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The Importance of Opinion & Theme in your Screenplay

Though it's importance is paramount, you probably won't spend much time learning about theme –unless reading Story, which has a pretty extensive explanation.

The most common problem I encounter with theme while reading isn't the complete lack of it, but rather the mere mention of the "theme" during the beginning and end of the screenplay. Keep in mind when working with theme that your opinion is of the utmost importance.

First of all, be careful not to confuse theme with the "message" of the story. Adding a mere scene of your characters talking about what they've learned over the course of the screenplay and what the message of the story was is like pulling your own guillotine lever. Not only are these scenes usually contrived, but they actually harm your screenplay's theme by going over the top and becoming on the nose; and if there's anything you've learned from ScriptXRay, it's that you should avoid being obvious at all costs — the rule of page one (not a guideline).

Instead of merely treating theme as the message of the story by adding these bookend scenes to your screenplay, consider treating theme like a well from which everything else spawns. Everything in your screenplay, including characters, dialogue, conflict, and more, needs to be related to this well. For Star Wars fans out there — which should be all of you — consider theme the same thing of which the force is made. That special, unseen element "between me, you, the tree, the rock," as Yoda put it. Theme informs everything in your screenplay. It inspires everything as little as sounds, props, and dramatic beats, to everything as large as setting, dialogue, and character action. If you're telling a story involving the theme "crime doesn't pay," for example, then you might include the finest wines, the best company, wealth — a sense of the good life … ecstasy even, because as this theme goes, everyone knows crime doesn't pay. If were to flip the theme a bit and go for a story about how "crime pays, and pays damn well," then you might include a lost hope, arrest, punishment — a heightened sense of insecurity, suspense, and consequence (this might be another article, but the key to theme is to strive to disprove it — this way the climax and resolution comes full-circle to your specific theme and opinion that inspired you to write the story in the first place).

Before you can even start writing a story you need to have a clear, defined opinion regarding your theme. Do you believe crime doesn't pay, or do you believe it pays big? Your opinion will inform your theme, which in turn will inform everything else in your work. I've seen what happens oh so many times when screenwriters not only start writing without knowing their theme, or opinion on the matter, but actually submit their completed screenplay without an understanding; they end up with a script without voice — if you're anyone trying to get into Hollywood, then you know it's all about voice.

This is what agents call "writing from the heart;" This is what writing instructors call "writing what you know."

It's your opinion, and it's damn important. Let it be heard, subtly of course, or go home. Like any form of storytelling (with the exception of journalism), whether it's poetry, flash fiction, a novel, a play, or even a blog, a screenplay must breath the voice of it's writer and their opinion. If it doesn't, it's stale, formulaic, nothing special, or as agents might put it, "not for us."

Theme is important — it informs not only the world of story, your characters, action, backstory, and everything in-between, — but it's your opinion that informs theme. As the heated 2008 presidential election unfolds, it's clear that the voices of all of us are passionate and informed. Most of us have a clear opinion regarding the issues being debated, and some might even be inspired to explore the issues as themes in their next screenplay. Regardless of what you're opinionated about, whether it's politics, religion, science, humanity, crime, family, or even Hollywood, it's important to let your voice be heard. So tackle a theme you feel passionate about, form your opinion, and get out there and share your story, whether that entails writing your screenplay or casting your vote.

Remember, a great way to avoid sounding preachy is to strive to disprove your opinion of the theme throughout the story. This way, your story and characters prove your opinion of the theme in crescendo. Without opinion, there is no theme; without theme, there is no character; without character, there is no drama; and without drama, there is no story; without story, there's no screenplay.

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It's been pretty busy here in LA -- thanks to all of you who requested me at ScriptShark.com! Speaking of which, I've been noticing quite a few submissions around town in need of some serious polishing. What's up with that?

As aspiring screenwriters, it's your responsibility not only to provide an exceptional story for the screen, but a polished piece of writing as well. Here's a short checklist of polishing points to keep in mind before submitting your screenplay to script competitions, production companies, agencies, or even friends for that matter:

1. Spelling
It's the number one screenplay killer in terms of simple mistakes. It's easy to spellcheck your work, but your program simply won't catch everything.

2. Homophones
It's part of the reason spelling is the number one killer. Your spellcheck program won't catch incorrect uses of homophones, such as witch, which, were, we're, there, their, they're, and more. "Keep a sharp eye," as Captain Jack says.

3. Grammar
Though you are writing for a visual medium, you still need to respect the craft of screenwriting. While the craft allows for fragment sentence use, amplification of narrative through visual look of text on the page, and more concision that hardcore journalism, you still need to stay as close to classical grammar guidelines as possible. Avoid going overboard with the exclamation points, consider learning what symbols actually mean (dash informs interruption, ellipses informs missing dialogue or a slight pause). Remember, keep it as simple as possible.

4. Formatting
I'm assuming you either use your choice of online screenwriting software (stay tuned for more on that later) or Final Draft; if you don't, you're reader will know and you and your screenplay won't be taken seriously. Issues with formatting is far from a screenplay killer (unless you're incorrectly formatting your description, dialogue, and other elements), but it's still distracting when reading. What I'm talking about is the scene header at the bottom of your page, the character name at the bottom of the page, the dialogue severed from the name at the top of the page, and other technical formatting issues. Keep it clean. Use your best judgement. Adjust the ill-formatted elements by either trimming your work a bit (a sort of face lift in a way) or, if it's the beginning of an element at the bottom of a page, consider adding an extra line of space above your element, thereby pushing the element to the next page. Cheating format this way is definitely okay ... just so long as your reader doesn't notice it.

