WORKING ON A FEATURE FILM:

Working on a feature can take years of your life. Some scripts are developed ten years before they actually see the big screen. Are you ready to make that commitment with your content? How passionate are you about the story you are telling? If you are not passionate, then you should not be telling that story.

Working on content is a collaborative effort. You must always be open to feedback, good and not so good. The most successful screenwriters are the ones who can receive feedback and use that feedback to create a stronger script. Once you become a professional, you will receive feedback from EVERYONE. The producers. The studio. The director. The actors. Your manager. Your agent. They WANT your script to be the strongest it can be.

One of the largest challenges that face novice screenwriters is the ability to give and receive feedback. There is a craft to giving feedback and a craft to receiving feedback.

Let’s say you’ve just completed the first draft of a screenplay and you’re ready to walk on-stage to accept your Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.

First, it’s GREAT that you’re visualizing winning an Oscar! One day you will and please remember to thank your Dramatic Writing high school teacher!

Second, not even the best screenwriters in Hollywood get their first drafts made.

Let’s review what we need to have a strong first draft:

1) Premise (logline) 2) Treatment 3) Setup, Conflict, Resolution (3 Act Structure) 4) Screenwriting Software 5) Proper Screenwriting Format 6) Originality After you have completed your first draft, be VERY proud. Celebrate. You wrote your first script!

Then, throw it in the trash.

Then, write another screenplay.

Once you’ve gotten to the point that you are ready for feedback on your screenplay, here’s some options:

1) Have someone knowledgeable about screenwriting (not your parents) read your script and give you notes. 2) Submit your script to a screenplay competition and pay to receive feedback. 3) Pay for script coverage. 4) Get your friends together and read the script aloud! Give your friends character roles. Talk about the script after your finish reading the script aloud. Hearing your work read aloud will teach you a lot about your story. This is totally FREE and totally worth it!

By the time you receive feedback, you may not be as passionate for that story as you were when you first began. That’s okay. There are millions of stories out there for you. A professional screenwriter has written many scripts (most never get produced). Remember, you are a writer. And writers write. Write on!

HOW DO YOU GIVE FEEDBACK?

Giving feedback is equally as important as receiving feedback. Saying “I hated it” or “your screenplay was the worst thing I’ve ever read” DOES NOT work in the creative world.

Here are some tips to help you give feedback. The goal of feedback is to HELP the screenwriter create stronger content. Remember, this is NOT your story, it’s someone else’s. DO NOT MAKE THE NOTES ABOUT YOU.

• Did you enjoy the screenplay? If so, let the writer know. If not, give the writer positive affirmation about what you did like in the script. Was it the world? Characters? Dialogue? Make sure you start giving feedback on a POSITIVE. • Compartmentalize your notes on a MACRO and MICRO level. • MACRO: Was there an overall feeling you got from the script? How was the tone, genre and story? Did the premise clearly define the script? Did you understand the story? If not, why? When were you engaged in the script? When did you lose interest? How was Act 1? Act 2? Act 3? Was there a clear setup? Conflict? Resolution? • MICRO: Inside the screenplay, did you see hopes and dreams? Motivation of characters? Action? Was there anything with the dialogue that you noticed? Did you notice any formatting, spelling and grammar issue? Make note of those for the screenwriter. Again, give the screenwriter some of your favorite moments in the script and a few moments that could use some work. • Find any creative solutions that could help the screenwriter with his/her next draft. • Thank the screenwriter for allowing you to read his/her script. End your notes on another POSITIVE.

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CONGRATULATIONS, your script gets interest from a producer. Now what?

