The Life Of An Executive: What A Screenwriter Needs To Know

Summary

A screenwriter must understand the executive perspective in the entertainment industry to navigate the competitive landscape of script development effectively.

Abstract

Understanding the role of a development executive is crucial for screenwriters aiming to make their scripts a reality in the market. Executives typically receive over 500 project submissions annually, yet only a fraction, around 10, are selected for development in writers' rooms. These executives are responsible for a multitude of tasks, including evaluating submissions, attending numerous meetings, traveling to audiovisual markets, overseeing series production, and managing a high volume of emails. To stand out, screenwriters should provide concise and compelling materials such as a series bible, one-pager, and episode synopses, making it easier for executives to evaluate their work amidst a sea of proposals. The executive's involvement is comprehensive, from the initial pitch to the final cut, requiring efficiency and the ability to juggle various responsibilities.

Opinions

Executives value efficiency and clear communication from screenwriters, as they handle over one project per day.
Screenwriters should synthesize their project materials to be powerful and attractive without exceeding 30-35 pages to respect the executive's limited time.
The likelihood of a project's success is low; out of every three developed series, only one typically moves forward, with the rest being shelved or discarded.
Executives are deeply involved in all stages of content development, including giving feedback on daily shoots and episode cuts, which can be time-consuming.
The executive's role extends beyond content development to include extensive networking and travel to audiovisual markets, which can lead to a backlog of work.
Screenwriters are encouraged to understand their target audience and use available tools to determine audience demographics effectively.

The Life Of An Executive: What A Screenwriter Needs To Know

In order for the screenwriter to make their script a reality, not only do they have to work hard on its development, but it is also essential that they understand how the market works. In this post we’ll tell you what it’s like to be on the other side of the screen, the side of the players and executives. Are they going to read your script? Are you likely to get your story picked? We tell you in detail what a development executive does to give you an insight into their day-to-day work.

1. How many projects do you receive per year? 2. How many do you end up developing? 3. What are your other responsibilities?

1. How many projects does an executive receive per year?

On average, an executive of an international channel or production company receives and evaluates more than 500 projects per year. That is, more than one project per day, which implies a constant and time-consuming workload, where being efficient is not only a work obligation, but a mental necessity for a person to be able to handle all these proposals.

So when you go to meet with them or simply send them your project, think about how you can stand out from the competition, but above all, make it easy for the executive. If you share a project with them and the only thing you attach is the script, you are not making it easy for them. Because you are saying: “here, read 60 pages or more to evaluate my project, without even knowing what it is about, or its genre, or any other information or reference”. You are demanding too much from them when their time is very finite. Knowing this, it is advisable that you work on your materials beyond the script: the bible, one page, a synopsis of chapters… Everything as synthetically as possible so that your texts are not too long (be careful with dossiers of more than 30–35 pages) but are powerful, attractive, and from there the executive wants to go deeper and know more. It also helps them to see that you know your target audience. If you are having difficulty identifying your target audience, check out these three useful tools to determine your target audience.

2. How many projects do you end up developing?

Of all these emails and proposals, only very few are accepted by an executive. It is possible that they may lead up to a total of 10 writers’ rooms a year, in which the works (the script and/or especially some of the sales materials) are developed.

However, it is unlikely that all ten will be successful; on the contrary, a somewhat higher number is chosen already taking into account that some will fail. For example, for a series to succeed, an average of three must have been developed. In other words, out of every three, one goes ahead and the others either fall by the wayside or are put away in a drawer, with the possibility of taking advantage of them in the future if the opportunity arises. It is very common for an executive to develop series that will not be made, having written at least a bible and a pilot that will be discarded.

3. What are your other responsibilities?

Apart from this, what else does a development executive do? By calculation, they have between 500 and 1000 hours of meetings a year. They are meetings of all kinds: with creative, internal, development, executive, production, talent, marketing… The executive in charge is involved in all instances of the life of a piece of work or content, and therefore it is their responsibility to be present. The same goes for travel. They attend at least 3 audiovisual markets, sometimes more. And when they travel, that week becomes challenging to take advantage of in terms of evaluating and studying new content, and therefore tends to pile up.

The executive has to give the dailies and the cuts of at least 4 series a year. And it depends on how much he can be involved, if he maybe sees the cuts, of the 8 episodes or maybe just the first one, it still means that he is spending all that time visualizing the product that is being developed.

Then there is the time to go to the shoots. This is more of a formality, usually to do with accompanying, as the shooting is more in the hands of the executive producer and the director, but it is still a responsibility. And finally, there are the emails you receive and the many you have to answer. There can be more than 5,000 a year.

For more information on the functions of an executive, check out the masterclasses of our accelerator for projects in development: Series Hub. To watch them, remember that they are available for FULL ACCESS users in the exclusive training community.