screenplay examples - Ghost 1990

INT. TRIBECA LOFT - DAY

The CAMERA TRACKS slowly through clouds of moving dust. Shafts
of muted light pierce the dense atmosphere. An eerie
netherworld envelops us. Strange ghostly forms appear and
disappear in the distance. They seem like apparitions.

Broken timbers and dangling cables emerge from the smoky
light. We see hints of a huge demolished space.

An old white plaster wall FILLS THE SCREEN. Momentary blips
of light flash across it. SOUNDS of street traffic are heard
dimly in the distance.

With startling impact, the SOUND of a sledgehammer explodes
out of nowhere. The wall shudders.

HAMMER BLOWS assault the audience. They are loud and jarring.
The wall buckles.

Chunks of plaster CRASH to the floor. The air fills with new
swirls of white dust. The SLEDGEHAMMER smashes INTO VIEW.
Beams of sunlight cut through the cracks, piercing the
atmosphere like searchlights in a fog. A huge section of
wall falls toward camera as more plaster billows into the
air. We hear voices talking.

MOLLY (O.S.)
What a mess!

SAM (O.S.)
I told you!

Through jagged holes we can make out three dim figures on
the other side of the wall, all wielding SLEDGEHAMMERS.

SAM
I can't breathe.

MOLLY
Use your mask, dummy.

One of the figures adjusts something over his face. Isolated
rays of sunlight dance around him casting long shadows in
the air.

SAM
(singing)
"Volga boat..., man." Whoomph!

His hammer pounds the wall. Molly laughs.

ANGLE

The CAMERA MOVES IN and for the first time we see them. MOLLY
JENSEN, in her late 20's, has a bandanna around her hair and
a workman's mask over her nose, but we can tell from her
eyes and cheekbones that she is beautiful. SAM WHEAT, in his
late 30's, is also hidden behind a mask, but he has a strong
forehead and handsome features. Sweat is dripping down his
brow, leaving streaks in the dust. CARL BRUNER, early 30's,
removes his mask revealing a good looking young man with a
fashionable two-day stubble. Both men have their shirts off.

CUT TO:

ANGLE

BLACKNESS AND A LOUD THUD. Suddenly a shaft of light
penetrates the darkness. Another thud and more light. We see
a hole. The hook of a crowbar enters it, grappling with
something around the edges. Then, with a tug and a loud yank,
a huge section of tin ceiling crashes to the floor. Huge
clouds of dust fly into the air. Molly looks up, astonished.

MOLLY
Sam, look, there's a whole eight
feet up there.

SAM
And about eighty years of dust.

MOLLY
We have all this height, Sam. We
could add a second floor and put our
bedroom upstairs. That would leave
all this space.

SAM
(eyeing her curiously)
For what?

MOLLY
For space. Just space.

SAM
Be great for bumper cars.

Carl laughs as he looks at Sam. Their bodies, covered with
white powder, appear as strange, ghostly figures.

CARL
Sam, this may be none of my business,
but I'm concerned you're doing too
much coke.

Sam glances down at his white body. They all laugh.

MOLLY
Hey, Sam, turn around.

Sam obeys. Molly doodles on his chest, drawing a bow tie and
the outline of a tuxedo jacket. Her lines are quick,
accomplished, and subtly erotic.

CARL
(offering his body)
How 'bout me?

Molly nods. She reaches out and superimposes an armless female
torso over his. His stomach jumps sensually as she touches
it. Molly pulls back to admire her work. He looks like a
Greek statue.

CARL
I'll never wash again.

Molly laughs.

ANGLE

Sam, Molly, and Carl are holding their sledgehammers. Molly
begins to count.

Storyboard Templete

Synopsis Of My Story

Synopsis of my story

Genre – Romance/Drama

Story Type – Romance

Codes and Conventions – Something dramatic happened and then there is a happy ending.

Protagonist – Imogen (the woman that died) , Hugo (the widower) and Daisy (the woman Hugo met in the park)

The synopsis of my story that I am doing for my film coursework is that there is a man called Hugo and woman called Imogen who are in their late 20’s who are in a relationship in the centre of New York.

One night they have a big argument, the man leaves the house and the woman is upset and angry and realises that her relationship is over, the woman has also lost her job and she is in financial difficulties. So on the night of the argument when the man has left their house, the woman commits suicide by drowning in a bath.

 Her ex-boyfriend comes back to the house with flowers to apologise for the way that he acted; he walks into the bathroom to see that she has drowned herself; he is devastated, picks her up out of the bath and hugs her trying to do anything to get her back to life. A year passes after Imogen’s death and Hugo has kept his distance from society.

Then one day he goes for a walk and meets a woman called Daisy, who has lost her dog and he helps. They keep meeting after the incident going out for dinner. They begin to become closer and closer .They then move in together and they have fallen in love with one another.

The audience for my film is for women 15+ the reason for this is because the film has the death in, the audience that I feel would be appropriate for it would be the 15+. Also another reason why I have chosen this age group is because people that age will be able to understand the story a lot better. Even though it is not a complicated story they still need to have a knowledge on life.

Post examples of films from your chosen genre

The House Bunny

The House Bunny is a Romantic Comedy. The way in which it is a good example of my genre I have chosen is because, in the film the narrative is about a dumb, attractive blonde (character stereotype) is attracted to the geeky, uncomfortable around women man (stereotype of men.) This is a feature of the genre I am doing. In the narrative there is also an event that happens in the story which means that the two main female and male characters can not  be together. However at the end of the film, there is a happy ending. Which I said was one of the main features in a romantic film. The reason for this is so it gives that audience that satisfaction that everything is fine at the end of the film and that everyone is happy (the typical ‘Happy Ever After’)

P.S I love You 

P.S I Love You is a romantic drama which is about a woman who loses her husband, and he leaves a number of letters to help her with the pain of loosing her. He sends her to go to lots of places to try and make sure that she carries on with her life. The reason why I have chosen to use this film as an example is because it makes the audience more involved in the film because it is very sad. it draws you in, making you want to know what else the husband has done for her. 

Story Type

A character is seen to be emotionally lacking or missing something or someone. Something/someone - the object of desire - is seen as a potential solution. The character struggles to overcome barriers between himself and the object of desire and succeeds in overcoming some, if not all, of them. The resolution comes when the characters unites with the object of desire.

Examples from Powerpoint

The Beginning -

Common Characters -

The Protagonist and Antagonist -  

Codes and Conventions of a Romance