Congratulations to the 20 lucky people who have won the chance to pitch their idea live on 2nd April.

Now it’s your chance to hear their ideas and see what the commissioners think.
Get in quick to be an audience member.

It’s 6.30 arrival for 7.00pm start at Channel 4.

To sign up go to www.stellarnetwork.com click on the events tab and go to ‘Pitch Up 2009 – Audience’. It’s free for Stellar member, £5 for non-members.

Our panel will select the top three pitches, who will win a fantastic set of prizes. And, of course, there’s always the chance that one of these incredible ideas will be taken on by a member of our panel and might just end up on screen.

The Panel

Alistair Pegg – Commissioner, factual entertainment, Channel 4
Jago Lee, Executive Producer, Blink
Benjamin McGrath – Drama development, ITV

Any questions please email Tom Sutton at toms@stellarnetwork.com.

Get in quick – we expect demand to be high!

The scene is all about creating an optimal emotional experience for the audience.

We do go to the movies to feel and not just to think after all.

So the big question is how do you create emotion?

If you check out the Bourne Supremacy and the scene inside the Italian embassy, where Jason Bourne is being guarded by an Italian policeman and a CIA agent attempts to interrogate him you’ll find it has everything on the following checklist.

If you don’t know the movie buy the DVD box set and watch the trilogy back to back – they’re all superb! Here’s where you can find a draft of the script online.

www.dailyscript.com/scripts/bournesupremacy.pdf

And remember, every scene must connect in some way to the hero’s goal.

Checklist – 10 qualities to have in every scene.

1. Setting – draw in the audience/reader/executive.
It needs some detail to convey the setting and emotional tone of the scene. e.g. Jason Bourne in the Italian Embassy under guard – it’s a stark cold room in comparison to Langley which is full of people, it’s plush and comfortably furnished

2. Characters
The hero must be in every scene ‘emotionally’ even if not present
Other characters serve one of four functions
1) support hero – sidekick/mentor/ally/girlfriend
2) opposition to hero
3) reveal information
4) add credibility to the scene –e.g. Italian Guard with gun guards Jason
Limit scene to only absolutely necessary characters
Resolve scene for every character

3. Desire
Every character in every scene must WANT something which must relate to the overall DESIRE of the hero
e.g. guard wants to guard Jason; CIA agent wants to interrogate; Jason wants to escape; Pamela wants to figure out how to stop Jason.

4. Conflict
Emotion grows out of CONFLICT not desire
Stack deck against hero as much as possible

5. Structure
You want to create anticipation of what’s going to happen next e.g. Pamela Landy mentions Berlin so we have a feeling Jason is going to go to Berlin, we ask ourselves why is he going after Pamela/to Berlin?

Give your reader a superior position – let the audience in on something that some of the characters don’t know. E.g we know Jason’s been framed for murder 20 minutes before he finds out.

Curiosity – we need to think ‘what’s going to happen next?’

Surprise – stock and trade in thriller and horror, throws audience off balance

Time – a ticking clock is immensely emotional; come in as close as you can to event; scenes play out in real time

Pacing – the further into the story you go – the SHORTER the scenes will be
Closer to the climax, the shorter the space between the obstacles. Every time you imagine an editor cutting the scene up add in a paragraph. This defines the pace of the scene, it will be read faster reflecting the pace

At the end of the scene – force reader to turn page
e.g. Pamela Landy says she’s getting on a plane to Berlin in 45 minutes then we CUT to Jason in his car with a map on his way to Berlin – the reader/audience is already thinking about next scene

6. Choreography
Think about how the characters move in the scene. Don’t make the description of the movement too detailed – you’ll lose the reader

7. Credibility
For every scene – ask this question – do my characters behave the way people of their backgrounds would normally behave in this situation?
e.g. in the Karate Kid at the climax we have a 16 year old student with a broken knee fighting the champion – as soon as he gets into the crane stance we know he’s going to win, because we’ve seen it before, even though it didn’t seem important at the time.

8. Dialogue
Is it consistent for every character? Is it minimal?
Remember, silence is a powerful tool
Avoid ‘announcing’ dialogue, addressing characters by their name
Avoid on the nose – characters say what they think

9. Style/Format
Action description must be easy to read and brief. The Screenwriters’ Bible by David Trottier shows how to format and layout a script.

10. Transformation
What is the character’s arc in the scene? How does the inner conflict inform my characters behaviour in every scene?

More good stuff from Michael Hauge can be found at his website:

www.ScreenplayMastery.com.

That’s all folks.

More next week.

Alexandra