I have a few pre-pro friends who have day jobs studios, two of them have the exact same non-creative job at two different studios... and both have been employed at these jobs for about the same amount of time and are equally qualified. Thatâ€TMs where the similarities end, though.
Friend A thinks his day job is just a way to pay the bills until he sells his first script. So he "goes through the motions" at work for 8 hours a day. He shows up, puts in the minimum amount of work for eight hours and goes home.
Friend B works his butt off at his day job. He does as much work as he can fit into the day, usually more than heâ€TMs been assigned. His theory is: even though this job is far removed from screenwriting, heâ€TMs still working for a studio - his boss may someday come into contact with someone in the company who might buy scripts - and he wants to be the employee his boss wants to help. Plus, heâ€TMs there for 8 hours a day, why not do a good dayâ€TMs work?
Studios are tightening their belts, laying off employees... and guess who has to find a new day job? Friend A! Though everyone likes him, heâ€TMs just not a very hard worker. In fact, Iâ€TMm amazed at how little he knows about what happens in his division - he knows less than I do! I get what little information I know from reading the little business blurbs in the trades (he never reads the trades). I even knew the layoffs were coming before he did.
So, youâ€TMre wondering, what does any of this have to do with screenwriting?
Well, screenwriting has a creative side and a business side. Most of us love the creative side and completely ignore the business side... and our careers may suffer. Tao wrote a great post about what studio belt tightening means to screenwriters, and hereâ€TMs how Iâ€TMm dealing with the problem, and how *you* can deal with the problem:
Be indispensable.
When theyâ€TMre handing out the pink slips, be like Friend B. Be the guy who they canâ€TMt afford to lay off. Be the screenwriter they have to keep hiring.
How do you do that? Well, a large part has to do with the creative side - being a damned good writer. But there are many damned good writers, so the other part is that business part. The non-creative side of screenwriting. The part of our jobs thatâ€TMs actual work. Stuff we donâ€TMt like and probably donâ€TMt really want to care about. The "day job side" of screenwriting.
Remember, this is a business. We hate to think of it as a business, but the guys in the suits who pay us think itâ€TMs a business. They expect us to be good employees.
SUBJECT MATTERS...
One thing that will keep us employed is writing the types of scripts that generally make money. One of the items in Taoâ€TMs post was that studios are going to be making fewer dramas - thatâ€TMs because they generally donâ€TMt connect with a large audience and donâ€TMt make as much money. I know Iâ€TMve called drama "the genre of flops" here before - a straight drama isnâ€TMt going to make as much money as a genre film. So, writing genre films is going to keep you employed.
Iâ€TMm not talking about chasing trends, here. Look at the bigger picture. Think about popular genres. When I do pitch clinics for Sherwood Oaks I bring along a copy of the Sunday movie section of the newspaper and frequently ask people to find a movie similar to their story in there. Often they canâ€TMt, because they are pitching some weird non-genre piece. Usually there are comedies, rom-coms, thrillers, action, and for the past few years weâ€TMve had a bunch of horror.
People ask if horror is over-saturated. Is the genre about to die? Why should I write a horror script when that genre might dry up? Well, first - there have always been horror movies. There was a period, right before SCREAM, when horror was less popular... but they were still making horror films (and buying horror scripts) - just not as many. It wasnâ€TMt like now, when every other film released is a horror flick. Now is a horror boom, and when that runs its course, weâ€TMll be back to a normal number of horror films released every year. Even in the "slow years" horror was still a popular genre. So you want to look at genres that are around even when they arenâ€TMt the most popular.
Chasing trends is writing a horror script with a creepy little dead girl and lots of running water because THE RING was a hit. You just want to think about horror in general and try to find something original and exciting in that genre. Every genre contains dozens of subgenres, plus you can mix genres and come up with something like SHAUN OF THE DEAD. Writing within a popular genre doesnâ€TMt limit you if you have an imagination.
Writing within a genre isnâ€TMt selling out, itâ€TMs writing something you can sell. I did an Ideas Class at Expo last year (also on CD) where I talked about tools like Magnification that can take your personal story and turn it into a high concept genre story. Every script I write is personal - even if itâ€TMs about the last of the vampire hunters or the search for a sunken Spanish galleon. The key is to find the way to tell your personal story within the framework of a popular genre - and itâ€TMs not difficult. When we look back at the Golden Age of Hollywood (30s & 40s) the movies were all popular genres and screenwriters were still able to deal with social issues and personal themes (which is why those films were great). The BFI has called the thriller THE THIRD MAN the best British film ever made - itâ€TMs a genre story!
