Shona Films

I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules into getting a script done. I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way either. I think stories are like being lost in the forest.  You beat the bush clear and eventually unearth a path.  Start walking down it BUT will the path be overgrown with nettles? Will you have to turn back? I think you know when you’re on the right path you can just feel it.  Everything just makes sense and you start writing subconsciously almost. Writing things that you have no idea what they’re doing there but trusting in the process that it’ll become clear. Okay moving on from the forest…

So how do you find the right path?

I write scripts in 4 stages.

1. Logline.

2. Research.

3. Treatment/ Beat sheets.

4. Script.

Roughly this is the process I follow.

Now the first thing I do is give myself realistic deadlines. Most writer’s hate them. I don’t. I think they’re really great tools. When I first started I used to spend 3 years writing a screenplay. That just doesn’t make sense. If I was a car manufacturing company and it took me that long turn out product I’d be out of business. And I hate to mention the ‘B’ word but it is a business. You can not spend too long on a piece of work as you’re in danger of being self indulgent.

So this series of notes is called From Idea to Script in 12 weeks (as it was for HUSH) we should start mapping out timings.

For me the next stage…the research stage should take about 6 weeks of really intense work. If your idea is an original idea what films are like it? Buy all of them and watch them. If your character has autism go and meet someone with it. If you can’t read about it. (By the way READ. READ. READ.  Writing action is a fine art and prose writers are a great source of inspiration.) You set your film on the M1. Go and drive down it. You get my point…what you’re trying to do is remove all the fear that a blank page can give you. You’re trying to get confident about the work and I think to do that you have to colonise the space ( I tell actors to do the same thing with scenes) you have to make the World your own. After 6 weeks of this you should be really fired up. I think good research fires into story and vice versa so it’s worth doing it right but be really disciplined about your research. Don’t go off on tangents or get too bogged down by the amount of research.

It’s always good I think in the back of your mind to be always thinking about plot and character. Maybe breaking off and doing character essays…like have coffee with your protagonist…or there are some interesting programmes like Character Pro 5 or  Truby’s Blockbuster that can help you. None of these programmes do the work for you but when you’re stuck or need a fresh angle they make you ask yourself questions. For example Character Pro uses psychological profiles to form character and it spits out some interesting stuff.

So a great place to find research? The British Library. It’s free and if you can get a membership card is a good place to go and work. Food’s dear though so bring a packed lunch.