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|  | Author: Syd Field
Publisher: Delta
List Price: $16.00
Buy New: $6.34
as of 11/23/2009 17:57 CST details
You Save: $9.66 (60%)
New (50) Used (35) Collectible (1) from $6.10
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  94 reviews
Sales Rank: 3981
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Edition: Revised
Pages: 320
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.2 x 0.6
ISBN: 0385339038
Dewey Decimal Number: 808.23
EAN: 9780385339032
ASIN: 0385339038
Publication Date: November 29, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Showing reviews 21-25 of 94
 Not worth it! April 6, 2007
WRITER Deluxe (Tennessee)
6 out of 20 found this review helpful
I have used this book as a reference tool for a few years now. When I take my finished product to an agent, he laughs at me and asked where I learned to write. When I told him that I used Sceenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field, he laughed at me even harder. He bascally told me that I had the BASIC concepts down, but if I wanted to follow a "good" writer he introduced me to The Screenwriter's Bible by David Trottier.
This came from the William Morris Agency, so I knew I couldn't go wrong. He liked the story and decided to represent me if I offered him a better product. I went home a little discouraged. I came online to Amazon and purchased the book. After I read it and looked over my screenplay, I saw where I made the mistakes.
Now, I have sold a few movies/treatments and have another project being looked at by another Hollywood staple. All thanks to Mr. Trottier.
In other words, pay out a few extra dollars to get the Screenwriters Bible and do it the "right" way.
 An essential book for every aspiring novelist or screenwriter March 22, 2007
SHAWN JAMES (Bronx, NY)
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
Syd Field's Screenplay is an essential book that should be on the desk of every aspiring screenwriter or novelist. Field brilliantly breaks down the movie script into a three-act model that effectively shows the structure for telling a story on film. If you're thinking about being a serious writer, this book must be on your desk along with Strunk and White's Elements of Style, The Chicago Manual of Style, Webster's Dictionary and a Thesaurus.
Throughout Screenplay Field discusses how to write plot, characters and action for the silver screen. He goes through the process step-by step in a simple easy to read fashion and uses examples from classic movies like Chinatown to show the reader how the elements of a solid screenplay come together.
The book goes into detail about proper screenplay form. Field's details for formatting a script to WGA (Writer's Guild of America) standards are on the money. I've gone to the Oscars (Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences) website and the WGA website and the information on screenplays mirrors just that. I'd also suggest readers download a couple of screenplays to get a sense of format and style.
The only thing the book lacks is a good section on Screenwriting for computers. My edition is fairly old (fourth Edition) and goes into detail about typewriters, but not computers. My only nitpick with the book is I'd love to get some information on how to format a screenplay in Microsoft Word. But that could just be my edition. The book has probably been updated since then
The copyright section is on the money. Solid information that will help any writer starting their screenwriting career. Unlike books where you can submit blind, ALWAYS register a screenplay with BOTH the WGA and the U.S. Copyright office before contacting any agents. Furthermore, Do not send any script unsolicited to anyone without getting a written release from the agent!
I got this book for a gift and it's helped me improve my writing tremendously. Field gives some great advice about writing in the later chapters detailing adaptation and collaborative writing. And in the After it's done chapter he goes into detail about the writer's lifestyle. He is right about it being a solitary process filled with stress and frustration. He is right about it being hard work. Having written both books and screenplays I can tell you everything he writes about is this creative process is true.
Thanks to this book I've gained a greater understanding about storytelling, plot and characters. I found the same storytelling model Field uses for screenplays can be applied to novels. In my research I've learned most contemporary fiction stories have three acts to them as well. The only difference between the two storytelling mediums is style. Novels often use lots of words to detail the action in the reader's imagination while Screenplays use very few words to describe what's going onscreen. I actually find the minimalist storytelling screenwriting uses to be very effective for novel writing because it cuts down on long rambling passages and pages of dialogue that don't advance the plot.
Thanks to this book I currently write my fiction around a storytelling model that uses elements of both the screenplay and the novel. Minimal details in the descriptive paragraphs and quick dialogue that advances the plot. This leads to tighter faster paced storytelling that grabs the reader and gets them right into the action.
Syd FRield's Screenplay is a Shawn James Five Star Top Ten essential book. You have to pick this one up!
Demystifies the writing process January 10, 2007
jade22192 (Woodbridge, VA U.S.A.)
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
This book is a must read for a new screenwriter and is very useful for those who just want to understand storytelling better.
SYD FIELD IS THE FOREMOST GURU OF SCREENWRITING January 4, 2007
Kingfish (Nowhere from Here)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I recently bought an earlier version of this book without knowing that a newer version was available. However, I learned quickly that Syd Field is the man! He really knows his stuff, and I would recommend this book and anything else that he does to others. From start to finish, SCREENPLAY provides great insight into screenwriting, examples of high-quality writing, and even ways to avoid your screenplay being rejected by a screenplay reader. What more can you ask for? Get the book and get started with your screenplay [yesterday], I'm working on one right now, thanks to Syd.
 A Good Place To Start November 22, 2006
R. McRae (Saugus, CA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Though somewhat dated, still a very good place to start for a background in screenwriting. Helpful tips on setting up an outline before even starting the initial draft. Extremely easy to follow tips on the type of script you want to write, and how to capture the attention of readers during the opening pages. A little to much emphasis on camera angles though, especially when writing spec scripts.
Showing reviews 21-25 of 94
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