Writing for TV & Video

The role of the writer

 At the heart of a successful television or video
product lies a well-researched, effectively
written and appropriately formatted script.

The wide range of script requirements across

The Script television and video genres demand writers

who are flexible and competent in written and
verbal communication.

A script is the blueprint for television or video

production and good writers must be able to
develop realistic and appropriate products for
what is a very demanding industry.
 The Role of the Writer

Taken from Creative Skillset

• Scriptwriters are the incredibly talented people who write scripts for feature films, sitcoms,
television dramas, radio plays, cartoons, TV adverts, West End musicals, and anything else
you can think of where adlibbing actors just won’t suffice!
• Creating characters, crafting dialogue and writing an engaging plot are all part of a
scriptwriter’s job. Essentially, these creative dynamos form something which acts as the
skeleton on which a director can map their creative vision.
 How does
screenwriting
work?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sV
gXCHjJDr4
 an understanding of the various development stages, including: log lines, premises,
synopses, beat outlines, step-outlines, treatments and rough drafts

a keen understanding of how to use the dramatist's tools, including comic irony,
suspense, mystery and dramatic tension, and of the different ways that screen works
affect audience

Specific Skills & knowledge of the production company's requirements and the current market/trends
for films

Responsibilities shrewd interpersonal and negotiation skills, liaising effectively

of a Script
Writer familiarity with screenplay format and layout, and with the required contents of a
reader's report

an understanding of the art of the synopsis and the screenplay development process

awareness of developments in the arts and culture, with particular regard to new works
in film, fiction and poetry
 The screenwriter develops and prepares the script that
a show or film is created from.

In some cases, writers conceive original ideas,

characters, dialogue and settings and weave together a
story form their own minds.
The At other times, they write screenplay adaptations,
Screenwriter which are scripts adapted from other films, books,
television shows or other creative works.
role
Preparing a synopsis and pitching the script is the first
step for a screenplay to gain production consideration.

Screenwriters may sell their scripts for varying levels of

pay, though some also work for production studios
under contract.
 The role of the screenwriter in film or TV show production varies.

How does New screenwriters often produce and direct their own shorts or films to
build a portfolio and gain recognition.
their role fit in Others pitch their scripts to television and film producers.

with Once a producer purchases the rights to the script, he typically hires a

Producers & director.

During the production process, the screenwriter may work with the director
Directors? as he attempts to understand setting, dialogue and scene directions.

He may also be asked to rewrite or revise portions of the script during pre-
production or production.
 Commissioning
Producers
editors

Job Roles
Involved in the Directors Script editors
Commissioning
Process
Agents Writers
Commissioning Editors
Commissioning editors need to
have market knowledge of the Commissioning editors buy
latest trends, as well as a writers, film titles or ideas for
critical eye for spotting what production
looks good and what doesn't

They commission work by

Their aim is to build up finding writers or responding to
a successful portfolio and script proposals from creators
secure profitable material. and agents. Their role is rather
like that of a buyer.

They often work within big

They also ensure that writers
organisations such as Netflix
deliver scripts to specification
and Film4 within the
and on time.
commissioning department
 Commissioning Editors

COMMISSIONING EDITORS TO GROW THEIR ATTEND FILM FESTIVALS CONDUCT INTERNET DRAW UP SURVEYS TO ATTEND RELEVANT
ARE INVOLVED WITH A PORTFOLIO, RESEARCH IDENTIFY DEMAND CONFERENCES.
PROJECT AT EVERY STAGE. COMMISSIONING EDITORS
THEY'RE THE KEY LINK RESEARCH THEIR FIELD IN
BETWEEN THE INITIAL ORDER TO LEARN ABOUT
PROPOSAL FOR A FILM OR TRENDS AND GAPS IN THE
PRODUCT AND THE MARKET. FOR THIS
FINISHED WORK. PURPOSE, THEY:
 managing the list in the current market as well as identifying future markets and
Managing new products and titles with commercial potential

Researching researching emerging market trends on a national and international level

Identifying,
Some of their developing
and
identifying, developing and supporting projects and writers

key duties supporting

include:
meeting with other commissioning editors and senior editors to discuss new
Meeting proposals

Reading and reading and evaluating script proposals and manuscripts offered by authors and
evaluating agents, as well as assessing their suitability for the list

Negotiating negotiating contract terms with writers and agents

Producers WATCH ME
Directors WATCH ME

Directors are in charge of taking a script, along with the budget and
leadership of producers, and creating a film or show.

