If you don't have a copy of Christopher Riley's "The Hollywood Standard" and you're going to be producing your own screenplays, you absolutely should pick up a copy. Click the link (yes, it is an Amazon Affiliate link... a gal's gotta make some extra $$ if she wants to get to places like Austin Film Fest or Sundance.) Why should you grab this book? Well, there are some things in here that Trottier doesn't quite cover. But before we get into that let me tell you a little about Christopher Riley.
Christopher Riley and his wife Kathleen wrote the 1999 film After the Truth. Prior to that from 1983 to 1998 he worked for Warner Bros. script processing department gleaning knowledge from veteran proofreaders and typists. These folks would have been around in the end of the old Hollywood system. He actually became the manager of the studio's script operation which supplied scripts to endless projects in development or in production at Warner and many other studios in L.A. He originated the software used for thousands of TV and film scripts and was often the final authority on the standard script format for Warner Bros. (That would be the Warner Bros. template you see in Final Draft.) Before anyone gets mad... I love "The Screenwriter's Bible." I have one very much abused copy of the fifth edition and a barely cracked sixth edition. There are things that I wish were in his book that aren't. Like how to write a Spec for a multi camera show. I know that may seem a bit obsolete but it's a skill that is required if you want to write in TV and especially for comedies. He also has how to write for a single camera, which is what most scripts are. Riley also has a section on special pages. You may be thinking what the heck are those? Well, the title page is one and he breaks each section of it down for you. I know you may be thinking 'It's "just" a title page. What's the big deal?' The big deal comes up when you get to the writing credits. Writing credits are determined by the WGA whether you're a member or not. Rules require that all the writers that worked on the project be listed on the title page. The example that Riley gives looks like this: (properly formatted, my apologies that it is not so here) 12 HOURS IN BERLIN Written by Felix Alvin Butler Jr. Revisions by Maria Gustav Charles Knowles-Hilldebrand Robert Bush Current Revisions by Johann Potemkin The first writer comes first. The credit could be "written by," "teleplay by," or "screenplay by." The current writer comes last under the "Current Revisions by" credit. You do not need to put a draft date on a spec script only those that are in production need draft dates. This is a component of the title page. Below the draft date is the copyright info or WGA registration number. Unless requested, do not put your WGA registration number on your spec script. Cast pages, Last pages, and act breaks (TV writers!!) are also covered under special pages. Now, I've not seen the 7th edition of The Screenwriter's Bible, so my knowledge is solely based on the 5th and 6th editions. The best parts of Trottier's book are the "Book IV" (AKA Writing and Revising Your Breakthrough Script: A Script Consultant's View") & "Book V" (AKA "How to Sell Your Script - A Marketing Plan") sections. He does touch on TV writing in the 6th edition. Yes, Trottier is Dr. Format, but he trains you just on spec formatting. Like I said, if you're looking to produce your film yourself, or you're working with someone that needs you to do a production copy of a script pick up The Hollywood Standard 2nd Edition. You'll be glad you did!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Legion M
These posts were from the Writers Room in the Legion M Forum. "Screenwriting 101" is written by Nikki Ackerman. Don't know what Legion M is? It's the world's first fan-owned entertainment company. Want to know more? Visit Legion M at legionm.com Archives
January 2021
Categories |