John August

Transcribed

How to be the script department

Episode - 30

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Scriptnotes, Transcribed

Craig and John offer advice on handling revisions once your screenplay moves into production.

Why do you lock pages? How do you add scenes once the script is locked? Why are some pages different colors? And what comes between page 15 and 15A?

Get it right, and it should be smooth sailing. Get it wrong, and you have a frustrated crew and a lot of cleanup.

Television series generate so many scripts that they generally have their own internal systems, with designated staffers to handle the process. But for small-to-medium-sized features, the screenwriter is the script department.

The good news is that it’s usually pretty straightforward, especially if you follow some best practices to make life easier.

Also discussed this week: science fair projects, historic atrocities, and the origin of “wackiness ensues.”

Standing on the shoulders of giants in episode 30 of Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

UPDATE 3-28-12: The transcript of this episode can be found here

How to cut pages

How-To, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig turn from the pen to the knife to talk through the whys and hows of cutting pages — both the cosmetic trims and the deep cuts.

Your script is probably too long. Here’s how to fix that.

Craig also discusses his WGA seminar on surviving the feature film development process, and his vision for a screenwriters training program analogous to the well-regarded TV showrunners program. He drafts John to teach one segment.

The last few minutes degenerate into a conversation about Skyrim, Arkham City, American Idol and uxoricide. So, be forewarned.

From killing your darlings to killing your wife, all in this week’s Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

* My earlier post on [How to cut pages](http://johnaugust.com/2008/how-to-cut-pages)
* [Marriage in Skyrim](http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Marriage)
* Intro: [ABC’s Wide World of Sports](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fi69utdvDcA)
* Outro: [Hey Joe](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRYqzCNXx5s) cover by Mark Galloway

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_28.m4a).

**UPDATE** 3-16-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-28-how-to-cut-pages-transcript).

Optioning a novel, and the golden age of television

Books, QandA, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

For their 25th podcast, John and Craig tackle listener questions.

How does a screenwriter option a novel he wants to adapt? John has optioned two novels — one through a studio, and one on his own — while Craig recently optioned his first. In each of these cases, we found the psychological aspects to be just as important as the legal ones.

When can a writer say he “wrote” a movie — particularly if there are other credited writers? John and Craig disagree a bit here, with John trying to draw the distinction between “worked on” and “wrote.”

Finally, should an aspiring writer focus on television or features? The answer from two feature writers may surprise you. Or not: television is pretty damn good these day.

Links:

* [Finding out if a book has been optioned](http://johnaugust.com/2007/book-optioned)
* [The Hero from Otherwhere](http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1838431.Hero_from_Otherwhere) by Jay Williams
* [What’s That Book?](http://www.whatsthatbook.com/)
* [Big Fish, a Novel of Mythical Proportions](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1616201649/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1616201649) by Daniel Wallace
* [Summer of the Monkeys](http://www.amazon.com/dp/0440415802/?tag=johnaugustcom-20) by Wilson Rawls
* [How I Became a Famous Novelist](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802170609/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=johnaugustcom-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0802170609) by Steve Hely
* INTRO: [The Gary Coleman Show](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZQSPfTq42M) opening credits
* OUTRO: [I Wanna Dance with Somebody](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weBTm5pH3rw) by Adrian Glynn

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_25.m4a).

**UPDATE** 2-22-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-25-optioning-a-novel-and-the-golden-age-of-television-transcript).

The Brotherhood of Screenwriters

QandA, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

John and Craig open up the listener mailbag to answer questions about formatting lyrics, foreign dialogue and title trademarks. We also dive in to discuss overall deals, which are common in television but quite rare among feature writers.

Also this week: The launch of the plain text screenwriting format Fountain, and John’s love for the all-singing, all-dancing, Superbowl-sized NBC network promo.

There’s also brief discussion of some sporting event that happened two Sundays ago.

Links:

* [NBC’s “Brotherhood of Man” promo (updated link)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJuAvwtmXuw)
* [Fountain](http://www.fountain.io)
* Where to [send a question](mailto:ask@johnaugust.com)
* INTRO: [Fresno opening credits](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lIAZiTI56I)
* OUTRO: [Wessex Boy](http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/england-keep-my-bones-deluxe/id439592119) by Frank Turner

You can download the episode here: [AAC](http://traffic.libsyn.com/scriptnotes/scriptnotes_ep_24.m4a).

**UPDATE** 2-16-12: The transcript of this episode can be found [here](http://johnaugust.com/2012/scriptnotes-ep-24-the-brotherhood-of-screenwriters-transcript).