In my experience as a TV movie writer who always has to write to a strict budget, most screenwriters have no idea how to keep costs low at the script level.
That’s because in film school or in our training, we are never told to consider budget when writing. No one wants to limit their imagination with boring ol’ money, amirite?
But that thinking is a vestigial reality from a time when you could sell a high concept, high budget spec script for $1M. Those times are no more.
The reality of our industry right now is that being “just” a screenwriter isn’t enough anymore. Today, you need to make your own luck by producing and directing your own work.
Understanding how to work a budget into your script makes it infinitely…
1.) …more attractive as an indie project if you’re going to sell it
2.) …easier to execute if you’re going to shoot it yourself (and you should!)
If you’re interested in honing this rare and highly useful skill, this is the workshop for you!
I’ll teach you the main budget-busters to look out for while you’re writing a screenplay and how to find creative workarounds right in the script.
While it seems limiting, you’ll soon find that writing to a budget actually lets you unlock a different kind of creativity: One housed in the problem-solving part of your brain.
TO BRING: I encourage you to bring a few pages of your current script to the session so we can workshop it together and identify areas where you can work within your limitations to create a script you love AND you can feasibly make.
Baking a Budget into your Screenplay Workshop
Sunday, August 9
1-3PM EST
Lauren Greenwood 