Part II: Writing Your ScreenplayR’S GUIDE Being a SCREENWRITERINSTRUCTO 6tGh–R8thADE
Being A Screenwriter 2Table of ContentsIntroduction ......................................................................................................1Lesson 1: Screenwriting 101Lesson 2: e Building Blocks of a Great Script ......................................3Lesson 3:Lesson 4: Understanding ScenesLesson 5: e Building Blocks of a Screenplay ......................................13Lesson 6:Lesson 7: e Scene OutlineLesson 8: Planning Your Screenplay ....................................................... 19Lesson 9:Lesson 10: How Screenwriters Write Screenplay Formatting .............................................................27 How to Start a Screenplay Writing Slug Lines and Transitions ........................................41 What Your Characters Do Writing Action ..........................................................................55 How Characters Talk e Importance of Dialogue ...................................................65 Writing Dialogue Deciding What Your Characters Will Say .............................75 Bringing It All Together Finishing Your Screenplay ......................................................85 Your Script Comes to Life e Table Reading.....................................................................91Glossary .................................................................................................... 96Appendix: Standards Alignment............................................................. 97Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide i
Preface Being A Screenwriter 2Welcome to Being a Screenwriter, Part 2: Writing Important Notes on Student Journals,Your Screenplay Loglines, and TreatmentsBeing A Screenwriter, Part 2 is the second in a two-course Students who took Being a Screenwriter, Part 1 leseries designed to teach students what it takes to create with three take-aways: Student Journals, Loglines, andtheir own scripts from start to nish, from developing an Treatments. e student journals were used throughoutidea, to writing it out, to pitching it to a studio. In these as a place where students gathered their thoughts howevertwo courses, they will learn every step that professional they worked best—jotting down notes, drawing pictures,screenwriters take to brainstorm, organize, and compose pasting magazine clippings, etc. Students are encouragedideas, and play a few games along the way. is section of to bring the journals along to help them review thethe course is devoted to writing the screenplay. It’s divided concepts they learned and ideas they came up with ininto 10 exciting lessons that will lead students through the Part 1 and they are encouraged to continue working inentire process of composing a movie script. When they’re them if new ideas strike them throughout the course of Part 2. e loglines students developed will also be nished they will have their own professionally formatted useful to them here in Part 2. Since most of the work inscreenplay ready to shoot a ve-minute movie that they’ve Part 2 is focused on writing instead of developing, it willdreamed up themselves. be helpful for students to come to class with a solid idea of where their screenplay is going. eir treatments willTo help illustrate the concepts we will learn in this class, also be helpful on this front. ey will be able to lookstudents will view portions of the movie Groundhog Day. A back to the treatments as a blueprint of the movie they areDVD of the lm is included in the kit for instructors to use going to write. Because so much was covered in Part 1, aduring their classes. Instructors will need to obtain a DVD student taking Part 2 without having taken Part 1 will beplayer and television. at a disadvantage. ey will not only be without the same foundation as students who took Part 1, but they will notIn the rst course of this series, Being A Screenwriter, Part have the journal, loglines, and treatments that will be1: Generating Ideas for a Screenplay, students studied how extremely helpful in Part 2. Students who have not takenthe basic Hollywood movie script works. ey learned how Part 1 are strongly encouraged to do the following at theto successfully utilize the three-act-structure to tell a story beginning of the course:and how each part of that structure works together to help t Find a notebook to use as their screenwriting journal.the movie’s protagonist (or hero) accomplish some sort of t Develop a logline.goal. ey also learned about the importance of con ict, t Write a treatment.subplots, and complications, as well as the need to “show”rather than “tell.” ey brainstormed and organized their About the Organization of This Courseideas, and when nished were able to walk away with botha logline (a succinct sentence that describes the overall e step-wise presentation of each lesson makesstory of a movie) and a treatment (a short summary of a Community Learning materials and activities easy tomovie). follow for any instructor. Each lesson in the Instructor’s Guide contains the is section of Being A Screenwriter will build on what was following helpful elements:learned in Part 1 as we turn now away from developingideas to actual writing. While in Part 1 a lot of time was Objectivesspent brainstorming and throwing ideas around, this what students can be expected to learn from this activity.course will focus on re ning those ideas. ere will be lesstime spent deciding what to write about in Part 2 than in Materials ListPart 1 as it is assumed that students at this point have either clear identi cation of the materials required from thedecided on an idea in Part 1 or are well enough equipped to Course Kit (provided) for each lesson.come up with one on their own based on what they learnedin Part 1.ii Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Being A Screenwriter 2 PrefacePreparation Notes (set-up) A Note about Volunteerseasy set-ups that ensure learner engagement is on task and Being a Screenwriter has a variety of responsibilities thaton time. can be shared with a volunteer, or other adult, willing to assist in the preparation and implementation of the lessons. Notes for the Instructora brief introduction to the subject matter and challenges ese responsibilities include but are not limited to:presented in each lesson, o en with real-life examples from t PSHBOJ[JOHTVQQMJFThistory, popular culture, and of course movies. t BTTFNCMJOHNBUFSJBMTCFGPSFIBOEDVUUJOHMBCFMJOH t BOTXFSJOHTUVEFOUTRVFTUJPOT Notes for the Students (including new t IFMQJOHTUVEFOUTXJUIJOEJWJEVBMXSJUJOHUBTLT vocabulary) t QBTTJOHPVUBOEDPMMFDUJOHNBUFSJBMTintroductory material for the students to read, discuss, About Community Learningwatch or listen to in order to “set the stage” for each lesson. Our mission is to provide interactive course kits Activity Descriptions created around high interest, thematic topics thatstep-by-step procedures for the participants’ immersion in engage students in expanded learning throughthe activity. hands-on activities and projects. Developed by subject experts with decades of teaching experience, Wrap-up our courses provide full support for administratorsquestions designed to summarize learning objectives, lead desiring an engaging, academically enrichinga discussion, and encourage journal entries. program for their sta and students. Clean-up Noteswrap-up and storage instructions for the most cost-e ective use and preservation of materials. Other Directions, Discussions and Tell us what you thought of your teaching Destinations experience! Share your thoughtshelpful links to media, books, and Internet resources thatextend lessons and help learners understand new conceptsacross disciplinary and cultural divides.Student Activity Books (optional) are companions tothe Instructor’s Guide, and provide worksheets andsupplemental information for learners’ knowledge. eseare designed for students to keep, so they can add to andrefer back to the information they learned in this course.Course Kit Materials (optional) include materials neededto complete each activity outlined in the Instructor’sGuide.Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide iii
