Most Common Mistakes Screenwriters Make In Act 1 - Naomi Beaty
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
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Naomi Beaty is a writer, screenwriting teacher, consultant and owner of WRITE+CO., along with the author of LOGLINE SHORTCUTS: Unlock Your Story And Pitch Your Screenplay In One Simple Sentence and THE SCREENPLAY OUTLINE WORKBOOK: A step-by-step guide to brainstorm ideas, structure your story, and prepare to write your best screenplay.
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This is still the best TH-cam channel for filmmakers
Cheers Damien!
Not just filmmakers. I think this is the best channel for ANY kind of creative writing.
I think it's great for novelists too. The principles of writing are the same for all the media, though the delivery is different for each of them. 😊
Here here! I’m making a graphic Novel. I’ve learned so much from this channel as a beginner writer. I started my research when I realized how challenging it can be to write dialog for my characters. I came across this channel several years ago and I feel fairly confident now in my story telling abilities. Thankyou Film Courage!
@@AaronAox Did you see their video about the Rule of 20? That's not only their best video, it contains the best piece of writing advice I've ever heard. I use it to brainstorm anytime I get stuck.
m.th-cam.com/video/ahJtjHoBkZE/w-d-xo.html
Each video you release has parts that both affirm what I'm already doing and parts that make me realize what needs improving. That's probably why this channel is so addictive.
Exactly! I feel the same way too! ☺️
I love her simplicity in her response: take your time and make sure all the pieces are set up before moving on to act two. Like a good foundation. Leads to my next question: how do you make a setup entertaining and not feel so much like a setup?
Look to making that as organic feeling as possible. I'd say try to avoid over-explanation, or treating the audience like they're dumb and using too much exposition. Leave breadcrumbs only. Make them work for it.
Place your set-up within moments. Watch how great films set things up. Star Wars gives you a lot of set-up by following two droids through a conflict then introducing other, needed characters through them. But there are moments there: the attack by the Empire on the Rebel ship, the droids fleeing to the planet below to find someone who can help complete the mission, the droids captured and sold to a farmer, the boy who looks for a droid as it runs away to find the person who will help complete the mission, the boy meeting his mentor as his mentor saves his life, the mentor talking about the boy's father and receiving the message for help from the princess as he gives the boy and the droids shelter.
See? There are all these moments, and it's within these moments that we get the set-up and needed exposition, and we also get a chance to connect with the characters.
Introduce, introduce, introduce.
Make the audience question the protagonist's morals and desires with actions, personality and dialect.
@@BigDaddyJinxditto on the organic part for sure. I think this is where great dialogue comes in...giving us a clear picture of who these characters' quirks are (before their journey begins) in a way that's not so on-the-nose.
“Dialing up that intensity” made me realize how that would make one’s characters more interesting and appealing.
Working on act one of my first screenplay right now. Yay. Thank you!
Good luck!
Make sure you have a good outline before you jump right in. Without it, you're flying blind with no real direction and will likely end up rewriting act one a hundred times when you inevitably run out of story by page 50 or 60. Trust me, it happens all the time. Act one is fun and relatively easy. Act two (the meat of the story) is by far the most difficult. Good luck!
@@myNarrator Thanks for the insight and well wishes! I started with an outline. We'll see how act two goes!
Totally agree. Act 1 is all about set-up. Act 2 is consistently moving the story forward and escalating the situation.
This isn't information only a writer should know; if you want to be a good editor, on the page or in video, you have to understand and get a feel for good pacing. I love what Naomi said about Act 2 needing the story to move forward consistently. As an editor, if there's anything in my script or on-screen that is hampering that forward motion, it gets cut, and I guarantee that every time I recognize and cut something that does this, the overall work is improved.
Many sequels fail because the writers forget to redevelop sympathy for the main characters in the first act or quarter. More sequels fail because they're more formulate than then the first breakthrough movie, and and they fail to present a premise that is unique or interesting.
