Screenwriting structure Part 6 Research
Posted on October 24, 2007
Filed Under Structure
You might be wondering WHY I’m slamming screenwriting structure and research together… Well I can only tell you how I do it and what I tend to do prior to writing any part of a screenplay is research but I also like to research as I pull my structure together.
Research is a powerful way to get the old synapses firing on all cylinders and getting you to ask all the right questions about your story… I’m a huge list-maker. As I simply THINK and ponder about my story, hundreds if not thousands of questions pop up along the way and just about every one of those questions requires me to do some kind of research EVEN if that research is simply to search through my own memory bank.
I tend to think of research similar to being a salesman… Meaning that in sales, most sales organizations will tell you that knowing your product INSIDE and OUT is 90% of the battle — if a salesman knows his or her product inside and out i.e., well enough to be able to answer ANY QUESTION that might spill out of a propect’s mouth, 90% of the sale is OVER.
I think the same is true of screenwriting, structure, and research.
Does that mean you’ll automatically write a breakout spec screenplay?
Uh… No. That’s something only YOU can keep developing within your own talent hemisphere… Sure, you can learn all the tricks. Sure you can learn all about structure. Sure you can research your story elements till the cows come home but in the end — if your dialogue sounds stiff and your action is too easy on your Protagonist…
FUGHEDABOUDIT.
There seems to be a huge school of thought that tells most of us that YOU CAN DO TOO MUCH RESEARCH.
WTF?
Really?
Says who?
How much is TOO MUCH?
The same school of thought seems to tell us that too much is so much that you’re not fucking writing your screenplay… Huh? What the FUCK kind of answer is that? Is this school of thought telling us not to get lost in doing so much research that we never put pen to paper? Fingers to keyboard? Crayons to construction paper?
Because let me fucking tell you… I am by no means a intellectual, academic, guru, expert, etc. on anything except maybe how to piss people off… But by God I know how to open a book and perform a search on the net. Yet, when I read screenplays, it seems that many of the writers do not know how to do these same exercises… Why? I guess because THEY ARE ALREADY EXPERTS on their story elements.
Not.
I’m not telling you that you have to spend a specified amount of time researching your story elements… In fact, this would be a ridiculous thing to do because as you write your story — if you’re like most of us — something’s going to come up that requires even more research.
So how much is enough?
Just enough to allow you to start writing. Whew. Very subjective when you consider all the experts we have out there. But if you’re a good salesman and you’re even just a little rusty on your product knowledge, a good salesperson always does a little brushing up. In other words, they KNOW when they need it and wow… That’s why they’re good salespeople.
Many screenwriters on the other hand, seem content to let OTHERS work out the story element problems for them. I’ve actually had screenwriters who’s scripts I’ve read and then communicated to them that their knowledge of whatever subject matter is severely lacking turn around and ask me, “Isn’t that your problem?”
Uh, no.
That’s YOUR problem.
You don’t turn in a period piece to me and then mention something that happened thirty years later… You don’t give me a location that didn’t exist at that time. That’s just plain old sloppy writing and nobody should HAVE to fix that shit.
Except YOU.
You don’t tell me that your Protagonist is bitten by a specific kind of poisonous snake and then proceed to detail INCORRECTLY, all the symptoms your Protagonist is experiencing. God forbid you get off your ass and open a book or call a doctor who’s treated someone with the correct symptoms. LOL. That’s much too difficult and besides, you’ve got your day job to worry about. You’ve got a wedding to go to this weekend. You’re just too damn tired.
There’s also two schools of thought when it comes to story and research… Which comes first? Some say the research — some say the story. I think that’s the wrong way to think about it… They go together like Butch and Sundance. You get an idea for a story, you work out a few plot points (probably in your head right off the bat), do a little research, the research causes other questions to come up — more plot point ideas, more research — and on and on and on.
But that’s just me. First of all, I love learning about something I had no knowledge of PRIOR to doing the research so for me, it’s fun. Others find it drudgery and I think what I like best about research is the authenticity it brings to the story and let’s face it… How many movies today, feel authentic?
Really? That many? LOL.
