Writing Original Drama
In this Unit you will discover the secret of squeezing a three-act structure into five pages. I am using the traditional three-act structure because it seems to work in this condensed form. There are alternative structures, as we mentioned earlier, but this structure seems to be easiest for beginning screenwriters. Once you feel confident that you can construct a story this way, you might attempt a different structure or a longer form. However, in this class we will stick with three acts in five short pages.
Timing and structure for the five-page screenplay
Most film and television producers assume that one page of screenplay equals one minute of screen time. This is convenient for development purposes. Since the average feature is two hours or 120 minutes, the average script would be about 120 pages long. This means that a five minute short written for a short film competition or YouTube distribution should be about five pages long. This isn’t always the case, but generally the case. So, in this unit we will examine a structure that you can use to construct a five-minute script, a five-page screenplay. We will start with the typical skeletons for screenplays: beat sheets, step outlines and treatments.
Beat Sheets, Step Outlines, and Treatments
Beat Sheets and Step Outlines are similar. They are both descriptions of the important actions or beats of the story in the order they occur. Beat sheets might later be translated into scenes. A step outline tends to be more developed than a beat sheet. A step outline might include sample dialogue and more involved descriptions. A treatment is the screenplay in story form and even reads something like a short story in print fiction. If you choose to do a treatment for a screenplay, remember that everything in your screenplay must be something that audiences can see and hear. If your treatment includes the internal thoughts of a character, you must decide how these thoughts will be revealed to the audience in the form of action or dialogue. The purpose of these preliminary steps (developing beat sheets, step outlines, or treatments) is to work out story and character problems before beginning the script. Answering some story questions in terms of character and action can provide you with a workable beat sheet. Under the “Examples and Helps” tab you will find a rich text format script and a pdf file for a five-page screenplay called “Plagiarized,” which was written by students in the classroom version of this course several years ago. You’ll also see a flash animation of the storyboard for this short film. Read the script. While the screenplay may not be your favorite, it is in the appropriate format and does tell a complete story with identifiable characters. Therefore, I am using this as the example to discuss the development and structure of your own original script.
Developing a Beat Sheet or Script Outline
I. The message – It helps to have a message or thought about what you want your movie to say to an audience. For example, in the script “Plagiarized” one of the messages students liked dealt with the idea of cheating. Ultimately the script has the following message: Cheaters can be swindled, too. (Don’t confuse the message with the logline, which is a summary statement to entice producers to read the script or viewers to see the movie after it has been written or produced.) The message is a summary of the central theme of your story and can help you formulate story ideas and keep them on track.
II. A character -Who is my hero? In an original drama you’ll have to develop original characters. It sometimes helps to look at pictures or think about the character traits of people you know. The “hero” of “Plagiarized” is a serious college student.
Example: Tyrone
A. Physical -young man
B. Social –college student
C. Psychological –smart, careful
D. Moral -righteous
E. What does he need? Want? To make good grades. A quiet place to write his paper.
III. Other characters -Who does my hero meet/see? Who are his or her antagonists? An antagonist is not necessarily a villain, just someone who comes into conflict with the principal character (protagonist) or keeps the protagonist from achieving his or her goals. The “antagonists” of “Plagiarized” are Tyrone’s roommate, Leon, and Leon’s girlfriend, Sharon. Both want to use the dorm room for making out, while Tyrone needs the space to study and write.
The Five-Page Script
The material below is an outline that provides the secret of the five-page script. You’ll notice that the script, “Plagiarized,” runs slightly over five pages by a few lines but would probably still produce very close to five minutes. When we read this script aloud in other classes, it times out between 4:30 and 6:30, depending on the interpretation provided by the cold (or unrehearsed) readings.
- Page one. Our hero is revealed. Something upsets the hero’s pattern, changes his path, and thwarts his plans (also called the inciting incident).
Example from “Plagiarized”: Tyrone arrives at his dorm room, needing to write his term paper but roommate Leon and roommate’s girlfriend (Sharon) are in the room making out on Tyrone’s bed. - Page two. The hero makes a decision –this is the protagonist’s reaction to the inciting incident. He will either undertake the challenge or try to return things to the status quo. He implements his decision.
