Script Guidelines
Nov 1, 2015 7:24:11 GMT
Post by joannem on Nov 1, 2015 7:24:11 GMT
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If you're looking to offer a script or story idea you might like to read this.
This is a hobby, not a job
As noted elsewhere, everyone gives their time and creativity freely on this site. If you think you can sell your script for money then pursue that avenue, but you can't sell it here. The writer of a script of course is free to sell it or have it produced by others as they want and having it produced here has no bearing on what you do with your work in the future.
We want original SF and horror
We are looking to produce science fiction and horror scripts. We're not doing romantic comedies or superheroes although our remit may expand a little in the future. We are looking to produce original scripts and monologues, so we don't want work based on established TV shows or film franchises. There's other groups that do that kind of thing and very good some of them are too. If you have ideas for Doctor Who audios then drop a line to RobintheCrow as he is the head honcho at DAM Productions, a group with a long and distinguished oeuvre of Who audios. We can make anything from a monologue through a full cast drama to more experimental pieces, but we're not doing video or any form of multi-media work. Your SF can be 'hard' or 'soft' but it must be science based, rather than Lord of the Rings type fantasy. Horror should be supernatural or psychological in nature, not gore or torture porn as neither works well on an audio. Think MR James rather than the Saw franchise.
Story is Everything
Your script has to have a strong story, with a compelling character arc. If your characters are not changed by their experience then there is no point in relating it. Listeners are not interested in long passages of narrated action or exposition. They want drama and conflict and surprises and revelation, not pages of background detail about a reality which exists only in your head. There is also no point in polishing dialogue and description if you have no story to tell. Dan Brown writes terrible sentences but very popular books because he tells stories which intrigue his readership and move the story on with every line. Your story must be self contained, it can't be merely the first part of a 12 part epic which doesn't make sense by itself.
Stories are about characters
Even if your story is about aliens or robots (or super intelligent shades of the colour blue) your story has to have a range of human emotions to give the actors something to work with. It's not a technical manual for them to read out loud and nobody would listen to it if it were. The basic rules of drama apply to SF and horror like they do everywhere else. Your characters need a goal, there must be barriers in their way which they use their own efforts to surmount, and there must be a solution to their problem. A three act structure with a set up, a journey and a solution works well in the audio setting as it does everywhere else. The listener should never feel lost, but equally should never be able to guess what's coming next. Even though these are only audios, action is important in every scene. This can mean character clashes, rather than ray gun fights, but scenes in which characters merely talk to each other to show how witty the writer is are not interesting if they don't move the plot forward. It's better to write with subtext rather than 'on the nose' but it must be clear what's going on as you only have sound to play with. A strong story with some clumsy writing can always be polished. Beautiful writing with no story to tell has no point.
Sound not Vision
Your script has to tell its story through sound and sound alone and and so if you envisioned it as a film you will have to rethink it. There is no point writing huge space battles or sprawling alien cities to impress the viewer because we only have listeners. Worlds can be built in audios with music but they can't be built with words. Listeners don't want information, they want drama, and though it's good to have the world you set your story in well developed in your imagination, this does not mean it should be dumped on the page. Small numbers of characters in a confined space with lots of personal conflict and a clear and deadly threat will always produce good drama. Although there is theoretically no limit to the number of characters an audio play can have, the listener finds it difficult to handle more than 5 major characters in any story. There is no limit to the sound effects we can use, but they must all have a purpose and give meaningful information. You must find a way to tell a story which stands by itself without the characters needing to explain what's happening in front of them all the time for no reason. We want to create audios for adults to listen to, but that does not mean 'adult content'. If you can't think of a better way to say 'fuck' then you're not trying hard enough as a writer.
Collaboration means Compromise
Collaboration between creative people to create something worthwhile means everyone will have to compromise on something. We will do everything we can to make your script come to life and fulfill your vision for it. However making an audio - just like making a film - is an evolutionary process. Your lines are not written in stone. Everything gets polished over time and as actors and composers and other creative people help bring your work to life they will inevitably offer their own take on things. Hopefully this will create something better than it was before but it will certainly be somehow different from what you imagined. If you want sole creative control over things then you're better off writing your story as a novel where you can control every word.
Be Original
A writer has to find their own voice. There's no point producing a pastiche of Douglas Adams (see above) or Ray Bradbury in your style, be inspired by your heroes but don't try to ape them. Similarly, you need an original take on your idea, even if your idea has been done a hundred times before. There's always room for a new 'bunch of people trapped on a space ship/submarine/arctic base' story, but there's no point in merely copying Event Horizon or The Abyss or The Thing. We can do anything in this medium, so let's do something new, but there's nothing wrong with a fresh take on an old theme.