5. Style
This is often confused for formatting, but elements such as capitalization, font face, including bold face, italics, and underlined, camera, and sound direction all need to be checked for professionalism. As a reader, I define professional writing as "concise." Do you really need that camera direction? Does that sound have to be capitalized? Does that minor character need all that description? In my book ... or blog I guess ... the answer is no. I'm a strong believer in avoiding the inclusion of camera direction, capitalized sound effects, and long, unnecessary description. It's just all about concision! The rule including the idea that you need to cap every sound in your work in order to let producers and production crew know when there needs to be sound equipment on set is a complete fallacy. If a producer needs to be told this, then they probably shouldn't be producing. Likewise, there will always be sound equipment on set ... so ... yeah. It simply doesn't make sense. It might be what several screenwriter teachers swear by, but I contend that it's a "rule" of the past. Ask a teacher how to write and they'll give you a dozen rules; ask a writer how to write, and they'll probably tell you something along the lines of, "you apply your pen to your paper," or "you apply your seat to the chair." Simply put, there's no right or wrong way -- this is why I stress the idea of guidelines, not rules.

Write how you will, but keep in mind the above checklist before actually submitting your work to a reader. As a reader, I can tell you that we're passionate about story, screenplays, writing, words, grammar, and the overall craft. This simple checklist will insure that you submit a solid, polished piece of writing.



C.J. Rice is a professional story analyst in Los Angeles. He's currently working on writing, producing, and directing his own projects includuing feature-length screenplays, short films, and cross-media projects. After spending years reading hundreds of submissions for such companies as Gold Circle Films, Josephson Entertainment, Parkway Productions, and ScriptShark.com, he launched ScriptXRay.com, a study of the screenwriting art and craft for screenwriters and filmmakers interested in looking beyond the surface of screenwriting. For more on C.J. visit http://cjrice.org.

If you'd like C.J. to read your screenplay, visit http://ScriptShark.com and request "CR."

Original post over at ScriptXRay.com

Skim over any book about how to write a screenplay and you'll quickly discover that it's full of instruction on what you need to include into your screenplay. After reading through the majority of the screenwriting books available on your book shop shelf, you'll have a wondrous idea of what a screenplay consists of, but at this point you'll probably have read about story analyst or readers - the gatekeepers screening the work of writers - in Hollywood, and therefore be interested in learning what not to include in your script; that's to say, you're probably interested in what readers are trained to spot so that you can avoid including such flags in your work.

First off, it should be said that readers and story analysts are loosely used titles, but the way I see it is this: Both read screenplays, manuscripts, novels, and any other literary work with potential for success in Hollywood, and both develop intuitive eyes for what makes a piece of work good and bad - or, consider or pass. A reader might be anyone from a producer's assistant, agent trainee in the mailroom, or even interns - as long as they read submissions for their boss, then they're a reader. A story analyst on the other hand is a professional reader who reads for a living. They're at production companies, studios, and resources for screenwriters. I've been on both sides of the fence; I started reading as an intern and worked my way up to reading professionally for ScriptShark.com and production companies around town. Regardless of the type or position of a reader, they're all develop an intuition for what belongs and what doesn't belong in a screenplay. Below is my quick list of what I consider the top five things you should avoid including in your work if you aspire to push on beyond the gatekeepers of Hollywood and start your writing career in Hollywood.

1. A bad story
It's common practice to tell good stories, in all fields, so it's best to be sure you have a good story before setting out to write your masterful screenplay ... Okay, just kidding ... kind of. :o)

Here we go. Remember, these are just a few basics things to avoid including in your screenplay, for they draw negative attention to your work, and may result in a "pass" from your reader.

1. Title inserts
This is only first because it's usually one of the first things a reader notices. While it's not the brightest of flags, it's a flag nonetheless. Screenwriting is build on a foundation called concision, and its every screenwriters job to avoid redundancy as possible - hence the absence of the page number on page number one. Inserts fit in this category simply because there's nothing an insert delivers which can't be delivered in the scene heading. Notice the example below makes use of the insert, which steps over the bounds of the screenwriter's craft.

EXT. PETITE VILLAGE - NIGHT

INSERT: HALLOWEEN

Children run along a knoll of dead grass.

This example delivers the same information, which can be visually translated for the screen by the director later, as the first example, yet it a more concise fashion.

EXT. PETITE VILLAGE (Halloween) - NIGHT

Children run along a knoll of dead grass.

Think of it this way, if there's a chance for a smart reader to huff, "Duh," it's probably best to avoid including it.

2. Micro-description

You've heard of micromanagement, right? Not fun is it? Well screenwriters have their own form of this, and it's called micro-description, and it forms when a screenwriter describes each and every movement, beat by beat, moment by moment, scene by scene. Here's an example:

EXT. PETITE VILLAGE (Halloween) - NIGHT

Children run along a knoll of dead grass. They pass JACKIE, 16, a young woman with short black hair, who pulls a match, igniting it instantly, lifts it to the cigarette between her thin, pale lips, and exhaling both smoke and warm breath in one white plume, as she shakes the flame from the match.

She removes her hand-rolled cigarette, spits a wad of moist paper off to the side, spots a baby pot belly piglet oinking behind the twisted ironclad gate, moves her short hair from her eye, takes a step forward, while removing a crumbly piece of soggy biscuit from her long overcoat, and holds it down under the piglet's snout.

The piglet sniffs the biscuit, steps forward, looks up, and gently accepts the biscuit.

The problem here is simply that there's too much detail in the action, or in other words, it's micro-description. The problem that arises is that your corner the actor by allowing no room for interpretation and no room for blocking. Consider the alternative below ... remember, while description is a wonderful way to color in the page, you're not writing a novel:

EXT. PETITE VILLAGE (Halloween) - NIGHT

Children run along a knoll of dead grass. They pass JACKIE, 16, a young woman with short black hair, pressing a cigarette to her thin, pale lips.

She spits to the side, and spots a pot belly piglet behind the twisted ironclad gate. She removes a soggy biscuit from her overcoat and tosses it to the piglet.