Introduction Being A Screenwriter 2Introduction to Being A Screenwriter 21 Instructor’s Guide Welcome to Being A Screenwriter 2, an activity- lled course that helps you get ready to point your video camera and succeed! Now that you’ve completed the basics of screenwriting in Being A Screenwriter, Part 1, Part 2 is here to light the way for you to professionally prepare your script, re ne your plot, and load your screenplay with crackling dialogue, fast- paced action, and heart-tugging emotion. In this course, the focus is on you and your ideas. Rev up your pencil and open your activity book as you immerse yourself in a quick review of the lessons covered in Part 1. Next, forge ahead into planning your screenplay, outlining scenes, and sorting through the instructions you might provide for directors and actors. No screenplay can succeed without fully realized characters and dialogue that zings and sparkles. Use the dialogue lessons to hang esh on your villains, heroes and romantic leads as you punch up those wisecracks, so en those sighs, and perfect those ghoulish screams. You’ll even spend time looking for those “signature” dialogue phrases from movies of the past. But wait—there’s more! Gather your fellow screenwriters around in a studio setting and take your script through a trial run in a table reading exercise. With feedback from your peers, you’ll quickly be able to identify where your script works best, and where to tweak the weak spots. Using clips from the very funny movie Groundhog Day, your whole class gains insight into movie making techniques, as it once again assumes the role of audience and critic. In this setting, you’ll get experience in identifying camera angles, and come to understand such technical terms as cut, fade and dissolve. Finally, you’ll learn how to integrate these cutting-edge techniques into your own screenplay. Action writing gets special attention in one set of super-fun activities. Are your characters ready to soar into space, swing from vines, or hack their way through a dark and snake-infested rainforest? Writing action requires especially tough writing chops—cut your teeth in this powerful set of exercises that reminds you that what people do is o en more important than anything they say! If you’re serious about building your skills in screenwriting, Being A Screenwriter 2 is the right course for you. e future promises a multitude of careers for motivated and talented young people who bring not only the wildly popular technical skills,—but, most critically—a rm grasp of the fundamentals of ne screenwriting technique. Are you eager to get started? All right, everyone. Grab your pens and journals. Quiet on the set! Imagination ready? ACTION! Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Lesson 12 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Lesson 1Screenwriting 101: The Building Blocks of a Great Script Objectives students in Part 2—far too much to cover in just one Students will: lesson. Today we’ll just focus on three important concepts: genre, theme, and the three-act structure. Review the concepts behind genre, theme, With an understanding of these concepts, even setting, protagonist, and antagonist students who didn’t take Part 1 will be able to go on (introduced in Generating Ideas for a to write a successful screenplay. Encourage students Screenplay or Part 1) to refer back to their journals and their student activity Review the three-act structure (also books used in Part 1. New students may bene t from introduced in Part 1) looking at a completed student activity book. Outline the movie they want to write If you taught Part 1 of Being a Screenwriter, you Materials may remember that genre is one of the most 20 student activity books basic elements of a screenplay. Genre is a broad 20 pencils classi cation of what a movie is about. You’re 1 dry erase marker probably familiar with this classi cation from your 1 dry erase eraser trips to the video store: action, drama, comedy, “ ree-Act Structure” poster horror, family, etc. Within a genre are secondary Preparation categories, called themes. A theme refers to 1. Arrange the students’ desks or tables in the underlying emotion of a movie and can be groups of four. described in one or two words—faith, love, revenge, 2. At each group, place four pencils and four heartbreak, etc. O entimes it will be easy to come student activity books. up with more than one theme for a movie. In this 3. Put the “ ree-Act Structure” poster on a wall course, we’ll be using the movie Groundhog Day as where all of the students will be able to see it. an example. If you went to the video store, you’d nd Groundhog Day in the comedy section. Comedy Notes for the Instructor is the movie’s genre. We will spend some time e ultimate goal of this course is twofold. First, discussing genre and theme today.students will develop a screenplay that is all theirown. ey will develop it from start to nish and e last concept that you’ll teach or review withleave the class with their own completed script. But, your students today is the three-act structure. emore importantly, students will understand how the three-act structure is a simple format that all moviesentire process of writing a screenplay works and be follow. First there is a beginning (Act I), in whichable to write their own scripts for years to come. the story is set up. Here the screenwriter presents hisMost of the students in your class have probably or her movie’s setting (where and when the movietaken of Being a Screenwriter Part 1: Generating will take place), protagonist (the movie’s hero/Ideas for a Screenplay, but some may not have. We heroine), antagonist (the hero/heroine’s adversary),will spend today reviewing some of the concepts and con ict (the problem the protagonist seekscovered in Part 1, both to ll in the students who to resolve). In Groundhog Day, the setting ismay not have taken it and to refresh the memories Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the protagonist is Phil,of the students who did. ere was a lot of the antagonist is the ceaseless Groundhog Days, andinformation in Part 1 that will be very helpful to the con ict is that Phil wakes up every morning and relives Groundhog Day without any way to escape. e middle of a screenplay (Act II) consists of all ofCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 3
Lesson 1 Screenwriting 101: The Building Blocks of a Great Scriptthe action that takes place as the protagonist tries to be a full- edged screenwriter. If you can dream it,to solve the con ict and includes the low point (the you’ll be able to write it.point which the protagonist seems furthest from First things rst, though. Before we can start writing,his or her goal). e last part of the screenplay (Act we need to discover just how a screenplay is putIII) is where the movie has its climax (the point at together. If you took Being a Screenwriter, Part 1,which all of the action in a lm culminates) and its you came up with a logline and treatment for yourresolution (the point at which the con ict is solved). very own screenplay. Everything you learned in thatIn Groundhog Day, the climax is when Phil nally course will be very helpful here in Part 2 but if youwakes up on February 3rd. e resolution is when have forgotten some of the concepts we talked aboutPhil decides that Punxsutawney isn’t such a bad in Part 1, or weren’t able to take that course, don’tplace a er all. worry. Today we’re going to go back to basics andIt may seem like a lot to think about, but don’t worry. refresh our memories about the building blocks used in every screenplay ever written and every movie ese concepts are easy to grasp once you begin to ever made. However, for those of you who did takework with them. A er all, they are inherent in every Part 1, feel free to continue to bring your journalsmovie you’ve ever seen. with you to this class. You might nd it helpful to beOne last note before your students begin their able to go back to the ideas you came up with in Partjourney: roughout this course we will be using 1. And for those of you who didn’t take Part 1, feelthe movie Groundhog Day to illustrate the concepts free to begin journaling. You’ll have space in youryou will teach in class. ough the students will student activity books to jot down ideas in class, butnever watch the movie in its entirety in this course, if you have an old notebook lying around at home,you will be better prepared to answer your students’ feel free to use it to keep track of ideas you havequestions and explain how the concepts of this outside of class.course work if you do watch the entire movie. Be Today we’re going to discuss three very importantadvised that there are some scenes in Groundhog concepts of screenwriting: genre, theme, and theDay that some parents may not nd appropriate for three-act structure. ese terms are very importantchildren. In selecting scenes to use as examples in to the screenwriting process and they apply to everythis course, we’ve skipped the parts of the movie that single movie you’ve ever seen. Genre is a very broadmay be objectionable; you should be careful to limit classi cation for a movie. You can think of it asyour students’ viewing of the movie to those scenes describing the kind of movie you’re watching or wantwe’ve pointed out to you. to write. Horror, action, science ction, romance, and comedy are all genres. A theme is a more e activities in this lesson address the following focused classi cation of a movie. eme refers to theCommon Core State Standards in English Language overall emotion that a movie represents, and eachArts and Literacy: CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.3, CCRA. movie can have