The Think Thank #1 – Film Script Ideas

Before you think about scriptwriting, you need film script ideas. Rather than coming up with something incredibly detailed from the get-go (which few scriptwriters can do) I find it easier to look at the following questions and mould an idea around them.

Who is your main character?
What is their goal?
What is the script about?
What is the underlying message or theme of your script?

For example your main character could be Brian Goodman, incarcerated for a crime he didn’t commit. His goal being to prove his innocence by escaping prison and finding the evidence necessary to prove his innocence.

When you’re coming up with ideas always ask the question “what if?…”. Was Brian Goodman framed by someone he considered a friend? What if Goodman was framed as an act of revenge? And so on. By asking and answering “what if?…” questions, you can provide the depth to allow your story and characters to stand out as real people, rather than being flat and flavourless.

Keep it Real Not Commercial

Don’t worry whether your film script idea is commercially viable. Everyone has at least one script in them that comes from their heart. If you are determined to make sure your script is a commercial success, you will end up diluting the idea until it is just another cookie-cutter action movie.

As a scriptwriter you have a choice. You can be a second-rate imitation or a first-rate individual.

How Your Background Affects Your Ideas

Your personal background makes a great deal of difference to the ideas you have and the scripts you write. If you were raised in a dirt poor area your mind may naturally be more focused on violence, trying to climb the social ladder, struggling to make money and so on.

Think of it this way. If two people happened to meet in the middle of the road with a dying bird between them and one of them was a farmer, the other a housewife, they would want to deal with the situation in a different way. The farmer would put the bird out of it’s misery by wringing it’s neck. The housewife may try and nurture the bird back to health or take it to an animal hospital.

We all have our own perspective on things and it is important to realise what this is in order to create an idea with a unique spin on it. Now go and have fun with your own film script ideas, and be true to yourself!

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