I'm trying my hand at scriptwriting 2 films. One is based on a historical event back in the 1880's and the other is a current day outdoor camping adventure with a "sci fi" twist at the end. I actually have several publications to my credit, but they are technical educational pieces and not for film. Any suggestions as to material I could read/learn on "how to write for the screen" would be appreciated.
Screenwriting : Trying my hand at writing by Ric Frost
Trying my hand at writing
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Trottier's "Screenwriter's Bible," and Robert McKee's "Story," for starters, and then read some great screenplays - most are available online for free. Good luck.
Thank you Mark. I'll find those books and learn.
+3 screenwriters bible, if you're looking for the nuts and bolts to begin with.
Read the books "Save the Cat" by Blake Snyder. Very informative taking you from beginning with an idea and how to structure it to a finished product. you can get the book on amazon for about $10.
Thank you everyone for your help, I'll be investigating all of the suggestions and going from there. Seems like the "Screenwriter's Bible" has the most recommendations. Another question, has anyone used the scriptwriting program Celtx? I know it is a free program, but sometimes free does not mean it has value. Thanks in advance.
... Celtx is legit. I use it. Love it.
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I used http://www.screenwriting.info/ to learn the formatting and used a Word template for my first screenplay. In my opinion it's important that you make the most of your enthusiasm now and get writing before investing too much time in the academia. If you read the books now, there's a chance you'll become paralysed with a high expectation in yourself. Plus you'll struggle to apply a lot of the learning without being able to reflect on some varied experience. I advise getting the two scripts written ASAP and when you hit a formatting issue simply look it up online and move on. Once done then read the books, read as many as possible and take in what works for your. Everything will make far more sense when you can apply it to your own work and you'll most likely be very eager to rewrite your scripts. And Celtx is fine.