First of all,
WHAT IS A SCRIPT?
It is a movie in words specially formatted on paper.
A screenplay or screenplay is a blueprint for producing a movie. It is more specifically aimed at the visual and narrative arts, such as film and television. The main components are action and dialogue. The “action” is written in the present tense. The “dialogues” are the lines that the characters speak.
Scripts often include not only the dialogue spoken by the characters, but also a shot-by-shot summary of the action of the film. The format is then structured so that one page is typically equal to one minute of screen time.
These are the basics of how to read and write a script using a short original script.
MERGE:
this is where the story begins (Script). In movies, it’s usually a black screen that opens to the first scene of the movie.
INT. HOUSE – NIGHT
ENT. It means inside, like a house or an enclosure. EXT means outside, such as in a field or yard
HOUSE; means the location, such as where the scene is, such as a house, street, concert, etc.
NIGHT; means the time of day, daylight, or the scene has artificial light, such as a light bulb.
THE SOCIAL WORKER
Danny may be slow, but he’s a tough little survivor.
THE SOCIAL WORKER; it is the character who speaks.
Right below and centered is what that character is talking about.
PROMENADE
The tubular pipe railing of a water-soaked wooden boardwalk, stretching north and south beyond sight.
PROMENADE; It’s a close-up of the scene.
Just below BOARDWALK is the action or scene narrative, this is what happens in a particular scene.
(OS) and (VO) The first is Off Screen, the character speaks but is not seen, possibly in another room out of sight. The other is Voice Over, the voice is heard, but it’s not in the scene at all, like on the other end of a phone line or doing a narration in the story.
FADE TO:
FADE TO: This is a transition from one dramatic scene to another, it can also be, FADE TO BLACK: or FADE TO: etc.
FADING: THE END.
This closes the story (script).
Now you’re ready to at least read a script and with a little more digging, you could be on your way to writing one or more.