Agreed but, aside from a studio rushing a money grab, it's understandable why sequels are genuinely tough to pull off. How do you capture the same thing that made the original work yet subvert expectations well enough to keep it interesting...allthewhile doing it in such a way that someone that didn't see the original can still enjoy it. Your comment speaks to the latter.
The biggest mistake writers make is following the strict guidelines of others. If everyone followed her guidelines to a T there wouldn't be any excitement after a while because everyone's story would be set up the same. Writers, don't be afraid to be different. As long as your delivery is interesting and makes sense as the reader progresses, then there is nothing wrong with breaking the rules. Make sure you break the rules for a good reason though. Don't just break the rules just to break them.
Yes, too many people take these guidelines as a gospel and a set of rules that should be followed religiously. Obviously, many of them exists because they've been successfully proven to work, but this doesn't mean that other effective storytelling methods even within conventional and/or commercial writing do not or cannot exist. Of course, you should know and understand what h you're doing doing and *why* you're doing it, instead of breaking the mold for the sake of breaking it - you should consciously and meticulously build your own vocabulary and language, so to speak, not just blurt out random "utterances". But you also should be aware that no matter how hard you try to make your own set of guidelines and principles consistent and cohesive, there always will be people that won't understand your methods, ideas, principles and will accuse you of the dreaded "BAD WRITING" instead of giving you the benefit of the doubt and trying to understand what you're doing and why you're doing it, or just saying "eh, this type/mode/manner of storytelling is definitely not for me". You can listen to their criticisms, sure, as it can be definitely be helpful to understand the opposition, but you also definitely should approach their criticisms through a similarly critical lens in order to reject or incorporate their ideas in your writing somewhat rationally, instead of blindly dismissing or equally blindly accepting everything they say.
@@icipher6730 Agree completely. You shouldn't just follow some rulebook because "it's how you do it". If you want to, you can. If you don't want to follow the rules, you can break them. But to break them, you gotta know them, and know why you break them.
Excellent. Although I learned more about ACT 2 than ACT 1.
My advice is simple and it's been around forever. "Shoot the sheriff on the first page". Don't make your viewer wait ten minutes for something to happen.
Another way of putting it is, "act now, explain later". Do not, "explain now, act later". This applies to any genre. Even drama.
I battled with a team member on a recent docudrama. Her idea was a sequential piece. It was history and therefore sequence mattered. Then she was caught up when we used the flashback technique and it worked like a Boss!!!
@@heatherheadley1704 Depends on the genre but flashbacks can be tricky...they tend to interrupt the flow of the narrative. They work just fine in a novel where you have a minimum of 300 pages but tough to do in a script where you're limited to between 90 and 120 pages with maybe one scene per page.
Better to use a few lines of dialogue to explain a past action. Plus, it's a whole lot cheaper than new sets and wardrobes and so forth.
Example. A guy with one arm is talking to someone he just met. He volunteers the fact that he was once a soldier and his missing arm is buried in a another country. The other person is suitably horrified and wonders how he can take the loss of a limb so cheerfully. The ex-soldier says he's lucky. His best buddy stepped on a land mine. .
You don't need to show the actual war scene. You're trying to explain how a one-armed guy learned to play the guitar so well and became a rock 'n roll star and why girls go crazy over him. There's your movie...a comedy...
Yup. I told someone I'm the kind of reader who will flip through the table of contents and look for key parts of the book 📖. Not everyone writes in 'order' but organizes around the beginning, middle and end, starting with the conclusion first.
Coming from a background of education writing or composing was what I taught. I often didn't choose the way to write 😕, my students informed me by the variety of ways they approached writing 😀
I wrote my first script last year and put in so much that there was no structure. This is because I i am completely new to this.
Now I'm onto the second draft and see it all differently, but I'm really stubborn and dont want to cut & trim the story.
Im trying my best to structure the story into a 3 act script, which means im going to have to get over my stubbornness and do what is necessary.
