The document provides information about screenwriting as a career in the film industry. It discusses that screenwriting is one of the least occupied roles despite every project needing a script. It also discusses the skills needed for screenwriting like proficiency in language and quick writing pace. The document then examines the lack of diversity in the screenwriting industry, showing statistics on the low percentages of female screenwriters. It provides details about acclaimed screenwriter Steven Moffat's background and career. It discusses what inspires the respondent about Moffat's complex storytelling. The document ends with the respondent outlining their 5 year plan to pursue screenwriting, including current studies, potential university courses, needed work experience and skills to develop.

1. Film/TV Industry
Showrunning / Screenwriting

2. Screenwriting
 Being a Screenwriter is one of the least occupied roles in the Film Industry, in terms of
demand, despite every project that ever gets released needing to be penned to some
degree. This is likely due to the fact that people generally only tend to have one big
break if any when it comes to writing, or they write as their full time role but not with the
intention of producing anything standout.
 This job classifies as one of the big 3 in terms of Film Production, with the other two
being Editor and Director (amongst other contenders). Without delving into
screenwriting first and foremost, Tarantino never would’ve gotten a foot in the door for
the world of Directing.
 When it comes to being a screenwriter, a proficiency in your chosen language and
ability to produce work at a quick but stable pace, as well as act upon peer feedback
are some of the most vital skills to possess.

3. Diversity in the Screenwriting Industry
Female Population in UK vs % of Female Screenwriters in UK
Male Female
.
M F
.
M F
In Film
In TV
Source: https://writersguild.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/WGGB-Gender-Inequality-and-Screenwriters-Report.pdf
Levels of Diversity have never been remotely
fair in either American nor British TV or Film
for as far back as they go. The industries
stem from a completely Caucasian Male
system that negates people of different
descriptives’ chances of getting jobs on
occasion. Though I will not have trouble with
this myself and would be happy to do all I
can to work alongside people of all different
diversities, this problem is something that
should always be at the forefront of
conversation, as it harms anyone who
doesn’t fall under an umbrella of privilege.
On the right can be seen a chart displaying
how even women still struggle vastly to gain
any form of a chokehold on the market of
screenwriting that still remains so male
dominated, even to this day when there isn’t
a single sane public body not advocating for
greater representation.

4. Steven Moffat
 Steven William Moffat, known best as the showrunner, screenwriter and executive producer of a large
portion of BBC’s Doctor Who (During Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi’s runs), as well as the same roles for
BBC’s Sherlock and Dracula, was born on the 18th of November 1961 in Paisley, Scotland. The son of a
teacher, Steven initially fell into this line of work himself as an English Teacher, developing TV works in
the spare time between, the first major of which was a teen drama series named Press Gang. However,
Moffat caught his break when he went on to write Chalk in the 1990s, based loosely off his experience
as a teacher and even got the chance to write a comedic sketch episode of Doctor Who (a show which
had been a favourite of his through life) for Comic Relief. Moffat went on to assist Russell T. Davies in
the revival of the series in 2005, writing some of its highest rated episodes ever, including ‘Blink’ and
‘Silence in the Library’, eventually being pitted to succeed Davies who exited the show along with
Tennant’s departure.

5. Steven Moffat
What inspires me the most about Moffat’s writing is his innate
ability to create many convoluted narrative threads that all end up
leading somewhere in their own rights but not just that, they also
end up complimenting each other spectacularly. For example, in
Doctor Who, before Moffat was showrunner, he created the
character of River Song whose whole idea was that our
introduction to her, as well as the Doctor’s introduction to her, was
the last time she saw the Doctor having shared a vast history with
him and every time we see her from then on, she knows less and
less about him while we know more. This premise alone was
something that was incredibly exciting to me but couple it with the
Weeping Angels (an iconic villain that Moffat also invented from
scratch) and you get Angels take Manhattan, an episode with one
of the most immense pay-offs and emotional exits of the long time
companion characters Amy and Rory of whom Moffat also
created. All Moffat’s threads intertwine in ways that make it seem
as though it was all planned from the get go.
Moffat’s scripts can be summarised as complex, intuitive,
damning and bold. Where his scripts miss, it’s sheerly due to him
trying something new that wasn’t entirely effective but never did
any particular episode feel like it was filler or as though it didn’t
contribute to the greater story, as he always had underlying plot
threads or arcs for characters to pursue.

