Research Dossier

Research Dossier: 1: Submission of work First UK based screenwriting competition: Feature script competition 2022. The closing date for submissions is 28 January 2022 but is earlier (October 2021) on our UK Film Festival London Filmfreeway site which is mainly for film submission but also has a script competition submission category. Terms and Conditions: • There is an administration and reading fee of £60. • All entries should be in English. • I submitted online (i.e., through Filmfreeway.com or by email) the file should be named as the title of your film. • All scripts must be original screenplays, for the applicant(s) holds the copyright. Where the screenplay is based upon another piece of work it is the responsibility of the screenplay writer to obtain written permission/copyright clearances from the original author or publisher. • The judges reserve the right not to enter any correspondence after the announcement of the winner. Second UK based screenwriting competition: BBC writersroom: Drama room. Rather than accepting scripts year-round, we have distinct submission windows for scripts which are announced on the BBC Writersroom Opportunities page during the year. Each Open Call has a deadline, following which the scripts received are assessed intensively by our script readers and the BBC Writersroom team, and a shortlist drawn up. We then offer various opportunities for the shortlisted group of writers including our Drama Room and Voices development groups. What do they look for? We are especially looking for distinctive voices - and scripts that express those voices. We do not look for more of the same – we look for the writer’s ability to pull an audience into a world and hold them in it. It’s not necessarily about finding precincts or situations that have ‘never been done before’ but having an original take on stories that have the potential to have wide breadth of appeal. We are looking for characters who are well rounded and consistent and who drive the narrative rather than serve it. We are looking for a sense of storytelling ability - handling of pace, climax, mood. What should you Submit? In our Open Call we accept Drama or Comedy/Drama scripts written for Film, TV, Radio, Stage or Online including for Children. Your script should be a minimum of 30 pages long (excluding title/character pages), which is a fair length of time to assess a writer's work (it's extremely hard to judge a writer's abilities with a view to BBC broadcast slots if their work is shorter than this). If your script is equivalent to at least 30 minutes in length, we will consider it. The minute-to-a-page measure of classic screenplay format is a useful rule-of-thumb but isn't a cast iron formula as it ultimately depends on the style of the piece. A half-hour drama or comedy/drama would come in between 30 and 35 pages, an hour-long drama between 50-70 pages, and a feature film between 70-120 pages. • Your script should be saved as a single PDF document of no more than 10MB in size, with your name removed from the document. • If you are writing your script using Final Draft and do not know how to remove your name and contact details from your script, please refer to Final Draft’s own trouble shooter. • If you are using Microsoft word processing and do not know how to save your file a PDF, please refer to Office Support. (All software will come with its own user guidelines. They cannot offer technical support for third party software). Please remember to remove your name and contact details from every page of your script. All scripts will be read “blind” i.e., without a name attached, until after the full-read stage. What do we not accept? • Submissions by email or post – when our Open Call is open for submissions, we can only accept scripts online via our E-Submissions system. Normally only under exceptional circumstances, first discussed with a member of the BBC Writersroom team, will we accept postal submissions. • PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO COVID RESTRICTIONS NO POSTAL SUBMISSIONS ARE POSSIBLE AT THE MOMENT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. • Scripts previously submitted to the old BBC Writersroom unsolicited system or previous BBC Writersroom Script Room submission windows. This also includes: - Resubmissions of work previously considered, even after rewrites – make sure you make your script as good as you possibly can before sending it to us. - Further episodes of a series or serial if we have read or given feedback on a previous episode. • Multiple submissions at one time. We can only accept one script from each writer/writing team in each submission window. • Ideas, pitches, outlines, synopses, or treatments on their own – we must always receive a script with every submission. Samples or extracts from scripts are not eligible either. We want to see a full script or episode. • DVDs, videos, CDs, audio tapes, or any video/audio material accompanying, or instead of, a script. • Scripts written for existing or previously produced shows/characters – we only want to see your original work. Find out more about the BBC Studios Writers Academy if you are interested in writing for one of the BBC's Continuing Dramas. • Scripts from writers under the age of 18. • Scripts written in languages other than English. • Scripts from overseas – we are looking for writers with whom the BBC can develop a strong working relationship and who have something to say that will appeal to British audiences. You may be a non-British-born writer, but you must be resident in the UK or Republic of Ireland. If you are currently living overseas, only consider submitting your script when you return to the UK or Republic of Ireland. Submission dates: The Open Call window for DRAMA and COMEDY DRAMA scripts was open from Thursday 9th December 2021 at noon to Thursday 13th January 2022 at noon. The next submission window is likely to be at the end of 2022. Dates will be announced here and on our social media. 