3. Capitalized sound
While most screenwriting books out there - especially "the bible" - will instruct you to capitalize any and all sound effects, however, it's my opinion that this, too, falls into the category of the redundant. There's exceptions of course, but for the most part, I'd suggest avoiding capitalizing your sounds. Why do the books tell you to do so? Because it assists the sound design team. While this answer might be true, it oversteps the bounds of the screenwriting craft. You're a writer; you're job is to tell a story. If a specific sound helps tell a story, such as the tone from Close Encounter of the Third Kind, then perhaps you might want to consider this technique - though, it's still not necessary. Sound design artists are professionals; they can handle their own. Here's an example of what this particular red flag looks like:

EXT. PETITE VILLAGE (Halloween) - NIGHT

Children run along a knoll of dead grass. They pass JACKIE, 16, a young woman with short black hair, pressing a cigarette to her thin, pale lips.

She spits to the side, and spots a pot belly piglet behind the twisted ironclad gate. She removes a soggy biscuit from her overcoat and tosses it to the piglet.

She wonders past the piglet and into the bustling market. The ducks QUACK as a young boy watches the butcher decapitate one after another. She passes without notice, though the distant OINK, OINK, OINK of the piglet catches her attention as it runs up to her.

She swoops the pig up, and hides it away in her satchel as she passes a fire pit with pork SIZZLING on the stakes - let's just say, the pig's name is BAMBI.

So not only are these flags red, but capitalized as well. In my opinion, the capping of sounds simply draws to much attention to small detail - another form of micro-description. Though it's not wrong, and many will let you get away with it, I simply point this out because, quite frankly, I wouldn't let you get away with it. I wouldn't pass on your work just because of it, but it would pinch my nerves and patience. Here's a form of the same script, simply without the distracting, redundant capping.

EXT. PETITE VILLAGE (Halloween) - NIGHT

Children run along a knoll of dead grass. They pass JACKIE, 16, a young woman with short black hair, pressing a cigarette to her thin, pale lips.

She spits to the side, and spots a pot belly piglet behind the twisted ironclad gate. She removes a soggy biscuit from her overcoat and tosses it to the piglet.

She wonders past the piglet and into the bustling market. The ducks quack as a young boy watches the butcher decapitate one bird after another. She passes without notice, though the distant oinking of the piglet catches her attention as it runs up to her.

She swoops the pig up, and hides it away in her satchel as she passes a fire pit with pork sizzling on the stakes - let's just say, the pig's name is BAMBI.

4. Music
Again, avoid overstepping your screenwriting domain, and stick to the story. Just as you might bleed over to commanding the actor and sound design team, overstepping this aspect both hands the director and composer instruction. Again, there are always exceptions, but the song better be damn important in order to include it in your script ... that, or the next Casablanca. See for yourself just how distracting this flag is:

EXT. PETITE VILLAGE (Halloween) - NIGHT

Children run along a knoll of dead grass. They pass JACKIE, 16, a young woman with short black hair, pressing a cigarette to her thin, pale lips.

She spits to the side, and spots a pot belly piglet behind the twisted ironclad gate. She removes a soggy biscuit from her overcoat and tosses it to the piglet.

She wonders past the piglet and into the bustling market. The ducks quack as a young boy watches the butcher decapitate one bird after another. She passes without notice, though the distant oinking of the piglet catches her attention as it runs up to her.

She swoops the pig up, and hides it away in her satchel as she passes a fire pit with pork sizzling on the stakes - let's just say, the pig's name is BAMBI.

A sudden burst of LEIBESFREUD fills the market as a large old man plays a shoddy violin.

Blah. First of all, who the heck knows what that sounds like? What's the tempo like? What's the mood? All of these unnecessary questions about the music unfold simply because some unknown song was included. Conversely, a sudden distaste overcomes us when a trite song is included. Without it, there's not a question other than, "where is Jackie going with that pig?"

EXT. PETITE VILLAGE (Halloween) - NIGHT

Children run along a knoll of dead grass. They pass JACKIE, 16, a young woman with short black hair, pressing a cigarette to her thin, pale lips.

She spits to the side, and spots a pot belly piglet behind the twisted ironclad gate. She removes a soggy biscuit from her overcoat and tosses it to the piglet.

She wonders past the piglet and into the bustling market. The ducks quack as a young boy watches the butcher decapitate one bird after another. She passes without notice, though the distant oinking of the piglet catches her attention as it runs up to her.

She swoops the pig up, and hides it away in her satchel as she passes a fire pit with pork sizzling on the stakes - let's just say, the pig's name is BAMBI.

The sound of a musical violin fills the noisy market air as a large old man plays a shoddy violin.

5. Camera direction
Yep, definitely last but not least. By the looks of the scripts out there, it seems most screenwriters have grown an understanding of this, but it's still in the top 5.

As an aspiring screenwriter, it's understood that you're excited to showcase your talent, and even use your screenplay as a directing vehicle, however, it's unacceptable to include camera direction. In fact, there really aren't any exceptions in my book. Part of the fun of writing is guiding the mind's eye of your reader to see what you imagined as you wrote. Our last example will reveal a few ways of how to do this for the sake of story. But first, let's take a look at a few examples of what not to include in your screenplay.

EXT. PETITE VILLAGE (Halloween) - NIGHT

Children run along a knoll of dead grass. They pass JACKIE, 16, a young woman with short black hair, pressing a cigarette to her thin, pale lips.

She spits to the side, and spots a pot belly piglet behind the twisted ironclad gate. She removes a soggy biscuit from her overcoat and tosses it to the piglet.

She wonders past the piglet and into the bustling market. The ducks quack as a young boy watches the butcher decapitate one bird after another. She passes without notice, though the distant oinking of the piglet catches her attention as it runs up to her.

She swoops the pig up, and hides it away in her satchel as she passes a fire pit with pork sizzling on the stakes - let's just say, the pig's name is BAMBI.

The sound of a musical violin fills the noisy market air as a large old man plays a shoddy violin. In CLOSE UP, WE SEE that there's a white mouse on the man's shoulder, nibbling at his shabby jacket.

