Secret Recipe for Success

I disagree, I feel there are sound strategies to find success and I'm proving as such; My Secret Formula for Breaking-In as a Screenwriter.

Absolutely. Losing our enjoyment of writing or writing in fear is the one way to guarantee failure.

I chuckled as I read all comments. You're both essentially saying the same thing, but the approach is different.

If you enjoy writing, then keep writing.

If you have fun writing your story, then there's a good chance people will have fun watching your story.

The only secret to success is...there's no such thing as a secret to success.

But there are secrets to success. Read up on the histories of various artists and you'll see the patterns. 

Or, if you don't want to read through a collection of books, just read this one; Hit Makers: The Science of Popularity in an Age of Distraction

Don't bet your careers on axioms.

1,we should be a great audience to the craft

2, is we really enjoyed the final out?

Please, anyone jump in.  What do writers get for a script?  A percentage of the receipts.  A flat fee? a combination of both?  Give me some numbers. I am now engaging with a number of directors/cinematographers and trying to decide costs and which one to pursue an agreement with. I need a trailer (5 to 10 minutes) to shop around for funding.  

Each cinematographer has been trying to blow smoke up my ass with astronomical numbers, as costs.  Without exception, each has a look of amazement when I break down their figures, as per hourly pay. Their ALL NUTS and have no concept of financial responsibility.   

I have three cinematographers I am interviewing as possible partners in this venture.  Two I have worked with on prior projects and third is a teacher at a prestigious cinematography school.  I am still open to other cinematographers.

I know a figure of $1,700.00 a day for a crew, with equipment, was suggested to me by a documentary crew...$400.00 a day each for cinematography/director, electrician, sound guy with equipment and $160.00 each for two laborers.

It's my first go around and learning.

Anyone have a crew in Chicago?

I am my own biggest fan (of my writing), so that sort of answers that part of the thread. I truly pity those who write for money only, or where it's become such drudgery that they wish they were doing something else.  Truly, this is most likely to happen when you write for others, either metaphorically by chasing an audience or because you're a writer for hire bringing somebody else's stories to life.  This is why I enjoy doing nothing but spec scripts.

My second comment is about these 'percentages' being tossed around, as to how much a writer gets paid. 

Till we sign the rights away, we own 100 percent of everything:  Once we're negotiating with a buyer, that really is a lot of power to negotiate with and we need to realize that.  But of course it's 100 percent of $0 till those negotiations are finalized.  If we want more than that, then we have to be prepared to accept that the proportions must shift.  But that's not bad news, because it generally means our stories are closer to becoming films. 

So whether it's 1 percent of the production budget (the final movie) or 2.5 or 10, that percentage is up in the air and will alter depending on a zillion factors.

One of the axioms I think about is that 100 percent of $10 thousand dollar budget film is $10 thousand, and 1 percent of a $1 million film is also $10 thousand.  But, the former is at best bound for the DVD bin, and the latter is a bigger project likely to go much further. 

Still, these numbers are all dreams till we find somebody to help out - they're volunteering their time and money, yet to be given, and we're volunteering our story, which is already done and water under the bridge to us.  So till then, I'll stick to the 'I am all powerful with my 100 percent' idea, and I enjoy the heck out of polishing my stuff till the day comes, because as stated I am my own biggest fan.  The day somebody else is in the picture is the day I'll have to make some concessions.

I know all of this is terribly redundant thinking, so maybe if I just leave you with the notion that you should be 'your own biggest fan' is the most positive I can be!

PS. I left this post behind and went to my YouTube tab in my browser, only to see that YT has 'recommended' a video about 'why flunkies fail to recognize their flunkiness', so in the end maybe that's all there is

Anthony, those are sound numbers for a skeleton crew on a small production. I'd probably push a little toward $2,000 a day but shoot in LA where people are in more demand. Camera operators are crazy expensive right now.

That said, always negotiate where you can. I assume this will only be a few days work that many could slot around bigger projects. A lot of people are looking to build portfolios and gain credits. They don't like sitting around.

Rates for writers are tricky to determine. I've written about it here.

If it's a proof of concept you're trying to create, you might want to look at https://www.getitmade.la to see if their setup works for you. 

One of the axioms I think about is that 100 percent of $10 thousand dollar budget film is $10 thousand, and 1 percent of a $1 million film is also $10 thousand.  But, the former is at best bound for the DVD bin, and the latter is a bigger project likely to go much further. 

Want to know something scary? Both SAG and WGA class anything under $2m as low budget. $1m is a drop in the ocean and also most likely to be a relatively unknown DVD/VOD/TV affair. Adjusted for inflation, even a very simple film like Reservoir Dogs would cost £3m in today's money.

$300k to $700k is considered moderate low budget and sub $300k us considered ultra low budget.

None of the thinking applied to studio level films and writer's rates really works in the indie world as the budgets plummet so fast. 

There was a guy who used to run a great location scouting blog based around NYC. He posted a picture of one of the large empty Central Park adjacent apartments one of his had in their portfolio. The same client also refused to cover the cell phone bills for calls he'd made on their behalf.

*sips coffee* Morning. I'm trying to read all these comments, but it's giving me a headache. I have an accountant for a good reason.