On the other hand, many other schools of thought tell you to just WRITE. Get going and get that first draft out of your system or at the very minimum, that outline and while I truly don’t have a huge problem with that, I DO have a problem with it and it’s simply this and it’s just an observation. When I see writers begin a new story from a new idea, they’re usually highly motivated in the beginning. They’re excited. This is THE STORY! Wow. That kind of motivation gets me excited too! I love hearing a screenwriter tell me about their idea (even if it’s not that great an idea) because even through a crappy idea, you can see the passion and inspiration that’s fueling the fire. I love that!
However, keeping that inspiration and passion all the way through a first draft and then rebottling that inspiration and passion so you can go back and research all those story elements and perform a hardcore rewrite is a hard road to travel and the ROAD-WEARINESS usually shows up in successive drafts.
Sad but true.
If that has ever even slightly happened to you before, might I suggest performing your research up front as you create your structure? Keep the intensity and passion of creating a new story flowing…
With new inspiration, motivation, intensity, and passion combined with screenwriting structure AND story element research, I honestly believe that one uncovers more story opportunities that PULL YOU AWAY from cliché and derivative writing.
Unk
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15 Responses to “Screenwriting structure Part 6 Research”
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I’m in the camp that research sucks and is hard and I’d rather not do it. LIFE IS MY RESEARCH, DAMMIT.
No, but seriously, I don’t mind google searches, reading books and what not. Probably because I’m an amateur, I’ve never taken the step to actually go out and talk to someone. Since everyone and their brother is trying to be a screenwriter, I would kind of feel like a douche bag going up to a doctor and saying “I’m working on a screenplay and would like to know more about whether it’s possible for a human corpse to thrash around a room like a chicken after having its head cut off.”
But, I suppose the worst that can happen is they say no.
And I agree with you that it’s best done upfront. I always eat my vegetables first, then enjoy the main course. Kind of the same thing, I think.
I’m in that stage right now, and completely agree–outlining, structuring and research can all be done together. As you said, sometimes the research sparks a new idea and that changes the structure. I used to feel like I was procrastinating, spending days researching esoteric crap like defeating burglar alarms and safe cracking, but having that knowledge only makes for a stronger voice and point of view when you’re writing. You, as a writer, should know more about your characters’ world than anyone else. And if you get lazy on the research, it can be apparent that you don’t. People love nothing more than to find logical flaws in movies, so try not to give them that chance!
See, I am completely different. When I go to McDonald’s I ALWAYS eat the fries first, because they are absolutely the best when fresh and hot. If they sit out long enough they just suck.
The burger, however, tastes pretty similar within a specific range of temperature (I’d have to do some research to be exact;) and I know that I’ll enjoy it just as much if I eat it before the fries…or after.
For me, research is research. I’m not a big fan whether it’s in the beginning, middle, or end of my writing project. So while I actually think your method is probably more logical Unk, I actually prefer to take the passion and excitement of a new batch of fries and get all I can out of it while it’s at it’s freshest moment, and deal with the burger later.
-Steve
Once again UNK hits one out of the park. Great post. I see the same thing. I read a story about a post 9/11 flyby of the Statue of Liberty. Yeah, right.
Research will save your ass. I wrote a college movie and actually had to learn Econ 101 and Psych 10B for some lines.
Research is the basis of ANY JOB, especially this one. Unfortunately, many new writers have the attitude that they cold “make a better movie than X.” BS.
I’m of the opinion when I see a “bad” movie that hey, at least MY bad movie will have LOTS of company. It gets back to, I think, the fact that not enough writers look at this like a JOB or a CAREER like engineering or law or business.
I mean look at how many people consistently post on screenwriting blogs, yet I saw almost 200 people pitching last weekend in LA. Screenwriting CAN’T happen in a vacuum ( another point for research).
I got serious about making this my job a scant 8 months ago and have stacked up a large cache of resources ( like this site - though normally I’m leery of “anonymous” posters) from writing to filming to lighting to pitching to reading.
I read everything I could for like three months before I wrote FADE IN:. Of course that’s not time enough for an MBA but I have always caught quickly since I consider learning as the most structured thing you can do.
I spent two weeks researching the SEAL teams (I trained with some in Jump School) for a movie that only has 4 minutes of “SEAL action.”
I even had to do research on a video game that appears for 30 seconds in another. I don’t even want to talk about the research for a Sci Fi film.
