Su-City Pictures East, LLC

Screenplay & Film Consulting By Susan Kouguell

Author: sucity (page 16 of 34)

Writing the Music Documentary (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

July 16, 2015 / / Comments Off on Writing the Music Documentary (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

Tips for Writing the Music Documentary Film

by Susan Kouguell

Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers!

In this past year, three very different documentaries, portraying a musical artist have been released: What Happened, Miss Simone? directed by Liz Garbus, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck directed by Brett Morgen, and A Poem is a Naked Person directed by Les Blank.

These three musical artists, Nina Simone, Kurt Cobain, and Leon Russell are as diverse as are the ways in which these directors conveyed their respective subjects. While some very broad comparisons can be made in some choices made (for example the use of archival footage in Garbus and Morgen’s films, and the use of concert footage in all three films), the more specific comparisons can be found in the fact that each director has a unique vision and voice.

music documentary
In my book Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! I write:

Documentaries can be written, using the traditional 3-act structure or in a nontraditional narrative format. The use of stock film footage, “talking heads” (interviewees’ faces discussing the subject matter), voice-over narration, animation, photographs, live action, and so on, are some examples of the tools used to convey the narrative.

Rather than cover every biographical detail of their subjects’ lives, Garbus, Morgen and Blank, allow their subjects to tell their own story through their own words and music, in conventional and nonconventional ways. In Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, original animation was produced and incorporated into the film, to illustrate important moments in Cobain’s life, using Cobain’s artwork, photography, journals and family photographs as inspiration.

Garbus allows the late Nina Simone to convey her story, in part, through concert footage shot during the course of her career. These moments show Simone speaking and playing to the audience, revealing both her personal fragility and phenomenal talent as a musician.

The late director Les Blank employs a nontraditional narrative cinema vérité approach of his subject Leon Russell, during a time (the 1970s), and place (rural Oklahoma juxtaposed with a state-of-the-art music studio). Rather than revealing Russell’s biographical background, the film offers glimpses of Russell’s concerts, rehearsals, friends, and neighbors in an abstract collage.

Tips:

  1. Immerse yourself in the music. Research the artist and his or her music in order to gain a complete understanding of your topic.
  2. Keep an open mind to what you might discover as you research and shoot. Some filmmakers begin with one narrative idea for their film, but find that along the way that idea changes, as more material is unearthed either through archival finds or interviews.
  3. As you develop your ideas and your interview questions for your subjects, determine what your significant message is, who the main ‘characters’ are and how they will bring light to your topic.
  4. Listen carefully to your interviewees, they might reveal new information and offer unexpected and exciting insights about your subject matter.
  5. Watch documentaries that share your sensibility to give you inspiration.

What Happened, Miss Simone? directed by Liz Garbus is currently playing in theaters and on Netflix, Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck is in limited release in theaters, as well as A Poem is a Naked Person.

 

READ MORE HERE

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Tips on Adaptation and Divisive Voice-over Devices (THE SCRIPT LAB)

July 2, 2015 / / Comments Off on Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Tips on Adaptation and Divisive Voice-over Devices (THE SCRIPT LAB)

Tips on Adaptation and Divisive

Voice-over Devices

 by Susan Kouguell

 

 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl opens with protagonist Greg’s line:

GREG GAINES (V.O.)
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

Greg Gaines is an awkward high school senior whose mother forces him to spend time with Rachel — his classmate with whom he hasn’t spoken to since kindergarten– who was just diagnosed with cancer.

The beginning of Greg and Rachel’s friendship finds Greg standing at the foot of the stairs in Rachel’s house, and Rachel at the top of the stairs.

RACHEL: Look, I don’t want you hanging out with me. I don’t need your stupid pity. It’s fine. You can just go.

GREG: No, no, hey. You got it all wrong. I’m not here ’cause I pity you. I’m actually here just ’cause my mom is making me.

RACHEL: That’s actually worse.

GREG: Yeah, I know.

RACHEL: Look, it’s OK. Honestly, I’m fine. Just go.

GREG: OK. Rachel, just listen to me for a second. My mom is going to turn my life into a living hell if I don’t hang out with you. OK, I can’t overstate how annoying she’s being about this. She’s basically like the Lebron James of nagging. Lebron James plays basketball.