more than one theme. For example,SL.1, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.W.5, and CCRA.W.10. See a movie may be in the action genre, but maybe thethe Standard Matrix included on pages 97-100 for emotion driving the action is revenge. Revengemore detailed information. would be the theme. Or perhaps a comedy movie has a story about love. In that case, love would be Notes for the Student the movie’s theme.Welcome to Being A Screenwriter, Part 2! By the end Let’s use the movie e Lion King as an example.of this course, you will not only know more about Take a moment to see if you can gure out what thescreenwriting than you ever thought possible, but you genre and theme of e Lion King are. First thinkwill walk away carrying a complete screenplay for a about where you would nd e Lion King in the ve-minute movie you’ve dreamed up all by yourself. is class will teach you everything you need to know4 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Screenwriting 101: The Building Blocks of a Great Script Lesson 1video store. is will be its genre. en think about logline (a one-sentence summary of an idea for awhat emotions run through the movie. ese will be screenplay or movie) and treatment (a summary ofthe themes. (Give the students about sixty seconds to a screenplay idea that includes the movie’s genre,think.) Do you think you have it? e genre of e theme, main character and important scenes) forLion King is animated or family. ere are several your screenplay. If you didn’t take Part 1, perhaps youthemes running throughout the movie, including have a great idea that you can’t wait to write down.revenge, love and growing up. You will want to spend time before the next classBefore we can begin the screenwriting process, we thinking about the concepts we discussed today—andalso need to refresh our memories on how the three- writing in your screenwriter’s journals—so you’ll beact structure works. e three-act structure is the ready to start developing your screenplay ideas theformat that every movie follows, and it lays out for next time we meet. Remember that it’s usually muchus every movie’s beginning, middle and end. e easier and much more worthwhile to choose a topic of which you have rsthand knowledge. In Being A rst act, or the beginning, introduces us to four Screenwriter, Part 1 we called this “writing from themajor components of every screenplay: the setting, heart.” When choosing a storyline for your movie,the protagonist, the antagonist, and the con ict. try and choose a story that’s close to you, perhaps something that happened to you or to a friend, so that e setting is where a movie occurs. In e Lion your movie will have a special meaning to you andKing, the setting is the Pride Lands of Africa. e will be fun for you to write.protagonist is the hero/heroine of a movie. In e Let’s get a little practice with the concepts of genre,Lion King, this is Simba. e antagonist is the hero theme and three-act structure. Soon enough you’llor heroine’s enemy. In e Lion King, this would be be on your way to writing a brand new movie all bySimba’s uncle, Scar. And the con ict is the problem yourself !that the protagonist is trying to solve. In e LionKing, the con ict is that Simba must return to the VocabularyPride Lands to overthrow Scar and become king. antagonist: the enemy of the movie’s hero/heroine. climax: the emotional high point of the movie. e second act of a movie includes all of the action it con ict: the problem the hero/heroine is trying totakes for the protagonist to resolve the con ict. is solve and/or tension in a story.could include many other smaller story lines and genre: the category of a movie, such as action,events, as the second act is the longest part of the comedy, horror, science ction, etc.movie. e second act ends at the low point—the logline: a succinct sentence that describes the overallpoint in the movie where the protagonist seems the story of a movie.farthest from his or her goal. low point: the point in the lm in which the hero/ heroine seems farthest from his or her goal. e third act is where you’ll nd the movie’s protagonist: the hero/heroine of the movie.climax. e climax is when all of the action in the resolution: the point in the lm when the con ict ismovie reaches a breaking point and the con ict issolved. In e Lion King, this is when Simba nally nally worked out.triumphs over Scar and kicks him over the cli . e setting: the place and time in which a story occurs.climax is then followed by the resolution, where theprotagonist returns to his or her everyday life—likewhen Simba and Nala become the new king andqueen of the Pride Lands.Okay. at was a lot of information, but now youhave an understanding of all the tools you need toget started on your own screenplay. If you tookBeing A Screenwriter, Part 1 you already have aCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 5
Lesson 1 Screenwriting 101: The Building Blocks of a Great Scripttheme: a word or phrase that sums up the main 2. Now, let the students work together in theiremotion of a movie, such as love, revenge, greed, etc. groups for een minutes to ll in the three-actthree-act structure: the structural system for most structure diagram in their activity books. SomeHollywood lms composed of the setting, con ict of the blanks might be tough to ll in, butand resolution. encourage them to do their best to gure it out.treatment: a summary of a screenplay idea thatincludes the movie’s genre, theme, main character 3. When the een minutes are up, go through theand important scenes. three-act structure diagram together on the “ ree-Act Structure” poster. Ask every group Activity 1: Back to Basics what they came up with for each blank. If there is (30 minutes) a group consensus, ll in the appropriate blank1. Have the students turn to lesson 1, activity 1 with the dry erase marker on the “ ree-Act in their student activity books. Ask them Structure” poster. If there are a variety of to follow along as you read the treatment for answers, take a vote as a class. If the students Groundhog Day aloud to the class. Encourage are still stumped, help them out using your them to be looking and listening for the separate answer sheet. parts of the overall screenplay within the treatment: Activity 2: Getting Started! (20 minutes)Pittsburgh meteorologist Phil Connors is not 1. Have students turn to lesson 1, activity 2 from theirhappy when his boss sends him to activity books. Ask them to jot down what theyPunxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to cover the annual remember about their treatment in Part 1 (lesson 10).Groundhog Day festival. He’s even more upsetwhen a blizzard strands him and his crew in the 2. Give the students ten minutes to worksmall town. When he wakes up the next independently to ll out a three-act structuremorning to nd that, somehow, it is still diagram on a movie they’d like to write aGroundhog Day (February 2), he must try to screenplay for while participating in this class. ey do not have to use the treatment they gure out what is happening and how he can developed in Part 1. Tell them that it’s importantmake it stop. to write about things with which they haveWhen Phil tries to convince the people around rsthand experience and to write from the heart,him that, for some reason, every day has become but also that their movies will be short and that,Groundhog Day, they think he’s crazy. He begins for now, simpler is better. Remind them thatto take advantage of the situation, lying to the the screenplay they are writing will ultimatelytown’s residents and even stealing from the truck amount to a movie that’s only ve minutes long, sothat pulls up to the bank every day. Eventually, they can keep it simple. ere is no need for them tohe grows tired and begins to lose hope that get bogged down in creating all of the twists andhe’ll ever escape from Groundhog Day. It’s not turns that a full-length feature would contain.until his coworker Rita, on whom Phil has acrush, suggests that Phil start using his situation 3. Walk around the room and help students whoto make Punxsutawney a better place that Phil are struggling with the three-act-structure for their screenplay. If students are having trouble nds hope again. When he begins to use the coming up with ideas, be encouraging. If anytime loop for good by helping people and students are drawing absolute blanks, let thembettering himself, he nally escapes Groundhog know they can give it more thought between classesDay. It’s then that Rita and Phil nd themselves and may come to the next class with their ideas.in love and decide they should stay inPunxsutawney.6 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Lesson 1 Activity 1: Back To Basics Groundhog Day TreatmentPittsburgh meteorologist Phil Connors is not happy when his boss sends him to Punxsutawney,Pennsylvania, to cover the annual Groundhog Day festival. He’s even more upset when a blizzardstrands him and his crew in the small town. When he wakes up the next morning to nd that,somehow, it is still Groundhog Day (February 2), he must try to gure out what is happening and howhe can make it stop. When Phil tries to convince the people around him that, for some reason, every day has becomeGroundhog Day, they think he’s crazy. He begins to take advantage of the situation, lying to the town’sresidents and even stealing from the truck that pulls up to the bank every day. Eventually, he growstired and begins to lose hope that he’ll ever escape from Groundhog Day. It’s not until his coworkerRita, on whom Phil has a crush, suggests that Phil start using his situation to make Punxsutawney abetter place that Phil nds hope again. When he begins to use the time loop for good by helping peopleand bettering himself, he nally escapes Groundhog Day. It’s then that Rita and Phil nd themselves inlove and decide they should stay in Punxsutawney.8 Instructor’s Guide Student Book Page 3 Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Movie title: Lesson 1 eme: Activity 1Setting:Antagonist: Three-Act StructureCon ict: Genre: Act I Protagonist:Low point: Act IIClimax: Act IIIResolution:Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book Page 4 Instructor’s Guide 9
