Stuck on your script?

Building on the previous segment, we’ll go into the specifics of how to create believable and engaging Characters. We'll explore techniques for adding layers to your Characters, making them active participants in your story, and ensuring they come across as real and fully human instead of stereotypes or cardboard cutouts. Then we’ll take you through the stages useful in creating a great Character.

Here, we start with the nuts and bolts of Screenplay Structure. We’ll discuss the Three-Act Structure, and break down what each Act is expected to do for the story. We’ll define the makeup and importance of Sequences, Scenes, and Beats, and how each contributes to building the structure of a dramatic story. 

Continuing with structure, this segment focuses on the four major signpost moments every screenplay has to have: The Inciting Incident, Plot Point 1, The Mid-Point, and Plot Point 2. We’ll look into how these moments drive your story forward and keep your audience engaged. And we’ll talk about Scene Structure specifically, and some very important concepts on how to write Scenes successfully.

We’ll explore The Hero’s Journey, a classic structure model widely used in Hollywood. We’ll discuss its origins, the various stages that make up the Hero’s Journey, and how to apply this timeless framework to your own screenplay to create a compelling narrative arc.

In this segment, we’ll dive into the art of writing Dialogue. We’ll look into what film Dialogue is and is not, and talk about the essentials of crafting natural-sounding Dialogue, and the importance of keeping Dialogue concise and supportive of the conflict between the Characters. We’ll take a look at minimizing Exposition in your Dialogue, and the all-important concept of Subtext.

We’ll explore the heart of any great screenplay: Conflict and Drama. We’ll look at the various types of Conflict, how to create tension, and the importance of high stakes. We’ll discuss how Conflict is the essential ingredient that creates the Drama you need to drive your story and reveal Character motivations and weaknesses.

This segment is all about putting pen to paper. We’ll look at whether it will be helpful to outline or not, and how to create a Logline, which will clearly define the story you want to write. Then we’ll get you started on your first 10 pages, leading you through how to begin your screenplay, set up your Protagonist and their ordinary world, and introduce the Inciting Incident and how it forces the Protagonist into his or her decision at Plot Point 1.

In our final segment, we’ll wrap up with some additional tips and insights. You’ll learn about the importance of staying in the present tense, maintaining an active voice, keeping your descriptions concise, and The Rule of Four regarding action and description lines. We’ll also share a producer’s “Bible” for spec scripts, giving you a checklist to ensure your screenplay meets industry standards.