As a Literary Manager and Partner in Greenstein-Shannon Management, I have come to view screenplays on a very technical level. There are some common elements in every great screenplay. Below are what I feel to be essential pieces of this process

BEGINNING First 20 to 30 pages - The Setup: Characters, situation, needs/goals, problem(s), question(s) -- dramatic premise established

Character Development: within the first 10 pages, the major characters should be introduced and placed in some intriguing situation that immediately grabs the viewers’ interest and forces them to keep watching to find out what will happen next; major plot points can often be set up or foreshadowed from the start, motifs can be introduced that will recur throughout the plot and reinforce various themes the story is dealing with; the second 10 pages develop your main character(s) and their predicament

Major Plot Point – an incident, crisis or sub climax that shifts the action to middle section

MIDDLE 40 to 80 pages

The Confrontation: development, complications and conflict (barriers to characters’ goals and characters overcoming those obstacles), rising action with small crises and sub climaxes (very often with some critical sequence at the section’s mid-point), eventually building to

Major Plot Point 2 – the climax, shifting action to the final section

END – The Resolution: falling action with problem(s) solved, goals reached, questions answered, mysteries revealed (or not)

The information below came from a Screenplay Writer Blog

This is the basic outline of the average movie made today. Give or take a few minutes.

Between pages 1-5: The HOOK, something that grabs our attention and pulls us in. Page 10: At this point in your script you should have the "MINI CRISIS". The "MINI CRISIS"

should lead us into... Page 17: ...The DILEMMA. Creation of the team and what the movie is about. Page 30: The REACTION to the dilemma or situation. Page 45: First "REVERSAL" of the 17 minute point. This point furthers the characters and pushes

them deeper into the situation or the dilemma. Page 60: The "TENT POLE" of the movie. Where the passive characters become active or vice

versa. Page 75: Second "REVERSAL" to the 17 minute point. To reaffirm what the story is about. Page 90: The LOW POINT of action. The place from which our main character has to rise up

from.

Character: Here is a list of requirements for a cinematic character

They must be EMPATHETIC, have an internal and external struggle. They must have an arc. VULNERABLE , they must tell us what their vulnerability is. Your character should be an UNDERDOG... But also be LARGER THAN LIFE. Give your characters STRENGTHS-Something that they are really good at, but...

They need FLAWS that could be fatal. Characters with doubts and faults are more interesting and believable.

These questions might be helpful to ask yourself about character before you start your screenplay .

Who is your story about? What kind of trouble is that person in? What does your character want and what will your character do to get it? What is your character most afraid of (his/her ghost)?

Questions to ask yourself about your script.

GENRE Does your script fulfill the expectations of its particular genre? CHARACTERS Are your characters memorable? Are they larger than life? STRUCTURE Does it create suspense? What's the big question the audience will be wondering

about throughout the movie? THEME What is your movie really about? RESOLUTION Is the Movie satisfying to the very last scene? MOMENTS Are there at least four or five memorable moments? Think of this as a "Trailer

Moment". STORY It is the point when your Character is forced to solve his/her inner conflict in order to

solve the outer conflict. FRESH Is your script fresh? A new perspective on the human condition. SECONDARY

CHARACTERS They must reflect the conflicts of the main Characters.

Script Checklist

Opening hook

Primary conflict up front

Set the Genre and Tone

Post a general question

Introduce the protagonist in a unique way

Why does the story start today

ANTAGONIST: Who? Why? What?

What power does the antagonist hold over the hero?

10 minute point

Event and declaration

17 minute point

Reaction/30 minute point

Main goal or plan

What's at stake?

How is the hero trapped?

Time Lock

Are there teams? Hero's and Antagonist's

Mid Point

How does hero seize control of destiny?

How does the hero voice this new awareness and need

An Action that conveys the seizing of control

How does the hero face the antagonist on their own turf

How are the stakes raised raised for the 2nd half of the movie

What Unforeseen Obstacle is now in the way

When does the hero realize his/her worst fear

Tighten the screws

Epiphany; it should put your hero at a crossroads

Creates a New Goal

Climax

What truth emerges?

What does the Entire Screenplay stand for?

What do you want the audience to come away with?

What's it about - In One Word

Is the structure complex enough to sustain the movie?

COLLECTION OF SCREENPLAYS