How to Say No To Free Work - Screenwriting Tips
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- čas přidán 13. 06. 2019
- We drill down into Freewrites, Prewrites, speccing WHOLE SCRIPTS for free...and The $1 Dollar Option, which in my opinion, should never be an option.
#saynotospec #nomore4free
Who is SCRIPTFELLA?
I'm a seasoned screenwriter, story consultant and film lecturer. I've been optioned or commissioned by over 30 US and UK studios and production companies including: Universal Studios, Working Title, Bold Films, Scott Free, BBC and ITV. Recent produced credits include the award-winning motion picture Act of Defiance (2017) and the not-so-award winning Hard Target 2 (2016)...
If you're a screenwriter or brand, and you'd like me to help you tell YOUR story, email me on scriptfella@gmail.com and let's have a no-obligation chat.
Alternatively, contact my manager Jon Kanak at Activist Artists.
#IStandWithTheWGA
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#wgasolidaritychallenge
#Screenwriting Tutorial - Krátké a kreslené filmy
I loved this. This channel definitely deserves more subs and the production value is great. Keep it up!
Nice one, mate, thanks!
What can I say that hasn't been said by the other viewers- Just brilliant advice!
I agreed to write a full script AND the second version of it for free just because I was told this was the way into the big H. Long story short: the film didn’t get anywhere near being made AND I can’t try to sell it because I got screwed big time and I don’t even own my script. Never got near any “serious” Hollywood project since then, but I swore to myself if such “opportunity” were to present itself again, I’d write nothing for free for a third party. I’ll only write for free what I’m going to produce and direct myself.
Hi Cedric - sorry to hear about your experience, which is textbook Sweat Equity at its worst. But you've nailed your best practice strategy "I’d write nothing for free for a third party. I’ll only write for free what I’m going to produce and direct myself. " Couldn't have put it better.
Dude, that was awesome! And super useful as always.
Hey Kelly, thanks for dropping by again, glad you found the vid useful.
Love getting the real take on Hollywood business from you. Your lessons are pure common sense, but it's amazing how common sense goes out the window when the potential for screenwriting success is mentioned.
Cheers Scriptease - I just subbed to your channel, great stuff!
+Scriptfella - Love your videos. Binged watched in one sitting. Hope you keep putting them out. I'll make sure to share, share, share.
Top man, Trevor Prime, I'm glad my vids are hitting the target for you!
i am so glad i found this, giving away such experience a real big deal !
Thanks for taking the time to make and post these videos.
It's a pleasure, Bob. And thank you for the shoutout.
thank you for this. subscribed immediately.
Nice one, Turner, thanks for the sub support.
Very good, thank you
Great video! Subscribed!
Thanks C10, welcome aboard.
Congrats for another great video!
Thanks Haidji, it's good to be back!
lol your lighting is all over the place. dang clouds
And then some, mate. Give me a nice cloudy day - which is what this shoot started with - and I'm a happy boy.
My first and only job was scenario 2 with an indie Dutch producer. (still waiting for the movie to get made) I have a similar meeting coming up with a different producer and was really nervous about getting screwedish again until I found this channel
Happy hunting, keep them honest.
Super interesting. I've heard of this but never this deep.
Cheers Khadeem. Hope all is well.
🎉🎉🎉
Just subscribed - thanks for all the great videos! Would it be realistic for an unknown writer to ask for an option payment if some indie producer were interested in his work? And what would be a reasonable fee? Thanks in advance!
Hi Chorophylax - it's not unreasonable AT ALL to ask for payment for an option.If it's good enough for them to want to develop it, it clearly has value. However it can be tough to extract a payment - per my advice, it's better to go for a shopping agreement and NOT agree a hypothetical purchase price - when you don't know who the buyer will be. How much should an option be? V difficult to answer - $5-10k used to be the norm in a non competitive situation. But many scripts get picked up for anything from a token $500-2000. And unfortunately, even more get picked up for free. You have to ask for the money - they probably won't offer it to you - and if at all possible get an attorney or agent to negotiate for you (which isn't always easy to do) .
@@Scriptfella Thanks for your time and advice! I really appreciate it.
You’re welcome - if you have other questions pls do fire away
I think one really good lesson here is to be really well read (the mma story, the footnote) on a variety of topics. You might find that nugget a writer who only looks on the surface won't see.
Cheers Lishko/Nic - you're right, when you are up against 10-20 writers you do need to give them a memorable nugget/iov. However, unfortunately, it's not always a meritocracy, and a case of the writer with the best idea wins.
Hi Dom. So, I've been tapped by a production company to write their idea. I listened to their pitch and wrote the Treatment for them that they optioned for £1. They then asked me to write the script. I've written Act One, which they love, but want certain re-writes. At this point, still no mention of a contract. I thought I'd better re-watch this video. I'm now going back to them to ask for a contract before I write another word.
Defo mate - better to sign a shopping agreement than a $1 option.
+Scriptfella I have a question about public domain. There are a few screenwriting contests that are based on writing a screenplay from subject matter in the public domain (ScreenCraft most notably). If I were to enter such a contest would they be within their rights to use my screenplay in a movie without compensation because the source material is Public Domain?
Hey TemplarAce - I imagine it would be commercial suicide for an organiser of a competition like this to claim ownership of an idea - and if it's public domain....Can you provide a link to the terms and conditions?
@@Scriptfella screencraft.org/publicdomain/ (terms and conditions are at the bottom of the page) Basically what I'm asking is even if I register my work with the WGA or US Copyright Office if it's based on material in the public domain would the judges/readers not be able to just read the story change a few things here and there and pass it off as their take on the story? For example "Little Women" has been made into a movie or television series several times and as I see it there are incarnations where the writing differs negligibly at best . The material I would be sourcing isn't as mapped out as a book so there are many routes a writer could take to make it their own.If I were to submit my screenplay and after some time passes I see a movie that has roughly the same plot points and story resolution guided by the source material but they used my take on time period, character traits and story line would I have a leg to stand on if I claimed it was my work?
Templar, for what it's worth, here's my philosophy on idea theft. It's rare but it sometimes does happen. When a producer steals your work, they usually do it in a way that you can't sue them. I can understand why you are concerned why someone might steal your idea in this contest and develop their own version of the public domain material - especially if you have identified an undervalued public domain story/asset. However, I would advise you that a much bigger risk is if you hold back from going out with your idea and you miss getting reads from influential judges, who can help your career, because you fear that a judge might steal your idea and adapt the public domain story themselves.
@@Scriptfella Thanks, second only to the fear of rejection this is the thing that makes me most apprehensive about getting my writing out there. I know the more eyes that see it the better. I guess that is why I am looking to contests like these to begin with. Thanks again for the helpful tips and keep posting these very informative videos I'm sure there are a lot of people who will find them quite useful in their development as a writer.
4:54 "don't give them the 14 beats..." I've heard about the Fielsd's 3 acts, Hauge's 6 poits, Harmon's 8 points, Campbell's 12 points, Snyder's 15 beats, Truby's 22 steps... and now you talk about some 14 beats... what the hell is happening with Hollywood? Can someone even grasp what Hollywood wants?
Less writers.