How to Script an Indie Film

Video Transcript

"The script is really important for an independent film because that's your whole structure. Documentaries are a little bit different, because you don't necessarily have a structure to it. You don't have any dialog that people have to remember. So the script is really important. If you're not writing the script yourself, if you're not a good writer, but you have a good idea, find somebody who can write and just use your resources. Find a local person who can write a script. With the Internet, it could be somebody on the other side of the world writing your script for you, it really doesn't matter. But just make sure the script is good. Have people read it over. How you talk is different than how you write, so script writers know how to write dialog. They know how to make it sound natural. So that's a big thing of what writing a script is, getting the dialog correct and getting the interaction. And also, coming up with a subject that's interesting. You might make another slasher movie or something, if that's what you're into, but how you do it is the thing. If it's a really good story, and it's really engaging, really well done, people will see it. But people don't want to watch something that's basically seems like a home movie. So, the script is really, really important, because it's your foundation for the whole movie. If you have a lousy script, well, you're going to have a lousy movie. If you shoot in HD, it's not going to make it any better, because you're still going to have that lousy script. So, the best thing to have is the script. More important, just as important, as your equipment."