The Screenplay:

The screenplay is one of the biggest and most important things needed to start a production. It is a crucial part of the pre‑production process. It’s either called a screenplay or a script, the names are interchangeable on a production set. The screenplay lays out the entirety of the plot, from the dialogue to the action that occurs during the scenes in the film. It can also give actors a way of connecting to the story and characters.

I’ve written a fair few screenplays in the past, so formatting it came easy to me, but to some it might be a little tricky.

A screenplay isn’t written in a traditional story way; it follows rules and guidelines, from font size to the general font that needs to be used. Here is how a screenplay should look if all the rules are followed…

OTHER EXAMPLE:

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS:

As you see, it’s very different, but in the film industry it is set and written this way to make it easier for directors and other crew members to write notes onto the pages.

As a group, we have written a screenplay for our film opening, and as a group we believe wholeheartedly that we can make it work.

Here is our screenplay...

DECEDENT

INT - NIGHT - DARK CORRIDOR

We see a dark corridor. Nothing is seen except bloody footprints leading the camera towards a door... as we inch closer... and closer to the door, the CREDITS WILL ROLL... about a quarter of the way to the door, we notice an arm laying on some type of surface above the ground and a bloody photo on the ground... BLOOD IS NOW SHOWN dripping off the person’s arm slowly and slowly... almost entrapping the viewer in some type of loop as the camera continues to move slowly through the corridor. The camera stops almost reaching the doorway. Suddenly, we see the body drop to the ground, inserting a large imposing title card (DECEDENT) portraying the thriller nature of the opening. As the title card is displayed, the soundtrack commences with a sinister tone, further amplifying the thriller nature. Since the film is the crossover between a noir film and thriller film, both genres will complement each other, allowing for further interpretation of contrasts and important plot points in the film without being too caught up in the visuals. 

CUT TO 

INT - NIGHT - BEDROOM

Close-ups and extreme close-ups, tagging with panning and tilt movements of bloody photographs scattered around the room. The pictures reveal the killer’s plot. This gives the film its reason and shows the setting up of the plot for the rest of the film. We then cut to a bird’s-eye view shot of the body laying lifelessly... bloody pictures... blood stains scattered... dismantled room... are all seen in this bird’s-eye view shot. 

SINISTER SCORED CUTS ALONG WITH MATCH CUT 

MATCH CUT 

INT - DAY - BEDROOM

We now see a body chalk outline... blood stains scattered... decomposing body... dismantled room... crime scene cones... and forensics and detectives enter. Still capturing all this with the bird’s-eye view shot. Detectives are seen gathering information and evidence with a variety of shot types, from close-ups to wide shots. 

INT - DAY - BEDROOM

The final sequence begins with a mid-shot of the chalk drawing of the body in the crime scene, a tilt/pan up to the lead detective looking disturbed, and as the camera moves out of the room, the camera shakes slightly in the pattern of footsteps, signifying the entity being the killer, and as we finish where we begin, slowly the sinister score returns and there we will abrupt cut. 

CUT TO BLACK 

THE END 

Now it’s time for the hardest part of a production, and that’s actually shooting it…