Example from “Plagiarized”: Leon tries to talk Tyrone into forgetting the paper, going out and having fun. Tyrone is firm in his decision to turn in a good paper; he is determined to maintain good grades. Leon really wants Tyrone to leave the dorm room so he can make out with Sharon. - Page three. Complication -a new threat, discovery, or temptation changes the hero’s path or bullies it.
Example from “Plagiarized”: Leon shows Tyrone how he can buy a paper on-line, this way he can maintain good grades without effort. He justifies plagiarism –everybody does it. The system is so sophisticated; no one gets caught. He offers examples of people in business, politics where people have cheated and won. - Page four. More complications. Example from “Plagiarized”: What is gained by writing a silly paper? Tyrone could be having fun with his friends instead. Tyrone is appalled but can find no ready arguments to counter Leon’s points.
- Page five. Crisis and Denouement- the hero gambles, doing something that will resolve matters in one direction or another. The Hero either succeeds or fails.
Example from “Plagiarized”: At a loss for an argument to convince Leon, Tyrone appeals to Sharon for help. We don’t live in a world populated by cheaters, do we? Does Sharon believe it’s okay to cheat? “Absolutely. I would have never survived my relationship with Leon if I hadn’t learned to cheat.”
A screenplay is a representation of a character in action: this action comes in the form of behavior and dialogue. The motivations that cause action and dialogue must be inferred by what the audience can see and hear. The purpose of the message that the story delivers may be to make audiences laugh, cry, think. But all screenplays –even silly ones –have a message whether we realize it or not.
You’ll notice that the structure of this five-page outline is chronological; the events unfold as the writers imagined them to happen. A writer might use other structures such as starting with the climax or in the middle of a confrontation, then revealing what lead up to it. Pretend that you are developing a conceptual beat sheet for the following title and logline.
Butterflies. A nervous young woman decides to raise and sell butterflies from her college dorm to supplement her income; her roommate does not like bugs. (Romance)
PAGE ONE: Who is the protagonist? Remember we must be able to show audiences the protagonist’s character. What she says, what she does, what she looks like, and what others say about her determine her character. (For example: if our protagonist is Nancy, a tense, shy, overly romantic woman with financial worries, how might we show or reveal her character in terms of action in an opening scene?)
What does the protagonist want? Answer this question in terms of both Outer Need -what the character recognizes or thinks she needs- and Inner Need -what the character may not realize about herself and what she truly yearns for. (Example: Outer Need: Nancy needs money but doesn’t have time to take on another part time job. Inner need: Nancy wants romance and to feel that someone cares for her.) What happens to start the protagonist on her journey?
Page One Outline:
Nancy enters her dorm room carrying boxes with the legend “live Butterflies” printed on the side.- Roommate, Tiffany, looks disgusted.
- Nancy has purchased butterflies to release at special events.
- She has already made a sale for a butterfly release at a wedding.
- A few more such releases and Nancy can cure her economic woes.
- •Nancy’s roommate, Tiffany, hates the idea of “bugs” her room.
- •Nancy’s roommate reminds her that you aren’t supposed to have pets in the dorm.
PAGE TWO: Before the end of page two an event (inciting incident) happens to start your hero on her journey. The protagonist will make a decision –this is the protagonist’s reaction to the inciting incident. She will either undertake the challenge or try to return things to the status quo. In our example, the protagonist has already made the decision to go into the butterfly release business. The conflict already established one page one comes in the form of Nancy’s roommate, Tiffany, who hates bugs. The inciting incident comes with the introduction of Ben, Nancy’s boyfriend, and Tiffany’s obvious interest in him.
Page Two Outline:
- Nancy’s boyfriend, Ben, enters and learns about the butterflies.
- Ben thinks the butterfly business is ridiculous. Who would pay hundreds of dollars for live butterflies?
