Craft-based articles.
At some point in writing a script, a screenwriter will have trouble finding inspiration. If writer’s block gets you down, the trick is to keep on writing. But sometimes you …
Read more10 ESSENTIAL Screenwriting Exercises to Move Your Script Forward
Whether you write for film or TV, a cold open can provide a vital and dynamic way into your screenplay. They say that in the business, nobody will read past …
Read moreThe Cold Open: Starting Your Screenplay With a Bang
The Art of Symbolism Symbolism is a device used across literature, art and film. But arguably, film is one of the art forms where symbolism can have the most powerful …
Read more10 Brilliant Symbolism Examples: Symbolism in Screenwriting
Cinematic Language: Understanding its Meaning Cinematic language. You will have most likely heard this phrase being used in film circles, about a screenplay or in reference to a film or …
The Importance of the First Ten Pages The first ten pages of any screenplay are always the most important. These pages make up the first ten minutes or so. That’s …
Read moreThe First Ten Pages of Your Screenplay: How to HOOK a Script Reader
Welcome to Original Characters, an ongoing series of Industrial Scripts’ articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. This article will focus on Travis Bickle from Taxi Driver. What …
Oftentimes, a film based in reality will include a handful of fabricated details and interactions. Many people dedicate themselves to pointing out instances where true stories deviate from the truth. …
Read moreFact and Fiction: How to Handle THE TRUTH as a Screenwriter
The Role of the Unlikeable Protagonist ‘Unlikeable protagonist’ sounds like an oxymoron. However, they’re a common occurrence in all forms of storytelling. The antihero protagonist is an increasingly prominent presence …
Read moreWriting The Unlikeable Protagonist: How to Craft a Great Antihero
Where to start with a filmmaker, actor, producer and writer as malleable and prolific as Jon Favreau? The multi-talented director behind Iron Man, the Mandalorian and The Lion King has …
Story Ending: The Most Important Part of Your Screenplay Any successful screenplay endeavours to tell the story of a character’s journey. A crucial part of that journey is the story …
Read moreWriting a Satisfying Story Ending: The COMPLETE Guide
Crafting good quality stage directions can often be one of the trickiest parts of writing a screenplay. The directions need to be clear and concise but also need to engage …
Read moreWriting Stage Directions in a Screenplay: The ULTIMATE Lowdown
What is a Documentary Script? Documentary filmmaking is a non-fiction form of storytelling that depicts reality. The purpose behind the film could be to educate, inform or simply to document. …
Read moreWhat Goes into the Writing of a Documentary Script?
Dream Sequences: Avoiding the Lazy Screenwriter’s Crutch It was all a dream! First the audience gasps. Then they sigh and roll their eyes. Through overuse and poor execution, dream sequences …
Read moreDream Sequences: How to Craft Them While Avoiding Common Pitfalls
Writing Tension: The Difference Between Shock and Suspense Take an ordinary scene where for five minutes three people are sitting around a table talking about their day. Suddenly, BOOM! A …
Read moreWriting Tension in Screenplays: Learn from 10 NAIL-BITING Scenes
What is a Reboot? In the realm of movie-making, a reboot is a reimagining of an existing franchise that rebrands or restarts the established fictional world. The most notable franchises …
Since his debut film, Cronos, Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro has been captivating audiences with a unique blend of fantasy and realism. We’ve compiled 15 Guillermo del Toro quotes that …
How Do Filmmakers Approach a Script? The screenplay is the spine of the movie. But the way it is interpreted for the screen is the key to turning a great …
Read more10 Filmmakers That Show HOW a Filmmaker Can BEST Tackle a Script
Dual Protagonists: Breaking the Mould There is no law in screenwriting that dictates you must only have one protagonist, or main character, in your screenplay. Granted, most writers choose to …
Read moreDual Protagonists: How to Handle TWO Lead Characters in Your Screenplay
While shows such as The Crown and House of Cards have been recent hits, political thrillers and political dramas have been around since the dawn of storytelling. After all, Shakespeare …
Read morePolitical Thrillers vs Political Dramas: What Are the KEY Differences?
Creating Characters: A Daunting Process When writing a screenplay, the process of creating characters can be so arduous yet so enlightening, so varied yet at the same time so individually …
Read moreCreating Characters That Leap Off The Page: What Are The 15 VITAL Steps?
What Makes a Great TV Pilot? Understanding the importance, function and objective of a TV pilot are the first steps to writing a great one. The difference between a failed …
Read more10 Superb TV Pilot Examples and The Keys to Writing a Great TV Pilot
What Is Visual Storytelling? By definition, visual storytelling is a story told through a visual medium. This can include anything from photography, video or illustration, which is then enhanced by …
Read moreVisual Storytelling: What Does it REALLY Mean, in Screenwriting terms?
Genre mashups, also known as cross-genres or hybrid genres, are commonly found in many art forms – film, music or literature. It’s when an artist combines two or more genres …
Read moreGenre Mashup: 10 Vital Steps to Nailing a Mix of Genres in Your Screenplay
The Multi-Camera Sitcom Since coming to the fore in the 1960s, the multi-camera situational comedy, or sitcom, has proven itself a genre that has been able to continually reinvent itself, …
Read moreMulti-Camera Scripts: How Do They Differ From Other Scripts in Content and Style?
