I want to try writing screenplays & I need to know some story structures most movie companies use.
Maybe I can help. First off, it’s my opinion that there is no average screenplay. Any screenplay that is GOOD and written properly follows a formula. No matter how much it sucks to think your favorite film follows rules and patterns like everything else, it’s true. Everything good adheres to a formula, a mold. Watch movies, read scripts and you’ll see this is true. Structure is something you can learn. People notice bad or lack of structure. Though these rules aren’t set in stone it’s a good idea to adhere to them until you really get the feel for what you’re doing and how a screenplay works. If you can cheat and bend a rule to make the story work, do so. BUT you have to pull the cheating off successfully. Don’t try something just to try it, make it work if you’re going to experiment.
The basic structure set up you’ll need to follow is below. This is the skeleton, the bare bones of the screenplay. If this is the skeleton, what you build around it surely must be the meat, the body, the good stuff. This is just what holds everything together. I’ll explain each.
Beginning/Inciting Incident – usually occurs between pages 1-10. (Get your readers hooked by page 10, if you don’t, you’ve lost your audience. 1 page of a screenplay equals one minute of screen time. You have ten minutes to hook your audience.)
Plot Point 1 – usually occurs between pages 20-30.
Pinch – usually occurs around page 60.
Plot Point 2 – usually occurs between pages 85-90.
Ending – around page 120.
(Unless your name is Quentin Tarantino, it’s generally discouraged to write/submit a screenplay more than 128 pages. That equals a 2 hr and 8 minute movie. Last I heard Hollywood deemed this “too long.”)
Here’s how you’ll need to set up your screenplay. First, break the action in to three acts: act one, act two and act three. I’ll talk more about this in a moment. Within acts one, two and three are something called "plot points." You may have as many plot points as you wish however, you must have AT LEAST two.
Beginning/Inciting incident is first of all, the beginning of the story. How does the thing start? The Inciting Incident is the event that kicks the story off and sets things in motion. In the film "Dumb and Dumber" the Inciting Incident is when Lloyd snatches Mary Swanson’s briefcase before the kidnappers can get it. This is what causes the entire rest of the story to happen.
Plot Point 1 is the true beginning of the story. For Lloyd and Harry of "Dumb and Dumber" their story begins when they decide to go to Aspen to return the brief case. Their voyage is the REAL story. Now, it should be mentioned that is perfectly acceptable that Plot Point 1 and the Inciting Incident be the same thing. They do not have to be but it is fine if they are.
Pinch: The pinch (which isn’t always present but is a good idea to use) is a plot point in its own right. It ties the two halves of act 2 together. For Lloyd and Harry it’s when they discover the case they’ve been lugging around is full of money.
Plot Point 2: Just as the first plot point moves the action from act 1 to act 2, the second plot point moves the action from act 2 to act 3. For Lloyd and Harry it is when Lloyd finds out Harry has been lying to him about Mary.
Ending: pretty self-explanatory. How does it end? For Lloyd and Harry it ends with the success of their mission but they get screwed anyway.
Okay, the three acts explained.
Act one sets up the story, the characters, their goals, and the problem(s) they will face…basically you’ll need to use act one to set up and explain the world in which your story takes place. Act one (generally) takes place between pages 1-30. “Your screenplay is about a person in a place doing their thing.” – Syd Field.
Act two is all about confrontation. It’s the story itself. You’ll need to pit your characters against obstacles, give them problems to overcome on the way to their goal. More conflict makes us give a crap about your character. Act two is presented in two halves. The two halves are connected by the Pinch. Act two spans pages 30-90 with the Pinch generally in the middle at page 60.
Act three is all about wrapping the story up and finishing things. Do your characters succeed? What do they learn if anything?
Again, all of this is, the plot points and so on, are just the anchors of the story. They’re what you’ll build your story around. Use this tried and true blue print and you’ll be far ahead of a lot of people.
I hope this has helped, best of luck.
