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What is needed in a Sci-fi/Fantasy movie?

B

BrownwriterChi

Hello,

I've decided to try to write a sci-fi/fantasy movie since its the only type I can afford to write. So i just wanted to know if anyone here knows what type of things should be included in them?
 
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNJIJbQ1T_U&feature=fvw

...or some Amazons.:devil:


Welcome! Actually, I think you may have chosen a genre which would, traditionally, be a more expensive make than, say, a drama. Now, you will probably get some responses with recommendations on where you can cut costs on an effect here and there. My advice: write what you want to write and damn the (projected) costs. There will always be a way to rewrite for budget. As a writer, your job is to show us something we've never seen before or to show us something old in a new and revolutionary light...and, well, sometimes it still involves putting a girl in it.
 
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bird said:
Actually, I think you may have chosen a genre which would, traditionally, be a more expensive make than, say, a drama. Now, you will probably get some responses with recommendations on where you can cut costs on an effect here and there. My advice: write what you want to write and damn the (projected) costs. There will always be a way to rewrite for budget. As a writer, your job is to show us something we've never seen before or to show us something old in a new and revolutionary light...and, well, sometimes it still involves putting a girl in it.
Click to expand...

I agree with most of that. That genre is probably too expensive...and well, I think you need an idea first. something original. There's no such thing as a "recipe" to create a story...
And if the story is good, you'll find a way to have the movie made.
 
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bird said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNJIJbQ1T_U&feature=fvw

...or some Amazons.:devil:


Welcome! Actually, I think you may have chosen a genre which would, traditionally, be a more expensive make than, say, a drama. Now, you will probably get some responses with recommendations on where you can cut costs on an effect here and there. My advice: write what you want to write and damn the (projected) costs. There will always be a way to rewrite for budget. As a writer, your job is to show us something we've never seen before or to show us something old in a new and revolutionary light...and, well, sometimes it still involves putting a girl in it.
Click to expand...

ahah funny :lol:
 
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BrownwriterChi said:
Hello,

I've decided to try to write a sci-fi/fantasy movie since its the only type I can afford to write. So i just wanted to know if anyone here knows what type of things should be included in them?
Click to expand...
First; Welcome to indietalk!

Second, I'm going get harsh. Please understand that this
is a great forum with people ready and willing to help, encourage
and tell it the way they see it.

If you don't have the absolute passion to write a sci-fi/fantasy
script that shows YOUR views, style and passion you shouldn't
write one. At least you shouldn't write one with any expectation
that you will sell it. There is no issue asking for opinions, but
it seems from this one post that you don't even know what
should be included in a sci-fi/fantasy script.

What types of things that should be included is what you, the
writer, does. Not what strangers (even fellow writers and
filmmakers) want. Looking to what others want rather then
what YOU want is usually the beginning of a poor script. The
difference between "Star Wars" (1977) and "Battle Beyond the
Stars" (1980). One was made form passion, one from asking
what others wanted to see.

So what is it YOU want to see in a sci-fi/fantasy movie? What
is it that drives you to write this genre?
 
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I agree with directorik. But mostly, I'm just kind of weirded out by the question. What do you mean, it's the only one you can "afford" to write? Since when does writing cost money?
 
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directorik said:
First; Welcome to indietalk!

Second, I'm going get harsh. Please understand that this
is a great forum with people ready and willing to help, encourage
and tell it the way they see it.

If you don't have the absolute passion to write a sci-fi/fantasy
script that shows YOUR views, style and passion you shouldn't
write one. At least you shouldn't write one with any expectation
that you will sell it. There is no issue asking for opinions, but
it seems from this one post that you don't even know what
should be included in a sci-fi/fantasy script.

What types of things that should be included is what you, the
writer, does. Not what strangers (even fellow writers and
filmmakers) want. Looking to what others want rather then
what YOU want is usually the beginning of a poor script. The
difference between "Star Wars" (1977) and "Battle Beyond the
Stars" (1980). One was made form passion, one from asking
what others wanted to see.

So what is it YOU want to see in a sci-fi/fantasy movie? What
is it that drives you to write this genre?
Click to expand...

Directorik pretty much nails it. Sci Fi(or any genre) is based on you. When you say "What should I put in it" , my first question that comes up is "what's your inspiration?" I guess I'm asking, who are you trying to please, and who are you making it for? George Lucas said he made Star Wars "for himself first, the fans came after". Many other directors have done same.

What I find curious, Sci Fi you could "afford" to write? You've probably chosen THE most expensive type of film to write for special effects, ect.

Are you planning a 2 hour feature? A half hour short? Are you writing this with the primary intent to make money, or are you doing it as a personal passion? Guess I'm wondering your motivations are.
 
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@ Cracker funk

What I mean, is that I'm 17 years old and none of my other ideas for screenplays can be made as they take place outside of Chicago, and one which is an original idea (I think) will get me wierd looks if I go and ask questions. So I decided to try to make a movie where I dont have to spend too much money on research.

