One thing screenwriters often overlook is the need to be a salesperson. Your script might be amazing, but no one is going to read it because you tell them it’s amazing. You have to find a way to convince producers to read it! Here are four steps you can take to get producers to read your work.
Step 1: Before you put your work in front of anyone, you have to make sure it’s as good as possible. This means you should do a polish on your finished script. Tweak things that aren’t working; fix any spelling and grammatical errors, and make sure the ending is earned and that it’s big.
Step 2: Craft a killer logline. A logline is a one or maximum two sentence summary of your script. It should include the main hook of the story and suggest the main conflict without giving away the ending. If you haven’t written a logline before, you can practice by writing loglines for other movies you know. The key is to make anyone who reads it want to read the script.
Step 3: Research producers. Most of the time producers stick to what they know. If they produce Rom-coms, don’t pitch them Science Fiction. And if they have focused on indie dramas, don’t bother trying to convince them to read your superhero movie. Using IMDB or some other database, research producers who have produced movies like the one you just wrote. Make a list. These are the producers you want to reach out to about your project.
Step 4: Create a professional pitch deck. A pitch deck describes the project — including the logline, a brief synopsis of the story, and a description of all of the major characters. All the text is interspersed with visuals that showcase what the movie would feel like to watch, the lighting, the composition and will also include images of potential actors to cast in the roles. This deck, more than anything, will convince someone you don’t know to read your script.
The script is the most important sales document you have, but before you can get that in front of producers, you have smaller more digestible things for producers to see. And these four steps are sure to entice a producer to read your work!
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You love movies. You talk about your favorite scenes with your friends and you love to quote from your favorite films. And most likely you’ve always wanted to write a screenplay but never knew where to start. It’s not hard to get started! Here’s a quick set of steps to start the process:
Step 1. The first thing you want to do is think about a story you want to tell. This story should excite you. Some people say to write what you know; I say write what makes you excited and what you’re curious about.
Step 2. Find a free (or paid) screenwriting software to format your screenplay as you write. Writer’s Duet, Celtx are great online tools and then there are some cheap but professional screenwriting software you can find, like FadeIn. These tools will do most of the work on formatting your screenplay so you don’t have to worry if you’re doing it right!
Step 3. Make an outline. Write a simple outline of what will happen in your story. Make sure you include how the story starts, and then sketch out what happens in the middle to make it hard for your hero to succeed, and finally understand how the story reaches its climactic moment.
Step 4: Start writing! Don’t overthink it. Write your first scene. And work your way through the story, focusing on how to get to the next point in your outline. The first draft is for getting it on the page! So enjoy the ride!
Now you’re writing a screenplay. That’s it! Don’t stop! And for more tips; in fact, for all the things you need to get started and keep going, join the course (a complete set of short 5 minute videos on how to write a screenplay)
