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story Letting the reader know what world your story is set in?

H

harmonica44

I sent out a draft of a script to quite a few readers to get opinions, and I got a lot of mixed reactions. Some say they liked it, but others said it was too unrealistic and far fetched. I took all the points they made throughout the story, and asked the readers that liked it.

The readers that liked it, said they thought my script was set in a world like Natural Born Killers (1994), or something like that, so they did not let lack of technical realism bother them. Where as the other readers thought I was going for something super realistic like The Wire (2002), or something like that.

But if going a with more Natural Born Killers world is the way to go, how to do I let the reader know that it's set in that type of world to avoid confusion in tone? Is it the writing style, or is their more to it than that, if that makes sense?

Thanks for the input :).
 
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I would say read the scripts for natural born killers and the wire and see what, aside from the story, differentiates them. If that doesn't work then screw what other people say and write your story. Especially if it's for you to direct, then whether other people "get it" or not doesn't matter.
 
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Okay thanks. But I think it matter since it's my budget I spend on it, and the audience are my customers. Most movie goers still hold the belief that the customer is always right, and I can see that, being on that side of the fence of a movie goer as well.
 
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harmonica44 said:
... how to do I let the reader know that it's set in that type of world to avoid confusion in tone? Is it the writing style, or is their more to it than that, if that makes sense?
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The story's setting should be self-evident to the viewer. The setting comes from the story. So if it's not clear, then it's the story's fault. You don't tell the reader, you layout the world believably for the viewer. If you want to go the NBK route, then it needs to read that way visually to all viewers. You might also poll those who didn't like it, how many of them enjoyed "Natural Born Killers". Because if you go that route, it will give you a sense how many of those would see the film before you make changes. NBK appeals to a selective audience. On Rotten Tomatoes, it scored under 50% largely due to the extreme violence and weak plot. So would it gain you more viewers?

It doesn't affect your budget either way. The budget is about production. Either way will still require you to produce within the allotted budget. The question is "which approach will create an interesting product that will help recoup my budget?" It's not about your production budget, it's about your purchase/rental returns.
 
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Okay thanks, that's some good input. When you say if I want to go the NBK route, I need it to read that way visually, how exactly does the visuals of NBK differ from that of the wire? For example, if you have a scene set in a house, how do I describe the house visually in an NBK style particularly? Or what is it about the visuals that I need to put my finger on?
 
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I wasn't referring to the appearance of objects but the actions and dialogues in the story need to make all of your viewers draw an immediate comparison to NBK. You can't have half your audience thinking, "Oh, this resembles 'The Wire' and half thinking it's like NBK. NBK is pointless, mindless graphic sex and violence. If that's the approach you want, then that's where you need to alter your story. It has nothing to do with how you describe a building.

Steven Spielberg conceived, wrote and directed "Sugarland Expess" to examine how Americans fall in love with and root for criminals on the run. While poignant and light in places, it was a moralistic tale. It may have inspired Tarantino who wrote a story and screenplay based on psychopathic killers. His script was taken and re-written by a team of writers. While he gets story credit for "Natural Born Killers", much of it was altered. It is a far darker piece that glorifies rape, murder, media hype through farcical events with no consequences at the end. NBK invokes Japanese TV reporters, American Indians, the Superbowl, tornadoes, and all manner of off-the-wall events. Perhaps that's what those who approved of it saw in your script--the obsessed detective, the raping, the media hype about "forced celibacy" ('natural born rapists'), the off-the-wall events, etc. Those who enjoy NBK think of it as a very dark comedy. Which is why the other half who didn't like it thought you wanted something that was "serious", an action-thriller.

As I said, it's all about your story, not the descriptions. Is this a dark comedy (NBK) or a action-thriller (Wire)? It should be clear to your audience which route you're going.
 
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harmonica44 said:
audience are my customers.
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The audience is not reading your script. So, the point remains -- if you are making this film, and you understand the reality it exists in, put that on the screen, and your audience will get it, whether it comes through in the script or not doesn't really matter.

Why are you asking about how to write it, and worrying about whether or not people WATCHING it will or will not understand?
 
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Okay thanks. But since it's just a script now, the reader is the audience. That is people I want to pitch it too such as actors, crew, investors. They are still the audience as of the pre-production stage, and I have to let them know what world it is set in.
 
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