Story Development Research

Exploratory Research

Study of scholarly books, articles, and documentaries; interviews and observations with individuals whose lives or experiences may be relevant to the story; and reviews of existing fictional works (e.g., other films, novels, short stories).

Audience Testing

Getting reactions from intended audiences to possible story directions through concept testing and test screenings.

Consulting

Sharing ideas and insights from the research activities with the filmmaker, discussing possibilities for story directions given the research-derived ideas and insights.

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“As new ideas seed your story, story and characters grow; as your story grows, questions are raised and it hungers for more research.  Creation and investigation go back and forth, making demands on each other, pushing and pulling this way or that until the story shakes itself out, complete and alive.” 

– Story: substance, structure, style, and the principles of screenwriting (McKee, 1997)