Some Interesting Insights into Screenplay - Sheetal Kiran Peta

Sheetal Kiran Peta shared these insights with me the other day. I know him as someone who is deeply interested in cinema and stories and writing and we have been in touch for over a decade now, on and off. In recent conversations when we discussed stories and screenplay he mentioned how he consults/helps screenwriters and is also doing work in films and web series. Here then are his insights which I am sharing with his permission.I find them quite helpful and have asked for a meeting with him to put my story through his framework. 

This is a blog he writes - has some really interesting stuff.

breakingthrough.wordpress.com/2021/05/22/a-fresher-perspective-on-screenplay-structure/

These are the points Sheetal put together to discuss illustrated by the Titanic example. Very helpful and useful. Thanks Sheetal for giving me permission to publish these. I am hoping it will help other story writers.

Theme – Plot Point (Plot Turns) - Exercise for Screenplay Writers

Some important questions around Theme:

1.       What is your story about? (Remember this is not a question about the plot).

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2.       What is the world of the story? (Morality, values, time, region etc.)

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3.       What’s the theme of your story? (Write one single line that explains your theme in a full sentence. Remember this is subject to change over a period writing, and perhaps during filmmaking and post production too).

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4.       Who is (are) your protagonists? (Is it single protagonist / multi protagonist? Or are there multiple protagonists. Do your protagonist’s character traits relate to your theme? How?)

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5.       Who / what is your antagonist? (What is the single important value of this antagonist, irrespective of whether they know it or don’t? Please check if this directly opposes your theme stated above. This will change as and when the theme changes.)

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Plot Point vis à vis - Theme

Plotpoint / Turn	Event / Scene / Conflict	Theme Evolution
Hook	Opening Scene:	Possible hint (or even direct statement) at what we are going to discuss in film.
Inciting Incident	The Key Scene which puts the protagonist into the middle of things. (Protagonist is often reluctant or forced to take up. However, in many cases he/she willingly pursues a goal)	Despite the theme’s obvious invisibility, this moment is the defining beginning of the thematic conflict.
Plot Point 1	The moment of discovery in the protagonist’s journey that defines the intensity of his / her approach.	Theme based evaluation of where the protagonist stands.
Mid-point approach. (Most for Indian commercial cinema)	The moments building anticipation towards the midpoint.
Mid-point	The scene which redirects the protagonist’s intensity towardsthe goal in case it was missing previously. Or re-establishes the intensity.	Establish the Complexity of the theme in opposition to the values of the antagonist.
Post midpoint hook (only for Indian commercial cinema, for post interval interest)		Reestablish theme based on its complexity (though not always necessary).
Plot Point 2	Scenes where conflicts gather momentum and losses (thematic, value based or results of actions) are felt by both protagonist &antagonist.	Thematic realities / conflicts come to the fore, visually (but with foreshadowing dialogue)
Low-point	A point of no return. All is lost. The protagonist is left to question every action of his (or hers).	The values of antagonism have won over the core theme of the story.
Climax (followed by denouement if any)	Scenes in which the protagonist recognizes his/her faults, lessons learnt from the journey thus far and acts swiftly to unburden the loss of failure, felt at maximum cost.	Thematic justification – root cause for resolution in the climax.

 

 

Theme – Plot Point (Plot Turns) - Exercise for Screenplay Writers – Example Document - Titanic

Some important questions around Theme:

1.       What is your story about? (Remember this is not a question about the plot).

The film Titanic is about the end of Victorian Era based Class systems (from Late 18^th century till the beginning of 20^th century) and how it affected people on both sides of the spectrum.

 

2.       What is the world of the story? (Morality, values, time, region etc.)

The world of Titanic is an era where rapid industrialization has taken place across the world, though UK and its friends adhered strictly to Victorian Era based class differences. The difference between rich and the poor was marked heavily. The rich enjoyed extreme riches, dressed heavily and had strict rules of social behavior. The society - strictly patriarchal, with women expected to play by the rules of the society, because they didn’t have a means to earn or keep property unless given to them by the male members of the family, mostly father or a husband.

3.       What’s the theme of your story? (Write one single line that explains your theme in a full sentence. Remember this is subject to change over a period writing, and perhaps during filmmaking and post production too).

