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How to Write a War Film That’s Compelling and Modern This article will offer key pointers on how to write a war film. Using five successful but very different films as a template, we will point out the shared ingredients of any great modern war film. Whilst we’ll also stress
15 Brilliant Cary Fukunaga Quotes for Writers and Filmmakers Cary Fukunaga has had a prolific career so far. He is American by nationality, but of Japanese, Swedish, English and German ethnicity. His films have a distinct and often international feel, spanning different continents, languages and genres. In 2004, his writing
From Book to Screen: 9 Essential Keys to Adaptation Stories that have made the journey from book to screen have always been popular. But it feels more than ever they make for a increasingly popular sub genre. They even have their own category on Netflix. Whilst it’s a tempting route
Aaron Sorkin MasterClass Review: Is it worth it? Scores for the Aaron Sorkin MasterClass: Lessons – 7 /10 Workbook – 8.2 /10 Community – 6.5 /10 Value – 7.5 /10 Overall Verdict – Thumbs up! Purchase Course Pros Struggling with a script? Story analysis is what we do, all day,
The Importance and Meaning of High Stakes in Screenwriting It’s pretty simple. Story stakes answer the question… “So what? Why should we care?” High stakes can benefit the story in many ways, they: maintain audience investment. increase tension. give purpose to character’s actions. provide characters with something to play for. However,
On the Nose Dialogue: How to Lose It or Use It in Screenwriting Granted, writing on the nose dialogue might not be the greatest sin in screenwriting terms. But it’s often the quickest way for a screenplay reader to view your work as unprofessional and, frankly, amateur. Sometimes, what was
The Value and Importance of Subplots: With 10 Amazing Examples Subplots. Most movies and TV series have them, whether large or small. The grand overarching plot is the defining part of a narrative arc. But subplots help add depth to this narrative arc. They keep the audience’s interest from waning
How to Write a Captivating Psychological Thriller A psychological thriller. It’s a story that gets in your head and keeps you on your toes. Psychological Thriller: ‘a thriller narrative that emphasizes the unstable psychological states of its characters.’ Within a psychological thriller, the conflict takes place primarily in the mind
15 Safdie Brothers Quotes for Writers and Filmmakers The Safdie brothers began making independent short films from a young age, drawing heavily from their disruptive childhood as two children of divorce. Consequently, Josh and Benny have cited their film-loving father as a major influence for the ‘life on the edge’
Understanding Story Structure: The Essential Steps Story structure. It’s easy to take it for granted. It’s easy to think it unimportant in a world where structure is constantly being played with and upended. Picture this scenario though: You’re enjoying a movie. The story develops in front of you, drawing you
Creating an Awesome Movie Villain for your Screenplay In this article we’ll look at different examples and tools for creating believable movie villains. In Writing Screenplays that Sell, Michael Hauge writes that the villain, or “nemesis” – …is the character who stands in the way of the hero achieving his
Turn Your Loose Story Ideas into a High Concept Movie in 7 Steps What is a “high concept” movie? What do movie producers and executives look for in a high concept? And how do you turn a logline into a high concept to begin with? Screenwriters are constantly searching
Yesterday, Thursday 30th January 2020, Industrial Scripts celebrated its 10 Year Anniversary with an industry reception sponsored by STOLI. Agents, producers, writers, directors and IS staff gathered at the Sanctum Hotel Variety Screening Lounge for canapés and vodka cocktails. Scroll down for photos and reaction. Industrial Scripts was
15 Rachel Bloom Quotes for Writers and Filmmakers Rachel Bloom cuts a unique figure in the modern TV landscape. She began her career writing and starring in her own comedy music videos. This included Chanukah Honey, a Santa Baby parody inspired by her Jewish background. These music videos gained a
How to Write a Love Interest who Audiences Believe… If your mind immediately jumps to soppy worn out cliches when you think of love interests, you’d be forgiven. But love interests are significant roles in many genres. They’re certainly not limited to romcoms. The question for screenwriters is how
