INT. CLASSROOM - DAY A young and dashing professor, YUMA, 21 and built like a brick of marshmallow, stands poised over the computer monitor. He surveys the crowd with head tilted down and suspicious eyes leering forward. He looks ready to throw the microphone in his hand, but out of annoyance or boredom, only time will tell. The sea of faces stirs as they read the screen. Though he is young, the crowd is younger; they wear summer clothes and carry free notebooks, with pencils anywhere but the paper. He presses a key and the presentation on screen... CUTS TO:
TITLE CARD: Screenplays: The language of film
CUT BACK TO: INT. CLASSROOM - CONTINUOUS Attention: grabbed. It dawns on his audience the gimmick he’s employed. Yuma has written a screenplay describing his presentation in real time. He CLEARS his throat, and attention swivels to his person. YUMA (disinterested) Interior, classroom, day. A young and dashing professor… CONTINUED:
(CONTINUED) YUMA (MORE) Yuma, 21 and built like a brick of marshmallow, stands poised over the computer monitor. He pauses, looks up at the monitor, then sighs as he presses his fingers to his already throbbing head. His disheveled demeanor suggests this presentation took all night to complete, and now, ironically, he looks tired enough to fall over during its presentation. YUMA (CONT’D) Alright, enough of that, let’s get started.
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) Who here has seen a movie? Practically the entire crowd raises their hands. Even the STAGE DIRECTIONS READER slowly raises theirs. Yuma lacks surprise. He’d planned this, after all. YUMA (CONT’D) Of course, we’ve all seen a movie. But who here has read a screenplay? Hands fall, but a scattered few stubbornly remain.
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) Alright, who here knows what a screenplay is? Some hands change. Yuma points to one, NERVOUS STUDENT, seemingly at random. YUMA (CONT’D) You, what is a screenplay? NERVOUS STUDENT It’s… it’s the written framework for a film?
(CONTINUED) YUMA Fantastic, that’s exactly it. I couldn’t have said it better myself. Someone else, what would that include? He looks around, then chooses with an aggressively enthused Disney point STANDING STUDENT in the back. YUMA (CONT’D) Yes, you. They stand, shakily, before clearing their throat.
(CONTINUED) STANDING STUDENT Stage directions, dialogue, and transitions? YUMA Yes, yes, and yes. What else? BLURTING STUDENT blurts out: BLURTING STUDENT Scene headings! Yuma begins to clap, faking the pride of a father.
(CONTINUED) YUMA Wow, you guys know more than I gave you credit for. I guess we can just go home then! He laughs, overly pleased with his own joke. Some laugh, but some start to pack up. YUMA (CONT’D) Woah now, let’s not be too hasty. I wasn’t joking that I stayed up all night on this, so y’all might as well let me indulge in my narcissism.
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) So, lesson time. We’re right now doing what is called a table reading. That’s when actors or writers gather around and read out loud a written screenplay. The stage directions and the dialogue are read together so everyone can get a feel of how the screenplay should go. You’ve been reading a screenplay this entire time. In Hollywood, this could be made into a movie!
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) (beckoning) One of the first things you guys have probably already noticed is the unique formatting of a screenplay. This is how almost all screenplays read: stage directions and scene headings go to the leftmost portion of the page, with character headings in the very middle, dialogue underneath in a narrow portion of the page, and transitions on the right side of the page.
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) (re Stage Directions Reader) There also exist parentheses to denote emotion adverbs, short actions, or directional dialogue. These go between the start of the dialogue and the character heading, like this. (pointing) Easy enough. (sadly) Does that make sense?
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) As you can see, there is a lot that goes into formatting a screenplay, with many more rules that we don’t have time to go into. But it’s still, at the end of the day, only guidelines for your writing. The really important thing to remember is you’ve got a story that needs telling, and no other medium can do it justice. Yuma takes a sip of his heavily-stickered bottle.
