Getting the best from script reading

Try to read screenplays with a specific task in mind.

For instance, try to discover the screenplay's key plot points, and its central theme. Keep an eye on the page numbers. Figure out how the writer moves from one act to the next.
Or keep a special eye on characterization. Or the function of specific characters.
Basically, ask yourself questions while reading. Why is this scene here? What would you do differently? Analyze.
Reading a screenplay that somehow relates to one of your own works-in-progress can be particularly helpful, because then you have something very specific to relate and compare to.

With a well-written script, if you get dragged into the story, it can be hard to pause regularly and think about what you just read, though. That's ok. Read it as a member of the audience first, and go with the flow. Then put on your analyst's hat for the second read.

-Johan

I pay attention to area's I know I need work on. I see how they portray their characters, how they deliver their dialog, the nuances, try to see how they differenciate the voice between the characters.

Especially if it's a movie I've seen, I study the action sequences, see how they translate from description to on screen action.

If I'm looking for how to deliver a specific kind of action or sequence that this particular script utilized then I search for it and see how they put it down on paper. Then I make notes and save it for later.

I try to feel the words if that makes any sense.

Garza said:

I would like to know how others go about reading scripts. Do you write any notes or highlight any areas that are of interest to you?

I read scripts but then I tend to forget about them later on, it doesn't seem to benefit me at all.

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Something that you might consider that a friend of mine used as a way of mastering material that he had to study generally.

He found that highlighting material and making notes didn't work. He'd go back later and he had no idea why he'd highlight things -- didn't know what the notes referred to. So he got into the habit of writing a brief summary of every chapter of whatever he was studying -- and when he went back and read the summaries, it all made perfect sense.

Maybe you should set yourself the task, when you've read a script, to go back and do coverage on it. See if you can write a decent readable summary of the entire thing in two to three pages. You're going to find, at first, that it's really tough. But the more often you do it, the better you'll get and it will not only improve your writing ability, it will do something more.

It will teach you to identify, in a very specific way, what the critical aspects of scenes and sequences are -- what the things are that you need to extract to make the telling of the story intelligible and what you can leave out. It will teach you, in no uncertain terms, *where* in a script, the story really is.

NMS

Maybe you need to read the script more than once.

Reading a script is part of practicing your craft. When learning a particular genre and using a screenplay that is similar, I tend to read the script several times, each time looking for specific things I need to hit in my work and other times overall structure and other times character development.

When I give notes to people whose scripts I've read, I write detailed notes as I come up to problems or suggestions for change, then when I am done and it is still fresh in my memory, I write a summary of my general impressions and if need be go back to elaborate on some of the key specifics I made notes on before.

To be honest, I've never been a great script reader. I mostly only read the stuff that comes my way for films that haven't been released yet because I like to see how films goes from script to finished film.

I've certainly read a number of scripts or script excerpts in my time, but script reading may just not be for everyone. I like, instead, to watch movies. And then when I want/need/am interested in how to write something, I'll consult the script. But it's easier for me to see how scenes and character arcs are working by watching the film a couple times then reading scripts. I don't think this approach is for everyone, but it works most of the time for me...

Something that is very helpful though is to read spec scripts or low level scripts that actually get made. I find a lot of the time they just read really well. You enjoy reading them whether you like the story or not. I've become fairly convinced that an easy to read script will get made over a better script that is not as well written.

zeprosnepsid said:

I've become fairly convinced that an easy to read script will get made over a better script that is not as well written.

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Well said!

try reading the script while watching the movie at the same time.
and select scripts that are similar to what you want to write. then copy the style.