Being a Screenwriter Part 1: Student Book Preview

Part I: Generating Ideas for a Screenplay T BOOK Being a SCREENWRITER STUDEN NAME:

Introduction Being A Screenwriter Welcome to part one of “Being A Screenwriter.” Undoubtedly, you’ve seen tons of movies in your life. Maybe you’ve even wanted to make one yourself! Well, here’s your chance. In this course, you’ll learn everything it takes to write a screenplay from the ground up. The great thing about screenwriting is that you don’t need any special tools or technology—just your imagination and something to write with. Anyone can do it. At the end of this course, you will walk away with a screenwriting journal filled with all the ideas you need to write your own movie! You will also have written a one-sentence description of your movie, which is called a “logline,” and a summary of what happens in your movie (called a “treatment”). Professional screenwriters use loglines to sell their ideas. This course will also teach you to look at movies in a whole new way. You’ll be able to watch movies the way critics do. You’ll be able to identify exactly what it is that makes a good movie good and a bad movie bad. When you go to the movies, you’ll find yourself commenting to your friends about the story like an expert. And, more often than not, you’ll even be able to predict what will happen in a film before it happens, because you will know how a screenplay works. If you’d like to see what a screenplay looks like, check out your local library. Most libraries have a film and television section with published screenplays available for you to borrow. You may also want to see if there are any local film festivals near you. Many cities hold festivals where filmmakers (and screenwriters) get together and show their work. Festivals are a chance to get to speak with professional screenwriters who live and work right in your backyard. Perhaps you may be interested in becoming a professional screenwriter yourself. Maybe you want to write the next big Hollywood blockbuster! There are also plenty of jobs for screenwriters outside of Hollywood. Everything you see on television required somebody to write it. Screenwriters write commercials, television programs, public service announcements and the news. Even reality television shows have screenwriters! Have you ever had to watch an educational video in school? Or used an exercise video at home? Screenwriters had to write those, as well. In this course, though, we’ll be focusing on what screenwriters are most famous for: movies. So grab your pencil and your imagination! Let’s get writing! Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents Lesson 1: The Kinds of Movies We Love An Introduction to Genre and Theme......................... 2 Lesson 2: How Movies Work The Three-Act Structure.............................................. 6 Lesson 3: The Story YOU Can Tell Writing from the Heart................................................10 Lesson 4: The Brainstorm Coming up with an Idea................................................. 15 Lesson 5: Bringing It All Together Making Your Ideas Work..............................................23 Lesson 6: Developing Characters Who Will Your Story Be About?................................28 Lesson 7: Understanding Conflict What Will Your Story Be About?.............................. 31 Lesson 8: The Hero/Heroine’s Journey Merging Conflict and Character..................................34 Lesson 9: Thinking Cinematically Showing Rather than Telling ......................................40 Lesson 10: The Pitch Writing Your Logline and Treatment....................... 44 Glossary ............................................................................................49 Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book  1

Lesson 1 Activity 1: List of Genres Comedy Romance Horror Science fiction Animated Action/Adventure Drama Western Musical Historical Children’s Crime Silent film 2  Student Book Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 1 Activity 2: Identifying Genre and Theme Directions: Draw a line from a genre to the correct movie title. Draw a line from a movie title to the correct theme. If you have not seen a particular movie, take a guess. Genre Movies Theme Science Fiction Miracle Love Horror Lady and the Tramp Revenge Comedy Napoleon Dynamite Overcoming odds Romance Pirates of the Caribbean Growing up Action/Adventure Signs Fear Drama The Ring Family Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book  3

Lesson 1 Journal of Ideas 4  Student Book Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 1 Journal of Ideas Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book  5

Lesson 2 Activity 1: The Three-Act Structure (Part I) Three-Act Structure Movie Title: Act I Setting Protagonist Antagonist Conflict Low Point Act II Act III Climax Resolution 6  Student Book Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 2 Activity 1: The Three-Act Structure (Part I) Three-Act Structure Movie Title: Act I Setting Protagonist Antagonist Conflict Low Point Act II Act III Climax Resolution Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book  7

