A script consultant’s perspective

Someone recently asked me whether, as part of my work, I read a lot of good scripts or a lot of bad ones. A few days later, someone else asked me a similar question, but from the perspective of originality: do I read many stories that feel genuinely new? It took me a moment to answer, because that is not how I approach a screenplay. When a writer or production company submits a script to me, they are not asking for a script report; they are asking for a consultation. They exp

For the second year running, I had the privilege of co-chairing the Film Review Panel at Filmapalooza with @CameronMeier — the international festival of the 48 Hour Film Project, held this year in Lisbon from 25 to 28 March. The 48HFP spans more than 100 cities worldwide each year, producing short films between...

You've received the CNC rewriting grant. That's very good news—congratulations! What now? You have a budget and time to rewrite, to bring to fruition this screenplay you...

Whether in writing, on set, or in the edit, when you ask the question, “What story are we telling?”, you can then move on to the next: “How can we tell it best?”, and follow the narrative’s guiding...

When I started my first editing internship, I thought that removing or adding a single frame was perfectionism, even nitpicking. How could one frame - 1/24th of a second - be so important? 1/24th of a second is insignificant, right? A detail, so small. Surely you can't even see it? Well...

A few years ago, when I was still a film editor, I had the pleasure of working with Wim Wenders on a short film featuring Ronaldo and Zidane for the United Nations Development Programme. Ronaldo and Zidane each went...

With Christmas fast approaching, I’m seeing links to downloadable film screenplays shared as if they were gifts. In reality, they perpetuate a misunderstanding about what a screenplay actually is and how a film is made. The screenplays you find online are almost never the...

It’s often said that a screenplay isn’t a literary text, and that’s true. But a screenplay shouldn’t be cold, analytical, or objective either. While the words in a screenplay aren’t meant to make the reader feel, they must make the reader see what...

It’s quite common for a screenwriter to be surprised, or even shocked, at just how different the finished film is from the script they wrote. Scenes have been moved, cut, altered by the set, the actors, the director, the editor, the sound, the music…Yet the script remains the...

Star Wars, E.T., Titanic, The Intouchables, Avatar and A Little Something Extra were all predicted to fail - or at best to attract only modest audiences - and yet they became enormous successes. Meanwhile, Megalopolis, Waterworld and The Marvels were all expected to be guaranteed hits, and yet they were not. And Fight Club, Blade Runner and The...

Rythm - in writing - is the pulse that draws us into the story, makes us believe it, and carries us along. Its the heartbeat. It is at once what makes the narrative alive, and what forms its very foundation. Its components are manifold. The most obvious is...

When I began in editing, only a few films were still cut on celluloid. The digital world was quickly taking over, promising that we could finally save time, and therefore cut costs. Moving a shot now took...

Jacques once said, “Talent doesn’t exist." Sorry, Mr Brel, I don’t agree. Every day I see the stark difference between those who work on their writing - screenplays, plays and/or novels - and who have talent, and those who work just as hard but...

We all know the first draft is only a starting point. Rewriting isn’t just inevitable, it’s essential. (That said, if the first draft is too flimsy, it’ll collapse under the weight of revisions, and all that’ll be left is a shapeless heap of bits and pieces. And no rewrite will ever save it. Among the tools of rewriting are the...

In fashion, the little black dress is a timeless classic, and a much trickier style exercise than it looks. When it’s done right, it feels simple but never simplistic. It holds together through subtle precision: the cut, the fabric, the finishing touches. Nothing sticks out. Everything falls perfectly into place. It feels obvious, unique, effortless, as if...

You’ve received a reading report or a script coverage. Three pages. Or ten. Insightful comments. A clear diagnosis. And yet something doesn’t sit right. You read. You highlight. You hesitate. You don’t necessarily agree, but there’s no one to discuss it with. Where do you start? What...

A screenplay is above all a tool for conveying intention. It is not written solely with the future audience in mind, but also to guide an entire team towards the realisation of...

Script doctor, script consultant, script editor, story consultant, writing support… When I first started out, the term story consultant felt the...

Intention, coherence and detail form an interconnected triad, essential to the fluidity and clarity of the narrative, allowing it to come alive and the magic to happen. Intention, because it is...

Script consulting is not a method. There is no universal checklist, no strict rules, only different approaches, sensibilities, and paths that lead to a single goal: improving the script by offering...