PAN across the market to Jackie as she looks through a few kiosks. ZOOM IN on a young man, THEODORE, 18, who pockets a fresh apple unnoticed by the merchant. Jackie makes her way toward him as we PULL OUT to a WIDE of the market.

Now here's what this might look like without upsetting your potential director.

EXT. PETITE VILLAGE (Halloween) - NIGHT

Children run along a knoll of dead grass. They pass JACKIE, 16, a young woman with short black hair, pressing a cigarette to her thin, pale lips.

She spits to the side, and spots a pot belly piglet behind the twisted ironclad gate. She removes a soggy biscuit from her overcoat and tosses it to the piglet.

She wonders past the piglet and into the bustling market. The ducks quack as a young boy watches the butcher decapitate one bird after another. She passes without notice, though the distant oinking of the piglet catches her attention as it runs up to her.

She swoops the pig up, and hides it away in her satchel as she passes a fire pit with pork sizzling on the stakes - let's just say, the pig's name is BAMBI.

The sound of a musical violin fills the noisy market air as a large old man plays a shoddy violin. A small white mouse nibbles at his shabby jacket.

Jackie scans the smokey market until spotting a young man, THEODORE, 18, through a series of kiosks. The young man pockets a fresh apple unnoticed by the merchant. Jackie makes her way toward him.

The key is to visualize what you're writing and hone your description into one area at a time, thus directing the mind's eye of your reader. In other words, and once again, this is merely a form of redundant information.

By following these tips, you'll avoid displaying obvious red flags readers and story analysts have a keen eye for, and thus, enhance your chance of getting past the gatekeeper and into Hollywood!

1. Inserts
2. Micro-description
3. Capitalizing sound
4. Music
5. Camera direction

Remember that redundancy is literally the number one rule - as demonstrated by the absence of every number one in every script in Hollywood.

There's a reason why people all over the world are packing their bags, scheduling their flights, and moving to Los Angeles each and every day.

It's called Hollywood.

More importantly, it's called dreams. To become a screenwriter, to become a director, to become an actor, studio executive, agent, - people all around the world have these dreams, and start their pursuit by moving to Los Angeles. The amount of people interested in working in the motion picture & television business is jarring. It's for this reason that Hollywood is notorious for being tough - impossible even - to break into. It's for this reason why Hollywood operates remotely; meaning, it operates every day like every other industry, but it has isolated itself so the millions of people that just moved to Los Angeles can't enter - it has it's own built in security system. The Hollywood Creative Directory (HCD) is a $60, seasonal listing of all the major production companies and studios throughout Los Angeles; next time you're at your local bookshop, pick one up, choose any listing, and call them. Don't bother asking how you can submit your screenplay, because no one accepts unsolicited material, which is any material without representation from either an agent, manager, or entertainment lawyer. Don't bother asking for a job either, because the position has just been filled or they're not hiring. In fact, don't even bother calling, because unless they called you, they probably don't want to hear from you directly. This is your first glimpse at Hollywood's isolation from the public. This is the reason why the motion picture & television business is notorious for being impenetrable, or thick skinned. But more importantly, this is the reason why you need to be thick skinned. The following is a real job post from the UTA list:

"Management 360 is seeking an assistant for one of our partners. Ideal candidates have an excellent educational background with a degree from a four year college. You must have a minimum of one year desk experience at a talent agency or management company. Must be thick skinned and have a strong desire to be a talent manager. If you do not meet all these qualifications, please do not apply."

So what does it mean to be thick skinned? It means you have to want to be in the motion picture & television business so badly that you're willing and able to take constant emotional, verbal, and in the case of agencies, physical abuse on a daily basis with no questions asked. You have to be passionate. Those who aren't don't make it. See, because so many people want in on the Hollywood scene, whether it's front of the camera, behind the scenes of production, or behind the scenes at the studios and agencies, the industry strives on tough business. In other words, if you're not thick skinned or helplessly passionate about working in Hollywood, then you'll be weeded out, for this entire industry is designed to keep people out. Just try calling any studio; unless you have a specific person or job reference number, you won't get passed the operator.

All of this is merely an illustration of why you should pursue your dreams. Hollywood plays hardball; and you should too if you want to become a player in Hollywood.

Playing hardball isn't exclusive to the players in Hollywood though, it also means you have to know, not think you know, what you want to do in Hollywood, because parents, professors, evil blogs, and even friends will try to talk you out of it. Everyone knows Hollywood is notorious as the setting for broken dreams, but the truth is, the screenwriters and other aspiring individuals passionate and set on working in Hollywood, will. Broken dreams usually only happen when someone gives up, so don't be scared of Hollywood and the idea that "you'll never work in this town again," because if you've got the drive, passion, and talent, there's no stopping you. Playing Hollywood hardball means making those cold calls to specific people at production companies. For example, as a script reader, I sometimes look up a production company in the HCD, find the name of the person in charge of development, whether it's the director of development, creative executive, or story editor, and call them up with the simple question of whether or not they use readers for script submissions, and furthermore, if I can send my work over. For screenwriters, playing hardball means writing non-stop, submitting to TriggerStreet and ScriptShark, striving for that oh-so elusive representation, submitting to production companies, battling the development process with your spec screenplays, and writing some more.

Playing Hollywood hardball also means networking.

"In this screwy business, things don't move unless you know people." - Leo Reed

Network with other aspiring screenwriters, professionals through internships or cold calls, and family friends. You just never know who might point you to a job, person, or other opportunity.

All of this said, you should strive on the fact that you're one in a million trying to break into Hollywood - for some this might be depressing, but for others it's encouraging. Work with those who are passionate about their dream in Hollywood. Ignore those who doubt you. Ignore the constant warnings and threats about Hollywood, and ignore the isolation the movie business is built upon. If you want it, you have to take it. Understand what Hollywood is, develop a thick skin, and own your dream while you network and work toward your goal. While it can be tough at times - most of the time, - for those passionate about it, Hollywood hardball is fun.

