Screenplays

[nice90sguy]

I love reading them, and have written a few myself. Would they pass muster to be submitted here?

For "muster", read "Laurel"

 

[AwkwardlySet]

I don't see why not. There is nothing in its structure that would be against the rules. Assuming you follow the rules in sexual content and such.

 

[SimonDoom]

You should send her a message and ask her. I don't know what the answer is.

 

[ronde]

I don't think there's a huge difference between a well written story and a screenplay. In both, there will be the dialogue of the characters along with some method of conveying the mood and actions of the characters to the audience. A screenplay just has more information about the setting and stage directions so the actors will understand what they are supposed to do. The only problem I would have reading a screen play is that extra information would probably draw my attention away from the story because it would disrupt the flow of the action and dialogue. I've never written a screen play, but I can imagine a scene where the two characters are getting things in the living room and then reading:

Scene 4 - Melissa's bedroom
Lighting is soft and romantic.
The room contains a double bed, a chair, and a dressing mirror. The bed has a teddy bear sitting on the pillows and against the headboard.
Tim and Melissa walk through the door hand in hand smiling.
Melissa stops, steps in front of Tim and puts her arms around his neck. Her voice is low and sultry.

"I'm hoping you want this as much as I do."

 

[gunhilltrain]

I don't think there's a huge difference between a well written story and a screenplay. In both, there will be the dialogue of the characters along with some method of conveying the mood and actions of the characters to the audience. A screenplay just has more information about the setting and stage directions so the actors will understand what they are supposed to do. The only problem I would have reading a screen play is that extra information would probably draw my attention away from the story because it would disrupt the flow of the action and dialogue. I've never written a screen play, but I can imagine a scene where the two characters are getting things in the living room and then reading:

Scene 4 - Melissa's bedroom
Lighting is soft and romantic.
The room contains a double bed, a chair, and a dressing mirror. The bed has a teddy bear sitting on the pillows and against the headboard.
Tim and Melissa walk through the door hand in hand smiling.
Melissa stops, steps in front of Tim and puts her arms around his neck. Her voice is low and sultry.

"I'm hoping you want this as much as I do."

Having tried a few without knowing what i was doing, there is a difference. If it's truly structured the way most movies are done (I don't mean like Berlin Alexanderplatz which was fifteen hours long) there are some tight constraints, not merely on the running time but also the length of the scenes. They are intended to be a sort of framework at best; they are only read by directors and actors and such, not as works in themselves. Usually a fair amount of what is finally filmed is edited out ("on the cutting room floor").

They were a good way to practice writing dialogue, until I realized that I couldn't fit the amount of dialogue I wanted into a workable script.

 

[SamScribble]

There was a time when a fair chunk of my income came from writing screenplays.

As Gunhilltrain says: there tend to be constraints. Many constraints. And what you eventually see on screen tends to be the ideas and opinions of many people. The producers usually have an opinion; the director definitely has an opinion; the DOP has an opinion; the art director/designer has an opinion; and main actors usually have something to offer. In fact pretty much everyone involved has an opinion.

I wonder if the readership – even for a final ‘shooting script – might be a bit limited.