How to Start a Screenplay Project: Feature Film or TV Series
How to start a screenplay project the right way: pick a working title and choose between a feature film and a TV series format. One decision, explained with a simple question.
Chapters (7)
In this lesson you will learn
- Why everything in ScreenWeaver lives inside one project per story
- How to create a new project from the project menu
- The difference between the Feature film and Episodical / TV formats
- One simple question to choose the right format for your story
- What belongs in the title block, and what does not
- Where to rename the project, switch formats and invite collaborators
Every screenplay starts with a project. In this lesson you create the project for The Night Ferry in ScreenWeaver and learn the one real decision of the New Project window: the format. Feature film is made for a single story, such as a feature, a short film, a music video or a single ad. Episodical / TV is made for series, with several episodes in the same project and acts inside each episode.
You also see what goes in the title block that opens on the first page, why your name, the date and version numbers stay off the page, and where to find project settings to rename the project or switch formats later. Finally, Team and Sharing shows how to bring a co-writer or a producer into your screenplay.
Full transcript
0:04Everything in Screenweaver lives inside a project. The script, the outline, the characters, the places, and later the storyboard and the shots. One story, one project. Let's create ours.
0:18Open the project menu next to the project name at the top left of the header and click New Project. A small window opens with two settings, a title and a format.
0:30For the title, type The Night Ferry. You can change it at any time, so don't wait for the perfect title. A working title is fine.
0:38Now the format. The one real decision of this window. Feature film is made for a single story. A film, a short film, a one -off. Episodical slash TV is made for series. Several episodes in the same project, with acts inside each episode. The Night Ferry is a short film, so choose feature film.
1:01How do you choose? Ask yourself one question. Will this story be watched in one sitting, or in several parts? A short film, a feature, a music video, a single ad? Feature film. A web series, an animated series, a vertical drama in many episodes? Episodical. If you're not sure, start with feature film. You can switch later.
1:26Click Create Project. The script opens on a first block already in place. The title block. Waiting for the name of your film. Type it in. In the outline, this block is the title card that sits above everything else.
1:41What goes in that title block? Just the title, in your own words. Don't add your name, the date, or a version number on the page. The project keeps track of versions for you. And if you change the title later, rename it here, and in the project settings, so the project list matches.
2:00Two more things in that same project menu. Project settings, to rename the project, or switch between feature film and episodical later, if your short film grows into a series. And team and sharing, to invite a co -writer or a producer into the project. Writing can be a solo sport, but it doesn't have to be.
2:20Your exercise? Create your own project now. Give it a working title. Choose the format that matches your idea. And type the title in the first block. In the next section, we learn the language every screenplay is written in. The format.