Are you playing?

Additional reading:
May the Spec be with You
Tips: 5 Things to Know Before Writing



C.J. Rice is a professional story analyst in Los Angeles. He's currently working on writing, producing, and directing his own projects includuing feature length screenplays, short films, and cross-media projects. After spending years reading hundreds of submissions for such companies as Gold Circle Films, Josephson Entertainment, Parkway Productions, and ScriptShark, he launched ScriptXRay.com, an exploration of the screenwriting art and craft for screenwriters and filmmakers interested in looking beyond the surface. For more on C.J. visit www.cjrice.org.

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Television has evolved to a new level of spectacle as a result of our demand for high quality entertainment in the comfort of our own living room - or bedroom, office, den, kitchen, shower, or where ever you prefer your TV, - and there are two producers most responsible for this.

Probably most known for his CSI shows, Jerry Bruckheimer has been the leader in original TV programming with over a half a dozen hit shows on the air every night in addition to his work in film - Cold Case, CSI, CSI:NY, Miami, Without a Trace, the Eleventh Hour, are just to name a few. His work delivers the audience what they want, when the want, and in a surprising fresh way. However, it's become known that you can identify the killer in each CSI episode around the fifteen minute mark as a result of the formulaic approach. This kind of TV is not why we're here.

Another producer by the name of JJ Abrams came along and changed everything with his high quality mystery, Lost. Not only was the pilot the most expensive pilot ever shot, but the series launched with extreme success and captured the imaginations of viewers with the art of withholding information.

Lost explores what might happen after a plane crashes off the coast, leaving the survivors to fend for themselves on a very mysterious island. Through the seasons, the mysterious have grown stranger and stranger, and theories have started to generate from viewers as to what the island is; some say it's purgatory; others feel it's a government experiment.



Next up, Cloverfield hits theaters. Not only was the movie produced under extreme secrecy, but the audience got involved due to a fine example of cross-media work from Bad Robot. Several viral sites surfaced, including Slusho.com, which dropped clues as to what the creature might be. Fans flocked to the site and the hype exploded onto the scene. Viewers were able to mix their own Slusho drinks, and learned the history and philosophy of Slusho. Those who delved further into what Slusho might be discovered of it's appearances in one of JJ's other shows, Alias. Rumors and videos revealing that the creature is a whale populated the blogosphere and YouTube. During the film, look closely and you'll see a satellite plummeting into the ocean while viewing the footage from only days before the event, which suggests that this was the catalyst that triggered the attack on New York City. After the release of the film, Myspace visitors flocked to the characters' profiles, which interacted with each other, and even foreshadowed some of the conversations in the film! Backstory on Rob's page and comments section pertaining to Rob's new job in Japan revealed the connection with Slusho, a company offering fruit drinks made from a secret ingredient found at the bottom of the ocean.



And now, Fringe. As a show about fringe science experiments conducted by a conglomerate corporation specializing in technology known as Massive Dynamic, which has a higher level of classified information access than the most government officials, the pattern continues. The show foreshadowed the possible fringe science directions the storyline might explore, including telepathy, teleportation, invisibility, and other top secret experiments including the effects super-sonic noise has on the Earth's faults, which was rumored to cause an earthquake, and therefore trigger a subsequent tsunami.



In other words, JJ Abrams is bringing something new to TV. With the success of the cross-media Cloverfield project, Abrams has launched a much larger cross-media project than we might have expected. This is just a theory here, but I have the feeling that Fringe isn't merely another cross-media project, as seen with the availability of Fringe comics, but a "parent" project for all of the preceding projects rather. In other words, Fringe might actually be connected to Lost ... a relative; likewise, Cloverfield might be a distant relative as well. With the possibility of a sequel in the air, perhaps we'll discover some clues pointing to the possibility of JJ's "family" of projects.

The key to creating a parent project such as this one is to withhold the information, and keep the audience wondering. Build in possibilities. Lost has clearly set up a great number of directions the story could go, but the one most consistent possibility is that the island is an experiment. Is it possible that Slusho is actually a subsidary company under Massive Dynamic? Furthermore, is it possible that Massive Dynamic purposely sent the satellite crashing into the Atlantic in order to awaken the Cloverfield monster? They are, after all, involved in highly classified experiments, which usually result in the loss of human life.

What JJ has created here is the possibility that a series might be a mere piece to the puzzle. Finding the clues is what the new fun is all about. This is done by search what's called the rabbit holes - the viral websites created to add to the fun, while simultaneously hyping interest in potential viewers, of involving yourself with a project. Take part in the solving of the mystery my searching online for viral sites, such as Lost's Oceanic Airlines site, Massive Dynamic's, Slusho, and social networking sites.



Who knows ... perhaps Massive Dynamic is also the parent project responsible for the Mission Impossible stories - the question is: what side are they on?

Television has truly reached another level thanks to JJ, and only time will tell if Fringe actually is the parent project to JJ's prior work. If so, this will have introduced an entirely different form of entertainment. I'm not sure if it's been coined yet, but it most clearly resembles a cross-media family of projects; each project acting as a relative to the overall family. In the case of this theory, the parent company is Fringe, for it seems to be the source behind everything.

To create your own cross-media family, consider exploring the opportunity blogs offer. It might not be screenwriting at first, but it's definitely a great way to test the waters for before setting out to write and produce your feature screenplay. To develop your own family of cross-media projects, the first thing you'll need is a solid concept or two. These concepts should be at a distance from each other so that you can allow your audience to discover the connection. For example, if you were to launch to separate blogs featuring their individual stories, the connection could be made through a throw-away line or item, such as Slusho in Alias and Cloverfield, a relationship between the central character's friends, or even a central event or company taking place in both worlds, as hypothesized with Lost and Fringe.