I guess the point is:
THIS IS HARD. IT NEEDS STRUCTURE. STRUCTURE SMOOTHS THE EDGES. RESEARCH IMPROVES THE STRUCTURE.
STRUCTURE\RESEARCH FTW.
And as we all know Writing is the Revealing of the Soul - and you may have to research that too. The soul that is.
One of my top peeves is lack of research by writers who have nothing but time on their hands to do it right. I recently read a script where the writer describes a cool Dodge muscle car from the late 60s and then mentions the 289 engine… I stopped and screamed, you fuckin’ idiot, anybody with half a brain knows 289s are Ford motors… t’s the little things that set me offsometimes.
Tom.
It may not be much consolation but for me, research from a book and the net allow me to start making a list of EVERYTHING that I might need to know about my story. Then, I start making phone calls and sending emails to those people that are experts in whatever field I need to know more about. The good news? I’ve never once been turned down… In fact, everyone has always been really flattered that I came out of the woodwork and picked THEM for my research.
The flipside to that is that as it turns out, many of the people I’ve interviewed for research over the years ended up having their own contacts in the business. A cousin. An uncle. You know the drill. I never asked these people if they knew anyone in the business — they always volunteered that information and proceeded to put me in contact with those people which simply enlarged my own personal network.
Not only that but taking the step to interview someone can often lead to you FEELING like you’re in it to win it.
Blake… AGREED!
Steve,
Everybody’s different. My point being that IF someone WASN’T feeling the same passion after the draft is completed, an alternative method might be in order. My advice is ALWAYS do what it takes to keep the initial inspiration, motivation, and passion.
Besides, the last time I ate at McDonald’s, burgers were a dime.
Christian,
I did some research on SEALs once… LOL. A lot of people totally discount research when it comes to screenwriting and this shows up ALL THE TIME when I read screenplays. Having said that, when a guy like me, asks a screenwriter, “What’s it about?” — much of that information comes from research AND the story and I can tell. By the same token, if what they tell me comes totally from the story, I can tell that too. Research simply makes EVERYTHING STRONGER. Your screenplay. Your pitches. Your loglines, taglines, and meetings.
Good comment!
Moviequill,
LOL. That’s EXACTLY what I’m talking about! How hard would it have been to change those numbers to 383? Shit, you can go to fuckin’ eBay and get that kind of research. And trust me… Producers get set off exactly the same way which is always a good reason to even perform a little research on the producer you’re giving your script to… If he’s a classic car nut, you better make sure if your screenplay has any classic cars in it that the info is perfect.
Great comments… THANKS!
Unk
In the days of wikipedia and google, nobody should be too lazy for research.
There is another reason for undertaking research.
All of us draw our stories from somewhere… they don’t just pop out of the ether, and 90% of the stuff I read from other screen writers, it’s obvious that their only research was other people’s films. Which automatically means their work will be derivative at best and a pure rip off at worst.
What research does is give you a completely unique perspective on an issue or a situation. That alone will make your screen play a better read, but more importantly an easier pitch.
In fact, I’ve reworked my logline formula to take this into consideration… before it used to be: what makes the protagonist unique, what throws them into a new world and what happens to them as a result of that
Now, it’s: a unique and interesting fact about the world, where the unique qualities of the protagonist bring him/her into conflict with this fact and how the protagonist changes on the journey.
You can have a pretty fun evening finding random interesting facts, figuring out what kind of person could have really, really bad day connected to that fact and guessing how they might resolve their dilemmas.
And as Unk said… this kind of research begets more research.
Well, MQ, I’m NOT an f’n idiot and pride myself in having just little over half a brain. I HAD a 289 in my Mustang and — yeah, pretty sure that’s a Ford, so guess you and I are cool but that’s beside the point…what’s the point?
Fact inconsistencies tick me off worse than typos because if that little effort is given to research, I assume that the script will be sloppy and hurriedly thrown together.
Clive,
Good point… I cannot tell you how many screenplays I keep reading where almost every scene is derivative of some other scene I’ve seen before in some other movie.
It’s been pieced together like Frankenstein… LOL. And to be honest, I don’t mind that so much as long as the story isn’t derivative and something I’ve seen before. By all means — go ahead and follow someone else’s structure but come up with a different story, story elements, different scenes, etc.
