by Voyage | Jul 13, 2015 | Entertainment Business, Screenwriting Tips
5 questions you must immediately ask yourself upon finishing the first draft of your script Congratulations! You’ve finished your script! Now what? Well, give yourself a pat on the back and take a moment to appreciate your labor of love… Now roll up your sleeves and make a fresh pot of coffee because it’s time to get back to work! The first thing you should do immediately upon finishing your first draft is think about your next draft, and that means asking yourself some tough yet necessary questions. No, we don’t mean, “What’s for lunch?” (although that’s a pretty important question too). We mean that you need examine your draft with a keen and honest eye in order to zero in on its strengths and weaknesses. That way, you can make your second draft all the more intriguing and marketable. As you probably already know, this town is filled with scripts…producers and agents are literally buried in them. And on every desk there are lots of good scripts, but there are not a lot of great scripts. If your script doesn’t grab the attention of the producer, agent, or director in the first 5-10 pages, you can assume that he or she is going to move on to the next one in the sky-high stack on their desk/kitchen table/floor (you get the picture). But here’s the problem…re-writes can seem about as daunting as doing your high school math homework. But don’t worry because we’ve got your back! To help make your script a standout on Mr. Producer’s desk (while also avoiding the feeling that you’re back in Algebra I), we’ve come...
by Voyage | Mar 24, 2015 | Entertainment Business, Screenwriting Tips
Getting Lucky in Hollywood Los Angeles is the entertainment industry mecca, and while it’s helpful to live in the city to gain traction and success, it is not entirely necessary. Our team has compiled 7 tips and strategies to help you stay relevant in the eyes of Hollywood producers, especially if you don’t live in LA. 1. Create A Social Media Presence For Yourself Social media is the simplest, most inexpensive, and accessible way to build a brand for yourself. Make it known to your followers/friends who you are and what makes you tick. Develop your unique voice, and build an audience with it! Having the ability to market yourself is becoming about as important as your project itself – if you don’t sell it, who will? Creating an online presence using sites like YouTube, Twitter and Facebook is a great way to connect with an audience, engage with like-minded people and stay up to date with the goings on in the Industry. Another viable option is to create a blog! You never know who may stumble across your personalized site and like what they see… Take Diablo Cody, for instance. She started out putting her thoughts and ideas on a blog, which ended up catching the eye of Hollywood producers. She later went on to write the screenplay JUNO, which won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2008. Twitter is another great forum to showcase your creative ideas and get noticed. The hit TV show “$h*! My Dad Says” began as the Twitter feed of a semi-employed comedy writer, Justin Halpern, who moved back in with his...
by Voyage | Oct 2, 2014 | Entertainment Business, Pitching, Producer Interviews, Screenwriting Tips
Get the real scoop on the world of television writing from an accomplished writer and producer [video_player type=”embed” width=”560″ height=”315″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″][/video_player] In this video, Nat Mundel sits down with writer Chris Levinson, whose résumé includes shows like Party of Five, Dawson’s Creek, and Law & Order. In the big world of entertainment, you can’t just rely on luck to get your script sold—you have to be prepared with a pitch at any time when opportunity knocks. Levinson discusses all this and more, including the ins and outs of how a real writer’s room works and what it takes to get into one. If you missed this video before, now’s the time to make sure you have all the information you need to succeed! Archives November 2024 (2) October 2024 (3) September 2024 (2) April 2023 (1) January 2023 (1) December 2022 (1) October 2022 (1) June 2020 (1) April 2020 (1) February 2020 (1) January 2020 (1) October 2019 (1) August 2019 (1) June 2019 (1) January 2019 (1) April 2018 (1) March 2018 (1) February 2018 (1) January 2018 (1) December 2017 (1) November 2017 (1) October 2017 (2) July 2017 (4) April 2017 (1) February 2017 (1) January 2017 (1) December 2016 (1) November 2016 (1) October 2016 (1) September 2016 (2) June 2016 (1) May 2016 (1) April 2016 (1) February 2016 (3) January 2016 (1) December 2015 (2) November 2015 (1) October 2015 (2) September 2015 (2) August 2015 (2) July 2015 (1) June 2015 (1) April 2015 (1) March 2015 (1) February 2015 (2) January 2015 (3) December 2014 (2) October 2014 (1) September 2014 (3) August 2014 (3) June 2014 (2) May 2014 (5) April 2014 (3) February 2014 (1) January 2014 (1) December 2013 (1) April 2013 (1) December 2012 (1) July 2012 (1) April 2012 (2) March 2012 (2) December 2011 (1) November 2011 (3) October 2011 (4) September 2011 (5) August 2011 (3) May 2011 (2) April 2011 (1) March 2011 (2) November 2010 (2) August 2010 (1) June...
by Voyage | Aug 21, 2014 | Entertainment Business, Producer Interviews, Screenwriting Tips
Learn what about a script will make producers sit up and take notice—from the advice of a talented Hollywood executive, Charlsey Adkins! As part of our ongoing series, which asks our producers about their work in the entertainment industry, I talked with the delightful Charlsey Adkins. Charlsey is a current Hollywood executive and Voyage producer, and here you can learn some of her insights on what makes scripts unique, fun to read, and interesting to producers—and what writers can do to make their script can stand out from the rest. With a bachelor’s degree in film and nearly a decade of experience in the industry, Adkins has a serious pedigree in production. Now the Vice President of Development and Production at Harbinger Pictures, Adkins was instrumental in bringing the acclaimed feature film THE HELP to screen. During her career, she has worked with many writers and learned a lot about what makes a script great and what makes it fall flat. I got to ask her about the kind of scripts that speak to her, and how writers can avoid common pitfalls that turn producers off their work. So, without further ado, here are… 5 Tips For Writing Your Best Script with Charlsey Adkins 1. VALUE YOUR WORK One aspect of a script that turns Adkins off particularly is when it is clear a writer hasn’t proofread their work before sending it off to a potential producer or financier. “I read lots of scripts,” says Adkins, “and I can tell when you care when you’re writing, and when you don’t care.” That care is most apparent in...
by Voyage | Aug 13, 2014 | Entertainment Business, Producer Interviews, Screenwriting Tips, The Expert Network
An expert producer’s look at the past, present, and future of serial programming Last week, I had the pleasure of talking with Kelly Hayes, a current Hollywood producer and Voyage team member, about what it’s like to work in all corners of the industry, and how the classic forms of development for network, cable, and film compare to the emerging market of digital streaming. This is the first of an ongoing series that asks our producers about their work in the entertainment industry so that YOU can learn from their wealth of experience! Hayes’ many credits have ranged from formats in scripted and reality television, film, and digital streaming series. Today, he has a lot of plates spinning in every market you can think of, with ongoing projects in half-hour comedy, hour-long drama, reality, and feature film. To say he’s got a bit of experience is an understatement. Although Hayes started his career in film, an economic downturn coupled with the WGA strike of 2008 served to destabilize the film industry, and prompted Hayes to look into other options. Television was his next best choice to keep following his passion—and it took some relearning to make it work. Looking Ahead The biggest change to the process of development in film and television was the notion of planning much further ahead into the future of the project. “It’s ’where do I see this show at episode 100?’” says Hayes of the development process for the life of a series, “versus, ‘I have 90 minutes to tell my story and then it’s done.’” The core of making a great...
