[Discussion] Director/Producer Flavored Fountain

[Miserlou]

Heya! Sorry if this topic doesn't belong in a ticket, but this seems like the most active and best Fountain project, so I thought it might be a good place to get some feedback on this idea.

Most screenplay writing/Fountain advice seems to center entirely around the "spec script", but I'm starting to realize that getting a spec produced might be a near-impossible task, and that I'll have to produce my own films.

I would like to be able to add information to my Fountain files which will help me plan shots and shoots without needing too many external tools.

For instance, I'd love to be able to make script breakdowns automatically, in the format similar to the ones described in this YouTube video. This would really help with shoot planning, cost estimating, costuming and prop tracking.

I think one way to achieve this practically would be by expanding the Fountain syntax to include things like prop-highlighting and a "meta" field for including location/time/asset requirements to a scene. For instance:

INT. CASTLE - DAY
 - time: 3h
 - location: stage A
[Wide] 
JENNY, wearing her full (BATTLE ARMOUR), picks up the !MAGICAL_SWORD. We see a ((SHIMMERING GLOW)) from the sword and hear a [[RISING SWOOSH]].

[Closeup]
JENNY
It's time to kick some Goblin ass.

If this was implemented properly, then the same file could be exported in 'Spec', 'Director' and 'Producer' formats - the Spec script in normal format, the Director script with all of the shots and assets, and the Producer version as a spreadsheet with shooting times and staff requirements.

Anyway, it's just a thought, but this could potentially help me out a lot, and maybe it would help other people out as well. Just looking for some feedback on the idea before I cook up a prototype!

Cheers,
Rich

[Miserlou]

I found an interesting example of something like this dating back to 1968, attached to the end of Stanley Kubrik's unproduced Napoleon screenplay!

[viegasfh]

Hi Rich,

What you want is possible with Fountain's built-in constructs. You can use the notes for that as explained in this link https://slugline.co/blog/shotlists

This is how I do it.

This sort of feature has been requested in the BetterFountain VS Code Plugin here piersdeseilligny/betterfountain#81