Lesson 1Activity 1Three-Act Structure Answer SheetMovie title: Groundhog Day Genre: Comedyeme: Love, Becoming a Better Person Act ISetting: Punxsutawney, PennsylvaniaAntagonist: Groundhog Day Protagonist: Phil ConnorsCon ict: Phil must nd a way to keep Groundhog Day from happening over andover again. Act IILow point: Phil gives up on trying to stop Groundhog Day. Act IIIClimax: By being a better person, Phil nally wakes up on February 3rd.Resolution: Together with Rita, Phil decides Punxsutawney isn’t such a bad placea er all.10 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Lesson 1 Activity 2: Getting StartedWhat I remember about the treatment I wrote in Part 1 (lesson 10)...Movie title: Three-Act Structure eme: Genre:Setting:Antagonist: Act ICon ict: Protagonist:Low point: Act IIClimax: Act IIIResolution:Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book Page 5 Instructor’s Guide 11
Lesson 318 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Lesson 3The Scene Outline: Planning Your ScreenplayObjectives explain aspects of a story with words. In a movie,Students will: though, the story has to be told visually. A scene outline helps a screenwriter visualize how a story Learn how a scene outline helps will come alive on-screen before the writing process screenwriters organize their ideas even begins. Screenwriting is unlike other forms of Learn how a scene outline is written writing in that everything the screenwriter writes isn’t Develop a scene outline for their own movies meant to be read, but seen and heard. e movie your students are writing is only meant to be ve minutesMaterials long, so visualizing what happens will be key. In their student activity books DVD player nal activity today, they’ll be paring down the scenes television they wrote in the previous lesson into just those that Groundhog Day DVD are essential to their stories. Encourage them as they index cards from the previous lesson do so to be visualizing their stories. Remind them of pencils this unique aspect of storytelling for the screen and of the possibilities it presents.Preparation1. Arrange the students’ desks in groups of four. e activities in this lesson address the following2. Assemble the supplies and place them on the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts and Literacy: CCRA.R.7, CCRA. students’ desks. SL.1, CCRA.W.5 and CCRA.W.10. See the Standard3. Put the television where all of the students Matrix included on pages 97-100 for more detailed information. will be able to see it and cue up the Groundhog Day DVD to 19:30, when Phil is leaving his Notes for the Student hotel room. (Chapter 3, “Rise and Shine”) Today, as you take the next step in your journey as screenwriters, you will learn about a tool that Notes for the Instructor will help you to write a successful screenplay. InIn today’s lesson we will be taking the next step in the last lesson, we talked about screenwriting ashelping students write their screenplays. In the being like building a structure. Once you continueprevious lesson, your students learned that movies in the creative process, it becomes clear that youare broken into parts called scenes and that scenes need a plan, much like a builder uses a blueprint.must work together if the movie is to be interesting A blueprint is like a map that tells a builder whatand cohesive. Today we’ll be taking this concept his structure is supposed to look like. It can alsoone step further to create a scene outline. help him decide where to start building and how toA scene outline is a step-by-step list of each and organize the building as he works. In screenwriting,every scene that will occur in a movie. e scene we have our own blueprint. It’s called a sceneoutline serves as a bare bones representation outline. e scene outline is one of the rst steps inof how a movie will unfold, and it’s essential in a screenwriter’s writing process. A scene outline ishelping a screenwriter decide whether or not the a list of each and every scene that will happen in astory is unfolding the way it should. movie. It allows screenwriters to walk through theirOne of the key principles behind good ideas before they start writing.scriptwriting is showing rather than telling. Scene outlines are helpful for a variety of reasons.When one writes, he or she has a tendency to First, they help screenwriters get their ideasCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 19
Lesson 3 The Scene Outline: Planning Your Screenplaydown on paper. Scene outlines can serve as a great Vocabularybrainstorming tool when you need some helpenvisioning what your movie will look like on-screen. scene outline: a list of scenes that will appear in aBut scene outlines can also help a screenwriter decide movie or screenplay.which scenes are best for his or her story. A sceneoutline gives a screenwriter the opportunity to see Activity 1: Writing a Scene Outlinehow well the scenes are working together, which (15 minutes)scenes to cut, and where more scenes should be 1. Have the students turn to lesson 3, activity 1 inadded. their student activity books. Let the studentsA scene outline is very simple. It shouldn’t contain know that in this activity they will be expandinga lot of information about where or when or why on the scene outline for Groundhog Day given ina movie takes place, but instead should provide a the Notes for the Student.rough sketch of what you envision happening on- 2. Start playing the Groundhog Day DVD at 19:30,screen. e purpose of a scene outline is to let you when Phil is exiting his hotel room. A er thesee how your scenes will work together, so there’s no rst scene (when Phil nishes his conversationneed to describe every detail of a scene. A few words with the man in the hall outside his hotel roomfor each scene is absolutely ne. and starts to head downstairs), pause the DVD.In our last lesson we looked at the scenes that make As a class, see if you can gure out how thisup the rst act of Groundhog Day. Please turn in scene should be described in the scene outline. Ifyour student activity books to lesson 3 to see a scene the students need help, the correct answer shouldoutline for that portion of the movie. Notice that be something like this:each scene is summed up in a simple statement. escreenwriter doesn’t spend a lot of time focusing Phil discusses Groundhog Day with a man in the hallon what the characters are saying or feeling. At this outside his hotel room.point, there’s no pressure to know how every last 3. Have the students write this description in thedetail of your screenplay will unfold. If you do knowalready, that’s great! But if you’re still guring it out, rst line of the “Continuation of Groundhog Daytoday will be an excellent jumping-o point. scene outline” in their student activity books.In our activities today we will explore how to 4. Explain that as you continue to watch the moviewrite an e ective scene outline. As you’re doing together, the students should try to ll in theso, continually be thinking about how best to use next fourteen lines of their outlines themselves.your scenes to tell your story. In the last lesson we If the students are having trouble understandingtalked about how the number of scenes you’ll have this concept, complete a few more entries together.will depend on the types of scenes you have. Today (See answers below.)be thinking about how each scene you’ve come up 5. Continue playing the DVD until 29:43, a er thewith plays a role in telling your story. Is it vital to scene in which Phil visits the psychiatrist.the story you’re trying to tell? Make careful choices 6. As a class, go through the een blanks togetherabout how you’ll use the ve minutes of your movie. to make sure everyone has the same answers.Your student activity books have room for ve scenesin each act, but feel free to write more or less as you e answers are as follows:feel necessary. Remember, it’s your movie! You need 1. Phil discusses Groundhog Day with a man into write it as you see t! the hall outside his hotel room. 2. Phil talks with the hotel owner at breakfast. 3. Phil stops a lady in the street and asks her what day it is.20 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
