Saturday, June 16, 2012

Checklists

Dr. Atul Gawande is one of the most compelling popular writers about medicine. He likes to examine how medicine works, as a system; to diagnose, if you will, the corpus of medicine. One of the most effective ways to reduce complications and deaths from surgery, he's found, is simple: checklists. Pilots have checklists. Why not surgeons? His team found that instituting checklists reduced complications by 33% and deaths by 47%.

Surgeons are experts. They know what to do, but sometimes they forget to do it.

I wonder if we could come up with checklists for screenwriting. Items like these:

STORY PITCH
  • Do you have a compelling hook?
  • Have you checked your hook with civilians to make sure it's really attractive?
    Have you checked your hook with professionals to make sure it's viable in the marketplace?
  • Are the five elements of story all strong? (They are: a compelling main character; an opportunity, problem or goal; obstacles and / or an antagonist; jeopardy; stakes.)

  • Does the ending deliver the goods that the beginning promised?
  • Does the story deliver the right goods for the movie's genre?

    BEAT SHEET

  • Do all the characters come from your background, or, where appropriate, have you made them diverse?
  • Does the story take place in a fresh/entertaining/cinematic/fun/spectacular place? Given the budget you're writing for, could you move it to one?

    STEP OUTLINE

  • Does each scene take place in a fresh/entertaining/spectacular or character-revelatory location? Given the budget you're writing for, could you move it to one?
  • What is the conflict driving each scene?
  • How does each scene advance the story? (Note: story is not the same as plot. A scene can advance the story by revealing backstory that increases stakes or jeopardy.)
  • What does each scene (including action scenes) reveal about the characters?
  • Track the sequence of NIGHT and DAY scenes. Make sure they feel right.

    SCRIPT


  • Is every line of dialog in the character's voice?
  • As much as possible, is every line of dialog distinctive to the character, so that only he or she could say it?

    LOW BUDGET

  • Can you move any EXT. NIGHT scenes to indoors, or EXT. DAY?
  • For each scene, can you reduce the number of characters you'll need to cover (not just speaking but reacting parts)?
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