I just came back from watching 30 DAYS OF NIGHT. I had been told by those IN THE KNOW that this movie was different than any other vampire movie I’d ever seen.
And I guess it kinda was…
But it sure as hell wasn’t that different from a lot of the zombie movies I’d seen. LOLOLOLOL.
In other words, exchange the vampires to zombies and you have a fuckin’ zombie movie.
I will admit that the 30 DAYS OF NIGHT in Barrow, AK was a different twist but shit… They kept skipping through the days and nothing major was really happening till the end. And did I mention that they had 2 hours and 5 minutes to do something different?
Geez.
So what’s my point? My point is that sure, you can write derivative screenplays — get lucky and sell ‘em but if you go ahead and take the extra INITIATIVE and insure there is absolutely no derivation, you’re gonna go places ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL.
MaryAn,
Can’t tell you how many fact inconsistencies I read all the time… If a would-be screenwriter would just make sure those are all taken care of as well as the typos EVEN if the script is something we’d pass on, we’d probably be willing to read other stuff from them. Believe it or not, most scripts never pass this simple baseline.
Again — great comments.
Danka.
Unk
Research is one of the things I most look forward to when I jump into a new project, probably because I know that it will add a richness, depth, and texture to my story that I couldn’t possibly accomplish on my own, no matter how well I think I know the subject matter.
The nooks and crannies that research opens up do fire the synapses, as Unk said, and lead to more ideas that make the story compelling.
Additionally, if my aim is to be true to the story and honor the characters, then I have a responsibility to know their business inside and out. For me, this obligation also extends to real people who are in the same profession: I honor them and what they do everyday in the fine details of the story. I think one’s merit as a writer and storyteller is proven in his or her ability to turn out something that is not only imaginative, but true to life. That’s why excellent writing resonates on a universal level.
Great post, Unk. As always. Hope you’re doing well.
Pamela
30 Days was a graphic novel, Unk . . . which is, in part, probably why it was as derivative as it was . . . I’d bet that if it was a spec, it wouldn’t have made it . . . the cool thing about graphic novels is that they give a ideal of the possible cool visuals one can achieve with it . . . and 30 Days did have some neat stuff in that regard, but other than that, it wasn’t too different than most zombie / vampire movies . . .
I felt the same way about 300, which didn’t seem to be to be much of a movie, it felt more like a video game with cool graphics . . .
And it got made becuz it was a graphic novel, and idea of what could be visually was right there in front of the suits . . .
One thing I was talking about with another writer friend was that, for all people talk and talk about how movies are visual and books and plays are not (complete bullhocky, but that’s what is said) and how we’re supposed to write visually, the screenplay format is quite possibly one of the worst formats for communicate visual ideas - really, it’s bad . . . you’re not supposed to write more than four lines of description, etc . . .
Not that it cannot be done, it can . . . but the screenplay format (half technical document, half stage / radio play) isn’t really the best vessel for commucating it.
Which is why suits leap on short films and comics, where they don’t actually have to read anything, heh.
I’m spitballing, and off-topic, I just realized. My apologies.
I am in that magical phase of plotting the story and researching my ideas. Personally, I have to say it is easily my favorite part of the screenwriting process. The problem I keep running into is keeping the ideas fresh when the writing starts.
Nick
Pamela,
Well said!
Josh,
I actually read the original 3 horror comics, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT so I am familiar with the story and that’s kinda what I didn’t like about the movie.
The concept: Vampires descend upon Barrow, Alaska — the northern most point in the United States where once a year, the sun doesn’t rise for 30 days.
Or something along those lines…
The comics allowed us to know the vampires. The comics exploited the fact that vampires don’t do well in the extreme cold. The leader of the vampires goes to Barrow to end the feeding frezny because he’s still trying to keep vampires a secret.
I could go on and on actually but unfortunately, all the story elements that make this story a WINNER failed to show up in the movie… Which would have been fine if the movie had been 90 minutes or so… But clocking in at over 2 hours?
It all filtered down to a bunch of vampires we don’t know, feeding on unsuspecting residents of Barrow because the sun is down for a month.
They KIND of touch upon the vampires trying to destroy incoming/outgoing communications but I really felt those scenes were weak and really didn’t set up the big picture.
In the end? Substitute zombies for the vampires and you got a zombie story.
But hey… It’s kewel.
Unk
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