Script+Writing+Month

CURRENTLY CLOSED- WILL OPEN IN APRIL- CHECK BACK APRIL 2012 Do you have what it takes to make it through script writing month? Script Frenzy is an international writing event in which participants take on the challenge of writing 100 pages of scripted material in the month of April. As part of a donation-funded nonprofit, Script Frenzy charges no fee to participate; there are also no valuable prizes awarded or "best" scripts singled out. Every writer who completes the goal of 100 pages is victorious and awe-inspiring and will receive a handsome Script Frenzy Winner's Certificate and web icon proclaiming this fact. Even those who fall short of the word goal will be applauded for making a heroic attempt. Really, you have nothing to lose—except that nagging feeling that there's a script inside you that may never get out.


 * Who:** You and everyone you know. No experience required.
 * What:** 100 pages of original scripted material in 30 days. (Screenplays, stage plays, TV shows, short films, and graphic novels are all welcome.)
 * When:** April 1 - 30. Every year. Mark your calendars.
 * Where:** Online and in person (if you want!). Hang out in the forums, join your fellow participants at write-ins, and make friends by adding writing buddies online.
 * Why:** Because you have a story to tell. Because you want a creative challenge. Because you’ll be disappointed if you missed out on the adventure. Because you need to make time for you.
 * How** Tell everyone that you are in the Frenzy. Clear your calendar. (US participants: Get your taxes done now!) Start some wrist exercises. Have fun!

=Scriptwriting 101= A SCRIPTWRITING TERM EACH DAY An abbreviated description of the main events in a screenplay. This outline includes basic things like your script’s genre and more complex elements like your character arc, plot, and subplots. To write, especially a script. So when someone asks you what you are doing this April, you can tell them you will be “penning a brilliant script!” This is the heart of drama of your script; your protagonist wants something badly, but antagonists and other obstacles prevent him or her from getting it. For awhile, anyway. A continuous block of storytelling either set in a single location or following a particular character. The end of a scene is typically marked by a change in location, style, or time. AKA: The Biz, The Industry This refers to show business in general, but more specifically, Hollywood moviemaking and television business. A header appearing in a script before each scene stating the location and time in which the following action will occur. A curved line that traces the development, growth, and transformation of a character over the course of a script. Scriptwriters follow this arc to ensure that they have exciting characters! In Hollywood, this is what people in the “Industry” call the Major Hollywood movie producer/distributor studios, which currently are MGM/UA, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Universal, and Disney. A one-sentence, "25 words or less" description of a screenplay. People will probably ask you for a short summary of your script when you tell them you're writing one or that you've already written one. When they do, you need to be able to state the main concept of your story in one short sentence. A method used by some writers to outline their script by describing each scene on an index card, then arranging and rearranging them to work out the story structure. This is something that is really helpful if you are stuck during April, or when revising your script after the Frenzy is over. A page that typically follows the Title Page of a play, listing the characters with a very brief description of each. This is the main font used in the film and television industry. **Warning**: it is rumored that Hollywood executives will throw scripts away without reading one word if it is not in this font. //AKA: V.O.// When written in your script after a character name like so—Boris the Unicorn (V.O.)—it indicates that their next bit of dialogue will be heard off-stage or off-camera, meaning the speaker will not be shown. AKA: Short According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), a short is a movie that is shorter than 45 minutes (meaning it will have around a 45-page script). Other sources argue that a short can be as long as 60 minutes (around 60 pages), and many short-film festivals only accept 15 minute films (around 15 pages). //AKA: TV Movie, Movie of the Week (MOW), Telepic, Made-For-TV Movie, Telefilm, Telemovie// A feature-length movie intended to be premiered on television. A movie which is a financial disaster! But if you live in the United Kingdom, “bombing” is a good thing. When used with the word "down" (e.g. "went down a bomb"),the term means “a great success.” A short television series with a set number of episodes which tells a complete story. All the episodes are usually filmed at the same time. A sequence of pictures created by a production illustrator to communicate the general appearance of the scenes in a movie before any shooting takes place. A western filmed in Italy, many times with American leading actors. This term arose following the appearance of Clint Eastwood in a number of Westerns produced by Italian