John August

Transcribed

Umbrage Farms

Episode - 34

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Film Industry, Psych 101, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

Craig and John take a brief look at the misguided Girls backlash and complaints about nepotism in Hollywood, before segueing to a bigger discussion of spec scripts and positioning:

  • What are “spec farms,” and how can you avoid them?

  • What should you do if you and your reps/producers disagree about whether your script is ready to send out?

  • Is it a good idea to post your script online?

  • How should you introduce characters in an ensemble? How many is too many?

Todo esto y más en el 34° episodio de Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 4-26-12: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

All Apologies

QandA, Scriptnotes, Transcribed

Craig and John take a look at Toph Eggers’s apology, which segues to a discussion of apologies in general and laugh tracks.

The bulk of the episode is spent on listener questions:

  • After making a spec sale, what should a writing team do next?

  • When handing in a rewrite, should you preface your changes in an email?

  • How do you handle file-keeping with multiple projects and drafts?

  • What is a “spec script auction?”

  • What do you do when your manager keeps pushing you to write things you’re not interested in?

  • How do you format verse (like Shakespeare) when it’s used as dialogue?

  • What do you do when your scene has 23 characters in it?

All this and more in this week’s Scriptnotes.

LINKS:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 4-5-12: The transcript of this episode can be found here.

How to be the script department

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:

You can download the episode here: AAC.

UPDATE 3-16-12: The transcript of this episode can be found here.