INTRO TO SCREENWRITING

with Paul Carganilla

March 10, 2015 - www.skitmedia.com

What is this? An introduction to screenwriting in one free hour.

YouTube video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98C0ygj9vpk
Who am I? Paul Carganilla: www.paulcarganilla.com
- Never taken a screenwriting class. Self-taught. Not a pro, dont claim to be an expert.
- My goal is simply to introduce you to screenwriting and give you tools that helped me.
PAULS 3-STEP PLAN OF WHAT HE THINKS IS IMPORTANT:
1) First thing... (before writing a single scene) complete an outline.
2) Finish your first draft as quickly as possible.
3) Keep adjusting (re-writing) your screenplay until its so perfect you hate it.

outline

If you dont have a scene-by-scene outline of your film start-to-finish, it will be nearly
impossible to finish your first draft. Chances are youll get stuck, then discouraged, then
disinterested, and your first draft will never get completed. It is so so SO important to
have an outline done (keeping in mind that you can rewrite anything later on) before you
even begin working on your screenplay.
What is your story actually about?
When composing our outline, it is easy to lose track of the story we actually set out to
tell. Referring to your genre can help you get reconnected to your theme.

Blake Snyders 10 Genres

1) MONSTER IN THE HOUSE - The story is about eliminating a threat. Alien, Jaws,
Scream
2) GOLDEN FLEECE - A journey to go get a prize. Usually meeting friends along the
way. Saving Private Ryan, Lord of the Rings, Oceans Eleven
3) OUT OF THE BOTTLE - Our hero gets some sort of magic! Aladdin, Big, Bruce
Almighty
4) DUDE WITH A PROBLEM - The hero finds himself in a situation in which he/shes in
way over his/her head. Die Hard, Armageddon, Hunger Games
5) RITES OF PASSAGE - Our hero endures growing pains to a life transition. American
Pie, Kramer vs. Kramer, Napoleon Dynamite
6) BUDDY LOVE - Any romance or buddy flick. When Harry Met Sally, Titanic, Lethal
Weapon
7) WHYDUNIT - Your classic mystery. Who Framed Roger Rabbit, JFK, Sixth Sense
8) FOOL TRIUMPHANT - On the outside, our hero looks like the Village Idiot. But, he/
she turns out to be the wisest among us. Legally Blonde, Forrest Gump, Mrs.
Doubtfire

9) INSTITUTIONALIZED - Were all stuck in a group... family, workplace, detention,

etc... Oce Space, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, American Beauty
10) SUPERHERO - Our hero is cursed with a special power and has no choice but to
help us.

In his book Save the Cat, Blake Snyder provides a guide to mastering your
screenplays beats.

Blake Snyders Beat Sheet

Opening Image (1) A visual that represents the struggle & tone of the story. A
snapshot of the main characters problem, before the adventure begins.
Set-up (1-5) Expand on the before snapshot. Present the main characters world as
it is, and what is missing in their life.
Theme Stated (happens during the Set-up) What your story is about; the message,
the truth. Usually, it is spoken to the main character or in their presence, but they dont
understand the truthnot until they have some personal experience and context to
support it.
Catalyst (12) The moment where life as it is changes. It is the telegram, the act of
catching your loved-one cheating, allowing a monster onboard the ship, meeting the
true love of your life, etc. The before world is no more, change is underway.
Debate (12-25) But change is scary and for a moment, or a brief number of
moments, the main character doubts the journey they must take. Can I face this
challenge? Do I have what it takes? Should I go at all? It is the last chance for the hero
to chicken out.
Break Into Two (Choosing Act Two (25)) The main character makes a choice and
the journey begins. We leave the Thesis world and enter the upside-down, opposite
world of Act Two.
B Story (30) This is when theres a discussion about the Theme the nugget of truth.
Usually, this discussion is between the main character and the love interest. So, the B
Story is usually called the love story.
The Promise of the Premise (30-55) This is the fun part of the story. This is when
Craig Thompsons relationship with Raina blooms, when Indiana Jones tries to beat the
Nazis to the Lost Ark, when the detective finds the most clues and dodges the most
bullets. This is when the main character explores the new world and the audience is
entertained by the premise they have been promised.

