Какие бывают сценарии мероприятий

Сценарий
– подробная литературно-режиссерская
разработка, где конкретно указано, что
говорят и что делают действующие лица,
какие худодж. произведения исполняются,
каково оформления сценической площадки,
какие худож. коллективы принимают
участие. Сценарий раскрывает тему,
следующих друг за другом элементов
действия, показывает авторские переходы
от эпизода к эпизоду, приводит тезисы
всех публицистических выступлений,
предусматривает средства повышения
активности аудитории, описывает
особенности и сценографию всех сцен.
площадок и тех. средства, используемее
на них. Т.О., сценарий – это понятие
комплексное, синтезирующее работу
многих людей – драматурга, режиссера,
музыканта и т.д.

Методы
написания: 1.Этап
накопления материала (изучение
соц. заказа, использование лит. героев
для усиления документальных фактов,
дифференцированный подход к аудитории,
список худ. коллективов, тех. возможности
площадки, подобрать лит. материал для
худож. оформления, составление примерной
сметы).
2.Этап
– выбор сценарного хода (отбор
и монтаж фактов, определение темы, идеи
и формирование реж. замысла, поиск формы
и жанра, определение конфликта, поиск
зримого образа).
3
Этап
– составление сценарного плана –
определение основных блоков, из кот.
состоит сквозное действие. (композиционное
выстраивание блоков и эпизодов, отбор
приемов активизации аудитории). 4.
Этап
– написание литературного сценария.

Классификация:
1. на улице; 2. в помещении; 3. драматургия
малых форм; 4. развлекательных и игровых
программ.

ВОПРОС
41. Драматургия
сценария театрализованного представления.

Первая и, может, главная особенность
сценария театрализо­ванного
представления — документальная
основа. Сердцевина
праздника — реальное событие. Юбилей
города или учреждения, окончание школы,
поступление в институт, творческий
отчет художественного коллектива и
т.д. Местный факт постоянно присутствует
и в традиционных гуляниях, связанных с
народным календарем. Кроме того, документ
в различных ипостасях явля­ется
структурным элементом праздничной
драматургии. Аудио- и видеозаписи,
кинофрагменты, выступления реальных
героев, различные церемониальные
действия — строительный материал
сценариста.

Другая особенность
сценария — его синтетический, собира­тельный
характер. Здесь встречаются все виды
искусств (музыка, литература, театр,
кино, живопись, архитектура) и различного
рода документалистика. Варьирование
сочетаний того и другого породило
видовое разнообразие театрализованных
представле­ний.

В сценарии
театрализованного пред­ставления
художественный материал может свободно
взаимодействовать с документальным,
что и создает уникальную драма­тургическую
ситуацию.

Художественный
материал — это совокупность всех видов
искусств.

Документальный
материал — это информация о людях,
явле­ниях, событиях, имеющих место в
реальной действительности.

Традиционны два
способа взаимодействия сценариста и
ма­териала.

Первый
способ. Сценарист
исследует факты, связанные с определенным
событием (или рядом событий), формирует
свою концепцию происшедшего или
происходящего и пишет сцена­рий,
создавая на основе изученного свой
собственный текст.

Второй
способ. Сценарист
подбирает документы (тексты,
аудио-видеоматериалы), художественные
произведения или фрагменты из них
(стихи, отрывки из прозы, вокальные,
инстру­ментальные и хореографические
концертные номера) и в соот­ветствии
со своим замыслом стыкует их, используя,
так называе­мый, эффект монтажа.
Возникает сценарий, который называют
компилятивным
(компиляция,
от лат. compilatio,
букв. — ограбление).

Но чаще всего
в драматургической работе присутствует
смешанный вариант. Художест­венный
и документальный материал, главные
тре­бования, которые мы к нему
предъявляем.

Первое.
Соответствие
материала основным компонентам за­мысла
(тема, идея, жанр, сценарный ход).

Второе.
Стилистическая
совместимость материала. Речь идет о
том, что в рамках одного сценария
соседствование литера­турных текстов
разных авторов почти всегда порождает
безвку­сицу.

Третье.
Новизна
используемого материала. Постоянно
по­вторяющийся тематический канон
(годовой цикл праздников) приводит к
тому, что из сценария в сценарий кочуют
одни и те
же
литературные фрагменты, одни и те же
вокальные произведе­ния, все это
приводит к стандартным драматургическим
решениям.

Четвертое.
Художественный
материал должен быть высо­кого качества
(не стоит злоупотреблять стихами из
календарей).

Пятое.
Документальный
материал должен быть правдив. По поводу
каждого спорного факта следует выслушивать
мнения нескольких сторон, знакомиться
с разными точками зре­ния.

Сбор материала и
дальнейшая работа с ним зависят от
за­мысла и способа создания
драматургической основы театрализо­ванного
представления. Если задуман сценарий
на оригинальную тему и весь текст его
будет авторским, а способ создания
анало­гичен способу создания театральной
пьесы (развитие драматургического
конфликта от события к событию, воплощенное
в сценических образах), отношения между
творцом и «сырьем» традиционны. В основе
работы живые наблюдения, изученная
литера­тура, собранные документы,
переплавленные в горниле автор­ской
фантазии. Совсем иные заботы возникают
у сценаристов, решивших идти путем
заимствования. Тогда персонажи, отдельные
элементы сюжета, лексика фольклорных
и литературных произведений становятся
основой замысла.

Этот
способ, сегодня наиболее популярен.
Заимствованные персонажи давняя и
прочная традиция на­родного театра
и в этом нет ничего предосудительного.
Исполь­зование ее понятно и объяснимо.
Все эти герои уже давно обрели статус
маски с устойчивой социальной и
нравственной аурой.
Сценаристу
не требуется время для представления,
разработ­ки характеров, мотивировки
тех или иных поступков — это все уже
предполагается и прилагается. К тому
же возникает эффект ассоциативного
обогащения сценария за счет текстов,
из которых пришли знакомые персонажи.
Главной заботой сценариста в та­кой
работе становится проникновение в
стилистические особен­ности
первоисточника.

Ведь Буратино
должен разговаривать на языке Буратино,
а Остап Бендер — на языке Остапа Бендера.
Однако наиболее разнохарактерная и
разнокачественная работа с материалом
возникает тогда, когда сценаристу
предстоит написать сценарий смешанного
типа, где мирно уживаются авторские
куски и чужие художественные или
документальные тексты. В таком случае
главным методом рабо­ты становится
монтаж.

Особая роль в
сценарии театрализованного представления
отведена поэзии. Поэтическое слово —
эмоционально наиболее насыщенно. Недаром
его родословная восходит к молитве,
за­клинанию, заговору, плачу. Поставленное
в контекст сценария, оно способно оживить
смежные тексты, усилить их воздействие
на зрителя в силу того, что обращается
к самым потаенным угол­кам его души;
оно создает необходимое настроение,
задает

тональность.

Возвращаясь к
способам взаимодействия сценариста и
мате­риала, следует сказать еще об
одном варианте их отношений. Он возникает
при создании литературного монтажа.
Речь идет о со­единении готовых
поэтических, прозаических и документальных
текстов. Сам сценарист ничего не сочиняет,
ничего не пишет. Чаще всего такая
драматургия связана с жизнью и творчеством
поэтов. Сталкивать тексты так, чтобы
возникали молнии догадок, неожиданных
смыслов и ассоциаций можно только в том
случае, если весь материал постоянно
присутствует в сознании пишуще­го.
Стихи надо знать наизусть, прозу близко
к тексту.

Создание
сценария.
Формирование
замысла, изучение материала — это
своеоб­разная подготовка к основной
творческой работе.

Сценарий начинается
с появления действующих лиц. В праздничной
драматургии их условно можно разделить
на не­сколько групп:

• Персонажи,
заимствованные из мифологических,
фольклорных, литературных и
кино-телеисточников.

• Персонажи,
связанные с игровой праздничной
тради­цией.

• Исторические
персонажи.

• Оригинальные,
придуманные автором персонажи.

Использование
заимствованных героев, как уже говорилось,
характерная черта театрализованного
представления. Традицион­ные праздничные
персонажи (Дед Мороз, Снегурочка,
Маслени­ца и т.д.) — своеобразные маски
народного театра. Каким бы ба­нальным,
на первый взгляд, не казалось их появление
на сцене, они выполняют очень важную и
нужную функцию — укрепляют в зрителях
уверенность в незыблемости миропорядка,
конечной победе добра над злом.

Исторические
персонажи чаще всего фигурируют в
театра­лизованных представлениях,
связанных с историей городов, юбилеями
знаменитых соотечественников, с памятными
датами. Редкий праздник в Санкт-Петербурге
обходится без Петра Вели­кого, в Москве
— без Юрия Долгорукого, в Тобольске — без
Ерма­ка, в Челябинске — без Татищева.

Герои, которых
придумал автор, составляют последнюю
группу действующих лиц. И здесь уместно
проследить разные способы их возникновения.

•Движение от
прототипа или прототипов. Персонажи
создаются на основе жизненных наблюдений
за ре­альными людьми (в трамвае —
Пасса­жир, Контролер; на экзамене —
Профессор, Студент и т.д.).

•Олицетворение
— создание аллегорических фигур пу­тем
превращения отвлеченных понятий в живых
пер­сонажей (Память, Совесть, Война и
т.д.).

Необходимость
совмещения различных персонажей в
преде­лах одной художественной
реальности требует от сценариста особого
умения.

Вспомним, для
примера, хотя бы повесть В.Шукшина «До
третьих петухов». В 12 часов ночи в
библиотеке оживают все те, кто населяет
книжки от Ивана-дурака до Онегина.

