Reference no: EM132339764

The Screenplay Page assignment is the first page of your script, properly formatted and written on suitable software. This will get you started on your writing, and let your TA guide you as you familiarize yourself with correct formatting, which is crucial to be taken seriously as a screenwriter.

Please refer to "Chapter 11. Format" (pp. 131-164) in Richard Walter's Essentials of Screenwriting to learn what a screenplay should look like. Also refer to the four scripts we have included with Films 1-4, but be aware that some could be shooting scripts with scene numbers. Ask your TA if you are unsure which format to use.

We suggest you use one of these three screenplay software solutions:

1. Final Draft. All pros use this, but it's too pricey to recommend for beginners. Feel free though, to take advantage of their free 30-day trial.

2. Celtx. The industry standard free option.

3. Amazon Storywriter. Free online option that we recommend you use.

As you decide how to begin your story, bear in mind that you want to capture your audience from the first frame. You don't have to begin by introducing your protagonist, but for novice writers, it's not a bad idea. Make us care about your main character and put him/her in a predicament where it's easy for us to invest emotionally in them.

Also use this exercise to get to know your protagonist better. Perhaps it will inspire changes in your screenplay profile that you'll be rewriting and expanding next week.