Another opportunity in the film industry is screenwriting. So many screenwriters started out as playwrights, journalists, novelists, or other professional writers, while others started directly with the writing profession, either at a television station or in the film industry itself. Whichever path you choose, writing is a great business opportunity that can bring in a lot of money, especially in the film industry.
Where to start.
In filmmaking, script writing is the most important thing. It is impossible to make a good movie without a good script. Hollywood studios sometimes resort to mediocre scripts because they have star actors and the audience is guaranteed anyway. As an independent filmmaker, you shouldn’t be so lazy.
Screenwriting is one of the few areas where you are on the same playing field as the movie sharks. It takes no more expense to write a Great Screenplay than it does to write a mediocre one. And also a Great Screenplay can attract talent and funding.
The odds, of course, are not encouraging. It is estimated that more than 100,000 original screenplays are written each year, and only 7,000 of those turn into movies. And about 200 of them succeed and make it to the wide screen.
The difficulty of writing a great screenplay should not be underestimated. It has to be an engaging story, with interesting characters and great dialogue. Of all the arts, the screenplay format is the most demanding. Take the proper time to write a good screenplay, and everything else will fall into place.
Hire a screenwriter.
You can also find someone else to write the script for your film. If you have an interesting idea but are not strong in writing, find someone who is.
There are almost as many unemployed screenwriters as there are unemployed actors. But watch out: most of them won’t write you anything worthwhile. Your goal is to meet the best of them.
There are guilds of film and television writers, special institutions, by contacting them you can get a database of all the writers available to you.
Alternatively, you can hold contests among local screenwriters or select a screenplay on specialized websites.
If some gifted student offers you an interesting idea, ask him or her to put it all in writing. Let him know that this work is not paid, and you can offer that his name will appear in the credits and he will get a percentage of the profits in case of success.
It will be a good chance for him: the man will be flattered to be given such an opportunity, and he will try to realize his ideas. If he wants payment, ask how much money was paid for his previous work. If he insists on his own, you can dodge the deal.
A couple of notes: first of all, your writers should be really gifted writers. Only hire them when you feel that their previous work has really moved you, that the genres are close to yours, and you believe that your Great Idea will be just as interesting to discover. Second, decide to acquire the rights to the script in question, sign a contract.
This is done for good reason. It is unlikely that you want the screenwriter at the last moment decided to refuse to cooperate, because he did not like the way you implemented his idea in the film. Let it be known that the person is a salaried employee.
Write the script yourself
Important Fact #1: Filmmaking is a way of providing entertainment. It goes hand in hand with marketing.
All the time you’re writing a script, remember this fact. Your movie needs to be delivered to the audience. You don’t like boring movies, so don’t make another one yourself. Write for a mass audience that will come to your movie and bring you success.
The article on finding ideas has many methods for creating a movie that engages the viewer. You need to review them from time to time. At this point, you have complete creative freedom, and you can maximize what you are capable of creating.
Important Fact #2: Stories have to make some kind of sense. From the time your story begins, the narrative should already carry your main “idea.”
Now let’s turn to the necessary tools for writing a script.