Guest Blog: Producing Your Screenplay Makes You a Better Writer
It occurred to the Wave-inatrix that she knows oodles of writers with particular areas of expertise that Rouge Wavers might benefit from. So in that spirit, today the Rouge Wave is proud to feature a guest blog by Catherine E. Rubey, writer/producer of Baggage.
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Unbeknownst to me at the time, I wrote my screenplay so that I could direct it too. This was pointed out to me by several writers who reviewed the early drafts and noticed the detail and subtleties built into the scenes that really are brought to life by a director of the same vision…usually the same person. Interesting, I thought.
After 3 years refining this project from the first page written in Final Draft, I have learned so much that will make me a better writer next time around. And I’m honored to have the opportunity to impart some of what I learned in this space today.
If you’re thinking about writing, directing and producing, or just want to learn more about the way producers think, the best advice I’ve heard is “begin (write) with the end in mind.” Quite simply, it requires you to put on your producer’s hat while you’re wearing your artist’s smock!
As writers, we know that we have to do research. Use your considerable researching skills and research movies similar to yours in genre, SFX, production design, star power, etc. Then examine each of those similar projects using the producer-side of your brain: budget, locations, size of cast, logistics, production resources (aka props), etc.
I’m not suggesting that you only write for smaller budgets or delete period pieces from your list of preferred genres. Rather, if you can have an understanding of what it takes to pull each type of project off in a successful way (aka make money), then your project will stand out amongst the hoards of others stacked up on desks all over Hollywood.
This is a tough proposition, I realize. The last thing I want to do is to limit your imagination or the expression of your ideas; however, we have to be realistic about the execution of those ideas. The more options you can give a producer, the easier it will be to get your project greenlighted and move into pre-production.
Learn the business of movie making.
The business of movie making is so vast and the paths to success are so varied that it’s easy to get bogged down in the details of it all and just focus on the writing. After all, “it’s the writing, stupid” from which all subsequent miracles will spring. You can increase your chances and your usefulness in a project if you can familiarize yourself with other aspects of the movie-making process.
Sidney Lumet wrote in his book Making Movies that screenwriters are often cast aside in the filmmaking process at exactly the time they could be the most helpful to the process. Who knows more about the story, characters, etc., than the original writer? How many times have we read or heard about a script being optioned, written, re-written, and doctored until it resembled nothing close to the original story?
To make yourself a valuable asset to the entire process, familiarize yourself with the other aspects of the business as you plot your career. Write a business plan, examine a movie budget, understand the role of unions and guilds, and know the difference between a SAG Ultra Low and Modified Low Budget Agreement. Make friends with a local production company, learn about the latest camera technology and trends, network and ask questions to directors, DP’s, actors, and RESEARCH, READ, READ, AND oh, read.
Read the trades, read scripts, read blogs about filmmaking, read books by directors, producers, actors, and whomever else you can stand. You’ll have to sift through some fluff (kinda like a good DVD commentary) but there are many, many things to be learned and you can find most of them at your local library and on-line. Read Neil Simon, Sidney Lumet, David Mamet, William Goldman (take your pick) and you can gain some fantastic insight into the process that YOUR fabulous idea sets into motion.
Then, when you have an opportunity to do more than just write, you can jump right into a production meeting and contribute in any number of ways. And oh, by the way, it’ll make you a better writer. Good luck and keep writing!
About the author:
Catherine has completed several feature length award-winning screenplays, as well as two shorts. Her first feature, Baggage, begins pre-production this summer in Chicago (baggagethefilm.com). She is a co-producer on the coming of age feature, SWIPE. She is a contributing writer for the Hungry! Chicago Family Guide book and website (http://www.hungrycity.com/). She is a judge for the Written Image Screenplay Competition at held annually at Columbia College. She’s a featured columnist at http://www.wildcardpictures.com/. She’s a frequent film festival attendee, enjoying many years at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Chicago International Film Festival. She lives and works with her husband and three children in the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
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Unbeknownst to me at the time, I wrote my screenplay so that I could direct it too. This was pointed out to me by several writers who reviewed the early drafts and noticed the detail and subtleties built into the scenes that really are brought to life by a director of the same vision…usually the same person. Interesting, I thought.
