Are you
aspiring to be a Nollywood script writer? Or you are wondering how to write a
Nigerian movie script? Well, you’ve stumbled on the right blog. In this blog I will
show you some Nigerian movies scripts online. And you will also learn Nollywood
screenplay format. Let’s start right away.
Before writing
a Nollywood screenplay, you have to take note of the following:
Choose The 'Soft' Genre
There are several genres of screenplay. There is the Epic, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Romantic-Comedy, Drama, Family, Animated, Historical, War, Science-Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Horror, and so on.
Now the Drama, Comedy, Epic or Family are the ones I call soft genre. A Nollywood film maker would always prefer them. Even if you must write Action, War or Horror, you should still make them 'soft'. No persistent gun battle, sword clashes, car chase, bloody scenes and too many physical fights.
Nollywood Screenplays Should Not Be Too Lengthy
A page with courier font, size twelve, is equivalent to one minute of screen time. And so ninety pages is ninety minutes, which is one hour thirty minutes. This is always a film maker’s preference.If your screenplay is in two parts, you can do sixty pages for each parts. You can do otherwise if the film maker gives you a specification.
Use Simple Words
No need for big vocabulary. You need the script to sound natural.Simple English will help your actors understand every point you have to make.
No Expensive Scenes
Costly settings and props should be struck out. You created the scenes in your screenplay so try to limit the use of certain properties in a story. Some Nollywood film makers will frown at your screenplay if the props are too expensive.
Remove The Unusual Actions
Remember that you are dealing with Nollywood artistes; they don't like taking risks. Just stick to the normal simple actions, except of course you are writing an action movie specified by the film-maker.
Jumping down or climbing a tall building, hanging under the bridge, performing all sorts of acrobatics, jumping out of a fast moving vehicle, walking into a fire, chopping off another actor's head, collision of two vehicles, all these type o actions should be made away with.
No doubt some stories cannot do without some of these unusual actions. What you do in such situation is to write in such a way that the action wouldn't be obvious.
For instance, if one of your characters will jump down from a tall building and die on the spot, you can say he is in the balcony on the third floor, looking downwards, he looks very frustrated. The next moment, we see him lying dead on the ground of the building in a pool of his own blood.
You have just dodged the obvious action of falling from a tall building.
Great care must be taken here, in the sense that the reader needs to know what you have in mind. He must understand that the character died as a result of jumping down from the tall building.
Make Your Screenplay Dramatic
The right amount of conflicts is what your story needs. You need to create a puzzles for your audience at every point in time. They should not be able to predict the end of the story from the beginning.
Great Nollywood movies are not the ones endowed with contemporary 3D production, but the ones endowed with entertaining drama, strong conflict, engaging dialogue and thrills.
No Show Offs
Don't try to show off your skill in the use of idiomatic expressions, adages, proverbs and other figurative expressions. Just go hit the nail on the head!
Be well oriented with the economy
Your screenplay should be a low budget one. Producers want to get a good, thrilling and entertaining story with the little money they earn from their various businesses and jobs. So, you have to try to fit into their plight by cleverly learning to write exciting, scintillating, story-line that are low budget in production.
Do not write stories that will need too many characters. Nollywood film makers need concise casts.
Learn the best way to create an entertaining story which will go a long way to uphold good morals.
There shouldn’t be too much erotic or sex scenes and unacceptable acts like masturbation, gay acts and so on.
Just try to write a screenplay which every age range can view comfortably. Except otherwise stated by your client.
Do not write a screenplay that can incite religious or ethnic violence
You need to be balanced and objective. Your story theme may have some religious and ethnic coloration no doubt. Just make sure you write dialogues and actions that do not condemn or mock any ethnic nor religious beliefs. Just be careful about this.
Nigerian politics is another issue
If you must write a genre with a political theme, be sure to censor your dialogues. Nollywood film makers are very careful when it comes to movies with political themes. Try and help them.
Other Things To Make Sure Of:
You need to be well informed about issues and the reasons they happen.Be versatile. That's why you are a writer. Always update yourself. Take advantage of the social media age.
Also know the kind of audience you are dealing with, by so doing you will know the kind of stories to generate.
You Need To Be Creative
Create extraordinary ideas. There are a lot of screenplays and movies in the market today. Make yours to stand out. You are the only one who can make your screenplay shine, and make Nollywood film makers long for it.
All the aforementioned points can help you write a good screenplay for Nollywood. The next move now is getting buyers.
To be sincere, selling Nollywood screenplay may not be that easy. At the moment in Nigeria and Nollywood, there is no place, office or market to submit screenplays for review and eventual sale. That’s one of the reasons I created this blog. If you have a script for sale you can click here to submit it for review and eventual sale.
If you wish to sell a Nollywood screenplay, you have to take note of the following:
You need a body of work
Just one screenplay may not be enough to break into Nollywood. Write more. Explore the entire 'soft' genres.
Become a real script writer
You need to develop the passion for script-writing and go beyond being hobby. Just be determined to make it a source of income.
Build a channel
Build an outlet. Every business or talent needs to be advertised for consumers to know about it. Just try and create awareness. You can use social media or create a blog like mine (which I can help you do); and in it, you can post regularly. You can write screenplays, post them on the blog and invite your friends to read them. As you keep on building your blog, a Nollywood film maker may even read all those posts by chance, and eventually mail you.
Do More than script writing
Don’t you wondered how only one person in some Nollywood movies did almost all the job? He is the story writer, the screenwriter, the producer and the director.
This person went beyond script-writing. He learnt many other things about film-making. An executive producer may not want too many people getting involved in his film. Too many people means too much expenses. So, he goes for someone who knows it all.
Try and know something about a lot of things and know a lot about some things. You can develop a story, write, re write, do the casting, direct and produce it. This can increase your chances of being in Nollywood full time.
Attend shows
Yes, attend film shows, festivals, seminars, premier and workshops. At these shows, you can proudly tell people you are a script-writer. Go ahead and mention your outlets like your blog. Through all these, a film-maker may get interested in you.
Get contacts
of people whose jobs are in one way or the other related to film making
Follow them
on social media. Surround yourself with these people. You may get very
important information from them. This information could help you sell your
screenplay and excel in Nollywood.
Surf the net
for script writing and film making websites, books, journals, magazines,
bulletins and so on.
Keep writing
your Nollywood screenplay. Don't stop.
You can contact
me if you need help with selling your scripts to a Nollywood
producer/film-maker.