Th is
should consist of scene headings and brief descriptions of action.
C. Screenplay – For this exercise, you need to produce a screenplay of
fi ve to fi ft een pages. Remember that one page of script is roughly
equivalent to one minute of screen time, but if there is little dialogue
on the page, this tends to stretch out the screen time. Th us, a script
with signifi cant action will most likely produce a fi lm longer than
the actual number of pages.
D. Revising – It is essential to rewrite your script to refi ne your writing
and to fully develop the potential of the blueprint for your fi lm.
Working in a collaborative group, share the script or read it aloud if
possible. With the group, review the following questions: - Is script format appropriate? Does the script follow an easily
visualized fl ow? - Does the beginning make you want to continue to fi nd out
what happens? - Are the characters clearly defi ned to you? If not, is the
mystery surrounding any characters appropriate to the plot,
confl ict, or resolution of the story? - Do you feel that the action is either too detailed or too thin or
vague? Why? - Does dialogue dominate the script? If so, is it appropriate to
the intentions of the writer (in relation to the premise, subject
matter, or theme)? - Are you surprised by any of the events of the script? If not, why?
- Are you satisfi ed with the ending? If not, does it provoke
your mind so that you continue to ponder the events in a
contemplative way? If not, why?
E. Final Draft – Make sure to revise to reach your fi nal draft. Make
sure to save copies of each draft separately and note the number of
the draft on the title page. Since this will be a shooting script, it is
useful to number the scene headings. As explained in Exercise 7,
you will line the script and create pre-production materials such as
shot lists, storyboards, fl oor plans, and schedules.
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