We have always encouraged people to work together across theatre, film and television, so immersive storytelling seemed like the natural next step after our years of advocating that people transcend their sectors and take advantage of new digital tools.

So as part of the Stellar community, you won’t be surprised to hear that we’re very excited about the new wave of immersive stories- people coming together from traditional creative industries to work on stories that happens across different platforms, be they film, live performance, webseries, radio … and so on.

In future, collaboration and connection will be a huge part of the way we create and consume cultural content.  Immersive, interactive storytelling is a genre that’s exploding across the industries, and we’re putting our stake in the ground – we think it will shape the future for all of us.

To see why, look out for our Friday blog post which summarises some of the most exciting developments so far.

But what does this mean for the Stellar community? Well, this is an open playing field. The leaders of tomorrow are yet to be decided. Broadcasters, brands and production companies are desperately looking for ways to consistently access quality talent and content that works across multiple platforms.

We think that talent is already here – in our Stellar Network community.

So we’re now here to help you, the talented Actors, Writers, Directors and Producers from more traditional media, and get you connected with opportunities, training and conversations about the future of storytelling.

Ultimately, this is about you telling your story and getting it seen on as many platforms as possible, and Stellar Network is here to help you do that.

I recently went to the Screenwriting Expo in LA (Nov 12-16th) which was all I’d hope it would be. I learnt a huge amount about the craft and business of screenwriting. I attended over 20 classes ranging from subtext to a managing a million dollar screenwriting career. I networked like crazy and met lots of other writers and many professionals.

There was a star studded line up of seminars, interviews and panels including William Goldman (Butch Cassidy), Aaron Sorkin (West Wing), Nancy Meyers (Private Benjamin), Richard Price (Color of Money), Bill Marsilii (Deja Vu), Josh Olson (History of Violence), Jason Reitman (Dir. Juno), Melissa Rosenberg (Head writer on Dexter), Michael Hauge, Linda Cowgill, John Truby, Blake Snyder, William Martell and Syd Field.

I’m going to be posting ‘Top Tips’ from some of the seminars I attended and here’s the first from a seminar entitled ‘How to sell your spec script’.

It was given by Victoria Wisdom, who was an agent at Becsey Wisdom Kalajian for 14 years representing the writer/directors of Oscar winning films like The Usual Suspects and The Red Violin. Victoria also sold the hit CBS drama series Criminal Minds and repped the Oscar winners Ernest Thompson and Christopher McQuarrie as well as director Bryan Singer. Victoria recently became a manager/producer setting up the Hilary Swank starrer Labyrinths.

So she knows her stuff.

Top Tips
If you think like a professional and sound like one, you’ll be treated like one. You need to give the impression you are immersed in the industry (even if you’re not living in LA)

- Studios are looking for Action, Comedy, Thriller and Drama scripts – in that order. Drama accounts for only 7% of the market. 50% of people who see movies are under 25

- Trends – there are perceptible shifts in the market and tracking the market/box office figures on Mondays is essential (you can sign up for industry info at variety.com for free)

- Learn the lingo – know what ‘the drop’ and ‘is it holding?’ mean (the drop is the box office percentage drop on a movie’s second week-end box office, ‘holding’ means the drop isn’t that high. The Hulk had a 2nd week 48% drop – not good, Pirates of the Caribbean had a 23% drop – this was considered okay because it’s a modest drop.

- Take what’s been done before and adapt it ‘just like but different’ – 50 First Dates is an example of the rom-com genre between re-invented

- Have a great title – like The Wedding Crashers, Gladiator

- Simple powerful ideas sell themselves

- When pitching, reference 3 movies similar to yours and why they should buy it

- Get yourself noticed by winning an award – e.g. Samuel Goldywn Award (UCLA competition), Nicholls Fellowship

- Do not send letters! Email instead. Be very brief – a one sentence pitch and ask if they want to read the script

- Know who your movie stars are, the up and coming ones

- No Iraq movies!

- Always make the date yesterday on your script – execs want to feel its fresh

I was awarded a Skillset bursary of just under £800 towards the cost of the trip – this was invaluable especially as the exchange rate tanked just before I arrived in LA.

If you’d like a copy of the full notes please email me at alexandra@stellarnetwork.com.

I’ll be posting more Top Tips in the next few days.

All the best
Alexandra

www.skillset.org
www.screenwritingexpo.com