Here we explore five of his cinematic trademarks and common themes found in his blockbuster resume. 

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Sense of Spielberg Wonder Through Transitions to Wide Shots 

Because Spielberg’s filmography spans more than fifty years of directing movies in multiple genres and subgenres, we sometimes have to differentiate his common themes and trademarks from decade to decade as he evolved as a cinematic storyteller. However, there’s at least one common theme and trademark of his work found in all of his movies — moments that showcase a sense of wonder and catharsis through cinematography.

Visually, all Spielberg movies utilize visual camera placement and movement to create an added sense of wonder. Spielberg's most wonder-filled work came early in his career with films like Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. 

Wonder could be achieved through intimate moments between characters, yes. 

But true wonder in Spielberg films encompasses his transition from intimate or close shots to extreme wide shots that showcase the context of the story’s world. 

In Jaws, the quest to kill the shark begins through a wide shot that transitions from the camera moving through a shark bone jawline as we watch the Orca head out to see. It gives us this sense of wonder as the characters embark on their journey. 

In Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Spielberg offers multiple wide shots in his film that encapsulate the wonder the characters are experiencing. We see their reactions (more on that below), but it’s not until Spielberg transitions to a wide shot that we experience the sense of intended wonder of the moment. 

In Raiders of the Lost Ark, the wide-shot perspectives create wonder in the audience as we see the scope of the story ever-present.

In E.T., we feel the wonder and awe of our own world through E.T.’s as he first lays eyes on the expansive valley of suburbs. We wonder who within that valley E.T. will turn to for help.

In Jurassic Park, it’s not enough to just see the first dinosaur in the park. The wide shot of Grant’s first sighting is impactful for sure. But it’s not until we experience the true welcoming to Jurassic Park that leaves that sense of cathartic awe.

As he grew as a director, he tackled more serious subjects not involving fantasy, adventure, and outright wonder. Yet he still managed to create wonderment by using wide-shot transitions. 

So when you watch Spielberg’s movies, pay attention to these wide-shot transitions and how they create a sense of wonder, even if during some of his movies that wonder is horrifying (Schindler’s List).

Spielberg Fraction

In Spielberg's movies, he's got this other way of kicking things off — he plays with fractions. Not the math kind, though. These are tiny glimpses and snippets of things that make you ponder their meaning and compel you to continue watching. It could be a specific piece of clothing, a cool weapon, or just some random visual elements we don’t understand yet but will. He throws them at us in bits and pieces, making us scratch our heads and wonder how the heck these things fit into the character or the story that's about to unfold.

At the beginning of Raiders of the Lost Ark, as the opening credits roll, we catch these quick glimpses of this mysterious figure.

• We don’t see his face.
• He’s checking a map.
• He’s examining poisoned darts.
• His companions hang on his every step.

It’s not until something threatens him that we see his face.

In the opening of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, we catch glimpses of something or someone in the woods. We see brief visuals of an alien ship. And we see silhouettes of individuals searching for that something or someone — particularly a man wearing a set of keys. All of these fractions engage our interest and are later answered as the story goes on.

In the opening of Schindler’s List, we see fractions of Schindler. 

• Suits
• Ties
• Cufflinks
• Money
• Cigarettes
• And finally, his Nazi pin.

We also notice the reactions of people as he walks through the room. He’s a man of power and respect. 

We also get this experience of Spielberg fractioning during kinetic suspense scenes as well. Look back to the moment when we first saw the T-Rex. The introduction started with fractions of visuals leading to the big reveal. 

Even the opening of the film played with our imaginations and wonder by way of fractions. 

And when we go back to Spielberg’s first blockbuster hit, Jaws, we see the results of Spielberg fractions. Now, we also know that this wasn’t initially Spielberg’s intended choice. Because of production issues with the shark, Spielberg was forced to show us less and less of the shark throughout the film. But this fractioning actually added to the tension and suspense. 

Read More: Screenwriting Wisdom from Steven Spielberg

Spielberg Family Dynamics

Once you watch Spielberg’s autobiographical film, The Fabelmans (Spielberg was Oscar-nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay), you’ll understand why his films often presented the dynamics of family. It’s the most common (and probably the most easily recognized) theme within most Steven Spielberg films — especially the early ones.

Spielberg came from a broken home. He dealt with divorce. He had issues with his father while also holding him high. He loved his mother very much. Everything we see in The Fabelmans is represented in most of his movies. 

In Jaws, Chief Brody takes a moment to connect with his son amidst the chaos and stress of trying to keep his town safe from a man-eating shark.

In Close Encounters, Spielberg reveals the strain between Roy and his family after he has a close encounter with the UFO.

In E.T., we get to see Elliot's dysfunctional family — two brothers who don't get along, a single mother who is barely hanging on, and a kid sister who's just along for the ride.

The great thing about his use of family dynamics is that it allows the audience to further empathize with his characters, especially when the broken family elements are in plain sight (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, War of the Worlds, The Fabelmans). The audience can relate to those dynamics because they represent a majority of families in one way, shape, or form.

Spielberg Faces

Often considered a Spielberg crutch in some circles, Spielberg faces refers to the director’s use of cutting to the close-up reactions of characters and their faces to showcase an intended emotion. In many of his films, it’s used as a way to showcase, you guessed it, wonder. Some see this as a cheat for Spielberg to get audiences to feel a certain way. It’s often misrepresented as manipulation on his part. But what such critics don’t understand is that all of cinema utilizes visuals (and sounds… more on that below) to conjure an intended reaction in the audience. He’s just mastered that cinematic tool. 

'Jaws'

These close-ups of his character’s faces convey:

• Wonder
• Drama
• Suspense
• Horror
• Fear
• Shock
• Uncertainty
• Love

He further accompanies these close-ups with the effective use of the dolly shot — camera movement that enhances the reaction shots of his characters, delivering the intended emotion full-force with dramatic and cinematic flare.

Whether you love them or find them cliche, it’s a Spielberg go-to — an effective one.

John Williams Music in Spielberg Movies

Steven Spielberg and John Williams share one of the most iconic and enduring collaborations in the history of cinema. Their partnership spans over fifty years, playing a pivotal role in shaping the emotional landscape of Spielberg's films. Their first collaboration occurred in 1974 for the film Sugarland Express. Williams has scored the music for the majority of Spielberg's films, creating unforgettable and instantly recognizable soundtracks. Their collaboration is marked by a seamless integration of music and storytelling, with Williams' compositions enhancing the emotional depth and impact of Spielberg's visuals.

• The iconic two-note theme from Jaws 
• The soaring melodies of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• The triumphant march of Raiders of the Lost Ark (and its sequels)
• The haunting score of Schindler's List 

These are just a few examples of the magical synergy between Spielberg's directorial vision and Williams' musical genius. And Williams, now likely retired, closed off their collaboration with The Fabelmans. 

Williams has a talent for being able to capture the essence of Spielberg's storytelling and elevate it to new heights. The music for each of his Spielberg movie scores — iconic or not — becomes an integral part of the narrative, enhancing the audience's emotional connection to the characters and the story. Once again, some find the music overly manipulative — but, again, that’s the point. 

Spielberg has often credited Williams with bringing his films to life through music, and Williams, in turn, has spoken highly of Spielberg's unique storytelling abilities. Their work together has not only left an indelible mark on the films they've created but has also enriched the cinematic experience for audiences around the world.

These are just five of the director’s trademarks. Keep an eye out for them as you watch his films. And as you do, which other common Spielberg trademarks have you noticed? 

Read More: 3 Spielbergian Ways Screenwriters Can Introduce Their Characters

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries Blackout, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller Hunter’s Creed, and many Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies and Instagram @KenMovies76

CHECK OUT OUR PREPARATION NOTES SO YOU START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

The post 5 Trademarks of Steven Spielberg Movies appeared first on ScreenCraft.

Stay tuned for the Semifinalist announcement on January 17th on our blog and on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages! And if you’d like to receive a notification when this contest re-opens for entries, you can subscribe for updates via Coverfly here.

Here are the Quarterfinalists:

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Stuff to Read

If a screenwriter isn’t writing something or watching something, they’re probably reading. And no screenwriter’s bookshelf is complete without some titles focusing on the craft itself. These essential books about screenwriting will provide guidance, reference, and inspiration for any writer on your list.   

Books About Screenwriting

• Story by Robert McKee — $23.47 from Amazon | $37.99 from Barnes & Noble | $39.53 from Bookshop.org
• The Writer’s Journey by Christopher Vogler — $18.18 from Amazon | $29.95 from Barnes & Noble | $27.85 from Bookshop.org
• Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need by Blake Snyder — $12.69 from Amazon | $22.95 from Barnes & Noble | $21.34 from Bookshop.org
• The Screenwriter’s Bible (7th Edition) by David Trottier  — $23 from Amazon | $23.95 from Barnes & Noble | $25.06 from Bookshop.org
• Screenplay by Syd Field — $13.79 from Amazon | $15.99 from Barnes & Noble | $16.74 from Bookshop.org
• Screenwriting is Rewriting by Jack Epps Jr. — $29.95 from Amazon | $29.95 from Barnes & Noble | $34.44 from Bookshop.org
• Classical Storytelling and Contemporary Screenwriting by Brian Price — $46.95 from Amazon | $46.95 from Barnes and Noble | $56.34 from Bookshop.org
• The Protagonist’s Journey by Scott Myers — $20.08 from Amazon | $18.99 from Barnes & Noble | $28.74 from Bookshop.org
• The Anatomy of Genres by John Truby — $15.39 from Amazon | $21 from Barnes & Noble | $19.53 from Bookshop.org
• Kill the Dog: The First Book on Screenwriting to Tell You the Truth by Paul Guyot — $19.95 from Amazon | $19.95 from Barnes & Noble | $19.95 from Bookshop.org

Books About Movies, TV Shows, and Hollywood

Reading about writing is great, but inspiration can also be found in the stories of how beloved movies, TV shows, and Hollywood institutions came to be. Whether your screenwriter likes comedy or drama, action or romcoms, there’s a book on this list they’ll love. 

• Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears by Michael Schulman — $28.33 from Amazon | $36 from Barnes & Noble | $37.20 from Bookshop.org
• You Are What You Watch: How Movies and TV Affect Everything by Walter Hickey — $27.49 from Amazon | $30 from Barnes & Noble | $27.90 from Bookshop.org
• Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever by Matt Singer — $26.10 from Amazon | $29 from Barnes & Noble | $26.97 from Bookshop.org
• MCU: The Reign of Marvel by Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards — $31.50 from Amazon | $35 from Barnes & Noble | $32.55 from Bookshop.org
• Warner Bros: 100 Years of Storytelling by Mark A. Viera — $26 from Amazon | $40 from Barnes & Noble | $37.20 from Bookshop.org
• They Shouldn’t Have Killed His Dog: The Complete Uncensored Ass-Kicking Oral History of John Wick, Gun Fu, and the New Age of Action by Edward Gross and Mark A. Altman — $15.92 from Amazon | $28.99 from Barnes & Noble | $26.96 from Bookshop.org
• No Crying in Baseball: The Inside Story of A League of Their Own by Erin Carlson — $23.49 from Amazon | $29 from Barnes & Noble | $26.97 from Bookshop.org
• Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History by Alan Sepinwall, Josh Schwartz, and Stephanie Savage — $20.29 from Amazon | $28.99 from Barnes & Noble | $26.96 from Bookshop.org
• Surely You Can’t Be Serious: The True Story of Airplane! by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker — $29.99 from Amazon | $30.45 from Barnes & Noble | $32.55 from Bookshop.org
• From Hollywood with Love: The Rise and Fall (and Rise Again) of the Romantic Comedy by Scott Meslow — $15.59 from Amazon | $27.99 from Barnes & Noble | $26.03 from Bookshop.org
• Leave the Gun, Take the Cannoli: The Epic Story of the Making of the Godfather by Mark Seal — $17.69 from Amazon | $24.49 from Barnes & Noble | $26.96 from Bookshop.org
• We’ll Always Have Casablanca: The Life, Legend, and Afterlife of Hollywood’s Most Beloved Movie by Noah Isenberg — $15.94 from Amazon | $17.95 from Barnes & Noble | $16.69 from Bookshop.org
• I’ll Be There For You: The One About Friends by Kelsey Miller — $11.49 from Amazon | $16.49 from Barnes & Noble | $17.66 from Bookshop.org
• Adventures in the Screen Trade by William Goldman — $14.29 from Amazon | $19.49 from Barnes & Noble | $20.45 from Bookshop.org

Software, Schooling, & Subscriptions

Give the gift of software this holiday season! Screenwriting software is the gift that keeps on giving every time your screenwriter sits down for a writing session. But since it’s highly likely that a screenwriter already has Final Draft, a subscription or writing class might just provide the inspiration they need to make it through their next script. 