Lesson 2 Activity 2: The Three-Act Structure (Part II) Working together in a group of four, rearrange your favorite elements of the example movies to create a new movie. For example, you could take the protagonist of Home Alone, the antagonist of The Wizard of Oz, the setting of Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. Three-Act Structure Movie Title: Act I Setting Protagonist Antagonist Conflict Low Point Act II Act III Climax Resolution Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. 8  Student Book

Lesson 2 Journal of Ideas Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book  9

Lesson 3 Activity 1: The Memory Map In the space below, draw a map of your neighborhood including your house, your friends’ houses and any other notable landmarks. Feel free to color, label and decorate it however you see fit. 10  Student Book Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 3 tMheemthoirnygsisyaouwaarye,ofthheoltdhininggsonytoouthneevtehrinwgasnyt otuo love, ~ From the television show The Wonder Years lose. Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book  11

Lesson 3 Activity 2: A Photographic Memory Using the photograph or object you brought from home, follow the instructions below. 1. Write a few sentences describing why this photograph or item is important to you. 2. Describe the item or photograph. 3. On the next page try to come up with three storylines using the photograph or object you brought from home for inspiration. These can be stories that actually happened or totally new ones. Here’s an example to get you started. 1. When her family moves to a new town,Samantha relies on her oldest friend, her horse Juniper, as she learns to deal with her new surroundings. 2. Despite Juniper’s reputation as a hard horse to ride, she and Samantha work together to win the state riding competition. 3. When Samantha finds that a local circus is abusing its prize- winning horse Juniper, Samantha sets out to rescue the horsefrom its captors. 12  Student Book Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Lesson 3 Activity 2: A Photographic Memory 1. 2. 3. Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book  13

Lesson 3 Journal of Ideas 14  Student Book Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved.

Glossary Antagonist: The enemy of the movie’s hero/heroine. Logline: A succinct sentence that describes the Application of the goal: The way in which the overall story of a movie. character is changed by his or her journey. Low point: The point in the film in which the hero/ Attainment of the goal: The moment when a hero/ heroine seems farthest from his or her goal. heroine resolves the central conflict of a film. Pitch: A presentation of an idea for a film or Brainstorm: A process in which new ideas are screenplay. created. Protagonist: The hero/heroine of the movie. Call to adventure: The moment in a hero/heroine’s Resolution: The point in the film when the conflict is journey when he or she is removed from his or her finally worked out. everyday life. Return to the ordinary world: The point in a film Central conflict: The dominant problem in a movie when a character returns to his or her everyday life. that propels the action from start to finish. Revision: Change made to a script or story. Character arc: The change in a character throughout Road of trials: The events that occur as a hero/ the character’s life. heroine attempts to reach his or her goal. Cinematic: The visual aspect of movies that makes Sequel: A book or movie that is complete in itself but them unique from other types of art. continues the narrative of an earlier work. Climax: The emotional high point of the movie. Setting: The place and time a story occurs. Complication: A conflict arising in a movie that Storyboard: A visual representation of the scenes of requires immediate attention. a movie. Conflict: The problem the hero/heroine is trying to Subplot: A side-story in a movie. solve and/or tension in a story. Genre: The category of a movie, such as action, Tagline: A sentence or phrase used to market (or comedy, horror, science fiction, etc. sell) a movie. Headline: The title of a newspaper or magazine Theme: A word or phrase that sums up the main story. emotion of a movie, such as love, revenge, greed, etc. Hero/heroine’s journey: The events that influence a Three-act structure: The structural system for most character’s arc in a given movie. Hollywood films composed of the setting, conflict Improvisation: To spontaneously perform, or to and resolution. perform without any preparation. Treatment: A summary of a screenplay idea that Inner Movie Method: The process by which a movie includes the movie’s genre, theme, main character idea is first developed from the heart. and important scenes. Copyright © Community Learning LLC. All rights reserved. Student Book  49

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