Roles and Responsibilities of a Writer

 

Roles and Responsibilities of a Writer:

Roles/responsibilities:

-          Screenwriters prepare the script in the way that enables readers to envisage the setting, emotion and the way it will work on screen. They collaborate with producers, directors and actors to draft and redraft their script. Often working tight deadlines. Screenwriters are almost always freelancers.

Skills: What does a writer need to be good at?

-          A skilled and effective writer needs to pay attention to detail, they are observers who should always take mental notes and noting subtle changes around them. They must have the passion to write, you cannot truly be a writer if you do not feel passionate about it or enjoy it. Patience is key when having a career in screenwriting, although television is not as flexible as film where they are flexible with the process. A screen play will not write itself. It may take a long amount of time to add the correct amount of detail to finalise it, which is why they use drafting.

How to get into the industry:

-          You could explore the different ways to get into screenwriting. You can get into this job through a college course, a university course, applying directly or by trying specialist courses run by private training providers. You should aim to get as much experience as you can, from reading other peoples and practising writing your own scripts. Alongside your studies.

Case Studies:

-          Quentin Tarantino: Quentin Tarantino is known for writing drafts of his screenplays in longhand and not outlining plot twists, setups and payoffs. But the writer-director has his own method of dramatic structure: He’s used the script of one of his films to guide him as far as the length and dramatic flow of another. Earlier in his career, Tarantino would ask someone to type his longhand scripts into proper format. But by the time of this podcast, he said he felt like he was skipping an important step in his writing process. So, he’d type his script himself on a Smith-Corona word processor from the 1980s (a typewriter-computer hybrid), then print out the work so far in addition to saving it on disk. It gave him a sense of accomplishment, reassured him he wouldn’t lose his progress, and helped him rewrite and edit. https://screencraft.org/2019/07/22/timeless-screenwriting-wisdom-from-quentin-tarantino

William Goldman: Goldman began to write when he took a creative-writing course in college, according to his memoir Adventures in the Screen Trade (1983). His grades in the class were "horrible". He was an editor of Oberlin's literary magazine, and he would submit short stories to the magazine anonymously; he recalls that the other editors read his submissions and remarked, "We can't possibly publish this shit." He did not originally intend to become a screenwriter. His main interests were poetry, short stories, and novels. In 1956, he completed a master's thesis at Columbia University on the comedy of manners in America.

Cliff Robertson read an early draft of No Way to Treat a Lady and hired Goldman to adapt the short story Flowers for Algernon for the movies. Before he had even finished the script, Robertson recommended him to do some rewriting on the spy spoof Masquerade (1965), in which Robertson was starring. Goldman did that, then finished the Algernon script. Robertson disliked it, though, and hired Stirling Silliphant, instead, to work on what became Charly (1968).

Producer Elliot Kastner had optioned the film rights to Boys and Girls Together. Goldman suggested that Kastner make a film of the Lew Archer novels of Ross Macdonald and offered to do an adaptation. Kastner agreed, and Goldman chose The Moving Target. The result was Harper (1966) starring Paul Newman, which was a big hit.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Goldman

Roles and Responsibilities of a Producer:

The Role: Producers are at the financial, practical and creative heart of a film or TV drama. They decide on the scale and budget of the film and source financing from investors, studios and distributors. They work with creative ideas from the director and approve production costs. https://www.screenskills.com

Skills needed: Producers look after the business side of television, film, or video production. They organise people and resources involved in marketing and distribution in the tv and film industry. They work closely with directors and production staff to make sure everything runs smoothly, within budget, and on time. Day-to-day operations include:

· researching new ideas for projects

· discussing and agreeing projects with financial backers, and managing and monitoring budgets

· assessing scripts

· organising film shoots and schedules, and checking and approving locations

· recruiting support staff and technical teams, including the director and camera crew

· holding regular meetings to discuss characters and schemes involved in the project

· ensuring compliance, such as with health and safety and copyright laws

· negotiating marketing and distribution with TV broadcasters

https://www.ucas.com/ucas/after-gcses/find-career-ideas/explore-jobs/job-profile/televisionfilm-producer.

How to become a Producer: Producers complete the education required and spend time learning directly from the industry. Producers may start in roles such as actor or director before becoming producers. Here are the steps to begin a career as a producer:
Earn a degree.
Intern with a studio or network.
Gain experience in the industry.
Know industry trends.

Commissioning bodies – Summary

·         List five ways a script can go into production:

-          There are various ways a script can go into production, for example:

-          Winning a feature script competition, e.g. the winners for the Best family feature screen play for the 20/21 competition were Ivy Vale and Rick Reil with their script ‘’Out of my comfort zone’’. https://www.ukfilmfestival.com/2021/03/24/the-winners-of-the-ukff-feature-script-competition-20-21-have-been-chosen/.

