Ok, I’ve decided I want to be a film maker. A movie producer. A storyteller. But I don’t have the dough to go to film school right now. Actually I’m pretty broke. So I’m reading a book called The Portable Film School: Everything You’d Learn in Film School (Without Ever Going to Class) by D.B. Gilles. And the very first writing exercise is to:
- Write an Eight-Page Screenplay Where Place Is a Central Character.
He provided the place and situation. I wrote the script.
Place: A Funeral Home
Situation: What if there are two bodies laid out in different viewing rooms at a funeral home? A hot twenty-year old girl’s uncle has died, and so did the aunt of a twenty-year-old guy. Let’s say that neither kid was especially fond of his or her deceased aunt or uncle. But their parents make them go to the funeral home to pay their respects.
Not withstanding the success of HBO’s Six Feet Under, If there’s one place in the world that isn’t conducive to romance, it’s a funeral home. Nobody in his right mind would expect to meet someone under these circumstances.
In this short writing exercise, you’re going to chronicle how these two meet. Take advantage of the place in every scene.
I’ll post the document file here (since it’s 8 pages.)
I’d love to hear your comments.