Изложение
вымышленной истории в диалогах — основная
особенность драматического письма.
Чтобы приступить к нему, необходимо
продумать во всех подробностях саму
историю, т.е. — разработать сюжет.

Сюжет
(фран.
sujet,
букв. — предмет) — это развитие дейст­вия,
ход событий в драматическом произведении.
Начинать целе­сообразно с написания
действенного либретто, т.е. краткого
со­держания драматической истории.
Далее определяются те части истории,
которые реализуются в диалогах и будут
вынесены на сцену. Намечается главное
событие (чаще всего единственное, в
ко­тором раскрывается основной смысл
произведения и исходное событие,
расположенное вне сюжета, перед самым
началом сце­нической истории). Это
событие — главная причина возникнове­ния
драматической истории. Скажем, все
разнообразие новогод­них театрализованных
представлений, при желании, можно све­сти
к одной сюжетной схеме.

Исходное
событие. Случилось
нечто такое, что не позволяет начать
праздничное торжество (исчез мешок с
подарками или посох Деда Мороза; попала
в плен к Бабе-яге Снегурочка; пропа­ла
елка и т.д. и т.п.).

Главное
событие. Усилиями
персонажей Деду Морозу воз­вращен
мешок или посох, освобождена Снегурочка
и, наконец, найдена елка.

В подобных
театрализованных представлениях
основное со­бытие предсказуемо и лишь
ожидание его поддерживает зритель­ский
интерес. Но если драматург находит
поворот сценического действия, который
ломает привычную схему, эстетическая
реак­ция на него намного острее.
Поэтому резкий слом действия, не­ожиданное
разрешение конфликта, которые влекут
за собой совершенно новое направление
развития ситуации — золотое прави­ло
сценариста.

Изложение
драматургической истории начинается
с экспо­зиции.

Экспозиция
(от
лат. expositio
— изложение, объяснение) — компонент
сюжета; изображение жизни персонажей
в период, непосредственно предшествующий
завязке и развертыванию конфликта. Это
своеобразный ввод зрителя в условия
вымыш­ленной реальности.

В тексте сценария:
ремарках, диалогах, монологах даются
сведения, необходимые для дальнейшего
понимания происходя­щего. Праздничная
драматургия не терпит долгих вступлений
и подробных объяснений.

Первое
столкновение героев, начало развития
действия принято называть завязкой.
И
это вто­рой компонент сюжета. Именно
здесь декларируются основные цели
действующих лиц, определяется расстановка
сил в кон­фликте.

Следующий
и главный компонент сюжета — развитие
дей­ствия. Это
и есть, собственно, подробное изложение
драматиче­ской истории. Оно содержит
в себе ряд неожиданных перемен в судьбе
персонажей, которые называются
перипетиями.

Перипетии
(от греч. peripeteia)
— внезапный поворот, пере­лом).

Развитие
действия происходит поэпизодно и каждый
после­дующий, чаще всего, связан с
появлением новых героев. Логика развития
борьбы постепенно приводит их к моменту
наивысшего напряжения. Это следующий
компонент сюжета и называется он
кульминацией
(от
лат. culmen
— вершина).

Именно
здесь с наибольшей силой обнажаются
идейные и нравственные позиции героев,
а, следовательно, — и самого авто­ра.
Изложение драматургической истории
заканчивается заклю­чительным моментом
в развитии конфликта — развязкой.
Подводятся
итоги борьбы, проясняются загадки,
которые поддерживали интерес к
происходящему на протяжении всего
действия, получают окончательное
оформление приемы, используемые для
построения сюжета.

Последовательность
компонентов сюжета (а она может быть
иная, чем в представленном варианте),
их соизмеримость и соот­ношение есть
не что иное, как композиция
(от
лат. compositio
-составление, связывание) сценария.

Наряду со сценариями,
близкими по своему построению тра­диционным
театральным пьесам, основой праздничного
пред­ставления может стать полисюжетное
произведение. Оно состоит из эпизодов
— миниатюр. Каждый из них выступает как
самостоя­тельная сюжетная единица,
несмотря на то, что связан с другими
теми же героями. В этом случае законы
драматургического по­строения
действуют как внутри каждой миниатюры
в отдельно­сти, так и совокупно во
всем сценарии. Полисюжетна литератур­ная
основа выступлений театра эстрадных
миниатюр, КВНа и т.д.

Теперь проследим,
как строится работа над сценарием
другого типа, где вместо группы придуманных
персонажей присутствуют ведущие,
исполнители концертных номеров и
реальные герои, а сюжетные связи усту­пают
место монтажным. Речь идет о литературной
основе тема­тических вечеров, концертных
и конкурсно — игровых программ.

Образ ведущего
(или ведущих) далеко не однозначен. Он
может существовать в реальной плоскости
(способ ведения от себя, как конкретной
личности с конкретным именем и фамили­ей),
и воображаемой (способ ведения от лица
персонажа — маски).

К
примеру, в игровой программе по роману
И.Ильфа и Е.Петрова «Двенадцать стульев»
ведущий может действовать и
как
обыкновенный ведущий и как Остап Бендер.
А в театрализо­ванном представлении-игре
вообще все действующие лица могут
выполнять функции ведущих.

Текст ведения от
персонажа написать довольно трудно,
так как герой поставлен в несвойственное
ему положение, но работа эта чрезвычайно
интересна. Монологи в этом случае
приобрета­ют стилистическую окраску,
становясь живыми и образными.

Участие в
театрализованном представлении реальных
героев — одно из главных свойств
праздничной драматургии. Рассказы­вая
о том или ином событии, сценарист
постоянно апеллирует к свидетельствам
его участников. Их выступления не менее
важны в развертывании сюжета, чем
авторские тексты от ведущего — написать
их заранее нельзя. Поэтому возникает
необходимость прогнозирования возможных
вариантов будущего действия. Наи­более
ярко этот принцип реализуется в игровых
программах и тематических вечерах. При
написании таких сценариев возраста­ет
роль ремарки, где указываются возможные
пути развития дра­матической ситуации.

Перечислим
сюжетообразующие компоненты, которые
свя­заны с реальными героями:

• устные
выступления;

• художественные
номера;

• участие в
игровых и конкурсных заданиях;

• церемониальные
действия.

Задача сценариста
в каждом конкретном случае отыскать
точную меру участия реальных героев в
развитии действия. При помощи различных
выразительных средств эмоционально
подго­товить зрителей к их появлению.

Особую
группу действующих лиц в праздничной
драматур­гии составляют исполнители
художественных номеров. Их вы­ступления
в театрализованном представлении —
такая же неотъ­емлемая часть сюжета,
как и участие реальных героев. Смысло­вую
ткань сценария создает не только
произведение, которое исполняется, но
и поведение самого исполнителя.

При монтажном
способе построения сюжета выстроить
еди­ное действие невозможно.
Художественные фрагменты никоим образом
не пересекаются друг с другом (разные
герои, сюжеты, обстоятельства); конкретные
номера самодостаточны; докумен­тальный
материал и выступления реальных героев
напрямую не связаны с вымышленной
действительностью. Зато возможно
единство мысли. Развивается не ситуация,
а смысл. Разноголоси­ца художественных
и документальных фрагментов образует
но­вое драматическое пространство и
основной структурной состав­ляющей
его становится эпизод.

Эпизод
(греч. epeisodion
-случай, происшествие) — это отно­сительно
самостоятельная единица действия,
имеющая закончен­ное решение и
строящаяся по законам композиции. В нем
сопря­гаются, как правило, несколько
разнородных материалов.

Соседние файлы в предмете [НЕСОРТИРОВАННОЕ]

• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #
• #

Разработка сценария мероприятия подчиняется общим законам драматургии. Но есть одно существенное отличие праздника с участием гостей от спектакля, идущего на сцене. Оно заключается в интерактивном характере торжественного события. Это обстоятельство необходимо учитывать уже на стадии написания сценария.

СОДЕРЖАНИЕ:

1. С ЧЕГО НАЧАТЬ?
2. КАКОЙ ДОЛЖНА БЫТЬ СТРУКТУРА СЦЕНАРИЯ?
3. КАК ПИСАТЬ ВСТУПЛЕНИЕ?
4. КАК ПИСАТЬ КУЛЬМИНАЦИЮ?
5. СОВЕТЫ ПО ОФОРМЛЕНИЮ
6. ПРАКТИЧЕСКИЕ СОВЕТЫ И РЕКОМЕНДАЦИИ
7. КАК ОФОРМИТЬ ТЕКСТ СЦЕНАРИЯ: ИНСТРУКЦИЯ
8. КОНКРЕТНЫЕ ИДЕИ ПО ПРОВЕДЕНИЮ ТЕМАТИЧЕСКИХ ПРАЗДНИКОВ

Золотое правило, которое отвечает на вопрос: как написать сценарий праздника, гласит: «Тексты должны быть предельно ясными, четкими и выразительными. Идеально, если они написаны короткими рифмованными строками. Хорошо воспринимаются также диалоги в форме вопрос-ответ, утверждение-отрицание».

Важно! На вопрос, как составить сценарий мероприятия, профессионалы отвечают, что его надо писать не как литературное произведение, а как схему, служащую фарватером в бурном море торжества и веселья. Условие справедливо для всех типов представлений с участием зрителей.

Воспользуйтесь для оттачивания юмористического стиля анекдотами. В них можно найти немало остроумных диалогов, которые оживят сценарий и здорово повеселят публику.

С ЧЕГО НАЧАТЬ РАБОТУ НАД СЦЕНАРИЕМ?