6. Steven Moffat: Monologue Examples
Rings of Akhaten
(The Doctor can hear her voice.)
DOCTOR: Okay, then. That's what I'll do. I'll tell you a story.
[Amphitheatre]
(The crowd joins in with Merry.)
ALL: Please, wake up. And let the cloak of life cling to your bones.
[Outside the Pyramid]
DOCTOR: Can you hear them? All these people who've lived in terror of
you and your judgement? All these people whose ancestors devoted
themselves, sacrificed themselves, to you. Can you hear them singing?
Oh, you like to thing you're a god. But you're not a god. You're just a
parasite eaten out with jealousy and envy and longing for the lives of
others. You feed on them. On the memory of love and loss and birth and
death and joy and sorrow. So, come on, then. Take mine. Take my
memories. But I hope you've got a big appetite, because I have lived a
long life and I have seen a few things.
(Energy tendrils reach out to the Doctor.)
DOCTOR: I walked away from the last Great Time War. I marked the
passing of the Time Lords. I saw the birth of the universe and I watched
as time ran out, moment by moment, until nothing remained. No time.
No space. Just me. I walked in universes where the laws of physics were
devised by the mind of a mad man. I've watched universes freeze and
creations burn. I've seen things you wouldn't believe. I have lost things
you will never understand. And I know things. Secrets that must never
be told. Knowledge that must never be spoken. Knowledge that will
make parasite gods blaze. So come on, then. Take it! Take it all, baby!
Have it! You have it all!
(The face on the sun rolls in on itself and releases the Doctor.)
The Zygon Inversion
The Doctor: Because it's not a game, Kate. This is a scale model of war.
Every war ever fought right there in front of you. Because it's always the
same. When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have
no idea who's going to die. You don't know who's children are going to
scream and burn. How many hearts will be broken! How many lives
shattered! How much blood will spill until everybody does what they're
always going to have to do from the very beginning -- sit down and talk!
Listen to me, listen. I just -- I just want you to think. Do you know what
thinking is? It's just a fancy word for changing your mind.
Bonnie: I will not change my mind.
The Doctor: Then you will die stupid. Alternatively, you could step away
from that box. You could walk right out of that door, and you could stand
your revolution down.
Bonnie: No, I'm not stopping this, Doctor. I started it. I will not stop it. You
think they'll let me go after what I've done?
The Doctor: You're all the same, you screaming kids, you know that? "Look
at me, I'm unforgivable." Well here's the unforeseeable, I forgive you. After
all you've done. I forgive you.
Bonnie: You don't understand. You will never understand.
The Doctor: I don't understand? Are you kidding? Me? Of course I
understand. I mean, do you call this a war, this funny little thing? This is not
a war. I fought in a bigger war than you will ever know. I did worse things
than you could ever imagine, and when I close my eyes... I hear more
screams than anyone could ever be able to count! And do you know what
you do with all that pain? Shall I tell you where you put it? You hold it
tight... Til it burns your hand. And you say this -- no one else will ever have
to live like this. No one else will ever have to feel this pain. Not on my
watch.

8. 5 Year Plan
 What are you currently doing to pursue a career in your chosen field?
At current, I am studying creative media production in the hopes that it will prepare me
better with some of the technical skills that I require to go forward into the industry. I am
also attempting to create my own projects outside of College time, including several
different script ideas that I continue to experiment with to build my abilities in screenwriting
specifically.
 What do you plan to do next in the pursuit of your chosen field?
In future, I intend to study Film and Television Production at University and use my time
there to specialise in Screenwriting and adapt my abilities further. I also intend to use the
upcoming FMP this year to write at least a segment of a video production in screenplay
format to experiment with the medium before I reach University.

9. 5 Year Plan
 Select at least three potential University courses that would help you further your career aims. You should
state what the course is, which university it is run by, the entry requirements and why you think it would help
you.
Film Production and Professional Practice – York College University Centre – Surpassed
This course would be especially beneficial to me as it would give me the experience I need hands on with
equipment, expertise of the tutors and plenty of time with the practical side of filmmaking as opposed to a more
Film Studies based course which wouldn’t prepare me as well for going into the industry. The amount of contacts
built and different trainings provided by this course make it one of my best current options, if I want to have a lot
of unique attributes to bring to any future interviews.
Film and Television Production – York St. John University – Surpassed
This course would provide me with a solid basis to begin in the industry. Same as before, it would provide me
with contacts, time on set and the means to build my own skills in whichever specification I so choose after
having time to explore all. It would also aid me in that it would be a fresh academic start at a University
renowned for being a pleasant environment to study in and practise for my future aspirations.
Creative Writing and Film Studies – University of Hull – Surpassed
This course would be useful to me as it is more focused on the creative writing side of filmmaking and therefore
isn’t to out of focus from what I would most like to be doing in the industry. It would also give me a more focused
environment in the way that all the people I work alongside would be working towards similar goals and be able
to aid one another better than a more wide spectrum university’s students may be able to.

10. 5 Year Plan
 What type of work experience do you think you would need to help you in your future
career? How might you be able to find work experience placements? If you could pick
anywhere to do work experience, where would it be and why?
For me, the best sort of work experience to go for is going to be in general filmmaking.
Screenwriting work experience is very scarce and therefore, any work experience relevant to
the sector would be massively helpful. Being able to perform as a runner, extra or even just a
spectator on any projects would be of massive aid to me. I will be able to come across plenty
of projects that need people for these roles through advertisements on social media and the
sort but also by putting myself out there on an app like Star Now. The main way I believe I’ll be
able to get experience however is by working closely with contacts of mine at the University of
York who are studying Masters and are often looking for help on their University projects.
Anything adds to the portfolio and even just being around people with the common goal of
breaking into the industry can give me insight into some of their best methods of doing so that
I’ll be able to take away with me and construct my own projects with the added knowledge of.

11. 5 Year Plan
 What specific skills do you need to develop? There should be a mix of industry specific
skills and also personal development points. When you identify these, come up with
suggestions as to how you might make those improvements.
Skills I need to improve upon, industry-wise, are definitely my abilities with more realistic
equipment for what is used in the industry today, as well as my ability to take compelling shots
and formulate balanced, appealing cinematography. I can do this by making this one of my
primary focuses for improvement around University time, as well as possibly investing in better
personal equipment to practise in my own time. I can also research into pre-existent
cinematographers or stylistic directors to see what makes their movies so visually appealing in
the hopes that I can draw from them and not end up with productions of my own where that
part of my project sticks out like a sore thumb.
In terms of general skills, I need to better my time management and ability to get larger
portions of work done during a set period designated to work. For this, I just need to cut
distractions from my temptation and find what methods work best for others that I may be able
to use myself to be more efficient at spacing my work out so that it doesn’t have to be
complete in bursts.

12. 5 Year Plan
 In 5 years time I will…
be 24 years old and still grooving. I will hopefully have figured out my next step after Uni
and be moved on from my current job at Sainsburys by then, if not working towards a
separate job that’s more industry focused. I would hope to have a great portfolio of short
films and the sort that I am still building upon, with some idea of what I will be working
towards 5 years from that point.