Articles focussing heavily on Film.
Tales of evil spirits and witches existed long before the invention of the written word, let alone the invention of cinema. Horror is a well-tread genre, with strong antecedents in …
What will make your one-page pitch standout from the gazillion other pitches out there? And how do you blend a screenwriter’s creative talents into a technically sound pitch, especially when …
Kelly Reichardt almost always works as a writer, director AND editor on her films. As a result, few people in American cinema understand storytelling as intimately as Kelly Reichardt. She’s …
A blank page. A blinking cursor. Text: right-aligned. Font: courier new. FADE IN: Every movie, and therefore every screenplay, has transitions. Every change in time is a transition; every scene …
No film technique elicits the fear of the unknown more effectively than writing suspense. As humans, we’d rather know something bad is coming, than be in the unknown. This is …
Trying to hit a certain page count is probably one of the least exciting elements of writing and polishing a screenplay. But for those sitting down to read it, a …
He’s one of the biggest directors in Hollywood and a giant of the comedy world. So we take a look at 15 Adam McKay quotes in order to get an …
There are many important aspects to writing a great screenplay; good dialogue, interesting settings, unique stories, and good characterisation. However, little is arguably more important than creating and maintaining empathetic …
In this article, we take a look at the ending of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in order to learn what makes it so powerful and effective. What lessons …
For the most part, cinema is a form of entertainment. But this is not to say that films cannot and should not concern themselves with some of the more serious …
What does it take to write one of the best screenplays ever written? You’re probably already familiar with the key elements that constitute a cohesive and compelling screenplay. A basic …
Over the last few years, there has been a rise in the number of workplace dystopias in film and TV. But what are the essential elements of these stories? And …
This latest iteration of our Insider Interviews Series is with former Amazon Studios Europe Head Georgia Brown, one of the three judges of the third year of Industrial Scripts’ screenwriting contest, The TITAN …
In many ways, public domain properties are the film and TV industry’s lifeblood. They’re at least a substantial piece of how stories are created, adapted and marketed. But what are …
He’s an idiosyncratic writer-director known for his searing portrayals of family dynamics, witty dialogue and brilliant characters. And such an insightful writer with a vast array of directing experience inevitably …
Parodies can contain a multitude of differences across a multitude of genres. So how do you even approach writing a tricky and difficult-to-define subgenre? In short, you must try to …
Are you trying to write your first screenplay but don’t know how to give your screenplay flair? Or perhaps, you’re a budding screenwriter looking for some new techniques to elevate your …
What are the most common screenwriting mistakes that a screenwriter will likely make? What mistakes will be all too familiar to screenplay readers and development executives? Some mistakes are forgivable …
Personification is a popular literary device that uses figurative language and can be a powerful tool in creating memorable characters and settings. However, it is not just used in poems …
A distinctive filmmaker that has little parallel in contemporary cinema, Baz Luhrmann has been wowing audiences since the early 1990s. The Australian filmmaker is known for his distinctive style. And …
Indirect characterization is an essential part of constructing a convincing and compelling fictional character. Whether your character is a hero, a villain or a sidekick, they are always more interesting and …
He’s a modern-day Hollywood heavyweight. But it’s easy to forget that it’s not long ago at all that Damien Chazelle was the industry’s hottest new thing. He’s a director who …
Writing a sidekick character can come with a lot of creative freedom. Where your protagonist or hero may have a rigid characterisation, a sidekick can complement them in many different …
How to write a good death scene? This is a question writers may well have been pondering since stories were told on the walls of caves. From Shakespeare to Spielberg, …
Everyone who has an interest in movies has probably tried to analyze a film at least once. Maybe you analyzed films for your own pleasure or maybe you needed to …
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 Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. What …
The romantic comedy goes all the way back to Shakespeare, with plays such as Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night’s Dream being full of love triangles and comic …
In every screenwriting class, you are going to learn about many rules. However, the most important one is always the same: give the story energy to keep the viewers engaged. …
Short films are as prominent as ever as an effective form of expression for emerging filmmakers. However, a constantly used form runs the risk of certain techniques becoming overused and …
Both an Oscar winner and a blockbuster director, the breadth of Sam Mendes’ work perfectly demonstrates his versatile talent. And the 15 Sam Mendes quotes we’ve picked below illustrate how …
Often there are terms in screenwriting that do what they say on the tin. The bookend technique fulfils this mantra. It’s a plot device used to sandwich a story like …
The Social Network opening scene grips the audience into its world. It’s one of the most compelling examples of an opening scene in its use of quick dialogue, acute character …
When it comes to narrative pacing, we all know the feeling of being on the edge of our seats, biting our nails with anticipation for what’s to come. It’s likely …
It’s comforting to settle into a story where we can trust the narrator to guide us easily and expertly. The narrator is, after all, the audience’s compass through the story, …
In recent years, there has been a lot of dialogue around who the term Mary Sue can be ascribed to and what constitutes it. But what, fundamentally, is a Mary …
In many ways, the Viking movie is a sub-genre as old as the cinematic form itself. And Vikings have certainly been an integral part of folklore and storytelling for centuries. …
He’s one of the most distinctive contemporary writers; someone who entertains and shocks in equal measure. His films are bold, action-packed but most of all, hilarious. In this striking mix, …
Washington Irving’s short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has been cited as “the first great comedy horror story”, as readers were made to “laugh one moment and scream the …
The film industry is infamously hard to break into. This applies whether you’re behind the scenes, in post-production or right in front of the camera. It can be tricky to …
Revenge stories are a popular sub-genre almost guaranteed to satisfy an audience. They’re typically a visceral and cathartic response to injustice and consequently something that elicits easy emotion. We love …
As a screenwriter, a trope can be both your best friend and your enemy. How is a writer meant to stand out when the same plot line has been repeated …
Citizen Kane; a classic piece of cinema still studied in film schools throughout the world today. Written by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles, it was directed by Orson Welles, …
Circular storytelling is a structural technique visible in many stories across film, TV, literature and other mediums. But what exactly does the structure entail? And could it be useful to …
The third act. The end. The stroll off into the sunset or dramatic cliffhanger. Writing your third act is the finishing stretch and, therefore, vitally important in leaving the audience …
“I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!” – Some scenes in film and TV are so memorable they transcend their origin and become part of film culture. In this …
Pixar films are some of the most well-crafted stories in cinema history. And so it’s no wonder that there appear to be Pixar storytelling rules that writers and directors of …
He’s one of the most charismatic contemporary American directors; someone who manages to craft intriguing and intimate stories with big stars attached. But what makes David O. Russell tick creatively? …
What do great opening scenes do? They capture the essence of the upcoming story, whether the audience knows it or not. At their best, they lay out the story’s essential …
Aaron Sorkin is one of the few screenwriters whose name alone can get a film greenlit. And Aaron Sorkin scripts not only make great TV or film blueprints but are …
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 a classic …
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