Only true love bestows inner freedom, the will to love and the strength to move away from the clutches and conditioning of the society. (The true treasure of life is true love which gives us inner freedom, hope and the will to live.)

 

4.       Who is (are) your protagonists? (Is it single protagonist / multi protagonist? Or are there multiple protagonists. Do your protagonist’s character traits relate to your theme? How?)

Jack Dawson –a financially poor, free at heart artist from London, who yearns to go to the USA to find growth.

Rose DeWitt – a girl from rich family; lost her father recently and is engaged to be wed to a rich businessman, but struggling to come to terms with herself and her society. Depressed and hence suicidal at the beginning.

 

5.       Who / what is your antagonist? (What is the single important value of this antagonist, irrespective of whether they know it or don’t? Please check if this directly opposes your theme stated above. This will change as and when the theme changes.)

The strong Victorian Era principled society – which includes her fiancé, her mom, designers of the Titanic and most of the society that she travels with.

The core belief of this society is that – grandeur, opulence and strict adherence to the principles of the society are good enough to hide the reality of life and offer the necessary and the ONLY means to lead a happy life.

 

 

Plot Point vis à vis - Theme

Plotpoint / Turn	Event / Scene / Conflict	Theme Evolution
Hook	Opening Scene: A bunch of seadivers, looking for a lost jewel, ‘Heart of the Ocean’, find a painting of a naked woman – wearing the ‘heart of the ocean’. They want to know what happened to it.	Searching for a lost treasure in search of happiness.
Inciting Incident	Jack saves a suicidal Rose from her suicide attempt.	Under the garb of ‘cute meet / save the cat’ scene, the scene plays out the themes of nature of free willed people (who don’t mind taking risky decisions out of life’s experience, while it is the pressure of the high-class society that drives few to suicide).
Plot Point 1 A	Jack is invited to the rich people’s dinner	Jack is out of place in the high-class society. He carries himself well, except Rose sees him needing breathing space too (you wanna go to a real party huh!)
Plot Point 1 B	Jack invites Rose to his section of the Titanic	The so-called lower deck people are joy to be with, despite lack of high-class manners. They know how to have fun.
Mid-point approach. (Most for Indian commercial cinema)	The moments building anticipation towards the midpoint. Rose asks Jack to paint her nude.	It is obvious that Jack and Rose are falling in love, but both know what they are getting into.
Mid-point	Jack and Rose kiss on the far end of Titanic, away from the lower and higher class, and make love in a car – driven by chauffer but owned by the rich. It is around this time that the Titanic hits the iceberg.	Where people break free from their class distinctions, there is going to be violence. And the conflict gets real with the protagonists’ expression of love for each other and the accident it causes.
Post midpoint hook (only for Indian commercial cinema, for post interval interest)		Reestablish theme based on its complexity (though not always necessary).
Plot Point 2A	Even as Titanic sinks, Jack is blamed for theft and Rose goes to save him.	Thematic realities / conflicts come to the fore, visually (but with foreshadowing dialogue). It is the rich who can blame and cause death easily.
Plot Point 2B	A woman (Rose’s mother?) asks if there are separate safety boats for the rich and lower-class people! This causes Rose to realize she has to escape this society.	Re-establishes theme, time and again, bringing out the nature of people. But this time it forces two people to remain with each (out of love).
Low-point	Even as the Titanic sinks, Jack saves Rose, but eventually dies.	Rose is left with the same option of dying – in the same situation when she first met Jack. But obviously the journey with him has changed her.
Climax	Scenes in which the protagonist recognizes his/her faults, lessons learnt from the journey thus far and acts swiftly to unburden the loss of failure, felt at maximum cost.	Rose decides to live and calls for help. Even when she gets a chance to go back to her fiancé, she changes her name and moves away from her society, acting dead. She lives a full life.
Denouement	The jewel of the ocean has always been with Rose!	Final truth - true treasure is a heart that has discovered love and the freedom inside.

 

Though this is more helpful if someone watches the film - Shades of the Heart (an off beat South Korean Film). But I try to cover as much about plot and structure within the post.