The Scene Outline: Planning Your Screenplay Lesson 3 4. Phil runs into an acquaintance from high be able to change their outlines later if they’re school as he walks to the festival. unsure of their outlines at this point. 5. Phil arrives at the Groundhog Day festival. Wrap-Up 6. Phil takes a shower at his hotel room. (5 minutes) 7. Phil goes to sleep in his hotel room. Have the students turn to the wrap-up page in their 8. Phil wakes up in his hotel room. activity books and re ect on their scene outlines 9. Phil runs into a man in the hallway. (students choosing to use their screenwriting 10. Phil runs past the hotel owner in the lobby of journals can jot down their ideas in their journals). Give them the chance to jot down any problems they the hotel. may have run across while making their outlines 11. Phil runs to the festival. or any scenes they might want to come back to 12. Phil arrives at the festival. later. Also, encourage them to record any ideas that 13. Phil meets Rita at the diner. they may have come up with in class that weren’t 14. Phil visits the doctor. pertinent to the scene outline activities done in class. 15. Phil visits the psychiatrist. Clean-Up (5 minutes) Activity 2: Gathering Your 1. Have the students return their materials. Thoughts 2. Check the oor for extra pencils or index cards. (20 minutes) 3. Remove the Groundhog Day DVD from the DVD player and return it to its case.1. Ask the students to nd a partner. Other Directions, Discussions and Destinations2. Hand out the index cards they worked with in e following activities and websites will enrich what the previous class. Ask them to lay their index has been learned in this lesson about scene outlines. cards on the table in front of them and organize 1. Students can practice writing scene outlines the scenes in the order that they think they will for movies or television shows during the week. appear in their scripts. Give them ve minutes to Encourage them to imagine what the scene do this. outline of the programs they are watching may look like even if they don’t necessarily feel like3. Have the students read their scenes to their writing the scene outline down. partners, then exchange ideas and provide each 2. A great resource for creating a scene outline other with feedback. is the hero’s journey that we discussed in Part 1 of Being A Screenwriter. e hero’s journey4. Give them een minutes to exchange ideas. Walk provides a screenwriter with the steps every around the room and help students as needed. protagonist must go through in order to reach his or her goal and it can provide a great template Activity 3: Outlining Your for a screenwriter struggling to get through the Screenplay three acts. For more information on the steps of (10 minutes) the hero’s journey (also called the mono-myth) visit www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/smc/journey/1. Working independently, have students turn to ref/summary.html. lesson 3, activity 3 in their student activity books.2. Have students ll out the scene outline for all three acts in their activity books. Walk around the room and continue to help students as needed. Let struggling students know they willCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 21
Lesson 3Scene OutlineScene Outline:Act I of Groundhog Day1. Phil Connors delivers the weather report from the news studio in Pittsburgh. He and his crew leave for Punxsutawney.2. Phil and his crew drive to Punxsutawney.3. The crew drops Rita off at her hotel.4. Phil wakes up in his hotel room.5. Phil discusses Groundhog Day with a man in the hall of the hotel.6. Phil discusses the weather with the hotel’s owner at breakfast.7. Phil walks to the festival. He passes a homeless man who is panhandling for change. He runs into an acquaintance from high school.8. Phil arrives at the festival and delivers his report.9. The crew attempts to drive home to Pittsburgh, but they run into ablizzard.10. Phil attempts to call for help from a gas station.1 1. The crew get drinks in Punxsutawney.12. Phil attempts to take a shower at his hotel.13. Phil runs into the hotel owner in the hallway outside his room.14. Phil wakes up in his hotel room and discovers that it’s still Groundhog Day. Student Book Page 10Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 23
Lesson 3Activity 1: Writing a Scene OutlineContinuation of Groundhog Day scene outline1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.1 1.12.13.14.15.24 Instructor’s Guide Student Book Page 11 Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Lesson 3Activity 3: Outlining Your ScreenplayAct I1.2.3.4.5.Act II1.2.3.4.5.Act III1.2.3.4.5.Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book Page 12 Instructor’s Guide 25
Lesson 3 Wrap-Up26 Instructor’s Guide Student Book Page 13 Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Lesson 5 How to Start a Screenplay:Writing Slug Lines and Transitions Objectives As we discussed in the last lesson, slug lines have a Students will: very standard, easy-to-follow format. ey start by stating whether the scene will happen indoors or Learn when and how to use fades, cuts and outdoors, using the abbreviations INT for interior dissolves or EXT for exterior. is is followed by a brief Learn what to include in a successful slug line description of where the scene will take place, for Write their own slug lines for the scenes in example, INT. SUSIE’S GRANDMOTHER’S LIVING their movies ROOM or INT. TV STUDIO. Lastly, if it’s relevant Materials to the scene, the screenwriter indicates when the television scene is taking place relative to the rest of the story, DVD player for example, INT. SUSIE’S GRANDMOTHER’S Groundhog Day DVD LIVING ROOM - LATER THAT DAY or INT. TV pencils STUDIO - MORNING. student activity books We haven’t discussed the concept of transitions in storyboard posters from lesson 4 this course yet, but the concept certainly won’t be new Preparation to your students. ey’ve been watching transitions 1. Place the television and DVD player in a place all their lives without even knowing it. Transitions where all of the students will be able to see are the means by which each scene moves to the next. it. Put the Groundhog Day DVD in the DVD player. Cue the DVD to around 3:40, where ey generally fall into three categories: cuts, fades the news crew is driving to Punxsutawney. and dissolves. ere are certainly more transition (You’ll use this scene as an example in “Notes types than just these three, and perhaps you’ve even for the Student.”) seen others in commercials or on television. Some 2. Arrange the students’ desks in groups of four other transitions include when one scene seems to and place pencils and student activity books peel away to reveal another, or when one image spins at each group. away to reveal the next. But movies generally utilize cuts, fades and dissolves a majority of the time, and Notes for the Instructor screenwriters very rarely note any other transition, soIn today’s lesson students will nally begin to write we will stick to these for your students’ screenplays.their own scripts. We will start with two very A cut is an abrupt transition from one scene tosmall but important parts of any screenplay: slug another: one scene ends and the other beginslines and transitions. A slug line, as we learned in immediately. is is the most common transitionthe last lesson, tells where and when a scene takes used in movies. A dissolve is when one scene slowlyplace. It appears at the beginning of each scene in a fades into another and for a moment you will be ablescript and it is typed in capital letters. A good slug to see both scenes at once. Dissolves are usually usedline allows the screenwriter to convey his or her to denote the passage of time in a movie. Fades occurvision to the audience; it is the only description of when the image on the screen fades to black and thenthe setting that the scriptwriter uses. As a director the next scene fades back up. Fades also denote theor actor reads through the screenplay, the slug lines passage of time, but in a much more dramatic waywill let him or her visualize the story. e slug lines than dissolves. Fades also start and end every movie.also communicate to the lmmaker where and Every movie starts with a black screen that fades towhen a particular scene needs to be lmed. the rst scene, and most movies end by fading to a black screen on which the credits role.Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 41
