WRITING THE SCIENCE FICTION FILM

Who am I? ¨  Robert Grant (no, not that Rob Grant) ¨  Screenwriter, critic, and script consultant

based in London ¨  I wrote this book (pub. MWP, April 2013) ¨  12 year veteran of SCI-FI-LONDON ¨  Literary Editor at sci-fi-london.com ¨  Currently on the jury of the Arthur C.

Clarke Award for Science Fiction Literature

Did I mention I wrote a book? ¨  Published April 2013, Michael

Wiese Publishing ¨  Available to order at Amazon ¨  Stunningly good value for money ¨  Make great gifts – buy one for each

of the family! ¨  No really, buy a few...

What are we going to talk about? ¨  What is science fiction? ¨  Why write science fiction? ¨  Where do you get your ideas from? ¨  How do I turn an idea into a story

WHAT IS SCIENCE FICTION?

Science fiction or fantasy? ¨  Not easy to pin down, like “what is good taste?”

¤ Space ships and aliens are just a small part of it

¨  The clue is in the name – it’s science fiction ¤ The story must rely on the science to work ¤ Back To The Future

¨  If it doesn’t then it’s fantasy ¤ Sliding Doors / Groundhog Day

Why write science fiction? ¨  Science fiction asks big “What if..?” questions ¨  Plays with day-to-day realities in our world by

exploring those in worlds we create ¨  Examines big social and technological issues without

actually pointing fingers ¨  Forces us to think about society in a different way ¨  Ultimately science fiction is about allegory

Why write science fiction?

If you want to write about the nature of humanity and its relationship to the world around it, you pretty much have to write science fiction.

A genre or a setting? ¨  Hang on, what? ¨  What genre are you really writing?

¤ Thriller/Comedy/Romance/Horror ¤  If you’re really writing a thriller, know the thriller story

beats first, before dressing it up as SF ¨  But some tropes are purely SF

¤  space travel/aliens/time travel/alternate history or reality/superpowers

The science fiction landscape ¨  Hard SF or Soft SF?

¤ The hard sciences – physics/chemistry/biology ¤ The social sciences – psychology/politics/law/

economics ¨  The SF sub-genres

¤ Alternate history/post-apocalypse/alien encounters/utopia & dystopia/space opera/superhero/mundane

¤ The ‘aesthetics’ e.g. cyberpunk/steampunk

FINDING YOUR STORY

Did I mention I wrote a book? “Robert takes you on a fascinating journey through cinematic otherworlds, showing how the genre has changed over the years while remaining one of the most popular with movie audiences. Concise, illuminating, and simply a swell read, whether you want to write sci-fi or just watch it.”

Joe Dante, director Gremlins, Explorers, Innerspace, Small Soldiers

Available to pre-order on Amazon right now!

The half-decent screenwriting process TM

1.  Find your inspiration (newsfeeds etc.) 2.  Turn it into an idea (What if ....?) 3.  Expand it into a premise (maybe

this/maybe that) 4.  Set out your principle characters (Use

Schechter's Unity of opposites) 5.  Write your log line (use the combined

Schechter/Snyder template) 6.  Start outlining plot points and story

beats (can be out-of-sequence) 7.  Fix your beginning 8.  Fix your ending 9.  Brainstorm

10.  Write a treatment (use the Schechter/Snyder hybrid template)

11.  Add details to your treatment (inc. dialogue/blocking/set-up & pay-off etc.)

12.  Write your screenplay (1st draft) 13.  Re-write your screenplay (2nd draft) 14.  Edit your screenplay (as few words

as possible while retaining the story) 15.  Submit

Finding the future in the present ¨  It’s not coming up with the idea, it’s how you develop it.

¤  You could be lazy, take a film title and add ..in space! ¨  So where are the ideas ripe for science fiction

treatment? ¤ All around you - all you have to do is start looking.

¨  Finding ideas isn’t the problem, it’s choosing from the 100s out there.

¨  Science fiction dates much faster than other genres. ¤ Don’t fixate on the science or the technology - find the

human story behind it.

Everyday tools for collecting ideas ¨  I collect ideas every day. Some days one, some days half dozen,

often not a full story, just an interesting element. ¨  I use:

¤  An internet connection ¤  An RSS newsreader ¤  A web browser ¤  A web-clipping account

¨  In addition I use: ¤  Text editing software ¤  An ‘ideas folder’ on my hard drive ¤  A notepad and pen

Everyday tools for collecting ideas ¨  Find an interesting

website ¨  Look for the RSS feed ¨  Subscribe in your

Newsreader ¨  Read in your browser ¨  Clip with your clipping

software ¨  Start the “what if..?”

process

What if? and the vast pool of story sources

Doomsday Ark to be housed on the Moon – A Remote Access Toolkit To Rebuild The Human Race.