• Final Draft 12 — New for $249.99 | Upgrade for $99.99
• Scriptnotes Premium Podcast Subscription — $29.94 for six months | $49 for one year 
• Masterclass Annual Membership Subscription — $10, $15, or $20 per month
• Script Anatomy Screenwriting Classes — Gift cards available starting at $50
• ScreenCraft eCourses (various topics) — $49

Enter Now  |  Final Deadline in 23 days

Writing Tools

Screenwriters may toil for hours and hours in front of their laptops, not typing a word, but there are tools of the screenwriting trade just like in any other profession. A change of pace thanks to a new keyboard, some story cards, or writing gloves might just do the trick this year. 

• QwerkyWriter Retro Mechanical Typewriter Keyboard — $249.99 from Amazon
• Writer Emergency Pack — $9.99 from Amazon
• Save the Cat Story Cards — Story Beat Card Pack for $12.95 | Develop Your Story Card Pack for $12.95
• Storymatic Storyteller Cards — $31.95 from Amazon
• Writing Dice — $19.95 from Amazon
• Fingerless Writing Gloves — $29 from StoriArts
• Typewriter Pencil Cup — $18.99 from Amazon
• It’s Only a First Draft Coffee Mug — $17.99 from Amazon 

Fun Screenwriting Gifts

Screenwriters just wanna have fun, too! If the educational or practical doesn’t suit your fancy this gift-giving season, check out the items below for some cozy, silly, and amusing options that are sure to bring a smile to your screenwriter’s face on Christmas morning. 

• Marcel the Shell Figurine — $30 from A24
• Movie Clapboard Blanket — $19.99 from Amazon
• A24 Screenplay Books — $60 from A24
• Careful or You’ll End Up in My Screenplay Sweatshirt — $41 from Etsy
• Screenwriter Era T-Shirt — $24.99+ from Etsy
• Binging With Babish: 100 Recipes Recreated From Your Favorite Movies and TV Shows — $16.59 from Amazon | $26.49 from Barnes & Noble | $30.23 from Bookshop.org
• Custom Movie Slate Clapboard Christmas Tree Ornament — $18+ from Etsy
• Writer’s Block Sign — $13.50 from Etsy
• Custom Movie Script Poster — $15 from Etsy
• Screenwriter Beanie — $30 from Etsy
• Custom Screenwriter’s Journal — $25 from Etsy
• Writer’s Desk Candle — $23 from Etsy
• Script Poster by Cinematic Scribbles — Available on Etsy, prices vary
• Finish Your Script Vinyl Sticker — $2.25 from Etsy

Gift Cards 

If you waited until the last minute to do your shopping and not even Santa could ship something in time, gift cards are always great. Treat the screenwriter in your life to some movies, a paid writing retreat, tunes to fill the silence while they write, or fuel for those tough writing sessions (AKA: coffee). 

• AMC Theatres
• AirBnb
• Spotify
• Starbucks
• Fandango
• HBO Max
• Netflix
• Apple TV
• Disney Plus
• Amazon Prime Video
• Hulu
• Paramount Plus
• Peacock
• Showtime

Want More Gift Ideas? Check Out ScreenCraft's 2022 Holiday Gift Guide for Screenwriters!

CHECK OUT OUR PREPARATION NOTES SO YOU START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

The post ScreenCraft's 2023 Holiday Gift Guide for Screenwriters appeared first on ScreenCraft.

Grand Prize Winner

Jenkins and Watts: Paranormal Attorneys At Law by Michael Brennan

In a world where ghosts exist and have rights, Jenkins and Watts defend them against overzealous law enforcement, organized crime, and literal demons from hell...for fair market price.

Feature Winner

Medusa by Tristan Bellawala

A young girl with snakes for hair and a petrifying gaze traverses ancient Greece in an attempt at self-preservation and on a journey of self-discovery alongside a hero aiming to prove himself in this twist on the Medusa myth.

Short Winner

I'm Sorry I Missed You by Ethan Rogers

In the wake of a traumatic loss, the Clarke family finds itself grasping for answers to make sense of their son’s death. Older brother, Theo, plunges into his late brother’s comic book world to face the beast that took him—a beast that has since been stalking his family.

TV Winner

New Earth by Devon Sharma

Centuries after humanity abandoned dying Planet Earth for manmade New Earth, private investigator Brandt Truman searches for a missing android, only to get caught up in a far-reaching conspiracy that will force him to face his troubled past.

Honorable Mentions

Kaltera by Will Kisor, Gage Swanston  
Offspring by Hannah Silverman

The Add-on Prize Winner will be decided at a later date after further consideration by the prize partner.

View the quarterfinalists, semifinalists and finalists by clicking the corresponding link. And if you’d like to receive a notification when this contest re-opens for entries, you can subscribe for updates via Coverfly here.

For all the latest ScreenCraft news and updates, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post 2023 ScreenCraft Animation Competition Winners appeared first on ScreenCraft.

Beyond the visuals of Studio Ghibli’s films, which are astonishing on their own accord, Miyazaki’s storytelling is what grounds these films as masterpieces. Kiki’s Delivery Service, the double feature of Grave of the Fireflies and My Neighbor Totoro, and Miyazaki’s latest and last film The Boy and the Heron are stories that are radically at odds with Hollywood storytelling, yet have a level of gravitas that is often overlooked as something wholly unique that can’t be taught. It just is. 

While we can’t teach you to create stories like Miyazaki — which is why Studio Ghibli stopped making films for almost a decade–there are trademarks of Miyazaki’s storytelling that we can learn from and mold into our own stories. Let’s get into it. 

More info coming soon  |  Remind Me

1.) Using the Kishōtenketsu Story Structure  

Rather than using the American standard three-act structure to tell his stories, Miyazaki’s stories follow a plot structure known as kishōtenketsu. Used since ancient times in Japan, kishōtenketsu is the method of storytelling composed of four parts: ki (introduction), shō (development), ten (turn or twist), and ketsu (conclusion).

While most stories have a rigged structure that is easy to follow and break down, kishōtenketsu has a wandering quality that can feel unusual to people who are not familiar with East Asian storytelling. The structure lends itself to a long, quiet beginning that is quickly twisted to shake up the story. In the end, the twist is settled, revealing the connecting theme between everything. Miyazaki always uses the kishōtenketsu structure in his storytelling, dividing his story into four parts. In the third part, there is always a big hurdle the hero must overcome to get to the end of the film. While the conflict might impact the story, it is not the focus. Instead, the story features a conflict, but the purpose of the story is the change in the protagonist. 

My Neighbor Totoro is the clearest example. It lacks a conflict, which has led many American critics to believe that nothing happens in the film. But the kishōtenketsu structure is at work, revealing that Satsuki and Mei are attempting to adjust to life without their mother. The sudden twist of Mei running away is shocking, but order is quickly restored. It is an easy film with a structure that isn’t overwhelming. There is more than one type of structure out there in the world of storytelling beyond the three-act structure. It is up to you to decide what type of structure fits your style of storytelling. 

Read More: The Simple Guide to Writing Animated Screenplays

A diagram of the kishōtenketsu structure (Courtesy of Randy Finch)

2.) Unfinished Scripts 

While the structure of Miyazaki’s stories is set, he typically doesn’t finish the story once his team is ready to start working on a film. A key part of Miyazaki’s filmmaking process is the creation of storyboards, a series of images that help map out a movie’s sequence of events. While storyboarding is an essential part of the animation process, Miyazaki tends to forego screenplays of spontaneity. 

“I don't have the story finished and ready when we start work on a film,” he said in a 2002 interview. “I usually don't have the time. So the story develops when I start drawing storyboards. The production starts very soon thereafter, while the storyboards are still developing. We never know where the story will go but we just keeping working on the film as it develops. It's a dangerous way to make an animation film and I would like it to be different, but unfortunately, that's the way I work and everyone else is kind of forced to subject themselves to it.”

At the core of his process, Miyazaki’s goal is to capture the beauty of the world he is creating. He can’t fully or clearly see them, nor does he know how his stories will end. Miyazaki leads the group of animators to find the film based on the few ideas he brings to them. 

Takahata, Miyazaki’s late mentor, explained the process in the 2000s:

Hayao Miyazaki stopped writing screenplays a long time ago. He doesn’t even bother to first finalize the storyboards. … After diving into the process, he then begins to create storyboards while doing all his other work, from key animation on down. Using his powers of continuous concentration, the production starts to take on the elements of an endlessly improvised performance.

Read More: Hayao Miyazaki Says 'Ma' is an Essential Storytelling Tool

Storyboard from 'Kiki's Delivery Service'

3.) Female Protagonist 

In a majority of Miyazaki’s films, the story is driven by strong female leads, who are brave girls or women who don’t think twice about fighting for what they believe is right. Inspired heavily by his own mother, Miyazaki’s female characters are complex and conflicted, like Princess Kushana in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Lady Eboshi in Princess Mononoke, and the witches Yubaba and Zeniba in Spirited Away.

Miyazaki stated, “In my family, it was a very male universe. I only have brothers, the only woman was my mother.” Miyazaki is one of four brothers. Perhaps this is why mother figures in his work have such a grounding nature, while the female leads, inspired by his mother, are on a quest for self-fulfillment, helping each other and humanity along the way. They share a universal language of compassion, tolerance, and fairness. These female leads do not want to be anything other than themselves, which is a powerful message in itself. 

'Princess Mononoke'

4.) Flying Scenes 

Another childhood influence in Miyazaki’s work is his love for airplanes, particularly old ones. His family owned a company that produced wingtips for Zero fighters, and this is possibly what has led to each of Miyazaki’s stories containing flying scenes of some kind. From Tombo’s flying bicycle in Kiki’s Delivery Service to Haku’s transformation into a flying dragon that Chihiro eventually rides in Spirited Away, flying has become a staple of Miyazaki’s work. 

While flying is a key trademark of Miyazaki’s storytelling, the filmmaker tends to stay away from military aircraft. Miyazaki released the destructive power of military aircraft. This feeling of conflict Miyazaki feels is highlighted in The Wind Rises when Jiro Horikoshi dreams of building planes, but realizes the consequences that warplanes can have. 

'The Wind Rises'

5.) Conflicts Solved Through Pacifism 

What makes Hayao Miyazaki movies so beloved by a wide range of audiences is that his films do not depict any violence. That’s because Miyazaki, who grew up during World War II, despises unnecessary violence and advocates for pacifism through his stories. 

In multiple interviews that Kotaku found through Japanese blogs, Miyazaki spoke out about his disdain for violence in Hollywood films, saying, “If someone is the enemy, it’s okay to kill endless numbers of them. Lord of the Rings is like that. If it’s the enemy, there’s killing without separation between civilians and soldiers. That falls within collateral damage.”

