The Coli's Screenwriting/Filmmaking Thread [Share tips, etc]

steadyrighteous

Veteran
Joined
May 6, 2012
Messages
16,829
Reputation
6,181
Daps
100,446
Hey, guys, looking to get feedback on my short. It's a teaser for future shorts where some fukked up situations happen to the character(s).

Is it funny? Is my writing style passable? Grammar or punctuation mistakes?



I just read it.

Grammar and punctuation didn't seem to be an issue.

To be honest, I didn't find it funny. The characters are in their twenties, so for people that age it was really tame. Maybe if they were 15-ish then it would pass as something funny that happened to two kids on an ABC style comedy. So to be constructive I'd say drop the ages to mid-teens.

Also, it might work better if the slacker/skinny guy was the one benching and the husky one was the one staring at Jessica.

It also kinda didn't go anywhere or... do anything, if that makes sense. It really didn't have an ending or a beginning. It just started, and then it stopped.

This is a bad idea, and not my style of comedy, but here's my shytty take on it:

Slacker kid benching, husky kid on phone.
Husky kid sees Jessica across the street, snaps out of a short daze, quickly focuses back on phone, typing and swiping frantically. Text sound sends.
Slacker continues to struggle as husky kid watches Jessica, back in daze.
Little boy goes by on bike, takes top off.
Jessica comes in, asks for shirt. Husky kid points to it.
Jessica goes to bathroom to put it on.
Kid on bike pulls up to garage. Husky kid goes over and gives him money.
Jessica comes out of bathroom and says something like "So... what are you guys doing?" (Like she's never hung with them before, but knows them from school and says "fukk it, might as well hang with these dudes for the day kinda way)
End.

:yeshrug:

Not good lol, but based on what you wrote that's what I'd do with the given characters and situation.
 

MenacingMonk

Tranquilo
Joined
May 7, 2012
Messages
58,355
Reputation
7,611
Daps
129,799
Reppin
West where the Sunsets
I just read it.

Grammar and punctuation didn't seem to be an issue.

To be honest, I didn't find it funny. The characters are in their twenties, so for people that age it was really tame. Maybe if they were 15-ish then it would pass as something funny that happened to two kids on an ABC style comedy. So to be constructive I'd say drop the ages to mid-teens.

Also, it might work better if the slacker/skinny guy was the one benching and the husky one was the one staring at Jessica.

It also kinda didn't go anywhere or... do anything, if that makes sense. It really didn't have an ending or a beginning. It just started, and then it stopped.

This is a bad idea, and not my style of comedy, but here's my shytty take on it:

Slacker kid benching, husky kid on phone.
Husky kid sees Jessica across the street, snaps out of a short daze, quickly focuses back on phone, typing and swiping frantically. Text sound sends.
Slacker continues to struggle as husky kid watches Jessica, back in daze.
Little boy goes by on bike, takes top off.
Jessica comes in, asks for shirt. Husky kid points to it.
Jessica goes to bathroom to put it on.
Kid on bike pulls up to garage. Husky kid goes over and gives him money.
Jessica comes out of bathroom and says something like "So... what are you guys doing?" (Like she's never hung with them before, but knows them from school and says "fukk it, might as well hang with these dudes for the day kinda way)
End.

:yeshrug:

Not good lol, but based on what you wrote that's what I'd do with the given characters and situation.
Thanks breh. :salute:

But yeah, This is actually a remix of a scene I have in mind. The scene I have is more adult. I might post it up since that's the one I'm more concerned about.

how was the dialogue?
 

steadyrighteous

Veteran
Joined
May 6, 2012
Messages
16,829
Reputation
6,181
Daps
100,446
Thanks breh. :salute:

But yeah, This is actually a remix of a scene I have in mind. The scene I have is more adult. I might post it up since that's the one I'm more concerned about.

how was the dialogue?

The dialogue felt a little stilted in places (to me), someone else might read it and it would flow better.

I have that same problem too (I haven't written in a minute) but sometimes I try and right "grammatically correct dialogue" instead of words that would sound natural coming out of a person's mouth.

For example:

"I'm wasting my next paycheck on you" would look good in a book, but saying it doesn't feel like something characters that age would say, so you could tweak it to:

"I'm spending my whole paycheck on you" or "There goes my next paycheck".

Someone else here might have some more/better ideas, though.
 

MenacingMonk

Tranquilo
Joined
May 7, 2012
Messages
58,355
Reputation
7,611
Daps
129,799
Reppin
West where the Sunsets
The dialogue felt a little stilted in places (to me), someone else might read it and it would flow better.

I have that same problem too (I haven't written in a minute) but sometimes I try and right "grammatically correct dialogue" instead of words that would sound natural coming out of a person's mouth.

For example:

"I'm wasting my next paycheck on you" would look good in a book, but saying it doesn't feel like something characters that age would say, so you could tweak it to:

"I'm spending my whole paycheck on you" or "There goes my next paycheck".

Someone else here might have some more/better ideas, though.
Eh, I don't see what's wrong with that line. I do read some of my dialogue out loud and that line doesn't sound bad. :manny:

But I'll keep that in mind next time.
 

Maude

Superstar
Supporter
Joined
Mar 4, 2014
Messages
4,554
Reputation
3,180
Daps
19,450
Reppin
The Midwest
Also screen writing by Syd Field. Is the definitive book on the subject(I've purchased better imo) but industry people swear by it.
What would you recommend. I went to school to be a writer but changed my major when the press went digital :snoop:
Imma get back to writing.
 

Conz

Superstar
Joined
May 12, 2012
Messages
8,442
Reputation
649
Daps
17,815
my suggestion... if you're gonna read a book, just write off that book's style until you're comfortable formatting and shyt... then once you know you can sit down and write 5 pages with no problems, or errors, start branching out. If you start out reading a bunch of different books, then check the internet and read all the snark from failing writers, you're gonna get dizzy and not know what the fukk is right or wrong.

truth is there probably ISN'T a standard to screenwriting, but you still gotta know formatting and shyt. Save the Cat was the book like a decade ago, now all the bitter writers out there will tell you it's shyt. just use shyt like that as a loose guideline and do your own thing. color within the lines, but use whatevery fukkin weird colors you wanna use. does that make sense? i still use the STC beat sheet as a very loose skeletal system to anything i write, and i don't give a fukk if Joe "I optioned one script for $2500 and work at a gas station in LA now" Nonconformist says STC is incorrect.
 
Top