Script consultant or script doctor?

Script doctor, script consultant, script editor, story consultant, writing support…

When I first started out, the term story consultant felt the most appropriate. So I named my company 90pages script consulting, in English, because I also work internationally.

Then I discovered that in France, where I live, the most commonly used term was script doctor. And yet, in Canada and the United States, a script doctor is someone who steps in to rewrite or “save” a script (often without receiving any credit). So I settled on a bilingual approach: script consultant for English, script doctor for French.

Later on, I came across the term script editing I had never heard before, and it struck me as the most accurate. Coming from a background in film editing, I know that editing means accompanying, suggesting, exchanging ideas. It’s about seeking coherence and precision, rhythm and point of view all within the existing material, and always in line with the intention.

But this term is barely used in France, and mostly employed in the UK. So I tucked it away in a drawer, a little sadly.

But in the end, labels aren’t what matter most. What does is clarity of intention, the ability to support and serve the script and its author according to their needs, the accuracy of the perspective brought to a screenplay, and the relationship with the writer.

To refine coherence and precision, rhythm and point of view, within what already exists, and always in service of the writer's intention, and the story's.

Because a better screenplay makes a better film.

Déborah Braun / 90pages

Script doctor

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