Screenplay by Syd Fields

A brief overview of his suggestions and processes

The number one recommended book for aspiring screenwriters seems to always be Save the Cat by Blake Snyder. Although I find certain parts of the methodology taught in the book extremely helpful, last year, I found myself feeling stuck and stagnant. Trapped in the rigid parameters of the Beat Sheet. Whenever I have this feeling, I’ve found reading a new “how to” book helpful in getting unstuck. So I reached for a classic I had yet to read. Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Fields.

Every writer is going to be different. Their methods, processes, and what works for them are as individualized as the stories we write. No one practice will work for everyone. Conversely, I’ve also found that there isn’t any one practice that works for anyone. I’ve found the most success in taking bits and pieces of suggestions and processes from a myriad of sources to formulate my own process that works for me. I recommend every writer does the same. Take bits and pieces from your favorite writers, reference books, and even other creative fields. Make your own process, something personal to you.

This brief overview of the method outlined in Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Fields. If you’d like more details on any of what I’m going to describe here, I recommend reading the book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The Paradigm

According to Syd Fields, the basic structuring of a screenplay is that it fits in what he calls The Paradigm.

1. The Set Up

2. Plot Point 1 - The “true start of the story” and the catalyst that spins our story into Act 2

3. Plot Point 2 - The major event in the story that spins it into Act 3

4. The Resolution - How the story resolves

Fields recommends starting out your idea at the Resolution. It’s always good to know your destination before you leave. Then go back and fill in the start and the two plot points.

Act 1 (pages 1-30) - Dramatic context - Set-Up

Act 2 (pages 30-90) - Dramatic context - Confrontation

Act 3 (pages 90-120) - Dramatic context - Resolution

Character

Once you have a rough idea of how your story fits into the Paradigm, Fields suggests diving into developing your characters. He does this by creating detailed backstories for each of your primary characters.

Fields says there are 4 essential qualities that go into making a good character:

1. They have a strong and defined dramatic need

2. They have an individual point of view

3. They personify an attitude

4. They go through some kind of change or transformation

Fields repeats throughout the book: “If you know your character’s dramatic need, you can create obstacles to it, and the story becomes your character’s overcoming these obstacles to achieve his/her dramatic need.”

The 4 Page Treatment

“A Treatment is the narrative synopsis of your story.” Fields gives standard parameters to outlining a feature film through 2 categories:

• Dramatic Recreation - Visually describe the action in detail

• Narrative Synopsis - a general description, a summary of the action

Outline your story using the Paradigm as your guide.

• Dramatic Recreation of the Opening Scene - half page

• Narrative Synopsis of Act 1 - half page

• Dramatic Recreation of Plot Point 1 - half page

• Narrative Synopsis of Act 2 - one page

  • As an exercise to explore what will happen in Act 2 - “list 4 obstacles your character confronts in the second act. These obstacles can be internal or external or any variation thereof.”

• Dramatic Recreation of Plot Point 2 - half page

• Narrative Synopsis of Act 3 - half page

• Dramatic Recreation of the Final Scene or Sequence - half page

This is broken down in more detail in the accompanying book The Screenwriters Workbook by Syd Fields

The Cards

Write out the scenes that you know you want in your story, one card per scene. It doesn’t have to be detailed, and it’s better if it’s not. Just fill out as many cards with scenes as you can. Don’t think about it too much, just write a few words about the scene, no more.

Fields recommends that you fill out cards until you “feel a sense of completion about the scenes and sequences” you’ve written down on cards. “You may have ten, or twelve, or fourteen, or eighteen cards…You’ll want to go through them until you end up with fourteen cards.”

(14) 3x5 cards for every 30 pages of the script. Meaning you’ll need:

• 14 cards for Act 1

• 28 cards for Act 2

• 14 cards for Act 3

Act 1

The goal of the first act is to:

1. Set up our story

2. Introduce our characters

3. Define their relationships

4. Establish the Dramatic Premise - what the story is about

The Second Act

According to Fields, the 2nd Act is probably the most challenging section to write. So he recommends breaking the second act into its own beats. He breaks down Act 2 in greater detail in The Screenwriters Handbook.

The dramatic context of Act 2 is Confrontation. Conflict should drive the story forward. Every scene should do one of two things (1) move the story forward, or (2) reveal character.

The first step to tackling your second act is to find the Mid-Point. Discover “some kind of incident, episode, or event to act like a ‘centerpiece.’ It would not only move the action forward but also break Act 2 down into two separate units of dramatic action.”

There should be essentially two sub-acts to Act 2, each with its own dramatic theme (Act 2a & Act 2b). The sub-dramatic theme is defined as “the context that drives the action forward during this section of the screenplay.”

1. Plot Point 1 - the event that spins us into Act 2

2. Dramatic Theme of Act 2a

3. Pinch 1 - an incident that ties the events of Plot Point 1 to the Mid-Point

4. Mid-Point

5. Dramatic Theme of Act 2b

6. Pinch 2 - an incident that ties the events of the Mid-Point to Plot Point 2

7. Plot Point 1 - the event that spins us into Act 2

If you wanna learn more…

Read The Screenwriter’s Workbook and Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Fields.

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