Everyone knows the order--lights, camera, action. But first comes the screenplay.
The Alabama Moving Image Association (AMIA) has opened a call for entries for this year's SideWrite Screenplay Competition in Birmingham.
The AMIA is known for its annual Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival which takes place Sept. 24-26.
Chloe Collins, executive director of the AMIA, said submissions for the contest can cover any genre or subject and must be limited to 15 pages.
"Once the call for entries closes, the judges are provided with copies of each screenplay and asked to grade them based on a provided set of criteria," Collins said. "All screenplays are judged on originality, plot or story, structure, character development, dialogue and producibility."
Judges for SideWrite are experienced in the film industry and come from across the country to critique submitted screenplays.
"Past jurors have included Chris Holland of B Side Entertainment, Evan Katz, television writer and producer of the show '24,' and Daniel Wallace, author of 'Big Fish,'" Collins said.
John DiJulio, producer and director with the Media Production Group at Auburn, has written several screenplays and won Best Feature Film at the Sidewalk Festival along with partner, Bruce Kuerten, for "The Cracker Man." DiJulio encourages students, especially Radio, TV, and Film majors to enter the competition.
"It is a great experience, and they might just get some very good feedback, even if they don't 'win' the festival," DiJulio said. "They meet other artists and writers and directors, and that networking is where a lot of real film making happens."
DiJulio also said it is important for the students he works with to understand the screenwriting process.
"(The screenplay) is the very first blueprint for any movie, as the play is for any stage production," DiJulio said.
He said while the screenplay may be altered, it is ultimately the foundation upon which the movie rests.
"Very few directors or producers ignore the screenplay when considering making a movie of any kind," DiJulio said. "They may change it quite a bit, rewrite parts and, for that matter, even some actors may do that as well if they're powerful enough, but it all starts with the printed page. Understanding the screenplay will make you a better actor, designer or director because it will give context and overall vision to the story as a whole."
Kuerten added that the narrative process behind screenwriting is a timeless concept.
"Neanderthals around a campfire communicated through story," Kuerten said. "Today that campfire may be a 3-D, Hi-Def TV, but we're still telling stories in more or less the same way. To understand how stories are built, I think, is to understand one of the constants of the human experience."
DiJulio said he and Kuerten have been judges at the Sidewalk festival in years past.
"The Sidewalk Film Festival is an important film festival for the state of Alabama," DiJulio said. "It was started by some very good, passionate film makers whose hearts were all in the right place, and it has only grown from its early days."
Tam Le is an Alabama resident who won SideWrite's production prize in 2008 for his script, "Love at the Grocery Store." Le, who has been writing screenplays for the past 10 years, said one advantage to entering the competition is having his work exposed to the professional eye.
"Most Alabama screenwriters will complete a script, and it will get read by a few of their friends, but if they don't have connections or resources, the script will just sit in their desk drawer," Le said. "By submitting to SideWrite, your script will be read by judges who are professional writers, authors and filmmakers."
Collins agreed that competitions like SideWrite benefit local writers.
"Screenwriting is at the heart of film making, and it is important for Alabama writers to have an opportunity to showcase their work locally and have an opportunity for professional critique from those working in the business," Collins said.
Like Le, winners of the production prize will have their scripts made into films and shown at the next year's Sidewalk Festival.
"To see your script come to life on the big screen is a very rewarding experience," Le said. "Alabama screenwriters will have an incentive to write a good story and to add something to their resume if they win."
Le added his participation in SideWrite has advanced his career.
"Winning the production prize, SideWrite has allowed me to say that I'm an award-winning screenwriter, which is something I can put on my resume and can open doors to bigger projects," Le said. "SideWrite has been instrumental in motivating me to get creative and write the next great short script."
In addition to helping writers progress in the film industry, programs like SideWrite, which are supported by the AMIA, are central to the independent film industry in Alabama, Collins said.
"Independent film is an important and relevant art form around the world, including Alabama, though the opportunity to experience independent film in Alabama is limited to a few indie theaters and festivals like Sidewalk," Collins said.
Collins said the 12-county Birmingham metro area lacks any screens devoted to independent film, and the City of Birmingham has only two within city limits. She added that the AMIA, the Sidewalk Festival and Sidewrite all help provide a place for independent film in Alabama.
"Sidewalk exists to fill that void by providing a diverse selection of films to a community that would not otherwise have an opportunity to experience them," Collins said.
Winner of Best Original Screenplay will receive a cast-iron sculpture designed by Birmingham resident artists, a copy of Final Draft Professional Scriptwriting Software and a $500 prize.
Submissions to the SideWrite competition must be from an Alabama resident. The entry fee is $15, or $10 for Sidewalk members, and screenplays must be submitted by Aug. 16.
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