What are screenplay options?

A screenplay option is contracted permission that gives interested party’s exclusive development and shopping rights to your screenplay. It's the step before the actual acquisition of your script. Producers and development executives utilize option agreements to attain the sole rights to represent the screenplay, package it, and attempt to secure distribution sales and the necessary budget to get the screenplay produced. They attain those rights by having the screenwriter(s) sign a contract that stipulates that the screenplay will not be shopped or packaged independently outside of the signatory party — a producer, development executives, production company, or studio. Screenplay options usually offer the writer a fee to take their screenplay off the market — but that fee (if any) varies.

How much money is offered to a screenwriter?

Back in the screenwriting boom of the 1990s and early 2000s, screenwriting options were offered by major studios, producers, and production companies on a regular basis — usually for good money. While some higher-tier (major studios) screenplay options offered screenwriters or authors of novels upwards of $25,000, most fell within the three-tier amounts of $2500, $5000, or $10000. Keep in mind that option fees are just the initial payment to keep the screenplay off the market.

What is a Shooting Script? And how do you create one?

A shooting script is the version of a screenplay used during the production of a motion picture or a television show. Shooting scripts are different from spec screenplays. They incorporate scene numbers and follow a well-defined set of procedures that specify how revisions to the screenplay are implemented and circulated among cast and crew.

- The shooting script is usually created by the director and cinematographer. But on smaller productions or television shows the screenwriter might be involved as well, especially if they are generating new pages during production.

Who uses the shooting script?

- The director and cinematographer sit with this document and discuss their ideas and shot plan desired for the movie. They line these scripts so that they know what kinds of camera angles and movement they want in each scene. The shooting script is then broken into shots, featuring cinematography jargon such as close-ups, medium shots, and wide shots.

- The cast gets sent the pages on script sides so they know what's being shot that day. Those sides are prepared by the production or by the Writers' Production Assistant or Assistant. All changes to the script should be marked with asterisks and written in revisions mode.
When is a shooting script made?

- After a spec script is purchased, the director and cast are attached. Then the movie goes into pre-production. In television, episodes are sent to the network, given notes, rewritten, and approved. Then the scene numbers are added so they can break each down individually.

The 5 Stages of Blocking a Scene:

Every film shoot is divided into five parts:

1. Block – determining where the actors will be on the set and the first camera position

2. Light – time for the DOP to light the set and position the camera for the first shot

3. Rehearse – camera rehearsal of the first set-up with the actors and crew

4. Adjustments – making lighting and other adjustments

5. Shoot – shooting the first scene (then repeat the process)

Blocking a scene is simply “working out the details of an actor’s moves in relation to the camera.” You can also think of blocking as the choreography of a dance or a ballet: all the elements on the set (actors, extras, vehicles, crew, equipment) should move in perfect harmony with each other.

How to get a Screenwriting Agent:

- Many writers hope an agent will find them work, while others are used to forging their own relationships and relying on their agents to write up and handle the contracts. The truth is a good agent will open doors for you, get you in the right rooms and negotiate on your behalf, but you still must do a heck of a lot of work to be ready when that call comes.

Who to approach?

-          This is as personal as any decision you’re ever going to make. Many writers prefer to be repped by a large company with agents working across talent and media. Where actors and writers and directors can be floated around at the water-cooler and beautiful relationships forged, from being in the right place at the other time. Others vastly prefer a boutique service from a smaller company that has more time to dedicate to their select client list – being frequently available for chats, updates, sometimes even edits of work. There are benefits to both, so it’s time to start doing your research.

-          In terms of chemistry, you won’t know until you have a meeting, but getting on with your screenwriting agent is important. You need to be able to trust them, but also, you must imagine trusting them to represent your interests out there in the world. Take a moment to think about the kind of writer you are, but also the kind of person you are.

-          Are you confident, experienced, happy to walk into a room, shake hands and start selling your scripts? If so, an agent who complements you will be able to get you meetings, leave you to it and handle the details. If you’re great in front of a keyboard, but not so confident with networking, is an agent with a strong personality going to complement you and represent you and your work, or might they overwhelm you a little. Be honest about yourself, be mindful and try and enjoy this matchmaking part of the process. This could end up in a lifelong relationship, think Olivia Coleman at the Oscars, thanking her agent of 25 years.

If one screenwriting agent is interested in your work, then there will be others. Be calm, reflexive and take time to think and talk over your decision with your Screenwriter Coach or writer friends. Don’t agree to anything at a first meeting, instead try to arrange further meetings with other agents, see who’s out there and find the perfect fit. Yes, this means playing the field. The biggest ‘what not to do’ seems obvious, but don’t approach agents who just don’t rep what you’re selling. If you want to work in TV, then you should contact TV agents, not film agents (or someone who does both). Think seriously about who you really want to work with and aim high. Do exhaustive research of which agents rep those writers you absolutely love.

