1. SECTION 1: OBTAINING WORK AS A SCREENWRITER - COMMISSIONING
Commission editors aim to build up a publishers list. They do this by identifying books or
media products to publish. The way they are doing this is by finding authors and looking
into their proposals and responding to them. They also have a similar role to a buyer
they ensure that authors deliver typescripts to specify the time that is due. This is
because people give them scripts and they need to make sure which script is worth into
looking and if it’s in the right format because many companies send the wrong format
script and they instant don’t get looked at.
Examples they need to attend book fairs
Conduct internet research
Draw up surveys to identify demand
Attend conferences and meetings of all king.
Also building up a publishers list of titles for specific genre.
Managing the list in the current market as well as identifying future markets and new
products and titles with commercial potential and purpose.
Producers: Producers are the people in the television and film industries. They oversee
their idea and put it into a project thru conception to competition. Producers and
directors can be often involved in the marketing and distribution process however this
isn’t always the case. Another role of a producers is to work closely to a director if not
with them and the other crew members while shooting because this makes it easier for
the idea to be seen by everyone.
Directors role: The director is in control of everything and responsible for the
interpretation of a stage film or television production. Because this they help the actors
with their acting singing and for the crew even lighting and sound is required to realise
the writer’s conception. Chuck Lorre has started of a singer/guitarist traveling the
country and writing hundreds of pop songs. After a while of being on the road he started
to write animation scripts DIC and Marvel production. As well as writing scripts he
produced the themes and scores for animated series such as Teenage Mutant &Ninja
Turtles. A spec
Script Editors The script editor works as part of the camera department to ensure that
the production has continues verbal and visual integrity. They are also responsible for
checking for continuality mistakes in final cuts.
An agent is someone who has given permission to act on behalf of someone else through
employment, by contract or apparent authority. Agents are either general or special the
general agent is a one employed in his capacity as a professional man or a master of an
art or trade or the one to whom the principal confides his whole business or all
transactions and funding’s or even a function of designated class. He could be a person
that is authorized by his principal to execute all deeds, sign all contract s or purchase all
goods and props etc. However, the agent usually takes 10-20% commission.
Corporations: A corporation is a company that releases the finished productions. A
corporation company allows a single company to maintain control over companies t hat
seem to be unrelated within the wide range of entertainment.
An example of a corporation would be the BBC. They own TV channels for different
audiences e.g. for children BBC 1 for people which like dramatic stuff. They even own
some popular radio stations also based in different audience for example Radio 1 is
aimed at young people Radio 5 live provides live traffic news and sports.
Organisations exist to help screenwriters work with actual writers. They help the writers
to develop scripts. They also give feedback and tips on how to improve the scripts.
2. primetime script le to freelance work on the comedy Charles in Charge and eventually
led to a full-time job on the NBC sitcom. In 1991 he became a supervising producer on
the hit comedy Roseanne.
Independent directors act as guide to the company. Their roles broadly include
improving corporate credibility and governance standards functioning as a watchdog and
playing a vital role in risk management. Independent directors play active role in varies
committees set up by company to ensure good governance.
The difference between the director and in depended director is that directors bring
outside perspective to the table other words they think outside of the box and often a
wealth of knowledge and experience. A non-executive director may be representing a
major shareholder, but an independent director will generally have no other link with the
company other than sitting on the board. Steven Spielberg was an in depended director.
Spielberg’s sex,lies and videotape came about when he dwelled on a filed relationship in
which he admitted he has been dishonest and manipulative. In this sense its film making
acts like a therapy to him. Graham acts as a kind self-inert for Soderbergh, trying to
figure out his themes, and himself through the medium film which is why is in depended
For example, All3media is a British worldwide in depended television, film and digital
production and distribution company. The All3Media group comprises 28 production and
distribution companies from all across the United Kingdom and all the other parts of
Europe. In the past year, All3Media has produced over 3,000 hours of content ranging
from dramas like Call The Midwife , The missing ,Liar and Free Rein , to factual
entertainment formats such as Goggle-box.
Competition: In importance of competing in Hollywood is to believe that you have
something special to offer that no one else has. Yes it’s true that having a strong resume
a good talent and knowing a lot of people in this business can be helpful in terms of
obtaining auditions and booking acting work. Everyone likes working with people that
they know because they feel more comfortable to work with. Yes but people wonder
what happens when there’s is a large numbers of actors and such small variety of rolls.
Lots of application get submitted for small numbers of jobs however the way the
industry is designed people tend to give you what’s the best for you or another words
what you’re good at
SECTION 2: WORKING AS A WRITER – THE DEMANDS AND REQUIREMENTS
Communication skills. Writers should be good with communicating to other people. That
means that they need to be good at getting messages and sending messages in a clear
format. But that’s also your day to day communication. When becoming a writer, you
would have to know that you’ll be working with people with similar skills if not better
which is why adaptive is also another good skill. Faster you adapt better you become in
less time.
The importance of Formatting a screenplay Is getting the reader to champion your work
all starts from page one. Don’t give them a reason to toss your script aside just because
you didn’t follow a screenplay forms guide yes, it is important to keep it professional and
in the right format because companies like Hollywood will not accept if it’s not a master
scene script. Because the master screen script that director adds the camera direction to
create the shooting script. While the master scene format enables the screenwriter to
3. focus on the literary, his work provides merely a blueprint for the director whose role of
calling the shots now extends to changing the whole scenes.
