If there’s one thing every aspiring script writer knows, it’s that the best way to learn their craft is to watch endless films and shows. While formal education and training is a huge part of learning how to create good concepts and scripts, there’s nothing that quite compares to seeing the way that some programs work perfectly – while others don’t – for yourself. Breaking down your favourite shows to see how they work under the skin will give you valuable understanding of the creative processes and is the best way to find out how to create good shows.
It’s a good idea to make sure you don’t limit yourself to one type of genre though. Even if you would love to write the next Buffy, watching nothing but teen vampire shows isn’t likely to help you as much as watching a large range of different things. If fact, it’s more than likely you’ll find that your writing becomes derivative if you spend too long focussing on one style or idea. So watch widely and try and take the best things from each program and genre. Don’t limit yourself to fiction either, you never know what inspiration for fresh ideas or angles you may find in documentaries.
In the same vein, make sure you watch and listen to different scripted art forms. For example, you may be determined to write for TV, but you could find that listening to a radio play – where the script is the only thing the drama rests on – helps you understand dialogue better. Or you may want to see your script becoming a Hollywood blockbuster but a play in a local theatre may give you a good grounding in ways to break action up into scenes and acts.
Taking notes may be the last thing on your mind when you’re watching your favourite program or films, but it’s a very good idea if you’re hoping to learn from them. Not only is it unlikely that you’d be able to remember all of your thoughts by the time the film has finished, but it can be very difficult to find the exact moment you were interested in if you don’t write down time stamps – these are notes with the exact time in the film that scenes occur and mean that you can easily find them again when returning to the program.
While watching may be one of the best ways to learn scriptwriting, doing is too. So settle down to absorb some the work of successful scriptwriters on your Sky+HD 1TB or cable box then get cracking writing a script for yourself.
-
About the Author:
Andrew Regan writes for a digital marketing agency. This article has been commissioned by a client of said agency. This article is not designed to promote, but should be considered professional content.
Article Source
