A full screenplay should be 90 to 110 pages if you want to match Hollywood’s expectations. It should have around 35-50 scenes, or in Blake Synder’s opinion (and his opinion is worth its weight in gold) it should have exactly 40 scenes. Save your three hour epic for your award winning second or third produced/released/in great profit movie or if you can write all the cheques yourself.
Once you’ve read and taken in the section on screenplay planning, you’ll know that you should have the overall plan for your writing ready, before you write.
You can use Save The Cat software to plan those scenes for you so you know exactly what will happen in each scene before you write it. Movie Outline cuts a similar flow as does Movie Magic.
You may choose to have your 3×5 cards (one for each scene) on a pin board over your desk so you can see the whole screenplay in one image.
Don’t number your scene headings; they won’t be needed until your movie goes into pre-production.
Each scene heading (called a slug line) gives you information about when and where the scene exists. It has three parts:
- INT. or EXT. – either an interior or an exterior shot
- Where – the tangible location where the action takes place
- The time of day – day or night.
Examples could be:
EXT. HEATHROW AIRPORT – DAY
INT. TOM’S DINER – NIGHT
If you move from an INT shot to an EXT shot, use a new slug line. Keep the reader informed.
Scene locations must be unambiguous and descriptive. If it doesn’t matter what type of train station you’re in, then no name is necessary, but if it must be Grand Central, then say so. It tells the reader where you are. They can picture it, the people and the structure. Once you use a location, always call it the same throughout your script otherwise confusion may arise.
You may have wasted an opportunity to show the reader a ‘picture’ of the location if you don’t name it, but naming Don’s book shop in Manchester when it doesn’t mean anything to anyone (sorry Don) won’t help.
Your scene must contain sufficient emotional content to move your lead characters on. There must be conflict to ensure the movie moves forward.
Don’t bore the reader. Make them want to read to the next scene as soon as possible. Make them want to turn the page.
Make your characters different from each other. Make them stand out. William M Akers has a great line that goes ‘get into the scene as late as possible and get out as early as possible.’ You don’t want to have your characters doing things that aren’t necessary. When someone walks into a house, unless it’s for dramatic effect, we don’t need to see him or her get their keys out, put them in the lock, open the door and walk in. Cut to the chase.
Your action and dialogue must be worth every word you write. Show and not tell is better than telling the reader everything. Let them use their mind to see what you’re after.
Don’t direct either actors or the cameraman through scene instructions. They’re the experts and with the director, they’ll work out what to do.
After you’ve written a scene, cut out all the loose writing. The extra words you don’t need.
Finally, make every scene memorable. If it’s not, change it around until it is, or cut it out.
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