The following isn't about fanfilms per se, but about what some fans aspire to. As we've seen with several produced and promised-but-never-delivered fanfilms, some see or delude themselves into thinking they can turn one small step for a fan to one giant leap into the big leagues.
suggested I repost this here (with some revising to make the broader point) from another thread where a wanna-be show creator asked how an unknown writer with no experience or formal training could get a script into the hands of a pro TV producer.
*"
Q Who"
Mostly because you have to have actually
written to get
read. And any of the first scripts you write are probably not going to be salable. My first scripts weren't.
¿Why so? As with anything, a beginner
doesn't know what they don't know, and
can't be expected to, because they are just that:
beginners. As such, of course they're starting from a position of almost total ignorance. And that's not a put-down.
What else could they be?
Honestly, I think people look at screenplays and show bibles and think, "that's not so hard", because all they can see is the end result, but the words on the pages are just the tip of the iceberg. Most of what's making the script work is below the surface, invisible unless you know what to look for and how. Sans experience a beginner simply cannot see most of what's going on down there in the depths of structure and themes. An experienced screenwriter can watch a finished film and see the narrative clockwork ticking away in the background.
So if you've written a lot and learned the craft you
might have a chance if you pitch a script to an existing series, but you'll likely have to get an agent, and your scripts have to be good enough to get over than first hurdle. You might even be able to pitch to a
Star Trek show.
But CBS isn't going to look at your
Star Trek series pitch. So let go of that dream right now. Lots of people, some with some with industry cred, have tried it and gotten nowhere. If you've never sold a script, let alone have a body of work that speaks to your ability there's no way your idea for
Star Trek Whathaveyou is going to be considered, whatever its merits.
¿Why?
The way Hollywood works the "creator" of a show is a profit-participant, and buying a concept from an outsider means giving away a chunk of the pie to someone else. And said creator is going to be expected to be mightily involved in the writing process of episodes, and if you have no credits or experience, you're an unproven entity and too high a risk to take a chance on.
So, still want to be a screenwriter? Still want to sell a show? Then here's what you have to do:
1. Write scripts. There's no shortcut here. You have to write and write a lot to get the hang of the form. And don't just write
Star Trek, because then you're just copying some set formulas and bring nothing new to the table. Try writing a script outside your chosen genre, because it'll force you to flex different muscles and break bad habits.
2. Read scripts. Read a lot of scripts, and, seriously, not
Star Trek scripts...because the same as 1.
3. Read up on story and screenplay structure. NoFilmSchool has a lot of articles (
example) about stuff like this.
4. Watch TV and keep your finger on the pulse of the state of the art. No one's now's going to make a show like those tailored for the old direct-to-syndication model like TNG or DS9 unless they're Seth MacFarlane.
In short: Pay. Your. Dues.
Otherwise, you're just a another wanna-be amateur sans the most fundamental basics of the craft expecting to jump to the head of the line. And that would deserve but one reply:
The sheer fucking hubris.
The takeaway: there's no shortcut to being a good screenwriter, whether your ambitions are to write a fanfilm of pro one.
Make the effort if you want to write well.