What is a Visual Metaphor? And How to Use One in Your Screenplay… You want a screenplay to be entertaining but reflective and unique but relatable. You want the audience to connect. Using visual metaphors can be the key to unlocking this. When used intentionally, visual metaphors can transform your
15 Amy Sherman-Palladino Quotes for Writers and Filmmakers Amy Sherman-Palladino has no qualms with being known as a challenging artist. Refusing to be bound by network limitations, her unique style has carved her out as a distinctive figure in the television landscape. Originally planning to be a dancer, Sherman-Palladino’s
How to Write a Compelling Science Fiction Movie While science fiction movies can be exhilarating to watch, they can be just as daunting to write. How do you create a captivating and believable story world? What amount of exposition is necessary for introducing sci-fi elements? How do writers not
49 Fixable Reasons A Screenplay Reader Passed On Your Project Every writer has experienced that moment of wanting to throw the towel in after getting rejected. However, it’s important not to be defeated by the thoughts of the person typically on the other end of your screenplay: The Screenplay
‘Show Don’t Tell’ – How to Best Follow the Principle It’s a term you hear frequently when it comes to storytelling – ‘Show Don’t Tell’. But what does it mean exactly? And how you can you take that principle and use it in your screenwriting? Let’s take a look…
A Character’s Fatal Flaw – What Does it Mean? In good stories, as in life, one of the most important aspects is the search for growth and the striving for change. Sometimes, the best screenplays knowingly complicate this journey by introducing a character with a major fatal flaw. A
How to Nail Your Character Arc: The Ultimate Guide A crucial part of any screenplay is the main character’s growth and evolution from beginning to end. This is their character arc. How do they grow? How do they change? What journey do they go on? Their character arc should
Why a Beat Sheet is Important to Your Screenplay Whilst inspiration can strike at any minute and writing can be incredibly spontaneous business, screenwriting is usually smoothest when you’ve got a solid plan. Organization and outlining are crucial to the process. The best outlining technique to use, is The Beat
35 Movie Tropes and How to Avoid Them in Screenwriting Most audiences can agree that movies often lose their impact when writers cut corners and rely on cliches and overused movie tropes. But what exactly is a movie trope? A movie trope is a commonly used device or motif
Film Treatments: The ULTIMATE Guide So you’ve managed to come up with a brilliant idea for a film. You’ve developed the idea into a logline and thought through a synopsis that seems to work. Time to just muck in and write the thing right? Wait a second – a
15 Cunning Red Herring Examples in TV and Film Surprise is one of the most important elements in movies and tv. Knowing how to write a killer plot twist is an important skill in your writer’s tool box. And in screenwriting, a red herring can serve as a great
16 Powerful Plot Devices To Use in Your Screenplay It’s a term that gets thrown around a lot but what exactly is a plot device? A plot device is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. Plot devices are basically the methods you use throughout
The Must-Know Keys to Writing Great Character Descriptions Great character descriptions are what help ease the reader into your great characterization. They’re the entrée, if you will, to the main event. If you’re a screenwriter, you know a huge amount goes into the making of a fantastic screenplay. It’s
15 Phoebe Waller-Bridge Quotes Writers & Filmmakers Can Learn From Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s career is an inspiring tale of talent, perseverance and ultimate success. Starting her career primarily as an actor, she made waves on the theatre circuit in 2013 with her one-woman show Fleabag, which she wrote and starred in.
How Do You Craft the PERFECT Dynamic Between Protagonist and Antagonist? The conflict between the protagonist and antagonist is an essential part of screenwriting. However, this crucial conflict can often be a conflict between three characters rather than just two. We’re going to take a look at what defines
Writing the Perfect Controlling Idea for Film and TV: The Ultimate Guide A controlling idea is a foundation. Writing a screenplay is a lot like building a house. It is done piece by piece, each step builds upon another, and the final project must be structurally sound to last.
