Zara Griffen's BTEC Media Blog: Commissioning process: Commissioning bodies

1.  Job roles within the commissioning process.

A commissioning editor is somebody who scouts out new writers, scripts and other media based things. They can buy peoples work and get it to the publishing stage. This type of job involves a lot of research, they will be with the production team from start to finish. 

Producers can deal with aspects of the production that the director doesn't deal with. The producers help transfer the original story into a film. The producers have a very important role when dealing with legal issues, cast and crew and even some budgeting. Once a script is brought the producer can change aspects of the script or even the whole idea completely, this starts to annoy script writers, because their original idea is no longer a thing. An example of a producer is Micheal G Wilson (Casino Royale, Skyfall, For Your Eyes Only).

The director initially turns the story into video and audio, the director is also one of the most important people on set, he is in charge of the producer, DOP and all actors on set. They can help the director of photography direct certain shots that he has in mind after reading the script. A famous director is Alfred Hitchcock, he is a English film director he has made movies such as Psycho, The birds and Vertigo. 

A script editor will evaluate screenplays and give different perspectives, they also assess the relationship between between screenwriters and producers, they present all scripts to the team, at development meetings to make sure all parties agree with the same vision for the project. Script editors should also negotiate their contracts before they start their work. Most script editors are freelance. 

2. Commissioning bodies.

Commissioning bodies are used when somebody is trying to sell a their product to a production company.

A lot of writers use agents to help them find potential jobs, the way it works is that a production company will contact an agency to see if the agents client will be interested in writing a script. Most big time screen writers will use an agent but some independent screen writers will not due to costs. 

Competition is also a way of finding new writers, BBC writers room is an example of an organisation who uses competition.  The competition could have certain requirements for example the length of the writing or even the genre. 

Some organisations help the screenwriter's work with actual writers, this is very useful as instead of buying screenplays they can help develop the idea and the structure.

Independent directors mainly produce their own screenplays, this saves them a lot in cost, small production company's will have the same small people doing different roles to save on costs.

Most independent films that are feature length professional films are released by independent production companies, some production companies include; Film4 productions and Lions Gate Films. 

Warner Brother, Disney and Paramount these are companies that release the finished product, they make their money of the box office revenue and the sale of the film. 

3. The role of the writer throughout production.

After a project has been given the green light, it enters the pre-production stage, first the Writer will be commissioned to make the screenplay, the writer will then be given set guidelines from the idea or true story or comic books. 

Script editing is completed by the script editor.  The screenwriter will be given feedback on how they can improve the script. Instead of pointing out what is wrong with the script, the script editor will sit down with the screenwriter to help change and improve the script. 

Before the production process begins the script is made easier for shooting, the script becomes a shooting script. This is when page numbers and scene headings are added. If things need to be changed whilst in production then these notes can be logged and the new changes will be sent to all the cast and crew. 

Directors and producers have the final say of the outcome of the script, this somewhat ruins the writing process for a screenwriter, they have worked on a script for so long for some of their script to be changed, screenwriters usually dislike the changes and do not want to have their names mentioned. 

Page lock-down is when changed need to be made to the script, the pages will be coded and sent to the cast and crew as separate pages rather than sending the whole script again. The pages that have been changed they are given codes, If the the script goes on to say page 50 and the changes have been made on page 22, the codes for the changed page will be 22a rather than 23 as the page after may not be changed. 

4. Working as a writer

Agent representation is very important when working as a writer, some production companies will not take scripts unless they have been sent from an agent. Agent representations will ask for a piece of work from the writer before making an appointment with them, this is to make sure they really enjoy your work. The company will only take people who approach them the right way, they prefer if you do not constantly keep contacting to see if they have received you work, because they will get back to you in due course. A good example of would be 'The Agency' (In London). They are proud to represent their writers, they represent all manners of writers and directors, from working in drama to working in major Hollywood films. 

Optioning is when a screenplay is taken by either an individual or a company for a fixed cost for a fixed amount of time, in that time the script is with the individual or company the screenwriter cannot sell the screenplay to anybody else, this offers exclusivity to the company that is paying for the screenplay. In that the the individual or company can change the script to meet certain needs if they wish to. 

Professional representation for screenwriters helps when managing your career, it helps the screenwriter choose and develop screenplays for potential job roles, Alan Brodie is a literary agency whose clients are writers/ directors. They work to help new writers who will then become the voices of the next generation.

Time management is different for every writer, some writers will work late evening till early hours of the morning, whereas some will write in the morning till mid afternoon. Writers have to keep a balance when meeting deadlines as they also have to meet new and existing clients to keep more work coming in. A lot of screenwriters jump from script to script, to stop getting distracted. 

All writers have legal and ethical considerations to reflect on, one of the main considerations is copyright. This is a issue in the media industry, copyright prevents other writers from stealing or copying other writers work, this comes under plagiarism and could possibly result in the artist being sued. 

Another legal and ethical issue is bias within the media industry, writers need to make sure they are not bias, especially when associating things with moral and political views. Libel laws can also come under copyright as you would need to make sure the product doesn't offend anybody.

A watershed is the time when something is broadcasted, for example if shows have sexual content there is a law that states nothing can be shown of that nature before 9pm. This would then also meet Ofcoms guidelines.

Censorship is a vital thing when considering broadcasting your project for a screenwriter. The writer will have to take this into consideration when discussing their target audience and the rating they are aiming for.