Screenplays are written in a particular format. This is to ensure that they are easy to read when you're on set making the film. There is an excellent guide to screenplay formatting at the Oscars website. Screenplays usually have the following:
Scene heading. The scene heading is the line that appears at the beginning of a scene. It will usually look something like this: INT. CLASSROOM - MORNING. In a scene heading, INT is used to designate an internal location, EXT is used for an outside location. It is also customary to identify the time of day.
Action. Action refers to what is happening on the screen. You cannot include any other information in this section of your screenplay.
Character Name. Before a character speaks, the character's name appears in the centre of the page.
Dialogue. Dialogue is indented further than the action and appears beneath the character's name.
Sample student screenplay
The following is an example of a student screenplay which features all of the formatting listed above.
Formatting a screenplay using Celtx
Using the drop down menu at the top of a Celtx document, you can easily format your screenplay.
Writing a teen comedy
In class, we have developed a character for a teen comedy. In groups of three, write a script for a scene that incorporates these three characters. The scene should be no longer than about four minutes and be in a single location around the school yard.
The Media and You
The mass media play an important role in our lives. Our society is saturated with media forms - television, newspapers, magazines, radio, the internet. The rise in portable media devices like latops, tablets and smart phones means that we're never too far away from a constant flow of information and entertainment.
It's interesting to consider how much of your life you spend consuming media texts.
In a 2005 study conducted by Bell State University's Center for Media Design found that the average American spends about nine hours a day using some type of media. The study also found:
Americans spend a daily average of 240.9 minutes watching television;
Americans spending an average of 120 minutes using computers;
women spend more time using more than two types of media at once;
the use of the web, e-mail and phones is much higher on Fridays than any other day.
"Television is still the 800-pound gorilla because of how much the average person is exposed to it," noted Bell State University telecommunications professor Robert Papper. "However, that is quickly evolving. When we combine time spent on the Web, using e-mail, instant messaging and software such as word processing, the computer eclipses all other media with the single exception of television. The introduction of the computer into the workplace also has created a whole class of multitaskers. We thought young people would be better at multitasking, but computers have forced older workers to do more than one thing at a time to survive in the workplace."
Use the calculator below to estimate how much time you spend using the media (note: 0.1 of an hour is 6 minutes).
Photo Retouching
The following video tutorials and notes will show you how you can use many of the techniques used by beauty magazines to manipulate photographs in Adobe Photoshop.
Video Tutorials
Basic Photo Retouching in Adobe Photoshop (Part 1)
In the first part of this series, I'll explain how to set up your document, use the Liquify feature and the Clone Stamp.
Basic Photo Retouching in Adobe Photoshop (Part 2)
This part of the tutorial covers the patch tool, spot healing brush, creating an airbrushed effect using Surface Blur and layer masks.
Basic Photo Retouching in Adobe Photoshop (Part 3)
The final part of the tutorial looks at changing hair and eye color using adjustment layers and whitening teeth.
Getting Started
Open the document in Adobe Photoshop by choosing FIle > Open...
Duplicate the layer so that you have a copy of the original. Right click on the layer called ‘Background’ in the layers palette and choose Layer > Duplicate Layer. Alternatively, you can simply drag the layer onto the 'Create a New Layer' button in the layers palette. If you cannot see the Layers Palette, select Window > Layers.
Select File > Save As... and save your image in an appropriate location. Give it a file name you will remember.
Manipulating Facial Features
1. Filter > Liquify. 2. The square bracket keys increase ] and decrease [ the size of your brush. 3. The Bloat Tool can be used to make eyes and lips larger.
4. The Pucker Tool can be used to make features smaller, such as the nose.
5. The Forward Warp Tool allows you to move features slightly.
6. If you make mistakes or are unhappy with the changes you have made, use the Reconstruct Tool to return to the original image.
The Clone Stamp Tool
The Clone Stamp Tool can be used to remove small blemishes. Click on the Clone Stamp tool in the toolbox.
Hold down the Option Key (Mac) or the Alt Key (PC) and click on an area of the photograph that you would like to clone.
Releasing the Option/Alt key, start painting in the area that you want to cover up.
The square bracket keys increase ] and decrease [ the size of your brush.
You can change the Opacity in the Option Bar at the top of the screen. This changes how ‘see through’ your cloned image is. You can use the number keys on your keyboard to adjust the opacity of the Clone Stamp tool (1 sets it to 10%, 2 sets it to 20% and so on).
The Patch Tool
Select the Patch Tool from the toolbox. Sometimes it’s underneath the Spot Healing Tool. .
Draw a freehand shape around the area you want to patch, then holding down the mouse button, move your cursor around until you find a piece of the image that you want to use as your ‘patch’, then let go of your mouse button.
