Hey everyone!!! By now you have already completed your first draft of your script, correct? CONGRATULATIONS!!! Give yourself a pat on the back. It's a rewarding feeling to have finished writing your first screenplay. All the blood, sweat, and tears you have gone through to get a finished product. I know it wasn't easy doing the research, reading the many books, and putting the words on paper. I applaud you at this stage of your writing. But now comes the REWRITE and EDIT!!! I know this part sucks but it CAN be rewarding as well. During this process you may be moving things around, adding and taking out, or deleting a scene or two! Don't worry, it's okay...this too shall pass! I know you may have just did the biggest sigh but I PROMISE I have some notes that will make it better! As you all know or if you don't I'm getting my Master's Degree at Full Sail University in Creative Writing where I learned about writing screenplays, games, animation and more. I just finished my screenplay in a month. You must think I'm crazy right? With the tools and the books and applying yourself you too can do this! Now, don't get it wrong it was so much hard work because I had deadlines and it's crunch time! But, whether you are doing this for school or as a goal you can get things done in an ample amount of time if you have this...TIME MANAGEMENT! Time management isn't one of my best friends at all, but we have learned to get along for the better! For the big REWRITE, I have some great notes for a book that I'm using for school called Rewrite by Paul Chitlik. Let me tell you...I thought it was going to be boring like most text books but this one is AWESOME and easy to read. So let's get started...I'll write the first chapters of notes for you. If you have any questions please comment below!
Chapter 1
Clarifying Story and Structure For Impact
Does your film have the 7 points that provide the bare bones of the body of your movie? Here are the seven points:
1. Ordinary Life- getting to know who the central character is and what his issue (flaw) is. We see the protagonist in his usual surroundings, dealing with the usual people in his life, but we also see that he has some issues and that there is a need for change. He may or may not know that.
2. The Inciting Incident- this shows up usually around page 15 (or 15 minutes into the film), give or take a couple pages. Something happens to your protagonist that will change his life forever. Eventually, it will compel him to act. It will help him define his goal.
3. End of Act One- when your character decides on a course of action in order to deal with whatever the inciting incident brought up. Usually another major event forces him to decide that he must take action. A plan is part of that. It usually occurs between pages 25 and 35.
4. Midpoint or Turning Point- Yes, this does happen right around the middle wherein the action takes a sudden and new unexpected direction. The goal may change. The central character may realize what his flaw is.
5. The low point- End of the second act. The all is lost point in terms of the goal. It appears there's no way in hell he'll ever reach his goal. Happens around page 75-85 depending on the length of your script.
6. The Final Challenge- AT the beginning of Act 3, your protagonist sees something, hears something, or even remembers something that reanimates him and gives him the will to continue. The he prepares to face the final test, the final barrier that your character must overcome in order to reach his goal. The last, biggest battle.
7. The return to(the now- changed- forever) normal life. Two or three pages to show us that life goes on and that our character has triumphed and changed.
GUIDELINES, NOT LAWS
The seven points are only guidelines, of course. But the inciting incident should come as early as you can get it while still showing us who the main character is and why we should care about him.
There are scenes between these points-important scenes and many barriers to get through and many people to relate to, but these are the major signposts along the way of your protagonists journey.
HERE IS SOMETHING FOR YOU TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Briefly outline your story in terms of the seven points. Write no more than a sentence about each of the seven points. Make sure that each of the seven points. Make sure that each point after the inciting incident relates to the goal of your central character.
THE BEAT SHEET
Now it's time to really see where you are in your structure. Were all your points expressed in terms of the protagonist's goal? Were they in the proximity to the balance described above? Now we're going to get intimate with your script. YES....INTIMATE! Without making any changes to your story yet, we need to see what exactly what you have in terms of scenes, so let's write a beatsheet of your story.
A beatsheet is a list of the scenes of your story to remind them what each scene will be.
*But the beatsheet you wrote when you started your script might not correspond to what ended up in your script. You may have added scenes, changed them,taken some away. That's the process*
When you you do your rewrite, you've got to be ready to do this, too, so you need a new beatsheet to get the lay of the land. The best way to do this according to some screenwriters, is to write each beat on index cards. (BY THE WAY IF YOU HAVE THE FINAL DRAFT SOFTWARE, INDEX CARDS ARE AVAILABLE FOR YOU.)
