write the first act of an original screenplay. You do not have to write out the entire screenplay from start to finish! By an act, I mean a substantial beginning or setup of the film contained in your screenplay that establishes your main character(s), sets up the setting or locale, and gives readers an awareness of the main thesis or conflict of the film to be resolved (or not) in subsequent acts.
INSTRUCTIONS
In many respects, this project is an evaluation of what you have learned about film from the class. Your screenplay should demonstrate that you considered how dialogue functions in your film, as well as other tools of cinema such as cinematography, the selection of shots and how they will be assembled in the editing room, and mise-en-scene (the sets, costumes, lighting, actors, etc.). As you have hopefully learned from this course, films are comprised of so much more than what the actors are saying on-screen. If your screenplay consists of dialogue only, then it is not really a screenplay!
------------------- It is imperative to use terminology, vocabulary, and concepts that you have learned in this course throughout your screenplay. You are writing a “shooting” script, not a “spec” script. Speculation or “spec” scripts are screenplays written with an intentional vagueness for sales purposes. The production information is not included in the spec screenplay so producers and directors can fill it in as they see fit. In contrast, you are creating a production or “shooting” script. You are the writer and director for this project! Please provide all the camera shots and editing transitions you envision between shots and scenes as well as information about mise-en-scene (costumes, sets, lighting, etc.).