decide locations first or not before writing script?

[traaxx]

Me and a mate have come up with an idea and i'd like to start writing a script for it as soon as possible but the location is sort of important to the idea, the idea mostly involves a firefight between two guys, so i plan to have a lot of guns and make it entertaining...in my mind i have an idea of the sort of location as to where it would occur..but do i first find the location and then write the script? I feel like i almost need to do this..because the gun laws are so strict in Australia the location too me could change what happens in the script if i cant do it in a location similar too what i have in my mind.

[mickcar73]

definately find the locations first. then you can add things into the script depending on what is in the location etc. thats how we got the idea for my film dead mans walk. we found an abandoned tent in the middle of the woods so we said that it was attacked by hillbilys.

[crossfire]

usually i write first then decide locations, but if a location cant be done then ill rewrite. Depending on the situation though it might be wiser to find location first!

[wildabeast009]

I would never try and find the locations first. Write the script exactly as you would make it if you had no limits. This will allow you to be your most creative without giving up for your constraints. But sometimes that's not very pratical. Like writing a script for an assualt on a military base, when you know that you can't get a a military base. But if you're using simple locations, I'm sure you could find something close to what you need. It probably won't turn out being exactly like you wanted, but if you're a good director, you can make it work. And if worse does come to worse, you could go to a slight re-write. I guess what I'm trying to say is don't write your script around your locations, work you locations around your script. Also, what location are you planning to do this fight at?

[traaxx]

Well i'm not exactly sure, i was thinking like down an alley way, but doesnt have to be, somewhere where there is a lot of obstacles, places to hide..it's just that gun laws are so strict in australia..anything that looks remotely realistic is banned and against the law..so i cant go running around with a realistic gun or someone might call the cops on me..so i write the script based on my idea but then what if i cant find an isolated location that suits my script..because it's going to have to be somewhere isolated where no people are around or no public because i cant afford a motion picturer armourer just for something we are doing for a experimental purposes..

[Faldor]

just write it, when i wrote my first movie Flour i set the final showdown in a warehouse with 20 extras, we shot it in a field with... none

[Mr.Anderson]

well if the gun restrictions are as strict as you say they are, i'd recommend doing the fights in a forest somewhere where people arent going to see you. Thats too bad though, me and my friends got away with running around with guns at a college campus.

[wildabeast009]

Maybe if you talk to the police and store owners, the might let you if you have proper supervision. But if anything that looks like a gun is banned, they might not help. Although, it wouldn't hurt to ask. Good luck.

[trabre2003]

It helps to know people. For example, I was able to film a big firefight at a high school because my dad taught there. Talk to people you know and find out if any of them can let oyu into their workplaces to film. Doing this you can get access to offices, schools etc.

[traaxx]

yeah i thought of that idea the other day! Told my mate and he knows a mate who owns a warehouse so is going to ask him, i think something like that will be our solution.

[Catscratch44]

I'd find the location first cuz it's easier to picture it when you are writing resulting in a better story

[mickcar73]

to repeat what i said, shoot it first. we made up a scene and 5 minute dialogue just by being in a restaurant so we shot it there

[hubris32]

Before you even touch a keyboard or notepad think to yourself, "What are my resources?" Then write the script accordingly. Don't write a script that takes place in the Amazon jungle if you don't live anywhere near a jungle or you don't have hundreds of tropical plant props.

[marktut]

I would never try and find locations first. write the scripts if you had no limits......wildabeast009, thats ok for Professional script/movie but we are talking amateur film making here.
I totally agree with above from hubris32, look what resources you have access too, including locations/people/props etc then write something around that....

[wildabeast009]

Well, if you know for a fact, that you are going to film that same, exact script you wrote, the next week after you finish, and you just want a movie for practice or something, then yes. I agree. Figure out what you have. But if you want to put lots of time and effort into your movie, think in unrestrictvley. Make your own props, sets, whatever you have to do to achieve your dream. I am sick and tired of seeing all these amatuer films taking place in a backyards. Go to a local public college capus or something, that's how we did several scenes in our, I'll admit it, very amatuer, very crappy, matrix spoof. But we found things that worked. It's amazing what you can find if you just look. Yes, I have made my script work around me before, but that was because it was just for fun. I have been writing one script for about 8 months now, and I just finished it tonight as a matter of fact. It takes place, just to name a few places, in LA, at the academy awards, in a hardware store, which I'll have to ask around to get. I live in S.C. Nowhere near several of the places. But I didn't let it stop me. No way. If you have faith in your movie, you won't let these minor details get in your way. Think outside of the box, and your backyard.