I have a question about screenwriting that is
frequently asked, where do I look?
Here! You can also try my
Guide for Screenwriters.
I want to write screenplays, how do I go about it?
You will find information on how to write a
screenplay on my Guide for Screenwriters page.
If you are still at school you can contact Film Education at
www.filmeducation.org.
If you are looking to go to film school you can find details on my training page.
For more details
on working in the film industry you can see my employment page.
How do I copyright my film idea/screenplay?
The issues regarding copyright are very complex and change from
country to country. In the UK an idea is copyrighted as soon as it's on paper. The complicated bit
is to prove ownership of that copyright and that you came up with the idea before anyone else. To
protect your creative rights you need to collect evidence of the creative process and create a 'chain of
evidence' to prove ownership. For example you have to prove that someone has had access to your
work to be able to steal it, so
you need to keep all correspondence and a meticulous list of who has read your script and when.
Registering your work with an official body before you send it to anyone is a great way to build a chain
of evidence, but registration must take place before anyone else reads your script or idea.
It is best get advice from the professional bodies that
are directly involved, such as the guilds and official registration and copyright bodies relevent to your
country and the country you are doing business with, if it's not your own.
I have a collection of useful advice and links to many of the official
organisations and sites that deal with this complex matter
here.
Where do you get this information from, is is gospel?
This is a collection of information collected while working in the industry
and I have over 12 years of experience as a professional.
My Guide For Screenwriters' started when I was reading and evaluating
film scipts for The Grade Company in 1997. I was frustrated with the
quality of the submissions and wrote up a set of guidelines, which soon
grew and grew into what you see today.
Some of the advice is first hand, some of it second. I only have to go by
my own and the experiences of people I know and what I hear in the
industry. There are no set rules in this industry. I live and work in Britain,
so I have a British perspective of the film world, so you should always
check for more than one source of information so you can get the
broadest spectrum of experience.
Always use your common sense and get a second opinion, whether it is
just advice or an evaluation of your screenplay. There are a million sites
about screenwriting you should check out as well as mine. I have a
list of favourites on my Writers Links
page.
What is a LOG line?
A LOG-LINE (also sometimes refered to as a TAG-LINE or
STRAP-LINE) is an advertising term which describes the
film/theme/etc in a line. For example the logline for
ALIEN was "In space no-one can hear your scream",
JURRASIC PARK: "An adventure 65 million years in the
making", ALIENS: "This time it's war!", MARS ATTACKS:
"Nice planet. We'll take it" LEON: "If you want the job
done right, hire a professional", et cetera.
I have this great idea for a film, but don't know how to write a screenplay.
Can you write my screenplay for me?
It is best that you at least try yourself - you may discover a new skill in the
process. Check out my my
Guide for Screenwriters page.
You can send me a one-page synopsis via e-mail, but NOT as an
attachment. Remember to copyright all ideas before you send them to
anyone.
What is a synopsois?
A SYNOPSIS is a brief account of your story, usually one
to three pages long (I recommend sticking to just one page).
A brief synopsis is about 25 words to half a page long.
A TREATMENT is a more indepth
version of a synopsis and is around 15-20 pages long and
includes selected dialogue. I personally don't use treatments and use
a good strong synopsis to promote my work. See my Guide for Screenwriters page for further
details.
Can I send you my screenplay?
No, not at this time as I am very busy developing my own work. I get a
great many requests and hope that in the future when I set up my own film production company,
I will then be able to
take on screenplay submissions. I understand the difficulty of getting
started in this industry and list some useful information and contacts on
my Guide for Screenwriters pages.
You may be able to
send me a one-page synopsis via e-mail, but NOT as an attachment.
Remember to copyright all ideas before you send them to
anyone. Again, there are more details on my Guide for Screenwriters page.
Do you want a writing partner?
Possibly. I am already co-writing several projects, with several different
writers. It may be best to get to know me better first. I have a film group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jengofilmgroup
which has many creative members, which you may like to join. To apply for
mebership, you need to fill out the
application form on my feedback page.
Can you give me a job?
No. Unfortunately I�m not curently in a position to employ
people. I hope that this will change in the future. You can fill in details on
my feedback
form and I can add you
to a mailing list. If my position changes you can find
out about it on my website. You can list your CV or
Resume online for free - check out my film directories and
employment pages.
How do I find work in the film Industry?
See my employment page for
details.
I want to join your Jengo Film Group.
Membership is restricted to industry professionals or
regular visitors to this site. You can apply for
membership via the feedback
form.
HELP! I cant find what I�m looking for!
There are alphabetically listed link catagories on my A-Z Film Links page. If you have
no luck there you can try the search engine
www.google.co.uk, The
Internet Movie Database
www.imdb.com, the British
Film Institutes website:
www.bfi.org.uk. or you
can contact me if
you are not sure where to search or it is complicated.
I want to contibute to ScreenWriters� Friend.
Fantastic! contact me how you
would like to contibute and what subject you want to
cover. Each contibution will be credited and the
contributor will also get their own page on Jengo for
their CV/Resume. Contributions must be useful information
or advice. Suggested links are not counted for a
contributor page.
I want to exchange a film link with www.jengo.8m.com.
Wonderful! You can enter details into my feedback form.
I want to join a Jengo Mailing list.
Certainly! You can apply on my feedback
form.
What do you do?
See my resume page for
details.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER:
The information here is
given for guidance only. It is not intended to be taken as specific advice
for individual circumstances. It is not to be regarded as constituting
legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. This collection of
pages are purely advice from my own experience to give you a free
helping hand, success is not a
guarantee. You should use your own common sense and seek legal
advice if you are unsure about anything. Reading this page binds you to
a legal agreement that any outcome or lack of outcome is nothing to do
with these pages or me and that you promise to never sue me.
Yes, working
in the film industry has made me paranoid!
Like Fox Mulder says:
"Don't trust anyone!"
