Job roles in the commissioning process

Commissioning editors-

These people need to have strong market knowledge and a critical eye for material that works and materiel that doesn't. They buy authors, book titles or ideas for publication. They commission work by finding authors or responding to book proposals. Skills include having good negotiating skills, the ability to plan for events, meetings etc and the ability to meet tight deadlines.  To be able to be rightly qualified for this job they need to have a degree in publishing or something similar in that field to be considered for any job. Their main responsibilities when it comes to scripts is to negotiations to get the script for books, films etc.

Producers- 

These people plan and coordinate various aspects of the film or TV show. Their main responsibilities include selecting the script, coordinating writing and arranging finances for the project. Some skills needed to be a good producer  include being a good listener, have excellent time management and being able to read and write very well. Producers normally come around through experience and reputation but a masters degree or equivalent looks nice on your cv. As I said above the involvements they have with the script is huge since they have very close relationships with the writers but they are normally the ones who pick out the script and give it the go ahead. (Picture, Producer/director Steven Spielberg)


Directors- 

These people have creative control over the film deciding where to place the camera, how to light it etc. These people direct everyone else around to make sure they are in the right place at the right time. All directors need to be very skillful when it comes to having a creative flair, problem solving ability and an eye for every little detail. There are no specific qualifications just like the producer but a masters degree in something film or tv related does help your cv. All directors work very close with the writer to suggest improvements to the script and helping the location manager pick locations with the script. (Picture, famous director Alfred Hitchcock)

Agents-  

Agents, specifically talent agents are responsible for making sure their clients, the actors have have to make connections between their clients and producers and directors. These people need to be very good at communication skills to reach out to people to get work for their clients, very good people skills and good written and verbal communication to produce the best results. As said above you don't need to have a degree in anything but it would help if you had one such as marketing or business studies. The agents don't have a particularly big role in the script process but will always have read through the script briefly to see if it's suitable for their clients.

Writers- 

A writers job is to come up with ideas for the script for a film or tv show etc. They work very close with the director and producer to finalize the script and put it into production. Writers need to be very good at literary, have a very good imagination and an ability to entertain the reader. As i said above for the director and producer entering without a degree is common but if you were to go to university it would be good to do something along the lines off creative writing or journalism. Obviously the writer is right at the center of the script and has the final say over what goes where but it would sometimes take up to 20 drafts to get the perfect script so the writer would obviously need a very good team around him to get the best script possible. (Picture, famous film agent and co-CEO of Endeavor, Ari Emanuel)


Copyright / Plagiarism

Copyright is violating against the holder or creator whereas plagiarism is using someone else's work without giving them credit. For example if a random person uses one of Justin Bieber's songs in his film without his or his recording company that person would be sued even if he gave them credit towards the end of the film, you always need permission of the creator in order to use their material. Another example is if I was to write a TV show which was incredibly similar show to Stranger Things and called it Not So Stranger Things for example that would be copyright because I am taking someones else creation and not changing it enough for it to be my own. (http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2018/20-famous-movies-accused-of-copyright-infringement/) This link I found online shows 20 films that have been accused of copyright throughout film history. A few include The Matrix, The Shape of Water and Zootopia.

Watersheds / Censorship

Censorship is film and TV content giving rating to be suited to their audiences, for example The Walking Dead is an 18 because they're is a lot of blood and gore in the show and watersheds is times TV programmes are aloud to be showed on TV. In the UK adult TV shows are not aloud to be shown before 9pm. This is because children might still be watching if they were on during the day and most children who are too young to watch the show are in bed. (Picture, an example of a TV show, South Park that would not be aloud to be shown before 9pm)

Bias / Libel

Bias is being very one sided towards one point of view. For example if I was to make a documentary about the American Indians but the documentary was very one-sided to the American side of it that would be bias. Whereas Libel means publishing false statements that is damaging to someone's repetition. For example if I was to write a documentary putting shame on the royal family that would be libel because I wouldn't be mentioning all of the pros they bring to the country.



Commissioning is the process of being given the go-ahead to start a project with funding for it and optioning is when companies want to take your script on but will pay you not to let anyone else have it, like a contract clause.

A literary agent represent all sorts of play-writers and screen-writers. For example there is a company called Knight Hall (https://www.knighthallagency.com/) and they give really good advice on what to and not to do when when wanting to get an agent. Some advice they gave on what to do includes writing to them telling them a bit about yourself and wait for an response until sending a sample of your work and also to be patient, they have a lot of clients!  Some stuff they said not to do includes phoning them, sending them 'zany' letters and also showing up and handing it in in-person, they don't like that.

Their are various ways to get commissioned but a reliable one is a company called the BBC Writer's Room (https://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/) These people are a commissioning body  who work with loads of channels and people more-so young and starting up, the channels and networks they work with include kids shows such as CBBC's, dramas, comedies and all types of radio. They look for writers to commission their scripts for potential tv shows etc.

If you are pitching to a smaller / independent production company they will be more likely to get commissioned because you will be cheaper to work with. These smaller production companies often get funding from bigger companies such as the BBC to develop scripts in return for a cut from the final product. For example, when the new look Sherlock (2010) needed production money they went to the BBC to get funding even though the company that produced the TV show was Hartswood Films.






When it comes to independent directors they have many are advantages and disadvantages. An advantage is that you have full creative control. This enables the writer/director to have no-one else putting any of their ideas in so their free to do as they please. An disadvantage to this is that there is no-one to give them feedback. This doesn't help because if the writer has made a mistake, or something doesn't work they will have no-one to tell them that they should do it like this. When it comes to producing your own screenplay this could go very wrong. This is because they will take full responsibility if the film goes sour, but this can go well if the film goes well, then they will take whole responsibility for it also.

Their are various commissioning bodies that operate in the industry what have various ways to get into the industry through their own routes. One company that does this is a company called Script factory (WEBSITE LINK WOULDN'T LOAD). Script Factory hold 'masterclasses' with lots of Hollywood writers to 'train the next generation of screenwriters'. This is beneficial because you will learn loads of skills and traits from professionals but you don't get any sort of support from these teachers therefore it is hard to get in if you only take these masterclasses, but, there are also other ways to learn, there is a company called BlueCat (https://www.bluecatscreenplay.com/). BlueCat are a company that run all sorts of competitions with cash prize awards. These prizes include pay cheques of up to £10,000 for the winner and all of the publicity that comes along with it. This way is a good way also to take a step into the industry. To have winning competitions on your CV you will be taken on by more people than if you didn't. This is why writers love to enter these types of competitions to get noticed and to get some good money to start of their career.