Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
More Buying Choices
27 used & new from CDN$ 8.51
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
 
 
Share your own customer images
Search inside this book

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting (Paperback)

by Syd Field (Author)
3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
List Price: CDN$ 19.00
Price: CDN$ 13.87 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details
You Save: CDN$ 5.13 (27%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca. Gift-wrap available.

Ordering for Christmas? To ensure delivery by December 24 to Toronto, Ottawa, or Montreal, choose Express at checkout. Read more about holiday shipping.

20 new from CDN$ 8.51 7 used from CDN$ 21.10

Frequently Bought Together

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting + The Screenwriter's Workbook (Revised Edition) + Story Guide To Screenwriting
Total List Price: CDN$ 83.95
Price For All Three: CDN$ 56.89

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

  • The Screenwriter's Workbook (Revised Edition) by Syd Field

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

  • Story Guide To Screenwriting by Robert McKee

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.ca.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over CDN$ 39. Details

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Screenwriter's Workbook (Revised Edition)

The Screenwriter's Workbook (Revised Edition)

by Syd Field
3.6 out of 5 stars (11)  CDN$ 15.33
Screenwriters Bible

Screenwriters Bible

by David Trottier
4.6 out of 5 stars (41) 
Story Guide To Screenwriting

Story Guide To Screenwriting

by Robert McKee
4.6 out of 5 stars (108)  CDN$ 27.69
Creating Unforgettable Characters: A Practical Guide to Character Development

Creating Unforgettable Characters: A Practical Guide to Character Development

by Linda Seger
4.5 out of 5 stars (12)  CDN$ 14.06
The Screenwriter's Problem Solver: How to Recognize, Identify, and Define Screenwriting Problems

The Screenwriter's Problem Solver: How to Recognize, Identify, and Define Screenwriting Problems

by Syd Field
3.6 out of 5 stars (12)  CDN$ 14.60
› Explore similar items

Product Details

Product Description

From Library Journal

Screenplay is one of the bibles of the film trade and has launched many a would-be screenwriter on the road to Hollywood. This third edition is updated to include the specifics of writing via computer.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.


Review

“Screenplay is one of the bibles of the film trade and has launched many a would-be screenwriter on the road to Hollywood.” —Library Journal

“Syd Field is the preeminent analyzer in the study of American screenplays.” —James L. Brooks, AcademyAward–winning writer, director, producer
See all Product Description
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
Search inside this book:

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
 
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags

What do customers ultimately buy after viewing this item?

Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting
77% buy the item featured on this page:
Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting 3.6 out of 5 stars (51)
CDN$ 13.87
Story Guide To Screenwriting
9% buy
Story Guide To Screenwriting 4.6 out of 5 stars (108)
CDN$ 27.69
The 101 Habits Of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider's Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers
7% buy
The 101 Habits Of Highly Successful Screenwriters: Insider's Secrets from Hollywood's Top Writers 5.0 out of 5 stars (16)
CDN$ 11.67
Screenwriting For Dummies
4% buy
Screenwriting For Dummies 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
CDN$ 14.39
Explore similar items
 

Customer Reviews

51 Reviews
5 star:
 (22)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (8)
2 star:
 (9)
1 star:
 (5)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.6 out of 5 stars (51 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews

 
4.0 out of 5 stars Don't listen to the frustrated reviewers, Mar 6 2004
By Gregory Olsen "renaissance man" (San Ramon, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting; A step-by-step guide from concept to finished script (Paperback)
Enough with the negative reviews. Syd Field writes from the perspective of a reader who makes decisions to recommend movies to be made. It would be foolish to totally dismiss his advice on structure just because a few movies were successful (e.g. Pulp Fiction) in flouting the 3 act structure turning on 2 plot points. Read your Aristotle. It is a tested formula for a dramatic structure that will help keep an audience's interest.

The difficulty that most people will have with Syd Field's writing is that he is not writing from the perspective of a writer, but of a consumer of writing. He is not going to give you advice on how to invent your story - to express your soul - so to speak. There are other texts you can use to help you put your thoughts on the page.

After reading this book, I would recommend reading his Screenwriter's Workbook. It will flesh out the three act structure even further.

