A Moment of Screenwriting Zen...

[Ire]

Had to share this:

I've been working on a script where the protag has been pitched an assignment and has a weekend to decide if he'll accept the assignment. He spends a weekend with his sister before accepting the assignment...

Long story short, in doing backstory I knew his hometown. I knew his sister lived there. Before writing the scene, I needed a house.

I just went online and in a matter of minutes I found the house on a real estate house. F-cking perfect house for the scene(s)! Interior and exterior pics on the site!

A moment of screenwriting zen...

[Unusual Suspect]

Re: A Moment of Screenwriting Zen...

Always exciting when things come together.

[Ire]

Re: A Moment of Screenwriting Zen...

Always exciting when things come together.

Yes, thank you!

[wcmartell]

Re: A Moment of Screenwriting Zen...

A few years ago I was writing a script that took place in Detroit (never been there) and wanted to do a scene on 8 Mile... googled, found a YouTube video where someone shot footage of 8 Mile out the window of their car in one direction and then the next... found a *perfect* location in the footage and used google maps/street view to figure out what was across the street from it and went back to that YouTube vid to correlate both sides of the street. Bang! Details of the scene just came to life in my mind!

Had an assignment a couple of years ago that took place in Helsinki (never been there). Again, between youtube and google and *people's vacation photos posted online* I had all kinds of info.

We have all of this amazing information now, and often when you see a place it just inspires you.

Bill

[tinlizzie]

Re: A Moment of Screenwriting Zen...

What did we do before Google street view?

Also, there needs to be a movie here:

Fort Jefferson, Dry Tortugas

[Midnite]

Re: A Moment of Screenwriting Zen...

What did we do before Google street view?

Frommers & Fodors.

Midnite

[carcar]

Re: A Moment of Screenwriting Zen...

On a tangential note, with a similar feel... I was researching a long-dead historical figure (as my protagonist). He's not very well-known himself, but is intertwined with much more famous personalities. I came across a website that had his full natal horoscope and that of his famous parents. It described his personality and how his chart interacted with those of his parents in great detail (according to 'the stars'). Oddly enough, it very closely confirmed the relationships I'd supposed from the historical documentation I'd been reading.

Made me want to toy with the idea of imagining a couple of birthdates for two characters, get their full horoscopes and write a screenplay based on their interactions according to their charts.