If a producer is interested in working with you, you will meet with them. You will talk through his/her notes. Often, the producer will have vastly different notes than your screenwriting partners. That producer wants to sell the script and get the project made, so they are already expecting you to have the screenwriting chops to take their notes and make the script stronger. If it’s a good fit, you will “option” your script to that producer for a period of time. Some options have a monetary value attached. Most options, especially for first-time screenwriters, have no money attached. The opportunity is the value attached for a first-time screenwriter. Here is a short breakdown of what it would look like to work with a producer (this process is the same for a manager or a director):

• Producer reads your script. • Producer reaches out. Expresses interest in a specific script. Due your due diligence on the producer. See what they have worked on. Make sure they are legitimate. Most times, if you do not have an agent or manager, solid producers find your work from a recommendation or a legitimate screenwriting contest. • If you are interested, you meet with the producer. Bring paper and a pen because they will have plenty of notes. First, they will want to get to know you better to see if they can work with you and it’s a good fit. You are doing the same. They will definitely ask you about the script they are interested in producing. Since you took the Dramatic Writing class in High School, you knew to write a story that is personal. You will share your personal story to the material and they will be like, “wow”, this screenwriter is amazing. Then, you will discuss the script. Take notes. They will have plenty of notes. Ideas will bounce back and forth. Don’t be scared to ask questions. Hopefully, at the end of the meeting, you both will want to work with each other. If it’s a go, then… • You will either sign an agreement before working with that producer or you will develop the content with the producer without an agreement. If you aren’t receiving any money up front, most often it’s a gentleman’s handshake and you both understand that you’re in a working relationship with each other. If you are a first-time screenwriter, don’t get paranoid that the producer is going to steal your work. Make sure your screenplay is registered with the WGA or the screenplay is copyrighted with the U.S. Copyright Office. • They will expect you to incorporate their notes into your next draft. You will write another draft and send to them for review. • They will send more notes. You will work on another draft. • This process will go on and on, until: • They are happy and want you to do one final “pass” or “polish” on the script before they take it “out”. • They are unhappy and cease the relationship. • If they cease the relationship, DO NOT think you are the only screenwriter who has ever been in these shoes. Every working screenwriter has been fired, let go or removed from a project. It’s okay. It’s part of the business. • If they are going to take it “out”, then congratulations.

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Congratulations! Your screenplay has been greenlit for production.

A SHOOTING SCRIPT will be different than a spec script.

A shooting script will have to be complimentary for EVERY DEPARTMENT to complete their job correctly. In a shooting script, the Director could include CAMERA DIRECTION. A spec script is written by a writer, not a director. If you are not directing your spec script, including Camera Directions in your spec is dangerous. You, the screenwriter, are telling the director how to direct. The spec script should be a written blueprint, not a directorial vision. (Footnote: Some screenwriters can get away with adding camera direction. They are professionals.)

In a shooting script, ALL props will be CAPITALIZED.

In a shooting script, ALL scenes will be NUMBERED so DEPARTMENTS can break down the script. Scenes will simply become numbers.

In a shooting script, LOCATIONS and ACTIONS will adhere to the physical locations that have been locked. Meaning, you WILL NOT trade INT. BECKY’S APARTMENT – DAY for INT. ATLANTA STACKS LOFTS – DAY but The action could change to the specificity of the actual location.

INT. BECKY’S APARTMENT – DAY Becky escapes her captors. She runs down the hallway. She opens the trash shoot and jumps in.

INT. BECKY’S APARTMENT – DAY Becky escapes her captors. She runs down the hallway. She hops out of a fire escape window.

------Congratulations, you are now in production and they invited the screenwriter to set! Wow. That’s a big deal.

1) Know your place: You ARE NOT the director. If an actor asks you about the script, politely defer to the director or get the director involved in the conversation. Film is the DIRECTOR’S MEDIUM. The Director runs the show. If you want to run the show, get into TV. 2) You could be asked to rewrite scenes based on a schedule or location conflict. Every strong screenwriter finds a solution to the problem. 3) The script supervisor is there to facilitate the script. If production is going off-book or changing what has been written, it is the job of the script supervisor to notify the director… not you, the screenwriter. 4) Film is a massive, collaborative endeavor. Changes will always be made. The machine will always be moving. Enjoy your time on-set and do not try to do anyone’s job. Your job is COMPLETE. Enjoy.