Post 5: Formatting Scripts and Log Lines

Ways to write a good film script:

• It would be beneficial to have a strong script with an interesting storyline
• Film scripts become more interesting through the use of characters. It may be beneficial when it comes to making a script that I ensure to develop characters
• A range of dialogue
• Make sure that the script isn't 'boring' which will cause less people to become interested

What is a short film?

A short film is any film that is not long enough to be considered a feature film. The 'Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences' defines a short film as "An original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all credits". Short films can be known to be professional or amateur productions. They are often made by independent film makers for non profit or little budgets. Although short films may not be as successful as a normal length film, short films are known to qualify for Academy awards if they are screened in L.A.

The History:

The longer and shorter films coexisted throughout the early days of film. Comedy short films were produced in large numbers compared to lengthy features. Short comedies were especially popular and typically came in series.

Above I have made a spider diagram of all the different genres I could base my short film on.

There is also a range of different characters that I could explore such as:

Antagonist, Protagonist, Damsel in Distress, Child, Female, Male, Hero. To name a few.

In order to give myself inspiration on what I could make a short film about I explored with log lines. Below, I am going to demonstrate some of the log lines that I have thought up.

'A man falls down a hole to find his fate'

'Woman finds herself waking up to a World living in opposites'

'The day the truth came out'

Whilst thinking up my own log lines I realized that it was important not to reveal the whole plot in a log line. If film companies produced log lines revealing the plot no-one would feel tempted to see the films they are bringing out. I feel that log lines should be simple and griping in comparison to dull and revealing.

The log line 'Woman finds herself waking up to a World living in opposites' suggests excitement and revolves the story around a single person. This would allow character development and cause for the sense of storytelling.

I am going to explore different log lines of different films that have been successful in my view and the films that I most enjoy.

"Three friends retrace their steps to try and find the groom after a massive bender bachelor party in Las Vegas"

• Excitement created through the location of Vegas
• 'Bender bachelor party' appeal to their target audience (introduces humor)
• 'Retrace their steps' mystery element

  
  

I have used this website http://www.filmscriptwriting.com as a basic guideline in gathering further knowledge of writing a script

When formatting a script it is necessary to include the following conventions:

Headings, narrative and dialogue

Headings:

1. Master scene headings which include:

a) Camera location - EXT. (exterior or outside) or INT. (interior or inside)

b) Scene location (LOCAL RACE TRACK)

c) Time (DAY or NIGHT)

2. Secondary scene heading

3. “Special headings” for things such as montages, dream sequences, flashbacks, flash forwards, etc.

Narrative Description:

1. Action

2. Character and settings (visual)

3. Sounds

Dialogue:

1. The name of the person speaking appears at the top, in CAPS.

2. The actors direction (AKA parenthetical or wryly). Try to avoid these as much as possible. Both the director and actor will appreciate it.

3. The speech.

Other formatting directions

Voice over: this is used when you want a character to narrate or verbalize their thoughts. A voice over is different to dialogue as the character is not stereotypically on screen.

Voice Over

A voice over is used when you want a character in your script to narrate or verbalize their thoughts. This is often used to open a film or stitch scenes together. You would also use a voice over for a telephone conversation when just one character is on camera. The voice over format is much the same as the off screen format.