YOU do not "create" conflict, the MAIN CHARACTERS ideological/emotional opposites CAUSE CONFLICT.
CONFLICT is an EFFECT of the CAUSE, this causation is rooted in the PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAITS of the CHARACTER
First :) love naomi’s input she’s great
Thanks for watching!
Choosing what exposition is necessary and what is just not important to the story is hard. In the first Poltergeist you have a sense normalcy as a motif. That the events of movie could have happened anywhere, and it is designed to disarm the viewer before the second act begins with sliding across the floor scene with the kids.
Wow this is really deep
I'm in love with her mind... crown Queen answers.
So good
Anyone try to write act II first, and then acts I and III after?
Like George RR Martin, I plant the seeds and let them grow. Some architects plan everything out ahead of time and build to their precise specification. I like to just start and see where the story takes me.
What do you like about this video?
I like the fact that this video exists to help writers and others to gain knowledge and understanding.
Seriously, I like the part where ‘mistakes’ are discussed. I use these videos as a reference device during my writing projects. They’re both a springboard and an analysis tool.
Keep up the great work. Look forward to more videos and learning.
Will you be interviewing Robert McKee of Storylogue?
7:00 It's not that it's too easy, but that there is an obvious alternative. If the alternative is death, then you have your audience. If they know that the alternative to giving up is complete and utter ruin, the audience will be enthralled. To a certain extent, the story has to have a trajectory. The audience has to feel that their is no turning back by the end of ACT1. A parent had died, a fortune was lost, or something wonderful has been discovered. Something that changes you... it's best to have that in the inciting moment in ACT1. ACT2 is just a way of pursuing the goal, and then getting lost in the attempt. The problem people have with ACT2 is that they cannot figure out how the person goes on without resorting to disjunctive episodes.
So what do you think of act 3?
@@daedalus5253 Is it a 3 act play, or a 4 act play?
@@FromAcrossTheDesert For start, let‘s say, it‘s a 3 act play.
@@daedalus5253 The 3rd Act is the time the Protagonist is sprinting for their desires. It's where the goal is clear. The key to Act3 is really the end of Act2. This is when an action transforms the struggle. Maybe the lover has a second chance with the beloved. Or an adversary reveals his weakness; Or a team finally becomes united in spirit to win; Or a realization occurs.
@@FromAcrossTheDesert And what a out 4 Act plays?
The big worry for me in my Act 1 is exposition. There is _soooooo_ much exposition just to set everything up. It's everything she describes in the video--protagonist, antagonist, the mission, allies/companions, etc--but I agonize over whether I kept it interesting enough for an audience to keep watching, to become invested. Cuz it's mostly just sitting and talking. A few holograms. One character getting slightly and briefly cranky about the whole thing to establish a personality. That kind of thing.
But it's still sitting and talking for, like, five minutes. And I don't know whether the audience will have the patience.
A discerning intellectual audience will. That's all I will say about that.
A good approach is figuring out what the audience really needs, right now, to follow the story and going only with that. Everything else can either be left in mystery, simply shown on-screen, or be mentioned sometime later when it's needed. For example, having a few characters in a room going over a mission briefing, at the start of the film, is okay. However, let's say the film opens with a character prepping for war. He's no one important, seemingly, just an average soldier. He laces his boots. Straps his gun over his shoulder. Takes a deep breath. And just as he's about to follow the other soldiers out the door, he pulls a picture from his pocket, stares at it longingly for a moment, then closes his eyes and places it back in his pocket before running out the door to catch up with the other troops. As he meets up with the group, the commanding officer is already talking, and rips the soldier for being late again (which can tell you something about his character). The commanding officer then goes into the mission situation, the mission goals, and the orders to be carried out to accomplish the mission goal. All the while, the average soldier is taking peeks at the other soldiers as their attention is locked on the officer's every word. There's a lot riding on this mission, and as the officer has said a couple of times already, it's extremely dangerous and not everyone will be coming back, if anyone at all. After a quick pep talk and doing an Ooh-rahh type of yell, the officer orders the soldiers to move out! And the soldiers head to the battlefield.