RACHEL: I know who Lebron James is.

GREG: OK.

Greg tries to blend in as anonymously as possible, avoiding deeper relationships as a survival strategy for navigating the social minefield that is teenage life.  He describes his constant companion Earl, with whom he makes short film parodies of classic movies, such as Sockwork Orange and Eyes Wide Butt, as more of a “co-worker” than a childhood best friend.

This coming-of-age film, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, screenplay by Jesse Andrews was adapted by the book of the same title written by Andrew.

Adapting for the Screen

The book Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is just over 300 pages – the film just under two hours.  There are many challenges adapting novels to the screen, including what should stay and what should go.  Generally, one script page equals one minute of screen time, which means that you must focus on the basic plot points of the material, thus often resulting in cutting subplots and characters in order to keep the script less than 120 pages.

 

When writing a screenplay, you don’t have the luxury to get inside your characters’ minds with pages and pages of internal thoughts as you do when writing a novel.  Characters’ motivations, agendas, goals, and so on, must be conveyed in dialogue and through visually storytelling.  Always remember the screenwriting adage: Show Don’t Tell.

Devices

The film Me and Earl and the Dying Girl contains many storytelling devices, that for many film executives, are BIG RED FLAGS. These devices include voice-overs, flashbacks, superimposed titles, such as “Day 7 of Doomed Friendship” and Claymation sequences often featuring a moose.  For many Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’s filmgoers and critics, these devices only enhance the film but for some they deter from it.  Let’s look at some of these devices and how they can and should work, and if they’re working (or not) in your screenplay.

In the following excerpts from my book Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! I talk about devices found in screenplays:  

Many aspiring screenwriters share something in common with their screenplay characters—they have bad habits or rely on things that highlight their insecurities.  The word “vice” is defined as a bad habit; and many screenwriters’ bad habits—more specifically—their writing weaknesses and insecurities, are underscored when they overuse or mistakenly use screenplay devices.  So, when developing your characters, do not rely on vices to convey essential information, or misuse or overuse them.

VOICE-OVERS

Use voice-overs only to provide information and insight about the story and/or character(s) that you absolutely cannot express in dialogue or in action. Do not convey the same information in voice-over that will soon be revealed in dialogue, visuals, or action. If you choose to use the voice-over device, know that story analysts and film executives will regard this as a red flag—a lazy device—and they will examine each word.

In Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Greg is a self-conscious and unreliable narrator.  He’s self-effacing and uses irony to his full advantage.  Here he talks about his relationship with Rachel.

GREG (V.O.)

So if this was a touching, romantic story, suddenly our eyes would meet and suddenly we would be making out with the fire of a thousand suns. But this isn’t a touching romantic story.

Translating internal thoughts of a character without overusing voiceovers and other devices can be challenging. One way to see if you are overusing voiceovers is to remove the voiceovers from your script (temporarily) and place them on a separate page and in the order they appear in your script. By reading them on their own it is easier to see what must stay and what must go, and if you’re repeating information that is already stated in dialogue, or is too long, and not advancing the narrative.

The opening of A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens continues:

It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way- in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

At the end of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl  Greg concludes a montage with:

GREG (V.O.)

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was life.

 

Official Web site:  http://meandearlmovie.com/

READ MORE HERE

 

 

Top Ten Tips for Writing Memorable Minor Characters (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

June 30, 2015 / / Comments Off on Top Ten Tips for Writing Memorable Minor Characters (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

 Click to tweet this article to our friends and followers!