I'm wondering something here, in your case, Tony. If you're talking about a documentary, what kind? TV mini series? Feature film? The type changes this conversation a lot. Many questions unanswered.

The cost of getting a filmmaker/TV network/producter to agree to make the film/series, is $0.

If you want to be a producer as well as the writer, well yeah, that's going cost some clams. The exact amount varies. What you, the writer, gets when footing the bill yourself, is nothing. You'd have to then see about distribution and ticket sales or network views to get a profit or at least break even. That gets into the territory of residual cheques.

So...my main question is what is it you want? What's the overall goal here?

 Jalapeños are def in it... so it can't be 100% secret. *shuffles away*

...There's jalapeños in it?! That explains the coffee.

"The best part of waking up" REALLY FAST. lol

Thanks for the comments.  I love this site.  A lot to do.  And we're only talking about video content.  Editing and format coordination with the streaming and distribution companies coming as well as suppressing Murphy's law and keeping that son-of-a-bitch out of my pocket.  Again, thank you for your contributions.  CJ, I did check out those hyperlinks.  Good stuff.

John, you hit upon a term that I'd like opinions on...pitch deck.  Are they worth it?  A company directed at the film industry I would guess.  I know there's a lot of profiteering that goes on in the background of the movie industry.  I would need pictures and video for a 90 sec to 5 minute teaser (would think).  Just guessing, I would think $1,500.00 for a pitch deck.   Opinions.

Lily, I want to make a documentary movie, with a little stretch of the truth.  About 90 minutes.  I want to make a movie about a hero for everyone, yet show the ignorance of the time as well as good people reacting in an emergency situation.  A clash of ages with technology just coming on the scene.  As far as having someone do it for $0,  I'm not that good.  I need to harness an artist to transform the story into film.  I say that in humble humility amongst great writers.  Why do I want to do it?  To make money.  

Since I think this exchange will be read by many (a lot of good info here).  One of the directors related to me that a day of shooting produces 2 minutes of film is a good barometer of filming progress.  I personally think 5 to 20 minutes of film can be produced in a day of shooting depending on many factors. Taking those figures of $1,700 to $2,400 a day for crew and expenses.  2 minutes of film produced by a day of shooting.  A 90 minute movie would theoretically take 45 days and cost $76,500 to $108,000 plus the cost of talent, editing and relatable expenses.  Do I have it?  NO.  Am I a crazy asshole?  Maybe.  I don't know if you guys know this...firemen are not right in the head.

I'm laughing...

Tony, this is your baby, do what you want.

Pitch deck, as a term is getting a bit outdated, In essence, it's just an interactive three page brochure, This happens, here's the middle, the end. The only point is to show it's a filmable script that won't put anyone in debt. It can be worth it, but generally, my understanding, only good to have on hand in case someone asks, do you have a pitch deck? Those who ask, want to see if it really can be a movie. Optional, but I don;t think it's mandatory.

ScriptHop and Prewrite are basically pitch decks for the 21st century, In fact, I was asked recently if I have a pitch deck. I don't, but I have a ScriptHop Packet, and that got an agreement to read the script. ScriptHop is more arsty but completely free, Prewrite is a bit more technical but they have free version, also a discount through ScriptRevolution. Use whatever works for you.

Yeah, ScriptHop isn't a marketplace and they have no intention of becoming one. They, in fact, recommend Script Revolution for writers who are looking for promotion/exposure in their FAQ.

I'm old school and figure all that matters is the story - the script.  But out of curiosity, I once signed into Patreon - created a profile, set everything up, but never published it - so I figure I can give this a try, too.  I'll post my evaluations/experiences. 

My only grief is that so many of these things presume we writers are graphics or marketing persons.  Heck, I'm annoyed that I, a writer of 100-page stories, is somehow expected to come up with log lines that are genius, so that's where my complaint comes from.  It's not out of laziness. I am fully expecting to pay the experts in graphics and marketing when the time comes, though I also think that's really a job for the producers/studios who option my scripts. 

They're going to redo every log line, synopsis, script hop, poster, proof-of-concept or YouTube channel videos, not to mention the script itself - anyway.

In five to ten years time, aspiring screenwriters will be longing for an age where a decent logline and a poster was all it took to standout. We are the cusp of a huge change which has been rippling through the industry for a while now, change which will see writers having to become part marketers, reps, sales agents, casting agents, location managers, concept artists, accountants, and producers.

I realize I have an advantage coming from a background in marketing, advertising, and publishing as a graphic designer. I try to be objective. Realistically, and and statistically, not many emerging screenwriters have my background. I don't mean to be a snob, I really don't. I honestly can't help it. It's permanently tattooed on my brain. Seriously. I'll give you an example.

On the street, a casual conversation, what do you think of that construction? I was asked. Oh it's all wrong, I said, they should centre that foundation and the sign has the wrong font, none of it fits in the golden ratio. And so I get strange looks, I smile, and apologetically back off.

As a graphic designer and a screenwriter, I wouldn't recommend either PreWrite or ScriptHop for marketing. As a communication tool, to start a conversation, it can help. But if it doesn't work for you, then...just don't. The choice is yours.