screenwriters toolkit

Have you ever seen Ghost in the Shell? There’s a scene in the middle of the movie’s buildup that’s a contemplative movement where the main character watches the city go by. It’s the perfect example of place as action. The pensive main character is taken away by place in a moment that gives the viewer a chance to reflect on the action and philosophy in the movie. My question: Are there other examples of place as action? Can place move the plot forward? Your Task: Brainstorm 5 movie scenes where place is the defining factor in the scene.

When I’m writing a story, I like to get descriptive. If I’m writing a screenplay, I’m trying to narrow that descriptive drive into shorter sentences and less words. The point is to get more into less so the production crew doesn’t have to decode fancy descriptive paragraphs while turning the script into something filmable. Your Task: Practice your economy of words on place descriptors. Go somewhere you want to write about. Being there, come up with 10 words that describe this place. Now, narrow it down to 3 that truly capture it’s essence. Finally, write 1 descriptive sentence that shows where you are.

Place effects us. We react differently based on where we are. See for yourself. Your Task: Take a character from a movie (one that you’ve created, or one that you like) & place them in several different locations and time periods. Imagine your character’s main attributes and how they change relative to where they are. Also, notice what remains the same. Freewrite: How does place change us?

Examining how others view and use place will give us a better idea of how we can use it to strengthen our stories. Your Task: Watch a movie set in another country made by someone who’s not from there. Now, watch two movies set in the same country made by people who are from there. Freewrite: How is place perceived and setup differently?

So many new writers make place a sidenote in their scripts. Let’s change place around and see how it effects everything. Your Task: Write (or find) a 2 page scene that takes place outside in the sunshine. Now, rewrite it 3 times — once while it’s raining; once while it’s snowing; and once at night.

Try getting an understanding of the essence of a place. See what this does to your writing. Your Task: Go to a park, restaurant or someplace you can sit and write a while. Describe this place in detail, including colors, mood, people, etc. Free-write on the question: What is the essence of this place? What creates its’ uniqueness?

Each location you write about has it’s own history. The story of this place interacts with your character and scenes. Your task: Pick a scene from a movie. Name 5 things that have happened in this place. Write about how these shape its’ present?

Use this exercise to get a better understanding of how place effects everything in a scene. Your Task: Pick 5 to 10 random photographs and write 1-page scenes in these locations.

Learning the balance between creating the rich environment of our character’s home and writing simply without trying to do an art director’s job is an important screenwriters’ goal. Your Task: Take two passes to describe the place where your character lives. In the first pass, write a 1-page description using rich imagery. In the second pass, whittle this page to a 1-sentence synopsis.

Location in a story is directly effected by the time this story is set in. Your Task: Take a scene from a movie and re-write it 3 times. Use the same location each time. Change the time of the scene to 100 years ago, 500 years ago and 50 years in the future.