Mary Evens - Living as a Scriptwriter in the Real World

Mary Evens made me aware of the reality of being a scriptwriter. She noted that she didn’t know anyone that was a scriptwriter full time which got me thinking about other jobs in the media I may want to do while scriptwriting on the side. She also mentioned writing a spec script before leaving university which I have in fact started to write. The real insight I got from this lecture was living as a scriptwriter in the real world.

After the lecture I looked at what jobs were available to me in the media industry an found that the most common and perhaps easiest job to get was as a runner. Having said this I also found out that people often work their way up from being a runner so only using this as a starting point to eventually get a better job in the future. Horton (2012) explains the approach we should take when breaking into the media industry.

"Forget the news reports of recession and unemployment. What do ‘you’ love doing? Don’t think at this stage about which companies you’d like to work for. Remember, Myspace and Friends Reunited were here yesterday, pretty much gone today."

This quote is interesting as he focuses specifically on the company aspect but says we should not think about what company we want to work for because of how volatile the media industry is. What I take from this is that we should not let the economic state of the country effect our passions and desires and we should strive to get a job that we will truly “love” doing, something that I will most certainly take into account. I began to think, what do I love doing, what would I love to be? The answer, a scriptwriter of course. I've often had dreams of working for the BBC or C4 but now I will focus on just scriptwriting and achieving my dream.

Getting a script into production is difficult enough as it is, so if the script is not any good then it will prove even more difficult. Mary suggested writing a spec script while still at university which I think is a great idea as you will be learning all the skills as you’re writing leading to a high quality script. Also it benefits being around people on the same course who you can brainstorm with and ask for feedback, something that will be common when actually working in the industry. When thinking the spec script I am currently writing I feel like I should take this on board and maybe speak more with my course mates an ask for ideas and feedback which will hopefully help improve my work. Film making is a collaborative art so it will be beneficial to start working on the collaborative aspect now.

Horton, A., 2012. Five essential tips for breaking into the media industry [online]. UK: Worldview Media. Available from: http://www.worldviewmedia.tv/2012/03/five-essential-keys-for-breaking-into-the-media-industry/ [Accessed 5 December 2013].