After 3 years refining this project from the first page written in Final Draft, I have learned so much that will make me a better writer next time around. And I’m honored to have the opportunity to impart some of what I learned in this space today.
If you’re thinking about writing, directing and producing, or just want to learn more about the way producers think, the best advice I’ve heard is “begin (write) with the end in mind.” Quite simply, it requires you to put on your producer’s hat while you’re wearing your artist’s smock!
As writers, we know that we have to do research. Use your considerable researching skills and research movies similar to yours in genre, SFX, production design, star power, etc. Then examine each of those similar projects using the producer-side of your brain: budget, locations, size of cast, logistics, production resources (aka props), etc.
I’m not suggesting that you only write for smaller budgets or delete period pieces from your list of preferred genres. Rather, if you can have an understanding of what it takes to pull each type of project off in a successful way (aka make money), then your project will stand out amongst the hoards of others stacked up on desks all over Hollywood.
This is a tough proposition, I realize. The last thing I want to do is to limit your imagination or the expression of your ideas; however, we have to be realistic about the execution of those ideas. The more options you can give a producer, the easier it will be to get your project greenlighted and move into pre-production.
Learn the business of movie making.
The business of movie making is so vast and the paths to success are so varied that it’s easy to get bogged down in the details of it all and just focus on the writing. After all, “it’s the writing, stupid” from which all subsequent miracles will spring. You can increase your chances and your usefulness in a project if you can familiarize yourself with other aspects of the movie-making process.
Sidney Lumet wrote in his book Making Movies that screenwriters are often cast aside in the filmmaking process at exactly the time they could be the most helpful to the process. Who knows more about the story, characters, etc., than the original writer? How many times have we read or heard about a script being optioned, written, re-written, and doctored until it resembled nothing close to the original story?
To make yourself a valuable asset to the entire process, familiarize yourself with the other aspects of the business as you plot your career. Write a business plan, examine a movie budget, understand the role of unions and guilds, and know the difference between a SAG Ultra Low and Modified Low Budget Agreement. Make friends with a local production company, learn about the latest camera technology and trends, network and ask questions to directors, DP’s, actors, and RESEARCH, READ, READ, AND oh, read.
Read the trades, read scripts, read blogs about filmmaking, read books by directors, producers, actors, and whomever else you can stand. You’ll have to sift through some fluff (kinda like a good DVD commentary) but there are many, many things to be learned and you can find most of them at your local library and on-line. Read Neil Simon, Sidney Lumet, David Mamet, William Goldman (take your pick) and you can gain some fantastic insight into the process that YOUR fabulous idea sets into motion.
Then, when you have an opportunity to do more than just write, you can jump right into a production meeting and contribute in any number of ways. And oh, by the way, it’ll make you a better writer. Good luck and keep writing!
About the author:
Catherine has completed several feature length award-winning screenplays, as well as two shorts. Her first feature, Baggage, begins pre-production this summer in Chicago (baggagethefilm.com). She is a co-producer on the coming of age feature, SWIPE. She is a contributing writer for the Hungry! Chicago Family Guide book and website (http://www.hungrycity.com/). She is a judge for the Written Image Screenplay Competition at held annually at Columbia College. She’s a featured columnist at http://www.wildcardpictures.com/. She’s a frequent film festival attendee, enjoying many years at the Sundance Film Festival, and the Chicago International Film Festival. She lives and works with her husband and three children in the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois.
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1 comment:
Thank you very much for the excellent advice. I have often wondered if I would benefit from a broader knowledge of movie making. I will check out your suggestions for reading.
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