Screenwriting Structure Part 18 Complications and Higher Stakes

choose

Everyone says this is the hardest part of the screenplay to write.

I respectfully disagree.

As long as you’ve done your homework.

Now of course prior to the mid point, we’ve HOPEFULLY already had complications and higher stakes but now we’re into the home stretch… We’ve got to have more and even though this is arguable, my opinion is that they are much more important NOW than they were earlier.

Before we get into that however, let’s understand the definition of complication:

: Something that introduces, usually unexpectedly, some difficulty, problem, change, etc.

You’ve got to remember that. Too many screenplays just don’t do this ENOUGH. The complications just aren’t there or if and when they are, they just aren’t strong enough to keep us interested in how the Protagonist overcomes them on the way to accomplishing his or her goal.

Higher stakes are a little trickier to pin down because they really need to be comensurate with your Protagonist’s want and or need and specifically related to his or her character makeup. This again, is where screenplays tend not to contain the necessary goods i.e., the stakes simply are not HIGH ENOUGH and or they’re not well suited for the Protagonist you’ve given us.

Another problem higher stakes presents…

What set of stakes at what time? What may be higher stakes to YOU may not be higher stakes to me. You’d think this would be cut and dried but it ain’t…

So what do you do?

Make it obvious.

In other words, out of your list of ever increasing higher stakes, map out the of that list so YOU absolutely fucking know which stake is higher than the stake preceding it.

I guess we should read the definition of stakes just in case…

stakes:

  • The prize awarded the winner of a contest or race.
  • Personal interest or involvement.

Okay… That’s what stakes are. Something at risk. Could be death, reputation, prison, money, etc. Of course we already know what “higher” means but just in case you need a refresher…

higher: Far or farther from a reference point.

So let’s take it to the extreme for a minute… What if in your story, all that was ever at risk was money? Let’s take it a little further and say that the amount of money at risk gets higher as we progress through the story.

Certainly one could say that this story contains higher stakes since the amount of money keeps increasing but if your story doesn’t have that much to do with the world of money, OR if you’ve not set the stage of your story so that the increasing amounts of money makes sense for your Protagonist to place himself or herself at risk for, then you’re probably veering off track.

In other words, increasing amounts of money at risk makes perfect sense in a movie like WALL STREET but would it make as much sense in a movie like I AM LEGEND?

All I’m saying is to make sure the stakes make sense. They need to be stakes that MATTER to your Protagonist. That doesn’t mean you should force your story so that your Protagonist cares about the stakes. The stakes must be comensurate to the Protagonist’s character. Indiana Jones doesn’t really care about money as much as he cares about the item he’s looking for and the people giving him a hand.

Even Bud Fox in WALL STREET topped out on the money when he realized Gecko was simply going to bankrupt the airline and put it out of business. At that point, money no longer mattered to him.

I can’t tell you how many of us get this WRONG. A lot of us. Remember, more complications and higher stakes is what a lot of your story is going to be about… And even more important in the last half of your story so make sure the stakes increase but even more important than that, MAKE SENSE.

Unk

August 13, 2008 | Filed Under Structure

24 Comments 

Articles

Some interesting articles out there…

Enjoy.

Unk

August 9, 2008 | Filed Under Articles

11 Comments 

Copyright Your Screenplay

copyright

In case you’ve not yet heard, U.S. Copyright Form PA is being phased out. To register a copyright for your screenplay, you should now use . And, unless you’ve already filled this particular form out before, I highly recommend that you read the for completing Form CO.

The new Form CO is seven pages long. The actually prefers you start using this form because it’s quicker for YOU — quicker for THEM to process your copyright using 2-D barcode scanning technology.

The U.S. Copyright Office processes these forms much faster and efficiently than paper forms completed manually. Simply complete Form CO on your personal computer, print it out and mail it along with a check or money order and your deposit. The fee for a basic registration on Form CO is $45.

You wouldn’t believe how many times during the week I get asked the following question…

Should I register my screenplay with the WGA or Copyright it?

The short answer?

Copyright your screenplay.

Registration with the Writers Guild of America simply does NOT equal the same amount of protection as you get when you copyright your screenplay. If you can choose only one — choose copyright every time.

A copyright begins your legal paper trail and actually protects what you’ve written while a WGA registration simply corroborates the date the screenplay was registered i.e., the screenplay without a doubt was created NO LATER THAN the date of your WGA registration.

I’ve also been told that WGA registration offers a little protection against loss of your writing credit in case a WGA credit arbitration pops up somewhere down the line.

Which is why my long answer is to DO BOTH.

Secure a copyright for your screenplay on the off-chance that somebody somewhere were to actually rip you off. The only way to bring suit against this kind of theft is to have obtained a registered copyright. In fact, I believe I’ve read that you can’t even get into Federal Court without proof of copyright registration.

Which is another reason you copyright your screenplay. — YES THEY EXIST — aren’t that well known for stealing actual screenplays but they are known for taking an idea or concept here and there and getting some other unsuspecting screenwriter to write it up into a new screenplay. The same thing goes for getting paid on .

Just remember that a registered copyright doesn’t protect the following:

What you can expect a registered copyright to protect:

Another question I get asked…

If I rewrite my screenplay, should I register another copyright and WGA registration?

Yes you should — ESPECIALLY if you’ve ever circulated any earlier drafts into the market.

What about pitching? How can you protect your idea if you pitch it to a producer?

Because so many lawsuits have been brought against producers and prodcos after an unsuccessful pitch, new developments suggest that before you actually pitch your idea or screenplay, make sure you ESTABLISH AN ACTUAL OR IMPLIED CONTRACT. Start your pitch by letting those you’re pitching to understand that YOUR EXPECTATION of them is that your material or idea is to be kept confidential and IF said idea or screenplay is actually used, you expect to be paid.

From what I understand — REMEMBER, I AM NOT AN ATTORNEY AND I AM NOT GIVING LEGAL ADVICE — you need some kind of confirmation of this expectation of yours and if you don’t get some kind of confirmation like a nod of the head or an actual statement of affirmation, you may not have met the legal requirement of an actual or implied contract.

If there is no actual or implied contract, you pitch at your own risk! Whether you pitch at your own risk or not, it’s always advisable to immediately send whomever you’ve pitched to, a confirmation letter… Expand on your legal paper trail by following up the pitch meeting with a letter thanking the producer for their time and reiterating the purpose of the pitch meeting i.e., to sell them your material or idea.

Get it?

Finally…

Do not — I REPEAT — DO NOT try to commit any of this to memory. I highly recommend the creation of a file for each screenplay (or idea) that you attempt to market. In this file should be a simple log sheet of some kind that contains WHO you sent your screenplay to. The date of submission. How long they had it before you heard back from them. The date you heard back from them. Any correspondence between YOU and the person or prodco you submitted to. Any notes or thoughts you might have had during the entire process. Any intelligence you may have gathered on said producer(s) and production company.

This may seem like a waste of time but it’s actually an outstanding extension of your legal paper trail that you can lug into a courtroom with you just in case… The more thorough and organized you are, the more credible you become LEGALLY.

Get it?

Unk

August 5, 2008 | Filed Under Tips

27 Comments 

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