Midpoint (55) Dependent upon the story, this moment is when everything is great
or everything is awful. The main character either gets everything they think they want
(great) or doesnt get what they think they want at all (awful). But not everything we
think we want is what we actually need in the end.
Bad Guys Close In (55-75) Doubt, jealousy, fear, foes both physical and emotional
regroup to defeat the main characters goal, and the main characters great/awful
situation disintegrates.
All is Lost (75) The opposite moment from the Midpoint: awful/great. The
moment that the main character realizes theyve lost everything they gained, or
everything they now have has no meaning. The initial goal now looks even more
impossible than before. And here, something or someone dies. It can be physical or
emotional, but the death of something old makes way for something new to be born.
Dark Night of the Soul (75-85) The main character hits bottom, and wallows in
hopelessness. The Why hast thou forsaken me, Lord? moment. Mourning the loss of
what has died the dream, the goal, the mentor character, the love of your life, etc.
But, you must fall completely before you can pick yourself back up and try again.
Break Into Three (Choosing Act Three (85)) Thanks to a fresh idea, new inspiration,
or last-minute Thematic advice from the B Story (usually the love interest), the main
character chooses to try again.
Finale (85-110) This time around, the main character incorporates the Theme the
nugget of truth that now makes sense to them into their fight for the goal because
they have experience from the A Story and context from the B Story. Act Three is about
Synthesis!
Final Image (110) opposite of Opening Image, proving, visually, that a change has
occurred within the character.
THE END

first draft

Armed with your outline, now you can bang out your first draft. Know when you begin
that IT WILL NOT BE ANYWHERE CLOSE TO PERFECT. Just get it done. Get it done
get it done get it done get it done as quickly as possible...
DO NOT RE-WRITE while working on your first draft (unless youre totally A.D.D. and
you absolutely must change something before you finish it). Just keep your focus on
finishing it. Just. Finish. It.

the re-writes

Congratulations! You finished your first draft. Isnt that a great feeling?? You have
written a screenplay! Woohoo! Take a minute (or a week) to celebrate this creative
accomplishment!... and then get back to work.
Writing is rewriting... an old clich, but totally true. And valuable advice.
Now you can do all the re-writing you wanted to do when you were composing the first
draft. Cut & paste scenes, delete some, replace some, remove/add characters, adjust
dialogue... now that you have an actual script, you can make it better!
I heard someone say somewhere that the average number of drafts a screenplay sees
before its good is twelve. Dont be too focused on making Draft #2 perfect. Just stay
focused on making the script better every time you open the file.

resources

These are just a few things that helped get me started.

- Blake Snyders books: Save the Cat! & Save the Cat! Goes to the Movies really
spoke to me because they break things down simply and make a lot of sense.
- Drews Script-o-Rama: you can download PDF screenplays of thousands of movies
you know and love. To get a feel for the format, structure, and see how professional
writers actually wrote these scripts. http://www.script-o-rama.com
- The Hollywood Standard by Christopher Riley contains everything you need to know
about formatting a script.
...speaking of

formatting

Programs like Final Draft and CELTX are great, intuitive tools to help you write your
script. CELTX is free! www.celtx.com
SLUGLINE : Where are we (the camera), and what time of day is it?
DESCRIPTION: Our eye works the quickest when establishing stuff. Describe what
were seeing before the dialogue begins.
DIALOGUE: What (if anything) is said?
A few random notes:
- If we have never met a character before, capitalize their name in the description before
they speak. Follow their name with their age in parentheses and a brief description.
For example: At his computer, TERRY (32), a tired new father, pecks away in bitter
haste..
- If there is an important sound that occurs, capitalize it. For example, His eyes slowly
shut. PECK. PECK. ...PECK. He sleeps. DING DONG! He shoots up, awake.

...my biggest note is...

- Write the fewest words possible to get the story across. It is the directors job to paint
the picture. It is the actors job to create the character. The screenwriters job is to tell
the movie in the fewest words possible.
The script is the very first step that sparks a long creative process that gets passed
around by many different artists with specific visions and goals. Your movie is a
magnificent marble statue. Your job is simply to provide the artists with a stone they can
work with.
...thank you all for taking the time to explore a new creative venture! If you ever wish to
contact me, please email me directly at shovelkittymedia@gmail.com. Be well!

create!
...PS
As a tool to help further understand formatting, the next 6 pages are an example of a
script from my web series, Winners.
Im a visual learner, so I thought it may help to read the script while watching the actual
episode, so you get a feel for translating what you see in your head to what you type on
the page.
This episode, Reservoir Dawgs can be found at this link:
http://youtu.be/shJwhOHda8Q

TITLE CARD OVER BLACK: "7-AND-THREE-QUARTERS YEARS AGO"

OVER BLACK:
FEMALE VOICE
(singing)
...should auld acquaintance be
forgot...
FADE IN:
INT. LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
FLASHBACK
DAVE sits on the couch. EMILY stands, singing the most
amazing ending to "Auld Lang Syne". She absolutely nails it.
EMILY
...for auld lang syne!
Daves reaction is less than Emily expected.
What?