To deselect and keep working choose Select > Deselect.
Airbrushing
Duplicate the layer you've been working on. Select the layer in the layers palette and choose Layer > Duplicate Layer. Alternatively, you can simply drag the layer onto the 'Create a New Layer' button in the layers palette.
Filter > Blur > Surface Blur...Set the Radius to 80 and the Tolerance to 15. This may vary according to the resolution of your image. You want to create a nice, smooth looking image.
Layer > Layer Mask > Hide All...
Select the Brush Tool (B) . Select a soft edge brush from the Options Bar at the top of the screen.
Press 'D' to return to the default colours. In this case, the Forground Color will be white and the Background Color will be black.
You're now ready to paint on your layer mask. Painting white, will reveal the blurred image, allowing you to paint over blemishes without making the whole image seem plastic and fake. In the Options Bar, you can change the opacity of the Brush Tool. This enables you to change how much of the blurred image you reveal.
Changing hair and eye colour
Adobe Photoshop has Adjustment Layers which allow you to adjust things like the brightness and contrast, hue and saturation of an image. The great thing about Adjustment Layers is that you can always double click on them in the Layers Palette later on and adjust the settings. When you’re retouching photographs, Adjustment Layers can be used to change the colour of hair and eyes.
To add a new Adjustment Layer select Layers > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation.
A dialogue box will appear, asking you to name the layer. Click ‘OK’.
You will then be presented with a dialogue box. Adjusting the ‘Hue’ slider changes the colour. Adjusting the ‘Saturation’ slider changes how vivid the colour is. The ‘Lightness’ slider makes the image darker or lighter. When you change these settings, it will change the entire photograph. Don’t worry, we’re going to use a mask to selectively reveal parts of the photograph in the next step. Press ‘OK’ to apply the Adjustment Layer.
Once you have applied the Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer, you will see it in the Layers Pallete. Next to the Adjustment Layer icon, there is a small white rectangle. This is the layer mask. Hold down Command I (Mac) or Control I (PC) to invert the layer mask. This will make everything black, hiding the changes made by the hue and saturation layer.
Select the Brush Tool (B).
Press ‘D’ to return to your default colours, black in the forground, white in the background.
If you need to, press ‘X’ to make sure your forground colour is white.
Start painting on the areas, such as eyes, where you want to reveal the colour.
Shooting a Scene
Shooting a scene that involves dialogue professionally requires a great deal of skill, knowledge and planning. The following advice will explain how you can shoot and edit a scene for your films in a professional manner. Photography by Josh Janssen.
Before the Scene
Establishing Shots. At the beginning of your scene, you will need several establishing shots to show where the scene is going to occur. It is also necessary to use establishing shots between scenes to convey a change in location or the passing of time.
Master Shot. A master shot shows all of the actors in the frame at once. It is necessary to establish where your characters are. For example, the master shot might begin with one character sitting on a park bench and shows another character moving into frame to sit beside them.
Framing the Conversation
When framing a shot, it's very important to take the following into consideration:
Rule of Thirds
The Rule of Thirds is an aesthetically pleasing way to compose the frame. If you divide the frame into thirds, the points of interest should be positioned along these lines or at their intersections. Close-ups like this are a terrific way to shoot dialogue.
Look Room
When framing shots for a conversation, ensure that the characters have enough ‘look room’ which suggests to the audience that they are speaking to someone out of frame.
Headroom
Too much or too little space above the actor's head will make the shot look poorly framed. The example here and above all show appropriate uses of headroom.
Over the Shoulder Shot
If you don't want to frame a conversation using the tight close ups shown above, you can always use an over the shoulder shot, in which you can see the head and shoulders of the person the character is talking to in one side of the frame.
Two Shot
In addition to shooting every line in close up, get as much dialogue as you can in a two shot as well. This will give you greater variety when you're editing the scene.
Eyeline Match
When framing shots for a conversation, ensure that the characters are looking in the direction of the person they’re talking to. When the shots are cut together, it appears as if the characters are looking at each other.
180 Degree Rule
When filming a conversation, if you start filming the actors from one side, it's important to stay on that side. If you cross the imaginary 180 degree line, the characters will not appear to be looking in the right direction.
This image is used under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0.
Shooting the Conversation
Being able to film dialogue successfully is very important when you’re making a film. Shooting dialogue out of sequence is very useful because you may not be able to have all actors on location at the same time. To do this, you need to set up the camera and shoot one half of the conversation. Once you've framed the actor up, press the record button and get them run through each of their lines. It's very important that they look in the direction of the person they're supposed to be speaking to for a few seconds before and after delivering their line. Using this approach, it's possible to stand off camera and feed lines to the actors which means they don't have to learn their lines perfectly before filming. When the actors has said all of their lines, remember to get some noddies, cut ins and cutaways. Turn the camera around and film the other half of the conversation.