A mission briefing doesn't have to be people sitting and talking. Place your needed exposition in a moment, in a moment of a character trying to build up the courage within himself to do what he feels he has to do. This is a way of giving the audience the information they need while also giving the audience something they can relate to, the emotions of the average soldier as he's about to go into battle. This is how you invest the audience in your character.
Oh, and if you want to show that the battle takes place in the future, then perhaps the commanding officer can show geographical data to the soldiers through a hologram. He holds the device in his hand as it projects the hologram within the circle of gathered soldiers.
I suggest watching the following films;
12 Angry Men (1953)
Glengarry Glen Ross
The Sunset Limited
These three were theatre plays converted for film, but you don't lose the cinematic quality in the leap. They are all just people sitting, standing and talking (12 Angry Men and Sunset Limited are all in one room!) yet they don't lose your attention, nor that of an audience.
The power of the script, the intriguing nature of the setup and the quality of the direction will charge a long talking scene.
Modern Hollywood slams long conversational scenes, but even in a modern movie they tend to be the best scenes. The opening scene of Inglorious Basterds, talking about milk while the Jews are hidden under the floorboards, is essentially "wrong" by modern Hollywood standards, but it's such a strong and compelling scene.
@@G360LIVE *_For example, having a few characters in a room going over a mission briefing, at the start of the film, is okay._*
Which is effectively what I've done. It's a lot of, "I've got a job to do and I need your help; here are the details."
And I've tried to insert enough about the characters themselves so that they aren't just there to carry the guns--literally or figuratively--which is a problem I have with so many movies these days. The characters in modern movies could be anybody, completely interchangeable with any other characters; they're not people I could get to know or become friends with, they're not real or accessible. A terrible plot can be saved by characters you want to keep watching, anyway.
I'm just worried I haven't pulled it off.
*_A mission briefing doesn't have to be people sitting and talking._*
In this case, it does. The scene and setting demand it; there is no easy way to make it anything else without changing the characters' relationships to each other.
*_Place your needed exposition in a moment, in a moment of a character trying to build up the courage within himself to do what he feels he has to do._*
The scene isn't so much a military operation as a freelance deal between old friends.
Think of the cantina scene in "Star Wars", when Han Solo is being hired to take Luke, Ben, and the droids to Alderaan; it has more in common with that than anything else, but set in a coffeeshop instead of a dive bar.
Two old friends reuniting--with a third character, the second-in-command of one and whom the main protagonist hasn't yet met--and the hero asking for a favor, help accomplishing the main goal of the plot.
The hero explains what he's been doing since they last met, how it relates to the main goal of the plot, then asks his friend for help accomplishing that goal because she has resources and skills he needs. So there are some character moments--like when the second-in-command a little bit objects to the whole deal--and the plot is set up...I tried my best to keep it from just being a bunch of blah-blah-yadda-yadda, but it's _hard_ because there is so much to tell!
*_Oh, and if you want to show that the battle takes place in the future, then perhaps the commanding officer can show geographical data to the soldiers through a hologram._*
Well...the space pirates' mothership, and the device that was stolen on its way from Mars to Earth, but yes; that's already in there.
*_He holds the device in his hand as it projects the hologram within the circle of gathered soldiers._*
Actually, it's on his wrist. ;)
Since you specify holograms, I guess it has at least some elements of sci-fi. I think the audience are prepared for a little exposition in such genres. My advice would be to look at what the audience need to know when. I suggest making a copy of what you already have, remove anything that is unnecessary, or move it to later in the story. Then compare with your original version and see what conclusions you make. Also try reading/watching similar genre/tone to what you're writing and break it down in terms of what works and what doesn't.
Some movies begin with just talking, but we already understand settings like modern day or popular historical time periods.
