Morning all. I'm writing a script about a swing trader and for my opening shot I'd like to show the trader sitting at his trading station at home. The specific shot will be of the screens that show charts, etc. The background sound might be actual traders on the stock market floor. This is the establishing shot. All input is welcomed, but I have two questions. 1) How many monitors does a hard core swing trader use? 2) What app would show a lot of frenzied stock activity? Thank you all.
Minimum two, but it really all depends on what the trader needs on his screens. If you can fit everything onto one screen, its still doable. 4 screens, even better! You can register and download a real trading app from thinkorswim, its one that actual traders use. If you dont want to bother downloading that app, then going to a site like tradingview.com and opening up a bunch of charts can give you the same effect.
Excellent! @StockJock-e , appreciate it. Just need to shoot it without seeing any tradingview trademarks and that looks very doable. Thanks again.
This question is for fictional film making purposes only: Would it be realistic for a swing trader to call his broker and request that the limit on his margin account be raised? Thank you.
Hmm, typically that kind of call will only be made if the brokers office is one that caters specifically to daytraders and swingtraders. A normal broker would have to speak to the branch manager, who would might need to call some higher ups and that will take a while. If the client that is trading is making the firm enough revenues through commissions, they will be open to flexing the rules a bit to ensure that the client is happy and will remain with them. So if you are an active trader that is making your broker $2M/yr in commissions, he will do almost anything he can to make sure you remain his client.
day trading or swing trading?....seems swing trading is a little longer term hold, so only one should be required.
Appreciate that, @OldFart . My character is somewhat obsessed with trading so from the point of view of trying to show that obsession to the audience, the more screens the better.
I might have to give you a writing credit, @StockJock-e . This is valuable information. In desperation, my character could try to persuade the broker to stick his neck out for him.
Do traders still call their brokers to place orders? For the purpose of film making, I need a way to show the audience the trade transaction and if I use a shot of an online trade they may not understand it. Plus, the broker is another character I can use. Thank you.
Ahhh, but what if the main character talks to his screen like most traders do? I think most traders will set a limit price and then watch the bid-ask on their screen change in real-time and yell out to the unseen market maker stuff like: "Come on you mother, I know you want to!" "Fill, you asshat!" "I figured you didn't have the GUTS to take my offer!" "Okay, okay, I'll shave a little bit off those September Puts, but this is your last chance."
Thank you, @Three Eyes. That would also show the trader's passion and at some point desperation. This character is going to get in deep trading trouble, can't cover shorts, etc. . At his wits end he will put post-its with stock symbols on a dart board, toss the dart and play whatever symbol is hit by the dart. You'll have to wait for the film to see the results.
Why not be dramatic and let him call a broker? You can still call brokers today. Most don't, but I'm sure it still happens.
Thank you, @OldFart. I will use a combination of calls to broker and yelling at screen. Appreciate the input.
This is for promotional purposes? Then you might hit on the idealized image of the home trader with lots of monitors and lights flashing. That's everyone's perception, but it might also get lost in the noise as that is exactly what everyone else is doing. I use a simple laptop, with a 15" screen. I spend about 90 minutes per week finding and managing my trades. Pretty darn boring, but that isn't what the get rich quick young traders want to see. Had the 10k rig with 3 monitors and lost years of my life in front of them. Just not for me. More importantly, what is your script going to do for me? That would get my attention. IMO
Thanks for the input, Stan. The script will be for a 90 minute feature film. Whether I sell it or produce it is yet to be determined. But, your comment about getting burnt out could be incorporated into my main character. As for what my script will do for you, what kind of film about a day trader would hold your attention for 90 minutes? Answering that question would be very helpful to me. Thanks again.
Ahhh see here I assumed when you said script you were talking about a computer script not a movie script. Funny. Boy, have I got stories... Black Wednesday... The Flash Crash... The Series 3 exam...
There are many film and TV dramas/comedies involving the stock market out there and I would suggest that you study those and look for the bits and pieces that make them interesting. Movies, Documentaries, and TV Shows About Stock Trading https://www.thebalance.com/list-of-trading-movies-documentaries-and-tv-shows-1031369
Back when I was more active the only reason I had to call the broker, other than the occasional problem with an order fill, was to get shares to short. If they didn't have shares available from their client inventory I'd get a message saying that the shares are not currently available but then I'd call them and they'd find some, from another broker I guess, or maybe they'd just take the other side of my trade, i.e. they'd buy the shares and loan them to me .
