Like many other filmmakers, you want to make a feature film, but don’t have a screenplay. Maybe writing it yourself isn’t an option right now.
A lot of the public domain material out there is terrible. If you look, you may find a gem, but that takes almost as long as writing one yourself.
So you look to experienced screenwriters.
Q. How do you get an experienced screenwriter to write you a screenplay?
A. Give the screenwriter what they want.
Q. What do screenwriters want?
A. Money and/or to get their film made.
How can you give a writer enough money to write a feature film? This can take a year.
One thing you can do is option the screenplay, which is make a down payment to reserve the script until you get the rest of the money. This can cost significantly less than commissioning an entire script, upfront at least. And the option is something you can use to attract investors and pay for the top crew, cast, etc.
A good script, when optioned, can also be used to attract the cast and crew to your project, bringing credibility to your project when you show it to investors.
Still, why would a screenwriter want to settle for an option and not be paid everything upfront? Because, besides just money, they want a guarantee that the film will be made.
At first, an option doesn’t look like a viable guarantee that a film will be made. A multi-billion dollar (or pound, or euro) studio, with the money and know-how to make high quality a film, might prefer to buy a script outright.
And, as a beginning filmmaker, an option might not be enough to convince a talented and experienced screenwriter to send you a script. It also may not be enough to convince investors to invest in your project. You might need to first prove your abilities as a filmmaker. Is this a catch 22?
It may seem like a catch 22, but there are ways of proving your ability without making a feature film.
One of those ways is by making a short film. And even the shortest film starts with a good script.
But where do you find a good enough short script? Something that can be shot on a reasonable budget, that is professional?
I’m sure you’ve all seen short scripts written by people who think screenwriting is easy money. Although useful, screenwriting software shared by thousands, perhaps millions, does not produce a professional, just as seminars attended by hundreds every week do not produce experts.
In some parts of the business, people buy one book and nominate themselves as instant experts.
Wouldn’t you prefer a screenplay written by someone who tells stories to children every night? Someone who has seriously studied storytelling since the first time he heard a ghost story by a campfire? Someone who has been writing screenplays for well over a decade and can still enjoy films that are made for a mass audience?
Perhaps you’d prefer someone who has written screenplays for his own films, someone who has done the math and knows how much a certain shot will cost.
How can you get one of these writers to write a short script for you? Make a small investment.
Think about all the money a good script could save you. How much are you willing to spend on long seminars, expensive courses, over-rated software, or long winded and pretentious sounding books, only to find out some are useful and others are worthless? Wouldn’t you rather spend your time, talent and energy on becoming a better filmmaker? Wouldn’t you rather someone else did all that research for you?
A good script can help you attract the right kind of people to your project. It’s the starting block for any good film.
There’s nothing more important in making movies than the screenplay.
- Richard Attenborough
Vasco Phillip de Sousa has been involved in the production of every kind of short film: from music videos to gangster films to documentaries.
He knows which effects can be done on a budget, and which ones are easier said than done.
He knows what will make a child laugh, and what kind of story will captivate a grown up.
Vasco wants you to get your film made, so that later you’ll come back for more.