Hayao Miyazaki movies share a common theme that disputes can be resolved without the use of physical force. Castle in the Sky, Howl’s Moving Castle, and Princess Mononoke are examples of this since the main characters strive to bring peace to a world filled with conflict. Of course, physical confrontations are also present, but they are used to point out the uselessness of it.

'Howl's Moving Castle'

---

Hayao Miyazaki movies are beautiful and meticulously crafted, taking a single film year to build from the few ideas that Miyazaki brings to his team at Studio Ghibli. While there are several trademarks that signify that a story belongs to this filmmaker, Miyazaki’s scripts are almost non-existent. Everything lives in the storyboards. While it is highly recommended that you finish a script before moving into the production process, there is beauty and a level of acceptance to Miyazaki’s creative process. 

Read More: 101 Enchanting Animation Story Prompts

CHECK OUT OUR ANIMATION NOTES SO YOU CAN START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

The post 5 Trademarks of a Hayao Miyazaki Movies appeared first on ScreenCraft.

Stay tuned for the Finalist announcement on January 10th on our blog and on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages! And if you’d like to receive a notification when this contest re-opens for entries, you can subscribe for updates via Coverfly here.

Here are the Semifinalists:

For all the latest ScreenCraft news and updates, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post 2024 ScreenCraft TV Pilot Script Competition Semifinalists appeared first on ScreenCraft.

Enjoy!

Got a great sci-fi or fantasy script? Enter it into the ScreenCraft Sci-Fi & Fantasy Screenwriting Competition!

More info coming soon  |  Remind Me

100 Magical and Mystic Location Ideas for Your Fantasy Stories

1. Enchanted Forest: A sprawling woodland where trees whisper ancient secrets.
2. Hidden Waterfall: A secluded cascade concealed behind a shimmering veil of illusion.
3. Mystic Library: A vast repository of otherworldly knowledge guarded by sentient books.
4. Dragon's Lair: A cavernous home to a colossal, slumbering dragon.
5. Fairy Village: A charming settlement inhabited by tiny, mischievous fairies.
6. Haunted Castle: A spectral fortress filled with restless, ghostly inhabitants.
7. Underwater City: An illuminated metropolis beneath the ocean's depths.
8. Floating Islands: A realm of floating landmasses suspended in the sky.
9. Celestial Realm: A realm bathed in divine light and inhabited by celestial beings.
10. Lost Temple: An ancient temple concealed in a dense jungle, holding untold treasures.
11. Witch's Cottage: A crooked, mysterious dwelling surrounded by enchanted herbs.
12. Enchanted Garden: A flourishing garden filled with magical, sentient plants.
13. Dark Abyss: A seemingly bottomless chasm shrouded in darkness.
14. Crystal Caves: A labyrinthine system of caves adorned with luminescent crystals.
15. Elven Kingdom: An elegant realm ruled by noble and immortal elves.
16. Dwarven Mines: Underground tunnels where dwarves mine precious gemstones.
17. Pirate Cove: A hidden haven for swashbuckling pirates and their treasure.
18. Ghost Ship: A spectral vessel crewed by ghostly sailors sailing eternally.
19. Timeless Realm: A place where time stands still, frozen in eternal beauty.
20. Wonderland: A surreal landscape filled with whimsical and absurd wonders.
21. Mythical Mountain: A towering peak said to be the home of mythical creatures.
22. Elemental Plane: A realm where the elements take on sentient forms and powers.
23. Unicorn Meadows: Fields where graceful unicorns roam freely.
24. Goblin Market: A chaotic bazaar run by cunning goblins selling magical wares.
25. Steampunk City: A technologically advanced city with a Victorian aesthetic.
26. Cloud City: A metropolis suspended in the clouds accessible by airships.
27. Astral Observatory: A tower where seers gaze into the astral plane.
28. Gnome Workshop: A bustling factory where gnomes invent fantastical gadgets.
29. Labyrinth: A maze filled with twists, turns, and perplexing puzzles.
30. Magic Bazaar: A marketplace overflowing with enchanted trinkets and artifacts.
31. Rainbow Bridge: A radiant arch connecting different realms.
32. Sunken Ruins: The remnants of a once-mighty civilization beneath the sea.
33. Underworld: A realm ruled by dark deities and inhabited by the deceased.
34. Shadowy Forest: A forest cloaked in eternal night and inhabited by shadowy creatures.
35. Sorcerer's Tower: A towering structure where a powerful sorcerer resides.
36. Ice Palace: A palace made of ice and snow.
37. Dream Realm: A surreal realm where dreams come to life.
38. Goblin Kingdom: A mischievous kingdom ruled by cunning goblin royalty.
39. Crystal Coast: A stunning coastline adorned with iridescent gemstones.
40. Haunted Marsh: A desolate and ghostly marshland.
41. Witch's Cauldron Room: A room with a bubbling cauldron said to grant potent magical brews.
42. Firefly Forest: A forest where fireflies light up the night with their glow.
43. Starfall Lake: A serene lake under a constant meteor shower.
44. Hidden Valley: A secluded valley with a serene and mystical ambiance.
45. Vampire Castle: A foreboding castle inhabited by ancient vampire lords.
46. Mysterious Well: A well said to reveal glimpses of the past and future to those who peer into it.
47. Forgotten Ruins: Crumbling remains of a once-great civilization.
48. Enchanted Waterfall: A waterfall with the power to purify and heal.
49. Fairy Ring: A circle of mushrooms where fairies gather to dance and celebrate.
50. Cosmic Wormhole: A portal to the far reaches of the cosmos and beyond.
51. Cloud Castle: A fortress floating amidst the clouds, home to skyward adventurers.
52. Troll Bridge: A bridge guarded by trolls, demanding a toll from travelers.
53. Spirit Sanctuary: A haven where spirits of the departed find peace and rest.
54. Dragon's Nest: A safe haven for dragon eggs and their young.
55. Eternal Garden: A garden where time has no effect.
56. Dreamcatcher Grove: A grove where dreamcatchers capture and store dreams.
57. Elemental Sanctuary: A sanctuary where elemental beings find refuge.
58. Moonlit Grotto: A subterranean cavern bathed in the ethereal light of the moon.
59. Underworld Abyss: A chasm leading to the deepest, darkest depths of the underworld.
60. Cursed Swamp: A creepy swamp home to cursed beings.
61. Steampunk Airship: A fantastical flying vessel powered by steam and gears.
62. Time-Warp Tavern: A tavern where time travelers gather to swap tales.
63. Floating Gardens: Gardens suspended in the sky, nurtured by air and magic.
64. Lost Shipwreck: The remnants of a ship lost to time, holding forgotten treasures.
65. Clockwork Village: A community where clockwork automatons coexist with magic.
66. Nightmare Realm: A nightmarish dimension where fears and terrors manifest.
67. Witch's Labyrinth: A twisting maze filled with magical traps and challenges.
68. Star-gazing Grove: A tranquil grove illuminated by the light of countless stars.
69. Magical Market: A bustling market where magical goods and creatures are sold.
70. Crystal Spire: A towering spire made of crystalline material.
71. Haunted Manor: A mansion haunted by restless spirits and poltergeists.
72. Fire Elemental Forge: A forge where fire elementals craft fiery weapons.
73. Mermaid Lagoon: A vibrant underwater lagoon inhabited by merfolk.
74. Gnomish Workshop: A lively workshop where gnomes tinker with fantastic inventions.
75. Lost Oasis: An oasis hidden deep within a desert, holding hidden wonders.
76. Wizard's Academy: A prestigious school of magic where wizards are trained.
77. Celestial Gauntlet: A place connecting different celestial realms.
78. Serene Glade: A serene glade where the boundary between realms is thin.
79. Forbidden Tomb: A tomb filled with ancient curses, traps, and treasures.
80. Space Nexus: A place in the stars where all galaxies converge.
81. Hidden Waterways: Subterranean rivers and water passages hidden from sight.
82. Elven Enclave: A secluded and mystical enclave of elven culture.
83. Underworld Citadel: A citadel deep within the underworld, home to dark powers.
84. Moonstone Quarry: A quarry where precious moonstones are harvested.
85. Dreamcatcher Trees: Trees where dreamcatchers grow, capturing the dreams of the forest.
86. Goblin Tunnels: A network of underground tunnels and caverns inhabited by goblins.
87. Enchanted Treetops: Canopy of an enchanted forest where treetop dwellings are built.
88. Abyssal Depths: The deepest, darkest, and most treacherous part of the abyss.
89. Crystalline Caverns: A series of interconnected caverns adorned with shining crystals.
90. Whispering Pines: A tranquil forest where the pine trees whisper secrets.
91. Stargazing Ridge: A ridge that experiences frequent meteor showers.
92. Dragon's Roost: A mountaintop lair where dragons dwell and guard their hoard.
93. Isle of Echoes: An island known for echoing whispers and eerie sounds.
94. Monolith Structure: A monolithic black structure with mysterious powers.
95. Elemental Portal: A convergence point for elemental forces and magic.
96. Haunted Sea Passage: A narrow sea passage known for its eerie, haunting sounds.
97. Enchanted Tides: A coastal area where the tides are influenced by magic.
98. Ethereal Castle: A castle that materializes and dematerializes in the ethereal plane.
99. Shifting Sands Dunes: A desert where the sands are in constant motion, hiding ancient relics.
100. Ancient Observatory: A centuries-old observatory with mystical stargazing abilities.

Read More: 101 Epic Sci-Fi Story Prompts

'The Wizard of Oz'

Writing Fantasy Stories

The fantasy story genre incorporates magic and other supernatural elements into its core narrative, themes, and backdrop. Numerous books, series, and films within this genre are set in fictitious realms where magic and mystical beings are prevalent. And those beings usually populate different worlds far from the reality of our own. 

Consider the vast universes of franchises like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones. All serve as prime illustrations of magical and mystical adventures that transport audiences and readers to awe-inspiring new worlds. 

The Different Kinds of Fantasy Subgenres

The fantasy genre has a number of subgenres that can dictate the kind of location or setting within fantasy stories. The most prevalent fantasy subgenres include: 

1. Sword and Sorcery
2. Fairy Tales 
3. Science Fantasy      

'Avatar'

Sword and Sorcery

Films such as Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings serve as excellent illustrations of the sword and sorcery subgenre by seamlessly integrating both the sword and sorcery components. These fantasy stories involve the art of swordsmanship, interwoven with enchantment harnessed by a diverse array of mystical figures, including warlocks, shamans, and wizards.

Fairy Tales

Fantasy stories like The Princess Bride, Snow White and the Huntsman, Maleficent, The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Labyrinth, Legend, and Into the Woods either derive from classic fairy tales and literature or are deeply influenced and inspired by timeless fairy tale narratives.

Science Fantasy

Within this particular sub-genre, the emphasis pivots away from scientific principles (ala Science Fiction) leaning more heavily into the realms of fantasy, yet maintaining a distinct association with the science fiction genre. The Star Wars franchise of movies, series, and books undoubtedly stands as the most prominent illustration. The latest Dune franchise falls into the subgenre as well. The subgenre incorporates fantastical components, such as the mystical Force and other enigmatic dimensions, and weaves a unique tapestry where the hard science of science fiction meets the enchanting allure of fantasy.

Read More: 131 Sci-Fi Scripts That Screenwriters Can Download and Study

'Pan's Labyrinth'

What’s So Important About Location in Fantasy Stories?

Building a fantasy world is all about location, location, location. Yes, you can use the real world as a setting for a fantasy story. However, most readers and audiences want to be taken to different worlds that they have either never seen, or want to visit familiar fantasy settings full of castles, forests, mountains, and other go-to fantasy tropes. 

To best create your fantasy story, you need to establish one or more settings within the fantasy world you've envisioned. 