Remember, both worlds of story must correlate - the must be one world of story; - if they don't, then you'll be crossing the boundaries of your world. If you do cross the line, then you better have a good mystery or explanation to set up for your audience.

Overall, this form of cross-media "family project" storytelling requires a few things in order to work properly.

Viral Marketing
Slusho, Massive Dynamic, and most famously, The Dark Knight all make use of viral marketing ... and for a good reason. As jaded Internet users, we've seen it all; every pop-up add, every website template, and so on, so the only way to grab the audience or viewer's attention is to give them something new, quirky, or fun. New might mean video rabbit holes, where viewers have the ability to decipher coded messages. An example of this can be seen at Head Trauma's viral site, HTMob

Alternate Reality
One of the best ways to catch a viewers attention is to create the illusion that your story is real. As the writer, you need to believe it is, and you need your audience to believe it is as well. Again, the best example of this can be seen with Head Trauma's viral site, Hope is Missing.

Connection
Obviously, the last necessary ingredient is the actual connection between your projects. The way you approach this is up to you and your style. Are you subtle? Are you rash?

So all in all, this is an idea of a new form of storytelling - a cross-media project family. Whether JJ and the screenwriters make the connection, only time will tell, but let's keep our fingers crossed, for it would truly be an awesome experience; not to mention the best way to end Lost ever - from the parent project's perspective!

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all of your support during the launch; it's really been awesome thanks to your comments, both on the original articles (Areya rocks!) as well as on the group on Facebook, the amount of people checking it out and getting involved - we've had visitors from Australia & New Zealand, Asia, Africa, Canada, and South, Central, & North America, - and finally, it's been awesome because of you, the aspiring screenwriter.

One more shout out - thanks to all of you who requested me to read your screenplay over at ScriptShark.com. By submitting your screenplay to ScriptShark with the request that CR (that's me!) reads your work, you not only know who's reading your script and have the ScriptXRay at your fingertips in case you want to ask questions, but you also make me look good ;) If you'd like to receive feedback from me personally, simply email Lee with the request that I read your work. It's that easy. For more about receiving feedback, visit ScriptShark's coverage page.

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I recently read a screenplay from an aspiring screenwriter who wrote with such style and concision, such precision and beauty, that I couldn't help but fall not only into their story, but into their wonderful world of words also.

It was the poetry.

When you think of poetry you might think Dickenson, Poe, Frost, Angelou, or any number of the great poets in history; but it's slightly different for screenwriters. Our words are not the most appreciated aspect of our work, nor should they be; it's a visual medium. In fact, it's even encouraged by many to simply cut to the chase; get it over with; get in, get out. And quite frankly, this is our exit.

Professors, screenwriters, authors of screenwriting books - they'll all tell you you're crazy for even thinking about associating the word poetry with screenwriting. You're not.

So back to this script I read. I can't tell you what it's titled or who wrote it for that matter, but I can tell you that it's the first to really catch my attention due to the writer's ability to compose words and sentences so eloquently - I've read hundreds upon hundreds working as a reader!

Before we delve deeper into the why, let's first identify what I'm talking about. Description ... it's the heart of your physical screenplay. Without it, there's no action; no characters; no conflict; no story; simply nothing. It makes up the bulk of your work, for you're working in a visual medium. when you read a screenplay, it usually looks something like this:

"It's raining. It's pouring! The little boy, too scared to go to sleep, jumps from bed, scoots into his grandfathers room where he sees that ...

The old man is snoring!"

Well, maybe not quite as silly (though i've certainly seen it), mediocre screenwriting consists of blunt description without mystery. The goal is to create questions in the reader's mind. What's going to happen? How are they going to get out of this one? In addition, let's not forget about the one reason we're all writing ... the reason why were attracted to write in the first place. This brings us to the secret behind it all:

Emotion.

As the writer, it's your job to not only tell a story; you must play with the emotions of your audience. In this case, it's your readers. Consider this:

"A torrential rain pummels the small house. Lightning strikes, thunder roars.

The little boy sits still, too fearful to turn his head. Petrified.

His grandfather knocks on the door, peeks in. With a gentle smile he enters with a blanket in his hand. The little boy smiles.

Okay, it's not the best example, but I'm writing on the fly here! The point is, whether I've made it or not, you have to care about your description. You have to explore your story responsibly through your description. Build the visuals in the reader's mind. Give them something to see. If you merely whip through your description without pulling your punches, your reader will definitely return the knock out in your coverage.

So how do you know mediocre description when you see it? Easy. Consider what your outline for your screenplay, sequence, or scene would be, then consider what your description would be in any scene within the whole - if your description looks or sounds anything like your outline work, you're in trouble.

Jumping back to the initial idea for this article, let me explain what I mean by poetry in screenwriting:

Poetry in screenwriting is the creative use of words ... to the point where the description is actually beautiful to read. If you're not savvy in this department, think of it this way: Poetry is like a photograph - not only how it looks and the overall composition, but the overall emotion it evokes when it all comes together. Known as Mise En Scene in the filmmaker's trade.

What's so hard about it? It takes talent, as you've probably learned from my disaster of an example above, as well as time, effort, knowledge, vocabulary, and a passion for words and how they affect the reader. It's an art. It might mean thinking over whether or not to include a single adjective, comma, or period. It's the art of poetry, which has been squeezed out of screenwriting thanks to popular tips from professors and gurus.

This all being said ... there's definitely a balance that must be met, just as with all aspects of screenwriting. Striking that balance might mean the difference between a consider and pass, so be careful.

Forget the "rules" of description, and explore your story on another level; a subtle level, but a level non-the-less. Release your artistic expression in the subtext of your description. Believe me, readers are craving it.

Tips poetry in screenwriting:

1. Concision
Truly one of the most overlooked aspects of screenwriting. Keep your word usage to a bare minimum. Don't meander. Poetry in screenwriting does not equal flowery prose. Say what you want us to know, and move on, but do it with style. If you're interested in chatty screenwriting consider blogging ... producers don't spent millions of dollars on every post.

