Writing Credits

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  • Writing Credits

    I'm negotiating credits with a small production company and have a question. What is better if there is a possibility of having to share a writing credit with some else due to rewrites:

    Written by iDv8 & Other Writer
    Based on an Original Screenplay By iDv8

    Or

    Single Title Card:

    Written by iDv8

    Single Title Card:

    and Other Writer

    I've been told that to hang onto that single title card position if at all possible but before I negotiate that, I have been offered the "Based on an original screenplay by iDv8.-

    Any thoughts before I write him back?

  • #2
    Re: Writing Credits

    Originally posted by iDV8 View Post
    I'm negotiating credits with a small production company and have a question. What is better if there is a possibility of having to share a writing credit with some else due to rewrites:

    Written by iDv8 & Other Writer
    Based on an Original Screenplay By iDv8

    Or

    Single Title Card:

    Written by iDv8

    Single Title Card:

    and Other Writer

    I've been told that to hang onto that single title card position if at all possible but before I negotiate that, I have been offered the "Based on an original screenplay by iDv8.-

    Any thoughts before I write him back?

    It would be very unusual to split the same credit into two separate cards (e.g. "Written by you" on one card with "and him" on a second card). If this is not a WGA signatory production and you have the flexibility and leverage to dictate your own credit, the most common way would be to give yourself credit for both the writing and the story, while this other writer would only get credit for the writing. Also keep in mind that industry standard writing credits differentiate between an ampersand (&) and the word "and" in writing credits. The former means you wrote collaboratively as a team and the latter means that you both wrote on it, but not together.

    In an ideal situation, I think you'd want something along these lines:

    Written by iDv8 and [other writer]
    Based on an original story/screenplay/idea by iDv8


    OR

    Story by iDv8
    Screenplay by iDv8 and [other writer]



    Those two credits could be on the same card or a different card; it doesn't really matter. Unlike actor and producer credits, whether you're on a "shared card" or a "separate card" doesn't mean much to a writer since all WGA signatory projects have final writing credit determined by the guild. As such, the number of people on a writer's card and the position of that card are not customarily bargaining/negotiating points like they are for actors and producers.

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    • #3
      Re: Writing Credits

      Thanks SoCalScribe, that was exactly what I needed! Much appreciated.

      Comment

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