Differences between Spec Scripts, Treatments and Pitches
Here’s a question that every screenwriter will seek the answer to when they first begin to write:
“What’s the diffrence between a spec script, treatment and pitch?”
The answer is really quite simple.
A spec script is a screenplay that a writer has written on his own without getting paid for it. The ultimate goal for the writer would be to sell his completed screenplay. Another reason would be to have something to show potential employers. They want to see a sample of you work.
A treatment is pretty much an outline of the screenplay’s plot. Treatments are usually written in paragraph form and don’t include dialogue. Treatments vary in length. Sometimes a potential employer will ask for a treatment of your screenplay.
A pitch is an oral presentation where the screenwriter pitches his movie to studio execs. If the execs like it, congrats, you’ve got yourself a paid job!
Reality is your greatest inspiration
I find it that the best way to get ideas for a story and characters is to open one’s eyes and look around. The world around you is the best inspiration. You’d be surprised how the people that surround you can easily translate into a character in your screenplay. Your neighborhood can also be a source of inspiration for a location in your screenplay.
I guess the point I am trying to make is that if you’re stuck, take a break and head outside and pay close attention to your surroundings. I would suggest heading to a mall, sitting down at the food court with pen and paper and start writing what you see. Observe the people and how they act, how they walk and talk. This will hopefully spark something in your brain.
Get an honest opinion from your true friends
If you’re working on a screenplay that you want an opinion on, the best people to ask are your friends. And I’m not talking about your friends from work or your classmate friends, I’m talking about your lifelong friends. The friends that you would get into a fist fight for. They’re the ones who will give you their honest opinions because no matter what they say, you’ll still be friends. The “other” friends will try not to hurt your feelings or burn a potential bridge.
Writing Exercise: Create a story with random images
Here’s an exercise for you. Take a bunch of random images that you find online or in a magazine and write a story about them. Give the people in your images names and personalities. Use the items in the images as props that they interact with. Create a conflict.
For example: Say you randomly choose the following 4 images — 1) A lady under an umbrella, waiting for the bus. 2) An image of a candy store. 3) An image of an empty house. 4) An image of a big building.
Save time and money by writing an outline
Chances are your indie films have little to no budget and must be shot in only days, sometimes only one day. The last thing you want to do is show up at the specified location and not know what you’re going to shoot. First of all, it is very unprofessional to show up at a shoot and try to wing it. Second of all, you waste valuable time that could be used to shoot extra scenes or alternate angles. You are also wasting the time of your actors who are either volunteering their time or charging you. In that case, you’re also losing money.
Create an online portfolio
In my opinion, an online portfolio is very important. Nowadays, it is very easy for anyone to start a website and put up their videos, artwork, etc.
It’s quite easy, actually. First you will need to register a domain name. I would suggest using GoDaddy.com and enter the coupon code: diggnation to get a discount. The best thing to do is to register your name. FirstAndLastName.com or FirstName.com if you have a really unique name. Next up, you will need a host. GoDaddy themselves also offer hosting. It’s actually quite cheap too. About $4/month. I personally use DreamHost.com to host all of my sites.
Get great footage by knowing your gear!
“A well-placed cheap microphone will get you better audio than a poorly placed expensive microphone.” - My sound professor at Los Angeles Mission College uttered does words, more or less, during one of his always entertaining and informative lectures. And he’s 100% right. Just because you have the best, most expensive equipment doesn’t mean your film is automatically going to be great.
Improve your writing with practice.
If you want to become a better writer, there’s no better way than to constantly write. You, no doubt, have heard of the old saying, “Practice makes pefect,” and not surprisingly, it’s true! There are many different kinds of writing you can practice. You can practice by writing dailogue, writing good action lines, or by simply writing about your everyday life.
Remember to back up your data!
How would you feel if you worked really hard editing a video and then your computer crashes and you lose all your hard work? This happens more than you’d think. And this applies to not only your edited pieces but also your photos and documents. I’m willing to bet that the majority of people, including myself, don’t have a separate PC/Mac that is used ONLY for video editing. You probably use one computer for video, storing your family photos and documents. Well, guess what? If your hard drive fails, all these things will be gone forever!
Getting the best from non-actors
User HCoremark over at the HV20.com forums started a very helpful thread titled “Getting the best from non actors” in which various members have shared their tips/suggestions on how to get the best performance from non professional actors. The comments are very valuable such as:
“…keep encouraging them even if they’re really bad. I mean, they kind of know they’re not very good to begin with, but it would make things a whole lot worse if you keep saying things like “No, no, no…what was that?” I always just try to say “That was good, but let’s try it this way now.” And even if it’s going terribly bad while filming and you know it will be unusable, try not to cut them in the middle of it. You don’t want to annoy them or give them the idea they’re not doing well enough.”
Definitely head over to the thread and read two pages worth of really good tips!
