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Writing a script

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Any decent Brickfilm tells a good story. Storytelling is referred to in the movie industry as screenwriting, which results in a script to document the story. I nowadays first write a script to ensure my story is structured, and the dialog of the characters makes some sense.

There is a lot of theory about screenwriting and how to structure a story to make it a proper basis for a movie. To me the main principle is to apply the Three-Act structure:

1. Start with an introduction that explains the situation, introduces the principal characters and defines the 'problem'. (=First 1/4 of the story)
2. Follow this with the story, where the characters look for ways to solve the 'problem' and live through their adventures. (=Middle 1/2 of the story)
3. End with the resolution that solves the 'problem' and shows the happy ending. (=Final 1/4 of the story)

My rules of thumb to create a good script are:

• Use the standard script format for movies to layout the script. This tutorial script explains in detail (and example) how the format works.
• Elaborate to the level where 1 page equals 1 minute in the Brickfilm.
• Make sure all character dialog is final. (This allows me to record all dialog before capturing the video to match the words and emotions.)
• Describe the action to the level where I can imagine how to visualize this during animation.

I nowadays use the Simply Screenplay template for Microsoft Word. If you prefer a stand-alone application, ScreenWriter is a fairly good and free script writing tool.