Author: Donald L. Vasicek

Award-winning writer/filmmaker Donald L. Vasicek studied producing, directing and line producing at the Hollywood Film Institute under the acclaimed Dov Simens and at Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute. He studied screenwriting at The Complete Screenplay, Inc., with Sally Merlin, daughter of the famed Hollywood Merlin family of screenwriters and writers, as his mentor. Don has taught, mentored, and is a script consultant for over 300 writers, directors, producers, actors and production companies. He has also acted in NBC’s “Mystery of Flight 1501”, ABC’s Father Dowling starring Thomas Bosley, and Red-Handed Productions’ “Summer Reunion.” These activities have resulted in his involvement in over 100 movies during the past 23 years, from major studios to independent films including MGM’s $56 million “Warriors of Virtue”, Paramount Classic’s “Racing Lucifer”, American Picture’s “The Lost Heart” and “Born To Kill” starring the Charles Bronson of Korea, Bobby Kim, and his internationally-known brother, Richard, who directed, Incline Productions, Inc.’s “Born To Win”, 20th Century Fox’s “Die Hard II” starring Bruce Willis with Rennie Harlan as director, and Joel Silver as producer, Olympus Films+, LLC’s “Haunted World” with Emmy-nominated PBS Producer Alison Hill, and Olympus Films+, LLC’s “Faces”, “Oh, The Places You Can Go” and the award-winning “The Sand Creek Massacre” documentary film. Don also has written and published over 500 books, short stories and articles. His books include “How To Write, Sell, And Get Your Screenplays Produced” and “The Write Focus.” He has been a guest screenwriting and filmmaking columnist for Hollywood Lit. Sales, Moondance International Film Festival’s e-zine, Screenwriter’s Forum, Screenplace, Screenplayers.Net, Screenwriters.Net, Screenwriters Utopia, Spraka & Kinsla (Swedish), Inkwell Watch, and Ink On the Brain. Writing recognition includes Houston’s WorldFest International Film Festival, Chesterfield’s Writer’s Film Project, Writer’s Digest, The Sundance Institute, The Writer’s Network, and the Rocky Mountain Writer’s Guild, Inc. Don completed producing “The Sand Creek Massacre”, a documentary film project that includes the completed and award-winning documentary short, a book, a classroom video, Interactive Media, a study guide, and a lesson plans. The film is being distributed by Films Media Group. Don is on the board of directors of the American Indian Genocide Museum in Houston. He is the founder and owner of Olympus Films+, LLC, a global writing and filmmaking company and a screenwriting volunteer on AllExperts.com. Don’s screenwriting agent is Robin Kaver of the Robert Freedman Dramatic Agency, Inc., 1501 Broadway, Suite 2301 New York, NY 10036, 212-840-5751.
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“The Screenplay Page”

Hello, Everyone!

Everything on the screenplay page must be able to be seen on the screen.
So, when you’re writing, and are puzzled about whether something
should be on the screenplay page, or not, look at it and imagine
yourself in a theater watching this movie. Where would it fit in
the movie?

Also, always rely on this: People who read screenplays, agents, directors,
producers, production companies, actors, script readers, etc. have stacks
of scripts to read. Therefore, it is part of the screenwriter’s job to strive
to have more white on each page of the screenplay, than black. All
screenplay readers want to be able to “buzz” through each screenplay. And
brevity is part of the art of screenwriting.

I hope this is of help to you.

Best Regards,

Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC
The Zen of Writing (& Screenwriting)
http://michaelc.nextmp.net/wordpress
dvasicek@earthlink.net

Award-Winning Writer/Filmmaker Donald L. Vasicek - Los Angeles TV Appearance
Award-Winning Writer/Filmmaker Donald L. Vasicek – Los Angeles TV Appearance

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Screenwriting – Dialogue – Spacing

Think in terms of the tabs on your word processor rather than
measuring from margins, etc. Dialogue begins at tab 29 and
cuts off at tab 60. Period. That’s all there is to it.

This information was taken from Cole/Haag’s “The Complete
Guide To Standard Script Formats: Part I: The Screenplay.”
You should purchase this book. It is the industry standard
and covers just everything on which you might a question.

Producers, readers, actors, directors, etc. aren’t so much
concerned about spacing as the screenwriter is. There must
be some semblance of order on the page so that it is easy for
others to read. So, dialogue is placed in the middle of the page
for easy access. No one will take out a tape and measure
distances. They measure with their eyes, like what looks right
and what doesn’t look right. Whatever doesn’t look right can
throw them off and cause the screenwriter to lose credibility,
not only in spacing, but the writing as well.

I hope this is of help to you.

Best Regards,

Donald L. Vasicek
Olympus Films+, LLC
The Zen of Writing (Screenwriting)
http://michaelc.nextmp.net/wordpress
dvasicek@earthlink.net