• It could entail a fantastical village, town, or city. 
• It could unfurl across a sprawling continent or territory, serving as the backdrop for the hero's epic odyssey.
• In more expansive tales, it may even encompass an entire galaxy or cosmos, providing a cosmic stage upon which the story unfolds.

To get your fantasy creative juices flowing, here we present one hundred magical and mystic location prompts for your fantasy stories — prevalent in fantasy books, fairy tales, roleplaying games, video games, series, movies, and the imagination.   

Read More: The Craft and Rules of Worldbuilding in Science Fiction and Fantasy

CHECK OUT OUR SCI-FI & FANTASY NOTES SO YOU START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries Blackout, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller Hunter’s Creed, and many Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies and Instagram @KenMovies76

The post 100 Magical and Mystic Location Ideas for Your Fantasy Stories appeared first on ScreenCraft.

Using symbolism helps writers and filmmakers to: 

• Further communicate the intended themes and deeper meanings of their stories. 
• Dive deeper into complex ideas with the usage of more simple visual and metaphorical narrative symbols.
• Evoke more emotional and cathartic responses from the audience. 
• Stylize their cinematic stories with thought-provoking and discussion-building symbology.  
• Layer their narrative plots and story points for enhanced viewing experiences via creative symbolic Easter Eggs.     

But how can writers effectively utilize symbolism in their writing? How has it been done before in cinema, and what can writers and filmmakers learn from those examples? 

Here we will delve into literary and cinematic symbolism with simple yet effective ways to inject your stories with symbolic touches that not only make your stories great for the first read or viewing, but even greater for the second, third, and beyond. 

Enter Now  |  Final Deadline in 23 days

What Is Symbolism? 

Symbolism is most easily defined as a common and powerful tool in storytelling using creative expression and choices to represent a concept, idea, or theme using non-literal techniques. 

Writers and filmmakers are essentially using one thing to define another. Symbolism helps them to be able to further explore and communicate their intentions with the stories they tell without forcing their intentions too much to where the readers and viewers disengage from the story. 

Read More: Three Psychological Tricks Screenwriters Can Use to Engage Audiences

What Type of Symbols Can Writers Use?

There are a variety of ways to showcase symbolism in your stories. 

Character Symbolism

You can develop characters whose traits and actions embody larger ideas within your stories. A character's journey can symbolize personal growth that readers and viewers can identify with — or their journey could be a metaphor for societal change.

Environmental Symbolism

Settings and landscapes can be utilized to mirror the characters' emotional state or the story's central themes. A desolate, run-down location can symbolize the protagonist’s despair. 

Visual Metaphors

You can use objects, colors, or images to represent abstract concepts or themes. For example, a recurring red rose might symbolize love or passion, whereas the color red could symbolize blood, death, and violence. Take this visual metaphor for example: the drain is graphically matched to Marion's lifeless eye to symbolize where all of her mistakes and greed have led her.

Sound and Music

Employing soundscapes and music can evoke emotions and communicate themes within the story and character arcs. The choice of music a character listens to can symbolize their inner arcs and emotional states. 

Allegory Narratives

You can create a narrative where the entire story serves as an allegory for a larger concept, such as political or social commentary.

Cultural Symbols

Writers can also draw on cultural, historical, or religious symbols to enrich the story. You must always be mindful of the context and potential interpretations when using cultural symbols, yes. But because such symbols are so well known, they can be an effective visual to showcase your intended concepts, ideas, and themes. 

Foreshadowing Symbols 

Using symbols to hint at future events or character development builds anticipation and offers further complexity to the story. A great example of this is the "X" in The Departed, which is meant to symbolize and foreshadow the death of a character.

Subtle Subtext and Ambiguity

Using subtlety to let readers and viewers interpret symbols in their own way can be an effective approach for symbolism as well. When you leave room for ambiguity to engage the audience's imagination, they can come to their own conclusions. This also helps to create discussions about your stories as people use the open-ended subtext not as definitive answers regarding symbolism, but as discussion starters and philosophical debates.

What Are Cinematic Examples of These Types of Symbolism?

The Floating Plastic Bag in American Beauty

With enough subtlety left beyond the character’s description of what the plastic bag means to him, we can interpret the plastic bag as also symbolizing the search for beauty and meaning in everyday life.

Frodo Baggins in Lord of the Rings

The character of Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings stories represents a clear metaphor for the themes of selflessness and the burden of responsibility that comes with it.

Weird Barbie’s House in Barbie

Weird Barbie as a character can represent many unintended or intended themes. Some point to the character as a symbol of queerness and how the world should begin to accept those who fall under that societal umbrella. Others believe she symbolizes our childhood innocence and the loss of that innocence. When we see her house within the film, we see the visual environmental symbolism of how different it is from the rest of Barbieland. The angles are odd and different, and they don’t make much sense compared to the design of the other structures. The painting design of the walls is more lively and vibrant, which symbolizes Weird Barie’s personality. 

Jazz in La La Land

Jazz represents a lot of things in La La Land, but it especially encompasses the character of Sebastian. He evokes the nature of jazz in everything he does and how he lives his life. And he brings that nature to Mia, which pushes her to do the unexpected, the new, and the exciting. 

The Comet and Political/Social Reaction in Don’t Look Up

The impending doom of a comet that is going to hit Earth is utilized as an allegory for the debate about climate change and its impact on the planet. Beyond that, the movie satirizes the apathy of government, politics, celebrities, and the media towards the climate crisis.

The Claymore Sword in Braveheart

While, historically, the two-handed claymore sword William Wallace used in Braveheart likely wasn’t the actual type of sword he used, that type of sword eventually became a sign of Scottish freedom after the Wallace Sword was written about in poetry and one alleged sword thought to be the true Wallace Sword was later displayed in Stirling. Regardless, the sword is featured throughout the film, symbolizing Scottish freedom and their fight against tyranny.

The Use of Red in The Sixth Sense

Upon second viewing of the film, it is revealed that the red color appears in scenes with ghosts — subtly foreshadowing the revelation that the protagonist can see the dead. We also discover that every scene that Malcolm is in also has red in it, foreshadowing the end revelation. 

The Spinning Top at the End of Inception

The spinning top at the end of the movie is a symbol of uncertainty, leaving the audience to interpret whether the protagonist is in a dream or reality. That uncertainty is evident throughout the entire story as characters — and the audience — don’t always know whether they are awake or dreaming. 

The Viewing Stone in Parasite

You don't have to guess whether or not the viewing stone is used as a symbol in Bong Joon Ho's Parasite — it's literally written into the script. When gifted the stone by his friend Min, Ki Woo literally makes a comment on how it's symbolic. But what does it symbolize? The director has stated, "The rock is assigned this very unique position. It's a kind of obsession for the young son [Ki Woo]. Throughout the film, he's trying to imitate Min, his rich friend who initiated him into this world. Min disappears in this film after giving him the rock, but the rock is sort of the remnant of his character." Essentially, the viewing stone represents the Kim family's aspirations to become wealthy.

How Can Writers Use Symbolism in Their Stories?

As we’ve listed above — complete with complementary examples — there are many ways you can utilize symbolism in your stories.

• Visual Metaphors
• Character Symbolism
• Environmental Symbolism
• Sound and Music
• Allegory Narratives
• Cultural Symbols
• Foreshadowing Symbols
• Sutble Subtext and Ambiguity

The key thing to remember when you’re trying to inject symbolism into your stories is subtlety. The purpose of symbolism is to enhance the concepts, ideas, and themes you want to present within your writing — as opposed to using symbolic tools to overtake your story. 

Pick Just a Couple of Symbolic Tools from the List

Don’t use them all. Choose which types of symbolism work best for your story, and use them effectively, but sparingly.

Decide Which Ones Work for the Genre You’re Writing In

Allegory symbolism is perfect for comedy because it also can utilize satire at the same time, much like is evident in our example found within Don’t Look Up. However, allegory can also work well in other genres like horror and science fiction. 

• Jordan Peele’s Get Out serves as an allegorical exploration of how white people can exert control over Black bodies, while also appropriating and benefiting from Black virtues and strengths, alluding to the unsettling realities of racial dynamics.
• Starship Troopers is a science fiction film that works as an allegory and satire of fascism and fascist propaganda.

Figure out what types of symbolism work best with what genres of stories you want to tell. 

Don’t Overstep Your Role as a Writer

If you’re writing screenplays, it’s not your job to dictate the props, cinematography, production design, specific music selection, etc. These are all elements left to the filmmakers to decide. If you have physical elements of your screenplay that the story needs to convey symbolism, you need to use them sparingly, and preferably in a way that can be interwoven into the narrative (because that is your job), as opposed to being more of a filmmaker’s choice during production and post-production. 

An easy example would be the use of the Wallace Sword in Braveheart. Keeping the sword prevalent in the script is easy. And the end visual of the sword being thrown toward the enemy and driven into the dirt of the battlefield is a narrative element. However, dictating a particular song choice for a scene can: 

• Alienate the reader if they don’t know the song, putting the reader's experience in jeopardy. 
• Derail the impact if the producer or studio of the eventual film interpretation doesn’t own the rights to the song. 

Read More: Should You Reference a Specific Song in Your Screenplay?  

Pepper Your Story with Subtle Symbolism

When you salt and pepper your food, you always want to avoid over-salting and over-peppering. Why? Because it will spoil and overcome the flavor of the actual meal. The same can be said with using symbolism in your writing. If your symbolism overtakes the core concept, story, plot, and characters, it will ruin the experience of your intended narrative.

Allow Audiences to Interpret Their Own Symbolism

Sometimes it’s best to leave it to the imagination. We all bring our own baggage, beliefs, and perspectives to the table when it comes to ingesting literary and cinematic stories. That’s the beauty and power of storytelling.

Steven Spielberg was often confronted with the symbolism found by audiences and critics in his iconic film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Many believed that E.T. was symbolic of the Christ figure, given the various visual symbols, as well as the plot points of resurrection. However, Spielberg reminded them with a smile that he was Jewish. The point is that symbolism can also come from one’s interpretation of your story — you don’t always have the inject too much symbolism for readers and audiences to find some.

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries Blackout, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller Hunter’s Creed, and many Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies and Instagram @KenMovies76

CHECK OUT OUR PREPARATION NOTES SO YOU START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

The post What is Symbolism and How Do You Use It In Your Writing appeared first on ScreenCraft.

At ScreenCraft, we asked some staff to help us build "The Ultimate Thanksgiving Television Watch List" for you to watch after your meal, as you're cleaning the dishes, or as you relax after a social gathering. Enjoy!

Enter Now  |  Final Deadline in 23 days

The Ultimate Thanksgiving TV Watch List

• Friends, "The One With All The Thanksgivings" (season 5, episode 8)
• Friends, "The One With The Football" (season 3, episode 9)
• Friends, "The One Where Ross Got High" (season 6, episode 9)
• Friends, "The One With The Rumor" (season 8, episode 9)
  

— Amy B.

• The Mindy Project, "Thanksgiving" (season 1, episode 6)
• The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, "Talking Turkey" (season 1, episode 12)
• Living Single, "Thanks For Giving" (season 2, episode 12)
• Modern Family, "Punkin Chunkin" (season 3, episode 9)
  

— Erin E.

• Bob's Burgers: "Gayle Makin' Bob Sled" (season 6, episode 4)
• Bob's Burgers: "Turkey In A Can" (season 4, episode 5)
• Parks and Recreation, "Harvest Festival" (season 3, episode 7)
• Fresh Off The Boat, "Haungsgiving" (season 2, episode 8)
  

— Jen R.

• New Girl, "Thanksgiving" (season 1, episode 6)
• New Girl, "Parents" (season 2, episode 8)
• Cheers, "Thanksgiving Orphans" (season 5, episode 9)
• The Sopranos, "He Is Risen" (season 3, episode 8)
  

— Pear B.

