I was admitted into Grady College during my Junior year, and one of the first classes that I participated in was a scriptwriting class. This was another introductory course, but it tackled something that I had been striving to do ever since I began my college journey: writing for the screen.
For our final project, we were tasked to write a 10-minute film script. Our guidelines were that the film could not incorporate more than 3 scenes (a ‘scene’ referred to a new room or time of day in this case), and we had to get as close to 10-minutes as possible without exceeding the limit.
My previous experience in theater helped me to dive into this assignment. I knew how to write dialogue, and I knew how to communicate through action. I was once again faced with the constraints of a low-budget and limited space; however, I found that the advantages of film made writing this a much easier and more enjoyable process than the stage. Unlike theater, in film I had the benefit of multiple shots, close-ups, and cuts. With these advantages, I was able to convey more information through visuals and in a much more fun, expedient way. This short film is a successfully entertaining product, I feel, although it is a little heavy on the dialogue.
Writing for a film like this is definitely a different process than writing for a play. I learned how to pitch a film, how to storyboard a film, how to write within the precise format of a screenplay, and how to utilize filmic devices such as a montage. Nothing about this process surprised me, but I found that the specific constraints of this assignment made it trickier than it would have been otherwise. I don’t think I would approach this specific project differently within this class, but if I had less restrictions, I would get rid of Ty. While the brother dynamic is neat, having Chris figure this stuff out on his own would allow for more action and less dialogue.
Overall, I feel this assignment was a decent start for me as a film writer. While I am not able to share the script I took on towards the end of my academic career, I can say that I carried the skills I learned from here into my television writing, my other prose, and eventually my narrative podcast.