Writing For TV Drama Script PDF

WRITING A TV DRAMA SCRIPT BREAKING BAD Written and Produced by: Vince Gilligan  Relatively brief written pitch of a story, intended to be dramatized as a motion for film or tv. Highlights the most important events and characters. TREATMENT Usually written and...

WRITING A TV DRAMA SCRIPT BREAKING BAD Written and Produced by: Vince Gilligan  Relatively brief written pitch of a story, intended to be dramatized as a motion for film or tv. Highlights the most important events and characters. TREATMENT Usually written and formatted in layman’s term, with no highfalutin words. 10 – 40 Pages Used as a selling tool to market your story to producers.  Often called one-pager A summary of your story cramped in one page. SYNOPSIS Both Synopsis and Treatment could be used as a selling tool. The difference is that the synopsis usually comes first in the selling process, then the treatment comes later,  One sentence that explains the entirety of the film’s/series’ plot. Usually contains the central conflict of the story. A bullied adult man turns to making meth to provide for his family before he dies LOGLINE of cancer. An eleven-year-old orphan believes his luck has turned around when he is summoned to attend a prestigious school for young witches and wizards and develops his own latent magical powers, but soon must fight for his life when he learns that he is destined to defeat the evil wizard who killed his parents.  It keeps your story focused and organized. Why is Logline important?: You can use this as a tool to ask people if the story you’ll be writing is interesting or is only interesting to you. Exposé The entirety of your story in 3-10 pages. WRITING A COMPELLING PILOT EPISODE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDy7mN_eY4Q  Theme Plot Characters Conflict Setting ELEMENTS OF A TV DRAMA Dialogue /FILM SCRIPT THEME A theme is a central unifying concept that envelopes the plot, characters, conflict, setting and dialogue. GENRE VS. THEME A genre is the term for any category of literature based on a distinctive stylistic criteria. A theme is what a specific story is about. Example: Coraline Genre – Dark Fantasy and Horror Theme – Family, Courage, Fear, Home, Versions of Reality, Identity, Dissatisfaction, Choices PLOT A brief explanation of your story, cramped in a paragraph or two. This contains the main characters and the incident which should lead to the character’s next action. Example: All looks lost for the Rebellion against the Empire as they learn of the existence of a new super weapon, the Death Star. Once a possible weakness in its construction is uncovered, the Rebel Alliance must set out on a desperate mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. The future of the entire galaxy now rests upon its success. CHARACTER/S Set of living / non living things that changes emotionally / physically / mentally as the story takes place. The main reason why the story exists in the first place. The driving force of a script.  Create a background for your character Give your character strengths and weaknesses Create nervous ticks for your character A GUIDE TO Avoid making a “perfect” character A GOOD Give your character realistic motives Give them a unique feature CHARACTER Develop a wide variety of character DEVELOPMENT personalities Create an impact of your character’s past Give each character a unique voice Create a diverse character cast CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYgw0i0HvMI CONFLICT A conflict in a story is the struggle between two opposing forces. Our characters must then confront these conflicts in order for the story to take place and progress. It is also the indication in which the character/s is undergoing character development. Kinds of Conflict: 1. Man vs. Man 2. Man vs. Nature 3. Man vs. God 4. Man vs. Himself DEVELOPING CONFLICTS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q5dnnb0KKg SETTING This is where the story takes place Indicates not only the PLACE and specific LOCATION, but also TIME and SPACE. This is important as the setting establishes the mood and defines how your character lives. Example: As Katrina lifts her cup of coffee, she looks around their family balcony facing the shining waters of the bay just 500 meters away from their home. The sun is peeking from the horizon, the air is cold, and the palm trees are singing with the wind. Just before she takes her first sip, her smartphone rings – indicating another day in which she forgot to sleep. DIALOGUE A dialogue is a communication using oral speech between two or more fictional characters. Indicates the character’s morals, personality, and even weaknesses and strengths. Example: Martin is holding his breath. Walking down the hallway, he approaches his mom, holding his broken laptop which was brought just 2 days ago. Martin: Mom, I.. There’s something wrong with the laptop. Beth: I’m not paying for your bullshit anymore Martin. Pay for it or get the hell out of my house. Martin: Ok boomer. HOW SHOULD THE CHARACTERS TALK? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpK5dXw0WzI  Know yourselves better, to write better. Stories that are too spoon-fed leaves too little in the imagination. CELTX INTRODUCTION Things to note when writing a Script The ACTION must always be in PRESENT TENSE. We must also take note to write the SPECIFIC ACTION. When mentioning the character’s name for the first time, it must all be in capital letters. Example: KATRINA is staring at the people while sitting on a wooden bench in a park where trees are abundant. The sun is getting low, and the families are now folding their red and white blankets, while the joggers speed away holding their water bottles. Katrina sighed deeply as she teared up. Pain is seen on her face, gripping the sides of the bench she is sitting on. “Natatae ako, Shet.” She whispered quietly  WRITING WORKSHOP Using CELTX, write a 3 page short story about your deepest desires. DIALOGUE could either be English or Filipino. But the ACTION should always be in English.