This is the second part of the series ‘introduction to screenwriting’. Click here for the first part of the series. This part of the series deals with developing a basic storyline from the theme. The theme could be developed into a storyline using a sub-genre. Choosing a particular sub-genre depends upon the interest and research of the writer.
Sub-Genres
The following are the popular sub-genres from each Genre:
Action
Gangster, War, Western (cowboy), Girls with guns, Spy films, Martial arts, Rape and Revenge, Underworld/Mafia
Adventure
Survival, Jungle/Sea/Mountain adventure, Expedition for places, people or treasures, Space adventure
Thrillers
Suspense thrillers, Paranoid thrillers, Erotic thrillers, Political conspiracies, Techno-thrillers
Comedy
Classic, Dark humor, animals, family comedies, comedy thrillers, Parody, Satire, Spoof, Adult comedies, Urban comedies, Buddy films
Crime
Detective, Mysteries, Robbery, On the run, Outlaw
Drama
Adaptations, Family drama, Docu-drama, Courtroom, Melodramas, Soap Opera, Social problems, Tragedy, Biography, Political drama, Periodical/Historical dramas, Disease/Disability
Romance
Love, Sacrifice, Teen films, Erotic, Culture, Social problems
Horror
Classic, Possession, Haunted house, Creature, Erotic, Serial killers, Psychic powers, Zombies, Cannibals, Vampires, Witchcraft, Werewolves
Science Fiction
Aliens, CyberPunk, End of world, Post-apocalyptic, Cyborgs, Time travel, Virtual reality, Sci-Fi Action, Sci-Fi thrillers, Multiverse, Multiple dimensions
Fantasy
Angels and demons, Mysterious worlds, Lost worlds, Fantasy creatures, Superhero, Pre-history, Fantasy vehicles and weapons
The basic plot should be developed based on the subgenre. The story needs to be developed using a point of view. Most action and adventure films follow the Third person’s perspective, which doesn’t take the experiences or views of people into account. The love stories are generally told from the first-person perspective as it makes things easy for expressing emotions and feelings. The second-person perspective is rarely used in special cases.
Basic Storyline
The basic storyline should have a conflict and resolution at the very least. This helps the writer stick to the central theme without fluctuating towards the subplots in the story. The basic plot should have 5 points in the film which define the progression of the story.
- 0 % – This is the opening sequence of the film. It should set the tone of the film or introduce the character or environment which is related to the central theme.
- 25 % – This is the mid-point of the first half of the story. It should take the story toward the conflict and raise the action. The introduction of characters or description of the environment should be completed at this point.
- 50 % – This is the mid-point of the story, referred to as the interval or intermission. It should be the point of no return. The story by this time should be irreversible and everything that can go wrong does at this point.
- 75 % – This is the mid-point of the second half of the story. The conflict should escalate and the protagonist generally fails at this point. The alternate ending (generally negative ending) approaches at this point and the resolution seems to be impossible.
- 100 % – This is the closing scene of the story. The protagonist should resolve the conflict by this time. The story reaches a state of equilibrium after the conflict is resolved.
This forms the basic storyline required for developing a complete story. The basic storyline should contain key characters and the basic structure of the story. These things may change several times throughout writing but at the initial stage, a satisfactory storyline helps the writer to focus on the development.
The third part of the series deals with the story structure for developing important scenes. Click here for the third part of the series.