На помощь автору, желающему составить сценарий праздника, приходят законы, по которым строится драматургическое произведение. В данном случае они приспособлены под конкретные задачи интерактивного мероприятия.

Если вы не знаете, с чего начать и как писать сценарий, начните с ответов на вопросы и определите следующие моменты:

1. Какова цель праздника? Для этого надо ответить на вопрос: чего мы хотим получить от этого мероприятия? К примеру, если это Новый год, мы хотим встретить его так, чтобы он был успешным и счастливым. Это условие ведущий оговаривает в начале торжества. Оно может быть оформлено в виде веселого договора, подписанного всеми участниками. Или в виде торжественной клятвы: «Мы… такие-то такие-то, торжественно обещаем: пить, танцевать и веселиться так, чтобы весь год быть здоровыми, бодрыми, веселыми!»
2. Какова тема праздничной встречи (застолья, банкета и т. д.)? Тема определяется датой (если это календарный праздник) или поводом, по которому люди собрались веселиться. Например: празднование Масленицы посвящено встрече Весны. Тема весны определяет все дальнейшие перипетии. Определив тему, автор видит, о чем писать, в каком стиле оформить зал, какие будут номера, игры, костюмы, реквизит и так далее. Тема определяет подходящую форму праздника. Например, ту же масленицу можно решить в форме ярмарочного балагана. Отсюда рождаются тексты в виде закличек, появляются герои в костюмах балаганных дедов, коробейников и так далее.
3. Что или кто мешает достичь цели? Цель — встретить счастливый Новый год. Мешает погода, Баба-яга или другие злодеи. Появляется конфликтная ситуация, вокруг которой завязываются все действия, проявляется общая заинтересованность в преодолении препятствий, компания объединяется в едином порыве, сценарий держит гостей в тонусе весь вечер.
4. Каково ведущее предлагаемое обстоятельство? Вокруг чего конкретно происходит борьба? На чем держится конфликт? Куда движется сюжет? Это может быть предмет, персонаж, явление или какое-либо спорное утверждение.

Например, на празднике Знаний 1 сентября в школе можно объявить о сокровище, которое было украдено и спрятано какими-то злодеями. Чтобы его найти, надо пройти череду испытаний. На этот каркас легко и просто накладываются различные игры, концертные номера и прочие забавы.

Внимание! Классика жанра: новогоднее елочное представление, когда ведущий объявляет о том, что Снегурочку, Деда Мороза, елочку или мешок с подарками похитили какие-то злые силы. Участники под его руководством выполняют различные действия, помогающие одолеть злодеев, спасти добрых героев и получить в конце за это заслуженную награду!

Эта простейшая схема поможет правильно написать сценарий любых праздничных мероприятий. Она дает автору возможность сконцентрировать внимание на поставленной задаче, возбуждает воображение, вдохновляет на создание интересного, захватывающего сюжета!

КАКОЙ ДОЛЖНА БЫТЬ СТРУКТУРА СЦЕНАРИЯ?

Хорошо организованный праздник идет по накатанной колее так, что никто не видит поставленных ограничителей, но никто их не переходит. В сохранении баланса между организованностью и свободой и есть самая большая сложность проведения интерактивных мероприятий.

Достижение этой гармонии обычно возлагают на плечи ведущего, но лучше, если автор сценария тоже позаботится о логичной и правильной структуре, на которой будет держаться весь праздник.

Разработка сценарного плана выполняется по следующей схеме:

1. Вступление.
2. Кульминация.
3. Заключительная часть.

Внутри и между этими компонентами выстраивается программа праздничного вечера. Можно ли назвать ее сюжетом? Да, если соблюдены законы драматургии, о которых шла речь выше.

Важно! По определению сюжет — это борьба между противоборствующими силами за достижение некоей цели. Если в программе праздника прослеживается конфликтная ситуация, можно говорить о сюжете.

Классический пример – новогодние елочные представления, когда добрые и злые персонажи пытаются привлечь детей на свою сторону.

ПИШЕМ ВСТУПЛЕНИЕ ПРАВИЛЬНО

В начале надо привлечь внимание гостей к теме, ради которой все собрались, организовать их для совместного проведения праздника, настроить на нужный лад, задать атмосферу. Это самая короткая часть вечера.

Совет: послушайте начало праздничных передач федерального или советского телевидения. Обратите внимание на то, как обставлен выход ведущих. Там это сделано очень эффектно и профессионально. Воспользуйтесь идеями и саундтреками профессионалов.

После приветствия можно провести короткий блиц-опрос зала, конкурс лучших поздравлений, игру-знакомство, игру на внимание, конкурс на лучший тост и так далее.

КАК ПИСАТЬ КУЛЬМИНАЦИЮ?

Кульминация — апогей праздника: высшая точка, самая яркая и захватывающая его часть. В сценарии этот эпизод прописывают ближе к финалу. Потому что кульминация означает победу добра над злом, достижение цели праздника, торжество справедливости, когда уже нечего делать, не за что бороться, злодеи повержены, стыдятся и раскаиваются. Пришло время завершать мероприятие и прощаться!

Важно! Участие неподготовленных гостей вносит элемент спонтанности, что требует от организаторов и ведущих быстрой реакции и умения импровизировать. Им надо быть готовыми к неожиданностям во время проведения праздника и иметь на всякий случай несколько заготовок в виде дополнительных шуток, игр, сценок, концертных номеров и так далее.

Классический пример: Дед Мороз зажигает огоньки на елке. Баба-яга и ее пособники просят прощения, исправляются и просят разрешения веселиться вместе со всеми. Веселье продолжается, но уже без артистов.

СОВЕТЫ ПО ОФОРМЛЕНИЮ

Сценарный замысел, конечно же, определяет дизайн зала, в котором будет проходить мероприятие. Составление сценария праздника зачастую идет рука об руку с другими организационными работами, возлагаемыми на автора.

Важно! Чтобы сделать интересное оформление, надо придумать необычную форму проведения мероприятия. Жанр и стилистика праздника определят его декоративную сторону.

Например, зал на юбилей или день рождения можно оформить звездными зодиакальными символами, провозвещающими виновнику торжества добро и благо!

Будет интересно, если поместить портреты юбиляра в центр астрологического круга! В таком оформлении хорошо будут смотреться сценки с гадалками, волхвами, астрологами, цыганами. В этом же ключе проводят конкурс на лучшее предсказание, аукционы, лотереи.

ПРАКТИЧЕСКИЕ СОВЕТЫ И РЕКОМЕНДАЦИИ

Праздничные сценарии, как правило, пишутся по единому шаблону. Меняется только тема, форма, персонажи, декорации, тексты. В каждом конкретном случае автор оговаривает с организаторами или заказчиками праздника отдельные детали.

Хитрость! Начинающему сценаристу можно поискать в библиотеках книжку «В помощь самодеятельности» или что-то в этом роде. Эта серия содержит огромное количество методичек и готовых сценариев на самые разные темы. Их можно использовать в качестве шаблона, чтобы набить руку и понять секреты правильного составления сценария!

Праздничные мероприятия с участием зрителей бывают следующих видов:

• застольные (свадьбы, юбилеи, корпоративы);
• торжественные, официальные;
• театрализованные.

Торжественная часть обычно предшествует застольной. Элементы театрализации могут присутствовать и в первой, и во второй частях. Главное, что требуется от автора во всех случаях, это не перегружать праздник скучными длинными речами. Даже если они очень красиво написаны.

Важно! Каждому автору и ведущему подобных вечеров надо помнить одно золотое правило: люди приходят на праздник веселиться, а не слушать умные слова. Сценарий пишут для конкретных людей. Тексты, артисты, игры, сюжет должны вести праздник, но не заслонять собой веселье и свободное общение гостей.

ИНСТРУКЦИЯ ПО ПРАВИЛЬНОМУ ОФОРМЛЕНИЮ СЦЕНАРИЯ

Сценарий любого мероприятия помимо интересного содержания должен быть правильно оформлен. Аккуратность нужна как самому автору, чтобы защитить свою идею перед заказчиком или художественным советом, так и другим участникам.

Сценарий печатают в нескольких экземплярах, чтобы раздать:

• руководителю проекта (директору клуба, администратору, заказчику);
• режиссеру, художнику, ведущим;
• звукорежиссеру, диджею, осветителю.

Перечень сотрудников зависит от масштаба праздника. Их может быть больше или меньше, но каждый должен иметь для работы свой экземпляр.

Оформление текста сценария по шагам:

1. На заглавном листе вверху пишут название учреждения, по заказу которого пишется сценарий и в котором планируется проведение праздника.
2. Под шапкой набирают название и имя автора-составителя.
3. В нижнем колонтитуле обозначают город, в котором написан сценарий, и год написания.

Первую страницу не нумеруют. Верхний колонтитул отдают шапке, в которую вписывают следующее:

• цель мероприятия (воспитательная, просветительская, развлекательная);
• место/время проведения;
  • оформление (список необходимого оборудования и реквизита);
  • список персонажей, принимающих участие в театрализованном представлении).

Далее следует таблица, в которой по колонкам описывается ход мероприятия:

Пример: «Сценарий о пользе прививок против ковида».

Название: «Изгнание Коронавируса с Земли Русской».

Автор: Александр Петров. г .Самара, 2021

Как оформить сценарий праздника? Смотрите в следующем видео:

КОНКРЕТНЫЕ ИДЕИ ПО ПРОВЕДЕНИЮ ТЕМАТИЧЕСКИХ ПРАЗДНИКОВ

На юбилее, дне рождения, любом семейном празднике, корпоративах, школьных вечеринках очень хорошо принимаются именные поздравления. Сочинить их очень легко: автор или организатор записывает имена виновников торжества и их близких родственников.

