Contained screenwriting can be challenging. Not everyone is wired to tell a story that involves only a small amount of characters and that mostly happens in just one or two locations. But like most creative endeavors, the right kind of limitations can produce surprising benefits. Placing boundaries on your screenplay can create dynamic storytelling opportunities, not to mention that contained screenplays typically have a lower budget. And that could make the difference between being an aspiring screenwriter versus a produced screenwriter.
Here’s everything you need to know about writing a contained screenplay, and why limitations might just launch your screenwriting career.
A contained screenplay is a script that contains a limited number of characters, locations, props, and production requirements. Basically, it’s the film equivalent of a television “bottle episode” where the main characters (typically) remain in one main location throughout the duration of the script. The key thing to remember with contained screenplays is the narrow scope of production requirements. But that doesn’t mean that a contained screenplay has to have a narrow theme or even a limited story. In fact, contained scripts often have some of the most powerful stories, because they give characters time and space to develop instead of leaping from plot point to plot point.
Some of the most iconic films of all time are set in just one or two locations. This forces the story to rely on dialogue, character development, and relationships. Here are 8 of the best contained screenplays ever written that only take place in one (or a few) settings:
Your goal as a screenwriter might be to write the next blockbuster hit, and that’s fine! Many screenwriters have at least one big budget blockbuster script ready to go. However, a lower budget contained screenplay is far more likely to interest smaller indie film producers. And if you’re going to produce the film yourself, you have to write a script you can shoot on a lower budget.
First, you need to limit the number of characters in your story. Choose a family, a group of roommates, a couple, and set the story in this location where all these people live together. Or, if your characters don’t live together, create a situation in which they are forced to be together in one location. A cottage in the woods, a road trip, an office, maybe they’re trapped somewhere, or they ended up at this location by accident. Instead of casting another character, give your protagonist a volleyball. Just keep the number of people and locations to a minimum.
This might appear limiting. It’s not. Because the fun happens when you’re forced to create dynamic stories that only use a few characters and locations. How are your heroes going to save the world from the comfort of a couch, an office chair, or a cabin by the lake? I can’t wait to find out.
Just make sure the few characters in your screenplay have some type of inherent conflict and connection between them. Are they lovers on the verge of breaking up? Do they not know each other at all and somehow have to work together? Are they polar opposites in terms of political, moral, or ethical views?
Putting people with opposing views in a room is already step one for creating conflict. And conflict is the key to compelling storytelling. You don’t need a whole lot more to create a story audiences will become emotionally invested in. Especially if those characters come to realize, as the story progresses, that they need each other to accomplish their goal. If you can also make them realize they have more in common than they thought the audience will cheer.
Reverse engineer your story from a limited set of characters and scenarios. It forces you to dig deep into the core of human relationships and conflicts that exist between each character, and that’s often harder to do with a fast-paced expansive script. Even the biggest, most expensive movies are about people and the ways humans interact, who they love, who they hate, and who they would risk anything to save. Writing a contained script simply capitalizes on this.
You don’t need to create the risk of the entire planet blowing up to have high stakes, you just need to make sure your reader is invested in the drama and the relationships. Instead of writing about the global impact of the apocalypse, show viewers the intimate loss your protagonist feels as the world is ending for them.
It doesn’t hurt to add a lot of twists and turns to the story, but if you can limit the scope and setting of your script, you’ll have more room to explore the motivations of each character. Limiting crowd scenes, car chases, elaborate stunts, children, animals, lavish locations, CG, special effects, filming underwater, and period set pieces will not only tighten your writing — it will reduce your production budget!
Remember, personal conflict, emotional investment, subtext, and complex characters put in extraordinary situations don’t cost a thing. Give your protagonist a goal that matters to them more than anything else and you have all the raw materials you need for a compelling screenplay.
What if you’ve already written a script that you think can work as a contained thriller, but in its current state, there are too many characters and too many locations? You can always revise your script and scale down to make it more contained.
But how do you know if there are too many characters and locations for sure? You can use Final Draft’s powerful tool Navigator 2.0 to have a bird’s-eye view of your script and see all the various elements in one convenient location: characters, locations, etc. This is an easy way to go through your various characters and locations and delete them right there and then (any changes made in Navigator will be reflected in your screenplay).
Have you finished writing a screenplay that’s a contained thriller and you think it’d make a great movie? Does it have a big story but requires only a small budget? Enter the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest for a chance to share in over $80,000 in cash and prizes, and have your script read by Top Hollywood Managers.
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So in conclusion, a lower budget, contained screenplay is more appealing to movie producers and it enables you to place greater emphasis on your characters and to create a compelling story. A contained screenplay with plenty of conflict, twists and turns and high emotional stakes, has the ability to connect with readers and it has the possibility of selling and becoming a produced movie.