Top Ten Tips for Writing Memorable Minor Characters

by Susan Kouguell

Film industry folks are always looking for compelling and  attention-grabbing protagonists and antagonists in a well-crafted screenplay. That, fellow screenwriters, is not really ground-breaking news, but there is a consistent grievance that echoes the halls of studios and production companies throughout the land. Actually, it’s a consistent complaint. It’s all about those ignored minor characters also known as supporting characters.
The complaints go something like this: “These characters are dull, interchangeable, one-dimensional, predictable, stereotypical…”
What happens next? The screenplay is rejected. The writer is not considered for writing assignments. It’s a sad day in screenplay land.
Supporting characters can and should be memorable. For example: In All About Eve, (written and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz) minor character Birdie Coonan helps to propel the narrative forward by expressing her doubts about antagonist Eve Harrington’s intentions to protagonist Margo Channing. Birdie Coonan is memorable because she is also distinct; she’s direct and doesn’t mince words.
In my book Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! I analyze Betty, a memorable minor character and her arc in Five Easy Pieces directed by Bob Rafelson, screenplay by Adrien Joyce.
In this film, protagonist Bobby Dupea abandoned his promising career as a concert pianist and now works as an oil rigger in the California oil fields. After hearing from his sister that his father is dying, Bobby returns to his wealthy, cultured family’s Washington home where he attempts to reconcile with his father, falls for his brother’s sophisticated wife, and later abandons his brash but well-meaning live-in girlfriend, Rayette.
Betty, a minor character, who appears in only three scenes, advances the narrative by providing subtle insights about Bobby. (This is also an example of the rule of threes. This rule can be applied to a specific action that occurs at three different times during the film or to a character, who appears three times in the film. In the rule of threes, the third time the action or dialogue is seen or heard again, there is a variation from the first two times.)

'Five Easy Pieces'

 

Betty’s First Scene: The Set Up
Betty and her friend, Twinky, meet and flirt with Bobby in the bowling alley where they are playing in an adjacent lane. During Betty and Bobby’s dialogue exchange, Betty reveals that she has taken on a new identity separate from her childhood when she tells him that her real name is Shirley but she is called Betty: (Like Bobby, she has taken on a new identity separate from her childhood.) Although Bobby’s girlfriend, Rayette, is waiting for him outside in their car, Bobby flirts back. Betty’s new identity is a significant clue to Bobby’s character; he is portrayed as a working-class guy, but in fact, his family is wealthy, and was a concert pianist.

Betty’s Second Scene: The Build
Singing and partying with another couple, Betty, bouncing on Bobby’s lap, recounts a childhood incident with her mother, which also foreshadows Bobby’s estranged and complicated relationship with his father. 

Betty’s Third Scene: The Resolution
Betty and Bobby have no dialogue while they have sex. Bobby is seen being unfaithful to Rayette, which shows rather than tells the audience about his character. It also sets up Bobby’s infidelity when he later returns to his family’s home and has an affair with his brother’s wife while Rayette is waiting for him in the motel.

Top Ten Memorable Minor Character Tips

  1. Use minor characters to propel your plot forward.
  2. Minor characters can act as a sounding board, a mirror to the protagonist’s soul, and/or knowingly or unknowingly assist your protagonist in achieving his or her goal.
  3. Minor characters can help advance the protagonist’s storyline forward, reveal information, and/or give additional insight about major characters, including back-story, which will help you to avoid writing exposition.
  4. Use minor characters to assist in creating or reinforcing the mood and tone of your script, and to give color to the world you have created.
  5. Utilize minor characters to further reveal the atmosphere and era of your setting.
  6. Minor characters can bring a different perspective to your story.
  7. Minor characters can prevent your protagonist from running away from a problem or encourage your protagonist not to run away.
  8. Take advantage of your minor characters by having them provide insight into your main characters’ storylines.
  9. Minor characters’ behaviors, attitudes and idiosyncrasies, will help to set the tone of a scene.
  10. Each minor character in your screenplay must serve a purpose, otherwise cut them.

Take the time to develop your minor characters as you do your major characters. Don’t give film industry executives more to complain about!

 

READ MORE

Top Ten Tips for Creating Winning Characters (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

June 15, 2015 / / Comments Off on Top Ten Tips for Creating Winning Characters (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

Top Ten Tips for Creating Winning Characters

By:

 
A successful script must contain compelling characters.  If your characters are not fully developed, your script will most likely be rejected. Your goal is to wow film industry executives! A winning screenplay—one that will set yours apart from the tough competition, is the one in which your attention-grabbing characters sparkle and light up each page.

Here is an excerpt from my book Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays!:

A WINNING SCREENPLAY: STORY = PLOT = CHARACTERS

Story generates plot; it informs what the narrative is about. The plot informs how the story unfolds. And it is your riveting characters who must inform and drive your plot forward.

CHARACTERS = PLOT

Who will live? Who will die? How will they survive?

Who will win? Who will lose? How will they win? How will they lose?

Who will succeed? Who will fail? How will they succeed? How will they fail?

