How to find the perfect subject for the film

This is precisely the question for which every screenwriter wants to get the answer. Because anyone would agree that if you have a perfect subject, then the script itself just falls from the eternity on the pages and all you need is type fast enough to get it all noted. But the question is does the idea actually fall onto you? Is there inspiration involved? Or maybe it all be just rubbish, and it is the hard work that makes a film subject a great one?

Well, every filmmaker and writer has a particular vision on how the scripts get written. For instance, the legendary David Lynch (Twin Peaks, Mulholland Dr., The Elephant Man) explains that his ideas come in fragments. He gets pieces of a puzzle which he then puts together for a bigger picture. For Chuck Close (an American artist) there is no such thing as inspiration. Any great idea for a film he creates comes from long hours of hard work. Red Rock Entertainment reviews the problem from two perspectives and combines the two by saying that whenever a writer concentrates, concentrates, and again concentrates, the ideas begin to cumulate together and a great one eventually comes up to the surface to lay the foundation for the next brilliant script.

Tip #1: Observe the world
There are two sides to this tip.
If you have a block and cannot come up with any film subject, then it’s time to change something. Stop whatever you are doing and turn your energy toward something that frees your mind. Go to the gym, for a hike, spin the pedals of your bike, listen to music, go to a concert, etc. Anything that helps you relax the mind. Sometimes blocks come from overthinking and overworking with a particular subject. So drop it off and relax.

Observation also means following the news and everything that is happening in the world right here and now. For example, you know that after the #MeToo movement and #OscarsSoWhite there were a number of films that addressed these movements’ issues or hired non-white actors (Black Panther, for instance). You see that the topic of Brexit is still being rumoured about in the media and might have noticed that HBO has already presented a new series Brexit. So keep your eyes wide open and listen to what people babble about. These are the subjects they are interested in and will go to see in the local cinema theatre.

Tip #2: Study what other writers are busy with
Besides taking note on the news in the world, don’t forget to pay attention to the industry itself. Very often, great film subjects appear from a combination of the existing films or scripts. So read your fellow colleagues and check what others are creating. Even if you do not use someone’s idea as your core one, you will be able to get the creative juices flowing and hence think over your writing strategy to create a masterpiece.

Tip #3: Use real life
Think of the subjects that have shaken the world and get them into a script for a new film. Remember Zodiac by David Fincher? James Vanderbilt and Robert Graysmith based this story on the real investigation of the Zodiac Killer and the lives of journalists involved in it. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber wrote their worst experiences in relationships and then turned them into the fantastic comedy (500) Days of Summer. Look around, recollect on your own experiences and think of what can make up for a perfect script?

All great ideas require time. Whether it is time for them to mature or the time needed for their polishing; it is still time. Whatever your idea requires, it is essential to procrastinate at the right time and to get down to business at another. Gary Collins from Red Rock Entertainment explains the concept: sometimes you might need time to differentiate a great subject for your film from a shallow though – this is the procrastination part. Just relax and think everything over. At other moments, you, on the contrary, might need to work hard to shape your rough thought into a brilliant film subject. So stop overthinking if this is the best idea to work with or if that topic is worth your attention at all. Just take your chances by acting.