I've been writing for years but have never tried my hand at writing a screenplay. I was in a Film & Video class last year but our resources were limited and we were never given the option to just go ahead and write a script for a film about whatever we want.

I was wondering how to give my film the "feel" that I would like it to have. Scary movies have a creepiness to them the whole way through. I want my film to have an indie film feel to it.

Any tips? Or, do you have any tips for a beginner screenplay writer?

Most of the feel of a film is the director's (not the writer's) concern, so in one sense you don't even need to worry about it.

Much of the scariness in a horror movie, for example, is down to the lighting, framing, editing, but especially the score (none of which is the writer's concern). Try watching a horror without the sound, and you'll see it's a lot less scary. People jumping out from nowhere will still scare you, but the lead-up to those moments is less suspenseful (if that's a word).

The trick is to write something that a horror director reads and says "Yes! I can make that."

If you fill your script with jokes, and nobody dies a horrible death, you make it difficult for a director to give it a horror feel.

Look at examples of the feel you'd like, and read the scripts of those movies.

How much dialogue compared to action? Are scenes very short, or are they longer and build slowly? Do they use voice over or not? Do they tell the story through one character or with changing POV's? How high are the highs and how low are the lows? How much day and night? How many locations? One location is potentially very claustrophobic - especially if there's no easy escape from it.

As far as general screenwriting goes, there are many basic do's and don'ts, which several websites will tell you for free, so it would be pointless to repeat them here. If you need a good primer, try http://www.screenplayformat.net/spf/index.cfm

The only advice I'd give to a first-timer is to know your story from beginning to end before you write your script. Sure, it will change as you script it, but you can't go off at a tangent and then meander through fifty pages of digression to get a script back on track. Novelists have that luxury, screenwriters don't.

Hope that helps!

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SF08: Gethsemane (working title) - Thriller
SF08: Shooting - Comedy

Good luck to you all.

Thanks for the reply Manchester! :D You were a big help!

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NaNo 2007: Didn't last long.
Screnzy: Debut!

http://jillianne-hamilton.com
http://clevercookie.wordpress.com
http://killjill.wordpress.com

I would also recommend reading Syd Field's Screenplay book. He has a book and workbook very helpful. There is also a Screenplay Workbook that I found at Borders that has been very helpful. It has worksheets in it so you can map out your screenplay. They ask all of the important questions to help you form your story.

I swear by Syd Field. If you want to go deeper into screenplay writing, I recommend Story by Robert McKee. Also, there's Screenwriting Updated by Linda Aronson, the first book to explain exactly how Pulp Fiction works. Aronson herself recommends Making a Good Script Great by Linda Seger.

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Two-Time Consecutive Come-From-Behind NaNoWriMo Winner
2006: Black Science/The Jennifer Theory
2007: Bad Company

SF 2008: Spanner

*blinks ala deer in headlights*
Maybe after my first attempt, I'll decide if it's my style or not. And then I'll go out and buy books. :)

Anyway, the only things I have to worry about while writing the script are:
+ dialogue
+ general actions
+ where the scene is set and when
+ ...and that's it?

-----------------------------------
NaNo 2007: Didn't last long.
Screnzy: Debut!

http://jillianne-hamilton.com
http://clevercookie.wordpress.com
http://killjill.wordpress.com

Well, technicaly, yes. Download or use any screenwriting software and the options menu will show you what you have to deal with (dialogue, action, scene heading, parenthetical, etc.) but the real issue is story. Screenplays are pretty specific in the way they tell a story.

http://www.sydfield.com/featured_theparadigmworksheet.htm

This is a great learning tool. Check it out and tell me what you think.

-M

We are such stuff
As dreams are made on and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep..."

-- Tempest (IV, i, 156-157)

Just a little thing to add, but most of the atmospheric feel in screenplays I've read comes entirely from word choice. 'Scuttles' describes the same action, basically, as 'scrambles' - but scuttle is the creepier of the two words.

Something I KNOW, but am trying to get actually showing up in my work...

Spacedog is absolutely correct. Laughter, tears, fear... all these things are essentially the director's concern -- to translate from page to screen -- but it's your duty as a screenwriter to write the script using such language as to make the director see it your way. Spacedog's "scuttle" vs. "scrambles" example is an excellent one, but there's always more to it.

As a novelist, you probably have a pretty good idea of what we're getting at, even if you don't realize or recognize it. If you intend that a scene move slowly, use more description or actually insert action lines like, "CHARACTER waits for a response, but after a few seconds of silence, continues on." It's things like this that, being read by a director, should give him/her the idea that it's intended to take a little while.

This goes for just about any situation. You want fast movement? Try breaking down the action lines. For instance, you might describe a fight this way:

CHARACTER --

• Punches through window
• Grabs Bad Guy's collar
• Yanks him through the window
• Throws him to the ground
• Drops a knee to his gut
• Steals Bad Guy's pistol
• Aims the pistol at Bad Guy

It's concise, but it reads very quickly, and that's what really matters.

I suppose it depends on the director, but it's worth considering that you do still have licence to play with prose as a screenwriter, and we're doing this for Script Frenzy so if you get more out of your writing by creating atmosphere or 'feel' by using classic literary techniques in scenes with little dialogue, for example, I'd say go for it.
(Wow, that was a long sentence. Hope it made sense!)

I've read interviews with a few actors who, when asked what drew them to a particular script, have cited the quality of descriptions or particular language choices. So not only will you be using literary tricks to influence how a director sees your story but you might also be making it more attractive to other people who can green-light the thing ;)

Of course, they're different disciplines and this is a screenplay, a tool, a means to an end, a communication between creators etc. etc., so you can't write solid prose! But I think many techniques from literature are totally transferable and can work to your advantage when it comes to influencing the overall feel of a film.

As for the indie feel specifically, I'd give some attention to soundtrack ideas, quirky descriptions etc., but a lot of the pared-down feel will come from your characters and dialogue.

That's my relative newcomer's opinion, anyway. I'm interested to read everyone else's thoughts.

~ Anna
SCRENZY 08: planning two ideas
+ Paragon for TV [sci-fi action-drama]
+ Banana Boat for Cinema [rom-com-drama]

NANO 07: The Block, WIN!
SF 07: untitled, no win
NANO 06: Paragon, no win

No one can forget "The Screenwriter's Bible" by Dave Trottier. This is as the title says all screenwriters' bible. It not only helps w/ format, but insight what to write and how to write it so not to offend the director and actors. It is an excellent book, as well. I too swear by Syd Field's books. They are amazing.

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Utah ML