Who will find love? How will they find love?

These aforementioned generic movie taglines, emphasize the significant word “who”— your characters.

To create a believable and compelling plot, your characters must be fleshed out and their distinct characterizations (motivations, behavior, attitudes, and so on), must be gripping and plausible in order to drive the plot forward. When you try to get characters to do what the plot determines, then your characters’ actions, behaviors, and motivations will not be realistic, and they will read as false and contrived.

'Forrest Gump'

Top Ten Tips for Creating Characters

1. EMPATHY: Film industry folks demand characters with whom they can empathize. If they don’t care about your characters, they won’t care about your script and in turn, you have increased your chances of screenplay rejection.

2. GOALS: Convey what your characters’ want and how far they will go to achieve their goals.

3. CONFLICT: Regardless of the genre you are working in and whether your characters are having an inner discord or disputes with others, their conflicts must make sense and must be interesting, in order to raise the stakes in your plot.

4. REASON TO EXIST: Each character must serve a purpose in your script and advance the narrative in some way otherwise you must say “good-bye” and cut this character.

5. UNIQUE: Characters must be unique with distinctive and/or surprising personalities. If they are interchangeable with other characters, then it’s time to rewrite your script.

6. MAKE THEM HUMAN: Unless your characters are nonhuman of course – humanize your characters by giving them identifiable appearances and idiosyncrasies.

7. MOTIVATIONS: Characters must have clear and plausible motivations that give insight into who they are and the actions they take.

8. BEHAVIOR: Whether your characters misbehave or are always on good behavior, your need to convey their specific emotional, mental, physical, and/or social behaviors and traits.

9. ATTITUDE: Characters must have specific attitudes towards each other. Show how your characters view themselves, relate to others or don’t fit in.

10. FLAWS: Characters’ flaws, such as insecurities, make them more identifiable and interesting.

READ MORE

Yvonne Rainer

June 14, 2015 / / Comments Off on Yvonne Rainer

 

Yvonne Rainer Performance June 14 2015 001Thank you, Yvonne Rainer, for an inspirational evening. at MoMA

I am so grateful to have studied with Yvonne at the Whitney Independent Study Program.   Yvonne made an enormous difference in my life as a writer, filmmaker, and woman artist.   I am so fortunate to have been able to tell her this once again last night.

 

 

Sir Christopher Lee

June 11, 2015 / / Comments Off on Sir Christopher Lee

Remembering Sir Christopher Lee

037

Sir Christopher Lee honored at 2013 Locarno International Film Festival

 

 

 

029

The opening night of the Festival on August 7 dramatically began under a lightening-filled sky in the Piazza Grande, where Sir Christopher Lee received the Excellence Award Moët & Chandon.  Film stills of Sir Christopher’s roles were projected on the buildings surrounding the Piazza.  Accepting his award, the charismatic Sir Christopher spoke mostly in Italian, stating his mother was from Italy — and then switched to English.

Sir Christopher’s most loved line of the night, “I did it. That was me doing the sword fights with Yoda, not a stunt double.” The audience cheered!

READ MORE

041

The Satisfying Scene

June 6, 2015 / / Comments Off on The Satisfying Scene

 

The Satisfying Scene

by Susan Kouguell

Scenes must have a reason to exist in your screenplay. Each scene must advance the plot forward through dialogue and/or visual storytelling.  Characters’ journeys drive the script’s narrative, and each scene must steer their journey forward.  Although some scenes might not even contain any characters, these scenes must still provide information about your plot, as well as your characters’ lives and actions. There is no set rule as to how many lines, paragraphs, or pages constitute a scene.

In my book Savvy Characters Sell Screenplays! I analyze Sleepless in Seattle (directed by Nora Ephron, screenplay by Nora Ephron, David S. Ward, and Jeff Arch).  Here’s an excerpt:

In the romantic comedy, reporter Annie Reed crosses the country to meet a man she has never met after hearing his young son on a call-in radio show, seeking help to find a new wife for his widowed father.

In this scene example we find Annie and Barbara, having a warm mother/daughter talk in the attic.

The Scene Objective:

Annie starts reexamining her feelings about Walter.

