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advice, character, choice, concept, design, development, film, Guardians of the Galaxy, horror, ideas, inspire, Knowhere, location, making, movie, movie maker, necessity, plot, process, screenwriting, script, setting, Star Wars, student, study, teach, The Revenant, writer
Hey guys, and welcome to another exciting week of film study! At least, I hope it’s exciting. I know a lot of this recent stuff must sound redundant to what we’ve already talked about, but I’m hoping you can see what I’m trying to accomplish. For tonight’s post (which, due to the lateness, might be tomorrow’s), we’re going to talk about your favorite settings. Study time!
Setting, as we know, is a funny beast in film. It is both unimportant and very important. How? Is that even possible? Have I finally gone off the deep end? Nope. And here’s why: setting is not important when it comes to the characters and, to an extent, the story. A truly good writer knows that he can transpose his characters and story into any setting (and, sadly, some filmmakers seem to do this over and over and think they can get away with it – which they sometimes do). STAR WARS could very easily have been a western or a medieval piece. THE REVENANT could have been set in space or even in modern day. The point is that your story (any story, no matter how it originates) can probably fit into another setting. Think about that for a second.
Setting is important when it comes to the choice. Once you settle on a setting, that’s when it becomes its own entity. It has to be brought to life by you and your crew. It’s funny, in a way. The setting only becomes important really when you decide which one you like the best.
So here’s the studying part: What appeals to you about a certain setting? Do you like a western? If so, why? Is it the landscape, the harshness, the desperation, the discovery of the time? Or maybe you like space because of the vast unknown stretching around us. Or you like a horror setting because it keeps you on edge. Think about that. Watch your movie. Take note of the setting, the environment. What sticks out most to you?
It’s short and sweet, but setting is not something you really need to dwell on. Honestly, once you pick something and give your characters something to experience, the audience will do the same. And that’s where I leave you. Next time, we talk about dialogue. See you then!