• The Golden Girls, "Henny Penny - Straight, No Chaser" (season 6, episode 26)
• Master Of None, "Thanksgiving" (season 2, episode 8)
• Insecure, "Lowkey Thankful" (season 4, episode 3)
• Bob's Burgers, “The Quirk-ducers” (season 7, episode 6)
  

— V R.

We hope this list gives you enough to digest. Not only that — maybe it'll inspire your future Thanksgiving-themed script! Happy Thanksgiving, ScreenCraft Community! 

Read More: 10 of the Best Family Dinner Scenes to Watch This Thanksgiving

CHECK OUT OUR PREPARATION NOTES SO YOU START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

The post The Ultimate Thanksgiving TV Watch List appeared first on ScreenCraft.

Stay tuned for the Finalist announcement on December 13th on our blog and on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages! And if you’d like to receive a notification when this contest re-opens for entries, you can subscribe for updates via Coverfly here.

Here are the Semifinalists:

For all the latest ScreenCraft news and updates, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post 2023 ScreenCraft Drama Competition Semifinalists appeared first on ScreenCraft.

Eight exceptional finalists were selected from more than 900 submissions to pitch their projects virtually to our esteemed panel of jurors, including Daniel Perry (Literary Agent, Buchwald), Brittani Nichols (Writer and Producer, ABBOTT ELEMENTARY), Maddy Farkas (TV Development, Brownstone Productions) and Christian Rodriguez (Literary Manager, AAO Entertainment).

Congratulations to the winners and runners up and thanks to all for submitting! If you’d like to receive a notification when this contest re-opens for entries, you can subscribe for updates via Coverfly here.

Winner:

Franken-Fried Alien by Juliet Mace

When an intergalactic Planned Parenthood accidentally poisons a small town creating a gargantuan fried fecal alien abortion Frankenstein, three local chicken shop workers must save their home from government demolition.

First Runner-Up:

Single Person by Matt Foss

Dumped by his cheating fiancé and his spineless school board, an off-beat drama teacher reluctantly becomes a contestant on a reality dating show where his efforts to lose paradoxically make him a winner for the first time in his life.

Second Runner-Up:

Government Exorcists: The Department of Internal Affairs by Malt Schlitzmann

Hell is real and it opened a portal to Worcester Massachusetts. The only group who can do anything about it is an underfunded branch of the FDA, but can the new boss save her department before she falls prey to her own dark secrets?

Click below to watch the finalist pitch event recording!

For all the latest ScreenCraft news and updates, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post Fall 2023 ScreenCraft Virtual Pitch Winners appeared first on ScreenCraft.

More info coming soon  |  Remind Me

What is a Dystopian Story?

A dystopian story is characterized by its portrayal of a fictional society or world that is marked by oppression, suffering, and often, a sense of hopelessness or despair. If a utopian society is the ideal place to settle, then a dystopian society is most people’s worst nightmare. 

Dystopian settings are frequently marked by:

• Anxiety
• Anguish
• Fear
• Distress
• Tyrannical governments and oppressive authorities
• Catastrophic deterioration in societal conditions

Just imagine the worst a society could get — that’s pretty much the setting of a dystopian story. And within those settings, you usually witness protagonists rising up against tyrannical and oppressive antagonists and villains that have control over the people by way of propaganda, censorship, lies, denial of free thought, and enforcement of conformity.  

Read More: The Biggest and Baddest "Big Bads" of Sci-Fi & Fantasy

'Mad Max: Fury Road'

Examples of Dystopian Movies and TV Shows

Examples of cinematic dystopian stories include:

• 1984: Based on George Orwell's novel, the film portrays a totalitarian society where the government monitors and controls every aspect of people's lives.
• THX: 1188: In the 25th century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly-controlled society.
• Blade Runner: Set in a bleak future, this film follows a detective who hunts down rogue artificial humans known as replicants in a dystopian Los Angeles.
• The Matrix: This sci-fi classic envisions a world where humanity is enslaved by machines and trapped in a simulated reality, while a group of rebels fights to free them.
• Children of Men: In a world where infertility has led to a global crisis, a disillusioned bureaucrat becomes involved in protecting a pregnant woman who may hold the key to humanity's survival.
• The Hunger Games: Based on the best-selling novels, the franchise is set in a future society divided into districts and follows a young woman who must participate in a brutal televised competition to the death.
• Mad Max: Fury Road: This post-apocalyptic action film features a wasteland where resources are scarce, and a group of rebels fights against a tyrannical warlord.
• Snowpiercer: After a failed climate-change experiment freezes the Earth, the last survivors live on a train that circles the globe, with social classes and conflicts emerging onboard.
• The Handmaid's Tale: Based on Margaret Atwood's novel, the TV series depicts a future where women are subjugated and used for reproductive purposes in a theocratic society.
• The Last of Us: Based on the hit videogame series, the TV series depicts a postapocalyptic zombie-like story where a pandemic has killed off much of society. The dystopian element is showcased by a paranoid government body that becomes oppressive to ensure the survival of the human race while attempting to do so in a very inhuman way. 

'The Last of Us'

Key Themes to Use in Dystopian Movies

You have a plethora of story options and themes to utilize when writing a dystopian movie or TV show. Here are just a few:

Totalitarian or Oppressive Government

This is where you usually start. Dystopian movies typically feature a government or ruling authority that exercises extreme control over its citizens. 

• A totalitarian regime
• A dystopian dictatorship
• A surveillance state

These governing or ruling powers often enforce strict rules and regulations that limit individual freedoms to maintain their power. This will become the source of all of your story's conflict — and dystopian movies need a lot of it.

'1984'

Social Injustice

This is where your characters come in. Dystopian societies are often marked by profound social inequality and injustice. Discrimination based on class, race, or other factors is common in these stories and drives the character arcs of your protagonists.

There is usually a clear divide between the privileged elite and the oppressed masses. That will fuel the conflict within the story and begin the arc of your characters as they deal with these conflicts.   

Lack of Personal Freedom

Dystopian worlds frequently depict a lack of personal freedoms and civil liberties. Citizens may be subjected to constant surveillance, censorship, curfews, or restrictions on their actions, thoughts, and speech. This creates a boiling point where your characters move from the first act to the second as they rise up against those who oppress them. 

'The Handmaid's Tale'

Economic Hardship

Economic hardship is also a common theme in dystopian movies. Audiences can often relate to this element because it exists in the world we live in today. In these dystopian stories, many citizens struggle to survive due to the scarcity of resources. This economic hardship can reinforce the divide between the haves and the have-nots — creating that boiling pot dynamic within characters that are looking to break free from their strife. 

Technological Control

In some dystopian stories, advanced technology is used as a tool of control and oppression. Governments may use technology for surveillance, mind control, or to maintain their grip on power. This dynamic creates an excellent series of conflict hurdles that your characters must surpass. 

'The Matrix Revolutions'

Environmental Decay

Many dystopian movies explore environmental degradation and the consequences of unchecked pollution, climate change, or ecological disasters. These factors contribute to the overall bleakness of the setting. This is often used as a forewarning to audiences when it comes to possible circumstances of issues we face today in our society. 

Loss of Individuality

In dystopian societies, individuality and personal expression can be suppressed. Citizens may be forced to conform to a rigid set of norms and expectations, and any deviation from these norms is punished. 

'Children of Men'

Resistance or Rebellion

As mentioned above, many dystopian stories feature a protagonist or group of individuals who resist the oppressive regime. These characters often embark on a journey to challenge the status quo and seek freedom or justice. This works as both a character element and a story element. 

Commentary on Contemporary Issues

Screenwriters and filmmakers often use dystopian stories to serve as social and political commentary, highlighting and exaggerating issues and trends present in the real world today. This is where you can really get the audience to relate to the issues the characters are dealing with because they are augmented, exaggerated, and speculative versions of what we see in today’s society around us. Look no further than the likes of The Handmaid’s Tale for an example — a series that stands as the result of the tipping of scales from where we may be teetering today. 

So, all, or at least some, of these elements are where you should start in your dystopian screenplay. Now let’s explore the basics of how you can develop and write your story. 

How to Write Your Dystopian Movie

In the end, it’s your creativity, ingenuity, and vision that will create the next great dystopian film. But here are some foundations that you can use to develop and write your story. 

Start with Worldbuilding

Dystopian stories are initially all about the world you build. That’s what really stands out. Rebellions and uprisings are great — and all of that will come — but what will differentiate your dystopian story from all of the others that came before yours will be the particular dystopian world you build. 

Ask yourself these development questions:

• What started this dystopian society? 
• Is it post-apocalyptic, near-future, or set on another planet?
• What is uniquely frightening about the dystopian world you’re going to build?

You need to see this world. You need to know what it looks like, what it feels like, what it sounds like, and how those elements are different from what we’ve seen in prior dystopian movies. 

Find Relatable Themes and Issues to Explore

You want and need to connect with the audience. The easiest way to do that with a dystopian story is to find those augmented, exaggerated, and speculative versions of what we see in today’s society around us — and then use them to wrap around the world you are creating.

Ask yourself questions like:

• What if we let corrupt politicians have all of the power?
• What if we allowed Artificial Intelligence to run our world?
• What if we had a second Civil War?
• What if we had a Third World War?
• What if we ignore global warming? 

Whatever the hot point issues in our current world may be, you can find themes to explore. 

Create Your Cast of Characters

Then you need to figure out who the characters who populate your dystopian world. 

• Who is the oppressor?
• Who is being oppressed?
• How are they being oppressed?
• For what purpose is the oppressor oppressing people?
• Who is going to rise up against the oppression?
• Why are they the ones to lead the resistance or uprising? 

Your lead protagonist(s) need to have a higher purpose and a deeply layered inner character arc to warrant them being the ones to lead the oppressed. 

Your supporting characters need to fill in the blanks that the protagonist(s) lack. 

And let’s not forget the most important element — the antagonists and villains. They need to embody the oppression that the protagonists are fighting against. While the protagonists can preach about the oppression they face, and the reasons why the oppression is inhumane enough not to live under any longer, the antagonists and villains need to embody why they feel the oppression is necessary.

This leads to the ultimate conflicts of your story as protagonists versus antagonists/villains boils and boils until the pressure can’t be contained any longer.

Start with the Ordinary World of the Protagonist

Presenting your main character in their everyday life at the start of your dystopian story provides an opportunity to showcase the start of their inner and outer character arc. 

It then shows how profoundly difficult their journey is going to be when faced with the choice to take the call of adventure to rise up against the dystopian oppressors. 

• Show the oppression.
• Show their struggle. 
• Show their ordinary life and how it will be rocked when they choose to rise up.

Now, you have a couple of options on how to showcase their ordinary world. 

1. Show them under the rule of the oppressors. 
2. Introduce them on the outskirts of the oppression and wanting to free their people.
3. Or, as a third option, have them be part of the oppression who wakes up and decides what they’ve been doing was wrong.

Consider the Ordinary World openings of the following: 

• In The Hunger Games, Katniss is living in District 12 with her family, struggling to survive.
• In The Handmaid’s Tale, June is on the outskirts of the oppression, trying to escape to Canada when she, her husband, and her daughter are caught by Gilead foot soldiers.
• In The Last of Us, Joel is working the dystopian system to survive and try to find a way to find his brother. While he’s not the oppressor, he’s also not trying to lead an uprising against them. He’s doing what he can to survive. 

Read More: Exploring the Twelve Stages of the Hero’s Journey Part 1: The Ordinary World

The Rest is Up to You

There’s no one single way to write any genre or subgenre of movies. When you’re dealing with a subgenre like dystopian movies, you need to educate yourself on the common elements that define such a story (see above) and find a unique and interesting take on it. 

• Subvert expectations. 
• Find ways to offer unexpected twists and turns.
• Take the audience down one path, only to push them onto another.
• Play with character archetypes, cliches, and tropes. 
• Find unique set pieces and sequences. 
• Pile on the conflict. 
• Raise the stakes. 

