Articles - Screenwriting en-us http://proofpositive.com N/A http://proofpositive.com editor@proofpositive.com 20 http://proofpositive.com/articles/114/1/Free-Screenplay-Writing-Software/Page1.html Have you ever wanted to write a screenplay ... but NOT been willing to part with $300+ for the formatting software?  Here's where you can get it for free!   melanie@proofpositive.com (Melanie Rockett) Thu, 08 Jun 2006 00:00:00 -0500 http://proofpositive.com/articles/508/1/How-to-Break-In-and-Succeed-as-a-Screenwriter/Page1.html Screenwriting is a competitive trade. To distinguish yourself as a prize-winning writer you need to master organizational skills, take creative risks, and learn how best to present your final product. For the aspiring screenwriter, Tom Lazarus' book, "Secrets of Film Writing" is one of the best. An exceptional screenwriter with five produced screenplays, Lazarus developed this book for beginning writers enrolled in his classes at UCLA. admin@proofpositive.com (Brian Konradt.) Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0600 http://proofpositive.com/articles/507/1/Screenwriting-With-Impact/Page1.html The screenplay you've pounded out on your trusty word processor is finished at last! Before the reader even looks at the title of your script, it must pass the "rifle test." The rifle test tells a professional in seconds whether the script is professionally written or not. Is the screenplay in the right format? Does it look like it was written by a professional screenwriter? Is the script vertical? admin@proofpositive.com (Don Bledsoe.) Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0600 http://proofpositive.com/articles/506/1/Screenwriters--Filmmakers---Pitching-the-Cold-Heart-of-the-Banker/Page1.html Can a creative pitch alone get your script produced? Pitching the script is an art that is much talked about, put into college curriculums and lauded by the Pop Culture. But, there's a big factor missing from creative pitches. It's fundamental; but broadly ignored by key creative people. For over 20 years I've been hired by Film Financiers (Studio Exec's, Bonding Companies, etc.) to watch over their investment during the film's production. I've also had more than a few independent filmmakers ask me for help in getting their film off the ground. So, I've been rubbing elbows with the elusive Film Financier (of one stripe or another) for some time. admin@proofpositive.com (John Gaskin) Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0600 http://proofpositive.com/articles/505/1/10-Steps-To-Writing-A-Horror-Screenplay/Page1.html A horror movie has certain rules. If you break too many the audience will be disappointed. This is a very short, no fluff, blueprint of how to write a horror script. 1. The Hook. Start with a bang. Step right into a suspense scene. ("Scream" opens with a terrifying sequence with Drew Barrymore on the phone with a killer) info@proofpositive.com (Henrik Holmberg) Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0600 http://proofpositive.com/articles/504/1/Screenwriting-Tips-from-a-Screenplay-Contest-Judge/Page1.html Do you realize what you're saying?? In the theatre, they read plays aloud over and over in the process of script development, and one of the reasons they do this is to hear the dialogue. When I hear dialogue in my head, it might sound very good, but then when I hear a person actually speak it, I often have an impulse to jump in front of a bus. And over and over and over and over, when I read screenplay entries to BlueCat, I am immediately dismayed when the characters start speaking. Excellent everything else, awful dialogue. And I often wonder if the writer has actually heard the lines they have written for their characters out loud. Either read the whole thing aloud to yourself, or even better, get a group of your friends to read it. You do not need professional actors to evaluate dialogue. Just people excited to help. Videotape it. I have videotaped readings, and then sat down and worked out an entire rewrite off the tape, addressing every single line that bothered me. Which leads me to another thing. admin@proofpositive.com (Gordy Hoffman) Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0600 http://proofpositive.com/articles/503/1/10-Golden-Rules-of-Screenwriting/Page1.html It doesn't matter whether you're writing your first screenplay... or you're a Hollywood veteran. ALL screenwriters constantly need to remind themselves of what kind of writing works in a film and what doesn't. These rules are tried and tested. Give them pride of place on your wall. And refer to them whenever you're working on your screenplay. info@proofpositive.com (Nick Smith) Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0600 http://proofpositive.com/articles/502/1/How-to-Start-a-Screenplay-Treatment-or-Free-Fall/Page1.html Now, does trusting your writing mean sitting down with no ideas, opening a new document, and starting to type? Of course. And no. What I need to do is make a decision and execute. And this decision often comes back to whether I should write an outline or treatment before I start writing my screenplay, or, with a rough idea, a shadowy shadow of something calling from my brain, start writing? admin@proofpositive.com (Gordy Hoffman) Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0600 http://proofpositive.com/articles/501/1/Pitching-your-Story-Idea-or-Script-to-Hollywood/Page1.html The producers staff is very important. Think producers assistants are not important and/or a waste of your time? Think again. They are very important. The Producers staff are always looking for a reason to barge into their bosses office with - "Boy, have I found a good story for you!" Producers' assistants are always looking for ways to impress the boss, why not give them one. info@proofpositive.com (Paris Anderson) Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0600 http://proofpositive.com/articles/500/1/Writing-the-Classic-Movie-Ending-How-to-Finish-your-Screenplay/Page1.html I've only finished so many screenplays in my life. Writing a script all the way to the very last page is always an extremely significant, personal achievement for me. A large part of its significance is the reality that I actually wrote an ending, or, at the very least, typed "THE END." Trying to finish a screenplay and effectively pay something off-----this is arguably the hardest part of great screenwriting and often a major breaker of screenplays. Devising a true, organic climax is so daunting and dangerous to screenwriters that they often convince themselves they have come up with a worthy ending merely to pry themselves from the vise of their own standards. They delude themselves into believing that what they have created is good and stands shoulder to shoulder with the rest of their screenplay. Faced with the challenge of a superior ending can be horrifying, and it is very tempting to jump suddenly into a slipshod ending simply to get out and say I'm done. I'm finished. info@proofpositive.com (Gordy Hoffman) Tue, 28 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0600