There are a lot of intricacies in scripts that present challenges to even the most veteran of screenwriters. The process of writing a script is difficult enough but the vocabulary, abbreviations, and defintions related to the job can be a bit elusive. But don’t worry, we’re going to cover a variety of screenwriting terms that every screenwriter needs to know. By the end, you’ll be ready to apply a variety of screenwriting techniques to your own script. Continue reading Screenwriting Terms — Abbreviations, Definitions & Vocab
Whether you're writing the first draft or sharing the final draft with your collaborators, taking notes is critical. Keeping these thoughts, suggestions, or inspirations organized can be a difficult task. But we've solved the problem. Script Notes is an extremely valuable resource that will help keep your ideas intact and accessible so you can stay productive. We’ve created an example of script notes using The Big Lebowski. You can see for yourself how the Coen Brothers might have used all the features of Script Notes to their advantage. Continue reading How to Write Script Notes in StudioBinder (with Industry Examples…
Call sheet formats can vary dramatically depending on the type of project (documentary, narrative, still, commercial, live etc.). We talked to two 1st ADs about their process of creating call sheets and getting them approved. Continue reading How Call Sheets are Approved on Short Form, Music Videos, and Commercials
Car chase scenes are fantastic, but they are probably one of the most difficult things to capture. Even if you end up with a relatively successful experience on set, how can you be sure it will work in the edit? Continue reading How to Shoot The Best Car Chase Scene [Mad Max: Fury Road Example]
Montages are crucial to the filmmaking language. A great montage can last in your audience’s head long after they’ve left a theater or turned off their television. But creating a great montage requires planning– how are your shots going to interact? In this post, we’ll look at how to storyboard montage sequences to know how they will look before even arriving on set.Continue reading Storyboard Montage — A Guide to Pre-Visualizing a Montage
With an increasing presence of technology in film, it is important to understand how to write text messages in a screenplay. Text messaging has become not only commonplace, but necessary in day to day communication for most people. It is only appropriate that this form of communication comes up in the lives of a story’s characters. Let’s take a look at how screenwriters write a text message in screenplay format and understand a few techniques that will help you become an expert at screenwriting text messages. Continue reading How to Write Text Messages in a Script — Formatting Explained
How do you decide film credits order? Do you always have to put the director first? Do you list in order of celebrity? Pull names from a hat?Continue reading The Ultimate Guide to Film Credits Order Hierarchy (with Free Film Credits Template)
Storyboarding is an incredibly powerful filmmaking tool that allows you to refine your ideas as well as communicate them to others. But how exactly do your storyboard visual ideas like a shot’s composition? Storyboard composition and storyboard format can be ambiguous. In this article, we’ll take a look at how to define the composition of a shot and how to storyboard this composition effectively. Continue reading Storyboard Composition — A Guide to Layout, Format, Framing
Finding a production lighting kit for an upcoming film can be a daunting task. There are many different kinds of lights you can use, and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. But understanding the different forms of film and videography lighting gives you a solid start. For today’s post we looked to great minds in the field, and professional cinematographers as well, to shine a light on the types of film and video lighting kits you need to know about. The first step to painting cinematic pictures with light is knowing the types of light. Then you can pick-and-choose…
Whether you are a producer, 1st AD, or script supervisor, breaking down a script is an incredibly daunting and tedious task. Overtime, the process of breaking down a script by color has become the only organized and efficient way of tackling the task. In this article, we’ll take a look at how to breakdown a script by script breakdown colors both by hand and using the StudioBinder script breakdown app. Continue reading Script Breakdown Colors — How Colors Work in a Breakdown