Know what a dystopian story is, embrace the key story and character elements, build your dystopian world, consider finding relatable themes and issues audiences can identify with, create a compelling cast of characters on both sides of the struggle, showcase their ordinary world while selling the setup to the audience, and then find ways to make your dystopian story engaging and unique. 

Read More: 101 Epic Sci-Fi Story Prompts

CHECK OUT OUR SCI-FI & FANTASY NOTES SO YOU START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, and Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries BLACKOUT, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller HUNTER'S CREED, and many produced Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies and Instagram @KenMovies76.

The post How to Write a Dystopian Movie or TV Show appeared first on ScreenCraft.

ScreenCraft got the chance to chat with Neer about his Oscar Qualifying short film, Perspectives, a story about an LGBTQ+ female soldier who is forced to choose between killing a potentially innocent man to save Israeli bus passengers when she suspects him of being a suicide bomber.

Enter Now  |  Final Deadline in 23 days

ScreenCraft: Congratulations on writing and producing your Oscar-qualifying short! Can you tell us how that came about? 

Neer Musa Shelter: Thanks! This project took years to complete, I'd been working on it on and off for a decade by the time it was finished. Along the way, I rewrote the script many times, saved up money for the budget and location scouted in Israel years ahead of the shoot. Then, after the script won a few awards, including the Page Gold Award, I had enough money for production. So, in 2019, I worked with an Israeli line producer for six months over Zoom calls, and we shot later that year. Afterwards, we started post-production in Australia, and then Covid hit. Finally, in 2022, we finished the film and premiered it at the Bafta and Academy Awards qualifying Flickerfest. After that, it won the best screenplay and best film at the Academy Awards qualifying St Kilda Film Festival.

Perspectives (2023)

SC: What was the inspiration for the project and what did the writing + development process look like?

NMS: The film is based on a true story. It's best defined as semi-autobiographical, as it's something that happened to me. I had to change the characters to distance myself enough to retain objectivity. Also, some actions were added to help adapt it to the screen and give the main character a complete arc. Lastly, I gave the story an open ending to both inspire debate and encourage viewers to make up their own minds, while questioning how they reached their conclusions.

Perspectives debate social media's capacity to inform its users truthfully. This film isn't about politics, religion, or social conflicts; it's about how our individual perspectives on these topics are shaped. As it can sometimes be hard to tell truth from fiction online, I wanted to demonstrate how similar the two can look. That's why we blurred the line between fiction and reality by combining cinema and found-footage cameras.

With cinema cameras representing fiction and found-footage cameras representing fact, and with both looking alike, I hoped to show how similar fact and fiction can appear online. Most of that, hopefully, came through in the script before we started shooting.

Read More: Write Your Short Film in 7 Days

Perspectives (2023)

The script’s development was a roller coaster as I had to walk the fine line of neutrality to retain the integrity of the story’s themes. And the style in which it was written had a big impact on my other work. Earlier drafts of the script had a lot of dialogue, but I realized that wasn’t necessary. So, I stripped out the dialogue and focused on visuals and actions to tell the story. Inspired by scripts like Wall–E, Misery, and The Bourne Supremacy, I adopted a writing style/voice that helped the script read well without dialogue. This then became a defining characteristic in all my screenplays.  

Read More: How the Development Process Works

SC: How did the writing lead to the production and ultimate success in the festival? Is there anywhere someone could watch it right now?

NMS: I’d like to think that my voice on the page helped give the script a unique feel and pace. This, in part, then led to it winning some big awards. All of which made it easier for actors’ agents to read the script, and therefore helped secure a high-caliber cast. Had the script been written differently, it might not have gotten the attention it received and would likely not have been produced. And, yes, the film is available online at this private link. 

Perspectives (2023)

SC: We originally connected through ScreenCraft’s Action Adventure program— how did ScreenCraft impact your writing process?

NMS: ScreenCraft has a range of genre-specific screenwriting contests that help writers gauge their craft in specific types of stories. At first, I submitted early draft scripts to ScreenCraft’s action comps and didn’t get far at all, not even to a quarter-finalist stage. However, after asking for and actioning readers’ notes, I improved my screenplays and writing in general. My scripts began placing progressively higher over about five years until I reached the finals. This gave me a clear indication of an upward trajectory in the quality of my writing. 

Neer Musa Shelter

Read More: ScreenCraft Writing Competitions

SC: How has ScreenCraft impacted your career development? 

NMS: The result of submitting to ScreenCraft and other screenwriting competitions and receiving readers’ notes was a slate of award-winning scripts. Some of these were big awards such as Final Draft’s Big Break, The Page Awards and Emerging Screenwriters. Off the back of these and with the help of Roadmap Writers, I signed with literary management at The Cartel and am now preparing to take out several scripts next year.

SC: Other than the awards circuit for the short, what else are you working on? What’s next?

NMS: Currently, I’m working on a contained horror feature, and I’m about to finish a martial arts drama. 

SC: If you had a bit of writing craft advice for our audience inspired by the success you’ve seen, what would it be?

NMS: Develop a writing method. It took me a while to figure out how I write best, and once I did, I had a solid method to rely on. This made me realize that how you write is equally as important as what you write. You may be able to write a good script through many iterations, but if you can’t repeat the process, you won’t last long in a professional environment. So, figure out your method and hone it well. 

Read More: How Coverfly Helps Screenwriters Get Discovered

SC: If you had a bit of writing career advice for our audience inspired by the success you’ve seen, what would it be?

NMS: Painful as it may be, don’t rush it. I sent out scripts and treatments way before they were ready. Execs’ eyes are weary and experienced, which means they’re quick to pick up on the type of writer they’re reading and will drop the script just as fast. You want them to see you as a pro, even though you may not have been paid to write yet. Wait until you’ve figured out your method and have your voice down pat. Only then, get your pages out there.

Read More: How to Break Into Screenwriting: Paths to the Profession

CHECK OUT OUR PREPARATION NOTES SO YOU START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

The post How Filmmaker Neer Musa Shelter Got His Oscar-Qualifying Short Off the Ground appeared first on ScreenCraft.

We’ll get to those, but first...

Enter Now  |  Final Deadline in 23 days

What Are Archetypes?

Let’s begin with a Swiss psychiatrist named Carl Jung, who codified archetypes — “universal, inborn models of people, behaviors, and personalities that play a role in influencing human behavior.”

Jung believed that archetypes represent universal patterns and behavior of humans. While he believed there are no limits, his four main archetypes are:

• The persona (how we present ourselves to the world)
• The anima/animus (the “true self” rather than the image we present to the outside world)
• The shadow (the unconscious mind composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, and instincts)
• The self (the unified unconsciousness consciousness of an individual). 

These are very psychological — characters representing these archetypes will be subtly written. Usually, when referring to character archetypes, we start looking at how these four archetypes overlap or combine, combining recognizable characters in our stories such as the Hero, the Sage, the Lover, and, yes, the Trickster.

Bugs Bunny in 'Looney Tunes'

What is a Trickster?

Tricksters are characters who, as their name suggests, love to play tricks — on other gods, on humans, even sometimes on animals. They are an archetype seen in many mythologies from different cultures around the world and they are growing in popularity in modern storytelling. Tricksters often change shape or gender, can cross boundaries such as those separating gods from mankind, and are many times depicted as a messenger.

Neither expressly good nor evil (though very generally irresponsible at best), Tricksters blur lines and push boundaries. They are creative liars, noted for their cleverness, and very often sew chaos before finding themselves tasting their own medicine.

Trickster stories include mischief and fun but also serve as a reminder to be inventive, creative, and flexible in our thinking.

Bart Simpson in 'The Simpsons'

Tricksters in Literature and Mythology

Native American Tricksters

Native American stories are filled with stories of Tricksters, a lawless rebel who breaks social norms. They tend to be associated with animal spirits such as Coyote, Rabbit, or Raven, animals associated with cleverness. Almost always male, he is commonly deceitful, amoral, and hedonistic. His antics frequently backfire, revealing the structure of social behavior through lessons learned. 

Trickster is also often portrayed as a cultural hero or part of creation stories; in some narratives, Trickster creates the Earth, steals tobacco from the gods, or tricks the white man.

Tricksters in Greek Mythology

Greek myths were filled with Tricksters, perhaps most notably Hermes, the winged messenger of the Olympians. Precocious from the moment of his birth, he invented the lyre and stole from Apollo on his first day of life. Hermes could cross into the Underworld, carry the souls of the dead, or lull creatures to sleep (perhaps before slaying them, such as “all-seeing Argus”).

Hermes in 'Hercules'

Other Tricksters in Greek mythology took their capers too far and upset the gods, such as when Sisyphus attempted to cheat death and was sentenced to an eternity of rolling a boulder up a hill. They were celebrated for their craftiness at the mercy of the gods on Olympus — or they were punished if they crossed the wrong god. 

Tricksters in Norse Mythology

In Norse Mythology, Loki is the cunning Trickster with the ability to change his shape and sex. In some myths, he fought alongside Odin and Thor; in others, he defied them and caused embarrassment or difficulty (for them or himself). Loki was a god of chaos — it would be unwise to pray to him and best to pray he stays away.

Throughout Scandinavian and Norse storytelling, Loki tends to be portrayed as mischievous and self-serving yet lovable and charming.

And of course, his popularity has sky-rocketed in pop culture as he has transcended ancient myths to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Loki in 'Loki'

Tricksters in Pop Culture

A common thread for Tricksters is that they remain outside of the power structure of the story. Tricksters tend to resist the system; they are agents of change who shake up systems. Indeed, in the Disney+ series Loki, Loki steals a Tesseract and disrupts the “sacred timeline” — an order he continues to defy throughout the first season. 

Sherlock Holmes is a great example of a Trickster. He is cunning, operates outside of the law while maintaining his own moral code, and deliberately misleads others for his own amusement. 

One could argue that Harley Quinn has served as a Trickster, especially in her early roles as sidekick and love interest for the Joker. She was mischievous, clever, and operated outside of the law and according to her own whims. In Suicide Squad and her solo movie Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, she shifts to the protagonist, but certainly not a lawful one. Her cleverness and rebellious nature still show the foundations of a Trickster.

Harley Quinn in 'Birds of Prey'

More Examples of Tricksters in Film and TV

Let’s take a look at some popular examples of tricksters in modern film and television:

• Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe)
• Bart Simpson (The Simpsons)
• The Doctor (Doctor Who)
• River Song (Doctor Who)
• Q (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
• Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes)
• Aang (Avatar: The Last Airbender)
• Deadpool (Deadpool)
• The Joker and The Riddler (Batman comics and films)
• Captain Jack Sparrow (Pirates of the Caribbean)
• Cheshire Cat (Alice in Wonderland)
• Fred and George Weasley (Harry Potter)
• The Grinch (How The Grinch Stole Christmas)
• Willy Wonka (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
• Beetlejuice (Beetlejuice)

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Tricksters by nature are amusing to watch. They are not fully evil and often find themselves teaming up with heroes for shenanigans, which is very entertaining. Their unpredictability makes for surprising storytelling and exciting twists. 

If you haven’t thought about organizing your characters into archetypes, it could be a great way to distinguish them from one another, ignite your creativity, and even come up with someone iconic who will live on long past your screenplay. 

Watch out for Tricksters, but certainly write them into your stories! Happy writing!

Read More: 99 Archetypes and Stock Characters Screenwriters Can Mold

Shannon Corbeil is a writer, actor, and U.S. Air Force veteran in Los Angeles with appearances on SEAL Team and The Rookie. She was also a 2023 DGE TV Writing Program Finalist, and her screenplays have placed in various contests. You can read more about her on her website or come play on Instagram and Twitter!

