Writing a screenplay takes a lot of time and energy, and its completion is entirely within the writer’s control. However, the production of the screenplay is entirely outside of the writer’s control, and that is the most frustrating aspect of a screenwriting career.

The only aspect of a film’s production that is within a writer’s control is the original screenplay itself. Once a production company gets hold of it, the writer is pretty much on the sidelines. His or her creative vision is often skewed in favor of the director’s vision or even one of the producer’s. Such is life. If you don’t like that fact, you have two alternate choices. The first choice is to select another career. The second choice is take complete control of your movie from start to finish by filming it yourself! That’s right: you need to write and direct your own film and keep the entire production process within your control. Is this a realistic goal? You bet. Keep reading to learn more.

Your first step in filming your own movie is to scrutinize your screenplay and make it as perfect as possible. Every scene and every word of dialogue must be pertinent to the development of your storyline. If you find any part of the screenplay is delivering irrelevant information, you need to delete that scene. If you find characters that don’t serve a purpose to the story, remove the character altogether. It’s a good idea to get input from at least a few professionals about your storyline and the structure of your screenplay. The industry term for screenplay analysis is “cover”. I would recommend you hire at least two different people to analyze your screenplay and give you an objective analysis. With that information in hand, you’ll be able to adjust your screenplay accordingly.

The next step in filming your own movie is to surround yourself with people who support your idea and are willing to contribute their time and energy into your film. The reason for doing this is simple: you can’t do everything yourself. Your skill set might be restricted to screenwriting. If that’s the case, then you should find someone else to operate the camera, and yet another person to do the editing. You might also need to hire a director – someone who’s skilled at working with actors and getting the best performances from them. Your team is essential to producing a quality film in a timely manner. Choose them wisely!

The next logical step in producing your own film is to cast your actors. Depending on your personality, this can be very fun or it can be extremely frustrating. On a good note, actors are a dime a dozen – you could cast your entire film with actors that are willing to work for free. On a bad note, great talent is not always easy to find. If you live in a small town, finding talented actors might be difficult. You’ll need to look everywhere. You should post casting notices in the local newspaper. You should send notices to all of the local theatre groups, and possibly even the local high schools and colleges. When you live in a big city, actors are much easier to find. It’s when you live in remote area that finding quality talent can be tough.

Obviously, you’ll need to sit down and create a production timeline for your film. In fact, every aspect of the process should be explicitly mapped out before you shoot a single frame of film. Organization is critical to the success of your film. Your team should spend considerable time creating and critiquing your production timeline and try to make it as perfect (and realistic) as possible.

After you have your support team, your production timeline, and your actors, it’s time to get to work. However, it’s important to remember that preparing to film your movie is more important than actually shooting it!

There are many steps required in the production of a feature length film. It takes a lot of work to transform a screenplay into a finished film. If you’re new to film making, I recommend you produce a five-minute film from start to finish before you tackle a feature length screenplay. You’ll learn a lot in the process and that knowledge will help you complete a much larger project. Good luck!

Author Bio: Learn more about screenwriting at this website: creating great characters, writing clever dialogue, and seven moments in fiction writing.

Category: Writing
Keywords: screnwriting tips, producing your own film, producing your own screenplay