- Tiffany agrees, making a subtle play for Ben.
- Nancy holds firm to her plan.
- Tiffany’s interest in Ben is clear. He may be interested in her obvious charms.
- However, Ben very reluctantly consents to assist Nancy with a wedding release.
PAGE THREE: Your protagonist will have an early success but something happens to change things. What early successes spur the protagonist on?
Page Three Outline:
- Ben makes it clear that he doesn’t want to be involved with the wedding release but does it anyway.
- The wedding is beautiful.
- The release of the butterflies is a remarkable moment.
- Though he won’t say so, it’s clear that Ben is moved, enchanted by Nancy and her butterflies.
PAGE FOUR: This is the conflict/problem the hero faces. This is the complication -a new threat, or discovery, or temptation that changes the protagonist’s path. On page four your protagonist is having a bad time.
Page Four Outline:
- Tiffany can’t stand living with “bugs.” (established)
- Tiffany releases all of Nancy’s butterflies in the dorm room, smashes boxes, and sprays the room with insecticide.
- Nancy returns to her dorm room to discover dead butterflies. Ben enters and looks on speechless.
- Tiffany positions her behavior as reasonable. Butterflies are bugs –after all.
- Nancy is now bankrupt –the money from the wedding didn’t fully cover the cost of the butterflies. She doesn’t have enough money to replace them for future jobs.
- Tiffany is delighted.
PAGE FIVE: This page should contain the crisis and Denouement. Audience will see what the protagonist chooses to do when she recognizes her desperate situation. The hero will gamble, doing something that will resolve matters in one direction or another. The protagonist will either succeed or fail.
Page Five Outline:
- Near tears, Nancy sweeps the bodies of dead butterflies when Ben enters.
- Nancy explains her situation, imploring Tiffany to pay for the damage.
- Tiffany doesn’t view the situation as damage.Tiffany makes a bold play for Ben, trying to recruit him to her point of view.
- Ben surveys the destruction, while Tiffany laughs –she won’t pay for dead butterflies or Nancy’s stupid decisions.
- Ben stoops down to retrieve a beautiful, solitary carcass from Nancy’s bed, looking at it thoughtfully.
- Finally, Ben says he’s decided to go into the butterfly business himself.
- Ben asks Nancy to become a partner.
- His look suggests a partnership on more than one level.
- They embrace, much to Tiffany’s disgust.
Aristotle’s well-constructed plot with its beginning, middle, and end is still a popular structure and has served the story well for more than two thousand years. Screenwriters and audiences both like the three-act structure because it generally works; it feels familiar and “right.” But there are alternative structures, many of which have been inspired by interactive media, video games, and episodic television. Endings don’t need to be happy. Movies can begin at the end. Scenes can be arranged out of sequence, out of time. Resolutions can go unfulfilled and questions remain unanswered. Narrative threads can weave from multiple character perspectives (if you have a longer form and the time for multiple characters). What we’ve done previously is mimic a three-act structure, only in a condensed form. The first act sets up and introduces your protagonist in his or her normal world. The Inciting Incident is the event that draws your character into his or her journey. Act II develops the story. This is the account of the dilemmas the hero encounters. In Act III meets his or her confrontation, the story climaxes, then resolves. The status quo might be restored but the hero will be changed. Consider our five-page screenplay. Contemporary audiences might find a different structure more intriguing, assuming that they are interested in a story about a romantic young entomologist in the first place. Would the story be more interesting if we began near the end, when Nancy discovers all the dead butterflies, and then backtracks? Are dead butterflies a better “hook” for audiences than a college girl’s financial troubles? Nonlinear films, such as Pulp Fiction (1994), ignore spatial and temporal conventions. Audiences are invited to construct the sequence of events for themselves, mentally reorganizing scenes and information to make sense of the narrative. I personally struggle with telling an unsystematic, non-chronological story, but you may see a way to disrupt the temporal sequence more creatively without completely confusing audiences. It requires someone with a poetic way of thinking to emotively and effectively handle a more vague and conceptual film structure.