EMILY (CONTD)

DAVE
Well, Im not sure you got all the
words right, first of all, but, it
sounds forced, kinda-- I think
thats why you pushed it sharp.
EMILY
Okay, well, I'm done.
DAVE
Obviously. I know the song.
EMILY
No, I mean with us. Im done.
DAVE
Youre breaking up with me because
you're pitchy?
EMILY
It's really sad. Dave, you have the
biggest heart, the most passion, of
anyone. But, you absolutely refuse
to believe anyone might be better
than you at something. Anything!
(beat)
(MORE)

2.
EMILY (CONT'D)
I can't be with someone so selfcentered.
DAVE
You're self-centered!
She prepares to leave, turns back.
EMILY
And also, you're a terrible judge
of talent.
The door SLAMS!
TITLE SEQUENCE - WINNERS
EXT. CASTING OFFICE - DAY
PRESENT DAY
Dave's '97 Honda Civic SCREECHES to a halt on La Brea Blvd.
He gets out. TY begins to exit on the passenger side.
DAVE
Ah ah ah-- sit!
But!
Sit!

TY
DAVE

Ty obeys, gets back in the car.

DAVE (CONT'D)
Stay... good boy.
INT. CASTING OFFICE - WAITING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
A room of actors waiting for their auditions.
Dave BLASTS IN, heads straight down the hall.
INT. CASTING OFFICE - STUDIO B - CONTINUOUS
Casting director NEIL (35) sits at his desk. Dave enters.
NEIL
D-Machine! Whats goin on?

3.
DAVE
(to Neil)
Ah-ah-ah! No small talk. You don't
get to have small talk with me.
Until you explain.
Beat.
NEIL
How long have you been in this
business, Dave? Thirteen years?
DAVE
Thirteen-point-five.
NEIL
And you still don't understand the
first rule: tact. Being nice to
people. "Hi Neil, how are you?
How's the family? Great! Wife won a
Tony, we had a baby..." A boy, if-DAVE
Aren't we kinda past that?
NEIL
In our business, we're never-Ty.
Huh?

DAVE
NEIL

DAVE
Ty Kerry. You pulled his booking.
Dont act like you dont-NEIL
I told you. In the voicemail, it
wasn't my call. The clients decided
they wanted a Latino.
DAVE
He can play Latino.
Come on.

NEIL

DAVE
I can play Latino.

4.
NEIL
You have conflicts. And, conflicts
of interest. You'd try and snag a
job from a client?
DAVE
Well, if he can't do it!
NEIL
Wow. You really are a horrible
manager.
DAVE
You're a horrible manager!
NEIL
I'm a casting director.
DAVE
Right. Director. Casting director.
Give him the job.
NEIL
It's out of my hands! I can't.
DAVE
You're a racist, Neil.
NEIL
It's a role, Dave. If the breakdown
calls for Latino. My jobs to book-DAVE
You're racist against my clients.
NEIL
I'm not. That's not even a "thing".
DAVE
Give him the booking! You owe me.
For what?
You know.

NEIL
DAVE

Neil considers.
NEIL
Oh, please.
DAVE
You owe me, and you know it.

5.
NEIL
I married a girl you dated, and you
feel like I "owe you" something?
You're incredible.
DAVE
Wouldn't have happened if I didn't
break up with her...
NEIL
That is highly irrational, even for
you.
DAVE
Is it? Is it?
NEIL
I think you'd better get going. And
I mean that in the nicest way.
DAVE
Fine. Yeah, Ill go. But because I
want to. Not because its what you
want. But let me tell you this...
...what?

NEIL

Dave searches, big time.

DAVE
Ty, or, any one of my clients...
will book... something. Before you
book your next job.
NEIL
That is literally impossible. I'm
setting up for a producer call
right now to book my next series.
Beat.
DAVE
Is it something I'd be good for?
INT. CASTING OFFICE - WAITING ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Dave re-enters the room. Actors look up at him.
DAVE
Y'all should just go home, cause I
rocked the shit outta that
callback. For...

6.
He looks around, spots "DEL TACO" on the white board.
The Del.

DAVE (CONTD)

No one moves budges.

DAVE (CONTD)
(Screams)
Dilo vaminos!
He grabs a nearby monitor and smashes it to the floor.
Everyone startles, looks at Dave in fear.
Embarrassed, Dave hightails it out of the building.
BLACK.
RUN CREDITS
END CREDITS.
EXT. LA BREA BLVD. - MOMENTS LATER
POLICE SIRENS BLARE as Dave sprints down the street in his
suit. Tie flapping in the wind...