15 Examples of Bad Writing in Really GOOD Movies and Shows If you pay even a sliver of attention to people’s critiques of TV and film, then you understand that great screenwriting isn’t necessarily a given, even for shows and movies that have made it all the way to
15 Crafty Exposition Examples: How to Get Exposition Right Exposition is an essential part of any screenplay. However, there is a fine line between pulling it off smoothly and making it feel too obvious to audiences. Learning how to write good exposition is a key step in learning how
How to Write a Biopic: Pitfalls Screenwriters Should Avoid From BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY to JUDY, the biopic is a seriously popular modern movie genre. But having such a concrete story to work from in the telling of someone’s life isn’t always as carefree as it seems. With the number of
One of the world’s most popular screenwriting books, Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat has brought clarity and a sense of direction to thousands of screenwriters, many of whom were looking for the logical extension of Syd Field’s work. If you’re not familiar with it, the book delivered a structural screenwriting roadmap: not quite a full-blown
Your First Draft : 9 Essential Steps to Getting it Right It might not be what you want to hear after months, maybe years, of painstaking screenwriting work. But your first draft is almost certainly only the first stage in the evolution of your screenplay. Your screenplay’s first draft
201 Character Archetypes Writers MUST Have in Their Armoury Every screenwriter knows that writing a great screenplay takes more than just a good plot or good world building. It relies heavily on constructing memorable characters. Understanding character archetypes are an important step in this endeavor. Character archetypes are broad
The Fourth Wall Break – How to Do it and Why An increasingly common device used in modern Film and Television, the fourth wall break can serve as a dynamic way of breaking down the barrier between an audience and a protagonist. However, when deployed inappropriately it can also
World Building in Film & TV: The Essential Steps If you’ve ever enjoyed losing yourself in the world of Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, you know how important world building is. After all, world building is what makes us suspend our disbelief and fully sink into a
15 Inspiring Ava DuVernay Quotes for Writers & Filmmakers As the first black woman nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Director, Ava DuVernay is ushering in a new era for black filmmakers. Initially starting as a journalist with a CBS internship, DuVernay quickly became disillusioned with the field
What’s Your Personal Writing Process? In screenwriting, sometimes the biggest challenge is discovering the most effective writing process That Works For You. For example, each and every writer has a different approach to how they: summon key plot points establish characters use subtext utilize themes generate dialogue control pacing optimize
20 Great Patty Jenkins Quotes for Writers & Filmmakers Filmmaking didn’t come easily to Patty Jenkins. After many years working as a painter she realised her true passion was film. She then spent 8 years working as an assistant cinematographer on commercials and music videos. After years of hard
How to Nail Your Movie Theme: What is Your Screenplay Actually About? What is your screenplay about? What is your movie’s theme? These may seem like obvious questions. But many experienced script consultants will tell you that a common frustration in reading hundreds of screenplays professionally is that often
Bold Screenplay Structure: 10 Great Examples A great script requires great dialogue, great characterization and layered conflict. One of the most crucial elements however, screenplay structure, is occasionally taken for granted. Effective screenplay structure is the axis around which the rest of the story revolves, yet it can drift
ORIGINAL CHARACTERS Series: Part 2 Welcome to Original Characters, an ongoing series of Industrial Scripts articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. Want to view the whole series? Here’s the link. What is an Original Character? What is an original character? It’s a
15 Genius Foreshadowing Examples in Film and TV Foreshadowing is typically used to enhance the audience’s experience of the intended themes and messages of the movie or TV show they are watching. Foreshadowing definition : a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is
One of the world’s most popular screenwriting books, Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat has brought clarity and a sense of direction to thousands of screenwriters, many of whom were looking for the logical extension of Syd Field’s work. If you’re not familiar with it, the book delivered a structural screenwriting roadmap: not quite a full-blown
10 Fantastic Internal Conflict Examples Internal conflict is a powerful and absolutely essential tool used by writers and filmmakers in drama. These ten examples, as well as the internal conflict definition below, definitively prove it. Most, if not all, of the great TV shows and films are rife with
This month’s featured industry guest at The Insider Interviews is Rob Sprackling. A screenwriter known for his work on THE QUEEN’S CORGI (2019) and GNOMEO AND JULIET (2011) The Insider Interviews series started in 2010 as a set of recorded interviews, featuring the likes of Tom Hiddleston, Gareth Unwin, who produced THE KING’S SPEECH,
15 Fascinating & Eye Watering Screenwriting Salaries It may seem hard to believe in the tricky early years of the screenwriter but it’s undeniably true: if you can build it well enough, they’ll come. Screenwriting at the highest level usually means big, big money. Screenwriting salaries can come in
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