Note: You will need a style guide to help actually format your document correctly.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4.0 out of 5 stars Start here . . ., Dec 30 2003
By Debbie Lee Wesselmann (the Lehigh Valley, PA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting; A step-by-step guide from concept to finished script (Paperback)
Syd Field's SCREENPLAY is a great book for a beginner. The author takes the reader through the basic steps of writing a screenplay, from the first idea to fleshing out the characters to the structure of the entire piece. He explains what a set-up is (and what it needs to be) and tips for beginning and ending the screenplay, two of the more difficult tasks a writer will face. Perhaps most importantly for those who have never written a script before, he devotes a chapter to the screenplay format, showing indentation and capitalization rules, defining terms used within the script, and explaining abbreviations.

Novices to the form should start with this book before moving to more advanced books. I also recommend studying actual professional screenplays in their entirety.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
2.0 out of 5 stars Misleading reviews, Aug 27 2003
By NYCPatsfan (New York, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting; A step-by-step guide from concept to finished script (Paperback)
I frankly purchased this book based on the 5 star rating offered by a 'Top Reviewer' and feel quite disappointed. Although, I would give it a two star rating because there are some useful points to ponder and use in this book.

The main reason I got disappointed: the author insists very many times that movie-goers will like/dislike any movie during the first 10 minutes (not necessarily so in my and others experience) and that, to entice their interest, the first 28-30 pages of the screenplay should be interesting enough; he follows it up in almost every chapter about how the movie 'Chinatown' is a splendid example of what screenplay is all about.

What stumped me is his admission in a later chapter that he fell asleep after the first few minutes when he watched 'Chinatown' for the first time! And that, it was only during his third viewing that he realized that it was an interesting movie and it was only later on - when examining some paintings during a Europe trip - that he realized what a great screenplay it was.

I am baffled that he praises a movie so much and uses that as an example frequently while happily confessing that he had to see it three times to realize that it had a great screenplay. What happened to his theory that the first 10 minutes is crucial to interest the audience?

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 		 Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A WUNDERFUL BOOK FOR SCREENPLAY RIGHTERS!
I red SCREENPLAY many years ago before righting my own movie, BILLY 'N' BILLIE. Iliked the book. It was reel good at showing you what elimints are need in construkting a movie... Read more
Published on Jun 29 2004 by STEPHEN T. McCARTHY

3.0 out of 5 stars I am a teacher of screenwriting
I am a professional screenwriter and I also teach advanced and beginning screenwriting at a prominent Bay Area university. Read more
Published on Aug 13 2003 by Ned K. Wynn

2.0 out of 5 stars Generic
If there was ever a book that tried to teach you a formula for screenwriting, this is it. I've never understood the fascination with Syd Field by screenwriters. Read more
Published on May 19 2003 by C. Randall

3.0 out of 5 stars "Screenplay" has good and bad points
There are things that I liked and things that I disliked about "Screenplay." First, the things that I liked: It is a very well written, thoroughly researched, and instructive... Read more
Published on May 2 2003 by kanenas

4.0 out of 5 stars Good starting point for the clueless
This is an appropriate primer if you've never attempted to write anything resembling a screenplay, or if you realize the efforts you've made are nothing like what you want your... Read more
Published on Mar 19 2003 by hthnd

3.0 out of 5 stars Read the Rules, Then Throw Them Out The Window
Syd Field is THE authority on how to write a Hollywood screenplay. That is, a cookie cutter, seen it a hundred times, time the pacing by your watch screenplay. Read more
Published on Mar 13 2003 by safflowerangelica

1.0 out of 5 stars waste of time and money
This will only leave you dazed and confused. Writing by the numbers is the worst way to write anything. Read more
Published on Jan 2 2003

1.0 out of 5 stars What has Syd Field written? Has he ever had a showbiz job?
Syd Field is big with pontification about screenplay structure, and his formula is famous. But what does he actually know about writing a screenplay? Has he ever sold one? Read more
Published on Oct 31 2002

2.0 out of 5 stars A moderately useful but misleading book
Syd Field's book is useful for those who are just starting to study Hollywood film structure. If you have no grasp of what an "act" is or the "steps" that take place in a typical... Read more
Published on Oct 1 2002

1.0 out of 5 stars ...
Quite simply, the book that ruined Hollywood movies. If you want to know how NOT to do it, then read this guide and file it under useless. Read Aristotle's Poetics instead. Read more
Published on April 29 2002 by Jon Bastian

Only search this product's reviews


Listmania!

Create a Listmania! list

Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject











i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.