When your Work is no Longer your Own.
Every screenwriter dreams of the day that their script will be greenlit. Finally, all the countless hours obsessing over tone and clarity pay off. But, there’s a side that most people fail to consider. Once your script goes into production, it’s no longer yours. It belongs to a team of countless people–and surprise, most think they can tell the story better than you.
Every screenwriter dreams of the day that their script will be greenlit. Finally, all the countless hours obsessing over tone and clarity pay off. But, there’s a side that most people fail to consider. Once your script goes into production, it’s no longer yours. It belongs to a team of countless people–and surprise, most think they can tell the story better than you.
Most writers simply hand off the scripts when they're done, and outside of a few revisions, don’t have much to do once filming begins. My experience was a little different as I actually produced my script. As a producer, I was privy to all the behind-the-scenes details. I sat through show-and-tells with our art and costume department. I got location scout reports. I previewed storyboards, VFX mockups, and special effects makeup options. And that was just pre-production! As a producer, there are times you can contribute to the creative conversations, but most of the time the work is more focused on making the shit they want to do happen. Biting my tongue for eight hours a day was stressful, but going home was worse. Panic filled my chest the more and more the decisions veered away from what I pictured in my head.
Production was even more emotional. I would spend time at Video Village to watch what was being filmed and then find my way to the editor’s suite to watch the cuts. It was both enchanting and horrifying. Because now it’s really not just on the paper, it’s real. It’s being made in front of your eyes, and at this point, there’s not a lot of time to change things. Sometimes when I left the production office to spend time on set, I heard the director giving notes to the actors, but she would have a totally different interpretation of the scene. And it made me wonder if we were on the same page.
And sure, when the scenes come out exactly how you pictured them in your head, it is like the biggest accomplishment in the world. However, there are some days when you wonder why the girl you wrote as “effortlessly cool” is now wearing crotchet gloves and duck earrings. Or how a dance sequence you wrote to be seductive became an interpretive lyrical number. It made my head spin. And the days on set I was wracked with what else might change.
I don’t want to discredit the team. There were a lot of practical and budget reasons for why some things changed. But it’s still hard to see that your baby feels like a shell of what it was. You find yourself thinking, “How could I have written this so it didn’t get quite so…mutilated?” It’s moments like these that make you realize why there are so many writers/directors.
For one of the scenes, I was a bad writer. I broke the rule of not writing camera directions. This was a pivotal scene and I had it in my head. When we shot the scene, it was one of the most compelling and visually interesting scenes we shot. As the editor cut together the footage, they said to me, “Have you ever considered directing?”
At first, I laughed. I’ve directed two shorts (both mandatory assignments) and hated every minute of it. I didn’t know how to talk to the actors, I didn’t care about storyboarding, and my idea of lighting was to “make it look cool.” But after this experience, I feel more compelled to take the reins. Being able to tell the stories I write as I envision them is what I want to do.
Which is why as a celebration of Save the Plot’s first blog post, I want to announce that the first project we will be taking on is a political satire called Doug. We are in the early processes of development with the first draft of the script being written. We are going to (hopefully) film a proof of concept in the spring, and see if we can get financing off the back of that.
Each week, we will bring you updates on Doug’s development. It’s going to include a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into developing a script, character deep dives, and maybe even a few teasers of the writing that’s being done now.
If you’re a screenwriter navigating this crazy industry–or just someone who enjoys a good story–stick around. And if you need help bringing your script to life, check out our screenwriting services. With our coverage, doctoring, or writing services, let’s turn your work into something that not only gets produced but stays true to your vision.