Lesson 5 How to Start a Screenplay: Writing Slug Lines and TransitionsTo familiarize yourself more with cuts, dissolves means 5 o’clock in the living room, but to a directorand fades, it will be useful for you to preview the it could mean 8 o’clock in the kitchen. Does thisexamples you’ll be showing the class. If you play make a big di erence in your scene? Maybe it does,Groundhog Day from the very beginning, you maybe it doesn’t. But it’s up to you to be speci cwill see the movie “fade in” from black to the rst about how your story unfolds. If you want yourscene in which the credits roll over the clouds. Fast reader to understand your vision, you need to writeforward to 3:40 (chapter 2, “ e Groundhog Story”), a slug line that re ects it, such as: “INT. SUSIE’Sto the shots of the cities before the news crew is LIVING ROOM - 5 PM.”leaving for Punxsutawney, and you’ll see a series ofcuts as the van drives from place to place. Finally, It’s also incredibly important for screenwriters toif you fast forward to 7:15, when Phil is leaving his follow the proper format when writing a slug line.crew for the night, you’ll see a dissolve between thescene with the crew on the street and the scene of the is format is easy to follow, but if you ignore it, thesun coming up over the trees. Transitions and slug director may not understand your vision and canlines are incredibly easy to understand, but the more interpret your script the way he or she wants. Let’sfamiliar you are with them, the easier it will be for review the format. Every slug line starts by sayingyou to answer your students’ questions! whether or not the scene is an interior scene (one that takes place indoors) or an exterior scene (a e activities in this lesson address the following scene that takes place outside). is is representedCommon Core State Standards in English by the abbreviations INT. or EXT. Next theLanguage Arts and Literacy: CCRA.R.7, CCRA.L.6, screenwriter gives a brief description of where theCCRA.W.3, CCRA.W.4, CCRA.W.5, and scene is taking place, like SUSIE’S LIVING ROOM.CCRA.W.10. See the Standard Matrix included onpages 97-100 for more detailed information. e screenwriter follows this with when the scene is taking place, like 5 PM. When we put it all together Notes for the Student we get INT. SUSIE’S LIVING ROOM - 5 PM.In previous lessons, we’ve talked a lot about whatmakes up a screenplay. You’ve learned about genres, e second aspect of screenwriting that we’re goingthe three-act structure, scenes, outlines and reading to focus on today is transitions. Transitions arescreenplays. e three-act structure was your how one scene changes into the next. Screenwritersfoundation. Scenes were your building blocks. Now usually work with three types of transitions: cuts,you’ll start to divide the space of your structure. In the fades and dissolves. Screenwriters usually write whatlast lesson, you decided which scenes you want to use kind of transition they think should be used betweenin your screenplay. Now you will begin to write them. scenes before the slug line, although they can alsoDo you remember from our last lesson what slug leave that up to the director to decide for him- orlines are? Slug lines are the capitalized lines of text herself. Cuts are the transitions that you’ll useat the beginning of each scene that tell us where and most, and cuts are used so o en that screenwriterswhen the scene is taking place. It is important for don’t even need to write them in their screenplays,screenwriters to learn how to write good slug lines although they can if they so choose. Cuts occurbecause they are essential in communicating an idea when there is an abrupt transition from one scene toto an audience. Say you’re thinking of an important the next. Cuts are used when scenes are happeningscene in your movie that takes place around dinner in a relatively short time in a movie. For example,time in the living room of your protagonist’s when Phil and his news crew are driving fromhome. You write “INT. SUSIE’S APARTMENT - Pittsburgh to Punxsutawney, the screenwriter uses allEVENING” for your slug line. In your mind this cuts because all of these scenes happen in a relatively short time period (play Groundhog Day from around 3:40, when the van is leaving the city, until around 4:30, when the crew is talking in the van). If you decide you want to use a cut in your screenplay,42 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
How to Start a Screenplay: Writing Slug Lines and Transitions Lesson 5simply write a slug line, and the cut is implied. you did to write a dissolve: FADE TO, skip a line, e next most popular type of movie transition is and then write your slug line.the dissolve. In a dissolve, one scene slowly fades is may seem like a lot of new information, butinto another. Dissolves are used to imply a passage it’s all very easy to understand with a little practice.of time. In Groundhog Day we see a dissolve between You’ve been watching movies all of your life, and youthe scene when Phil leaves his crew and the hotel and probably can’t even remember all of the cuts, fades andthe scene in which Phil wakes up in his hotel room. dissolves you’ve seen. You just need to start thinking(Play the DVD from 7:15, when Phil goes to get in the about how you’ll use these techniques in your ownnews van, until 7:30, when we see a shot of the alarm movie. Before we get to that, though, let’s get a littleclock in Phil’s hotel room.) During the dissolve, you practice working with slug lines and transitions. Beforebrie y saw both a part of the scene in which Phil’s you know it, you’ll be writing your own!cameraman and producer are laughing and a part ofthe scene in which the sun is rising over the trees. Vocabulary is is because between these two scenes several cut: transition between scenes in which one imagehours go by. If you want to use a dissolve in your comes right a er another.screenplay, you will write the words DISSOLVE dissolve: transition between scenes in which oneTO, skip a line, and then write your slug line. image gradually fades into another image. exterior (EXT.): a scene that takes place outdoors. e last type of transition we’re going to talk about fade: Transition between scenes in which one imageis a fade. Fades occur when one scene dissolves to fades into black and then another fades up from black.just a black screen and another dissolves back from interior (INT.): a scene that takes place indoors.a black screen. Fades are used in much the same slug line: Capitalized text at the beginning of eachway as dissolves in movies—to imply a passage of scene in a script that indicates where and when thetime—but they are not as common. A fade generally scene takes place.implies a much larger passage of time than a dissolve transition: the means by which one scene ends anddoes. In Groundhog Day there are only two fades, another starts.but they are the same two fades that every moviehas: one at the very beginning of the movie and Activity 1: Understanding Slugone at the end. (Play Groundhog Day from the Lines and Transitionsvery beginning of the movie at 0:08 to 0:20, when (10 minutes)the Columbia Pictures title comes on.) When themovie starts all we see is a black screen with some 1. Have the students turn to lesson 5, activity 1 inmusic playing and then it fades to the clouds in the their student activity books.sky. A lot of times a screenwriter will start his orher screenplay with the words “FADE IN” and then 2. Begin playing Groundhog Day at chapter 11,the slug line or a description of what we’re seeing (38:45) when Phil is walking to the festival.on-screen. You may have noticed that a lot of times Let it play until Phil nds his news crew in themovies open with a series of pictures, animations, crowd and then pause the DVD. Ask theor shots that aren’t necessarily a scene. is is students to ll in the transition and slug linethe case in Groundhog Day. For the beginning of for this scene in their activity books.Groundhog Day we would write FADE IN followedby a description of what is on-screen as the credits 3. When everyone seems to have the answer, askbegin, in this case, “CLOUDS IN A BLUE SKY.” e for a volunteer to read his or her answer.screenwriter will also end the screenplay with the e correct answer is Transition: Cut, Slug line:words “FADE OUT.” It will be up to you to decide INT. PHIL’S HOTEL ROOM - MORNINGhow you want to use fades in your movie, but ifyou want to use one, you follow the same formatCopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 43