The other thing to consider, is that while you have a very specific vision, what do the audience actually need, and what can make up for themselves in their own head. Sometimes by removing detail we create extra subject, or allow the audience to become more invested.
Finally, you could think about alternative ways to deliver that dialogue in a more dramatic way, or while they are doing something other than sitting. One way is to make exposition part of an attack/strategy in a conversation, so it feels like the information isn't just being dumped for the audience to hear. It's worth considering the idea of variation; are your scene lengths, locations, conflicts, characters changing, or are you hitting similar beats over and over? And also there's the idea of 'value shift' - how does the scene turn or change the story, or what is the gap between character expectation and what actually happens. A little unpredictability from events or characters might help. You could try the 'list 20 ways' tool, where you think about 20 different ways to write the scene. Usually by the 20th you've eliminated all the obvious ones and come up with more unexpected ideas. You don't have to use any of them, but it might help you see the scene in a new light.
Just my opinion.
hmm. each act could be seen like a round of sports. or on a board game. the stage and actors might change, and the stakes are affecting the protagonist and antagonist.
In a series is it ok to have a season of introduction? I have 5 protagonist so I can't introduce, and have everything go wrong for them in one thirdy minute episode. Since they all have different stories I have to also tell how they come to know each other. Doing that is kinda hard in a thirdy minute episode.
Hi Olivia, here are some thoughts on writing a TV pilot - th-cam.com/video/AYNnQdiixHQ/w-d-xo.html
bam. she said. trailers show too much.
Editing a trailer is an art. Recently, all I 'm seeing are trailers that give away the entire movie and there's no point in watching it, or it's so vague that I have no idea what it's about and I don't want to take the chance of possibly wasting two hours.
Given how hard it it seems to get your script just _read_ by anyone in hollywood, maybe the mistake is not having multiple producer contacts to lean on and get your shit made. Having a good ACT1 doesn't mean a thing if your overall story is weak. Weak story needs to be addressed well before you even consider if your ACT is not sexy enough.
I wonder how it will all play out
What’s the name of the series they talk “Maide” ?
Maid - it is on Netflix
My issue is , I made a great Act 1. Now how do I slowly go into Act 2 without messing all the progress of Act 1?
Outline, outline, outline! It doesn't have to be set in stone, but understanding the whole story before opening your screenwriting software is the best way to write a good story in a short amount of time. Otherwise, you're flying blind.
Good advice if you're writing social traumas.
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1) Way too many trailers today use scenes that were cut from the final film. The trailer sold a comedy when the film was a drama. I love watching faux trailers for famous films. "Silence of the Lambs" as a rom/com.
2) Act 2a explores the story world. This is where the fun happens.
Act 2b refocuses back on the original problem. This is where the frustration happens as we try & fail.
Act 3 is the final push at resolution / success regardless of the final outcome. Do or die. Last chance.
🥱😴
Why are you lying? The main character in maid was anything BUT likable. She was the definition of detestable. She was useless, insufferable, addicted to making everything worse and rejecting any help coming her way. She created obstacles for herself even where no obstacles had a reason to exist.
Therd
Were'd!
It's why I stick to writing shorts for now. All the "do this in act one, do that in act two" annoys me.
Fair enough. But if you understand feature story structure (it's not that complicated) and then write 2 or 3, you start to get the hang of it and it becomes, not easy, but far less convoluted.
Having 'woke' screenwriters is the most common mistake in ALL acts.
I found the "woke" police, may I have your badge number?
You're not wrong, OP. Injecting agendas that paint over an otherwise interesting premise is the folly of today's screenwriter, yes.
Woke isn't real. Hollywood has no interest in politics, it just wants your money.
@@BigDaddyJinx it's not just the writers. Execs and studios are trying to pander to the "squeaky wheels". A great story is a great story. I don't care what colour the characters are or their sexual preferences. Just give me a good story without shoehorning some woke nonsense.
@Trinidad Vasquez they like pretending they are better than everyone while never having done anything to EARN that position.