His Wonderful 101

by Jack Bullions

READ IT ENTIRELY if you're serious about scriptwriting. Use it as reference.

 HIS WONDERFUL 101

 by

 Jack Bullions

FADE IN:

INT. OFFICE - NIGHT

A small DIMLY LIT Victorian-esque room, modest and cozy, 
inundated with bookcases and artwork. 

SUPER: JACK BULLIONS' OFFICE

At the desk is an archetype Professor, JACK BULLIONS. His 
eyes intent on several papers from a folder. He ignores the 
man across from him, JOHN SMITH, early 20s, budding writer 
eager for a bone. 

Bullions rolls his tongue around the insides of his cheek, 
stares at some more papers. He picks up a pen, scratches a 
few words on them. 

TICK -- TOCK -- TICK -- TOCK. John listens to the steady 
beat of the Grandfather Clock somewhere in the b.g. 

 BULLIONS
 So you want to be a scriptwriter, eh?

He stops, glancing over his glasses at John who snaps out of 
his trance. 

 BULLIONS
 Do you know how to structure?

 JOHN 
 Well, a little, actually... 

Bullions resumes his writing. 

 JOHN (CONT'D.)
 I was hoping you could look over some of 
 my material and maybe... 
 (beat)
 ... you know, give me a few pointers? I 
 couldn't pick up anything from fan-
 fiction dot net. 

 BULLIONS
 That's all right. Let me see what you 
 have. 

He looks up again. John reaches down, pulls a file from 
underneath and hands it to Bullions. 

 JOHN
 Most of the stuff I found on their 
 screenplay genre were transcripts. 

 BULLIONS
 So you know the difference. 
 (off John's nod)
 That makes two of us. 

He opens the file. Inside are some PAPERS. Bullions skims 
them over. 

 BULLIONS
 Well, you don't have to worry about the 
 half-inch margin. The website eliminates 
 all spacing, and keeps everything left-
 aligned. 

 JOHN
 (nods)
 I've noticed, when I upload text files 
 into that site. I did keep the 6 inch 
 width of the screenplay. 

 BULLIONS
 Good. Always keep them in text files 
 and in Courier Twelve font. Standard. 
 You started off with the FADE IN: tag. 
 That's good. Many people always forget 
 that. 
 (more reading)
 You have your Slug Lines done right. 
 The INT. for interior scenes and EXT. 
 for exterior scenes. General location 
 and time of day after that. All in 
 caps. Good. 

 JOHN
 I don't have to go into some detail on 
 the location, right? Like Bob's Room 
 instead of Room. 

 BULLIONS
 Only if you're revisiting the same 
 location later on in the story. All the 
 details you can add in the Action Lines. 
 Speaking of, you've done an admirable 
 job with them. 

 JOHN
 Thank you. Your advice, sir, short and 
 to the point. 

 BULLIONS
 Exactly. You don't want to read a book. 
 You want your screenplay to be economic, 
 concise. This is why having an 
 extensive vocabulary is a huge 
 advantage. You want your descriptions 
 to be felt and understood, at the same 
 time not fall into lengthy overwritten 
 prose or in shorthand. Another rule of 
 thumb, write only what you see on the 
 screen. 
 (more reading)
 All first time introductions are in 
 caps. Good. 

 JOHN
 If you could look down there, there have 
 been other instances I used caps. 

 BULLIONS
 That's fine. If you include sounds, 
 always capitalize, or if you need to 
 switch to a different view in the same 
 scene. 

 JOHN
 Avoid using camera angles, right?

 BULLIONS
 Absolutely. Do not write in camera 
 angles. It's an insult to the director, 
 if you're lucky enough to have your work 
 read. 

 JOHN
 Sure. What about the parentheticals?

 BULLIONS
 Avoid those if you can. If you want 
 emotion, put it in the action lines. If 
 you want your character to talk to 
 someone else in the middle of a 
 conversation, or add a pause, then you 
 can do that. You have the beat and 
 pause right. 

 JOHN
 And the grammar?

Bullions grins. 

 BULLIONS
 We break about every rule in the English 
 language when writing our screenplays. 
 All you have to remember is keep 
 everything present tense, and avoid 
 using participles and adverbs. Let's 
 see your dialogue. 
 (beat)
 Two inches in for character name. Good. 
 One inch margin in for start of 
 dialogue. You've kept the dialogue 
 within 4 inch width. Good again. Well 
 everything seems to be in order. 

Bullions replaces the screenplay in the file, and hands it 
back. 

 JOHN
 Thanks, Bullions. 

He gets up, and the two shake hands. 

 JOHN
 Any last advice?

 BULLIONS
 Yes. If you are serious about going 
 into the scriptwriting business, do 
 yourself a favor and get a career first. 
 Keep this as a hobby. 

 JOHN
 And if I want to go into film-making?

 BULLIONS
 Well, about that. 

The two walk away from the desk and head for the door. 

 BULLIONS (CONT'D.)
 Denis Leary told me once there is no law 
 on this Earth which guarantees you a job 
 if you graduate from, say, NYU, with a 
 degree in film. Take the money, and go 
 ahead and make your film with it. 

He smiles and on that note we --

 FADE TO BLACK. 

 THE END

SOME TERMS TO BAKE YOUR NOODLE

(V.O.) = Voice Over / Dialogue from a person or something not 
in the location. E.g. Used generally with dialogue from over 
a phone, or from a television.

(O.S.) - Off Screen / Dialogue from a person or something in 
the same location but not on the screen. 

POV - Point of View. The perspective view of one character as 
they look at another character, or thing in the scene. 

FADE IN - A screenplay ALWAYS begins with this. Left-aligned. 

FADE OUT or FADE TO BLACK - A screenplay ends with this. 
Right-aligned. 

CUT TO - To immediately go to another person or setting 

DISSOLVE TO - A film editing technique where one scene 
"melts" or fades into another scene. Can be used in place of 
"cut to" to suggest a longer passage of time but not strictly 
necessary.