Why do a lot of filmmakers seem to hate deep focus cinematography?

[Josh Bass]

mayhap sir. mayhap.

[Ryan Elder]

Okay I will talk to the others I've worked with before and ask them if they would be open to doing some other script ideas of mine, if I write them, if that sounds better.

[Ryan Elder]

I had a talk with the fellow filmmaker I worked with the most in the past. He says that he will help me with a feature film but only if I use a script written by a professional writer with veteran experience, where the script will have no trouble getting funded. A script that everyone wants. He says that since a feature film is serious business, we need a script a like that, and he cannot do one that is not written by a professional writer.

So if he works with me on a feature, I will have to get a professional script. Do you think he has a point though, and I should spend a lot of the budget on buying a script that others want?

[Paul R Johnson]

Hooray! We finally got there. A friend who knows what he's talking about, and you believe. Grab hold of this person and attach yourself to them, for they are the light at the end of the tunnel.

Ryan -- seriously, we have been saying this for ages.

[Ryan Elder]

Okay thanks, but how much would it cost to purchase a screenplay that everyone would want? If it's one that everyone wants, like my friend says I should buy, wouldn't that really up the price?

[Paul R Johnson]

It depends on the writer, and the audience. If Spielberg wanted a script it would cost him an awful lot more than if it's a screenplay for an art film with restricted audience. It's worth what the buyer is willing to pay. The better the writer, the more in demand their products are, and up goes the price.

[Ryan Elder]

Okay, well it's just he said I should buy script that producers and invested would be kicking down my door to want to be a part of. But if the script is that good, that they would be banging on my door, would I be able to afford such a script?

[Josh Bass]

Not to discourage but as I understand it part of getting investors/funding involves who is attached to the film, including the director. They will need to have confidence that a strong competent director is attached to want to invest, regardless of how killer the script is.

[Brian Drysdale]

Producers and investors look at the overall package, if it's a commercial package they will want to be convinced that the director is experienced enough, if it's a scheme type production with less commercial funders, they may take the risk if the writer/director can demonstrate they have a strong personal vision for their script. Not the copy and paste stuff from other films.

They also surround the director with experienced people, who ensure that director keeps on course and produces a film that can be cut together, It's unlikely the director will have the final cut.

I suspect that such a script has to be of a higher standard that Ryan is currently producing.

[Ryan Elder]

Well I was told to produce a professional writers script, one that will attract a lot, but where can I find these scripts without paying more than I can afford though? Or how do other filmmakers do it when acquiring their first killer script that investors and producers will want to fund, if the director is the one who owns the script?

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Originally Posted by Paul R Johnson

Hooray! We finally got there. A friend who knows what he's talking about, and you believe. Grab hold of this person and attach yourself to them, for they are the light at the end of the tunnel.

Ryan -- seriously, we have been saying this for ages.

Lol I know. Maybe he’s taken my opposite advice... naaaah

This is why many of us don’t think you should make a feature film. First there is all the technical and creative stuff and then there is all this business related stuff. How do you get a good script, how to attract a skillful crew, how do you convince investors to give you money when you’ve never made a feature film... It’s a gigantic undertaking.

But yeah a good script would obviously be the first step in the right direction. I still think a smaller project would be the best choice.

[Josh Bass]

Seconded. Thirded. Seventhed.

[Ryan Elder]

Well I am still doing short films in the meantime but still have a goal to do a feature and would still like to search for good scripts though. I am just worried that if I spend so much money on the script, that I might not be able to attract funding for it after, to make the feature, compared to having a script that was free, and I can then use the money to make the movie, instead of buying the script.

[Brian Drysdale]

Before getting involved in all of this Ryan should do some reading on the business side of making films and the process of development, since it appears he doesn't know much about it. Again, there are books on the subject and if he doesn't want to into that method I expect there are online sites that will give the basics.

It's something that most film courses don't cover and a forum isn't the place to go into those details, because at some point it involves lawyers, assignment contracts and more paperwork than can be found in the script itself.

At the moment, your feature current film budget is on the lower end of the development cost scale for a feature film. If you write the script you hold the rights, if someone else writes the script, agreements have to be in place for their writing fees etc, otherwise they will still hold the rights. All these things need to be in place otherwise you won't get distribution.

[Ryan Elder]

Sure I can read more books on it.