Historical drama on screen – to write or not to write?
09 Friday Dec 2016
Written by Charles Harris in Historical, Industry, Pitching, Selling
Tags
budget, cinema, drama, historical, portfolio, Screenwriting, TV
Historical drama is big in TV and film at the moment,
but is it a good idea to write one? David Oman sent this question:
Hello Charles
I’m still enjoying your excellent books, and prefer studying them instead of venturing out on a Saturday evening…
The advice I require is, do you recommend a novice screenwriter should attempt to write a script based on history.
I’m interested in writing one. I know, if accepted, it would be costly to make. However, I would try and write the script within a reasonable budget…
Hi David
I’m pleased you’re still enjoying the books, and hope they are not stunting your party-going too much!
As for historical scripts – they are very difficult to do at a low budget as you say. Even a “reasonable” budget, to use your words, will be beyond an indie production, so you need to ensure that your story and characters have a large audience appeal.
Historical drama still needs to be fresh and different
I’d want a very strong pitch/log-line that really grabbed people, especially those who go to movies often or watch prime-time TV (you don’t say whether you are going for cinema or TV). Your storytelling skills will need to be very strong too.
Research the historical movies and TV dramas that succeed and be clear on what your audience is and what you are bringing that is fresh and different.
Better to have passion than settle for second-best
In general a novice writer would need to work hard to produce a script of the necessary quality – but if you are passionate about the subject, go for it. Better to write a story you feel strongly about than settle for second-best.
However, if you do I would suggest you:
(a) build up a varied portfolio including at least one low-budget script and
(b) think seriously about writing a version for the stage.
This would be a very clever way to promote your story, get good experience and see it produced, whether in a large theatre or on the fringe. Most screenwriters have theatre experience – and of course, unlike films, historical plays don’t need to cost significantly more to put on.
I hope this helps.
Best wishes
Charles
6 Comments
December 10, 2016 at 11:05 am
Hi David!
Interested to see your question re historical drama. Could one possibility for you be historical ‘docu-drama’? I believe this can also go under the name of ‘hybrid-documentary’!
One example of this I have watched is the 5 part DVD series ‘Magna Carta Unlocked’. It outlines the consequences of that famous charter across no less than 6 centuries of English History! It is, of course, presenter-led, but there are plenty of historical reconstructions as well.
Here’s a 4 minute clip on this from You Tube…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L10IwnRxal0
Hope this helps!
Sean McCormack
Streatham Hill
London SW2
December 13, 2016 at 5:07 pm
Hi Sean
A useful tip. There’s a great deal of interest in historical documentary at the moment. One issue to be wary of is the one you mention – presenter-led. TV seems to be obsessed with celebrity presenters at the moment. But if you can find a presenter who is enthusiastic about the subject, that could be a useful plus.
At the same time, it’s important to know what your core idea is. That way you can assess whether an approach is helping you achieve your goal – or leading you away from it! Every story has different needs.
Best wishes
Charles
September 14, 2018 at 5:20 am
Hello David,
I totally agree with Charles .A good honest presenter
who is well versed in the subject and drives it with passion is more enjoyable to watch and listen to then a celebrity.Good sound and delivery presents more then you think
Best Wishes
Rudro
September 14, 2018 at 7:13 am
Hi Rudro
Absolutely. Well said. I wish producers weren’t so fixed on using celebrities to front their documentaries. We do seem to see the same faces time after time. It would be nice to bring new people into TV and to credit the audience with a degree of intelligence.
Charles
March 19, 2021 at 2:41 pm
Hello. I know this was written in 2016, but I have a question. I am trying to write a screenplay about Robert Ballard’s discovery on the Titanic. I’ve been doing lots of research, but I often struggle on where to start haha
March 19, 2021 at 4:03 pm
Hi Abby,
Thank you, excellent question. It’s great that you’ve been doing so much research, but at some point we all have to start the actual script. In fact, I advice not making a big thing of it, but slide in gently. Start by brainstorming, jot notes to yourself, ideas of scenes, characters, anything that seems hot and exciting to you.
At the same time, I begin scribbling a few structural ideas. I always start with my pitch – I feel most confident if I can find a one-sentence pitch that gets people excited about seeing the movie. Then I get a rough idea of the ending! It helps if I know where I’m going to end up. After that, I sketch out a few ideas for an interesting opening and begin to fill in the gaps.
Are you also reading screenplays? That’s essential. There are more tips and processes in this blog and in my book “Complete Screenwriting Course” which takes you through the process step by step.
Good luck and tell me how it goes,
Charles