Commissioning

Job roles in the commissioning process: Commissioning Editors- the editorial department splits into two sectors, the editorial assistant and the editorial administrator. The editorial assistant is a part of the first stage of creation when it comes to script writing. The job consists of acting as a middleman for the legal and programme managers. Where as the main role of the editorial administrator is to make sure all things run smoothly and will work hand in hand with the producers. Commissioning Producers- like many positions in the media when referring to producers it is split into multiple job roles assistant, producer and executive, the assistant producers job is mainly to support the director and producer. Assistants main job is to work along side both the creative and administrative teams. They will do all in their power to aid these teams including contributions to the project itself. Before filming or recording the assistant producer will meet with potential contributors and interview them to find out if they are what the scriptwriter is looking for. The assistant producer will complete many post production paperwork to insure the legality of the project. The producers job varies very slightly as they are key to the project by keeping all the teams together and working as a team. They have less input with the scriptwriters but are equally as important. The producer of a script is essential as will often come up with original ideas, which will then be changed by editors, but the primary job is to convince investors to pay the money to get the script off the ground. The executive producer has one of the most important jobs involved in media. They will give the feedback to the director, which will eventually have the final say on the project. Once created the producer will review the script and have the final say in whether the entire project starts over.

Commissioning bodies
Commissioning bodies for scriptwriters come from many different areas. These are choices a scriptwriter will make on how they want the script to be shown, many options include independent production companies, these independent production companies are companies they may not necessarily be ran by a TV company such as

the BBC or Grenada, the company would receive the script go through the process of creating the project and will then approach channels such as Film4 or uploading It to a fan film site. With the rise of popularity in the internet as a source of viewing media the amount of short films or feature length projects uploaded to the internet has increased lately. Another mean of commissioning body would be companies such as the BBC and Grenada, these companies will have a different approach, mainly including scouts that will go out find scriptwriters and report back to producers in the BBC with what they found.

The Script Writers Roll

The Script Writers roll is obviously to write the script. The scriptwriters roll, however seeming simple is a lot more key to the project creation as thought. The scriptwriter will begin by writing the script for a project they want, this will then either be bought by a company to be made or the scriptwriter will approach a company, he script will be the path for the project, editors and producers may wander off but the project will stay around the original idea, the scriptwriters original idea is what guides the rest of the production team, the scriptwriters roll is very much to take a back seat on the project he his written unless they wish to direct it as well, a scriptwriter must be very trustworthy to put the project they created in the hands of a second party. As s scriptwriter you must understand different parts or the writing aspect. One of the key things that must be understood is time, one page of writing constitutes to about one minute of footage, with this in mind you must remember to keep your script from going off in a tangent.

Working as a Writer
Agent representation- The majority of Script Writers have agent representation, the main roll of the agent is to find their client the correct organisation fit for the production created and ensuring all needs of client are met such as to make sure the project is safe and will not be copyrighted, contract negotiation, ensuring payment of royalties he will act as a middle man between the script writer and producers. Another main job is to ensure the relationship between the editor and scriptwriter doesnt become hostile and cause disputes.

Royalties- Royalties are a form of payment used with scriptwriters that are payed by agencies or companies that use a scriptwriters script to ensure that the writings are still usable. Royalties consist of payment by sale, this involves the more the company make from the product the more they pay the scriptwriter.

Legal Consideration
Copyright- Copyright is used to protect an intellectual property or script to save it from being stolen or misused, copyright will usually involve the scriptwriters agent getting the script copyrighted so that it cannot be stolen or used by a company without permission from the writer. Bias- Bias relates to seeing one side of the story, most scripts are frowned upon for being bias as it doesnt give the audience an choice as to which story they follow, this has changed a lot in the media as audiences tend to like to be in control and choose to see what they want, a scriptwriter will have to take this in consideration when writing the script. Another way bias can affect a scriptwriter is when selling the script, if a company is bias against a script it has next to no chance of being published. Censorship- Censorship is now a huge issue, when a scriptwriter writes a script he has to take in huge consideration who is the chosen target audience, if a scriptwriters target audience is one to be shown before the watershed they have to be sure not to include swearing and anything seen as indecent. A target market audience affects the scriptwriters opinion, when the selected script is sent off to the BBFC if it is deemed un-certificated it will not be published. Watersheds- The watershed is something that is placed on programmes that may contain adult content such as swearing, violence or scenes. This is used to protect the viewing audience so that they know what they are viewing and what it may contain. Plagiarism- Plagiarism is when a script is written off or copied, Plagiarism applies to all written pieces of work, they can be copied meaning plagiarism, this is protected by the use of copyright.