The short film is a unique narrative art form that, while lending itself to experimentation, requires tremendous discipline in following traditional filmic considerations. This book takes the student and novice screenwriter through the storytelling process- from conception, to visualization, to dramatization, to characterization and dialogue- and teaches them how to create a dramatic narrative that is at once short (approximately half an hour in length) and complete. Exercises, new examples of short screenplays, and an examination of various genres round out the discussion.

NEW TO THE THIRD EDITION: new screenplays, a chapter on rewriting your script, and a chapter on the future of short films

Table of Contents

Part 1: Storytelling in General; Telling a Story in Images; Using Sound to Tell the Story; Finding a Main Character for Your Story; Writing an Original Short Screenplay; Rewriting Your Script

Part 2: Storytelling Strategies; Visualization Strategies; Dramatic Strategies; Characterization Strategies; Dialogue Strategies;

Part 3: The Melodrama; The Docudrama; Hyperdrama; Experimental Drama;

Part 4: New Directions; A Redefined Future; Appendix: Short Screenplays

The Big Lebowski begins with a case of mistaken identity which escalates when Jeffrey Lebowski, alias The Dude, attempts to seek recompense for the despoliation of his cheap old hallway rug, and then finds himself entangled in a kidnapping caper as a bagman—a situation that goes from bad to worse due to the interference of his hapless bowling partners. In this typically smart, funny, engaging, and well-written film, the Coen brothers give the world of Raymond Chandler a decidedly postmodern spin, while at the same time leaving Philip Marlowe's ethos intact as The Dude wanders through the fractured Los Angeles of the 1990s trying to do the right thing. Like the brothers' award-winning Fargo, The Big Lebowski is suffused with a droll humor and a verbal felicity that are both delightful and startling.

The complete Blackadder scripts by Richard Curtis, Ben Elton, Rowan Atkinson and John Lloyd. Twenty-six years ago, Edmund Blackadder made his first appearance on our screens. Comedy has never been the same since (nor indeed has history). Gathered here - in this twenty-sixth anniversary commemorative edition - are the complete scripts of Blackadder's adventures and, mostly, misadventures. Blackadder, Blackadder II, Blackadder the Third and Blackadder Goes Forth. Every word, every lie, every cunning plan and cock-up. From medieval nastiness, through Elizabethan and Regency glory, to the mud and sauteed rats of the First World War, Blackadder and his oafish underling Baldrick can be most definitely blamed for ruining England's reputation as a country with a great history. This historical record has been set down by Mr Richard Curtis, Mr Ben Elton, Mr Rowan Atkinson and Mr John Lloyd. Richard Curtis is the writer/director behind Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually and The Boat That Rocked) and Ben Elton is the bestselling author and writer of The Young Ones, The Man From Auntie and The Thin Blue Line. The character of Blackadder was played by Rowan Atkinson, who is the star of the Mr Bean TV series and films, and Johnny English. The four Blackadder series, produced by John Lloyd, won numerous BAFTAs and also an EMMY.