New screenwriters can find it very daunting to submit their screenplay story structure. This is because of the common understanding that the producers make up their minds about the script within the first 10 pages. So, how can writers make a great impression in just the first 10 pages?

Make The Setup Happen

Rather than talking about what works, first, let’s take a look at stuff that doesn’t work. Many people want to start their movie script format quickly. This means that they will start with some action sequence to get the people hooked. However, this attention is temporary because most of the time, after the action sequence, the script goes a bit blank. When writers come out of an action sequence, something has to happen. And that something is the setup.

Setups are very mechanical in a way because the audience learns something crucial to the narrative. It is the most important part of the entire movie script format as it embeds the roots of the story. So, the character’s motivation is something that the audience needs to understand at the setup. Professionals in the industry can feel when something has a proper setup. A proper setup will be able to invoke a vision of the future of the script in the reader’s mind. 

What Should The Setup Include

The first 10 or 15 pages of the movie script format should show the audience what the character is motivated by. They need to know what the characters are trying to do with their life. Writers often make the mistake of skipping the opportunity to tell the audience anything about their character.

Writers need to go into their screenplay story structure with full consciousness that the moment the character is introduced in the script, the audience needs to understand their essence. There should be a clear dynamic between the new character and all the other characters. For example, in Toy Story, the character’s motivation is clear from the get-go. The main character is Woody who is Andy’s favorite toy. In the first 10 minutes of the movie, the setup is clear. Andy is having a birthday party and is receives new toys as presents which makes his older toys feel insecure. So, there is a clear distinction of character motivations in the movie. 

Another movie example that portrays a perfect setup is Little Miss Sunshine. The movie starts with Liv showing interest in the pageant. The next scene shows her dad talking about self-help books because he is an author of one. And other characters introduce themselves in a similar fashion where they portray their individuality. The clear character motivations and their individuality create a blend of an interesting dynamic in the screenplay story structure.

So, the first 10 pages need to help the audience understand not only the main character but all the other characters as well to understand something crucial about them. Writers should make sure that their setup has clear character motivations as well as character dynamics.

What Does A Proper Setup Look Like On Page?

As long as the formatting of the writer’s craft is beautiful, people will respect the fact that they are approaching the craft. It will be clear to a professional that this writer is setting up a character to tell them something. Too often they receive scripts and have no idea what the writer is trying to tell them.

The art of storytelling is very intuitive. So, when the writer mentions some information about the character in the script, the producers want it to pay off to something. They have the skill to identify whether if the things that writers set up can pay off. Movies like Toy Story and Little Miss Sunshine show how the characters’ motivations are set up as soon as they come on the screen.

There is a distinction between a great writer and a great storyteller. Some scripts come in hot with concise action descriptions. However, when they move on to the next scene, there is no connection. The readers can’t tell where things are heading. Compare this with someone who doesn’t have the most flowery language or interesting action description. But they set up their story in such a way that their character’s goals and motivations are clear in the first 10 pages. The audience will be much invested in the former than the latter.

Drawbacks Of A Hurried Setup

A director wanted to start the script very quickly. They wanted the action sequence, in the beginning, to bring the audience into the film. And so, as it was in the pre-production phase, many issues came to light. This was because they started to realize that the action sequence took away from the character development. These things came into light during pre-production meetings and table reads where actors rose questions about their characters.

The director was insecure about letting the introduction of the movie breathe. So, he wanted a fast-paced action sequence to absorb the audience into the movie. This kind of mindset and insecurity will be a detriment to character development. The audience wants to understand the characters in the first 10 pages. Taking the example of Taken, it is not action-packed from the get-go. In fact, it is very slow in the first 15 minutes during which the character development occurs.

When writers try to hook people in the script too quickly, they lose character development. Now, this doesn’t mean that action-sequences in the introduction won’t work, but they need to be related to the character somehow.

The Bottom Line

The big rule of screenplay writing is that is the audience needs to know about the characters in the first 10-15 pages. If they don’t know what’s happening with the characters, then they will not care about the plot. So, if there’s a scene about a character winning the gold medal in a race, it will not be impactful unless the audience knows his background. But when they know that the character, say, grew up in the slums, then they will be able to root for him.

By not taking your time in the first pages to clarify why the character is doing something, the script will lose the audience’s interest. It doesn’t matter how action-packed the narrative is, the audience will not be fully on board, at least on the page.

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