How to script a screenplay
Ok, this is no “how to” post and I am obviously no expert. Yes, I have written a couple of scripts, make that four, but since they are unproduced they are not applicable.
Recently I have had the privilege of spending time and co-writing a script with one of the best film-makers of the country, certainly the best scriptwriter around. I don’t want to take his name here because since it’s a work-in-progress, it’s not fair. Also, the name’s not important, the process is. The process of writing a screenplay.
Now, everyone has his own way of approaching the writing. Some have a definite storyline in place. Some know the beginning and the end. Some just love their DVDs.
Here we knew the characters. We knew who we were dealing with. We knew their strengths and weaknesses. We knew where they were coming from and where they wanted to go. We knew what they will do if they come face to face.
The story was there somewhere but we never discussed it once we started writing the scenes. They just flowed. Once the players got together on the field, the game did not need an umpire. We never cared for a hook or a plot point. We knew how each of these guys would react to a situation, we just had to think of the situation.
I like Syd Field. I like the way he makes life easier for screenwriters. But perhaps in his formulaic approach, he sometimes doesn’t care for his characters or anybody who is following the formula. I mean if you know that in the next three scenes Vijay HAS to kill Goga, then you maybe denying Vijay a chat with his ex, a drunken babble with his mother and a game of billiards with his neighbour. You maybe denying the raison d’être of the murder.
A screenplay perhaps needs to be organic. Yes you need a referee but the whistle should only blow when the foul has been committed. And you need to know what a foul is. Because these last few days have taught me it’s never a foul as long as you are scoring a goal. As long as your characters are speaking on their own, they shouldn’t be silenced.
In short: For the first time I felt the story was not that important. For the first time I felt I did not need to spoonfeed the characters. For the first time I felt they are better off without me.
Maybe I am writing something which most of you know and this may sound entirely redundant, but this experience, where we wrote an entire script in 10 days(!), was a life-changing one for me. The approach makes all the difference. Fall in love with your characters, with their idiosyncracies, with their madness, with their sinister ways and let them take over your script.
The day you lose control of your screenplay, you are driving in cruise control. Best of luck.
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Nice one Pratim! Looks like you were in the ‘zone’ while writing this screenplay. Keep handing out your pearls of wisdom…
i am writing something my self Pratim.
this piece was really helpful. Thanks a lot
Pratim- good one.Always nice to read such heartfelt & honest experiences.keep it coming.
Very resourceful …..will always come handy when required thanks Pratim
nice n refeshing post. will really help thanks !
excellent post, Pratim da!!
nice timely post. was abt to indulge in some writing myself
i am sure this will help…thanx
as d&c pointed out, looks like u were in the ‘zone’ and thats an ideal state to be in else we do lose track of things :D
pratim da… not fair.. bas itna…? i was jus abt warming up & the article ended! bahut na-insafi hai. i m sure there’s more to this article. i m waiting for the part II of this one. loved what i read, but dil stil maange a lot more. plz do oblige.
superb work there…..script in ten days….
attempted that myself but came in five days late..
but you’re right, no matter how much you know about your story, we end up changing eventually when the characters come to life as you write..
Very nice read…but too abstract to be helpful to any rookie..you had the disclaimer in the opening lines though.. :-)
Would love to hear some more details…
Boss…. if you can’t tell the name of the wrier u working with… y mentioned it?? is it like u r trying to show that you’re doin a big film or something..!!! didn’t get the point dude… what you’ve written can’t not even be called as synopsis of ‘how to script a screenplay’
Anybody who tries to tell you “The Method” to construct a screenplay is selling u Baloney. I mean, I have heard people like McKee shouting at the top of his voice saying, “The first thing that artists need to learn is to give away their freedom. Artists inherently want to be free. To be a good screenwriter you need to first learn to restrict yourself”…
I think it’s worth it to try insanity, to leap out to levels of new freedom , to fail badly in the process than RESTRICT YOURSELF…
The most sensible quote that I heard abt screenwriting comes from Charlie Kaufman. Regarding the experience of writing “Adaptation”.. He said, “I was trying to adapt “The Orchard Thief” and was not able to do it. So, I thought about where was my energy, what was actually eating me up? It was writing the screenplay itself. So I incorporated that into the script”…
Paul Schrader had broken up with his wife. He was broke. He had broken all forms of communication with the society. All he was doing was driving around in his car, eating junk food. That was the metaphor that grew into “Taxi-Driver”.
YOU ARE THE METHOD. YOU ARE THE DRIVE FOR A SCREENPLAY…
If you separate your life and the work and end up following restrictive, pre-ordained methods of writing a screenplay I guess u can consider the artist in you dead..
I feel you need to know the rules before you become good enough to break them. So I think for a student of screenwriting, it’s good to study about structure, plot points, character arc and all the jargon associated with screenwriting.
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As long as the writer understands that the above are just the guiding lights and not the destination, he should be fine, I guess.
As a wise man named Satyajit Ray once said, Jean Luc Godard could break the rules because he knew the rules.
Pratim, do you mean ‘how to script a draft in 10 days’? or is it ready-enough to go out and shoot?
Thani, trust me, it’s good enough to shoot and it’s entirely because of his genius but yes, there will definitely be another draft, if not more.
very cool Pratim..
You have given enough hints for a seventh standard kid to guess who the screenwriter was.
Also, I am curious to know as to how your approach at screenwriting is tougher than Syd Field if you claim to have completed ur screenplay in ten days.
Hi Pratim,
I am also an avid lover of movies who rather went the other way i.e. became a doctor. Sould have gone your way though. I am still very inclined to creative field and used to write plays short stories etc. in school till studying medicine [extrrrrrrrremely arduous] drained out the energy out of me. I still remain an aspiring screenwriter and intend to do something about it now that i have a little more spare time. It does happen when u go into practice. Your blog is an inspiration so thx. Bought Syd Fields Book and am trying to put in some works. Lets see. If u have time try to visit my very recently created blog site [ http://nisheeth-kumar.blogspot.com/ ] and comment on my style of writing. Views of an accomplished writer like you will be highly appreciated. Looking forward to your comments.Thx.
Hi Pratim,
I too am a passionate lover of movies who went the other way i.e. became a doctor. Feel I too should have gone into a creative field. I used to write plays and short stories in school before studying medicine [ extrrremely arduous ] drained my energies. Now that I have gone into practice and have some time at hand I intend to try my hand at Screenwriting. Got Syd Field’s book and working on a few ideas. your blog has been inspiring so thx.Would tell u about it if i complete a script. If you have time I would appreciate if u visit my newly created blog and comment on my style of writing. A professional view would be most appreciated. Looking forward to ur comments.
my blog address ishttp://nisheeth-kumar.blogspot.com/.