May 21st, 2010 at 5:04 am
Maybe I can help. First off, it’s my opinion that there is no average screenplay. Any screenplay that is GOOD and written properly follows a formula. No matter how much it sucks to think your favorite film follows rules and patterns like everything else, it’s true. Everything good adheres to a formula, a mold. Watch movies, read scripts and you’ll see this is true. Structure is something you can learn. People notice bad or lack of structure. Though these rules aren’t set in stone it’s a good idea to adhere to them until you really get the feel for what you’re doing and how a screenplay works. If you can cheat and bend a rule to make the story work, do so. BUT you have to pull the cheating off successfully. Don’t try something just to try it, make it work if you’re going to experiment.
The basic structure set up you’ll need to follow is below. This is the skeleton, the bare bones of the screenplay. If this is the skeleton, what you build around it surely must be the meat, the body, the good stuff. This is just what holds everything together. I’ll explain each.
Beginning/Inciting Incident – usually occurs between pages 1-10. (Get your readers hooked by page 10, if you don’t, you’ve lost your audience. 1 page of a screenplay equals one minute of screen time. You have ten minutes to hook your audience.)
Plot Point 1 – usually occurs between pages 20-30.
Pinch – usually occurs around page 60.
Plot Point 2 – usually occurs between pages 85-90.
Ending – around page 120.
(Unless your name is Quentin Tarantino, it’s generally discouraged to write/submit a screenplay more than 128 pages. That equals a 2 hr and 8 minute movie. Last I heard Hollywood deemed this “too long.”)
Here’s how you’ll need to set up your screenplay. First, break the action in to three acts: act one, act two and act three. I’ll talk more about this in a moment. Within acts one, two and three are something called "plot points." You may have as many plot points as you wish however, you must have AT LEAST two.
Beginning/Inciting incident is first of all, the beginning of the story. How does the thing start? The Inciting Incident is the event that kicks the story off and sets things in motion. In the film "Dumb and Dumber" the Inciting Incident is when Lloyd snatches Mary Swanson’s briefcase before the kidnappers can get it. This is what causes the entire rest of the story to happen.
Plot Point 1 is the true beginning of the story. For Lloyd and Harry of "Dumb and Dumber" their story begins when they decide to go to Aspen to return the brief case. Their voyage is the REAL story. Now, it should be mentioned that is perfectly acceptable that Plot Point 1 and the Inciting Incident be the same thing. They do not have to be but it is fine if they are.
Pinch: The pinch (which isn’t always present but is a good idea to use) is a plot point in its own right. It ties the two halves of act 2 together. For Lloyd and Harry it’s when they discover the case they’ve been lugging around is full of money.
Plot Point 2: Just as the first plot point moves the action from act 1 to act 2, the second plot point moves the action from act 2 to act 3. For Lloyd and Harry it is when Lloyd finds out Harry has been lying to him about Mary.
Ending: pretty self-explanatory. How does it end? For Lloyd and Harry it ends with the success of their mission but they get screwed anyway.
Okay, the three acts explained.
Act one sets up the story, the characters, their goals, and the problem(s) they will face…basically you’ll need to use act one to set up and explain the world in which your story takes place. Act one (generally) takes place between pages 1-30. “Your screenplay is about a person in a place doing their thing.” – Syd Field.
Act two is all about confrontation. It’s the story itself. You’ll need to pit your characters against obstacles, give them problems to overcome on the way to their goal. More conflict makes us give a crap about your character. Act two is presented in two halves. The two halves are connected by the Pinch. Act two spans pages 30-90 with the Pinch generally in the middle at page 60.
Act three is all about wrapping the story up and finishing things. Do your characters succeed? What do they learn if anything?
Again, all of this is, the plot points and so on, are just the anchors of the story. They’re what you’ll build your story around. Use this tried and true blue print and you’ll be far ahead of a lot of people.
I hope this has helped, best of luck.
References :
Four years writing screenplays. Thirteen feature-length and eleven short screenplays written. One feature-length screenplay "optioned" (meaning a studio buys the right to purchase the screenplay at a later date) and one short was actually produced. Please don’t take my word for it though. If you really want to learn the craft and what needs to be done read every book written by Syd Field. David Trottier isn’t bad either. Stay away from books that claim to teach you how to write a screenplay in seven days. Syd Field is legit. Trottier is less so but still good. Read a lot screenplays and watch good films.