One Location, Many Stories: Writing Contained Scripts
If limitation breeds creativity, then writing a script where all the action takes place in one location is an excellent way to test those creative skills. Having your entire story take place in one location is indeed limiting. However, it can yield extremely impressive results.
Whatever the style and tone of the movie, there’s a version of it done in one location. Let’s take a look at some films that do it across a variety of genres:
12 Angry Men: There are only four sets in this drama: the courtroom (which we see in the beginning), the bathroom (where we’re able to take a brief break from the tension), outside the courthouse (at the end of the film), and the jury deliberation room, where nearly the entire film takes place. The result is 12 distinct characters, an escalation of explosive arguments, and the evidential beats of a courtroom drama outside of the courtroom.
Presence: The most recent David Koepp and Steven Soderbergh collab takes place in one house through the POV of a ghost haunting this family’s home. It’s a ghost story, yes—but it’s also a family drama, and at times, a psychological thriller, that keeps you guessing as to why this ghost is still hanging around instead of crossing over into the afterlife.
The Breakfast Club: Five teens—“a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess, and a criminal”—have to serve high school detention on a Saturday. Though the main goal of all five is to get through detention, each character has wants and needs that must be addressed within this unique group of individuals. With a clear antagonist in their authoritarian vice principal and a deep bond between all five formed over the course of the day, it’s easy to see how this coming-of-age comedy-drama became such a huge hit.
Snowpiecer: Humanity is trapped on a train. A train that travels across a post-apocalyptic Snowball Earth! And frankly, the “lower class” passengers have had it. Who’s gonna kill who? The rebels vs. elites gets at the heart of capitalism critique while still providing action-packed thrills. (This one is technically based on a book, but a good story is a good story, no?)
Snakes on a Plane: He’s tired of these motherfuckin’ snakes on this motherfuckin’ plane!
Okay, you may be thinking, so those scripts did it. Why should mine?
1. Thinking small doesn’t have to keep you from writing a BIG movie. Oftentimes, writers falsely believe that their hero’s journey must be a grand adventure on the scale of a Greek tragedy. Yet having a limited scope forces the writer to scale down, leading to small things becoming a huge deal. Opening the door to another room becomes a turning point; a character leaving the room turns into the beginning of Act 3. Big events happen out of small actions.
Moreover, the claustrophobia one might feel watching characters crammed into a single location creates a natural pressure cooker. You are forced to naturally raise the stakes simply by escalating your character’s decisions in the story further and further. If you don’t have the luxury of cutting away to completely different scenery or massive set pieces, you have to keep it moving. What I’m trying to say is, this type of story can function as a great writing shortcut.
2. One location is a producer’s dream. Shooting a film in a single location means a low budget. And when budgets are kept smaller, it’s not only more likely to get greenlit because the upfront costs are lower, but there’s also a likelihood that more money gets made on the backend. (The Breakfast Club cost $1 million—it grossed $51 million.) No one in this town ever said, “You know what I want to do? Spend more money on a movie.”
3. Indie films are making a comeback. With distribution models being disrupted (see Hundreds of Beavers for inspo), it’s the writers, directors, and so on who are getting a chance to be in charge of how, where, and when their projects are seen. If you want creative control over your project, why not set yourself up for success and find a way to make it on your own for cheap? By using a singular location for your story, you’re making everything easier for you financially, logistically, and so on. (This is especially true if you want to write and direct your first film.)
4. The industry is BEGGING for it. Writers love to write what they want to write. And the entertainment industry? They love to make money. (Show business, remember?) Therefore, there is currently a huge gap between the number of times managers and agents request one-location scripts, and the number of one-location scripts actually available.
5. You can get weirder, more interesting, and more creative. Films set in one location don’t throw out every screenwriting necessity. You still have your protagonist, their wants versus needs, your antagonist, your beginning-middle-end, your plot points, etc. You’re still writing a story the way you’d write any other story. The key difference is that in this story, you’re stuck in one place. So, what does that place offer? How is it relevant to the character’s journey? How can the place morph, whether literally or existentially? Additionally, you must thoughtfully consider the number of people in your cast, who they are, what their motivations are, and what their goals are—all hallmarks of a great script.
Read the scripts for your favorite contained movies. You might find inspiration to "downsize" the script you're writing now. Less can be more.
*Feature photo: Presence (Neon)