CHECK OUT OUR PREPARATION NOTES SO YOU START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

The post Character Archetypes: The Mischievous Mayhem of The Trickster appeared first on ScreenCraft.

Here we present five simple ways to help you conjure shocking and surprising (there's a difference) plot twists in your screenplays. But before we do that, let's showcase the difference between what shocks us and what surprises us.

The Difference Between Shocking Plot Twists and Surprising Plot Twists

The terms "shocking" and "surprising" are often used interchangeably. However, there's a subtle difference between the two that screenwriters should keep in mind when writing these different kinds of plot twists.

Shocking Plot Twists

Shocking plot twists are those that evoke a more visceral reaction from the audience — usually at the climax of the story. They create more disbelief and astonishment, and sometimes leave the audience disturbed.

Three of the most shocking plot twists in cinematic history came in the 1990s.

Read More: 101 Great Plot Twist Ideas to Elevate Your Script

Note: Beware of Spoilers for The Sixth Sense, Fight Club, and The Usual Suspects! 

The first, The Sixth Sense, made auteur M. Night Shyamalan the go-to shocking plot twist conjurer. We learn that Malcolm — the protagonist of the film — has actually been dead the whole time. He's a ghost. The revelation left the audience stunned, questioning everything they had watched prior. This is likely what led to the repeat viewings that drove the box office numbers up, as audiences went back to search for clues.

The second, Fight Club, managed to pull off one of the most shocking plot twists of its era — that the two lead characters were actually one person. And the eventual antagonist of the film, Tyler Durden, was the protagonist's alter ego due to his dissociative identity disorder. Audiences were shocked because, again, everything up until that twist is now was now in question. It subverted expectations and made audiences wonder what was real, and what wasn't.

The third, The Usual Suspects, revealed that Verbal Kint — the film's narrator — is actually Keyser Soze, the mastermind behind the entire operation. The supposed weak and vulnerable Verbal being harshly interrogated was nothing more than a ruse. This left the audience feeling shocked and in disbelief.

Surprising Plot Twists 

Surprising plot twists deviate from what was anticipated or predicted but don't always necessarily provoke the strong emotional response that a shocking plot twist would.

Note: Beware of Minor Spoilers for Everything Everywhere All at Once and Mission: Impossible movies. 

In Everything Everywhere All At Once, it's revealed that Jobu Tupaki, the villain of the story, is actually the Alpha version of Evelyn’s daughter Joy.

In the Mission Impossible movies, every time it's revealed that a character is using one of the face masks, the audience is surprised but not overall shaken.

Surprising plot twists can be more peppered throughout the script, playing with the audience's (and script reader's) predictive anticipation with minor twists that change the course of the story.

So, how do screenwriters come up with these surprising and shocking plot twists?

5 Ways to Create Plot Twists

1. Subvert Expectations

Most movies and series follow generally established conventions or tropes. The filmmakers and writers do this to engage the audience and give them what they are familiar with. Audiences are highly risk-averse. They know what they want to see in any given genre, and they expect certain conventional storylines, plot tropes and character arcs.

Knowing this, you can set up those audience expectations and point them in one narrative direction and then choose a place within that story or plot to deliver a surprising plot twist that goes against their assumptions of what is about to happen.

This is the easiest way to conjure plot twists for your script.

• If conventional wisdom tells the audience that the guy will get the girl at the end of a romantic comedy, maybe the guy doesn't get the girl but learns something valuable in the end.
• If audiences expect a secondary character to die, consider making them the hero of the story.
• Perhaps the protagonist's mentor is actually a villain?

If you know movies and series storytelling, you have a general knowledge of what to expect in a story. Use that knowledge to go in an entirely different direction than what would be expected.

2. Toy with the Audience

If you're taking the audience down familiar roads and story paths, meet their expectations and subvert their expectations at will. This will create an edge-of-their-seat experience where they don't know where the story and its characters are going to take them. This goes beyond subverting expectations. You're playing with those expectations.

This is by far the most entertaining and satisfying part of writing a screenplay. You're taking the audience (and the script reader) on a ride. Depending on the genre, it could be any type of ride.

• An emotional ride (Drama)
• A hysterical ride (Comedy)
• A horrifying ride (Horror)
• An informative ride (True Story)
• An exhilarating ride (Action)

3. Create Multi-Motivations in Characters

Revealing hidden character motivations can be an easy way to surprise and shock the audience. These types of plot twists are intertwined with character arcs and also offer an opportunity for more character depth within your story. When you reveal that a character has dual or multiple motivations than what has been initially set up, added suspense is injected into the story. It also keeps the audience guessing when it comes to not just the plot points of the story, but the character motivations.

4. Utilize Time Shifts and Play with the Chronological Order of Events

Flashbacks, flashforwards, and nonlinear storytelling can be highly effective in surprising and shocking the audience. Forget past screenplay educational books that tell you these story devices are cheats or unwanted. It's how you use them that truly matters.

• Start your script at the climax of the story — and then flashback to the protagonist's ordinary world to surprise and shock the audience as to how the character could find themselves in such a predicament.
• Have two storylines begin in different parts of the story — one starting from the beginning, and one starting from the end — and then have them converge in surprising or shocking fashion.
• Flashback to pivotal revelations that reveal ulterior motives or otherwise hidden backgrounds of characters that create surprising and shocking plot twists.

As long as you structure these stories well, and don't use them as crutches for mere exposition, these types of practices can create some unique and memorable plot twists.

The Sixth Sense (1999)

5. Start from the Twist Before Developing and Writing the Script

While seemingly divine inspiration during the development and writing phase of the story is great, starting the initial process with already knowing various surprising plot twists and perhaps a major shocking plot twist for the end is always the best way to deliver. Why? Because you can spend the whole development and writing process leading up to those pre-conceived twists.

The reason The Sixth Sense delivered its shocking plot twist so well was primarily because Shyamalan peppered the script with clues, plants, payoffs and foreshadowing.

Read More: Screenwriting Plants and Payoffs: The Sixth Sense

Once you have a general idea or concept, start thinking about the various surprising and shocking plot twists that you could apply to the story you're building. Think of those before anything else. Challenge yourself to find opportunities to subvert expectations, toy with the audience, create multi-motivations in characters, and possibly utilize time shifts and play with the chronological order of events.

Read More: 101 Great Plot Twist Ideas to Elevate Your Script

Ken Miyamoto has worked in the film industry for nearly two decades, most notably as a studio liaison for Sony Studios and then as a script reader and story analyst for Sony Pictures.

He has many studio meetings under his belt as a produced screenwriter, meeting with the likes of Sony, Dreamworks, Universal, Disney, and Warner Brothers, as well as many production and management companies. He has had a previous development deal with Lionsgate, as well as multiple writing assignments, including the produced miniseries BLACKOUT, starring Anne Heche, Sean Patrick Flanery, Billy Zane, James Brolin, Haylie Duff, Brian Bloom, Eric La Salle, and Bruce Boxleitner, the feature thriller HUNTER'S CREED, and many produced Lifetime thrillers. Follow Ken on Twitter @KenMovies and Instagram @KenMovies76.

CHECK OUT OUR PREPARATION NOTES SO YOU START YOUR STORY OFF ON THE RIGHT TRACK!

The post 5 Simple Ways to Conjure Shocking and Surprising Plot Twists appeared first on ScreenCraft.

Stay tuned for the Winner announcement on November 29th on our blog and on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages! And if you’d like to receive a notification when this contest re-opens for entries, you can subscribe for updates via Coverfly here.

Here are the Finalists:

For all the latest ScreenCraft news and updates, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post 2023 ScreenCraft Animation Competition Finalists appeared first on ScreenCraft.

All of these scripts are available on The Script Lab.

More info coming soon  |  Remind Me

Horror Films That Feel Way Too Real

The real world is a scary place, and it doesn’t always make sense. From serial killers to the stranded and lost, anything can happen if you’re not careful. It’s with movies like this that we feel the sense that we’re being watched, that we’re not alone, even when we are the only person in the room. For every night you don’t want to walk to your car, for every flickering sodium streetlight on the corner, for every time you felt something touch your toes while swimming, there’s a movie that has inspired that fear.

Check out these horror movie scripts:

• Misery
• Psycho
• Jaws
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• Green Room
• Hostel
• Saw
• Black Christmas
• The Purge (2013)
• Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
• Cujo

Read More: These are the Scariest Movies According to Science

The Culty and Occulty

Anyone can see that horror has huge potential in various situations — but while the mundane can bring horror to your mind, many terrors lurk within the demonic, the occult, and the machinations of groups with malevolent beliefs. Using superstition, witchcraft, or outright brainwashing helps make these horrifying situations feel all the more intrusive. That’s partly why we can’t get enough of them.

Download these culty horror movie scripts:

• The Conjuring
• Get Out
• Hereditary
• The Evil Dead
• Insidious
• Annabelle
• The Invitation
• Candyman (1992)
• The Wicker Man
• The Witch
• Rosemary’s Baby
• Dead Silence
• Wish Upon
• Midsommar

Hilarity in Horror

Every now and then, someone will think to put horror stories into a funny light — and it works. Turns out, humans very much enjoy putting terror and laughter together. Whether it’s a dark comedy with meta-references to the genre or an outright parody, there are a few movies that really exemplify the use of “tongue-in-cheek” or other schticks in the horror milieu.

These horror movie scripts mix laughter with the macabre:

• Shaun of the Dead
• Scream
• Freaky
• Gremlins
• Happy Death Day
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space
• Krampus
• The Menu
• Death Becomes Her
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• An American Werewolf in London

Read More: The Delicious Marriage Between Horror and Comedy

Terrible Knowledge, Terrible Tidings

You can see where this is going: Science fiction stories and cosmic horror both lead to the outlandish, the otherworldly, and the horrific, all usually thanks to a breakthrough of some kind. For every horror movie that brings dangers unknown to the forefront, there’s a chance that it uses science fiction to do it, whether that means genetic abominations, undiscovered species, or infected hordes of once-human creatures.

These horror movie scripts are perfect for fans of both horror and sci-fi:

• 28 Days Later
• The Fly
• Prometheus
• Shivers
• Nope
• Annihilation
• Leviathan
• Scanners
• Stranger Things

Horrors of the Human Mind

While serial killers are one of the most striking examples, they’re not the only way that the human mind can manifest in horror. From psychological terror to the utmost reaches of psychic power, there’s a lot that can come from the brain to fuel your nightmares time after time.

These horror movie scripts are sure to tickle your brain:

• The Shining
• Pi
• Carrie
• American Psycho
• The Lizzie Borden Chronicles
• Jacob’s Ladder

The True Creatures of the Night

The most well-remembered staple of gothic horror, the vampire holds a special place in the hearts of movie lovers. Whether it’s the Prince of Darkness himself, a band of bloodthirsty bandits, or your new neighbor, there’s something truly awe-inspiring about a horror movie that holds to one of the oldest cinematic horror traditions of all time. And no, just because a movie has vampires doesn’t make it a horror movie.

Check out these horror movie scripts that feature bloodsuckers:

• Bram Stoker’s Dracula
• Fright Night (1985)
• 30 Days of Night
• The Lost Boys
• From Dusk Till Dawn

Read More: How to Make a Monster

The Most Iconic Horror Classics

The moment you’ve been waiting for: the movies that go on in our minds — and in Freddie Krueger’s case, in our nightmares — iconic horror classics. From Jason to Michael Meyers, from the Creeper to Pennywise, all the way to Captain Howdy himself, there are just some creatures and beings that instill ultimate fear within us every time.