Scene Summary:

While trying on her grandmother’s wedding dress, the newly engaged Annie tells her mother, Barbara, about how she and her fiancé, Walter, met. Mother and daughter differ when it comes to believing in destiny, signs, and magic in a relationship—Barbara is a believer while Annie is a pragmatist. The scene concludes as Annie, wearing her grandmother’s wedding dress, hugs her mother and the dress rips. Annie now believes in signs.

The Scene Arc:

In the beginning of the scene, Annie doesn’t believe in destiny and expresses her certainty about her upcoming marriage to Walter. By the end of the scene, Annie is having some subtle doubts when she realizes that she doesn’t have the same type of magic with Walter that her mother felt for her father when they met, and Annie is beginning to believe in destiny.

READ MORE HERE

About the Author


Susan Kouguell, award-winning screenwriter and filmmaker, is the author of THE SAVVY SCREENWRITER and SAVVY CHARACTERS SELL SCREENPLAYS! A comprehensive guide to crafting winning characters with film analyses and screenwriting exercises (available at $1.00 with DISCOUNT CODE: G22GAZPD: https://www.createspace.com/3558862 ).   Susan is a regular contributor to Indiewire/SydneysBuzz, Script Magazine and The Script Lab.

Kouguell teaches screenwriting at Purchase College, SUNY and presents international seminars. As chairperson of Su-City Pictures East, LLC, a motion picture consulting company founded in 1990, Kouguell works with over 1,000 writers, filmmakers, executives and studios worldwide.  Recipient of many grants and fellowships, including the MacDowell Colony, Jerome Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts, and the Edward Albee Foundation, Kouguell’s short films are in the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection and archives, and were included in the Whitney Museum’s Biennial.  Kouguell worked with director Louis Malle on his film And the Pursuit of Happiness, was a story analyst and story editor for many studios, (Paramount, Viacom, Dustin Hoffman’s Punch Productions), wrote voice-over narrations for (Harvey Weinstein) Miramax and over a dozen feature assignments for independent companies. www.su-city-pictures.com. Follow Susan at Su-City Pictures, LLC Facebook fan page and SKouguell on Twitter, and read more articles on her blog: https://su-city-pictures.com/wpblog/.

 

How to Please a Story Analyst (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

May 29, 2015 / / Comments Off on How to Please a Story Analyst (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers!

How to Please a Story Analyst

by Susan Kouguell

Way back when, I was a story analyst for production companies and studios. Here is my story. And this is the story you should know.

script consultantsMost scripts submitted to agents, production companies and/or studios will get coverage, which is a story report written by a story analyst (also called a “reader.”) Many story analysts are recent college graduates, looking to break into the film industry. Most are smart, overworked and underpaid. Many are aspiring screenwriters who are reading for a company to support their own screenwriting and are paying their dues in this job to get their foot (and their own scripts) in the door.

Story analysts are the lowest people on the film industry totem pole. They are often the lowest paid, yet they have one of the biggest tasks – to find that winning screenplay! Story analysts might get three scripts (or more) to read overnight after a full day of reading. It’s your job to grab their attention and make them want to check a READ on your script’s coverage.

Story analysts are looking for talent, not just the winning property. They may PASS on a script because it’s not the type of project their company is looking to produce at that time, but will hold onto to it as a writing sample for other projects they currently may have in development or for future assignments. Or, the production company, studio or agency might contact the writer to see his or her other work, which might lead to a writing job or a script sale.

“I’m tired of rewriting so I’m just going to submit my script now,” If you are saying this, then you’re not passionate about your script – and in turn, story analysts will share your sentiments and reject your screenplay. Story analysts read countless scripts per week. They must feel your commitment to your script. They want to like what they read.

Story Analysts’ Confessions

Years ago, when I worked as a story analyst for Miramax Films (Harvey Weinstein), Punch Productions (Dustin Hoffman), Paramount Pictures and Viacom, I befriended my fellow story analysts. Of course we commiserated (okay, complained) about our low pay and long hours, but once that kvetching session ended, we revealed what was really annoying us. Most of the scripts we were covering were weak. Okay, honestly, many were just plain bad.

