Owen Leach Film and TV: Job roles in the commissioning process

Job roles within the commissioning process:

Producers- they oversee a films production. They are usually employed by a production company or they work independently. The producers plan and coordinate many aspects of a film, such as;
-selecting a script
-coordinating writing
-directing
-editing
-financing

Qualities you need to be successful is that you need to be able to cope well in high pressure situations, and you also need to be realistic on what you CAN or CAN NOT do with your budget.

Directors- they are the people who direct the making of a film. They control a film's dramatic and artistic aspects and visualize the script/ screenplay, while guiding the technical crew and actors so they fulfil their vision.

The qualities you need to be successful is that you need to have a brilliant imagination, and be able to clearly describe your ideas to the people working on the film with you so they fulfill your wants. You also need to be able to take a lot of criticism, such as if the film fails - you will be the person most people blame.

Script editor- they are a member of the production team on a moving picture production. They have o responsibilities such as developing story lines with writers, finding new script writers and ensuring the scripts are perfect and presentable.

Qualities you need to be successful are that you need to have a supreme amount of knowledge about what you can and can not do in a film, and also having an imagination big enough to contribute to a progressing script.

Agents- they work with any of the main job roles in a film crew, such as directors and producers. They will essentially take control of what you can and can not do, such as if someone asks a director to look at their script; an agent would see it first to get an idea whether or not it is worth the directors time and if he’d actually like it, they do many other things similar to that.

Qualities you need are that you need to be a likable, honest person - if not no one will want you as their agent; as an agents job is to be trust worthy enough to essentially control what is and isn’t good for the person they work for.

Writers- they write the scripts, they come up with the story, then have to creatively write it on paper very coherently so the people who will work with and or on the script will need to know what they're actually doing.
Qualities you need are that you need to be creative enough to write a new, different and great script that will catch the eye of an agent for a producer and or director. You also need to have a supreme knowledge of what is and isnt possible for a budget.

Optioning is when a company or person wants to turn your story into a creative production or they want your script to themselves; and no one else. The writers will get paid a sum to ‘hold’ your idea for a specified amount of time, with the intention of putting it into production.

What type of commissioning body a writer has changes a lot of the processes and chances of success are vastly different. So, if you go into a competition, the process in which your screenplay may or may not be commissioned if you send your script to a massive, main stream organisation such as BBC or ITV.

A literacy agent represents playwrights and screenwriters, writers who also direct, directors and stage and screen rights in novels.

To get agent representation with Knight Hall they need to have read and or watched at least one piece of your work, if not then they will not accept you, without exception.

Three things that aspiring writers should never do to an agent is phone them repeatedly before you’ve written anything, turn up unwanted and unannounced, and don’t send letters with several pages.

The BBC writers’ room works with writers at every stage of their career, they develop new and experienced writing talent across the whole of UK. They look for aspiring script writers.

Pitching to a smaller production company may or may not be beneficial to unknown writers, as they are cheaper to work with. Small production companies will usually do their own script editing, while also often receiving financial help from large corporations to help in developing their script, and in return the small production company will give a sum of money from the revenue they receive from their final product, for example the new look Sherlock (2010).

It is easier for an independent director to produce their own screenplay because they then have more power over everything for the final product, so no one can control what they want – and they do what they want.

A downside to directing your own screenplay is that it costs a lot of money.

A downside to producing your own screenplay is that you will have a lot of responsibilities, such as getting a writer on board, and having to do the script editing.

The Script Factory website aid and nurture screenwriters and also people who work with writers. They do nothing involving money, but they give advice on improving work, and help them.

The BlueCat is a competition for writers, in which there is a 40 thousand cash prize for winners, and the Fellini Award. Writers will likely want to join the competition, so they have a lot more motivation to write the best story ever, as well as a bonus of wanting the reward.

At the start of a scripts production, it’ll have assigned pages and scene numbers for ease when they shoot. If changes to a script is made there are strict guidelines on how those changes should be done. Page lock-down is needed if a screenplay is being filmed and or produced effectively. Locking a page down is a process in which any changes to the script are coded specifically and sent out as individuals pages as opposed to having to do a manual change.

Professional presentation is when they make sure there scripts are all properly done with the right techniques, such as the characters name above their lines. If you do not do this and things similar to it, anyone reading your work will instantly stop because you haven't met their professional standards.

Time management is very important, such as turning up on time or doing your work on time - because if you miss a deadline you will be setting everyone back - so you will develop a bad working reputation; and it is unlikely anyone will want to hire anyone like that.

Copyright is when you take and use someone else's work without their permission. If you do this, the person who copyrighted will likely have to give all their income to the person they stole from. An example of a film that was sued for copyright infringement is a Chinese company that made a knock-off of 'cars', which followed a very similar script/ story, as a result of this, Disney fined them $190,000 - and the film was took off the market.

Bias is when you take sides, such as if you believe Brexit is a good thing - you will show it in a positive light, which means you are being biased to it. Nothing is wrong with having a biased opinion, except if you are obnoxious about it. A good example is 'Super Size Me', which was a documentary about how fast food effects you negatively, but in the documentary, they had no scientific proof of the bad effects that fast food had, and as a result, they made up figures - hence showing real bias towards disliking fast food.

Censorship is the age ratings we see on movies/ games. We use them to protect younger people, or it is also used for when we want to see what kinda film or game we are buying; as if its an 18 we will know it has no restraints, and some people like that.

Watershed is on TV when it gets passed 9 o'clock, things will start to become more mature - such as swearing or violence. This is also to protect younger people, as they are usually asleep by 9.

Libel is when someone makes statements against someone negatively, such as when people made a documentary claiming Michael Jackson was a pedophile - even though they had no hard proof, and Micheal couldn't defend himself.

Plagiarism is when you basically copy someones idea, so you couldn't just steal the entire narrative idea for Star Wars, as people would notice and you will get done for it. An example is with "The Amazing Bulk", which was a poorly made rip-off of 'the Hulk', as a result of this, the company got sued and the film was banned in cinemas.