And what I mean by asking "waht is needed in a scifi-fantasy film" is do I have to include aliens, monsters?
 
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The only limit to what you put in a sci-fi is your imagination. If you can think it, you can put it in there. No rules.

Also, you should look into Mumblecore. Ultra-low budget filmmaking movement, and there have been some nice success-stories. Most mumblecore movies are about relationships, and stuff.

I just made a superhero movie on a NOTHING budget. Obviously, it's a little different than most superhero movies. But my point is that you can write whatever genre you darn well want to. You just have to use your resources creatively, and write what you know you can successfully shoot.

And lastly, research is free. Internet and public libraries are open to everyone.

And lastly, lastly, best of luck!
 
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giving the OP the benifit of the doubt.. hes meaning to ask..

"What makes a SciFi story a SciFi story?" Which is a fun question..

TO which this Google search "define scifi" yields..

Science fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically established or scientifically postulated laws of nature (though some elements in a story might still be pure imaginative)


Also, I heard Orson Scott Card say, when talking about novels and cover art: "if it has rivets, it's science fiction" If it has trees or greenery, its fantasy.

So, a SciFi story needs to be scientific-y, no wizards, dragons, or unicorns. Lots of SciFi plays off of breaking science news.. so read some sci journals and riff on what those articles suggest to you..



I did a quick radom search for a science article.. found this.. maybe inspire you..

News of the Week
Infectious Diseases:
Yellow Fever Mosquito Shows Up in Northern Europe
Martin Enserink

AMSTERDAM—In the latest display of mosquitoes' predilection for modern travel, entomologists have found a small colony of the tropical species Aedes aegypti—also known as the yellow fever mosquito—in the Netherlands. The insects were found on and near two facilities of a company that imports used tires and presumably originated in the hot southern part of the United States. Ae. aegypti is an important vector not just of yellow fever but also of two other viral diseases, dengue and chikungunya.



riffs away..

Not noted in the story above, is that the bugs are carrying a "pathogen" that when infecting certain people cause an unexpected ...


:)
 
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.. or this..

A mine shaft in Minnesota serves as the entry to the Soudan Underground Laboratory, one of the key sites in the search for the mysterious dark matter that physicists believe makes up most of the universe’s mass...

what could go wrong with that?
 
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@ Wheatgrinder

Thanks! that actually helped. My movie is going to take place in outerspace.

@ Cracker Funk

thanks, but I guess I should've said that other than not having money to go anywhere to research outside of Chicago, I also dont have a computer as mine, stopped working. So i have to use paper, rather than just save it to a flashdrive.
 
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Nope. You don’t have to include aliens or monsters. Many sci-fi/fantasy
movies use them, some do not. “Blade Runner” has no aliens and no
monsters. Many people call that film sci-fi. “A Clockwork Orange”,
“Terminator”, “2001”, “Children of Men”, “Planet of the Apes”,
“Moon” and even “Inception” are called (by some) sci-fi. Not an
alien or monster among them.

What YOU write is what you care about - what interests you as a
writer.

I love that Orson Scott Card quote.
BrownwriterChi said:
My movie is going to take place in outerspace.
Click to expand...
So now you have to decide what happens in outer space.

Can you tell a story in outer space without aliens or monsters?
"Moon" did. "Armigedon", "Sunshine", "Outland" and "Marooned"
did. As others have said, you have so much open to you, so
many amazing opportunities for stories in the sci-fi genre there
isn't really anything you should or should not include.

Do you have a story in mind yet, or just a setting?
 
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hobout

a guy, stuck in orbit, can only get back to earth by ..... (you fill in the rest)

or..

sentence to isolation in deep space, a crafty con plots his escape by...

or..

life raft in space, not enough food, that fat guys looking pretty tasty..
 
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@ Directorik
Thanks for the help, I just wanted to clear that out, since movie like STAR WARS and STAR TREK have aliens. And I think some of those movies you listed should be considered scifi by all. And yes, I already have an idea. I've had it for a while, just didnt know what to include in the screenplay.

@ Wheatgrinder

the second option is my favorite, but I already have an idea, I just needed to know if I had to include aliens.
 
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Interesting discussion...

Just to stir the pot a little, there is difference between science fiction and science fantasy. Science fiction is rooted strictly in accepted scientific theory (for it's time) whereas science fantasy plays fast and loose with the sciences.

I would suggest that you watch and read A LOT of science fiction/fantasy. Some of my personal favorite writers of science fiction and fantasy are Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein (I just re-read "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress), Frank Herbert, Orson Scott Card, George Orwell, Kurt Vonnegut, Carl Sagan, A E Van Vogt, and Anne McCaffrey.

The best sci-fi/fantasy is - in my opinion - still about people; the setting just sets up conflicts in a unique situation that need resolution by the characters.
 
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