There were some common threads as to why these scripts were bad. I compiled my discussions with colleagues, and included my own first-hand experience as a Screenplay Doctor and a former story analyst in my book, The Savvy Screenwriter: How to Sell Your Screenplay (and Yourself) Without Selling Out! Here is an excerpt:

Complaints & Observations

  • We are intelligent, but few of us have psychic abilities. If it’s not on the page, we have no way of knowing what’s in your head and what you intended.
  • If your first ten pages don’t grab our attention, it will be difficult if not impossible to redeem yourself later. Beware! This may result in a PASS.
  • Each and every character must be unique, have a distinctive personality, and serve a purpose in the story, otherwise you are truly frustrating us.
  • Don’t throw in the kitchen sink. We know you are not confident about your story when you include extraneous plots and characters.
  • We may not have gone to medical or law school, but generally we are well read. We will immediately recognize if the terminology or research in your script is weak or implausible.
  • Even superheroes’ actions need to be plausible! If you have action scenes, be sure that they are realistic and well executed; otherwise we will be inclined to PASS on your script.
  • Don’t keep us in a confusing time tunnel! If your script jumps forward in time, whether it’s several months or several years, then be sure that this is clearly indicated in your script.
  • Film, unlike plays or novels, is a visual medium. Endless dialogue and too much description will persuade us to PASS on your script.
  • In your description paragraphs, don’t telegraph what is about to be seen and/or heard in the dialogue and/or action. Enough said!
  • Don’t direct your script with camera angles. Using camera directions is absolutely frowned upon. We know that directors and producers do not want to be told how to shoot their movie!
  • A script is not a novel. Dense paragraphs of descriptions are a turn off. Each separate action should be a new paragraph. Be brief and concise. Make each word count. Since we are often tired and overworked, these paragraphs become a blur of black lines and consequently, we may overlook important details.
  • Avoid heavy-handed exposition at all costs. Don’t over explain information about back-story in dialogue. We know if you’re setting up a whole scene just to get exposition across.
  • Watch out for rambling scenes! Generally, one script page equals one minute of screen time. You must keep this in mind if your scenes run long since we are looking for a well-paced screenplay.
  • When we read voice-overs, we often panic. We don’t want to be spoon-fed information. We don’t want to hear the same information in voice-over that will soon be revealed in dialogue.
  • When we read flashbacks, our alarms start to go off! Generally, we frown upon flashbacks because we know flashbacks rarely work on film. If you really feel that you need to use them, know that we will be scrutinizing them to see if they are indeed necessary.
  • Incorrect format will get a quick PASS! Don’t cheat and use a smaller font or change the margins. We will catch this immediately. Respect the time of the person reading your script.
  • Don’t submit your script unless it looks perfect! No typos. No coffee stains. No photocopying lines. No missing or extra blank pages within the script. Believe me, you don’t want us to become irritated because we are attempting to decipher text between the spots and smudges, and trying to figure out which page belongs where.

Take your time writing and rewriting your screenplay. You do not want to cause any unnecessary stumbling blocks that will result in your screenplay getting a PASS. Always do your best work before submitting it.

READ MORE HERE

SELL YOUR SPEC SCRIPT

May 26, 2015 / / Comments Off on SELL YOUR SPEC SCRIPT

Ten Steps to Selling Your Spec Script

by Susan Kouguell

I know, I know, I know. I’ve heard it all before. “Selling a script is impossible. It just doesn’t happen. I don’t know anyone in the film business so I have no chance at all. It just isn’t fair. I’m just not a lucky person.”

Well, selling a screenplay does happen. But – (here it comes) – truth be told, selling a script is like winning the lottery. Some people do win the lottery and some writers do sell their scripts.

Keep your sanity! Remain focused! Remember that your screenplay has three potential goals:

1) to sell

2) to get optioned and/or produced

3) to serve as a writing sample for future work

So, here are ten steps to selling your spec script…

1. Write a great script. Okay, this sounds obvious, but often my Su-City Pictures’ clients and students have said to me, “If this awful movie I just saw was actually made, why should I work so hard on my script?” The answer is this: the competition and odds are indeed staggering, so put your best work out there. Your script is your calling card and it reflects your writing talent. Your script should demonstrate that you know the craft – this means it should have a strong voice, developed characters, solid structure, and follow the genre conventions. It’s nearly impossible to resubmit a rewrite of the same script to an agent and/or company once that script has been rejected.