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) Another important thing for screenwriting: you will also have to write with editing transitions. For the reader, this is an imaginary leap from one scene to the next, or one shot to the next. It can be a hard cut or a dissolve or a wipe, like in Star Wars . For instance, I could write: DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. PLAYGROUND - SUNNY DAY The imaginary heat washes over the imaginary scene. Imaginary kids play with an imaginary ball. An imagined Professor Yuma stands before the campers, presenting the scene as it unfolds. YUMA (CONT’D) (giddily, as in a dream) Look! We’ve dissolved to a new scene! You can see the grass, the sky, the fun outside! But eventually we’ll… CUT BACK TO:
INT. CLASSROOM - DAY - AS BEFORE YUMA (CONT’D) Ah, back in the AC. O.K. now that we know the basic formatting, let’s practice writing out a scene description . Use a blank page to do this. You’ll start with a scene heading , noting the interiority or exteriority of the scene, where it is exactly, and ending with the time of day. Next, describe the setting of this new screenplay in terms of visuals . Take about 5 minutes.
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) Now that we have the setting established, we need to make it come alive with characters that drive a story forward. Take about 3 minutes to write a short and simple dialogue , with stage directions if needed, between two characters inhabiting the scene you just finished writing. If you introduce a character in your stage directions for the first time, make sure you CAPITALIZE their name, just that once.
(CONTINUED) The sound of fervorous writing quietly settles. YUMA (CONT’D) Congrats, you guys! For some of you, you just completed your first scene in screenwriting. Now, in the vein of what we’ve demonstrated up here, can anyone share what they’ve got? Short or sweet, we’ll love them all. And many students shared, and a wonderful time was had by all. The Stage Directions Reader even sheds a few tears at the next generation of screenwriters.
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) In summary, you as the screenwriter control: 1. The stage directions. 2. The dialogue. 3. The story. 4. The scene descriptions. 5. The pacing. 6. And the editing (mostly). Story is our most important power as creative writers, so use these tools to guide the films and television shows we will watch in our future.
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) Remember, that list is generalized because many other people will specialize in various elements when making a movie, like the director and editor, but these people will be working with what you write; they typically do not create out of thin air like we screenwriters do. But teamwork is how cinematic dreams work! I allow Yuma to take another sip of water.
(CONTINUED) Suddenly, Yuma breaks into a dance, surprising himself. He looks confusedly around the room. YUMA (CONT’D) (re SDR, still dancing) Hey, what’re you doing? This is my show now, bub. Weak screenwriting typically includes lengthy monologues without any action or visual representation, like this presentation. In 3 minutes, the classroom began to write a scene description that used actions rather than words to continue the dialogue from earlier.
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) Alright, you’ve made your point, can I stop dancing? When I say so. Remember, the golden rule for screenwriting is: “Show! Don’t tell.” YUMA (CONT’D) (panting) But… also don’t forget that dialogue can be… can be important as well… Write… Write… Yuma pauses, catching his breath and showing his age.
(CONTINUED) YUMA (CONT’D) (re SDR) I’m not that old… (re classroom) O.K., dialogue can also be used to show and not tell. Let’s take 3 minutes to write a dialogue between your characters that are saying one thing while trying to communicate another. Like saying “I love horseradish” while meaning “I hate radiators.”
(CONTINUED) As the students write their scenes, Yuma jots down some profound words of wisdom on the chalkboard. YUMA (CONT’D) Alright, does anyone want to share their screenplays so far? The whole scene from start to finish? We should be able to get a couple in at least, considering a page of screenplay equates roughly to a minute of screentime.
(CONTINUED) YUMA Good job, everyone, you’re on your way to becoming fully fledged screenwriters. And even though the work is hard and the industry tries its best to snuff you out, you will persist like a stubborn creative plant. And just like that, the classroom erupts in applause as the professor, wisened beyond his years, bows to his adoring fans. Roses and pencils shower gently from the crowd, skewering him.
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