Last week, I attended a short workshop on screenplay writing. Tony Acree, author and publisher, has turned his novel, The Hand of God, into a screenplay. He talked about what he as learned as he gets it turned into a movie.
With his permission, I’ve summarized his main points:
- Read the book Save the Cat.
- FinalDraft is the software to write screenplays.
- Read screenplays before you get started.
- Come up with a logline, a screenplay theme.
- The title must deliver the meaning of the movie.
- Know your genre’s formula.
- Typically, one page equals one minute of screen time.
- Keep your scene descriptions on point–don’t over describe or under describe.
- Keep budget in mind.
- Have a thick skin when it comes to rewrite requests.
Video of Acree’s presentation.
Here are some links to Tony’s pages:
Tony Acree, Publisher, Hydra Publications
Photo by Ron Lach : https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-reading-a-script-on-a-white-paper-8085942/
Andrew M. Friday 