Professional Studies - Introduction

This is an introductory post for this Professional Studies module. During this module I will be writing a 2000 word report on my chosen topic. I will also be producing a range of documents and works around my personal development planning aswell as the report. This includes digital catalogues, and different variations of CVS such as academic and educational. 

The chosen topic of my report is based around the nitty gritty side of being a screenwriter. I will be looking at the financial side of the life of a screenwriter, outlining the positives and negatives of the occupation. I have chosen this topic specifically because it is to be an educational process to me as an aspiring screenwriter. Following my studies at University I plan to complete a masters degree in screenwriting. Over the course of my studies as a student filmmaker I have found the creative side of screenwriting very enjoyable and something which has become a passion. Despite this I now wish to know more about how a screenwriter goes about making their living. This entails research into how much screenwriters have made from scripts but also how and why. But also how often scripts actually do sell. In discussing and gathering evidence for my topic I will be primarily basing my findings around screenplays from the UK. The screenplays I base my findings around will also be from domestic and independent films, opposed to mainstream blockbusters. This is a decision made based on the fact that when I write screenplays in the future I will aim to sell them to smaller production companies initially. The plan upon completing my masters degree in screenwriting is to come away with a feature length script which will hopefully sell. 

Within my preliminary research I decided to look at the history of screenplays that sold. Doing so has given me an idea of how much major films have sold for throughout the history of film. This research has also given me a base to work from, as I can now understand that the importance of the screenwriter has grown exponentially, as has their pay-grade. In this small section from Wikipedia, sold screenplays are given a brief history dating back to the first screenplays ever written in 1900. Back then, screenplays only existed as story scenarios. That is ultimately all that a screenplay boils down to, however. A writer writes a scenario for however long, and attempts to make money from it. I have also gathered from this small section that larger studios tend to pay a lot more.