If you're looking to offer a script or story idea you might like to read this.
This is a hobby, not a job
As noted elsewhere, everyone gives their time and creativity freely on this site. If you think you can sell your script for money then pursue that avenue, but you can't sell it here. The writer of a script of course is free to sell it or have it produced by others as they want and having it produced here has no bearing on what you do with your work in the future.
We want original SF and horror
We are looking to produce science fiction and horror scripts. We're not doing romantic comedies or superheroes although our remit may expand a little in the future. We are looking to produce original scripts and monologues, so we don't want work based on established TV shows or film franchises. There's other groups that do that kind of thing and very good some of them are too. If you have ideas for Doctor Who audios then drop a line to RobintheCrow as he is the head honcho at DAM Productions, a group with a long and distinguished oeuvre of Who audios. We can make anything from a monologue through a full cast drama to more experimental pieces, but we're not doing video or any form of multi-media work. Your SF can be 'hard' or 'soft' but it must be science based, rather than Lord of the Rings type fantasy. Horror should be supernatural or psychological in nature, not gore or torture porn as neither works well on an audio. Think MR James rather than the Saw franchise.
Story is Everything
Your script has to have a strong story, with a compelling character arc. If your characters are not changed by their experience then there is no point in relating it. Listeners are not interested in long passages of narrated action or exposition. They want drama and conflict and surprises and revelation, not pages of background detail about a reality which exists only in your head. There is also no point in polishing dialogue and description if you have no story to tell. Dan Brown writes terrible sentences but very popular books because he tells stories which intrigue his readership and move the story on with every line. Your story must be self contained, it can't be merely the first part of a 12 part epic which doesn't make sense by itself.
Stories are about characters
Even if your story is about aliens or robots (or super intelligent shades of the colour blue) your story has to have a range of human emotions to give the actors something to work with. It's not a technical manual for them to read out loud and nobody would listen to it if it were. The basic rules of drama apply to SF and horror like they do everywhere else. Your characters need a goal, there must be barriers in their way which they use their own efforts to surmount, and there must be a solution to their problem. A three act structure with a set up, a journey and a solution works well in the audio setting as it does everywhere else. The listener should never feel lost, but equally should never be able to guess what's coming next. Even though these are only audios, action is important in every scene. This can mean character clashes, rather than ray gun fights, but scenes in which characters merely talk to each other to show how witty the writer is are not interesting if they don't move the plot forward. It's better to write with subtext rather than 'on the nose' but it must be clear what's going on as you only have sound to play with. A strong story with some clumsy writing can always be polished. Beautiful writing with no story to tell has no point.
Sound not Vision
Your script has to tell its story through sound and sound alone and and so if you envisioned it as a film you will have to rethink it. There is no point writing huge space battles or sprawling alien cities to impress the viewer because we only have listeners. Worlds can be built in audios with music but they can't be built with words. Listeners don't want information, they want drama, and though it's good to have the world you set your story in well developed in your imagination, this does not mean it should be dumped on the page. Small numbers of characters in a confined space with lots of personal conflict and a clear and deadly threat will always produce good drama. Although there is theoretically no limit to the number of characters an audio play can have, the listener finds it difficult to handle more than 5 major characters in any story. There is no limit to the sound effects we can use, but they must all have a purpose and give meaningful information. You must find a way to tell a story which stands by itself without the characters needing to explain what's happening in front of them all the time for no reason. We want to create audios for adults to listen to, but that does not mean 'adult content'. If you can't think of a better way to say 'fuck' then you're not trying hard enough as a writer.
Collaboration means Compromise
Collaboration between creative people to create something worthwhile means everyone will have to compromise on something. We will do everything we can to make your script come to life and fulfill your vision for it. However making an audio - just like making a film - is an evolutionary process. Your lines are not written in stone. Everything gets polished over time and as actors and composers and other creative people help bring your work to life they will inevitably offer their own take on things. Hopefully this will create something better than it was before but it will certainly be somehow different from what you imagined. If you want sole creative control over things then you're better off writing your story as a novel where you can control every word.
Be Original
A writer has to find their own voice. There's no point producing a pastiche of Douglas Adams (see above) or Ray Bradbury in your style, be inspired by your heroes but don't try to ape them. Similarly, you need an original take on your idea, even if your idea has been done a hundred times before. There's always room for a new 'bunch of people trapped on a space ship/submarine/arctic base' story, but there's no point in merely copying Event Horizon or The Abyss or The Thing. We can do anything in this medium, so let's do something new, but there's nothing wrong with a fresh take on an old theme.