When to Approach?

- Which brings us to the ‘when’. If your timing is right, you’ll be much more likely to receive a positive response. If you have a Script Angel coach or a mentor, they will really be able to help with the when of things; when is your brilliant spec polished, but not overworked? If you’ve already had a couple of shorts made and they show your work in a good light, then think how much more likely a screenwriting agent is to watch a short than read a feature script. A reel is a great thing to have.

- If you’ve already made a firm agreement towards a collaboration and having something made, this again will stand you in good stead. If you have what you believe to be a truly winning script, make sure that when they ask what else they can see, that you have a second great script in your arsenal, to send through. Get all these ducks in a row and you might get some interest.

- If something you’ve written has awards, you’re incrementally more likely to strike gold, depending on how highly the award is valued. When a film poster is littered with laurel wreaths, unsurprisingly those writers are quick to get snapped-up and moved-on in their careers.

- A brilliant script will get you a screenwriting agent, but it might not even be read by the kind of agent you really want until you’re further along in your career. Less-established agents might take you on based on reading your script after a meeting at one of the festivals. But unless you really need an agent at that point, don’t feel like you must accept your first offer. There are good agents, and there are agents with good clients. There are some screenwriting agents who take on clients who aren’t yet ready and then push them hard, which doesn’t engender good feelings towards that agent or you as their client. As always, do your research, try and make the decision with your business-head on rather than from the excitement of being repped.


 Legal and ethical considerations:

What is copyright? And how does it impact screenwriters?

Copyright is one of the main types of intellectual property. It allows the copyright owner to protect against others copying or reproducing their work.

Intellectual property gives a person ownership over the things they create, the same way as something physical can be owned. The main legislation dealing with copyright in the United Kingdom is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.

Copyright arises automatically when a work that qualifies for protection is created. The work must be original, meaning it needs to originate with the author, who will have used some judgement or skill in its creation.

The main works currently protected by copyright in the UK include:

· Original literary works (such as novels, poems, tables, lists, and computer programmes)

· Original dramatic works

· Original musical works (i.e. the musical notes themselves)

· Original artistic works

· Sound recordings

· Films

· Broadcasts

· Typographical arrangements (i.e. the layout or actual appearance) of published editions.


What is plagiarism? - Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work or borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense:

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, to "plagiarize" means:
to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own
to use (another's production) without crediting the source
to commit literary theft
to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and lying about it afterward. But can words and ideas really be stolen?

What is Bias? And is it ok for screenwriters to be biased?  

Well-drawn characters in storytelling are defined by four key components – their goal, their motivation, their obstacles, and the consequences of achieving (or not achieving) their said goal. These are the basis of the plot in your screenplay. However, good screenplays are defined by layered, complex characters more than the storyline. For screenwriters, complexity means adding positive and negative traits to your characters to make them feel more human. Even deeper, dissecting how your characters think makes them even more satisfying. That's where cognitive bias comes into play. Character enhancement adds layers to your characters to make them more individual, specific, and engaging. Their actions are mainly influenced by their environment, their backgrounds, and belief systems. 

These are often apparent on a superficial level. For instance, a character who was raised in an abusive household may, in turn, become an abuser or more empathetic. We try to establish a simple cause and effect relationship to help readers better understand what is driving the behaviour and choices. But we all know that humans aren’t always that predictable. On a richer, more nuanced level, characters have inbuilt biases – either conscious or subconscious which distort their thinking and shape their choices and decisions. A bias can be subtle or overt, positive or negative. Bias is an inclination, tendency, leaning, preference, or opinion that is based on preconceived or poorly reasoned thinking. It is based more on our life experiences (learned, hence the terms cognitive) and preferences than objective fact. Some academics argue that cognitive biases are a rapid sorting system to ensure our survival.

(https://www.creativescreenwriting.com/how-to-use-cognitive-bias-to-layer-your-characters, June 3rd, 2020. By Staff Writer.)

What is libel and defamation? And why is it important for screenwriters to be aware of it?

The terms libel, slander, and defamation are frequently confused with each other. They are all similar in that they all fall into the same general area of law that concerns false statements which harm a person’s reputation. This general area of law is called defamation law. Libel and slander are types of defamatory statements. Libel is a defamatory statement that is written. Slander is a defamatory statement that is oral. At common law, libel and slander were analysed under different sets of standards, with libel recognized as the more serious wrong. Illinois law evolved, however, and rejected this bifurcated approach in favour of a single set of rules for slander and libel. Libel and slander are now treated alike, and the same rules apply to a defamatory statement regardless of whether the statement is written or oral.