Tips on Writing Indie Screenplays

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > FILM > PLAYS vs. FILM > REALITIES > TIPS > HUSTLE > INDIE TIPS

'For more intellectual audiences, the style [of the film] will excuse the tears. The intellectuals will be able to permit themselves to cry because the story is so refined.'

-- Lars von Trier

But if -- deep in your soul -- you're still fascinated by playwriting and if you find yourself drawn to films coming out of Europe and occasionally Australia, here are a few tips for thinking in Indie terms . . .

• Keep Your Script to 90 Pages
  Pages are money in Indie land, real money that you and your director will have to beg, borrow or max out on your credit cards. And 90 minutes is all you need to make it in this world.

• Rely on Character Centered Stories
  Indie films are much closer to plays than Hollywood flics.

• Subtext is OK
  The Indie world is open to Subtext in the way playwrights use it. These directors respect their audiences and credit them with the ability to understand something more complex that your typical Hollywood film.

• Back Away from What-Happens-Next
  This still matters, but keep it at the much lower level of a Suspense Plot in playwriting.

• Use Only A Few Locations
  Locations are money. The fewer you have, the less it will cost to produce the film. John Sayles' breakthrough film, RETURN OF THE SECAUCUS 7, used only about six locations. And at least 90% of the action took place inside a farmhouse.

• Be More Generous with Scene Length
  Since Indie films tend to be character centered and rely on one primary location for much of the story, scenes can easily run three or four pages without anyone thinking you don't get it.

• Avoid Special Effects
  These are death on Indie budgets. No buildings blowing up, no elaborate car chases, no underwater shots, no kids morphing into werewolves.

• Emphasize Interiors for Locations
  It's money again. You save a lot by not having to lug all that camera and sound and lighting equipment from one location to another. It takes hours to set it up -- even for a scene of less than a page -- and while you're doing it, time on that clock at the equipment rental joint is flying by.

• Remember You're Writing as Part of a Team
  It's you and the director working on this together. And it needs to be a real partnership.