Writing action in a screenplay is not to be confused with car chases (though it could be a car chase). The action, or as it is also called the narrative, is simply what’s supposed to be happening on screen. More often than not it is a few blurbs rather than thick paragraphs. If there is a lot of action it’s best of you can break it down into short paragraphs. Keeping the action to a minimum helps to keep the screenplay vertical, which keeps the reader of your script heading down the page. Here are how some memorable scenes looked like on the page:
INT. GARAGE
Cameron has kicked the Ferrari off the jack. It squeals out the of the garage in a cloud of blue smoke. A $50,000 unmanned investment heading backwards down a driveway.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
John Hughes
EXT. ART MUSEUM STAIRS – DAY
It is twilight and Rocky is alone at the very bottom of a huge flight of steps that seem to stretch into the heavens…Rocky takes a deep breath and sprints up the never ending stairs …Halfway up, his body shows the strain. Nearing the top, Rocky pumps with all his strength and arrives at the very top…He looks down the steep stairs and swells with pride…He is ready.
Rocky
Sylvester Stallone
As ANNIE swings, the sledgehammer makes contact with the ankle. It breaks with a sharp CRACK.
CUT TO:
PAUL: CLOSE UP, shrieking.
Misery
William Goldman
He wades upstream, ripping his clothes from his body. He gets his shirt off, spins it through the air over his head, flings the shirt away. He raises his arms to the sky, turning slowly, feeling the rain washing him clean. Exultant. Triumphant. A FLASH OF LIGHTNING arcs from horizon to horizon.
The Shawshank Redemption
Frank Darabont
Notice how it doesn’t take many words to convey a lot in a screenplay?
[…] Writing action in a screenplay is not to be confused with car chases (though it could be a car chase). The action, or as it is also called the narrative, is simply what’s supposed to be happening on screen. More often than not it is a few blurbs rather than thick paragraphs. If there is […] Original Source… […]
I’m running into description problems in regards to action in my current screenplay. The people who have read it say I am getting too specific, almost coreographic fights. But the action is so important to the story, that I’m hesitant to cut too much.
You know what they say — “Less is more.”