Welcome to Original Characters, an ongoing series of Industrial Scripts’ articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. This article will focus on Barry Berkman from Barry. What is an …
Social satire is a genre of film that relies on irony, exaggeration, ridicule, or humor to critique an unfavorable aspect of society and/or human nature. The best social satires are …
Read moreBiting Social Satire: How to Write a Great Critique
In screenwriting terms, the antagonist of a story is arguably as important as the protagonist. In the very simplest terms, if your protagonist is the hero, then the antagonist is …
Read moreAntagonist Examples: 15 of the BEST Formidable Foes from Film & TV
Both playwrights and screenwriters practice the art of dramatic writing with the same goal in mind. To tell a compelling story that leaves a lasting impact on audiences. The truth …
Read morePlaywriting vs Screenwriting: How PLAYWRITING Can Help Your SCREENWRITING
Heartbreak is the key feature of a tragic romance. The central love story ends in heartbreak and, as a result, audiences walk away from the film feeling heartbroken. Most people …
Read moreWriting the Tragic Romance: 7 Essential Elements to Breaking Hearts
Whether you’re a fan of highly choreographed martial art movies, or super polished CGI superhero battles: it is always useful to have a set of ground rules how to write a good fight scene.
A mockumentary is a satirical film or television show that combines documentary-style filmmaking with fictional subject matter. But although mockumentaries feature fictional events, they differ greatly from traditional narratives. And this …
Read moreMockumentary Scripts: The Keys to Writing a Great Mockumentary
It’s any screenwriter’s fantasy to come across an acclaimed director or producer out of the blue and pitch them their passion project. Enter the infamous elevator pitch. Chances are, of …
Read moreWhy Nailing Your Elevator Pitch Can Massively Help Your Screenplay
We are able to identify the distinct writing styles of our favorite screenwriters. Styles that make us love their stories. Quentin Tarantino‘s masterful monologues. Aaron Sorkin‘s long sequences of quick-paced …
Read moreWriting Style 101: How to Discover YOUR Own Unique Voice
Welcome to Original Characters, an ongoing series of Industrial Scripts articles examining the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. This article will focus on Walter White from Breaking Bad. What is …
Read moreORIGINAL CHARACTERS Series: Part Five – Walter White
In writing a screenplay, with every character, you create them and take them on a journey. But how do you get to that point? How do you know who your …
Read moreThe 10 Critical Steps of Good Character Development
Our scores in this in-depth Shonda Rhimes MasterClass review: Lessons – 7/10 Workbook – 9/10 Community -7/10 Value – 8/10 Overall Verdict – Thumbs Up! Pros of the Shonda Rhimes …
Every screenwriter needs advice. Put simply, a career won’t progress without listening and taking heed of the right advice. Writers advice can be easy to find. But great advice, well …
Read moreWriters Advice: 50 Gems of Wisdom from Industry Titans
In film and TV, great monologues have the power to hit an audience more than any other moment in a story. They can be gut-wrenching emotional confessions, pivotal moments of …
Read moreWhat Makes a Great Monologue? 10 Great Monologues Screenwriters Can Learn From
Have you always had an affinity for animation? Do you have a story idea that you think would be perfect for an animated film? Are you simply finding that your …
Read moreHow to Write an Animated Film: 6 Vital Steps to Scripting Animation
External conflict is an essential part of screenwriting in that it’s essential in driving any plot. It is different to internal conflict in that whilst internal conflict is within the …
Read moreThe Different Types of External Conflict & 10 Great External Conflict Examples
The Western was one of the earliest cinematic genres and it has had a number of resurgences and reinventions over the last one hundred years. It’s a genre that through …
In this series, we’ll take a look at great, well-known scenes from films and TV. We’ll analyse these scenes to figure out what makes them work so well, what they …
Read moreForensic Scene Analysis: The Whiplash Scene – ‘Not Quite My Tempo’
It’s no question that one of the most powerful elements in a story is dialogue. In film, dialogue builds the overall tone of the movie, establishes the relationships between characters …
Read moreWriting Dialogue Expertly: Learn from These Great Dialogue Examples
How to Write a True Crime Movie: Working with a True Crime Story The phrase “Based on a true story” is one guaranteed to make any moviegoer perk up in …
Read moreHow to Write a True Crime Movie: The 12 Key Elements to a True Crime Story
This article will explore the cliffhanger, as a screenwriting mechanism, and how best to deploy it in your screenplay. We’ll examine the following: What is a Cliffhanger? What Effect Does …
Read moreHow Do You Write a Cliffhanger? The 8 Steps to REALLY Hooking An Audience
The courtroom drama, also known as the legal drama, is a long-standing staple in entertainment. This noteworthy genre of film has generated such timeless classics as To Kill a Mockingbird and 12 …
Chekhov’s gun is a term that – in its simplest form – bestows purpose upon any object, character or situation within a narrative, on which the writer explicitly chooses to …
Read moreWhat is Chekhov’s Gun? 5 Ways to Skilfully Use One in Your Screenplay
A first impression counts. We all know that. And in screenwriting it’s no different. Your screenplay’s opening scene is vital. Screenplay readers will often tell you that the first ten …
Read more10 Amazing Opening Scenes & What Screenwriters Can Learn From Them
The montage is an ever present part of modern screenwriting. Filmmakers and screenwriters frequently use this technique, regardless of genre. But what are the best montage examples and what do they teach …
Read more15 Brilliant Montage Examples for Screenwriters and Filmmakers
This article will delve into the dynamic world of video games and video game logic. Many video games have been translated on-screen into video game movies, and the line between …
Read moreLooking to the Future: How Video Game Logic Can Enhance Your Screenplay
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