Yep, you have to reasearch whatever it is you've chosen to write about, as well as the conventions and stuff of the script text-type. My advice? Do any factual research you need to do, read a bunch of scripts (then throw them out - DO NOT copy their format), watch a bunch of films and look out for things like transitions, sub-plots, characterisation, dialogue etc. (also read, if you can, the scripts to some of the better films you watch to give yourself a better idea of how the script transfers to the screen - if you can't find scripts, there's a huge number of em online at
www.script-o-rama.com), research the conventions of short film as opposed to feature film, and, very importantly, research proper film script formatting. You'll find a number of different schools of thought on the matter, so just pick one that feels right for you, and it's probably best to try to find an Australian format to use (I'm not sure if this is 100% necessary). I'd recommend finding some script-writing software to write your script, so you don't have to fiddle around with margins and stuff. I used Final Draft, which I got off
Kazaa, and I reckon it worked pretty well.
Good luck for next year