Creating a Short Film 101: The Script

The idea is good the idea is solid. Now, lets write a script, a screen play. Hmmm... Well film is a visual medium, right. So, start with a good visual, then what?

To outline or not to outline, that, is the question. I've heard a lot of great writers say they always outline and I've heard a lot of great writers say the complete opposite, "I ever outline". Really, in the end, as a film maker you should have some idea about how your own head works. If you can't articulate this then at least there should be some inner sense of it.

Outlining can be great for one project, horrible for another. It may be that with an out line you reach your points to quickly and you've written the whole story in three pages. Or the outline restricts your creative flow.

Whatever it is the outline is never the rule, its just a guide. you may even find that the out line can be done in your head and that works much better. Having said/written that, don't be lazy about it. Everyone wants to get to writing the script, but often if you put the scripted page off and focus on your plot and characters even in a short film you'll have better material to work with.

For a short film you need to know where your characters are going, what they want to achieve. Is it the girl? Is it the boy? Is it the donkey? or gold or treasure of some sort, immortality? then you put obstacles in the way and raise the stakes with each step.

And you're done, all.. however many, short few pages of story. It's perfect, you can't find anything wrong with it. It's a master piece! You've even re-read it a bunch of times and fixed everything you think is wrong with it. No need for a rewrite, what is that anyway? I'll never need to rewrite this, BRILLIANCE!!

I'm pretty sure I've had these fleeting thoughts of ego from time to time, maybe every time. One really good trick to kill this bloated vision of your script is to read it out loud to someone. This, in itself, is harder than it sounds, who wants to sit there listening to you drone on, right? Whoever it is, make sure their not just going to tell you its brilliant and give you a false sense of security.

The truth is, no matter how good you think your script is the first time around, it will only get better the more you work on it. Unless, of course, you do some thing weird like change the characters names half way through for no reason. (Who does that?)

Writing is a fun process, so have fun when your doing it, it's never going to be perfect the first time. That's what makes it fun, your trying to make the best story you can.