Выбирают тех, кто будет на празднике. К имени подбирается простейшая рифма: Наталия — Италия, Ольга — Волга, Николай — Играй, Желай, Григорий — Добрый и так далее. По этим простейшим созвучиям составляются позитивные четверостишия типа:

Любим нашу мы Наталию,

Как прекрасную Италию:

Всем Наташа хороша:

Блеск — фигура, свет — душа!

***

Наш Григорий — парень добрый,

И всегда готов помочь,

Оставайся сильным, бодрым,

В светлый день и в темну ночь!

Спортивный праздник можно провести в форме Олимпиады. Ведущий будет говорить как спортивный комментатор. Из числа гостей выбрать жюри, начать действо с зажжения факела, потом пронести его торжественно по залу.

Хитрость! Пусть автор посмотрит трансляцию открытия Олимпийских игр, чтобы позаимствовать оттуда интересные идеи и повторить структуру в своем сценарии!

Сценарий воспитательного направления для детей строится по такой схеме: ведущими выступают персонажи популярных мультиков. Например, Маша и Медведь, Нюша и Бараш (из Смешариков) или кто-то из семейства Барбоскиных. Один из них говорит правильные вещи, другой ему возражает.

Они призывают на помощь гостей, проводят флешмобы, конкурсы, в которых побеждает положительный и проигрывает отрицательный персонаж. В заключительной части последний понимает свои ошибки и раскаивается! Справедливость торжествует! Цель праздника достигнута! Плохой герой исправился и стал хорошим! Всем раздают призы, награды и подарки! Праздник завершается песней про дружбу!

Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession.

Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, developing the narrative, writing the script, screenplay, dialogues and delivering it, in the required format, to development executives. Screenwriters therefore have great influence over the creative direction and emotional impact of the screenplay and, arguably, of the finished film. Screenwriters either pitch original ideas to producers, in the hope that they will be optioned or sold; or are commissioned by a producer to create a screenplay from a concept, true story, existing screen work or literary work, such as a novel, poem, play, comic book, or short story.

Types[edit]

The act of screenwriting takes many forms across the entertainment industry. Often, multiple writers work on the same script at different stages of development with different tasks. Over the course of a successful career, a screenwriter might be hired to write in a wide variety of roles.

Some of the most common forms of screenwriting jobs include:

Spec script writing[edit]

Spec scripts are feature film or television show scripts written on speculation of sale, without the commission of a film studio, production company or TV network. The content is usually invented solely by the screenwriter, though spec screenplays can also be based on established works or real people and events. The spec script is a Hollywood sales tool. The vast majority of scripts written each year are spec scripts, but only a small percentage make it to the screen.^[1] A spec script is usually a wholly original work, but can also be an adaptation.

In television writing, a spec script is a sample teleplay written to demonstrate the writer’s knowledge of a show and ability to imitate its style and conventions. It is submitted to the show’s producers in hopes of being hired to write future episodes of the show. Budding screenwriters attempting to break into the business generally begin by writing one or more spec scripts.

Although writing spec scripts is part of any writer’s career, the Writers Guild of America forbids members to write «on speculation». The distinction is that a «spec script» is written as a sample by the writer on his or her own; what is forbidden is writing a script for a specific producer without a contract. In addition to writing a script on speculation, it is generally not advised to write camera angles or other directional terminology, as these are likely to be ignored. A director may write up a shooting script himself or herself, a script that guides the team in what to do in order to carry out the director’s vision of how the script should look. The director may ask the original writer to co-write it with him or her, or to rewrite a script that satisfies both the director and producer of the film/TV show.

Spec writing is also unique in that the writer must pitch the idea to producers. In order to sell the script, it must have an excellent title, good writing, and a great logline. A logline is one sentence that lays out what the movie is about. A well-written logline will convey the tone of the film, introduce the main character, and touch on the primary conflict. Usually the logline and title work in tandem to draw people in, and it is highly suggested to incorporate irony into them when possible. These things, along with nice, clean writing will hugely impact whether or not a producer picks up the spec script.

Commission[edit]

A commissioned screenplay is written by a hired writer. The concept is usually developed long before the screenwriter is brought on, and often has multiple writers work on it before the script is given a green light. The plot development is usually based on highly successful novels, plays, TV shows and even video games, and the rights to which have been legally acquired.

Feature assignment writing[edit]

Scripts written on assignment are screenplays created under contract with a studio, production company, or producer. These are the most common assignments sought after in screenwriting. A screenwriter can get an assignment either exclusively or from «open» assignments. A screenwriter can also be approached and offered an assignment. Assignment scripts are generally adaptations of an existing idea or property owned by the hiring company,^[2] but can also be original works based on a concept created by the writer or producer.

Rewriting and script doctoring[edit]

Most produced films are rewritten to some extent during the development process. Frequently, they are not rewritten by the original writer of the script.^[3] Many established screenwriters, as well as new writers whose work shows promise but lacks marketability, make their living rewriting scripts.

When a script’s central premise or characters are good but the script is otherwise unusable, a different writer or team of writers is contracted to do an entirely new draft, often referred to as a «page one rewrite». When only small problems remain, such as bad dialogue or poor humor, a writer is hired to do a «polish» or «punch-up».

Depending on the size of the new writer’s contributions, screen credit may or may not be given. For instance, in the American film industry, credit to rewriters is given only if 50% or more of the script is substantially changed.^[4] These standards can make it difficult to establish the identity and number of screenwriters who contributed to a film’s creation.

When established writers are called in to rewrite portions of a script late in the development process, they are commonly referred to as script doctors. Prominent script doctors include Christopher Keane, Steve Zaillian, William Goldman, Robert Towne, Mort Nathan, Quentin Tarantino and Peter Russell.^[5] Many up-and-coming screenwriters work as ghost writers.^{[citation needed]}

Television writing[edit]

A freelance television writer typically uses spec scripts or previous credits and reputation to obtain a contract to write one or more episodes for an existing television show. After an episode is submitted, rewriting or polishing may be required.

A staff writer for a TV show generally works in-house, writing and rewriting episodes. Staff writers—often given other titles, such as story editor or producer—work both as a group and individually on episode scripts to maintain the show’s tone, style, characters, and plots.^[6]

Television show creators write the television pilot and bible of new television series. They are responsible for creating and managing all aspects of a show’s characters, style, and plots. Frequently, a creator remains responsible for the show’s day-to-day creative decisions throughout the series run as showrunner, head writer or story editor.

Writing for daily series[edit]

The process of writing for soap operas and telenovelas is different from that used by prime time shows, due in part to the need to produce new episodes five days a week for several months. In one example cited by Jane Espenson, screenwriting is a «sort of three-tiered system»:^[7]

a few top writers craft the overall story arcs. Mid-level writers work with them to turn those arcs into things that look a lot like traditional episode outlines, and an array of writers below that (who do not even have to be local to Los Angeles), take those outlines and quickly generate the dialogue while adhering slavishly to the outlines.

Espenson notes that a recent trend has been to eliminate the role of the mid-level writer, relying on the senior writers to do rough outlines and giving the other writers a bit more freedom. Regardless, when the finished scripts are sent to the top writers, the latter do a final round of rewrites. Espenson also notes that a show that airs daily, with characters who have decades of history behind their voices, necessitates a writing staff without the distinctive voice that can sometimes be present in prime-time series.^[7]

Writing for game shows[edit]

Game shows feature live contestants, but still use a team of writers as part of a specific format.^[8] This may involve the slate of questions and even specific phrasing or dialogue on the part of the host. Writers may not script the dialogue used by the contestants, but they work with the producers to create the actions, scenarios, and sequence of events that support the game show’s concept.

Video game writing[edit]

With the continued development and increased complexity of video games, many opportunities are available to employ screenwriters in the field of video game design. Video game writers work closely with the other game designers to create characters, scenarios, and dialogue.^[9]

Structural theories[edit]

Several main screenwriting theories help writers approach the screenplay by systematizing the structure, goals and techniques of writing a script. The most common kinds of theories are structural. Screenwriter William Goldman is widely quoted as saying «Screenplays are structure».

Three-act structure[edit]

According to this approach, the three acts are: the setup (of the setting, characters, and mood), the confrontation (with obstacles), and the resolution (culminating in a climax and a dénouement). In a two-hour film, the first and third acts each last about thirty minutes, with the middle act lasting about an hour, but nowadays many films begin at the confrontation point and segue immediately to the setup or begin at the resolution and return to the setup.

In Writing Drama, French writer and director Yves Lavandier shows a slightly different approach.^[10] As do most theorists, he maintains that every human action, whether fictitious or real, contains three logical parts: before the action, during the action, and after the action. But since the climax is part of the action, Lavandier maintains that the second act must include the climax, which makes for a much shorter third act than is found in most screenwriting theories.

Besides the three-act structure, it is also common to use a four- or five-act structure in a screenplay, and some screenplays may include as many as twenty separate acts.

The Hero’s Journey[edit]

The hero’s journey, also referred to as the monomyth, is an idea formulated by noted mythologist Joseph Campbell. The central concept of the monomyth is that a pattern can be seen in stories and myths across history. Campbell defined and explained that pattern in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949).^[11]

Campbell’s insight was that important myths from around the world, which have survived for thousands of years, all share a fundamental structure. This fundamental structure contains a number of stages, which include:

1. a call to adventure, which the hero has to accept or decline,
2. a road of trials, on which the hero succeeds or fails,
3. achieving the goal (or «boon»), which often results in important self-knowledge,
4. a return to the ordinary world, which again the hero can succeed or fail, and
5. application of the boon, in which what the hero has gained can be used to improve the world.

