NaNoWriMo 2: Script Frenzy
By
Aubergine_Man,
Posted on: 2007-03-16 17:56 in Multi-Media Fan Creations
Hmm - I wrote a script for a short episode that I was goint to film with my friends using Fraps, although it never got off the ground - maybe I should look at it again...
Interesting. This is far more up my alley. Thanks for the heads up, it'll give me some time to think of a good idea. I got 18 days into NaNoWriMo when I realised that my concept sucked and started all over again. 
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
Yey 
How much is 20000 words in screen time or pages do you think?
Wytch
Mostly Defiant
----
Wytch
Still Mostly Defiant.
Hmmm, not sure how much 20,000 words translates to but my general rule of thumb is that if you write in size 12 Courier font, one page equates to approximately one minute in screen time. That does vary of course, if it's a page full of description it can be done in one shot or equally two lines made to fill out much longer dependent on direction. But approximately 1 page to 1 minute has always worked ok for me. I'll run a word count through one of mine later and see how many words it comes out at.
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
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Yey How much is 20000 words in screen time or pages do you think?
Wytch
Mostly Defiant
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I would guess that it's somewhere around the hour and a half to two hour mark. It depends on how much description etc there is though.
Unfortunately even though the 1 minuet per page thing works most of the time I often find with comedy that laughs and the actor's own business blow any timing out of the window. I've written a 5 minute sketch that takes up one page before, just because of one stage direction.
When you get in to it though you'll start to pick this up quite quickly. I always find that the best thing to do is imagine the action and time how long it takes for you to think through what you want to happen. But of course, that's not so important with this.
I might do this. Should make 20,000 in a few weeks. I assume the same ideas of plotting and research as the other one apply?
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Hmmm, not sure how much 20,000 words translates to but my general rule of thumb is that if you write in size 12 Courier font, one page equates to approximately one minute in screen time. That does vary of course, if it's a page full of description it can be done in one shot or equally two lines made to fill out much longer dependent on direction. But approximately 1 page to 1 minute has always worked ok for me. I'll run a word count through one of mine later and see how many words it comes out at.
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Certainly 12 point Courier is what I was taught to write scripts in, accurately replicates a typewriter y'see! And the 1 page = 1 minute thing too... Wonder if this thing will have the enforced layout that I learnt too... Where speech is in a narrow column in the middle of the page with the speaker's name in caps above it...
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Certainly 12 point Courier is what I was taught to write scripts in, accurately replicates a typewriter y'see! And the 1 page = 1 minute thing too... Wonder if this thing will have the enforced layout that I learnt too... Where speech is in a narrow column in the middle of the page with the speaker's name in caps above it...
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If it isn't, and someone decides to try and sell that script afterwards, they will get laughed out of the office. I learnt that one the hard way.
@Dante EU - Union Roleplayer and Altisis Victim
The Militia: Union RP Supergroup - www.themilitia.org.uk
I believe the BBC writers room has some sort of layout thing for Word. Not sure what it is though but apparently the scripts are formatted correctly.
They have, but as of May, Frenzy will be offering their own tools and help, probably including the now famous 'Include this' thread 
Ooooh, I have no idea what that means... but it sounds interesting.
Basically, it's a forum thread where people include the most random things they can and you get points for getting them into your play/script.
There are some BBC tools on http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/getwriting/
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/ is the website where instead of writing a novel in a month; you're being asked to write a screenplay in a month.
Now it doesn't start until June; but I thought I'd just get people thinking about it.
Only 20,000 words this time; but with descriptive elements being dropped for directions: it maybe slightly harder.