Filmmaking for High School Drama Departments/Script Writing

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"The School Play" by Robert ElliottThe audience in the junior high school auditorium is sitting in their chairs waiting for the performance of the new school play. In the audience are three young students, Richard, Jane, and Robert.

The lights dim and the audience quiets down as the conductor (played by Jane) begins to conduct a dreadful school orchestra playing a short and dark piece of music from Giuseppe Verdi.


 * Prologue (in front of the curtain)

The audience applauds as a boy about 12 years old named Alfraido (played by Robert) enters from right side of the stage, walking to the center of the stage in front of the curtain. His costume consists of a cape, huge boots, a plumbed hat, a very ruffly white shirt, and a huge sword on a black belt worn over his shoulder. When the audience stops clapping, the boy begins to speak. "I am the evil villain, Alfraido."

The audience reacts with "boo" and hissing and stomps their feet which is appropriate for a melodrama.

Then the curtain in the middle of the stage parts briefly as a girl enters. She is Esmeralda who is played by Jane wearing a beautiful damsel costume. The audience applauds. Esmeralda is slowly but dramatically plucking the pedals off of a flower; first one lovingly, then one angrily, as if she is thinking, "he loves me, he loves me not." We see that Esmeralda acts more like an awkward Tom Boy than a refined young lady. The crowd applauds for her and when everyone is quiet, Esmeralda sings a musical scale (up and down one octave in the cord of C, slightly off key) and then goes back to madly plucking her flower.

Esmeralda sings, "La la la la la la la."

Alfraido continues to explain the situation to the audience, "And I love the beautiful maiden, Esmeralda."

The audience sighs at this romantic news. When they are finished, Esmeralda sings her scale again (one pitch higher, again off key) and begins to speak in a very melodramatic voice. "La la la la la la la. I am so beautiful, all the boys want to kiss me.  But I only love the gorgeous Rodriego."

Immediately, from left stage comes a swashbuckling soldier who walks to the center of the stage next to Esmeralda in front of the curtain which still remains closed. (Rodriego is played by Richard.)

Rodriego faces the audience and announces, "I am the gorgeous, Rodriego."

The audience cheers and then Rodriego continues, "I am so gorgeous that all the beautiful young girls are in love with me."

The audience applauds as the three actors exit to the stage wings. After a short musical interlude by this particularly wheeze orchestra, the curtain finally opens.


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Your Assignment
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Script writing for drama departments
This course shows how junior high school and high school drama departments can make their own motion pictures. This is the first lesson of the course.


 * In this first lesson, your assignment is to write a story that schools can film.

After your script has been accepted, your next lesson shows you how to format your story into a script using the free demo version of Final Draft.



The story requirements

 * The goal for your story
 * Your goal is to create a story which is both a play and a motion picture that can be filmed by a high school drama department or a junior high school department on the school stage. See the story on the left as an example.

The rules

 * Here are the rules that you must follow.


 * Filming must be done on a the school's stage using the normal stage and/or auditorium lighting and equipment. (The audience is optional.)


 * The set on the stage must be a traditional stage set with stage flats, stage props, stage curtains, etc. This provides a familiar and controlled environment.


 * The acting requirements of the students must be simple. As an example, a melodramatic acting style is easiest for junior high school students.


 * The story must be 1 to 9 minutes long. The shorter the story is, the more likely it will be turned into a motion pictures.  There is nothing wrong with a one minute motion picture.


 * No special equipment must be required. Example: no green screen or other non-stage items.  (Matte paintings are allowed since they are done in post production.  With a matte painting, you build only part of the movie set where the actors are and the rest of the movie set will be "painted" in with a matte painting during post production.)


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Background Information

 * The High School Drama Department
 * The purpose of a high school drama department is to put on plays. This will not change.  A drama department cannot easily switch from making plays to making motion pictures.  Therefore, your motion picture must contain a play.  But your movie must not be a documentary; it must be a motion picture.


 * A break from the past
 * In the past, all high school dramas were filmed like documentaries or as a TV studio production. We need to go beyond this.  We must create a real motion picture and not a documentary or a TV studio production.  It must be filmed motion picture style.  (See "Disk #2 - "24 Unedited Scenes" from the Star Movie Shop to see examples of how scenes are broken down into a series of shots and then filmed in Hollywood.)


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Special Instructions

 * Any subject within reason
 * You can create any story you wish that can be filmed at a local high school. Naturally, you are limited to a story that parents will approve of.


 * In front of a live audience
 * To make the acting easier for the students and the instructor, you should consider creating a story which can be filmed in front of a live audience. That is, you get all your wide angle shot from the live performance and you get the close up shots and all of the audio from filming later in a controlled environment.  By having a live performance, it forces the actors to memorize their lines and to explore their roles.  By doing all the close up shots later, the actors can prefect their performances.


 * To help you understand what is possible, we have a sample story on this page for you to look at.


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Submit your story

 * Write a story
 * Send me your story. Once we have discussed your story, it will be posted here and you can begin Lesson 2.

Contact Your Instructor

 * Your instructor for this class is Robert Elliott. To email me, you simply  Click Here. [[Image:Crystal Clear app xfmail.png|24px]]


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