Violet City: Script Development from Novel to Green Screen Fantasy Feature

Abstract

This chapter examines the development of the film Violet City (2015), analysing how the project progressed from 100,000-word fantasy novel to a 105-min feature film. It investigates the processes through which a novelist/scriptwriter worked as co-producer with a director/co-producer, contributing to the style and editing process of the completed film. It explores issues that arose during a restrictive shooting schedule, which meant script development continued into post-production. It also discusses narrative concerns caused by insufficient footage of actors and how these, together with SFX limitations and continuity problems, were resolved. The late introduction of voice-over narration and scene cards meant that the ‘script’ was continually in development until the final cut. This chapter offers key insights into screen development by investigating ways in which the novel provided a template for the project, and how the low-budget green screen shooting process meant that the original screenplay afforded a spine for the exploratory process of a first-time director.