2. Write an attention-grabbing query letter. Research and query production companies, studios and talent (actors, directors, producers) that are a good match for your script.

3. Compose a strong synopsis. If film industry folks respond positively to your query, you may be then asked to send a one-page synopsis with or without your script.

4. Prepare a great pitch. Once an agent, manager, production company and/or studio has read and liked your script, you may be called in to meet with them at which time you will be asked to pitch. There are other opportunities to pitch such as pitch festivals.

5. Network. You’ve heard the joke: “What’s the best way to Carnegie Hall? … Practice. Practice. Practice.” What’s the best way to break into the film business? “Network. Network. Network.” Writing is solitary, but the film industry and getting your script made into a movie is all about whom you know and the people you meet. No matter where you live, find a way to make personal contacts with industry professionals. Attending script conferences, workshops, and film festivals are good ways to make connections, as well as social media.

6. Educate yourself about the film business. Being savvy about the film industry makes you more appealing to potential agents, production companies and/or studios. Keep up-to-date by reading the trades, and screenwriting and film publications. This is a good way to learn who’s looking for what in order to help you target the right people for your project.

READ MORE HERE

 

SCREENPLAY STRUCTURE: The Spine of the Screenplay (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

May 12, 2015 / / Comments Off on SCREENPLAY STRUCTURE: The Spine of the Screenplay (SCRIPT MAGAZINE)

Click to tweet this article to your friends and followers!

The Spine of the Screenplay
by Susan Kouguell

In my more than 25 years of teaching screenwriting and screenplay consulting I continue to find one common issue — many screenwriters do not know what the inherent conflict is in their scripts. The truth is — they don’t know the dramatic spine of their story.

story structureMany screenwriters tend to get sidetracked in set pieces, formatting, dialogue, and other basic elements; they have lost sight of the vital yet basic skill – dramatic writing. Whether you’re writing a comedy or drama, a thriller or action film, a farce or fantasy, crafting a solid conflict and resolution is critical to your script’s success.

The spine in a human’s body is what holds the body’s framework together. In a screenplay, the spine holds the script together. Without a strong spine, the body and the screenplay collapse. A crumbling screenplay results in a script that will be rejected by film industry folks.

The spine can be as simple as boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl, or it can be more complicated.

Characters’ motivations prompt the choices and decisions they make, which in turn, advance the narrative.

The dramatic spine is the drive behind your protagonist’s actions. It is what propels your protagonist forward. In this example, the dramatic spine is seen through the athlete’s choices.

Example: Your protagonist is a female athlete who has always played by the rules and has won every competition. But when she discovers that her brother needs expensive medical treatment, she will do whatever it takes to save his life, including cheating at an event so she can win the prize money.

The dramatic spine can be seen when characters push towards their goals and the emotional changes they experience are punctuated.

Sign up for Susan's webinar on wordbuilding!

Sign up for Susan’s webinar on wordbuilding!

Characters must have a set of both internal and external obstaclesthat challenge them. When these internal and external obstacles are tied together, your plot will have a more relatable and believable conflict.

In My Best Friend’s Wedding Julianne attempts to sabotage her best friend’s wedding to win the man she believes she should have married all along, but her emotional progression provides the twist in the narrative; she’s not the woman the audience will be rooting for due to her selfish and duplicitous actions.

In the film Juno, Juno’s pregnancy is the spine of the story; her decision to keep the baby and the way in which it impacts her relationship with the father of her baby, as well as her own family and the adoptive family, propels the narrative forward.

Tips to Discover the Dramatic Spine of Your Screenplay

  • Picture an actual human spinal framework and then envision what your characters hold on to both emotionally and physically, internally and externally, in order to achieve their goals. Protagonists and antagonists must have specific goals they hope to accomplish as the plot unfolds. Along the way, they must face obstacles, roadblocks, problems, and hurdles, which raise the stakes in the script.
  • Understand your characters’ wants and needs.
  • Determine what is causing the major conflicts between your characters.
  • Know the emotional progression of your protagonist.
  • Identify the overall through-line of your plot.

Don’t lose sight of your true identity: Screenwriter as Dramatist.

 

READ MORE HERE

« Older posts Newer posts »

Recent Posts

Search

Categories

© 2025 Su-City Pictures East, LLC

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