2. Precision
Not quite the same as number one, but close. Know what you're saying. Know what your words trigger in your reader. For example, if you believe the world of origin in act one should be depressing, consider a torrential downpour of rain, a bleak collection of fog and clouds, or even loud neighbors. Hey, it's your screenplay and whether you choose to set it in a small house on a farm, mid-town suburbia, or in the city is up to you. Create your setting with efficiency.

3. Composition
Yes, it's wise to keep it brief. Break paragraphs however you feel you should - you're the screenwriter, you can do what ever you want. If, for example, your characters are sharing a romantic moment with each other while stuck under the stars in the middle of the Indian Ocean, you might choose to write one giant block of description to amplify the feeling of rapid escalation, loss of control, etc. Though it's risky, and most will probably look down upon it, if it's how you envision the writing of that sequence, so be it. It's your work, and just because you explore a technique doesn't mean your script will be passed on. If your work is good, you'll be noticed.

The number one common mistake I see from aspiring screenwriters is the lack of creativity. Strange huh? Screenwriters seem to forget that they need to bring their settings to life. It doesn't have to be the focus of the work, but it should definitely effect the story. If it doesn't, you might as well set your story in a white box.

You're a screenwriter! You're one of the only creative forces left in the film business ... so, don't forget to be creative. If you're not, how can anyone else be after you?

So, I'm thinking, yes. Yes, poetry can survive in screenwriting.

Quite a large field to cover if you ask me, but I think we can simplify both the art and craft of screenwriting into a few notes.

Art
noun
The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as a painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated for their beauty or emotional power.

By setting out and actually writing words in screenplay format, or on the page alone for that matter, can and should be considered art. It's something we do. It's something that makes us feel alive. That being said, there are several notes to be taken seriously when creating your art.

Imagination
Everyone's got one. What's yours tell you? Identify this and you'll identify your voice. While this process of discovery can take time - years even, - it's imperative for the next note ...

Emotion
Not only must you be able to create a story, but you must be able to identify the human emotion the story surrounds, and why your audience will care. Like an abstract painting, movies are displays of visual emotion, and must be interpreted by audiences in order to understand the meaning of the story, or visual display for example's sake, which brings to the importance of being ...

Visual
Like many artistic mediums, film is visually driven. The ability to articulate images into meaningful, yet concise, images for the screen is what separates the aspiring screenwriters from the professional screenwriters. Well, that and the understanding of what must exist in order for the art of a screenplay to live on the page or screen. This is craft, and it's while it's commonly used as an opposition to the art of screenwriting, it's actually another form of art itself.

Art can't be perfected; it can however be created, and when it is we simply can't help ourselves from noticing. Even if we don't understand it at first, like an abstract painting ... or The Fountain, it moves us and we appreciate it. Apply ink to the page, share a story that moves us emotionally, and you've created art. However, art doesn't stop there; it spills over into the technical guidelines the screenplay format demands.

Craft
noun
An activity involving skill in making things by hand.

Mastering the craft of screenwriting requires exercise, study, and experience. It consists of the manipulation of all screenplay components, such as structure, character work, dialogue, setting, sub-text, and more, and requires a skilled hand. Like painting, it's the combination of all these components, or paint, that makes beautiful art; a tad too much green, and you've just created a brown lake; a tad too much exposition, and you've held the hand of your reader. With all art, the craft behind it requires a certain balance. The understanding of this balance comes with exercise, study, and experience. Write your screenplay, and learn something new from each one. Trial and error; Live and learn. A couple notes to keep in mind when exploring the craft of screenwriting:

Format
Don't dwell on it. I guarantee that you'll learn more on formatting from reading two scripts than you will from reading over-rated screenwriting formatting books. Invest in screenwriting software; formatting is important, but it's not a science ... don't worry about it so much. Purchase Final Draft and get to work on discovering your voice, your passion, and your ...

Style
This is where a lot of screenwriters fall victim to the OCFD (Obsessive Compulsive Formatting Disorder). Again, don't stress about formatting; buy Final Draft and forget about it. Can't afford it? Use an online screenwriting freeware. Popular topics to those suffering from OCFD include proper slug headings, capitalization issues, typeface issues, sounds, and more, but the fact is that all of these "issues" are actually style. It's up to the screenwriter whether or not to cap all sounds; whether or not to include a few sentences of character description; whether or not to dedicate one line solely to a special beat, or conversely, create a block of description spanning half the page. It's called style, and it's what makes your writing individual to you. William Goldman is famous for including a plethora of "CUT TO" transitions throughout his work to inform what's on screen; this is individual; this is where art marries craft. The length of your sentences, use of typeface, and other literary-screen devices inform your style. Discover it and let it grow beyond your control. Above all else though, let's not forget the most important note to keep in mind while writing:

Story
Consider a screenplay a three-act, 110 page joke. It has a beginning, middle, and end just as a joke has a set-up, development, and pay-off. Learning the fundamentals of story isn't that tough; it's learning to manipulate all the components involved ... which is why there's a ton of screenwriting books on the shelf at Barnes and Noble just waiting to be read. This is where character, theme, setting, dialogue, sub-text, and action all come together to make one giant piece of art. Again, this aspect takes time and dedication in order to learn. Merely reading books about it from writers who prefer to write about screenwriting rather than write for the screen won't do the trick. That being said, there are several non-writing screenwriting gurus that have developed a clear approach to the craft that you should check out, such as Syd Field for example - he's the best. Learn to tell a story, and you'll be creating art using the craft of screenwriting before you know it.

Overall, it seems while the art of screenwriting and the craft of screenwriting can be broken down, they seem to inform each other regardless of the dividers you place between them. Use this to your advantage by allowing yourself to create your art and explore your voice.