Time management: Managing your time correctly when writing a screen play is vital. If
you spend too much time or get hung up on the minute details in a script, you may end
up with a novel rather than a script. A lot of writers spend a lot of time thinking of
characters, and create and elaborate ideas which end up being to portray. The less time
you spend creating a character and listing all their traits and mannerisms, the more time
you can have breathing life into that character through their actions which will add a lot
more dept. to that character. You learn more from a character by the way they act in
situations, rather that descriptions
Some production companies and screenwriting competitions will ask for a sample of your
script before they want to see the whole thing. In situations like this you need to make
sure that in this little sample you have all your ideas but shortens perhaps a synopsis for
every idea. For example, if the sample is to the 10 pages long then there is no point
making an excellent 10 pages and having another 200 pages full of rubbish each page
should have the same time spend on it as the others.
Royalty payment
Royalty payments typically constitute a percentage of the gross or net revenues
obtained from using the owner’s / director’s property however they can be negotiated on
a case by case basis in accordance with the wishes of both parties involved in the
transaction. Third parties pay authors, musical artists and production professionals for
the use of their produced copywriter material. Television satellite companies provide
royalty payments to air the most viewed stations nationwide.
Collaboration: Screenwriters should be collaborating because that’s an activity that
brings knowledge experience teamwork and even personal development Especially
because you can learn from other professional people and having someone to help is
making it easier and quicker. You might even end up developing another project you
always learn new things.
SECTION 3: THE SCRIPTWRITING PROCESS - LEGAL & ETHICAL
CONSIDERATIONS
Writers should think about the legal and ethical considerations while writing. The ethical
issue includes bias and conflict of interest. The legal issues include copyright, libel and
censorship.
Writers must properly copyright their work otherwise their hard work ideas and content
can be and most likely be stolen by someone else in the same business and that means
that they will make money of your back. On their manuscripts the copyright must be
clearly exposed. So, it must appear on the front cover of the script and on the foot of
every page in the script. When the reader looks at the writer’s script, it will notice that
they will not have the right to still content unless it has permission from the writer of the
script.
4. For Censorship, writers are restricted in using se or violence. It is doubtful to release a
film that shows real sexism and racial intolerance. However, some will argue that this
content is good for showing these issues in a positive way. It will demonstrate that the
writer followed the social values beyond what the censorship board controls.
Plagiarism is the failure to give credit to another authors work of ideas when it is used in
the publication. It is the obligation of the editor of the journal to ensure the article does
not contain any plagiarism before it is published. If a publication which has already been
published is proven to contain plagiarism, then the editor of the journal can procced to
have the article retracted.
Libel is a method of defamation expressed by print, writing pictures, signs or any
communication embodied in physical form that is injurious to a person reputation,
exposes a person to public hatred contempt or ridicule or injures a person in his career.
Bias is a prejudice toward or unfair characterization of the members of group. Bias is
found in speech and writing that we often are not aware of it. But it is the responsibility
of everyone to become conscious of and write without bias.
Watersheds is controlled by Ofcom it’s their most important duty to protect children from
harmful materials on TV and radio. The watershed continues to help parents protect their
children form material that might be unsuitable or even harmful for them.
Handing Over Control means that once the writer gives their script away, they must
accept that people might change it and they no longer have control over it. For example,
if they sell it to a studio, they might have to rewrite it, or a director might shoot in a way
you don’t agree with. Writers need to be able to surrender the control of that script.
Resubmission
Spider Man
EXT. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - DAY
-they're in Manhattan, in front of an impressive old building on
the Columbia campus. A yellow school bus is parked at the curb; a
bunch of HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS scurry like insects up the marble
steps. A stressed out TEACHER with a clipboard is next to the bus.
TEACHER
People, please, no wandering! If
you are a Midtown High School
student on the field trip, I need
you in the building now!
PETER
(to M.J.)
This class. Our class.
(no recognition)
I'm Peter.
M.J.
(I've never seen you before
in my life)
5. Oh yeah! Well, you better get away
from me. Flash has a real temper,
and I might not be there to save
your butt next time.
PETER
I was doing fine.
She reaches out, wipes a bit of blood from his lower lip. Slowly.
She smiles.
In modern scripts the use of slug lines is important because they tell us whether the
scene is an exterior or interior scene where the scene takes place (location) and what
point in time of the day is taken. On this script we have WXT. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY -
DAY from this we can tell that they are outside during the day in front of a University.
Scripts also use Courier font and size wise its 12-single spaced they use courier font
because it is a fix pitch or how other people say it monospaced font, which means that
each character and space is the same width.
However, Courier font is not the best looking but it is very predicable because if the
monospacing makes courier a consistent representation of the one page equals one-
minute rule. If we were to use a proportional font of mixture of spacing would make rule
less accurate.
They are in Manhattan in front of an impressive old building the use descriptive text to
describe to us where the set is taking place. Also giving us the information of how old
the building is and kind of telling us how small they are compared to the building.
Also describing what is around them helps the readers or those that rather read the
script and haven’t yet seen the film helps them realise what’s around them giving
information to the last detail from an old building to a curb is pretty good detail and
helps the people reading realise what’s around them. Yet again the descriptive language
not also shows what’s around them, but it sets a certain mood too as we can see the
script tells us that there is a stressed out teacher thar sets a mood and wants you to
continue reading on to find out why and what could happen next. “They are in
Manhattan in front an impressive old building and the use of the descriptive text to
describe to us where the set is taking place. Also it states about the building it tells us
how old it is and perhaps how small they are to it. This passes the feeling that the
building is massive compare to them which it is but the use of descriptive text makes us
Imagine the scene itself. This is important because it shows where the scene is taking
place in a grand and impressive location. It also makes us sympathies for the characters
because they seem powerless in this scene.
“I need you in the building now” The use if commands in this sentence helps us realise
that there is someone with a higher priority in the scene a teacher I believe but we can
see that she’s only doing her job and that’s to tell the students to go inside t he building.
Bu the use of text passes us the feeling that she has power in the scene which isn’t false
she’s a higher tear than a student which makes her instantly in power and the students
feel powerless ones again.