Part 2 follows....
Friend A thinks his day job is just a way to pay the bills until he sells his first script. So he "goes through the motions" at work for 8 hours a day. He shows up, puts in the minimum amount of work for eight hours and goes home.
Friend B works his butt off at his day job. He does as much work as he can fit into the day, usually more than heâ€TMs been assigned. His theory is: even though this job is far removed from screenwriting, heâ€TMs still working for a studio - his boss may someday come into contact with someone in the company who might buy scripts - and he wants to be the employee his boss wants to help. Plus, heâ€TMs there for 8 hours a day, why not do a good dayâ€TMs work?
Studios are tightening their belts, laying off employees... and guess who has to find a new day job? Friend A! Though everyone likes him, heâ€TMs just not a very hard worker. In fact, Iâ€TMm amazed at how little he knows about what happens in his division - he knows less than I do! I get what little information I know from reading the little business blurbs in the trades (he never reads the trades). I even knew the layoffs were coming before he did.
So, youâ€TMre wondering, what does any of this have to do with screenwriting?
Well, screenwriting has a creative side and a business side. Most of us love the creative side and completely ignore the business side... and our careers may suffer. Tao wrote a great post about what studio belt tightening means to screenwriters, and hereâ€TMs how Iâ€TMm dealing with the problem, and how *you* can deal with the problem:
Be indispensable.
When theyâ€TMre handing out the pink slips, be like Friend B. Be the guy who they canâ€TMt afford to lay off. Be the screenwriter they have to keep hiring.
How do you do that? Well, a large part has to do with the creative side - being a damned good writer. But there are many damned good writers, so the other part is that business part. The non-creative side of screenwriting. The part of our jobs thatâ€TMs actual work. Stuff we donâ€TMt like and probably donâ€TMt really want to care about. The "day job side" of screenwriting.
Remember, this is a business. We hate to think of it as a business, but the guys in the suits who pay us think itâ€TMs a business. They expect us to be good employees.
SUBJECT MATTERS...
One thing that will keep us employed is writing the types of scripts that generally make money. One of the items in Taoâ€TMs post was that studios are going to be making fewer dramas - thatâ€TMs because they generally donâ€TMt connect with a large audience and donâ€TMt make as much money. I know Iâ€TMve called drama "the genre of flops" here before - a straight drama isnâ€TMt going to make as much money as a genre film. So, writing genre films is going to keep you employed.
Iâ€TMm not talking about chasing trends, here. Look at the bigger picture. Think about popular genres. When I do pitch clinics for Sherwood Oaks I bring along a copy of the Sunday movie section of the newspaper and frequently ask people to find a movie similar to their story in there. Often they canâ€TMt, because they are pitching some weird non-genre piece. Usually there are comedies, rom-coms, thrillers, action, and for the past few years weâ€TMve had a bunch of horror.
People ask if horror is over-saturated. Is the genre about to die? Why should I write a horror script when that genre might dry up? Well, first - there have always been horror movies. There was a period, right before SCREAM, when horror was less popular... but they were still making horror films (and buying horror scripts) - just not as many. It wasnâ€TMt like now, when every other film released is a horror flick. Now is a horror boom, and when that runs its course, weâ€TMll be back to a normal number of horror films released every year. Even in the "slow years" horror was still a popular genre. So you want to look at genres that are around even when they arenâ€TMt the most popular.
Chasing trends is writing a horror script with a creepy little dead girl and lots of running water because THE RING was a hit. You just want to think about horror in general and try to find something original and exciting in that genre. Every genre contains dozens of subgenres, plus you can mix genres and come up with something like SHAUN OF THE DEAD. Writing within a popular genre doesnâ€TMt limit you if you have an imagination.
Writing within a genre isnâ€TMt selling out, itâ€TMs writing something you can sell. I did an Ideas Class at Expo last year (also on CD) where I talked about tools like Magnification that can take your personal story and turn it into a high concept genre story. Every script I write is personal - even if itâ€TMs about the last of the vampire hunters or the search for a sunken Spanish galleon. The key is to find the way to tell your personal story within the framework of a popular genre - and itâ€TMs not difficult. When we look back at the Golden Age of Hollywood (30s & 40s) the movies were all popular genres and screenwriters were still able to deal with social issues and personal themes (which is why those films were great). The BFI has called the thriller THE THIRD MAN the best British film ever made - itâ€TMs a genre story!
Part 2 follows....
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