You’ve written a script and sent it off to your agent, manager, or even fellow writer friends, who all loved it.
The truth is, whoever made it past all those other people who read your work was probably underwhelmed by what they saw. They might have liked some of your ideas but needed to connect with your characters or scenes. Maybe their eyes glazed over when reading about those action sequences involving guns or explosions; perhaps you forgot to include dialogue between each page transition; maybe even though there are plenty of typos scattered throughout, there are also lots more places where things don’t quite fit together correctly.
What is a pith?
You may have heard the term “pith” used a few times, but what is it? The pith of a story or speech is the most important part because it contains all of the essential elements that make up your work. It can also be regarded as being at the heart of something—the essence or foundation upon which everything else hangs.
The word pith may also refer to:
The center or axis of an object; its middle point or center point. A section along which something rotates: “Her hair was twisted around her head like a crown.”
Difference of ACT and FADE IN
Between the two, you’ll usually see one of two words: ACT or FADE IN. These are both scene headings, which indicate how long a scene should last before transitioning into another one.
ACT stands for Act and can be used as such:
“Scene 1: Hello, Mr./Mrs.,” or “Scene 2: Goodbye!” This indicates that the following scene will begin after this one ends, so it’s important to ensure that your speakers know what order things should occur in!
However, when using FADE IN instead of ACT, there are no specific rules about when you put them together (other than having them both come at the beginning of each Act). They’re more like transitions between scenes.
so, if someone says, “Let me tell you something interesting,” then they’re probably saying something negative. Still, if they say, “Let me tell you something interesting,” they might mean something positive instead!
LOOK AROUND
Look around at the world. Look at the people around you, and think about how they might differ. Take a moment to realize that we all have unique stories and experiences, even if they aren’t reflected by how others see us.Look around at your own life.
- What do you like?
- What don’t you like?
- Are there things that make your heart sing or break it into pieces?
- What are some of those things?
- Why do they matter so much to you?
- How can they affect other parts of your life down the road as well as now.
TILT UP, DOWN, RIGHT, or LEFT
You can also use the TILT UP and LEFT buttons to change the camera angle. By default, you’re looking straight down at your character as they walk across a room. If you want to see what’s happening behind them, press the TILT UP button on the left side of your controller. This will cause your character’s feet to move upward out of view, just like when you tilt up from an airport lounge bar seat!
If there are objects behind or beside them that need highlighting, press again until they zoom out again; then use another few buttons until all four corners appear again with nothing but blackness surrounding them except for a tiny square with four dots inside it:
- Did you put a period at the end of your slugline?
- Did you spell the slugline correctly?
- Is your slugline in all caps?
- Did you have a space between the scene heading and the action after it? Were
- Are there any typos anywhere in the script?
- Did you use proper formatting for dialogue, action, parentheticals, transitions, etc.?
- Did you adhere to the margins and fonts used by Final Draft or Movie Magic
- Screenwriter for your industry-standard script?
- Or did you throw it together however you wanted it to look?
- Do your characters feel they could be real people with real problems, or are they flat walking tropes that serve no purpose other than to help your protagonist accomplish their goal?
- Do they feel like actual human beings with personalities or just a cliche that’s been around since the beginning?
When you write, it’s important to consider how well your characters feel real. It’s also important to understand the difference between cliches and tropes. For example, suppose your character is a vampire with fangs. In that case, that doesn’t make them any less accurate than any other person on earth. Still, suppose you have an unrealistic love interest for this same character. In that case, it may come across as contrived or artificial.
The same goes for writing dialogue: if your characters aren’t speaking naturally, not using slang or colloquialisms, then they’re not being realistic either. Several elements are involved in creating believable dialogue: grammar usage, word choice; pronunciation of words; speech patterns. And so on. Why bother if these things need to be more authentic for readers’ imaginations?
This has given your insight into how Hollywood Treatment can help your script stand out. Remember: if you’re serious about getting noticed by agents and producers, then make sure that every aspect of your screenplay is top-notch. And don’t forget to take care of yourself along the way; good writing isn’t just about putting words together but also taking care of yourself physically and mentally while working through hard times.