Later, screenwriter Christopher Vogler refined and expanded the hero’s journey for the screenplay form in his book, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (1993).^[12]

Syd Field’s paradigm[edit]

Syd Field introduced a new theory he called «the paradigm».^[13] He introduced the idea of a plot point into screenwriting theory^[14] and defined a plot point as «any incident, episode, or event that hooks into the action and spins it around in another direction».^[15] These are the anchoring pins of the story line, which hold everything in place.^[16] There are many plot points in a screenplay, but the main ones that anchor the story line in place and are the foundation of the dramatic structure, he called plot points I and II.^[17][18] Plot point I occurs at the end of Act 1; plot point II at the end of Act 2.^[14] Plot point I is also called the key incident because it is the true beginning of the story^[19] and, in part, what the story is about.^[20]

In a 120-page screenplay, Act 2 is about sixty pages in length, twice the length of Acts 1 and 3.^[21] Field noticed that in successful movies, an important dramatic event usually occurs at the middle of the picture, around page sixty. The action builds up to that event, and everything afterward is the result of that event. He called this event the centerpiece or midpoint.^[22] This suggested to him that the middle act is actually two acts in one. So, the three-act structure is notated 1, 2a, 2b, 3, resulting in Aristotle’s three acts being divided into four pieces of approximately thirty pages each.^[23]

Field defined two plot points near the middle of Acts 2a and 2b, called pinch I and pinch II, occurring around pages 45 and 75 of the screenplay, respectively, whose functions are to keep the action on track, moving it forward, either toward the midpoint or plot point II.^[24] Sometimes there is a relationship between pinch I and pinch II: some kind of story connection.^[25]

According to Field, the inciting incident occurs near the middle of Act 1,^[26] so-called because it sets the story into motion and is the first visual representation of the key incident.^[27] The inciting incident is also called the dramatic hook, because it leads directly to plot point I.^[28]

Field referred to a tag, an epilogue after the action in Act 3.^[29]

Here is a chronological list of the major plot points that are congruent with Field’s Paradigm:

The sequence approach[edit]

The sequence approach to screenwriting, sometimes known as «eight-sequence structure», is a system developed by Frank Daniel, while he was the head of the Graduate Screenwriting Program at USC. It is based in part on the fact that, in the early days of cinema, technical matters forced screenwriters to divide their stories into sequences, each the length of a reel (about ten minutes).^[30]

The sequence approach mimics that early style. The story is broken up into eight 10-15 minute sequences. The sequences serve as «mini-movies», each with their own compressed three-act structure. The first two sequences combine to form the film’s first act. The next four create the film’s second act. The final two sequences complete the resolution and dénouement of the story. Each sequence’s resolution creates the situation which sets up the next sequence.

Character theories[edit]

Michael Hauge’s categories[edit]

Michael Hauge divides primary characters into four categories. A screenplay may have more than one character in any category.

• hero: This is the main character, whose outer motivation drives the plot forward, who is the primary object of identification for the reader and audience, and who is on screen most of the time.
• nemesis: This is the character who most stands in the way of the hero achieving his or her outer motivation.
• reflection: This is the character who supports the hero’s outer motivation or at least is in the same basic situation at the beginning of the screenplay.
• romance: This is the character who is the sexual or romantic object of at least part of the hero’s outer motivation.^[31]

Secondary characters are all the other people in the screenplay and should serve as many of the functions above as possible.^[32]

Motivation is whatever the character hopes to accomplish by the end of the movie. Motivation exists on outer and inner levels.

• outer motivation is what the character visibly or physically hopes to achieve or accomplish by the end of the film. Outer motivation is revealed through action.
• inner motivation is the answer to the question, «Why does the character want to achieve his or her outer motivation?» This is always related to gaining greater feelings of self-worth. Since inner motivation comes from within, it is usually invisible and revealed through dialogue. Exploration of inner motivation is optional.

Motivation alone is not sufficient to make the screenplay work. There must be something preventing the hero from getting what he or she wants. That something is conflict.

• outer conflict is whatever stands in the way of the character achieving his or her outer motivation. It is the sum of all the obstacles and hurdles that the character must try to overcome in order to reach his or her objective.
• inner conflict is whatever stands in the way of the character achieving his or her inner motivation. This conflict always originates from within the character and prevents him or her from achieving self-worth through inner motivation.^[33]

Format[edit]

Fundamentally, the screenplay is a unique literary form. It is like a musical score, in that it is intended to be interpreted on the basis of other artists’ performance, rather than serving as a finished product for the enjoyment of its audience. For this reason, a screenplay is written using technical jargon and tight, spare prose when describing stage directions. Unlike a novel or short story, a screenplay focuses on describing the literal, visual aspects of the story, rather than on the internal thoughts of its characters. In screenwriting, the aim is to evoke those thoughts and emotions through subtext, action, and symbolism.^[34]

Most modern screenplays, at least in Hollywood and related screen cultures, are written in a style known as the master-scene format^[35][36] or master-scene script.^[37] The format is characterized by six elements, presented in the order in which they are most likely to be used in a script:

1. Scene Heading, or Slug
2. Action Lines, or Big Print
3. Character Name
4. Parentheticals
5. Dialogue
6. Transitions

Scripts written in master-scene format are divided into scenes: «a unit of story that takes place at a specific location and time».^[38] Scene headings (or slugs) indicate the location the following scene is to take place in, whether it is interior or exterior, and the time-of-day it appears to be. Conventionally, they are capitalized, and may be underlined or bolded. In production drafts, scene headings are numbered.

Next are action lines, which describe stage direction and are generally written in the present tense with a focus only on what can be seen or heard by the audience.

Character names are in all caps, centered in the middle of the page, and indicate that a character is speaking the following dialogue. Characters who are speaking off-screen or in voice-over are indicated by the suffix (O.S.) and (V.O) respectively.

Parentheticals provide stage direction for the dialogue that follows. Most often this is to indicate how dialogue should be performed (for example, angry) but can also include small stage directions (for example, picking up vase). Overuse of parentheticals is discouraged.^[39]

Dialogue blocks are offset from the page’s margin by 3.7″ and are left-justified. Dialogue spoken by two characters at the same time is written side by side and is conventionally known as dual-dialogue.^[40]

The final element is the scene transition and is used to indicate how the current scene should transition into the next. It is generally assumed that the transition will be a cut, and using «CUT TO:» will be redundant.^[41][42] Thus the element should be used sparingly to indicate a different kind of transition such as «DISSOLVE TO:».

Screenwriting applications such as Final Draft (software), Celtx, Fade In (software), Slugline, Scrivener (software), and Highland, allow writers to easily format their script to adhere to the requirements of the master screen format.

Dialogue and description[edit]

Imagery[edit]

Imagery can be used in many metaphoric ways. In The Talented Mr. Ripley, the title character talked of wanting to close the door on himself sometime, and then, in the end, he did. Pathetic fallacy is also frequently used; rain to express a character feeling depressed, sunny days promote a feeling of happiness and calm. Imagery can be used to sway the emotions of the audience and to clue them in to what is happening.

Imagery is well defined in City of God. The opening image sequence sets the tone for the entire film. The film opens with the shimmer of a knife’s blade on a sharpening stone. A drink is being prepared, The knife’s blade shows again, juxtaposed is a shot of a chicken letting loose of its harness on its feet. All symbolising ‘The One that got away’. The film is about life in the favelas in Rio — sprinkled with violence and games and ambition.

Dialogue[edit]

Since the advent of sound film, or «talkies», dialogue has taken a central place in much of mainstream cinema. In the cinematic arts, the audience understands the story only through what they see and hear: action, music, sound effects, and dialogue. For many screenwriters, the only way their audiences can hear the writer’s words is through the characters’ dialogue. This has led writers such as Diablo Cody, Joss Whedon, and Quentin Tarantino to become well known for their dialogue—not just their stories.

Bollywood and other Indian film industries use separate dialogue writers in addition to the screenplay writers.^[43]

Plot[edit]

Plot, according to Aristotle’s Poetics, refers to the sequence events connected by cause and effect in a story. A story is a series of events conveyed in chronological order. A plot is the same series of events deliberately arranged to maximize the story’s dramatic, thematic, and emotional significance. E.M.Forster famously gives the example «The king died and then the queen died» is a story.» But «The king died and then the queen died of grief» is a plot.^[44] For Trey Parker and Matt Stone this is best summarized as a series of events connected by «therefore» and «but».^[45]

Education[edit]

A number of American universities offer specialized Master of Fine Arts and undergraduate programs in screenwriting, including USC, DePaul University, American Film Institute, Loyola Marymount University, Chapman University, NYU, UCLA, Boston University and the University of the Arts. In Europe, the United Kingdom has an extensive range of MA and BA Screenwriting Courses including London College of Communication, Bournemouth University, Edinburgh University, and Goldsmiths College (University of London).

Some schools offer non-degree screenwriting programs, such as the TheFilmSchool, The International Film and Television School Fast Track, and the UCLA Professional / Extension Programs in Screenwriting.

New York Film Academy offers both degree and non-degree educational systems with campuses all around the world.

A variety of other educational resources for aspiring screenwriters also exist, including books, seminars, websites and podcasts, such as the Scriptnotes podcast.