A key skill for a director is the ability to interpret the story drafted by
the writer and create appealing settings, intricate staging and
movements, while also guiding actors in dialogue and expressions.

Pay varies for directors as well. New directors on small budget films
can make as little as a few thousand dollars. Top Hollywood directors
at the height of the profession make much more. A March 2011
"Vanity Fair" article noted that director James Cameron was the top
earning director in 2010 with an estimated $257 million in gross
earnings from writing, directing and producing.
Collaboration between the writer & director
• As the title suggests, the director is generally the one who guides the entire
process of turning a screenplay into a finished entertainment product.
• This includes directing all aspects of the filming, editing and production.
• During pre-production, the director often meets with the screenwriter to
gain insight into his story, the characters, settings and motives behind
different scenes.
• During production, the level of involvement the screenwriter plays
depends somewhat on the openness of the director to receiving input.
• He may seek guidance from the screenwriter throughout much of the
filming process.
Script Editor WATCH ME
Agents WATCH ME

• An agent sends your manuscript out to see who would like to bid on it for
production. They’re effective because they have more knowledge of the
commissioning editors than most.
• An agent knows who is on the lookout for the next big story, whose lists
are full, who is looking for a new crime writer, and can target their
submissions accordingly.
• It’s a two-way street, as commissioning editors will know what genres the
agents are likely to be submitting, which ones specialise in crime, which
ones are more literary etc.
• Once an agent has matched your work to the right commissioner they are
the professional whose job it is to negotiate the best contract for you.
 Screenwriters develop scripts derived from their own ideas or other existing
ideas or work.

When writing scripts, screenwriters are responsible for describing the stories
in detail, including physical environments and the moods of the characters.

Films and televisions shows require the use of these scripts.

Prior to production of a film or show, screenwriters might produce a synopsis

The Role of a and several scenes of a story.

Screenwriter A shooting script is then prepared. The shooting script entails camera, lighting
and shot instructions.

During the preproduction process, screenwriters must take into account the
ideas of directors and producers they are working with.

Useful
resource: https://study.com/articles/Screenwriter_Respo They should possess the ability to work and collaborate with others.
nsibilities_Outlook_and_Requirements.html

Screenwriters may be asked to rewrite or make various versions of the scripts

they are working on.
Writers WATCH ME
Tarantino Case Study
• Quentin Tarantino was just a video store clerk with a dream when he
shopped his screenplays for True Romance and Reservoir Dogs around
Hollywood. He wound up selling True Romance and using the heat
from it to attach himself as the director for Reservoir Dogs.
• Reservoir Dogs was unlike everything produced that came before it
and seemed to signal how important Tarantino would become to the
generation that followed it.
• Before the film got some Hollywood backing, Tarantino had planned
to film Reservoir Dogs in black and white on a budget of just $30,000,
with his buddies helping out and playing the main parts.
Tarantino Case Study
• One of Tarantino’s friends, the producer Lawrence Bender, who was
originally going to star in the film as Nice Guy Eddie, gave the script to his
acting teacher.
• Liking the script, the acting teacher passed the script to his wife, the wife
passed the script to a member of acting royalty, and the rest is history
• The script ended up in the hands of none other than Harvey Keitel, an
acting icon and one of Tarantino’s own personal favourites
• Keitel, best known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese including
Mean Streets and Taxi Driver, liked what he read so much that he signed on
the film as star as well as co-producer
• Keitel helped Tarantino to raise a $1.5 million budget, Keitel even paid for
auditions in New York, which led to the casting of Steve Buscemi
Tarantion Case Study
• In the fast-paced world of Hollywood, it’s a rule of thumb that a
screenwriter should finish a first draft of a screenplay in three
months.
• This is the minimum time that the WGA, or Writers Guild of America,
officially allows for a writer to turn in a draft of a new project
• The fast-talking, fast-thinking Quentin Tarantino didn’t need three
months. Instead, he turned his first screenplay in in a little over three
weeks.
What do you think the benefits of Tarantino
being the writer & director were?
 Your Task Today

• Log in / create an account on Canva.com

• Find a magazine template you would like to use (suitable for a film industry magazine
brand)
• Choose an appropriate image for the front cover of your magazine (you may wish to use a
famous/successful screenwriter)
• On the first page of your magazine explain in detail what the role of the screenwriter is
including the pros & cons of their role
• Screenshot what you have created and email it to sophie.blount@gloscol.ac.uk