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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

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“Screenwriting – Camera Directions”

Some say some utilization of camera directions by the screenwriter
is okay, just as long as its limited and the screenwriter is unable
to find another way of expressing what they’re writing. I’ve been
in the screenwriting trenches with studios and indies, and I have
to say that whatever camera direction or camera directions are
used by the screenwriter, the camera directions will be changed
when the shooting script is being written.

So, what you’re doing works. However, utilizing your creativity
in place of camera direction will be more impressive to the
producer, director and actor if you avoid camera directions. In
this way, the screenwriter will not be insulting these people
and/or showing amateurism.

So, in place of using CAMERA, something like this:

INT. HIROKO’S OFFICE – DAY

Hiroko aims her eyes at a name holder on her desk.

HIROKO
Hiroko…

Hiroko quits articulating her name. She looks at Simon,
then eyes the name holder. Simon looks at the name
holder.

INSERT

Name Holder shows

HIROKO YAKISHIMA

BACK TO SCENE

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

By doing it this way, it builds confidence in the reader,
whereas camera directions, can lose your reader right
away.

I hope this is help to you.

Best Regards,

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