Welcome to Act Four Screenplays, the official site of Daniel Calvisi, professional Script Doctor, Story Analyst, screenwriter, writing coach, speaker and author of the “Story Maps” method.
You may know me from one of my books, like my best-sellers, STORY MAPS: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay and STORY MAPS: TV DRAMA: The Structure of the One-Hour Television Pilot , a webinar at The Writers Store, a speaking engagement, or you may have heard about my Story Maps Master Class program. I coach writers to suck in readers, craft fascinating characters and build iron-clad narrative structure.
I invite you to look around my site to learn more about me, the services I offer and to discover a lot of great exclusive content that explores the screenwriting craft in movies and television. For a great crash course in my methodology and expert wisdom from my time in the industry, I suggest you take advantage of my special 2-book bundle offer with bonus Story Map.
My mantra is CRAFT = CAREER.
Focus on your craft, first and foremost, and the commercial success will follow.
MY GUARANTEE: I promise you that if your script is ready to submit, as is, I will return it to you free of charge with a referral to one of my contacts in the industry.
TV WRITERS! My ground-breaking book, STORY MAPS: TV DRAMA: The Structure of the One-Hour Television Pilot, has been dubbed by some as “Save the Cat for TV,” and praised by many industry professsionals with endorsements like “A fantastic primer in developing a rock-solid one-hour TV pilot…breaks TV pilot structure down step by step for the first time, using very specific examples from some of the great pilots of recent years…I wish I’d had this book when I was first starting out…This book blows all others out of the water!” The reason I wrote this book is simple: After having many clients ask me if I had a Story Map for teleplays, I found that a structural beat sheet paradigm that included the proper page ranges for act breaks just did not exist for TV pilots (and with 500 scripted series on air and streaming, this was a true crime!). So I researched the best shows on television and the pro scripts that spawned them and came up with the most detailed, accessible beat sheet ever written for episodic television, with an easy-to-follow primer on the craft and business of writing a rock-solid pilot. Buy it here in PDF format, the highest quality, full color, printable format with an exclusive bonus worksheet.
Click to purchase Story Maps: TV Drama PDF with free worksheet.
Once you’ve read the book, watch the webinar in which I review the key concepts behind my TV Pilot Story Map method: The 1-Hour TV Pilot Beat Sheet: From ABC to AMC to HBO to Netflix now available for download at The Writers Store.
Click to purchase webinar.
If you’re interested in how the Story Map breaks down the hottest format in television, the 30-minute Dramedy, check out my webinar: Writing the 30-Minute Dramedy: The New Frontier! now available for download at The Writers Store.
Click to purchase webinar.
Where are YOU in the screenwriting process?
- I would like to develop an all-new concept into a screenplay with the guidance of a professional Story Analyst with major movie studio credentials.
- I need help to write a TV pilot script.
- I would like to get professional notes and coaching on my completed feature screenplay.
- I would like to get professional notes and coaching on my completed TV pilot screenplay.
- I would like to hire an industry pro to write or rewrite my script for me.
Please feel free to CONTACT me with any questions you may have, or just to say hi.
Good Luck and Happy Writing!
Dan
P.S. Here are some pages for you to check out…
- Don’t Pay for Script Coverage
- Choosing a Script Analyst
- Why Hire Me?
- How to Write a Great Script
- Buy Story Maps books
- Story Maps Screenwriting Podcast
- Story Maps Master Class
- 1-Hour TV Drama Pilot Structure
- TV Writing: Essays and Interviews
- The Films of Christopher Nolan
- “Script” or “Screenplay?”
- A Great Thriller
- Seven screenplay analysis and Story Map
- Building The Dark Knight Screenplay
- Pre-Cog Mapping The Dark Knight Rises
- Trilogy-Building with STAR WARS and HALO
- Video Interview with the cast of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
- Video Interview with the cast and creator of Justified
- The Sixth Sense on the freeways of Los Angeles
- The Difference Between Film and TV Concepts
P.S.S. Here are a couple video playlists from my YouTube channel: 1) Interviews with film and television creators and stars, and 2) My superhero movie podcasts I do with a friend…
Special bundle offer