What is it about the dark recesses of mankind's bias that coaxes us to part with our hard earned income just so we can sit in a darkened theatre with a hoard of people we do not even know? Does it bring up ancestral memories of the time in our distant past when our primogenitors viewed in amazement the shadows dancing on the cave walls? Something primeval coaxes us to gather around licking flames like a moth. We actually choose to part with our hard earned income just so we can sit in a darkened theatre with a hoard of people we don't even know? How far the cinemas have come since the orginal days. The flavour back then was conditioned by the sound of the burning fire. After Louis Lumiere produced the first picture camera in 1895, some part of the Homo Sapiens cerebral cortex suggested that there was something fundamentally lacking. It was sound. So the piano was enlisted into the process to accompany the flickering pictures. Once the producers of the revival house saw how popular auditory accompaniment was, they began looking beyond the basic background accompaniment sound. Since there was such a public appetite for the medium, the studios soon ran out of film scripts. A totally new factor of the entertainment industry as it was soon to be called appeared - this was called 'Pitching' . It derived from the game of baseball in which the Pitcher pitched the ball to the batter. People began promoting their products or ideas and pitching became a generic term. So actors and agents began pitching scripts direct to the studios. In 1877, Thomas Edison shattered the spell that had held so many in its grip - he invented the phonograph. Swiftly producing his early cylinder phonograph, he then created the first recordable disc. Now, background sound of the crackling fire was without warning taken from the shadows and into the center stage. Pictures could speak. Those curious flickering silver images actually could speak! It was as though the cave walls had come to life. The shock it caused can hardly be understood today. People literally ran from the drive-in theater, believing that the apparitions on the screen had literally come alive. For several years a single film could travel around the country playing to sold out theaters . The audience would see the same movie multiple times. There was awe and wonder at this curious magic that could be thrown on any suitably darkened wall. Many actors became major cultural icons and became central to the overall financial health of the studios. It wasn' t which movies the studios owned, but which actors they had under contract. During this early period, merely the name of an actor or actress was enough to seduce huge crowds to the picture theaters. After some well publicized Hollywood scandals, many of the celebrities began to fall - they were proven to be mere mortals. Suddenly, the previous day's icons could no longer find any work, since the studios controlled all aspects of the film industry. They had effectively become ostracized from working in Hollywood. Being unable to find work, many talented actors secretly began to learn how to write a screenplay and released their scripts under fictitious names out of necessity. One name represented the evolving excitement that lead to a completely new art form. This was Walt Disney. Disney was single-handedly responsible for the comic strip drawing movie and the developing fanchises. The cell animation held everyone in enchantment. Soon many multiplex began making their own movies. The market for movies was insatiable. Gradually unique genres such as cowboy storys drew dedicated followings. With this unprecedented advance in movies screenplay authors realized that in the name of modern efficiency, they would have to use screenplay writing software in order to keep up with demand. This developing technological development has caused an explosion of scripts available to cable TV. The success of the Disney license has lead to summer acting camps throughout the US. These acting camps commonly run for for a week and touch all aspects of screenwriting and acting. After WW2 smaller studios with less resources developed independent films which attracted people to their music halls where they eagerly purchased their movie tickets. The saturday night picture became almost a therapy session for many people that worked hard all week and needed distraction from their settled week.

Where to begin when writing screenplays? Well, it goes without saying you will need a method of capturing your script in order to present it to a producer. In the early days people used typewriters - but this lead to a lot of redrafting. With screenwriting software and computers, these technicalities have become nearly surplus to requirement. Now there is screenplay writing software that takes all the guessing out of knowing screenplay formats.

Now you can simply concentrate on the story and press ENTER - the script is reassembled in the correct screenplay format for sitcoms, screenplays, novels - just the way the industry needs. Almost instantly you have become a screenplay writer, ready to submit your masterpiece to any of the multiplying screenplay competitions.

How often have you heard people ask how to get into acting? Well, true as the old cliche goes, practice, practice, practice, but the nonconformist way is a recommended way to approach it. So if you want to start acting, simply jump in and believe!

A unique aspect of the film industry is Voice Over Acting. Curious as it may be, there is only a small amount of competition for work. By 'voice over acting' or 'voiceover' we mean those deep voices that attract us to obtain every contrivance known to man. When you hear James Earl Jones voice as Darth Vader, you will be familiar with great voice over acting. Often these budding actors saw that there was greater opportunity and signed up for acting workshops where they could develop their talent.

In conclusion, the most significant factors many sucessful screenwriters point to as career landmarks are