A lack of research can crash your screenplay. As Syd Field says in his famous book Screenplay, "The principle rule of storytelling bears repetition: The more you know, the more you can communicate. ...Research gives you ideas, a sense of people, situation, and locale. It allows you to gain a degree of confidence so you are always on top of your subject, operating from choice, not necessity or ignorance." So, today we're going to look at 5 steps to researching your story so you can have an impactful and believable screenplay.
1. DECIDE WHAT TO RESEARCH
Before you can start your research, you need to know what to research. Do you need to be aware of items from a historical period? Are you covering a specific profession you've never practiced yourself? Does your plot involve foreign cultures? Are you trying to write a Sci-Fi flick but unfamiliar with space travel? Go through your whole story and jot down everything you need to research!
2. START YOUR RESEARCH
Depending how familiar you are with a topic, it may be wise to start with a broad overview of your subject. For instance, let's say you're looking to write about the famous samurai Hattori Hanzo from the 1500s. Before you research his life, you may want to start broad by researching what Japan was like during that time. What was the culture like? What was the political structure? What were major events that transpired during that period?
After completing broad research, you can dive deeper into areas that directly pertain to your screenplay. Let's say you're writing about a near-future space race to Mars. You can dive into specific items like: What cutting edge spacecraft is being created now? What threats are present in a trek from Earth to Mars? What kind of mental toughness does an astronaut need to endure such a long journey in space?
Some great resources you can use to find answers to your various questions are...
- Firsthand accounts, letters, and diaries
- Museums, archives, and historical sites
- Reputable websites and academic articles
- Interviews with experts, historians, and practitioners in relevant fields
- Photographs, paintings, and films from the period or subject matter
- Maps and blueprints to understand geographical and architectural details
3. VALIDATE YOUR FINDINGS
Be sure to cross-check information with multiple sources. You don't always want to take one person's word for it on a certain subject. Dive in deep. Be aware of biases and differing perspectives in your sources. What do different people have to say? Try to find the truth, not just one person's perspective or something that simply fits the story you want to tell. The goal is accuracy and authenticity (to the degree that it is needed in your script...more on this in step 4).
4. INTEGRATE YOUR RESEARCH
After organizing your research, implement it! Enrich your characters so they fascinate readers and beam with authenticity. Let it shape the setting as you transport your audience to another time or place. Revise the plot so it unfolds accurately and captivates execs. And modify dialogue so it sounds genuine as it rolls off your characters' tongues.
Equally, know what not to implement into your script. Is there false info you came across? Toss it out! Are you adapting a Brother's Grimm story into your own thing? Then you may want to take the bear bones of "Rapunzel", remove the rest, and create your own version. A good screenwriter knows what information to integrate and what to leave out. As Syd Field notes, "By doing research…you acquire information. The information you collect allows you to operate from the position of choice, confidence, and responsibility. You can choose to use some, or all, or none of the material you’ve gathered; that’s your choice, dictated by the terms of the story."
5. STAY FLEXIBLE AND OPEN-MINDED
As you go through the development process, you may come across more and more information. In such cases, be prepared to adjust your story as you uncover new details. Don't just keep things as they are because it's the easy route. Make the needed adjustments.
Also, let your additional research inspire new plot points or character developments. When research causes one door to close, it can open a whole knew one you weren't expecting! It's okay if things evolve over time; that is what refines your screenplay toward accuracy and authenticity.
CONCLUSION
Research lays the foundation upon which your screenplay will stand. A lack of analysis can lead to a weak script, but thorough investigation can help produce a strong story that sells and captivates audiences. As writers, let's embrace the research process as a crucial part of screenwriting and create scripts that are full of accuracy and authenticity (to the degrees that it is needed in our stories).
Think I'm missing anything? Feel free to drop your comments below! How else can research benefit our screenplays?
