- One UK- based screenwriting competition is The UK Film Festival Script Competitions, the rules are that you can only send scripts in, and you can't explain the script to any of the competition readers. The rewards are you win the latest version of Final Draft 11 (value £250), as well as free script listing and placement on InkTip.
- Another UK- based screenwriting competition is the BAFTA Rocliffe Competitions , the rules are that you can't explain your script to any of the readers. The rewards are that you get to see BAFTA's London HQ with professional actors and directors.
A UK-based commissioning body that will accept unsolicited scripts is the BBC writers room DRAMA ROOM, the rules and entry guidelines are that you must 18 years or older, resident of the UK. And unsuccessful writers will be notified and no feedback will be given.
This image shows you an analysed screenplay layout-
There are many things you can seek inspiration from when it comes to writing a story, for example there are real life events; such as news stories - events such as Titanic and the Theory of Everything are both strongly based on a real life event. But sometimes the real life events can be personal, such as something the writer him or herself has experienced - and take inspiration from that.
Another example is inspiration from books and or other forms of media such as a film - where you can make an adaptation of a book and or comic, such as Walking Dead or Harry Potter - or you can just take slight inspiration without copying, such as Star Wars and Star Trek.
Another example is from dreams, where you can ask others for random dreams they've had, or you can use one of your own dreams as inspiration - although you may not remember the dream entirely and it'll be unlikely to have a good story to it, you can be inspired from it and you can then create a great, well structured and unique screenplay.
Another example is where you can overhear other people's conversations, they can be talking about anything and it may interest you so much to the point where you use what they spoke about as your screenplay idea and you may follow their words very closely in the screenplay.
Three primary sources that can be used to gather specific information for a script are-
Questionnaires; in which you can send a questionnaire to multiple people, and ask them questions that will aid your script, questions such as how a character should look or act are basic examples. Or sometimes even similar thing - such as "would you enjoy a film about a future cowboy" for example.
Interviews; where you talk to someone in-depth about your script, asking them relevant questions about it - such as if they think the script so far is good, and what can be improved.
Focus group; in which you assign a big group of people who are all there to discuss your script - they talk and come to agreements on what they believe is good, can be improved upon, and what needs to be added.
Primary sources that I used for my own screenplay idea were-
A questionnaire; in which I sent a hand full of my friends a short questionnaire - asking simple questions such as "would you enjoy watching a short film that focuses on mental health?"
Another resource I used was simply just talking to a friend about my idea - and asking if the idea seemed good and original enough - as well if it is realistic to film.
Secondary sources that can be used to gather information for your script are-
Researching on the internet; just simply asking Google some questions or worries you have about your script idea - searching up similar film ideas to your own and seeing how people received that film, and other similar things to that.
A book; you can read a book that relates to your idea - in which it tells you how an idea similar to yours was worked on, and what mistakes may have been made, and what things they done correctly - and from that you can work on your idea easier with less mistakes.
Previous Questionnaires; where you find a questionnaire that relates strongly to your idea, where questions and things you may not be sure on are answered and you can then get a better idea of what to do - these are usually found on the internet.
Secondary sources that I used for my own screenplay idea are-
Using the film 'Joker', as I researched about it, and read articles - as well as the fact that I have always been a fan of DC comics, so I even read Comic Books to get a good understanding of what my character was going to be like.
That's all I've used so far, but I plan on using previous reviews, where I will read critic reviews for a film similar to mine - because the film Joker wasn't well received by some critics - so this way I can fully understand why and if there reasons are relevant to me.
The advantages of primary and secondary sources are that you gain a lot more knowledge and understanding behind our film idea - such as if film ideas similar to your own are well received - then you know there's a higher chance your film will be well received.
An example of a film that utilizes primary and secondary research is Hacksaw Ridge, which was based on a man's life during the army, and how he saved lot's of people. To make this film as accurate as possible, they done a lot of primary and secondary research into his life, such as asking people what he was like, and going to army camps to see just how intense it is.
I have also watched plenty of films during this time to get inspiration for my film, films such as 'Suckerpunch', 'Pan's Laberinth' and 'Psycho', have all helped a lot when it came to fully fleshing out my script and my characters. All the films I just mentioned are very similar to 'Joker', in that it's a person slowly going insane.
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