Common Problems
Sloppy composition. Framing the shots carefully is crucial. Before you press record, make sure the shot is composed using the rule of thirds and the actors have adequate headroom.
Inadequate lighting. Check that your character isn't backlit
Poor sound.It is a good idea to take a pair of headphones to the shoot so you can monitor the audio levels while you're recording. Before you start shooting and the actors arrive on the set, listen to the ambient noise through your headphones. Often there are sounds - like refrigerators or air conditioners - that your ears don't pick up but can ruin the quality of your audio. Perform a few tests with the actors. The sound of their voice should be clearly audible above any ambient noise. Poor audio quality is very difficult to fix in post-produciton. Using close ups like those shown above necessarily means you have to get the camera and the microphone close to the actors.
Dirty lens. Check the lens for smudges and dust. Clean if necessary.
Distracting background. Make sure there isn't anything distracting in the background or any trees growing from the character's head.
Other Useful Techniques
Noddies. When you're shooting a conversation, it's a good idea to capture thirty seconds of the characters pretending that they're listening to the other person speak. If there are any problems with the footage of someone speaking, you can cutaway to the person who's listening, then back to the speaker.
Cut Ins. A cut in is something related to the action. When you're editing, it's good to have a cut in that you can use if there's a problem with other footage. In your scene a character might be holding a coffee mug. Film thirty seconds of this and, if you run into any trouble, you can always cut in to the coffee mug, then back to the action.
Cutaways. A cutaway is something unrelated to the action. If you're filming a scene on a busy street, might capture thirty seconds of the
Beauty magazines frequently contain representations of women with flawless skin and ‘perfect’ bodies. What we see and read in the media is not ‘reality’. These are not ‘real’ women. These are images of real women which have gone through a long process of construction, making them appear particularly beautiful and glamourous.
Browse through the above magazine covers and respond to the following questions:
Describe each of the cover models, noting their appearance, including skin, eyes, hair and facial expressions.
What do the cover models have in common?
Write down fifteen different headings from the various magazine covers.
As a representation, what does this say about the interests and preoccupations of women?
Overall, how are women represented on the covers of these magazines?
Before the shoot
The process of constructing these photographs starts long before the photographer picks up the camera. Before the photoshoot, a professional make-up artist is used to make the subject look glamorous. In a fashion shoot for the beauty magazine Allure, for example, Isla Fisher went through an intensive make-up process which involved bronzing cream, bronzing powder, rosy blush, ivory and chocolate eye shadow, eye liner, lipstick and a nude lip pencil. Before she even stepped in front of the camera, she had been bronzed and blushed to perfection! Next, a professional hair stylist went to work on her hair. According to the magazine: “After he cut a half-inch off her hair and added long layers, he spritzed Fisher’s hair with a lightweight leave-in conditioner and volumizing spray, then blew it dry with a paddle brush. Next, he made “lazy, open curls” throughout her hair with a medium-barrel curling iron and brushed through them before misting with hair spray.”
During the shoot
During a fahsion shoot, the photographer can do a number of things to make the model look more beautiful and glamorous. This can include selecting an appropriate lens to make the model look good and carefully setting up lighting including lamps, softboxes, reflector boards and flashes. During a photoshoot, each shot is considered carefully. The photographer will decide on the best lighting, camera angle, shot size, composition, colour and facial expression. The photographer may take hundreds of photographs. Only one of these - known as a ‘hero’ shot - will be selected for the magazine cover. By this stage, even a simple photograph has gone through many stages of selection and construction.
After the shoot
After the shoot has been completed and a photograph is selected for the magazine cover, designers get to work on perfecting. Although magazine publishers have been retouching photographs for decades, the development of tools like Adobe Photoshop means that the process of retouching photographs is more sophisticated than ever.
Dove Evolution
An advertising campaign by Dove titled ‘Evolution’ gives us an insight into the process of constructing that photographs in beauty magazines go through. The campaign was created by advertising agency Ogilvy and Mather. The seventy five second ad is a time lapse sequence which shows an ordinary woman being transformed into a supermodel using the techniques and proceedures often employed by beauty magazines. The advertisement received a great deal of acclaim and won numerous awards, including the Cannes Lion Grand Prix award, making one of the most prestigious advertisements in the world.
can be used to make eyes and lips larger. 
can be used to make features smaller, such as the nose.
allows you to move features slightly. 
to return to the original image.
can be used to remove small blemishes. Click on the Clone Stamp tool in the toolbox. 
from the toolbox. Sometimes it’s underneath the Spot Healing Tool. .
. Select a soft edge brush from the Options Bar at the top of the screen. 