Lesson 5 How to Start a Screenplay: Writing Slug Lines and Transitions4. Now let the students work independently to came up with in lesson 2 and record each in gure out the transitions and slug lines for the their activity books. 4. Walk around the room during the activity and next few scenes. Fast forward to around 38:45 remind the students to be as speci c as possible. when Phil is out of bed and about to leave the hotel room. Let the movie play while the Activity 3: Slug Lines for Your students watch for scene changes. Stop the Own Screenplay movie at around 39:30, when Phil runs into (15 minutes) Nancy at the festival. 1. Have the students turn to lesson 5, activity 3 in their student activity books.5. As a class, go through the answers together to 2. Working independently, they should spend make sure everyone has the correct answers and een minutes writing slug lines and transitions understands the concepts. for each of the scenes they’ve outlined for their own screenplays in lesson 3, activity 3.Here are the correct answers: Wrap-Up (5 minutes)1. CUT Give the students who’ve completed their slugINT. PHIL’S HOTEL ROOM - MORNING lines ve minutes to re ect on the next phase of2. CUT writing: determining what will happen in eachEXT. STREET - MORNING scene. Allow them to make notes on the wrap-up3. CUT page of their student activity books of any ideasEXT. OUTSIDE CAFE - MORNING they may have come up with during the course of4. CUT this class that they may not have been able to get onINT. CAFE - MORNING paper (students choosing to use their screenwriting5. CUT journals can jot down their ideas in their journals).INT. PHIL’S HOTEL ROOM - MORNING For students who haven’t nished their slug lines,6. CUT give them these extra ve minutes to do so. If theyEXT. GOBBLER’S KNOB - MORNING can’t nish now, let them know there will still be time in the next class or they are welcome to jot Activity 2: Writing Slug Lines down their ideas at home and copy them into their and Transitions for a Logline books during the next lesson. (10 minutes) Clean-Up (5 minutes)1. Hand out to each group the posters on which 1. Remove the Groundhog Day DVD from the they developed scenes for the logline, “A DVD player and return it to its case. struggling Little League baseball team nally 2. Collect the student activity books and pencils. gets a shot at winning the championship” in 3. You won’t need the posters for any further lesson 2. ey should arrange the posters on the activities; the students can take them home or tables so that everyone in the group can see them. you can discard them. 4. Check the oor for any stray materials.2. Have the students turn to lesson 5, activity 2 in their student activity books.3. Have the students work together to create a transition and a slug line for each scene that they44 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Lesson 546 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Lesson 5Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 47
Lesson 5 Activity 1: Understanding Slug Lines and TransitionsGroundhog Day, chapter 11, Phil walking to festivalTransitionSlug line 1. Transition: Slug line:2. Transition: Slug line:3. Transition: Slug line:4. Transition: Slug line:5. Transition: Slug line: 6. Transition: Student Book Page 27 Slug line: Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.48 Instructor’s Guide
Lesson 5 Activity 2: Writing Slug Lines and Transitions for a Logline (refer to lesson 2, activity 1)Act ITransition:Slug line:Act IITransition:Slug line: Act III Student Book Page 28 Transition: Slug line: Instructor’s Guide 49Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Lesson 5 Activity 3: Slug Lines for Your Own ScreenplayDirections: Record your original scene on the line (from lesson 3, activity 3). en create a transition and aslug line for each scene. Repeat for all three acts.Act I1.Transition:Slug line:2.Transition:Slug line:3.Transition:Slug line:4.Transition:Slug line:5.Transition:Slug line:50 Instructor’s Guide Student Book Page 29 Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Lesson 5Activity 3 Continued Act II Student Book Page 30 1. Instructor’s Guide 51 Transition: Slug line: 2. Transition: Slug line: 3. Transition: Slug line: 4. Transition: Slug line: 5. Transition: Slug line:Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Act III Lesson 5 1. Activity 3 Continued Transition: Slug line: Student Book Page 31 Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. 2. Transition: Slug line: 3. Transition: Slug line: 4. Transition: Slug line: 5. Transition: Slug line:52 Instructor’s Guide
Act 1 Lesson 5 Act III Wrap-Up Act IICopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book Page 32 Instructor’s Guide 53
Glossaryaction: what the characters are doing in a scene peer review: process in which writing is exchangedbesides speaking. between partners who then critique one another’santagonist: the enemy of the movie’s hero/heroine. work.climax: the emotional high point of the movie. protagonist: the hero/heroine of the movie.con ict: the problem the hero/heroine is trying to resolution: the point in the lm when the con ict issolve and/or tension in a story.cut: transition between scenes in which one image nally worked out.comes right a er another. scene: all of the continuous action that takes place indialogue: conversation that takes place between one speci c time and place in a movie.characters in a screenplay or movie. scene outline: a list of scenes that will appear in adissolve: transition between scenes in which one movie or screenplay.image gradually fades into another image. setting: the place and time in which a story occurs.dramatic language: the unrealistic way movie slug line: capitalized text at the beginning of eachcharacters speak when they’re talking about scene in a script that denotes where and when thesomething important to the movie. scene takes place.executive producer: person in charge of organizing storyboard: a visual representation of the scenes of athe production of a movie. movie. studio: the company that makes a movie.exterior (EXT.): a scene that takes place outdoors. table reading: a part of the lmmaking process infade: transition between scenes in which one image which the actors of a lm and others sit around afades into black and then another fades up from table and perform a reading of the movie’s script.black. theme: a word or phrase that sums up the maingenre: the category of a movie, such as action, emotion of a movie, such as love, revenge, greed, etc.comedy, horror, science ction, etc. three-act structure: the structural system for mostinterior (INT.): a scene that takes place indoors. Hollywood lms composed of the setting, con ict and resolution.logline: a succinct sentence that describes the overall transition: the means by which one scene ends andstory of a movie. another starts.low point: the point in the lm in which the hero/ treatment: a summary of a screenplay idea thatheroine seems farthest from his or her goal. includes the movie’s genre, theme, main character and important scenes.96 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Appendix Being A Screenwriter meets the National Standards in English Language Arts Being A Screenwriter (1 and 2) comprises a series of fun, interdisciplinary classroom activities thatengage learners e ectively, cognitively and behaviorally. As they participate in the development of ready-to-shoot screenplays, students exercise skill sets in language arts (new vocabulary, research skills), andoccasionally, into discussions that help them understand concepts in other disciplines. Primarily, however, Being A Screenwriter is focused on driving achievement toward meeting theNational English Language Arts Standards (developed by the National Council of Teachers of English). Inthe table below, we illustrate how many of the activities and discussions in the Screenwriter courses supportlearner progress, understanding, and ongoing development of ELA literacy skills and creativity. All of the ELA standards are interrelated. is table simpli es the correlation between and among activitiesin the Screenwriter courses and provides some examples, but many activities satisfy more than one standard.Selected National ELA Standards Activities in Being A Screenwriter 1 and 2Standard 1 In both Screenwriter 1 and 2, learners review scriptsStudents read a wide range of print and nonprint texts and screenplays, storyboards and lm clips, in order toto build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of recognize and de ne the roles of screenwriters working inthe cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire contemporary America.new information; to respond to the needs and demandsof society and the workplace; and for personal ful llment. Critical thinking—asking questions, exploring theories,Among these texts are ction and non ction, classic and hypothesizing, and testing ideas, all cornerstonescontemporary works. of building ELA competency—are part of everyStandard 3 Screenwriter lesson.Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend,interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. ey draw on At the heart of every Screenwriter lesson is the task oftheir prior experience, their interactions with other writing with clarity, appropriateness, and creativity inreaders and writers, their knowledge of word meaning order to communicate with speci c audiences.and of other texts, their word identi cation strategies, and A unique feature of both Screenwriter courses is thetheir understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter emphasis on dra ing, brainstorming, free writing, review,correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics). feedback and sharing a nal product with peers. eStandard 4 Course Kits provide writing tools to encourage studentsStudents adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual to write o en, personally, and without the demands oflanguage (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to formal classroom instruction.communicate e ectively with a variety of audiences andfor di erent purposes.Standard 5Students employ a wide range of strategies as they writeand use di erent writing process elements appropriatelyto communicate with di erent audiences for a variety ofpurposes.Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 97
