THE COMMISSIONING PROCESSJ O

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WHAT IS IT?

• To commission is when an idea is offered to a company and they will commission that idea to make a documentary.

THE JOB ROLES

Commissioning editor

- Has the final say. The commissioning editor will decide whether your idea will go into production.

Producer

- The glue of a production. The producer brings all the elements of the production team together and has significant involvement in selecting the script.

Researcher

- Topic information, location research, paperwork etc.

Writer

-responsible for the initial story and the script.

COMMISSIONING BODIES

Corporations

- i.e. BBC

Independent Production Companies

- i.e. Bedlam Productions Ltd

Organisations

- i.e. independent cinema office

Competitions

- i.e. The Sunday Times: First Light

THE ROLE OF A WRITER

Pre-production planning

- What needs to be accomplished throughout the production, often done before the production process.

Script editing

-in order to fit the target audience etc.

Director/producer involvement

- Advice and opinions

Page lock-down

-the final plan – what will and what will not be produced

BECOMING A WRITER

Agent representation

- For press conferences etc.

Royalty payments

- Paid to the larger companies so that their work can be produced

Professional presentation

Time management

- deadlines, meetings etc.

WHY MIGHT YOU NEED AN AGENT AND WHAT DO THEY DO?

An agent sends your script out to see who would like to bid on it for publication. They’re useful because they have more knowledge of the editors and publishers than most. An agent knows who is on the lookout for the next big historical novel, whose lists are full, who is looking for a new crime writer, and can target their submissions accordingly.

WHAT ARE ROYALTY PAYMENTS?

A payment made to a writer that depends on how many of their books/scripts have been sold, a payment made to a company or person that has invented or developed a product by the company that sells it.

HOW SHOULD A PROFESSIONAL SCRIPT BE PRESENTED?

http://www.sellascript.com/Source/column.cfm?mode=display&columnid=5

WHY IS TIME MANAGEMENT AN IMPORTANT SKILL FOR A WRITER?

Writers need to focus on Deadlines and ensure that their script is completed on time, otherwise everything will go down hill from there. Without the script, actors do not know what they are supposed to do/how to react and the script must be proofread before the director can use it in their film/show/play.

LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Copyright

-law suits/legal action can take place if material breaches copyright terms and conditions

Censorship

-content is removed so that it can be made suitable for younger audiences i.e. sex/violence etc.

Plagiarism

-presenting another’s work/ideas as your own. Again, legal action can take place

Watershed

-after this time, content containing sex/violence etc. can be shown

JUDY BLUME – A LEADER OF ANTI-CENSORSHIP

Judy Blume began to write in the mid-1960’s, when her children

started school, but struggled at first to find an audience for her

work. She received up to six rejection letters a week for over two

years before her first picture book for children, The One in the

Middle Is the Green Kangaroo, was accepted by publishers Reilly

and Lee.The target of an unprecedented campaign of censorship of her books in

the 1980’s, Blume confronted the issue head-on. She began to reach

out to other writers, as well as teachers and librarians, who were under

fire. Since then, she has worked tirelessly with the National Coalition

Against Censorship to protect the freedom to read. She is the editor of

Places I Never Meant To Be, Original Stories by Censored Writers.

‘The books that will

never be read. And all

due to the fear of

censorship. As always,

young readers will be

the real losers.’

(Judy Blume)

REFERENCESwww.judyblume.com

www.jwa.orgwww.openrightgroup.org

www.watershed.co.uk

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING Any questions?