2. Background material (for concept/ideas generation) This is the evidence for my screenplay preparation. We spent the lesson looking through key screenplay format, we annotated these sheets. We highlighted the key information that is important, this will help me to structure my screenplay accurately. Identify a variety of sources from which you could seek inspiration for a story if you were a writer preparing to produce a screenplay or script: There are a variety of things you could use as inspiration for writing a screenplay/script. Immersing yourself in a subject can be useful for finding that inspiration, researching is a fundamental part of a screenwriter’s job. Writing about what you already know, many of Spike Lee’s earliest feature films were inspired by his personal experiences. The Netflix series She’s Gotta Have It originated from conversations he and his friends had about women. The movie franchise the pirates of a Caribbean originated from the theme park attraction which also has the same name. Which opened at Disneyland in 1967 and was one of the last Disneyland rides over seen by Walt Disney. Jay Wolpert developed a script in 2001 and Stuart Beattle rewrote it in early 2002. Here is an example of the first draft screenplay that was written for the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie: This screen play has a different ending compared to the movie, there is a dynamic change between the way the scenes are filmed because the character Will Turner develops a change in his actions in the movie than in this scene of the screenplay.

 3. Research (for an idea, once conceived) When creating or gathering a script it is important to have primary sources, primary sources are documents or evidence of original records by someone first-hand. Examples of a primary source are letters, newspapers or diaries etc. so for example, the famous film The Titanic which was directed by James Cameron would have used various primary sources. The film is based upon a tragic historical event that happened in the early 20th century, so that means that letters, newspapers and articles from the event itself would be the most logical answer. When I was writing my own screenplay, I also had to explore various primary sources. Although I think that I have mainly used secondary sources other than primary because I used the internet to research the film that inspired me to write the screenplay. However, using primary sources such as newspapers or articles is useful because they include lots of detail. They are also accurate because they were written by someone who had the first-hand experience. Furthermore, it is important to have secondary sources for a script. Secondary sources summarize information from other sources, so the internet for example, articles or textbooks. There are hundreds of articles on the internet about various topics which have been made by researchers. For future screenplays, I will use primary sources to create a script with as well as secondary. link to article: https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/scream-recap-killers-plots-most-memorable-deaths/. 

 4. Prepare Material (for your own idea, once conceived) Primary sources have lots of advantages, they help students develop knowledge, skills and analytical abilities when dealing directly with them. It can help to engage in asking questions as well as thinking critically and making intelligent inferences. They are helpfully with coming up with reasoned explanations and interpretations which have come from those specific events either from the past or the present. Although its disadvantage is that it can be very time consuming. For example, because of the detail and process involved in most events. It can sometimes require months or even years to research. Furthermore, secondary sources also have lots of advantages, they are there to provide a variety of expert perspectives and insights on a specific event or topic. Peer review usually ensures the quality of sources such as articles. Therefore, researching secondary sources is more efficient than planning, conducting and analysing certain forms of primary research. Although a major disadvantage is that the researcher may have difficulty obtaining information specific to his or her needs, additionally. Existing data may not have the currency necessary to be useful to them. The most useful information I have come across when developing my script has been articles, I have found online about the plot of the scream franchise so I could get an idea of how a stereotypical slasher movie was structured. Which was beneficial because it gave me various ideas towards my script. Fortunately, I managed to find all the information I needed I didn’t come across any that wasn’t at all useful to me.