History[edit]

The first true screenplay is thought to be from George Melies’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. The movie is silent, but the screenplay still contains specific descriptions and action lines that resemble a modern-day script. As time went on and films became longer and more complex, the need for a screenplay became more prominent in the industry. The introduction of movie theaters also impacted the development of screenplays, as audiences became more widespread and sophisticated, so the stories had to be as well. Once the first non-silent movie was released in 1927, screenwriting became a hugely important position within Hollywood. The «studio system» of the 1930s only heightened this importance, as studio heads wanted productivity. Thus, having the «blueprint» (continuity screenplay) of the film beforehand became extremely optimal. Around 1970, the «spec script» was first created, and changed the industry for writers forever. Now, screenwriting for television (teleplays) is considered as difficult and competitive as writing is for feature films.^[46]

Portrayed in film[edit]

Screenwriting has been the focus of a number of films:

• Crashing Hollywood (1931)—A screenwriter collaborates on a gangster movie with a real-life gangster. When the film is released, the mob doesn’t like how accurate the movie is.^[47]
• Sunset Boulevard (1950)—Actor William Holden portrays a hack screenwriter forced to collaborate on a screenplay with a desperate, fading silent film star, played by Gloria Swanson.
• In a Lonely Place (1950)—Humphrey Bogart is a washed up screenwriter who gets framed for murder.
• Paris, When it Sizzles (1964)—William Holden plays a drunk screenwriter who has wasted months partying and has just two days to finish his script. He hires Audrey Hepburn to help.
• Barton Fink (1991)—John Turturro plays a naïve New York playwright who comes to Hollywood with high hopes and great ambition. While there, he meets one of his writing idols, a celebrated novelist from the past who has become a drunken hack screenwriter (a character based on William Faulkner).
• Mistress (1992)—In this comedy written by Barry Primus and J. F. Lawton, Robert Wuhl is a screenwriter/director who’s got integrity, vision, and a serious script — but no career. Martin Landau is a sleazy producer who introduces Wuhl to Robert De Niro, Danny Aiello and Eli Wallach — three guys willing to invest in the movie, but with one catch: each one wants his mistress to be the star.
• The Player (1992)—In this satire of the Hollywood system, Tim Robbins plays a movie producer who thinks he’s being blackmailed by a screenwriter whose script was rejected.
• Adaptation (2002)—Nicolas Cage portrays real-life screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (as well as his fictional brother, Donald) as Kaufman struggles to adapt an esoteric book (Susan Orlean’s real-life nonfiction work The Orchid Thief ) into an action-filled Hollywood screenplay.^[48]
• Dreams on Spec (2007)—The only documentary to follow aspiring screenwriters as they struggle to turn their scripts into movies, the film also features wisdom from established scribes like James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher, and Gary Ross.^[49]
• Seven Psychopaths (2012)—In this satire, written and directed by Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell plays a screenwriter who is struggling to finish his screenplay Seven Psychopaths, but finds unlikely inspiration after his best friend steals a Shih Tzu owned by a vicious gangster.
• Trumbo (2015)—Highly successful Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, played in this biopic by Bryan Cranston, is targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee for his socialist views, sent to federal prison for refusing to cooperate, and blacklisted from working in Hollywood, yet continues to write and subsequently wins two Academy Awards while using pseudonyms.

Copyright protection[edit]

United States[edit]

In the United States, completed works may be copyrighted, but ideas and plots may not be. Any document written after 1978 in the U.S. is automatically copyrighted even without legal registration or notice. However, the Library of Congress will formally register a screenplay. U.S. Courts will not accept a lawsuit alleging that a defendant is infringing on the plaintiff’s copyright in a work until the plaintiff registers the plaintiff’s claim to those copyrights with the Copyright Office.^[50] This means that a plaintiff’s attempts to remedy an infringement will be delayed during the registration process.^[51] Additionally, in many infringement cases, the plaintiff will not be able recoup attorney fees or collect statutory damages for copyright infringement, unless the plaintiff registered before the infringement began.^[52] For the purpose of establishing evidence that a screenwriter is the author of a particular screenplay (but not related to the legal copyrighting status of a work), the Writers Guild of America registers screenplays. However, since this service is one of record keeping and is not regulated by law, a variety of commercial and non-profit organizations exist for registering screenplays. Protection for teleplays, formats, as well as screenplays may be registered for instant proof-of-authorship by third-party assurance vendors.^{[citation needed]}

There is a line of precedent in several states (including California and New York) that allows for «idea submission» claims, based on the notion that submission of a screenplay—or even a mere pitch for one—to a studio under very particular sets of factual circumstances could potentially give rise to an implied contract to pay for the ideas embedded in that screenplay, even if an alleged derivative work does not actually infringe the screenplay author’s copyright.^[53] The unfortunate side effect of such precedents (which were supposed to protect screenwriters) is that it is now that much harder to break into screenwriting. Naturally, motion picture and television production firms responded by categorically declining to read all unsolicited screenplays from unknown writers;^[54] accepting screenplays only through official channels like talent agents, managers, and attorneys; and forcing screenwriters to sign broad legal releases before their screenplays will be actually accepted, read, or considered.^[53] In turn, agents, managers, and attorneys have become extremely powerful gatekeepers on behalf of the major film studios and media networks.^[54] One symptom of how hard it is to break into screenwriting as a result of such case law is that in 2008, Universal resisted construction of a bike path along the Los Angeles River next to its studio lot because it would worsen their existing problem with desperate amateur screenwriters throwing copies of their work over the studio wall.^[55]

See also[edit]

• Actantial model
• Closet screenplay
• List of film-related topics
• List of screenwriting awards for film
• Outline of film
• Prelap
• Storyboard

References[edit]

Specific references[edit]

General references[edit]

External links[edit]

• Media related to Screenwriting at Wikimedia Commons
• Screenwriting at Curlie
• Screenwriters Lectures: Screenwriters on Screenwriting Series at BAFTA
• The Writers Guild of America
• American Screenwriters Association

Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession.

Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, developing the narrative, writing the script, screenplay, dialogues and delivering it, in the required format, to development executives. Screenwriters therefore have great influence over the creative direction and emotional impact of the screenplay and, arguably, of the finished film. Screenwriters either pitch original ideas to producers, in the hope that they will be optioned or sold; or are commissioned by a producer to create a screenplay from a concept, true story, existing screen work or literary work, such as a novel, poem, play, comic book, or short story.

Types[edit]

The act of screenwriting takes many forms across the entertainment industry. Often, multiple writers work on the same script at different stages of development with different tasks. Over the course of a successful career, a screenwriter might be hired to write in a wide variety of roles.

Some of the most common forms of screenwriting jobs include:

Spec script writing[edit]

Spec scripts are feature film or television show scripts written on speculation of sale, without the commission of a film studio, production company or TV network. The content is usually invented solely by the screenwriter, though spec screenplays can also be based on established works or real people and events. The spec script is a Hollywood sales tool. The vast majority of scripts written each year are spec scripts, but only a small percentage make it to the screen.^[1] A spec script is usually a wholly original work, but can also be an adaptation.

In television writing, a spec script is a sample teleplay written to demonstrate the writer’s knowledge of a show and ability to imitate its style and conventions. It is submitted to the show’s producers in hopes of being hired to write future episodes of the show. Budding screenwriters attempting to break into the business generally begin by writing one or more spec scripts.

Although writing spec scripts is part of any writer’s career, the Writers Guild of America forbids members to write «on speculation». The distinction is that a «spec script» is written as a sample by the writer on his or her own; what is forbidden is writing a script for a specific producer without a contract. In addition to writing a script on speculation, it is generally not advised to write camera angles or other directional terminology, as these are likely to be ignored. A director may write up a shooting script himself or herself, a script that guides the team in what to do in order to carry out the director’s vision of how the script should look. The director may ask the original writer to co-write it with him or her, or to rewrite a script that satisfies both the director and producer of the film/TV show.

Spec writing is also unique in that the writer must pitch the idea to producers. In order to sell the script, it must have an excellent title, good writing, and a great logline. A logline is one sentence that lays out what the movie is about. A well-written logline will convey the tone of the film, introduce the main character, and touch on the primary conflict. Usually the logline and title work in tandem to draw people in, and it is highly suggested to incorporate irony into them when possible. These things, along with nice, clean writing will hugely impact whether or not a producer picks up the spec script.

Commission[edit]

A commissioned screenplay is written by a hired writer. The concept is usually developed long before the screenwriter is brought on, and often has multiple writers work on it before the script is given a green light. The plot development is usually based on highly successful novels, plays, TV shows and even video games, and the rights to which have been legally acquired.

Feature assignment writing[edit]

Scripts written on assignment are screenplays created under contract with a studio, production company, or producer. These are the most common assignments sought after in screenwriting. A screenwriter can get an assignment either exclusively or from «open» assignments. A screenwriter can also be approached and offered an assignment. Assignment scripts are generally adaptations of an existing idea or property owned by the hiring company,^[2] but can also be original works based on a concept created by the writer or producer.

Rewriting and script doctoring[edit]

Most produced films are rewritten to some extent during the development process. Frequently, they are not rewritten by the original writer of the script.^[3] Many established screenwriters, as well as new writers whose work shows promise but lacks marketability, make their living rewriting scripts.

When a script’s central premise or characters are good but the script is otherwise unusable, a different writer or team of writers is contracted to do an entirely new draft, often referred to as a «page one rewrite». When only small problems remain, such as bad dialogue or poor humor, a writer is hired to do a «polish» or «punch-up».

Depending on the size of the new writer’s contributions, screen credit may or may not be given. For instance, in the American film industry, credit to rewriters is given only if 50% or more of the script is substantially changed.^[4] These standards can make it difficult to establish the identity and number of screenwriters who contributed to a film’s creation.