What if? and the vast pool of story sources ¨  Let’s play a little “What if..?”

¤  What would it need to contain? / What’s important? What isn’t? / How do you judge and who makes that call?

This isn’t just about what ‘stuff’, this is about what is the essence of humanity? ¨  What if the only people selected to save were scientists and politicians?

¤  What if they held a lottery? / What if it turned out they were all white? n  Would they try to change things or go with the best qualified people?

¤  What would be the criteria? Equally important is what we would leave out. ¨  What if we didn’t include information about religion or politics?

What if? and the vast pool of story sources Now lets go the other way - what if the information was wrong or got corrupted in some way? ¨  What could go wrong? / Were the genetic codes wrong? /

Did the seeds and embryos become mutated? ¨  Will we end up destroying the Moon? / Is it in our natures to

destroy wherever we settle? We can always switch it up for a different feel. ¨  What if the survivors split into factions and refused to co-

operate? / What if someone was murdered and seeds were stolen? / Could a black market in rare food crops spring up?

Close to home or far, far away ¨  A key part of “What if..?” is when your story is going to take

place. ¤  present day – has familiarity as an advantage ¤  A few years into the future – very hard but very rewarding ¤  100s of years from now – where (almost) anything goes

¨  Your choice has a big impact on the world you build ¨  Consider

¤  The Known knowns ¤  The Known unknowns ¤  The Unknown unknowns

PLOTTING

Turning an idea into a story I can’t help you write a plot but I can help you with some exercises to help build one and point out some mistakes to avoid along the way, so here goes. ¨  A brief word about structure.

¤  The Beginning - don’t be boring ¤  The Middle - is not a space filler ¤  The End – should reach a proper and satisfying conclusion

Useful Tips ¨  Know whose story you’re telling and make that character as active as possible. ¨  Keep the structure strong. ¨  Have enough conflict. ¨  Don’t have too many characters. ¨  Don’t slow down.

Brainstorming exercises ¨  Write a list of 50 things that could go wrong. ¨  Figure out your ending as soon as possible. ¨  Add genre layers to your idea. ¨  Mindmap your story ideas. ¨  Do some research. ¨  Get it down on paper. ¨  Move your scene locations. ¨  Dissect another screenplay. ¨  How do the rules of your world change things? ¨  List everything that won’t happen. ¨  Use images as triggers. ¨  Write the mundane details of your characters lives. ¨  Try the rule of three.

Did I mention I wrote a book? “If you need like me to work with wild robots, cannibal mutants, or creatures from outer space, this wonderful book isn't only useful, but indispensable!”

Marc Caro, writer/director Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children

Available to pre-order on Amazon right now!

What are you trying to say? ¨  Science fiction highlights big concerns by telling stories rather than

preaching messages.

¨  It looks at People, Place and Technology, extrapolating possible end results.

¨  It works best when set between two growth-stages of society.

¨  To see a particular problem you must look at the whole system. To change the problem you must change the whole system.

¨  You must have your own clear vision of how your world is and how your society can change and grow without destroying what went before.

Despite the apocryphal nature of a lot of science fiction there is usually a positive message.

Establishing theme ¨  Theme is the central question that you’re trying to explore in

your screenplay. ¤  It is not the moral message implicit in the story ¤  It is the concept upon which the entire foundation of the story rests

¨  Theme is universal and should be instantly recognisable across countries and cultures. ¤  In The Matrix, the theme is ‘belief’.

¨  Often you won’t know your theme until you finish writing ¨  Once you do, always address theme as you re-write

Avoiding clichés Cliché [klee’shey] noun

1. (in art, literature, drama, etc.) a trite or hackneyed plot, character trait or development, use of speech, colour, technology, musical expression, stereotype, etc. that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse.

¨  The giant list of overused science fiction clichés is vast (really, try Googling it)

¨  Just don’t...alright!

¨  Not all clichés are the kiss of death to your screenplay

¤  Bombs will always countdown to 1sec before being defused

¨  But don’t be lazy – all-new clichés are springing up – avoid them!

¤  Post apocalyptic societies..!!!

Avoiding clichés

It is generally acknowledged that if a character, plot or setting has been used in the Star Trek universe it is tainted beyond the capacity for re-use at any time by anybody - even JJ Abrams.

Drinks at the bar...?

THAT’S ALL FOLKS!

Did I mention I wrote a book? ¨  Published April 2013, MWP ¨  Available to Order at Amazon ¨  Great value for money ¨  Would I lie to you...?