One of the first challenges screenwriters seem to face after deciding they want to be a screenwriter is to actually write a screenplay. Perhaps it's because you can't seem to articulate your ideas into something viable for the screen. Maybe you're letting it brew in your head before trying to write it out. It could even be due to the fact that you don't have screenwriting software. Bottom line is: you're simply not inspired. Luckily, there are 5 super-simple ways to overcome this dilemma and start writing.

First of all, if you can't articulate it then move on to another project; there's no sense in settling down with one story ... despite the similarities, screenwriting isn't marriage. Sure, allowing a story to build in your imagination is important, but it's also the number one excuse for screenwriters - I've been there. Finally, ever hear of a pad and pen? Honestly, there really isn't an excuse not to write. There's one notorious reason why screenwriters don't write that's not a mere excuse, but a mystery rather. It's called the lack of inspiration. Whether you're outlining your screenplay, tackling the first page, or rewriting, the lack of inspiration can hit you hard when you least expect it. While taking a walk, reading how-to books, and slipping into dreamland may help, there are alternatives for those who want to tackle their problem immediately. Why nap the day away and wait for your muse? Personally, I don't believe writers block is something professional screenwriters get. It's a psychological block writers place upon themselves. You're a writer! Write through it!

Because each project is different, it's important to know that these tips are mere guidelines. Every screenwriter works differently. For this reason, it's best to keep it simple ... and it doesn't get much simpler than articulating your story using the 5 "W's". In order to find inspiration from within your project, write at least a page of detail for each of the 5 "W's." Keep in mind that you're asking each "W" regarding your story.

1. Who
Who's your story about? If you can't define who your story's about ... this is the time to do it! The "who" in your story is your audience's window into the story. For example, in Pirates of the Caribbean, Elizabeth Swam is actually the central character. Now, Ted and Terry are serious pros who know how to tell a complex story, so naturally, they chose to bring the audience into the story through Elizabeth's perspective, yet chose to focus on William Turner as the story's protagonist. Why? because they rule! Jumping back to keeping it simple, who's the protagonist of your story? Are they the central character? Who's the antagonist? The antagonist is just as important, if not more so, than the protagonist, for they are the bringers of conflict.

2. What
What's your story about? Define what your character will go through to arc from act one to three. This is where the index cards and brainstorming really come into play, but for now, simply write it all out. Let your imagination leap onto the page by jumping from one scene to another, one character to another, and you'll discover what's driving you to tell the story. There should be two parts to your motivation: thematic (Why) and visual. While the thematic reason might take time to understand, the visual reason should be screaming at you throughout the day. Articulate what your story's about on a thematic level and visual level, and you'll gain great insight into your motivation.

3. When
When does your story take place? Define the date of your story down to the day if you have to. It might not be important to the story, but you still need to know it - you're the author, you should know everything! As a part of the setting, when will inform a great deal of what's on screen. If it's a period piece then you have a great deal of research to conduct. What were the houses like back then? What did the characters wear? What was going on in the world at the time? The setting of your story, not only being location, but era and time of year, is one of the most neglected aspects of screenwriting despite it's powerful impact on story. Add dimension to your story by articulating the setting. If it's the future, be specific of not only when, but why - this is the most common sign of sloppiness in sci-fi stories. Why is your story set in 2143? Why not 2043? Why not 5043? Be careful not to merely through a digit out there and call it a setting factor. Define why it's set in 2143 as opposed to a year later. Perhaps you've drawn a timeline of how you see the world progressing into the next century and feel that it would take that long before your story - or the technology in your story - could come to be.

4. Where
Another factor of setting is where your story takes place and why. Why Illinois? Why not Oregon? Why Bolivia and not Chile? Why PlanetX and not Zircoil (quick tip: when writing sci-fi, avoid defaulting to names of planets and people that start with "Z"... and don't think you're being smart by naming everything with X's and Y's)? The why in where is like your antagonist to your protagonist. The two simply inform too much of your story to be neglected. Articulate it and discover the details. This is also a research-heavy zone, so you should be looking into travel guide books, websites, and blogs from people in your area ... especially if your story's set in Zircoil. This page should be pretty easy to fill - especially if you're writing a story that takes place in a world of fantasy that you created. This is where you really need to explore and discover your world of story.

5. Why
Why are you telling this story? Here's where your theme comes into play. One way to articulte this "W" simply is to use the Lajos Egri technique, which states that Romeo and Juliet is really about how "Great love defies even death." This is a tough aspect to nail down, especially in the beginning, but it must be done. If you don't know why you're telling your story then how will your audience? The key to using Egri's technique is to define beginning, middle, and end. For example, for Romeo and Juliet, you might say that their great love is act one, defying is act two, and death, of course, act three. Another example that might clarify this is Egri's King Lear premise: "Blind trust leads to destruction." Blind trust is what the audience experiences during the first act of the story, destruction is what the audience experiences during the third act of the story, and "leads to" is the transition between the two experienced in act two. It's the arc from either positive or negative side of the thematic value to its counterpart. A final example might be "poverty encourages crime." Keep in mind that these examples are basic beginnings to your story and must be able to hold 110 -120 feature length screenplay on their shoulders. Articluate why you're telling your story. What theme do you want to share with your audience? Are you arcing from positive to negative (a downer) or a negative to positive (typical Hollywood happy ending)?

Between those five "W's," you should be able to write your own way to inspiration by exploring and discovering new facets of your story. While some screenwriters insist on the afternoon nap, you can use this technique to not only inspire yourself, but inspire yourself with your own creation. This will encourage you to return to your work for inspiration, which will keep your workflow moving, rather than push away from it by watching a movie, reading how-to books, or taking a nap, which has very little to do with your actual screenwriting. Lack of inspiration is closely related to the infamous writer's block, so it's important to understand that it's merely a psychological block you place on yourself. Naturally the this block is too high to bound over, so in order to get past it you need to navigate through it - just as Frodo navigates through the Mines or Moria. It might not be fun, but it's the only way.


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