Screenwriting

As I am inexperienced with the screenwriting process , I will need to research it and find useful resources to refer to when developing my idea. I came across a useful forum which is dedicated to screenwriters where you can critique people's work or submit your own screenplays for feedback. The actual website that produced the forum 'writersworkshop.co.uk' also has some useful resources within it however I believe you have to pay a fee to receive some of the tips in the form of a workshop.
Link: http://writing-community.writersworkshop.co.uk/forum/top/11

I also found a webpage which gives screenwriting tips and explains elements to screenwriting such as what makes a good story by looking at ideas such as 'conflict' to make a story line gripping for the audience.
Link: http://www.screenwriting.info/

Here I found the screenplay for the successful film 'Fantastic 4 (http://sfy.ru/?script=fantastic_four_2005). The film was highly successful due to the characters, plot and concept appealing to its target audience effectively. The film has your generic super hero fights villain plot however the characters in the film draw you in due to them all having individual personalities as well as individual powers which make the characters appeal to the audience. The generic superhero fights villain plot is generally aimed at the younger audience and the action packed, fantasy, far fetched plot definitely achieves this but also adults can enjoy the film too. The plot involves the four main characters gaining super powers from radiation exposure and over the film the characters are involved in mini events which all lead up to the dramatic final event where the 'fantastic 4' fight and defeat the main villain. The plot follows 'Todorov's Narrative Theory' in which normality ( characters are NOT super hero's living normal lives) suddenly changes and a disruption occurs ( characters turn into super heros). There is recognition of this change ( Characters form  together to make 'Fantastic 4') and attempt to repair the damage ( Defeating the main villain). The story then ends with a re-equilibrium ( Main villain is killed yet they now have super powers). This structure is very common within film ideas and is a good starting point when developing an original screenplay.


Screenwritng Literature

http://escrituraavcontemporaneo.wikispaces.com/file/view/write+%2B+sell+the+hot+screenplay.pdf
I found a PDF link for the screenwriting book; 'Raindance Writers' Lab, Write and Sell The HOT Script. The book has a number of useful chapters which provide hints and information on producing a screenplay, but I have selected one chapter as it fits my situation perfectly , '8, Writing for short film'. The start of the chapter explains these productions are short films, the audience will be more critical and also explains that short films are  acknowledged like big feature film productions and provide a gateway into the screenwriting industry. A short film can vary from 30secs to 30minutes but the chapter explains that keeping it under 10 minutes is ideal when  submitting it into film festivals, "Remember:you can tell a great story in as little as 30 seconds". A short film should tell the story via visuals while keeping a storyline at it's heart, as  the book says about screenwriting's golden rule, "Show, don't tell". The stronger visual your story creates in the viewers head, the smaller role time and logic plays in the journey from beginning to end than in other formats. Short films are not an excuse to 'push all the boundaries', but however is a chance to experiment how far cinematic story telling can go.
Points to consider:
.Simplicity, clarity and economy of the storytelling; the vision of the piece, and the visual images it will create.
. Make your idea coherent (ordered sequence of events through time and space). In-coherent plots can sometimes be an issue in a short film due to limited time.
. Ideas which are too concept driven
. Lack of narrative and story telling techniques
. Lack of engaging characters
. Unecessary  use of action and repetition
. How the film will be portrayed to the audience ; Will it have a universal appeal? What will the audience be guessing and when will they know it? What questions will need answering?
. Is the audience engaged to the plot?, Is it original?, Can we relate to and in-habit the characters?, Does the world and story have authenticity?.

These points are pivotal when producing a short film idea and even if one of the points is neglected, the audience may leave with a critical view as a short film will be analysed more thoroughly than a feature-length film. It is also important to consider the practicalities of your idea; remember short films are shot on a low budget so the necessity and realistic availability of the resources you need should be considered. A satisfying ending is also important for a successful short film as because of the length, the narrative is limited so concluding the film to a satisfactory manner for the audience is effective.

Gerald Prince (1973) developed a narrative theory in which any story must contain at least 2 events, in which 1 must cause the other. The book uses an example from William Golding's time in the Royal Navy during World War 2:
"The Germans used to have a very long distance plane. And if we were
escorting convoys back across the Atlantic, this plane would come out,
and it would circle the convoy, perhaps five miles away from it, round and
round and it was wirelessing to submarines saying where this convoy is.
So you knew that this plane was sending your position.
I remember one moment at which the captain of the escort got in
touch with the plane. He flashed it up on an Aldis lamp, you see – and
said, ‘Please, will you go round the other way. You are making my head
ache.’ The plane turned round and started going round the other way, like
that, you see. There was this kind of insane contact between people.
It could be argued that causality is in play here, with the British captain’s message as the cause and the reversal of the German pilot’s flight
direction as the effect. But what makes this an interesting story is that
the German pilot chose to fly the other way, and for that matter, that
the British captain chose to contact the pilot, violating wartime protocol
which prohibits frivolous contact with the enemy."
Here the characters are making things happen, not just merely reacting to events they face. Causality flows from the choices the characters make whilst at the same time making the characters more appealing. This can be applied to short film idea by making the characters earn interest from the audience by developing the narrative by their own individual choices and shaping their own story. This is a more effective way of creating an engaging narrative, in which causality overrides or precludes choice rather than flowing from it, and not making the main character too passive or unable the change the outcomes of their story.