Hollywood's Answer to Rising Production Costs: Contained Scripts | Features | LIVING LIFE FEARLESS
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Hollywood’s Answer to Rising Production Costs: Contained Scripts

Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or an emerging filmmaker, the reality is that nobody is spared from the fact that making films is a notoriously expensive endeavor. For this reason, filmmakers have had to fully tap into their creativity, discovering ingenious ways to tell remarkable stories with limited resources.

Filmmakers resorted to writing stories set in confined spaces with a small cast, giving birth to a new concept and approach to storytelling known as contained scripts. Its prominence surged in the recent years due to factors such as economic constraints and a growing fascination for character-driven narratives.

The Economic Edge

The most significant advantage of writing and producing contained scripts is their cost-effectiveness. For independent filmmakers who do not have the backing of a major studio or production company, most of the financing will come from crowdfunding, grants, and out of their own pockets. For this reason, contained scripts will help streamline production costs by limiting the number of locations, characters, crew, and equipment which would increase the possibility of getting the project off the ground and have a greater return on investment.

Due to its popularity and success, studios and streaming services have also invested in producing contained scripts to provide opportunities and resources for talented filmmakers, especially those with diverse voices and stories, to get exposure and reach global audiences.

Some of the critically acclaimed films that generated buzz and impressive box office returns include Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window (1954), Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men (1957), Rodrigo Cortés’ Buried (2010), Steven Knight’s Locke (2013), Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer (2013), and Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale (2022) among others.



A Canvas for Creativity

One thing’s for sure – great stories can come from anywhere. The best aspect of contained scripts is that it allows filmmakers to think outside the box and focus on the building blocks of storytelling: character, dialogue, conflict, stakes, and tension. By focusing on developing multidimensional characters and character-driven stories, you can delve deep into the psyche of your characters, making them relatable and impactful to your audience.

For instance, the psychological thriller Locke (2013) was entirely shot in a car and only had one on-screen character, Ivan Locke, which was played by award-winning actor Tom Hardy. The character embarks on a two-hour drive to London and makes a series of phone calls to family, friends, and colleagues through which we gradually learn more about his life on a deeper level, the problems he’s facing, and the complexities of the human condition. Even though we’re only watching a person driving the entire film, it was able to hook and sustain the audience’s attention because of its well-written dialogue, flawed character, and extraordinary performance.



The film grossed $5.1 million worldwide and garnered Hardy the Best Actor award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Having a limited budget or setting your story in a contained space is sometimes a blessing in disguise because it allows you to tell a more imaginative, powerful, and compelling story with limited resources, which ultimately showcases your ingenious talent as a filmmaker.

The Building Blocks of Contained Scripts

To write a successfully contained script, your story must have one or a few complex characters, one location, compelling dialogue, escalating conflict, and tension. Your goal as a writer is to throw your character(s) into a situation that will confine them in a single place such as a cabin in the woods, a car, apartment, room, school, office –the list goes on– and let them deal with circumstances that will challenge and force them to confront their inner struggles or fight for survival.

The key component here is conflict—whether it’s internal, interpersonal, with nature, the supernatural, or technology. Focus on making your characters relatable on a personal level by making them flawed as well as revolving your story around themes and topics such as grief, love, family, relationships, survival, etc. The risks or stakes for the character must evolve and continuously escalate to keep your audience emotionally invested and on the edge of their seats. In contained scripts, your character’s dialogue and actions should consistently evoke conflict to propel the story forward.

The Future of Contained Scripts

As the entertainment industry continues to navigate the long-term repercussions and challenges posed by the pandemic, back-to-back strikes, and shifting audience preferences, contained scripts will surely be a viable answer to the industry’s current economic crisis. They’re here to stay. With the combined power of their practicality, cost-effectiveness, creative ingenuity, and potential high return on investment will appeal to and benefit filmmakers, studios, production companies, and other investors. Embracing this approach not only sustains the industry through challenging times, but also leads to the creation of compelling, innovative storytelling.

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