F ROM AN I DEA T O A M OVIE…

Movies begin as simple concept ideas, like a scene you’ve thought up, a world and culture you’ve built, a what-if scenario you’ve always thought about, or a character you’ve created. All your ideas have possibilities, so make sure to write them down. One of the hardest things about pre- production creation is forgetting your grand ideas. Don’t ignore them, or you’ll forget! And trust me that’s not fun… like… at all.

 After you have a solid idea, make an outline.  An outline can be anything you need it to be. It can be a…  Storyboard  Written Outline  Bulleted List  All it has to do organize the action.  Be willing to go back and change stuff.* *Note: It’s wise to put any great ideas you have in the outline immediately, even if they don’t make sense yet.

 Probably one of the most difficult parts of the process. The writing can make or break your movie. If you do a good job on only one part of the movie, this is it!  Script writing has rules for formatting, just like essays do, but it’s more about for ease of reading than making it sound a specific way.  In Hollywood, they won’t even accept your script unless it’s formatted correctly.  Script writing software is available to do the formatting for you.  Be willing to go back and rewrite stuff, I can’t say this enough. There is so much back and forth in this part. Don’t fear the rewrite! It is your friend!

1. Letter sized paper (8 ½ * 11) 2. Page # in upper right hand corner in the header. No # on title page. 3. Courier New font; 12 pt.* 4. Top, right, and bottom margins ½” to 1”. 5. Left margin 1.2” to 1.6”. *The reason Courier New 12pt. is used is it’s the right size to make it so one page of the script equals about 1 minute of screen time.

 Production is the filming part of filmmaking.  Go through each scene and make director’s notes.  Specific camera angles.  Props and costumes needed.  Which actors are needed.  When and where you want to film.  Any other concerns or points of interest.

- R ED S MITH