Storyboard:
To begin writing a script, it is common practice to create a storyboard. The practice began in the 1930s at Walt Disney Studio by artist Webb Smith and has been used to plan out and create most films since. A storyboard contains a sketch of a scene along with a caption that explains what is happening in the scene, camera shot, and what the intended affected the audience is.
This is a key element of pre-production as it is shown to producers after the initial script to be given the funding necessary to create the film. Additionally, a storyboard is what plans the flow of the movie containing scene order and descriptions on camera shots and angles to be considered when filming.
A storyboard is also the first time that a film's plot is being put in visual media in a cohesive manner, allowing the initial plot mockup and character descriptions to interact in chronological order and how they impact the audience through the caption.
Structure:
Scripts are commonly structured into 3 acts: setup, confrontation and resolution, while there are some exceptions most if not all mainstream movies follow this archetype which serves as a "skeleton" to keep the script on course and appeals to audiences as it mirrors the way humans understand stories. The structure also allows for the development of characters as the story goes on by having their values and views varied in different acts.
Act 1 known as the "setup" is where characters and the world they are a part of is introduced and shows the intentions and motivations of the characters, the setup also includes an inciting incident, a pivotal point in the story that disrupts the characters, sets up conflicts and puts main plot points into motion.
Act 2 which is known as the "confrontation" is when the protagonist faces obstacles based on the conflict, this is also where side characters are usually introduced to help further the plot by expanding into their subplots which tie together towards the end, this act is known for the increase of tension due to the rising stakes leading up to a major turning point in the story that sets up act 3 and the climax.
Act 3 named the "resolution" is the final act of the story containing the climax of the story which is the highest point of tension where the conflict is resolved. This act includes the protagonist facing the final challenge. The act finishes the films by showing how the characters and or world were affected in the aftermath of the conflict and ends with closure or by showing a final plot twist.
Developing Characters:
Having developed characters in a script is crucial to creating a high quality film product, to begin developing a character you need write their descriptions and backgrounds before incorporating them into the plot, this allows for characters to be their own entities and have unique traits that can make the difference between a uninteresting character and a highly loved character. Writers do this by creating character profiles that give a description of the traits of a character. These may include their goals, age, physical traits, and other aspects that make them unique.
Next, it is important to have character arcs to change characters throughout the story to give them more depth and value in the plot. A character arc should resonate with the audience to emotionally connect with them, a character arc should additionally highlight themes of a stories plot, and their choices should drive or affect the plot.
Character arcs begin with a character's limitation being shown or exposed, then the character will go through major challenges and obstacles, then the character will have a turning point where they confront the external or internal challenge and either adapt to it or yield to it, finally the character is forced to make a critical decision which shows which demonstrates growth or shows decline.
A popular example is from the film "Fight Club" where the unnamed protagonist struggles with mental health issues and creates a destructive personality in his head named Tyler Durden which makes him become rebellious as a way to feel free, which then he confronts and later symbolically kills Tyler and becomes self-aware and find his identity.
Reflection:
After researching about scriptwriting basics I feel confident to begin preparing to write a script with a cohesive cast to create the highest quality film opening me and my team can create after learning about character arcs and the structure of a film plot I can use first act as a guideline to follow when creating the film opening by introducing characters, their environments, and having an inciting incident to set up the film opening to be able to flow into a full film. Next, I will apply these concepts to my genre of psychological thriller and begin thinking of drafts for an early storyboard.
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