studios in the 1960's. A small part—sometimes as small as one line—played by a famous actor who would ordinarily not take such a small part. (Also referred to as Stunt Casting.) A TV series episode which is produced to “test out” a proposed series. Pilots establish the characters and settings of the series. After seeing a pilot of the proposed series, networks will then determine whether making additional episodes is a smart decision. A term used in Hollywood for a genre of film that is usually set in Greek or Roman times. These films are known for their heavy costuming and large production design budgets. These were very popular in the late 1950s and early ’60s. //Ben-Hur// (1959) and //Spartacus// (1960) are the most well-known of this genre. A scene that breaks the chronological direction of a film, TV show, or stage play by showing events that happened in the past. The official term for a script written to be produced for television whose length is 42-48 minutes long (42–60 pages) for a standard one hour TV show. It can also refer to a 30-minute situation comedy. **Note**: It is also acceptable to call a teleplay a TV script if you feel funny saying teleplay. //AKA: TV Writer// A writer who either writes for an existing television show or creates a new teleplay such as a pilot for an undeveloped television series. //AKA: O.S., Off Stage// Dialogue or sounds heard while the camera is on another subject or, in a stage play, out of the view of the audience. A movie that presents the characters and/or events that happened before the setting of a previously filmed movie. This is also called a "B Story" in television. The subplot is used in various ways, weaving in and out of the main action to add excitement and characters to a film, TV show, or stage play. Having various plots is also helpful in creating a central theme to a story. //AKA: C.U.// A direction used in a script to tightly frame an object or person, usually someone’s face, for a dramatic effect. This technique can pull the audience into a character’s emotion or focus on something a character sees. In film, spec scripts are scripts written on speculation; that is, written without an assignment in hopes of selling it as a project “ready to go.” They are also used by both novice and established writers to show off their talent and get work. //AKA: WGA// A union formed to protect and represent writers who write television shows, movies, news programs, documentaries, animation, CD-ROMs, and content for new media. The category a story or script falls into, such as a thriller, romantic comedy, action, drama, etc. See our Genre of the Day column to find out more about each genre! A movie which is a huge financial success, making $100 million or more. This is the opposite of a “Bomb,” and is what your screenplay will hopefully become once it’s picked up by one of the “Majors.” The musical component of a movie's soundtrack, written specifically for that film by a composer. Commonly working on a television series, showrunners are the people who create the plot twists for a given storyline. They keep track of the past storylines for a given character or characters, and they work with the writers to bring those new plot elements to life. //AKA: Rhubarb// Background conversation. Historically, when a script called for "crowd unrest" or "murmuring", film makers found that it worked best if the extras mumbled the word "rhubarb" over and over. Oftentimes, actors just mimic talking when a scene is shot and the sound is added later in the post-production process called Additional Dialogue Recording (ADR). A moment of high drama that is frequently used at the end of a film or TV show with the phrase “To be continued. . .” written at the bottom of the screen. The name originally came from the old practice of leaving a hero or heroine actually hanging onto the edge of a cliff in serial films. //AKA: Sitcom// A comedy in which humor is derived from people being placed in uncomfortable, embarrassing, or unfamiliar situations. Sitcoms usually run between 20-23 minutes (30 minutes minus the commercials), and their formatted scripts run from 45-50 pages in length. The process where the director works with the actors on set to stage the action. When they are ready, they show the action to the crew so everyone can prepare for the shot. A movie that presents the continuation of characters and/or events of a previously filmed movie. This describes a genre of film which usually features dark, corrupt, brooding characters along with detectives, plus the seedy side of the big city. This genre was very popular in the 1940s and 1950s and is known for its use of extreme contrasts in lighting. Brass fasteners are used to bind a script printed on three-hole paper. Acco #5 solid brass brads are generally accepted in the scriptwriting business. **Warning**: It is considered “amateur” to put brads in all three holes of the three-hole paper. Professionals do not put a brad in the center hole. This form is most used in comedies like //Saturday Night Live//; it is a short scene (usually less than 15 minutes long) written to be part of a sketch-based TV series. This should not be confused with a “skit.” Most comedy writers take offense to that term, and claim a “skit” is what the “football team does at a pep-rally