Project Proposal

What is my project?

My project will be about learning, developing and writing a piece – specifically a script/screen writing. I have never written a script and I don’t have extensive knowledge of the make-up of a script. There are various types of written pieces such as novel writing, short stories and poetry’s – these are the types of pieces I am more familiar with when writing. My knowledge of script writing is little and this is why I chose this as my project.

How does this connect into my studies and my future?

I am currently studying a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Creative Writing with an additional major of Hospitality. Script/screen writing connects in with one of my majors (Creative Writing) and it connects into what I want to do in my career in the future. I want to be able to creatively produce a writing piece worth publishing – whether it be a novel, short story, poetry or scripts. Script/screen writing is not my strong suit so I want to expand my writing skills and invest in learning on how to write scripts as my project.

I want to be able to contribute in writing plays for a school(s), church events, advertisements on television/online, TV show or even for big theater companies.

What am I aiming to gain while doing this project overall? What skills am I aiming to improve?

1. To develop knowledge and an understanding of what script writing is, what it needs and how it is written.
2. To gain knowledge of the writing structure/rules script/screen writing and lingo.
3. To be able to create a solid plot with memorable characters.
4. To be able to strengthen my writing skills.
5. To be able to produce a script of my own work.

Additional personal aim:

• To improve time management (to be able know how this will improved is being able to stick to the weekly planner I have set for myself and not being late in posting, where I will have to double my work in one week).

 

Readings:

• Teaching Scriptwriting, Screenplays and Storyboards for film & TV Production by Mark Readman.
• Script Standards
• Screenplay Format Guide
• How to format a screenplay by Davie Trottier
• Script writing tips
• A Crash Course in Screen Writing by David Griffith
• Screen Writing for Dummies by Laura Schellhardt

Scripts/Films

• The Conjuring written by Chad & Carey Hayes 
• The Lion King written by Irene Mecchi & Jonathan Roberts
• Easy “A” written by Bert V. Royal

THEME

I’ve chosen these scripts because I want to be able to get a grasp of different genres: HORROR, ANIMATED & TEEN. The animated (The Lion King) & teen (Easy “A”) are solely what I will be focusing on because they are a foundation of what I will use for CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT in scripts in ACT ONE.

Extra Notes

• Each week I will be commenting on other peoples e-portfolio projects.
• The on-going criteria in my planner, are elements that are required to make a good script.

 

Weekly Planner

Week	Task/Post & Criteria
5	Read Script Standards and Mark Readmans book – write down notes so that I can apply this into my writing. Also read The Conjuring script – take notes of the plot, character & structure. Research what I don’t understand (e.g. script lingo). Begin to generate ideas for what I want to write, genre, style etc. once this is all decided begin working on script step outline. ON GOING CRITERIA: GAIN KNOWLEDGE OF THE FORMAT OF SCREEN/SCRIPT WRITING. CREATE A STEP-OUTLINE FOR MY SCRIPT BEFORE WRITING MY SCRIPT.
6	Read Script Writing Tips, Screenplay Format Guide and How to Format a screenplay – take notes that are relevant for script/screen writing. Also create character profiles of each character. This will be essential for character development later on.
7	Continue writing script – depending what type my script is from what I have chosen for myself in week 5 (stage or film). ON GOING CRITERIA: CONSISTENCY IN SENTENCE STRUCTURE, DON’T BE “WORDY” – KEEP SENTENCES SHORT.
	REFLECTION #1
8	Continue writing. Read Easy “A” written by Bert V. Royal – compare and contrast my work – STRUCTURE/FORMAT OF SCRIPT AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE against this published script. THIS WEEK IS FOCUSING ON COMPARE & CONTRAST ON FORMAT OF SCRIPT AND SENTENCE STRUCTURE OF A PUBLISHED PIECE VS MY OWN PIECE.
9	Read Screen Writing for Dummies by Laura Schellhardt – take notes. Focus reading on the ‘beginning of the script’ Continue writing. Use notes I have compared and contrasted from Easy A and apply it. ON-GOING CRITERIA: STRENGTHENING THE BEGINNING OF THE SCRIPT. BREAKING DOWN THE SCENES AND FOCUSING ON THE INTRODUCTION OF CHARACTERS AND PLOT IN ACT 1.
	REFLECTION #2
10	Read The Lion King written by Irene Mecchi & Jonathan Roberts for character development. Continue writing script. THIS WEEK IS FOCUSING ON FINISHING THE SCRIPT (ACT 1)
11	Finish writing script. Watch the movie Easy “A” compare and contrast the script to the film – analyse solely on character building throughout the script & movie.  THIS WEEK IS FOCUSING ON CHARACTER BUILDING. ON-GOING CRITERIA: CHARACTER BUILDING IS ESSENTIAL TO MAKE A GOOD SCRIPT. RE-READ THROUGH SCRIPT(S) AND FOCUS ON CHARACTERS DEVELOPMENT THROUGHOUT THE STORY.
	REFLECTION #3
12	Finish script – Act 1. Apply notes from last week and try to incorporate them into my work. Read A Crash Course in Screen Writing by Scottish Screen. ON-GOING CRITERIA: CREATING A SOLID CHARACTER WITH A SOLID PLOT IS ESSENTIAL TO CREATING A GOOD SCRIPT. USE NOTES FROM THIS WEEKS READINGS TO IMPROVE MY WORK.
13	Finalize Script.
	REFLECTION #4

 

References

Brothers, H. (n.d.). The Conjuring. Retrieved from http://www.scriptreaderpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Conjuring-The.pdf

Mecchi, I. & Roberts, J. (1993, Aug 20). The Lion King. Retrieved from http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Lion-King,-The.pdf

Price, L. (2010). Character Development – Script Analysis. Retrieved from https://www.theatrefolk.com/freebies/character-development-script-analysis.pdf

Readman, M. (2008). Teaching scriptwriting, screenplays and storyboards for film and TV production. London: BFI Education.

Royal, V. B. (2008, Aug 3). Easy “A”. Retrieved from http://screenplayexplorer.com/wp-content/scripts/Easy-A.pdf

Schellhardt, L. (2008). Screenwriting for dummies (2nd ed.). Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Pub.

Screenplay Format and Style Standards FAQ. (n.d.). Retrieved from  https://blcklst.com/help/script_standards.pdf

Screenplay Format Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.storysense.com/SPFormat.pdf

Script Writing Tips. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ctslanguagelink.com/support%20files/Audiovisual%20section/av_script_writing_tips.pdf

Trottier, D. (n.d.). How to Format a Screenplay. Retrieved from https://www.finaldraft.com/mm_media/mm_pdf/How_to_Format_a_Screenplay.pdf