Check out these classic horror movie scripts:

• Halloween
• Night of the Living Dead
• Alien
• It (2017)
• A Nightmare on Elm Street
• Jeepers Creepers
• Friday the 13th
• The Thing (1982)
• The Exorcist

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No matter where it comes from, fear is a powerful tool for storytelling. Whether it’s combined with science, comedy, or the outright supernatural, it has become a steady source of screenplays worth reading. But remember — there’s a whole library out there waiting for you. The Script Lab carries many more than just these stories. These lists may include the cream of the crop, but you get to harvest whatever you like from the dozens of horror screenplays at your disposal!

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Broadband Choices (now MoneySuperMarket Broadband) runs an experiment every year called The Science of Scare Project to scientifically find the scariest pieces of cinema by measuring the heart rate of viewers to see which films cause their beats-per-minute (BPM) to rise. Let's see who tops the list this year! But first...

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Behind The Spooky Experiment

Okay, real quick – Broadband Choices conducts this study every year with new horror films added to the audience viewing list based on critics, personal lists, experts in the genre, and the horror community. But just because a movie is new, doesn’t mean it’ll scare its way to the top. For instance, the 1984 classic A Nightmare on Elm Street debuted in 2020 as the 13th scariest movie of all time, whereas the 2023 list knocked it down to 25.

Every year Broadband Choices recruits 250 viewers and subjects them to 40 scary movies in a screening room where their heart rate is monitored.

The Science of Scare 2023

Once again, Sinister and Host nabbed the top spots on the list, but this year saw twelve new additions to the experiment, including Smile, Talk to Me, The Dark and the Wicked, and Terrifier 2. However, the 2022 Canadian indie horror film Skinamarink, which went viral after leaked excerpts made their way onto Tiktok and Reddit, made its debut at #3. Not too shabby!

Source: MoneySuperMarket Broadband

Anyway, turn off the lights, grab some popcorn, and good luck sleeping tonight because here are the top six scariest movies according to The Science of Scare 2023.

Top 6 Scariest Movies According to Science

Sinister (2012)

From the very beginning of Sinister, you know it’s going to be scary. If not for the strange opening of several people being hung to death on a tree, it’s the fact that a family has just moved into a new house – which seems to be a catalyst in horror movies for evil tidings. This time a true crime writer finds 8mm film in his new home with links back to a crime story he’s researching. Naturally, the family vacates the home and flees. Just kidding, the writer continues to reveal the horrors of the home, keeping dark secrets from his family and all suffer for it.

Host (2020)

It will be interesting to see if this one drops from the number one spot over the years as Host is a pandemic-inspired flick that was shot via Zoom. Nothing is worse than a Zoom meeting that could have been an email unless it’s a séance gone wrong in which a supernatural entity starts haunting those in the virtual room. Is it scary because of the medium writer/director Ron Savage used during a time when we were all communicating virtually? Only time will tell.

Say goodbye to found footage horror films and give a thumbs-up emoji to Zoom room scares. Remember, if you don’t take yourself off mute, no one can hear you scream.

Skinamirink (2022)

This is the newest addition to the list of 40 and it debuted at #3. A young boy and girl wake up in the middle of the night to discover that their father has mysteriously disappeared. If that’s not frightening for a pair of youngsters, the windows and doors of the house have all been removed. They decide to camp out in the living room where they have a TV and toys to fill the time and find comfort. But mysteries and evil lurk adding heart-racing tension.

This $15,000-budgeted indie film (according to IMDb) has nestled its way into the top five. Will it still be there next year?

Insidious (2010)

Take note, horror writers. Buying a new house, especially in a rural area, can spell trouble (see: Insidious, The Conjuring, Amityville Horror, Beetlejuice). In fact, old creepy houses are perfect settings for hauntings, ghosts, serial killers, and demonic possessions. In Insidious, a family moves into a new house and soon their son becomes comatose with no explanation. They finally discover that demons from The Further are trying to use their child as a portal into our world.

Moral of the story: stick with new construction.

The Conjuring (2013)

James Wan’s second film in the top five scariest movies involves a family moving into a new home (seriously, folks, don’t move, especially not to rural farmhouses) that is haunted by a dark, demonic presence. Who ya gonna call? Paranormal investigators, of course! A husband/wife duo are the saviors who try to rid the home and the family of the evil before it’s too late and open the doors to two sequels and three spin-offs via Annabelle.

Hereditary (2018)

Ari Aster’s debut feature became the fifth scariest film according to science. The movie centers on a grieving daughter whose family history of supernatural mental illness comes back to haunt them. Having conducted a séance, Annie (Toni Collette) discovers she has the power to speak with dead relatives. Hereditary is about how tragedies get passed down from previous generations and how they impact the succeeding ones. Horror is often experiencing the unexplained, which happens quite a bit in this scary movie.

For the full list, check out The Science of Scare 2023.

A Few Tips for Creating Scares

Inspired to write your own horror movie now? Good! Not only does the industry love horror scripts but they're also fun to write. You just have to know which elements to include.

While not every horror movie has these elements, many of the most popular, scariest, and classic films do.

Read More: 25 Films You Have to Watch If You're Writing a Horror Script

Unsuspecting Victims

Rarely does a horror movie have someone eager to take on a challenge but rather they’re thrust into a horrific setting that they must escape. No one asks to be hunted down by a psychopath in a William Shatner mask but the victims of Halloween are put into such a position. No family would eagerly purchase their dream home thinking it would be the first step into being harassed by demons. And no one wants their daughter possessed by the devil that has to be exorcized back out of her.

Have an Expert

The Exorcist had a priest, The Conjuring had paranormal investigators. And Halloween had Dr. Loomis. These experts can explain the supernatural or who the killers are to the other characters and how they can be defeated. It’s also a great character to have because oftentimes the expert gets frightened which puts the audience on high alert – if they’re scared, you better be too.

Scream (1996)

Read More: What Makes a Killer Horror Movie Character? Common Horror Character Archetypes

What Would You Do?

Being an unsuspecting victim often asks the audience to wonder what they would do in that situation. What if a mysterious caller wants to play a game? What if a possessed doll wouldn’t leave you alone? What if you couldn’t sleep because dreaming meant a boiler room baddie with sharp blades as fingers would kill you? This is likely one of the scariest elements of a horror movie because the viewer probably doesn’t know what they would do so they have to live vicariously through the character to find out.

New Location

See: Sinister, The Conjuring, The Amityville Horror, The Haunted Mansion, Insidious, The Watcher. The list goes on. Moving an unsuspecting family to a new house just sets up the possibility that anything bad can and will happen.

Create a Great Monster

Whether it's a ghost, a demon, or a mysterious creature from an obscure lagoon, your horror movie's monster or "big bad" is one of the most important aspects of your story. How do you make a monster? Horror screenwriter Seth M. Sherwood provided a ton of great tips in one of our recent blog posts!

Read More: The New Rules: How to Successfully Survive a Modern Horror Movie

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Of course, the scariest movies have similarities to all other stories that keep audiences and viewers engaged: stakes and characters. Horror movies tend to rely more on stakes; just think about the beginning of Scream. We’re introduced to the infamous call from Ghostface by teenager, Casey (Drew Barrymore). We don’t know anything about either character and yet Casey’s high stakes of answering horror movie trivia correctly or dying grabs our attention.

All of the scientifically-proven scary movies involve dire stakes and characters who we all wonder if they will make it to the end. If we don’t care about the character, we likely won’t be invested in the thrills.

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“...I think you're both trying to get a big reaction out of the audience. So much of horror and comedy is also about pacing and timing and how you play it, how you lay the story out, surprise. So much of it is about surprise. The really good ones, too, they're very structured and loose at the same time. It's a weird combination where you have to be kind of intuitive, but then also have deep precision. Whereas like with a drama or something like that, you're just playing the emotions of those scenes, and it doesn't have to end. It has a rhythm, but it's just different. 

"But I mean, the biggest thing I think about in comedy and horror is at least for me, you're thinking of the audience. You're trying to elicit something out of the audience, a scream or a laugh or both."

This isn’t a notion that is unique to Hollywood insiders. Academic arguments have been made about this inherent link between humor and fear. A scholarly paper published almost 25 years ago in The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism offers that the literary coupling of horror and comedy is about as old as horror literature, itself. 

But what does this mean for writers of horror, comedy, or both? From a personal angle, this knowledge has always yielded something of a Reese’s Cup Effect — “Two great tastes that taste great together!” Horror-comedy is a beloved phenomenon of a genre mashup (with a rich enough tradition to yield its own separate article). But a 50/50 genre split isn’t the only way to take advantage of the bond between the two genres. Adding a small dash of one of these genres has been proven effective in enhancing the flavor of the other. 

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“You Got Comedy in My Horror!” 

The realm of comedy has left its sticky fingerprints all over even the most macabre works of horror. From American Horror Story to IT, clowns have become so prominent a horror trope that most of us seem to have forgotten that they were ever meant to be seen as funny. But beyond that, comedy manages to find its way into the scariest works of horror via dialogue, if not character tropes and types like the aforementioned. 

William Friedkin’s 1973 megahit The Exorcist has been hailed as the scariest movie of all time. By an actual study. But one of its most memorable moments boils down to the most crass “Yo’ Momma” joke to hit the screen at the time. Similarly, the cheeky one-liners intrinsic to Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street’s brutal villain Freddy Krueger have become a staple of the franchise. In the case of these films, putting humor in the mouths of evil antagonists yields a chilling effect. It’s a technique that demonstrates the villain’s confidence in their control over their target. It’s a psychological taunt that catches their victims off-guard and lets them know that disposing of them will be light work. It lets a character (and the audience) know they are dealing with a whole new level of twisted.

Read More: How William Friedkins 'The Exorcist' Became a Haunting Landmark in Horror Film

'It' (2017)

“You Got Horror in My Comedy!”

Comedy has taken a shine to parodying some of the most unsettling moments in horror. And this is not just true of TV and film. You can find examples of this on any social media site whenever a new scary title trends. The comedic influencer meme machine did most of the heavy lifting for M3gan (2022, dir. Gerard Johnstone) in terms of marketing. 

But on the big screen, comedic films often turn to horror when they need a quick build of tension. Body horror is a common staple in this toolbox. How many times have we seen a funny film where a character gets seriously hurt and pops up with a Cronenbergian injury that’s played for laughs? What makes this technique funny, as in the case of 2019’s Good Boys (dir. Gene Stupnitsky), is that the injury never quite feels as bad as it looks for the affected character. This reinforces the old comedy adage that we can laugh at the pain as long it all works out in the end. 

A Perfect Pair

This match-made-in-heck boils down to some crossover elements that have been well-studied. Film scholar Julie Selbo attributes this in part to their shared penchant for the hyperbolic. Both horror and comedy have upended this expectation, however, by exploring subdued and grounded ways to evoke the chills and chuckles they respectively seek. But this will always be true of both; an appeal to our most responsive emotional reactions. Our physical reactions to amusement and fear both live on involuntary hair triggers. This is why we make games out of stopping ourselves from laughing or flinching. An art form that can take us on a rollercoaster featuring both is a commendable balance beam act. 

Horror-comedy is a deft artistic maneuver that plays our feelings of fear and folly off of one another. The Evil Dead is one of the most popular horror-comedy movies of all time for its originality and irreverence. Other examples, such as the Scary Movie franchise, take a spoof approach to point out the underlying goofiness of more seriously scary films. But it makes one wonder if there’s a way for horror to normalize the converse and commandeer comedy tropes for its own purposes. What would that look like? Seltzer flowers full of hydrochloric acid? Banana cream pies to the face, except there’s a hidden layer of spiders? (All roads lead to clowns.)

Read More: 25 Films You Have to Watch If You're Writing a Horror Script

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The post You Slay Me: The Delicious Marriage Between Horror and Comedy appeared first on ScreenCraft.

Stay tuned for the Semifinalist announcement on November 22nd on our blog and on our Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages! And if you’d like to receive a notification when this contest re-opens for entries, you can subscribe for updates via Coverfly here.

Here are the Quarterfinalists: