Reading Screenplays

by Lucy Scher

  Cinema Exhibitors’ Association — www.cinemauk.org.uk — includes an annual report that gives overall figures for number of screens, admissions, gross box–office takings, revenue per admission and revenue per screen.

  BOX OFFICE

  Box Office Glossary

  The main source of immediate and accessible box–office performance figures is always going to be the topline given in Screen International. These figures consist of a series of top 15/10/5 charts for the last weekend and can give a good indication of how a film currently showing is performing on the circuit. Always beware, though, of taking exhibition performance as indicative of how a title will eventually fare. Many that are slow performers at the box office or quick to drop out of the charts can more than make up in the home entertainment window and there are many sleeper titles such as My Big Fat Greek Wedding that can loiter below the radar of the top 10 for weeks accumulating a good box–office return before exploding on to the chart.

  Terminology

  Week: The number of weeks a film has been on release.

  Three/Four/etc day gross: The weekend takings for a particular territory.

  Screens: The number of screens the title is showing on.

  Screen Average: The average amount taken per screen. This is a good indicator of how well a title is filling theatres. By averaging out the takings per screen this also evens out the playing field between small and large films by looking at performance rather than just the gross figures.

  Seven–day % change: This indicates the rate at which a film’s audience is dropping off. As soon as a film opens there is a natural drop off as it saturates its market and uses up its ‘must–see’ potential. Percentage change is also a good indicator of what type of word of mouth a film is getting. A film that is getting good word of mouth will tend to have a smaller % change and, in some cases, a small film with low P&A but good word of mouth can actually see its % change go up.

  Total Gross: This is the total amount that the title has taken in that territory since its release.

  There are numerous sites which give accurate box–office info though most have a North American bias. If reading statistics in chart form gives you a headache, it’s definitely worth subscribing to Charles Gant’s excellent box–office blog in the Guardian, giving a weekly analysis of the weekend’s UK box–office results in a beautiful prose roundup: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/series/at–the–british–box–office

  Otherwise some of the better stats sites include:

  Screen International — www.screendaily.com/box–office

  EDI

  The Hollywood Reporter — www.hollywoodreporter.com

  Box Office Report — www.boxoffice.com

  Box Office Guru — www.boxofficeguru.com

  Internet Movie Database — www.imdb.com

  Box Office Mojo — www.boxofficemojo.com

  Variety — www.variety.com/Home

  RELEASE SCHEDULES

  www.launchingfilms.com/release-schedule — FDA website gives a month–by–month breakdown for the next six months of scheduled theatrical releases in the UK collating release and box–office information.

  Screen International — www.screendaily.com — Production Focus provides post–production listings from which to predict upcoming UK films.

  www.imdbpro.com — A pay–to–subscribe section of the well–known website. It has all the depth of the traditional site but is more industry focused giving extensive coverage of: films currently shooting, release schedules, box–office analysis on films past and present, business news, and a festival news and calendar section.

  Subscription is currently £40 a month but there is a free two–week trial if you would like to explore.

  FESTIVALS

  www.screendaily.com — A yearly calendar of festivals is available online and a yearly festival diary is given away with Screen International in January which is always worth keeping hold of.

  www.filmfestivals.com — Handy if overly complicated site detailing what’s what in the world of film festivals.

  www.londonscreenwritersfestival.com — The site of the London Screenwriters Festival held annually in October.

  SCRIPT FACTORY PROGRAMMES

  For information about the next dates or to book a course for your organisation or company please visit www.scriptfactory.co.uk

  * * *

  INDUSTRY SCRIPT READING

  Whether writing coverage for a producer or funding body, or offering feedback to a writer, the analysis of the script is the same while the style and delivery of each report is specific. Using The Script Factory’s structured approach to screenplay analysis, this one–day course explores the key principles of writing script reports, includes a comprehensive guide to current work opportunities, and offers individual feedback on your chosen style of practice report.

  Course Outline

  Prior to the course, participants will be given an un–produced feature film script to read in preparation.

  Teaching sessions include:

  Overview of a reader’s role in the current UK industry.

  The responsibilities of a good reader – how to keep informed about the film market in order to offer accurate analysis.

  Distilling and assessing the core film idea. Great scripts start with a great idea, we’ll consider what elements are essential for a strong film story and we’ll practise defining the core dramatic premise of a film and writing appropriate loglines.

  Mastering the art of writing synopses.

  Assessing the story: how to analyse genre and structure.

  Analysing screenwriting skill: can this writer create screenworthy characters and craft compelling scenes?

  Finding work as reader: who to approach, how to sell your skill.

  After the course, all participants will have the opportunity to read a second script and prepare a report on which they will receive individual feedback from the course tutor.

  * * *

  WRESTLING THE REDRAFT:

  PRACTICAL SCRIPT DEVELOPMENT

  It’s true what they say: writing is re–writing. Good script development is the single most important task for writers, developers and producers but is still the area with the least clarity about its processes. A solid understanding of screenwriting theory is essential but translating that theory into practice is not always straightforward. Each movie project raises its own unique set of challenges — of course, that’s why it’s fun, but it can also be frustrating and can sometimes feel like you’re moving backwards. Having worked in active international development for over 10 years, with both experienced and emerging writers, Script Factory directors Lucy Scher and Justine Hart have devised a brand new programme that comprehensively examines the potential problems and explores how to navigate through the tricky development process, avoiding the common pitfalls and setting the next draft on course to exploit all the potential strengths of a movie idea.

  This two–day course is primarily aimed at script developers, readers and producers. However, if you are a writer with a script that hasn’t yet been optioned then this course contains valuable tools for analysing and improving your own work.

  Course Outline

  This is a highly practical course, using material that is currently in development. Prior to the course participants will be given a first draft of a script to read along with an accompanying reader’s report. Overnight, between the two teaching days, a second draft of the script will be read.

  DAY ONE

  Session 1: Development Roles.

  This introductory session examines the role of a developer within the creative process, including how to manage the expectations of producers, funders and directors. Primarily, however, we will consider how to establish the most positive dynamic between developer and writer with the aim of empowering the writer to produce the best work they possibly can.

  Session 2: Analysing the material: We’re writing a movie.

  The initial stages of development are all about fi
nding the best movie in the material. We’ll lay out an approach for determining whether the key elements of the story are in place and whether the current draft is exploiting the strongest aspects of the idea. Most attention will be given to how the story aims to engage the audience: what does the story mean? does this ring true to a current cinema audience? how are we invited to care about the characters and the outcome?

  Session 3: The first meeting

  This session looks at how to approach the first development meeting; gaining the writer’s trust; understanding the story the writer wants to tell and why; prioritising feedback to keep the next stage of development focussed.

  Session 4: Development notes and the writers’ next steps.

  Too much feedback (however intelligent and constructive) can be counterproductive; this session considers how to write development notes that don’t overwhelm the writer but that provide a useful resource for addressing the next stage of development. We consider how to adapt your style to suit the way each writer works and explore how to offer ongoing support between drafts. In this session we’ll consider useful documents to work on between full re–drafts such as treatments, outlines, first act rewrites.

  Overnight participants will be invited to read a second draft of a script and prepare feedback to the writer

  DAY TWO

  Session 1: One step forward, two steps back?

  What do you do if the next draft has got worse? How do you respond when the writer has taken a completely different direction to the one discussed in your development meetings? In this practical session we’ll consider how to respond to a second (and third and fourth!) draft by the same writer: how to keep everyone in the process positive even when progress is apparently slow; how to ensure that the next draft doesn’t repeat the same problems; how to help the writer achieve clarity about the project when the woods are in the way of the trees.

  The remaining sessions on Day 2 aim to tackle the nitty–gritty of script development issues:

  Session 2: Characters to serve the story.

  Has the writer created the best characters to serve the story? Do we care about those we’re supposed to in the way the writer intended? Are there enough characters or too many to serve the story? Writers spend months with their characters often resulting in characters who are too complex or contradictory for an audience who will only spend a hundred minutes getting to know them; a key job for the developer is often to help the writer simplify the journey of the main character without feeling that they have compromised on truthfulness. Conversely, how do you help a writer flesh out an underdeveloped character?

  Session 3: The second act blues.

  Developers generally prove their worth most when it comes to dealing with the structure of the story. In this session we’ll give particular attention to the second act and ensuring that it remains focused on the dramatic question. Are there clear turning points that reinforce why we are watching this story? Do the stakes build convincingly? Is there the right balance between character development and plot? What else needs to be layered into the idea in order to ensure that there is sufficient material to keep the second act interesting?

  Session 4: Honing the craft.

  Development cannot and does not aspire to replace writing talent, however screenwriting has very specific craft techniques that can be learnt and that aren’t necessarily natural to the writing process. This final session aims to ensure that developers are equipped with a thorough understanding of the key craft techniques in order to help writers give depth, texture and professionalism to their work.

  * * *

  WRITERS’ WORKOUT

  A chance to write and put theory into immediate practice. This hugely popular workshop course for writers is designed to strengthen your screenwriting skills and is ideal for those who have already completed a draft and are looking for inspiration to address the re–write or to create the next project.

  Talent can’t be taught, and storytelling is an instinctive skill, but screenwriting is a craft and the more you practise any craft the better you will get.

  Pretty much everyone in the film industry will tell you that a good screenplay depends on a strong story idea and certainly even the very best writing can’t hide a weak story. But, going beyond ‘story’, what makes a screenplay sparkle is the detail: well observed characters rendered immediately through one distinct action; clever exposition that implies a credible history but keeps us firmly rooted in the present; dialogue that aches with the burden of what it’s concealing; beautiful imagery that defines the emotional landscape of the film; surprising moments that resound with truth.

  Screenwriting is a precise and economic craft. Each scene and each exchange of dialogue should define character, be full of drama, come layered with subtext and resonate with meaning. Whilst a focus on getting the story right is essential, a satisfying screen story can only be written with a solid understanding of the nitty–gritty of screenwriting craft. Of course, the more practised you are in screenwriting craft then the more efficient you will be at solving story problems and generating fresh material that is worthy of the big screen.

  Writers’ Workout is a practical two–day course designed to consider some of the essential techniques that are unique to the screenwriting form. Participants will be trained in key principles and coached through a series of practical exercises designed to stretch your creativity, hone your technique and send you back to your screenplay with renewed enthusiasm and sharper instincts.

  Working in small groups with a high tutor/student ratio, some of the work you do will be specific to your current screenplay but much of it is designed to equip you with skills and approaches that can be applied to both current and future projects.

  DAY ONE

  Beyond the obvious

  Interesting drama rarely happens in coffee shops but a disproportionate number of screenplay scenes seem be set in them. This first session is about freeing up your creativity, adding life and texture to your script by avoiding the obvious choices of scenes and settings and discovering the drama that might lurk off the beaten track.

  Characters: don’t I know you from somewhere?

  Continuing the theme of breaking from the obvious, this session thinks about how to build original screen characters. We will consider how to introduce your characters and establish their histories without falling into awkward exposition. We’ll look at creating drama in the gap between what your characters choose to reveal and the truths they are concealing (even from themselves). And we’ll also think about the personal habits and behavioural tics that make a screen character unique, memorable and recognisably ‘human’.

  Breaking rituals

  The best way to get to know someone is by what they do. Everyone has their rituals whether it’s the way they take their coffee, the rented holiday home they return to each year, or the section they choose first from the Sunday papers. This session uses practical exercises to explore what happens when those rituals are broken and considers how a shift in behaviour can be used effectively to convey significant changes in a character’s circumstance or attitude.

  Opening images

  First impressions count! The opening images of a film should prime the audience for the story that is to follow, encapsulating the main story idea and setting the tone. This session looks at how to flag up themes and introduce characters in a way that is appropriate to the kind of film you are writing – be it a high concept genre movie or a multi–strand art house drama.

  Overnight homework

  Between the first and second day writers will be required to complete an overnight writing exercise related to your current screenplay idea. This will be discussed with your tutor and fellow group members on the second day.

  DAY TWO

  Group Feedback

  The second day starts with an opportunity to discuss the writing exercise and get constructive feedback from your tutor and fellow writers.

  Point of View

  Some film
stories, such as 21 Grams or Magnolia, make a particular structural feature of exploring narratives from different points of view. Of course, all storytelling is subjective, its meaning derived from whose perspective we are asked to interpret events. A skillful manipulation of point of view is crucial to the screenwriter’s job: it’s how you keep us aligned with your chosen protagonist, ensure that subplots remain relevant to the central storyline, establish dramatic irony and generate tension right up until the final pages of script. In this session we will consider the impact of choices regarding point of view, including decisions about the overall story design as well as methods of ensuring that we experience the emotional impact of each scene as you, the writer, intend.

  Dialogue

  In life we rarely ever say directly what we mean (or even if we do, our words get twisted and the person we’re speaking to thinks that we meant something else!). In screenwriting, it’s always what remains unsaid that is so much more important and the ability to layer dialogue with an unspoken subtext is a fundamental screenwriting skill. This session will provide plenty of practice at doing just that, as well as ensuring that dialogue exchanges serve as actions and reactions which move the story on.

  Scene breakdowns

  The only way to become fluent in the language of screenwriting is to study as many screenplays as possible. This course, like all Script Factory programmes, is designed to encourage writers to actively analyse screenwriting texts and learn about story structure, scene function and character arcs by breaking down the inner workings of a successful script.