When established writers are called in to rewrite portions of a script late in the development process, they are commonly referred to as script doctors. Prominent script doctors include Christopher Keane, Steve Zaillian, William Goldman, Robert Towne, Mort Nathan, Quentin Tarantino and Peter Russell.^[5] Many up-and-coming screenwriters work as ghost writers.^{[citation needed]}

Television writing[edit]

A freelance television writer typically uses spec scripts or previous credits and reputation to obtain a contract to write one or more episodes for an existing television show. After an episode is submitted, rewriting or polishing may be required.

A staff writer for a TV show generally works in-house, writing and rewriting episodes. Staff writers—often given other titles, such as story editor or producer—work both as a group and individually on episode scripts to maintain the show’s tone, style, characters, and plots.^[6]

Television show creators write the television pilot and bible of new television series. They are responsible for creating and managing all aspects of a show’s characters, style, and plots. Frequently, a creator remains responsible for the show’s day-to-day creative decisions throughout the series run as showrunner, head writer or story editor.

Writing for daily series[edit]

The process of writing for soap operas and telenovelas is different from that used by prime time shows, due in part to the need to produce new episodes five days a week for several months. In one example cited by Jane Espenson, screenwriting is a «sort of three-tiered system»:^[7]

a few top writers craft the overall story arcs. Mid-level writers work with them to turn those arcs into things that look a lot like traditional episode outlines, and an array of writers below that (who do not even have to be local to Los Angeles), take those outlines and quickly generate the dialogue while adhering slavishly to the outlines.

Espenson notes that a recent trend has been to eliminate the role of the mid-level writer, relying on the senior writers to do rough outlines and giving the other writers a bit more freedom. Regardless, when the finished scripts are sent to the top writers, the latter do a final round of rewrites. Espenson also notes that a show that airs daily, with characters who have decades of history behind their voices, necessitates a writing staff without the distinctive voice that can sometimes be present in prime-time series.^[7]

Writing for game shows[edit]

Game shows feature live contestants, but still use a team of writers as part of a specific format.^[8] This may involve the slate of questions and even specific phrasing or dialogue on the part of the host. Writers may not script the dialogue used by the contestants, but they work with the producers to create the actions, scenarios, and sequence of events that support the game show’s concept.

Video game writing[edit]

With the continued development and increased complexity of video games, many opportunities are available to employ screenwriters in the field of video game design. Video game writers work closely with the other game designers to create characters, scenarios, and dialogue.^[9]

Structural theories[edit]

Several main screenwriting theories help writers approach the screenplay by systematizing the structure, goals and techniques of writing a script. The most common kinds of theories are structural. Screenwriter William Goldman is widely quoted as saying «Screenplays are structure».

Three-act structure[edit]

According to this approach, the three acts are: the setup (of the setting, characters, and mood), the confrontation (with obstacles), and the resolution (culminating in a climax and a dénouement). In a two-hour film, the first and third acts each last about thirty minutes, with the middle act lasting about an hour, but nowadays many films begin at the confrontation point and segue immediately to the setup or begin at the resolution and return to the setup.

In Writing Drama, French writer and director Yves Lavandier shows a slightly different approach.^[10] As do most theorists, he maintains that every human action, whether fictitious or real, contains three logical parts: before the action, during the action, and after the action. But since the climax is part of the action, Lavandier maintains that the second act must include the climax, which makes for a much shorter third act than is found in most screenwriting theories.

Besides the three-act structure, it is also common to use a four- or five-act structure in a screenplay, and some screenplays may include as many as twenty separate acts.

The Hero’s Journey[edit]

The hero’s journey, also referred to as the monomyth, is an idea formulated by noted mythologist Joseph Campbell. The central concept of the monomyth is that a pattern can be seen in stories and myths across history. Campbell defined and explained that pattern in his book The Hero with a Thousand Faces (1949).^[11]

Campbell’s insight was that important myths from around the world, which have survived for thousands of years, all share a fundamental structure. This fundamental structure contains a number of stages, which include:

1. a call to adventure, which the hero has to accept or decline,
2. a road of trials, on which the hero succeeds or fails,
3. achieving the goal (or «boon»), which often results in important self-knowledge,
4. a return to the ordinary world, which again the hero can succeed or fail, and
5. application of the boon, in which what the hero has gained can be used to improve the world.

Later, screenwriter Christopher Vogler refined and expanded the hero’s journey for the screenplay form in his book, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (1993).^[12]

Syd Field’s paradigm[edit]

Syd Field introduced a new theory he called «the paradigm».^[13] He introduced the idea of a plot point into screenwriting theory^[14] and defined a plot point as «any incident, episode, or event that hooks into the action and spins it around in another direction».^[15] These are the anchoring pins of the story line, which hold everything in place.^[16] There are many plot points in a screenplay, but the main ones that anchor the story line in place and are the foundation of the dramatic structure, he called plot points I and II.^[17][18] Plot point I occurs at the end of Act 1; plot point II at the end of Act 2.^[14] Plot point I is also called the key incident because it is the true beginning of the story^[19] and, in part, what the story is about.^[20]

In a 120-page screenplay, Act 2 is about sixty pages in length, twice the length of Acts 1 and 3.^[21] Field noticed that in successful movies, an important dramatic event usually occurs at the middle of the picture, around page sixty. The action builds up to that event, and everything afterward is the result of that event. He called this event the centerpiece or midpoint.^[22] This suggested to him that the middle act is actually two acts in one. So, the three-act structure is notated 1, 2a, 2b, 3, resulting in Aristotle’s three acts being divided into four pieces of approximately thirty pages each.^[23]

Field defined two plot points near the middle of Acts 2a and 2b, called pinch I and pinch II, occurring around pages 45 and 75 of the screenplay, respectively, whose functions are to keep the action on track, moving it forward, either toward the midpoint or plot point II.^[24] Sometimes there is a relationship between pinch I and pinch II: some kind of story connection.^[25]

According to Field, the inciting incident occurs near the middle of Act 1,^[26] so-called because it sets the story into motion and is the first visual representation of the key incident.^[27] The inciting incident is also called the dramatic hook, because it leads directly to plot point I.^[28]

Field referred to a tag, an epilogue after the action in Act 3.^[29]

Here is a chronological list of the major plot points that are congruent with Field’s Paradigm:

The sequence approach[edit]

The sequence approach to screenwriting, sometimes known as «eight-sequence structure», is a system developed by Frank Daniel, while he was the head of the Graduate Screenwriting Program at USC. It is based in part on the fact that, in the early days of cinema, technical matters forced screenwriters to divide their stories into sequences, each the length of a reel (about ten minutes).^[30]

The sequence approach mimics that early style. The story is broken up into eight 10-15 minute sequences. The sequences serve as «mini-movies», each with their own compressed three-act structure. The first two sequences combine to form the film’s first act. The next four create the film’s second act. The final two sequences complete the resolution and dénouement of the story. Each sequence’s resolution creates the situation which sets up the next sequence.

Character theories[edit]

Michael Hauge’s categories[edit]

Michael Hauge divides primary characters into four categories. A screenplay may have more than one character in any category.

• hero: This is the main character, whose outer motivation drives the plot forward, who is the primary object of identification for the reader and audience, and who is on screen most of the time.
• nemesis: This is the character who most stands in the way of the hero achieving his or her outer motivation.
• reflection: This is the character who supports the hero’s outer motivation or at least is in the same basic situation at the beginning of the screenplay.
• romance: This is the character who is the sexual or romantic object of at least part of the hero’s outer motivation.^[31]

Secondary characters are all the other people in the screenplay and should serve as many of the functions above as possible.^[32]

Motivation is whatever the character hopes to accomplish by the end of the movie. Motivation exists on outer and inner levels.

• outer motivation is what the character visibly or physically hopes to achieve or accomplish by the end of the film. Outer motivation is revealed through action.
• inner motivation is the answer to the question, «Why does the character want to achieve his or her outer motivation?» This is always related to gaining greater feelings of self-worth. Since inner motivation comes from within, it is usually invisible and revealed through dialogue. Exploration of inner motivation is optional.

Motivation alone is not sufficient to make the screenplay work. There must be something preventing the hero from getting what he or she wants. That something is conflict.

• outer conflict is whatever stands in the way of the character achieving his or her outer motivation. It is the sum of all the obstacles and hurdles that the character must try to overcome in order to reach his or her objective.
• inner conflict is whatever stands in the way of the character achieving his or her inner motivation. This conflict always originates from within the character and prevents him or her from achieving self-worth through inner motivation.^[33]

Format[edit]

Fundamentally, the screenplay is a unique literary form. It is like a musical score, in that it is intended to be interpreted on the basis of other artists’ performance, rather than serving as a finished product for the enjoyment of its audience. For this reason, a screenplay is written using technical jargon and tight, spare prose when describing stage directions. Unlike a novel or short story, a screenplay focuses on describing the literal, visual aspects of the story, rather than on the internal thoughts of its characters. In screenwriting, the aim is to evoke those thoughts and emotions through subtext, action, and symbolism.^[34]

Most modern screenplays, at least in Hollywood and related screen cultures, are written in a style known as the master-scene format^[35][36] or master-scene script.^[37] The format is characterized by six elements, presented in the order in which they are most likely to be used in a script:

1. Scene Heading, or Slug
2. Action Lines, or Big Print
3. Character Name
4. Parentheticals
5. Dialogue
6. Transitions

Scripts written in master-scene format are divided into scenes: «a unit of story that takes place at a specific location and time».^[38] Scene headings (or slugs) indicate the location the following scene is to take place in, whether it is interior or exterior, and the time-of-day it appears to be. Conventionally, they are capitalized, and may be underlined or bolded. In production drafts, scene headings are numbered.

Next are action lines, which describe stage direction and are generally written in the present tense with a focus only on what can be seen or heard by the audience.

