STEPS TO GET THE GREEN LIGHT ON YOUR SCRIPT
Sell yourself in front of the industry
The audiovisual landscape is increasingly diversified, with new media and means of production, distribution and exhibition and new players breaking and changing the rules of the game. In this context, cultivating your contact agenda and positioning your personal brand are two essential strategies in order to carry out projects.
You must try to make your work and your figure an identifiable and distinguishable brand. Make producers or potential investors feel that your talent is a value to bet on and trust. To achieve this goal, it is very important that you never focus all your efforts on a single project, but always have an alternative to present to a production company. If you achieve this you will be one step closer to obtaining consideration within the industry as a resolute person and able to lead projects of different nature.
From Filmarket Hub we know well that the first steps within the industry are the most complicated and that the way to get your script to see the light can be hard. Times are changing and our industry is very likely to evolve and the screenwriter must be very prepared to adapt. In this post, we will discuss some of the processes, tools, alternatives and steps to follow to make a screenwriter closer to getting the green light for its script.
Build your personal brand and find connections
We also know that starting out a career in the film sector usually goes through working for free. You need to find a style, values and set specific objectives. Creating a personal brand takes time and hard work, exploit your creative side and differentiate you from the rest.
Every development process begins with the preparation of a communication strategy, a plan to get closer to the people you want to read your script. You have to be always researching and looking for production companies that might be interested in producing stories in the line of what you’re writing. These companies are not going to publicly announce what their real interests are, so the real challenge for every screenwriter trying to sell their script is to get to the bottom of this information.
Having a comprehensive and well-detailed database with the contacts of the main players in the industry and with the right information about their respective editorial lines can be the key that allows you to take the next step in the development of your project. But how do we get access to all that valuable information that is not publicly available?
Film Festivals and Markets
Festivals are usually places where the technical and artistical crew are present, increasing the chances to meet other creators and professionals. This events usually organize round tables, interviews, work in progress sections and networking sessions that allow the connections between creators and potential partners in the industry.
The most sensible thing you can do to get to know this kind of people is to attend industry events like pitchings, networking cocktails or talks and try to set up meetings and approach the people you think that might be interested o might help you with your process.
Nevertheless, this kind of major events may be out of reach for some young filmmakers or producers. What happens if you could not attend to a films festival? What if, like is happening nowadays, an industry event need to be cancelled? The most important thing in this situation is to find alternatives that the industry makes available and never stop the development process.
Online Marketplace
Our online marketplace is a platform that allows creators to continue working on the development of their project uninterruptedly 365 days a year and without having to leave home. A way through which to optimize time and costs and reduce travel and face-to-face meetings.
For a screenwriter, to have an active project on the market allows him or her to become visible amongst over 3000 production companies, distribution companies, sales agents, TV networks, etc.
It is a space to reduce the gap between the industry, increase the visibility of novice writers and contribute to the boost of projects that are taking the first steps of their development. Your project is in sight of companies around the world, it can have a bigger journey than you never dreamed of reaching on your own, but always remember that from Filmarket Hub we offer you all the security guarantees for your idea.
We want to make clear that these companies will only be able to see the One Page for the projects that are active on the market. If they are interested in getting to know more about a certain project, they will have to ask permission to the authors to be able to access the script and other relevant documents.
Going the way to get the green light for a script can be a long process and it requires a lot of talent, effort, sacrifice… and a bit of luck. Being in the right place at the right time is a little easier thanks to the tools of the online market. Don’t stop yourself, because the audiovisual industry never stops.
If you think you have something really special on your hands, our UK Online Pitchbox is your chance to prove it. For the fifth consecutive year, this online initiative aims to discover high quality unproduced projects and match them with leading companies in the industry. Executives from Baby Cow Productions, Bankside, BBC, FilmNation, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal, See-Saw Films, Sky Originals and Vertigo Films are already confirmed to attend.
