Spec Screenplays
01-10-10
A great way to launch a licensing project is to write a spec script. For those who do not know what a spec script is – it’s a screenplay written on speculation with the hopes of selling it or to use as a sample of your writing to show the film and television buyers and agents. A spec script is like a demo tape for musicians or short films for actors and directors.
If you’ve never written a screenplay I recommend you read the following material:
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Screenplay by Syd Field – to learn the proper format and craft.
How to Make a Good Script Great by Linda Segar – to get the story perfect and edit it properly.
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Save the Cat by Blake Snyder – to learn what the buyers like and the formula certain movies are written in. Also Save the Cat Goes to the Movies by Blake Snyder – he breaks down films that we all know and love proving his system is the way to sell your scripts.
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Clause By Clause by Stephen F. Breimer – to understand the complicated contracts every writer needs to know.
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A Pound of Flesh by Art Linson – to learn integral information from a producer’s point of view.
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Fatal Subtraction by Pierce O’Donnell & Dennis McDougal – for insight into how a major studio deals with writers, screenplays and motion pictures.
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The Creative Hollywood Directory and any of it’s competitors – for addresses and contact information on all the players in the industry. The Internet Movie Data Base falls into this category.
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Obviously, the first step is to write a Spec Script and then rewrite it. As I have stated in previous posts, getting your friends and any professional industry people you happen to know to read your screenplay is crucial to it being ready for submission to agencies, management companies, producers and studios/networks. Make sure it is the best sample of your writing skills before sending it anywhere.
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Sending a spec script to an agent, manager or producer is not as easy as it should be. Most do not accept unsolicited material, so the key is to convince them to request your spec script by first sending a Query Letter (I will be discussing Query Letters in a future post). This form of contact will either get a positive response and you can forward your screenplay to them or it will garner a negative response or none at all (not unusual).
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If you get the rejection letter, then maybe you chose a contact that does not produce the type of film you wrote or you should contact someone else at that company or you should move onto the next company that produces the genre you are writing. Either way, it is a numbers game and the more Query Letters you send out, the better chance you have of someone requesting it to read and the more people reading it will help the chance of it being optioned or sold.
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Spec writers should register their stories with the WGA (Writers Guild of America) the WGC (Writers Guild of Canada) and/or copyright their scripts with the Library of Congress or Canadian Intellectual Property Office.
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Hollywood has used this process in choosing new film and television writers for decades. It’s a way to find employment, a sale or at least secure professional representation (agents, managers).
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More importantly, it is a great way to improve your writing skills and
diversify your brand. Good luck with your endeavours.
Sandford Tuey
info@Playdigm.com
Tags: Sandford Tuey, screenplay, Spec Scripts, Tuey