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horror script

http://captainsuperdude.frihost.org/zombievampires.html

I reckon this to be about 45 minutes so far, going to work it out for some of the story scenes to be longer, but I got story the done, I think.

Please skim over it and share any thoughts. I'm hoping to shoot it this summer for about 3 or 4 hundred dollars.

edit: evened out the spacing, delete browsing history and hit refresh to see.
 
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Most importantly this needs to be formatted correctly, it's very hard to read in its current format, look around on the internet,on this forum, i think even MS Word has a template to get the proper format, without it my guess is that a lot of people won't read it.

There are a few free screenwriting software applications that are free, i think most people on here would tell you that they like using celtic, though adobe script seems to work well also.

if you are the only person reading the script then it;s never an issue, but when you put it out into the world for others to see asking for feedback, you'll probably get what I have written most of the time unless it is properly formatted.

BTW congrats on getting hockey back in winnipeg
 
Yep, definately need to sort out that formatting!

Straight off the bat...

"Opening scene in urban setting:" should be something like "EXT. CITY STREET - DAY"

Then, suddenly, you throw Alex and Jake at us, no introductions or descriptions, they're just there, talking.

I don't know what a zombie vampire is. Tell me in your script. Also introduce them, suddenly there's a hoarde of them there! What's a hoarde? One-hundred? One-thousand?

"We just came from"street name", there were 5 or 6 of them moving down the street." What? Street Name? Could you not think of a street? What about the one you live on? "5 or 6" should really be "five or six".


Then, lets go right to the end......


Georges eyes start going buggery, he looks down sees randomperson3 chewing on his ankle.

George: Nooooooooooooooo!

Tex: George!

George: Looks like I'm bit

Tex: Say it ain't so, man, say it ain't so.

Tex grabs hold of George as he collapses.

Jake: Tex, no!

Tex: George, I've never been able to expresss my platonic heterosexual from one man to another, and now.... ...now you're going to die, of a ridiculous virus.

George sc scoffs, shakes his head angrily, then bites down into tex's arm like a grizzly bear into a sirloin steak....


People don't talk like that. Throughout the whole of your script (that I bothered to look at), your dialogue is very stale and forced. Even ignoring the dialogue, the way you've written this, with no action between the dialogue, makes it seem as though randomperson3 is still just chomping away at George's leg while they continue to have this conversation! I assume he's not?

"I've never been able to expresss my platonic heterosexual from one man to another"... What does this mean?


Seriously, rewrite this in the proper format (Celtx is the free formatting software that Klitch is talking about), then I could read it properly and maybe offer more (and more serious, focused) advice. As it stands, I don't think anybody will read this...
 
I think it's important for you to differentiate your characters and maybe give some back story to them - admittedly I only read some of it, for reasons pointed out by klitch - but I found it hard to relate to them as separate people.

Another thing - is this how these people would really speak in the situations they are presented with? The dialogue seemed a little too 'regimented' and long winded -

Alex: we came from across the bridge, it's absolute chaos over there, we saw people eating dogs, dogs eating cats, it's madness I tell you, miss, absolute disordered bloody carnage. May I ask, how is it that there aren't any zombie vampiires on this here side of the bridge? How come you're the only person here?
Ingrid: We had helicopters set down in labarriere park a few hours ago. At first they said they weren't doing any evacuations, then they got some sorts of doctors in checking people for signs of infections, and once they made sure the vrius hadn't hit here yet, they got the children out first, then came back for the rest of the people.

My advice would be for you to condense the dialogue, and ensure it is relevant and contributes to your story - don't waffle! I really think using some of the free software available like Celtx would really benefit you as well.

Best of luck!
 
it's hard to type in my home, my neighbors are shitty, I don't really have any place I can write where people won't bang on my roof or scream at me.

...

I'm gonna take pictures of shooting locations and use them as backgrounds in the storyboard, should offer some further clarity to it.
 
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You're shooting this for yourself, go with it and have fun. However, just a glance through shows you have lots of duplicate lines. The PM has the same line printed three times, as do others. So you will want to proofread.

It is not professional grade, so it will probably stay on your shelf to be pulled out for fond reminiscing. However, it will give you a taste of directing, shooting, acting, and the hardships of writing.

I can sympathize with having to put up with obstacles while writing. The comments that the others have shared are aimed at producing saleable, high quality productions. As a summer project to be shared at Halloween, this should be do-able.

Since you are using Notepad, my only suggestion would be to make it easier to read. You can do this by doublespacing before and after your scenes and actions. It will make them easier to find. I would reserve the colons only for your character dialogues. I like that you put your shots in parentheses. This will also help you.

Formatting is REALLY important when you want to try to do this professionally. The basic purpose of formatting is to make it easy to see scene description, actions, shots and dialogue. As the producer/director you have lots of liberty, just remember that others (actors) need to be able to quickly read it to see their parts and actions. The way it is currently written makes that very difficult.

The story is fairly predictable, so it should be easy to adlib where needed. For movies, shorter lines are easier to remember and make for a better looking production. A few of the lines made no sense.
Code:
Tex: George, I'be never been able to expresss my platonic heterosexual 
from one man to another, and now.... ...now you're going to die, of a 
ridiculous virus.

Lose the 'platonic heterosexual' piece. Be real with feelings. I think you meant

TEX: George, I've never cared for another man as much as you,
and ... and now you're dying because of this ridiculous virus.

Have fun with it.
 
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