Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting

So useful to read and also to go back to it whenever im stuck or need a little guidance.

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting is an excellent book from screenwriting guru Syd Field who wrote several books on the subject of screenwriting. He also conducted workshops and seminars on the subject of producing salable screenplays. Hollywood film producers have increasingly used his ideas on structure as a guideline to a proposed screenplay's potential. Although this book gives tips on writing scripts for films, I believe it also serves as a good book for people wanting to write scripts for television as well as for film. An example of tips given in this book includes writing cue cards for his paradigm "Three act structure" (Act I, Act II and Act III) and how many cue cards to write for each act of your film and/or TV drama (whether the TV drama be a one-off or a series). I very highly recommend this book because it can help people with how to write a good screenplay, whether it be for film or television.

This is perhaps my favourite book on screen writing. Why? Because it's so fluently written that it's enjoyable for its enthusiasm, clarity and fluency. It is not a listings formula, being written in solid chapters, but the information it provides is excellent. I prefer it to the slick 'Save the Cat' series, which is okay in its way, but perhaps a bit TOO formulaic. Sid field was the first in the field and in my opinion the best, the most readable and the most clear. Recommended.

I have no intention of writing a screenplay but I do of writing novels and I wanted to understand the three act structure. I've found it has helped me a great deal in understanding it properly. I didn't read three chapters including: Screenplay Form, On Collaboration and After It's Written, because they're not relevant to what I'm doing. The chapters on character etc are good too. As other reviewers have stated, it is repetitive but I found this helpful for me. I'm not slow or anything but when I'm learning something new, sometimes I need to read the same information many times for it to sink in. This books really helps if you're OK with that. I'm combining this book with Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell to give me a thorough understanding of the three act structure. There are sections of screenplays throughout the book, I found this helpful, even though it's novels that I'm concentrating on. And I understand that I need to adapt some of his advice, for it to fit working on novels. Overall, a good book.

This is the most comprehensive book on screenwriting I have read with lots of films exampled with script excerpts to clarify some of the points. I highly, highly recommend. Even if you are an actor rather than a writer it is a fascinating read and gives a great understanding of film making.

Yeah, it's a must-have for anyone contemplating screenwriting (or any other kind of writing). On the first read-through, I filled a notebook with ideas generated by the nuggets of information and suggestions, and it's all stuff we've seen but never realised. And... it's all stuff you need to know to make your writing work. To call it clever is to understate it. Brilliant.

Nice replacement for my tired old edition. Fast delivery.

A great introduction to the subject of screenwriting with effective exercises and examples from films

A-must have for fiction and screenplay writers. The book helped me a lot during a screenplay competition. It's easy and fun to read and includes many case studies.

Een heel goed boek om de grondbeginselen van screen writing te leren. Leest lekker weg met tal van praktijkvoorbeelden en situaties.

Everything was o.k.

The screenwriting bible. If you only get one screenwriting book, this is the one. Informative, descriptive and practical. Excellent book.

A forma de escrita, alida a experiência e praticidade dos pontos comentados deixa claro que seguindo os passos e estudando é possível sim escreve um bom roteiro e iniciar nessa descoberta incrível que a criatividade é. Técnica aliada a criação deixam esse livro repleto de ensinamentos. Excelente livro.