DEVELOPING SUBPLOTS
By this time you should be thinking of two main subplots that is the " B" and the "C" of your story, the emotional subplot and the personal growth subplot. In most stories, the central story is the "A" story. In romantic comedies, it's the emotional, or the "B" story. The protagonist isn't the only person in your story. He has friends, lovers and enemies. Each of these people can have a subplot on his own.
RAISING THE STACKS
Here when raising the stacks you've got to set up your story so that each step, it gets harder and harder for your protagonist to get past the obstacles in his way. What is the penalty of your central character doesn't achieve a short-term goal and eventually, the long term goal? In other words, what are the stakes? What is the jeopardy for the protagonist? If he drives too fast, his car will slide off the road. If he fails his test, he'll have to start over again. As you progress in your script, you should be continually raising the stakes. Do you?
TO DO!!!!!!!!!!!!
What happens to your central character if he fails his quest? What are the consequences of failure? Write one or two lines describing the stakes.
WHO IS THE REAL HERO?
One of the MOST difficult things about writing a feature film is to figure out who the hero is. Yes, hero. The hero is the person who has to overcome adversity to reach his goal.
TO DO!!!!!! ( Last One, lol)
Write in one line what your protagonist does to overcome the big barrier in the final challenge. He can have help. but he must lead the charge, whatever form that charge takes.
Now in this chapter if you have done ALL the work provided...you have worked hard. Take a time to relax and do something fun. Watch a movie or read a book for fun.
Discussion Question: Do you feel that these notes will help you advance and make your screenplay better? Why or why not? Comment below PLEASE!!!!
Devon “Kokayn
Reynolds is a “Jack Of All Trades.” This man does it all!! With his
Production/Publishing Company and his foundation called Center Of Attention,
what can’t this man do? Having the opportunity to work with big names in the
music industry like Joe Budden,
Kokayn is unstoppable. “With music being part of my life since I’ve been young,
my sound is unique. I had to find people to make my sound deliver
properly.” Mr. Reynolds was inspired by
a lot people to name a few Timberland and Dr.Dre. He gives his mother a lot of
credit for his success. “My mother is a warrior. The way she took care of me
and my sister. She’s so strong even during times of weakness.” When asked what
challenges Kokayn faces being in productions he says, “I face the challenge of
learning that it’s a lot to learn. Once you introduce sounds, they have to
blend. Others challenges that are hard to face are dealing with people and
always being true to myself.” Getting
into publishing was more a business move for Mr. Reynolds. He says that being able to make money off you
instead of other people making money off you. There is no limit to the kind of
writing Kokayn does. “I’m an emotional writer, I write short stories and some
poetry.” Being involved in many different avenues, Devon also is involved in
three different cinematic movies, soundscapes for a couple movies, and a series
called The New You Inside Of You which tailors to a healthier lifestyle for
people. With all of these roles that Mr. Reynolds play he manages them with
balance. “Over my years of being in the military, it taught me to balance. When
you have the help of God, I’m able to balance everything.” The hardest challenge that Kokayn faces is to
learn how to stop caring about others instead of him. “Dealing with the mental
anguish of being in a war, learning to care about myself was a hard lesson to
learn.” With his Women’s Empowerment foundation, Center Of Attention, it
started in 2011. “ Myself and another artist made Center Of Attention a song, a
feel good song. But, I wanted to do something to give back. The foundation
helps women in shelters and helps provide them with hotels, food, and women
transition once they are out of shelters.” Kokayn is very dedicated in helping
the youth of this generation. When asked his opinion on how society views this
generation he states, “Our current generation doesn’t know how we are to look.
Slave mentality is in our current youth, mentality slavery as far as music and
life. They don’t know about handling money. They don’t know how to count to
twenty in Spanish but they can teach em how to “dougie”. As a father, I limit
what my son sees. Kids are like sponges and they soak up everything on TV,
there almost programmed to it.” Devon
“Kokayn Reynolds is very talented and passionate about what he does. Whether
it’s music, a foundation, productions, or publishing, this man won’t be
forgotten. If you don’t know him now, stay tuned because you will see more of
him!! Kokayn is on fire! The best is yet
to come!