in high school.” Something that builds drama in a script in which an event looming in the near future requires that the conflict reach a speedy resolution (hence, the ticking clock). These are things like disarming a bomb that is about to go off or getting out of the underground tomb before the door closes forever. //Back to the Future// (1985) uses this device not only as a metaphor in the story but quite literally as a “setpiece” in the film. A scene that breaks the chronological direction of a film, TV show, or stage play by showing events that will happen in the future. Technically, this is a play that has only one act, but in more common usage, it is a play that runs no longer than one hour. It is common for a theater to produce three half-hour long one-acts in the same evening, sometimes from one writer or perhaps as an evening featuring multiple writers. //AKA: Buzz// > Positive gossip about a project on the Hollywood grapevine. This is a term used for superimposed titles or text intended to move vertically on screen. For example, the text at the beginning of //Star Wars// movies. This term is often used to describe any important dramatic or comedic highpoint in a film or story, particularly those that provide some kind of dramatic payoff, resolution, or transition. It is often used to describe any scenes that are so important in a film that they cannot be edited out or skipped without seriously damaging the finished product. A TV-writing term referring to a witty line that "tops off" a scene. A button is often funny, but it can also be mysterious and suspenseful. It gives you a feeling that the scene is done, and we're ready to move on to the next. Most commonly, a montage is a rapid series of images or scenes that imply the passage of time. Usually, thematic music is the only sound in these scenes; there is little to no dialogue in a typical montage. A complete play, with a beginning, middle, and end, designed to play in ten minutes. These are usually, plus or minus, ten pages long. These are usually considered a one-act play. //AKA: Allen Smithee, Alan Smythee, Adam Smithee// A very common fictional name taken by a writer or director who doesn't want their real name credited on a film after they feel they lost creative control. A term used in Hollywood for a genre of film that is usually set in days of old with magic as well as sword fighting! The //Lord of the Rings// movies are great examples of this genre. //Pronounced: Day-oos ecks mah-kee-nah// > In Latin, this literally means “God in the machine.” In classical drama, it was an actor playing God who was lowered from above the stage to resolve the action of a play. Now it refers to any character or event that miraculously “saves the day” at the end of a script. A classic example is the T-Rex “showing up miraculously” at the end of //Jurassic Park// (1993). //AKA: Academy Awards, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards// Most people are familiar with the Oscars, but they may not know that the term "Oscar" was coined by an anonymous person who remarked that the statue looked like their Uncle Oscar. A description of a movie written in prose form (not formatted) that ranges anywhere from 15-60 pages. It should be a blow-by-blow summary of the story that includes all of the important details of each scene, action, and character told in present tense. A short scene at the end of a script that usually provides something upbeat to the ending. These are most commonly used in television sitcoms between the final commercial break and the credits. A meeting in which a script writer will try to interest another party (an agent, an “Industry” bigwig etc.) in their script. To do this, the script writer must present the story of their script in such an exciting way that the buying party finds it interesting enough to purchase. The second-to-last shot of the day. Said to be named after Abby Singer, who would often shout "last shot of the day" only to have the director ask for more takes. //Pronounced Dey-Noo-Mohn!// This is a really big and impressive word for the concluding scenes of a movie where the story ends and the characters' status after the climax is shown. Are they married, dead, in love? Someone who produces a film on a small (shoestring) budget. You can totally become a Guerrilla Producer after Script Frenzy and produce your script as a video. All you’ll need are some good friends and a video camera, and you’ll be all set!
 * Beat Sheet
 * Pen
 * Conflict
 * Scene
 * The Business
 * Slug Line
 * Character Arc
 * Majors
 * Logline
 * Scene Cards
 * Cast Page
 * Courier: 12 point
 * Voice Over
 * Short Subject
 * Television Movie
 * Bomb
 * Mini-Series
 * Storyboard
 * Spaghetti Western
 * Cameo
 * Pilot
 * Sword and Sandal
 * Flashback
 * Teleplay
 * Telewriter
 * Off Screen
 * Prequel
 * Subplot
 * Close-Up
 * Spec Script
 * Writers Guild of America
 * Genre
 * Blockbuster
 * Score
 * Showrunner
 * Walla
 * Cliffhanger
 * Situation Comedy
 * Blocking
 * Sequel
 * Film Noir
 * Brads
 * Sketch
 * Ticking Clock
 * Flash Forward
 * One-Act Play
 * Heat
 * Roll
 * Setpiece
 * Button
 * Montage
 * Ten-Minute Play
 * Alan Smithee
 * Sword and Sorcery
 * Deux ex machina
 * Oscars
 * Treatment
 * Tag
 * Pitch
 * Abby Singer
 * Dénouement
 * Guerrilla Producer