Character names are in all caps, centered in the middle of the page, and indicate that a character is speaking the following dialogue. Characters who are speaking off-screen or in voice-over are indicated by the suffix (O.S.) and (V.O) respectively.

Parentheticals provide stage direction for the dialogue that follows. Most often this is to indicate how dialogue should be performed (for example, angry) but can also include small stage directions (for example, picking up vase). Overuse of parentheticals is discouraged.^[39]

Dialogue blocks are offset from the page’s margin by 3.7″ and are left-justified. Dialogue spoken by two characters at the same time is written side by side and is conventionally known as dual-dialogue.^[40]

The final element is the scene transition and is used to indicate how the current scene should transition into the next. It is generally assumed that the transition will be a cut, and using «CUT TO:» will be redundant.^[41][42] Thus the element should be used sparingly to indicate a different kind of transition such as «DISSOLVE TO:».

Screenwriting applications such as Final Draft (software), Celtx, Fade In (software), Slugline, Scrivener (software), and Highland, allow writers to easily format their script to adhere to the requirements of the master screen format.

Dialogue and description[edit]

Imagery[edit]

Imagery can be used in many metaphoric ways. In The Talented Mr. Ripley, the title character talked of wanting to close the door on himself sometime, and then, in the end, he did. Pathetic fallacy is also frequently used; rain to express a character feeling depressed, sunny days promote a feeling of happiness and calm. Imagery can be used to sway the emotions of the audience and to clue them in to what is happening.

Imagery is well defined in City of God. The opening image sequence sets the tone for the entire film. The film opens with the shimmer of a knife’s blade on a sharpening stone. A drink is being prepared, The knife’s blade shows again, juxtaposed is a shot of a chicken letting loose of its harness on its feet. All symbolising ‘The One that got away’. The film is about life in the favelas in Rio — sprinkled with violence and games and ambition.

Dialogue[edit]

Since the advent of sound film, or «talkies», dialogue has taken a central place in much of mainstream cinema. In the cinematic arts, the audience understands the story only through what they see and hear: action, music, sound effects, and dialogue. For many screenwriters, the only way their audiences can hear the writer’s words is through the characters’ dialogue. This has led writers such as Diablo Cody, Joss Whedon, and Quentin Tarantino to become well known for their dialogue—not just their stories.

Bollywood and other Indian film industries use separate dialogue writers in addition to the screenplay writers.^[43]

Plot[edit]

Plot, according to Aristotle’s Poetics, refers to the sequence events connected by cause and effect in a story. A story is a series of events conveyed in chronological order. A plot is the same series of events deliberately arranged to maximize the story’s dramatic, thematic, and emotional significance. E.M.Forster famously gives the example «The king died and then the queen died» is a story.» But «The king died and then the queen died of grief» is a plot.^[44] For Trey Parker and Matt Stone this is best summarized as a series of events connected by «therefore» and «but».^[45]

Education[edit]

A number of American universities offer specialized Master of Fine Arts and undergraduate programs in screenwriting, including USC, DePaul University, American Film Institute, Loyola Marymount University, Chapman University, NYU, UCLA, Boston University and the University of the Arts. In Europe, the United Kingdom has an extensive range of MA and BA Screenwriting Courses including London College of Communication, Bournemouth University, Edinburgh University, and Goldsmiths College (University of London).

Some schools offer non-degree screenwriting programs, such as the TheFilmSchool, The International Film and Television School Fast Track, and the UCLA Professional / Extension Programs in Screenwriting.

New York Film Academy offers both degree and non-degree educational systems with campuses all around the world.

A variety of other educational resources for aspiring screenwriters also exist, including books, seminars, websites and podcasts, such as the Scriptnotes podcast.

History[edit]

The first true screenplay is thought to be from George Melies’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon. The movie is silent, but the screenplay still contains specific descriptions and action lines that resemble a modern-day script. As time went on and films became longer and more complex, the need for a screenplay became more prominent in the industry. The introduction of movie theaters also impacted the development of screenplays, as audiences became more widespread and sophisticated, so the stories had to be as well. Once the first non-silent movie was released in 1927, screenwriting became a hugely important position within Hollywood. The «studio system» of the 1930s only heightened this importance, as studio heads wanted productivity. Thus, having the «blueprint» (continuity screenplay) of the film beforehand became extremely optimal. Around 1970, the «spec script» was first created, and changed the industry for writers forever. Now, screenwriting for television (teleplays) is considered as difficult and competitive as writing is for feature films.^[46]

Portrayed in film[edit]

Screenwriting has been the focus of a number of films:

• Crashing Hollywood (1931)—A screenwriter collaborates on a gangster movie with a real-life gangster. When the film is released, the mob doesn’t like how accurate the movie is.^[47]
• Sunset Boulevard (1950)—Actor William Holden portrays a hack screenwriter forced to collaborate on a screenplay with a desperate, fading silent film star, played by Gloria Swanson.
• In a Lonely Place (1950)—Humphrey Bogart is a washed up screenwriter who gets framed for murder.
• Paris, When it Sizzles (1964)—William Holden plays a drunk screenwriter who has wasted months partying and has just two days to finish his script. He hires Audrey Hepburn to help.
• Barton Fink (1991)—John Turturro plays a naïve New York playwright who comes to Hollywood with high hopes and great ambition. While there, he meets one of his writing idols, a celebrated novelist from the past who has become a drunken hack screenwriter (a character based on William Faulkner).
• Mistress (1992)—In this comedy written by Barry Primus and J. F. Lawton, Robert Wuhl is a screenwriter/director who’s got integrity, vision, and a serious script — but no career. Martin Landau is a sleazy producer who introduces Wuhl to Robert De Niro, Danny Aiello and Eli Wallach — three guys willing to invest in the movie, but with one catch: each one wants his mistress to be the star.
• The Player (1992)—In this satire of the Hollywood system, Tim Robbins plays a movie producer who thinks he’s being blackmailed by a screenwriter whose script was rejected.
• Adaptation (2002)—Nicolas Cage portrays real-life screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (as well as his fictional brother, Donald) as Kaufman struggles to adapt an esoteric book (Susan Orlean’s real-life nonfiction work The Orchid Thief ) into an action-filled Hollywood screenplay.^[48]
• Dreams on Spec (2007)—The only documentary to follow aspiring screenwriters as they struggle to turn their scripts into movies, the film also features wisdom from established scribes like James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher, and Gary Ross.^[49]
• Seven Psychopaths (2012)—In this satire, written and directed by Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell plays a screenwriter who is struggling to finish his screenplay Seven Psychopaths, but finds unlikely inspiration after his best friend steals a Shih Tzu owned by a vicious gangster.
• Trumbo (2015)—Highly successful Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, played in this biopic by Bryan Cranston, is targeted by the House Un-American Activities Committee for his socialist views, sent to federal prison for refusing to cooperate, and blacklisted from working in Hollywood, yet continues to write and subsequently wins two Academy Awards while using pseudonyms.

Copyright protection[edit]

United States[edit]

In the United States, completed works may be copyrighted, but ideas and plots may not be. Any document written after 1978 in the U.S. is automatically copyrighted even without legal registration or notice. However, the Library of Congress will formally register a screenplay. U.S. Courts will not accept a lawsuit alleging that a defendant is infringing on the plaintiff’s copyright in a work until the plaintiff registers the plaintiff’s claim to those copyrights with the Copyright Office.^[50] This means that a plaintiff’s attempts to remedy an infringement will be delayed during the registration process.^[51] Additionally, in many infringement cases, the plaintiff will not be able recoup attorney fees or collect statutory damages for copyright infringement, unless the plaintiff registered before the infringement began.^[52] For the purpose of establishing evidence that a screenwriter is the author of a particular screenplay (but not related to the legal copyrighting status of a work), the Writers Guild of America registers screenplays. However, since this service is one of record keeping and is not regulated by law, a variety of commercial and non-profit organizations exist for registering screenplays. Protection for teleplays, formats, as well as screenplays may be registered for instant proof-of-authorship by third-party assurance vendors.^{[citation needed]}

There is a line of precedent in several states (including California and New York) that allows for «idea submission» claims, based on the notion that submission of a screenplay—or even a mere pitch for one—to a studio under very particular sets of factual circumstances could potentially give rise to an implied contract to pay for the ideas embedded in that screenplay, even if an alleged derivative work does not actually infringe the screenplay author’s copyright.^[53] The unfortunate side effect of such precedents (which were supposed to protect screenwriters) is that it is now that much harder to break into screenwriting. Naturally, motion picture and television production firms responded by categorically declining to read all unsolicited screenplays from unknown writers;^[54] accepting screenplays only through official channels like talent agents, managers, and attorneys; and forcing screenwriters to sign broad legal releases before their screenplays will be actually accepted, read, or considered.^[53] In turn, agents, managers, and attorneys have become extremely powerful gatekeepers on behalf of the major film studios and media networks.^[54] One symptom of how hard it is to break into screenwriting as a result of such case law is that in 2008, Universal resisted construction of a bike path along the Los Angeles River next to its studio lot because it would worsen their existing problem with desperate amateur screenwriters throwing copies of their work over the studio wall.^[55]

See also[edit]

• Actantial model
• Closet screenplay
• List of film-related topics
• List of screenwriting awards for film
• Outline of film
• Prelap
• Storyboard

References[edit]

Specific references[edit]

General references[edit]

External links[edit]

• Media related to Screenwriting at Wikimedia Commons
• Screenwriting at Curlie
• Screenwriters Lectures: Screenwriters on Screenwriting Series at BAFTA
• The Writers Guild of America
• American Screenwriters Association