Appendix Being A Screenwriter 2Standard 6 Screenwriting places particular demands onStudents apply knowledge of language structure, language creative writers to master dialogue, create consistentconventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media characters, frame shots and give directions. Formattingtechniques, gurative language, and genre to create, conventions—as well as preparing the nal manuscriptcritique, and discuss print and nonprint texts. editorially—are covered in these lessons. Students o en critique and discuss print and nonprint texts.Standard 7 Learners in the screenwriting courses are encouragedStudents conduct research on issues and interests by to consult a wide range of sources, stories, memories,generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. interviews, other lms, and other sources to plan their screenplays. rough exercises, they become acquainted ey gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety with plotting, con ict, and other genre elements. eirof sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) own works are subjected to a gentle peer review that helpsto communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their them identify problems, generate new ideas, and explorepurpose and audience. questions of logic and lmmaking basics. Audience is an ever-present element of screenwriting production.Standard 9 rough role playing in one another’s screenplays,Students develop an understanding of and respect for learners “act” in the guise of ctional characters, enablingdiversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across them to try on new ways of speaking. e developmentcultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social of colorful characters—critical in every screenplayroles. product—encourages learners to explore new selves, new languages and dialects, and new roles, including ethnic, gender and age roles, among others.Standard 11 rough the table reading and lm review activities, asStudents participate as knowledgeable, re ective, creative, well as the many informal discussion activities in bothand critical members of a variety of literacy communities. Screenwriter 1 and 2, learners share their expertise with their peers as it develops. ey o er one another advice, constructive criticism, and promote the dialogues necessary for community-building.Standard 12 roughout the Screenwriter series, learners use theirStudents use spoken, written, and visual language to language skills, creativity, imagination, and ambition toaccomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, explore how dialogue, narration, direction and visualenjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information). imagery can combine to communicate and entertain. e purposes of di erent genres of video are discussed. To learn more about the National English Language Arts Standards, visit the web page at http://www.ncte.org/standards98 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
Being A Screenwriter 2 AppendixBeing a Screenwriter Standards Matrix strengthen writing as needed by planning, is unit meets Common Core State Standards revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.(CCSS) in English Language Arts and Literacy. t $ $44&-\"-JUFSBDZ$$3\"88SJUF e lessons and activities in this unit address the routinely over extended time frames (time for research, re ection, and revision) and shorterCommon Core Anchor Standards for Reading, time frames (a single sitting or a day or two)Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Language. for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. Speaking and Listening e activities are designed for students in grades t $$44&-\"-JUFSBDZ$$3\"4-1SFQBSF6-8. Speci c CCSS addressed include: for and participate e ectively in a range ofReading conversations and collaborations with diverse t $ $44&-\"-JUFSBDZ$$3\"3%FUFSNJOF partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively. central ideas or themes of a text and analyze t $$44&-\"-JUFSBDZ$$3\"4-*OUFHSBUF their development; summarize the key and evaluate information presented in supporting details and ideas. diverse media and formats, including visually, t $ $44&-\"-JUFSBDZ$$3\"3\"OBMZ[FIPX quantitatively, and orally. and why individuals, events, or ideas develop Language and interact over the course of a text. t $ $44&-\"-JUFSBDZ$$3\"-\"DRVJSFBOE t $ $44&-\"-JUFSBDZ$$3\"3\"OBMZ[FUIF use accurately a range of general academic structure of texts, including how speci c and domain-speci c words and phrases sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions su cient for reading, writing, speaking, and of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or listening at the college and career readiness stanza) relate to each other and the whole. level; demonstrate independence in gathering t $$44&-\"-JUFSBDZ$$3\"3*OUFHSBUF vocabulary knowledge when encountering an and evaluate content presented in diverse unknown term important to comprehension media and formats, including visually and or expression. quantitatively, as well as in wordsWriting t $ $44&-\"-JUFSBDZ$$3\"88SJUF narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using e ective technique, well-chosen details and well- structured event sequences. t $$44&-\"-JUFSBDZ$$3\"81SPEVDF clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. t $ $44&-\"-JUFSBDZ$$3\"8%FWFMPQBOECopyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Instructor’s Guide 99
Being a Screenwriter Standards Matrix Appendix Standards Matrix Standard Lesson 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10Common Core Learning StandardCCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.2: tDetermine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development;summarize the key supporting details and ideas.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.3: t tAnalyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over thecourse of a text.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.5: tAnalyze the structure of texts, including how speci c sentences, paragraphs, andlarger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to eachother and the whole.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7: tt tIntegrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, includingvisually and quantitatively, as well as in wordsCCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.1: tt ttPrepare for and participate e ectively in a range of conversations andt t t tcollaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing theirown clearly and persuasively.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.2: t ttIntegrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats,including visually, quantitatively, and orally.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.L.6: t tAcquire and use accurately a range of general academic and domain-speci c wordsand phrases su cient for reading, writing, speaking, and listening at the collegeand career readiness level; demonstrate independence in gathering vocabularyknowledge when encountering an unknown term important to comprehension orexpression.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.3: tt ttWrite narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using e ectivetechnique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.4: tt ttProduce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, andstyle are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.5: ttttt tttttt t tDevelop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting,or trying a new approach.CCCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.10: tttWrite routinely over extended time frames (time for research, re ection, andrevision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range oftasks, purposes, and audiences.100 Instructor’s Guide Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.
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