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WRITING A SCREENPLAY
Chapter Three - Pages 21 to 30
INTRODUCTION:
In our last chapter we talked about sub-characters and sub-plots, desire and conflict and moving towards that first act break.
CHAPTER THREE - THE NEXT TEN PAGES: THE FIRST ACT BREAK
I'll be the first one to admit to you that I do not follow the Hollywood standards of page and act breaks. I heard a story once about a couple students of mine who ran into a Producer. They convinced the Producer to take a look at their script. He agreed. He then thumbed through to page 30, read the page, looked at them and said: "There's no break here to the second act." Handed it back to them turned around and walked away.
Is Hollywood that stringent? Do you need to have the Hook done by page 5, the first act finished at page 30, the third act starting at page 90 and "fade out" at page 120? In my opinion? No. I have never ever EVER read a book that said: "This has to happen at page ___ and this has to happen ___ and this should happen every ___ pages."
The whole point you got into writing in the first place is that you wanted to tell a story: TELL IT! But if you choose to tell that story as a Screenplay, you do have to abide by some rules. And the basic rule is this: SOMETHING HAS TO HAPPEN. You cannot meander for fifty pages with people talking and walking and not really doing anything. SOMETHING HAS TO HAPPEN. Something has to propel the story forward. Conflict needs to be created, passions need to be voiced, obstacles need to be placed. Does it have to happen at page 30? Not necessarily, but it should happen right around there.
So within these ten pages: 21 to 30 - you should break from the first act into the second act.
In the last ten pages, or so, we talked about what your character wanted (Love? Peace? A Red-Ryder BB Gun? To become a Jedi like my father?) and now your character makes a decision to move forward towards that goal.
This moment of decision is VERY important. It can be done BY the character or it can be done TO the character but this moment needs to be done.
Let me give you an example. In "Star Wars" Luke Skywalker could, if he wanted to, continue farming the planet of Tattooine after the horrendous murder of his Aunt and Uncle. He COULD but then the story shifts...right? Now we have "Farmer Luke" on a desert planet. Instead he "Wants to learn the ways of the force and...(you know the rest)." And that moves the story in the way we expected. Luke is moving the story forward.
In "The Wizard of Oz" Dorothy talks about getting away, going "Over the Rainbow" and trying to find a place that is Happy. She does, in fact, run away (she's moving the story forward) but then she comes home - only to be caught up in a tornado ("It's a twista! It's a twista!") and landing in "Oz." IS she moving the story forward or is the story moving her forward?
In each of the examples above you see that the story changes now and moves into the next "Chapter" or "Act." Don't be afraid of the three act structure, remember that it is as simple as: Beginning (Act 1), Middle (Act 2) and End (Act 3).
WHAT YOU WANT TO ACCOMPLISH IN THE THIRD TEN PAGES:
1. Create the break between acts. Make a decision if this break is being done BY the main character or TO the main character.
2. Create more conflict.
3. Bring in more characters and continue to show characters.
CREATING THE BREAK:
Ask yourself if your main characters are active or passive when it comes to this break. Don't worry if they aren't active at this point but I will tell you now...the break between the 2nd and 3rd Act, they will be the one moving that forward.
CREATING MORE CONFLICT:
Now remember, we established the first act to show your character, create those sub-plots, bring in the minor or sub-characters, etc. In that 20 to 30 minutes of time, we established the issues, the wants, desires, needs, passions of this character (or characters) now - at this break, we put the obstacles in their way. Here's an example:
Kyle is a loving father and husband with a shady past he thinks he has left behind. He wants to live in San Diego and forget his past, make a new life for himself. (Act One)
Kyle's past comes back to life in a criminal he thought he had killed. Out of revenge the criminal kills his family and leaves Kyle for dead. Kyle begins the long journey of tracking the man down. (Act Two)
Any thoughts of what Act three is?
But do you see how, in Act One, you would show his life in San Diego. Playing with his kids, loving his wife, soccer games, ballet lessons. You could hint about his past with a cryptic note, or running into an old acquaintance, or something like that but then, when the break between Act One and Act Two happens - you sense where this story is going.
BRING IN MORE CHARACTERS:
If we use the above examples, who are the characters that Kyle is going to run into in the Second act? If you look at Star Wars, the characters of the robots, Luke and even, a little, Princess Leia and Darth Vadar are already established. Who is missing? Han Solo and Chewbacca (and in the Special Edition: Jabba the Hut). Obi-Wan gets fleshed out more and Darth's right hand man Grand Moff Tarkin is established. We also learn more about Darth's powers, etc.
The "Wizard of Oz" is even more defined when it comes to this, the screenwriters had a whole trunk load of characters to incorporate. It makes the writing easier as the scenes begin to create themselves.
The break between the First Act and the Second Act should be looked at as a HUGE momentum builder that should carry you for the next ten or twenty pages.
HOMEWORK: Look for the "breaks" between the first and second act of many films. Throw a film in and see if you can catch it. It might be obvious (black and white turns to color in the "The Wizard of Oz") or it may be subtle. See if you can see the shift of the story and a boost of momentum.
COMING NEXT: CHAPTER FOUR - THE NEXT TEN PAGES: THE SECOND ACT HERE WE COME!
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