Brigitta Manthey

successful RUN, LOLA RUN by Tom Tykwer (1998)

successful GOOD BYE, LENIN! by Wolfgang Becker (2003)

successful THE LIVES OF OTHERS by Florian Henkel von Donnersmarck (2006)

successful RABBIT WITHOUT EARS by Til Schweiger (2007)

successful THE WHITE RIBBON by Michael Haneke (2009)

Wanna be successful?

…but what is a good script? there are three rules to a good script - but nobody knows one of them (Paul Schrader) „nobody knows anything“ ! ? everything is subject to individual taste ! ? a good story is an original story ! ? dramaturgical craftsmanship or anti-structure ? identity or meaning ? …and what is it about the communication with an audience???

8 reasons for rejection beginning is unclear, complicated & does not get you into the story protagonist is too passiv sagging second act does not advance to the third act ending is too sudden or too explicative or still open facts are lacking research story is too complex, overcharged, wants to please everybody & everyone  dialogues – too many / too bad  nothing new - ‚we had it all before!‘

nobody knows anything… with lack of competence & waiver of quality check… …. what do we get?  misconceptions or pseudo-communication about filmprojects absence of talks about optimization of a script wrong diagnosis of a script with financial risk a product left to mere chance let‘s get the opinion of funders…

…so what is a good script? a good script is not everything, but without a good script everything is nothing! (unknown author) is emotional is locigal knows it‘s rules works with people! a good script

some facts in business filmstories are the raw-material & the key currency of the film business a promise to a latter film not exclusively artistic, but also an economic product no product is offered to a market without a quality-check! products with quality-check sell better!

… and some more facts there is no routine in the filmbusiness filmmaking is teamwork, but business-people‘s know-how is heterogenious the relation of scripwriter & producer is important there is a interlocking of development & production processes money is the foodstuff of film  let‘s think strategically! what is quality? - it can be planed!

here we have a nice script! is it a good idea & a strong concept for a filmstory? is the story logical & emotional? does it follow rules? is it standard or something else? does it communicate? can it be summarized it in two or three sentences? potential for cinema or television or both? potential for larger or smaller audiences? (best represented by the theme) is it a good script?  the quality of a script can not be objectively measured or ultimately prooved  to determine the quality of a script is far reaching & difficult, but also with all chances

check and double check you have been working for long on a script? writer, co-writer, dramaturg, producer know exactly what they want & know their project by heart? but there is this uneasy feeling … have a bird fly over it & have a good look on the whole!

the reader‘s report – what is it? first & most objective, easy attainable assessment of a filmscript at a certain point of time quality check & decision aid along professional standards, applied to individual materials for a script 3 to 4 page-expertise of an independent reader with a summary examination & evaluation final rating

3 to 4 pages

for whom? writers directors producers dramaturgs editors financiers funders distributors banks agents (audiences!) on the desks of producers & editors usually unsolicited sent in scripts pile up… financiers & distributors want to sort out the promising idea sketch from an only feasable skript… actor‘s agents look for leading roles in quality-scripts – strong, cool, hipp & relevant 

at any step to a final script idea story outline treatment step outline first draft further drafts director‘s draft final script (shooting-script)

front page

résumé of content

detailed commentary

reader‘s standard questionnaire

reader‘s standard questionnaire

types of reader‘s reports second opinion reader‘s report in comparison reader‘s report for legal purposes Story-Notes advanced reader‘s report

reader‘s standard for story notes max. 5 Pages no synopsis a technical listing of things – no elegant prosa clear structure, easy reading What decision-makers want to know: not only identification of problems, but rather radical solutions how does the film work in the head of scriptwriter or producer what is his vision for the film?

10 chances of a reader‘s report avoids blindness to the shortcomings in one‘s work & possible disappointment triggers necessary irritation initiates discussion & new directions of thinking and developing considers the marketability of a project serves as argumentation aid best at the intersection of writer, producer, editor & funder safety net for decisions in a company or institution ready made information – also for subsequent use saves money & life-time easy to get & for little coin!

last not least: 3 truths If you have 10 readers read your script , you will get 10 different opinions ! (unknown) Personal choices and feelings are the elements of the creative process, which is unique to every screenwriter, and to each and every screenplay and filmproject! (Philip Parker) You are an artist now and then, but you have to be a craftsman all the time! (Andrej Wajda)

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