Being a screenwriter and understanding the profession in the era of platforms

Laura Pousa, screenwriter and director of the online Master in Film and Television Scriptwriting at The Core-Entertainment Science School, reflects on the figure of the screenwriter and his adaptation to new industrial contexts in general, and the world of on-demand platforms in particular.

He said Rafael Azcona that “writing without being asked is a waste of time"The phrase may seem strange coming from one of the most important screenwriters in Spanish cinema, but the truth is that when a fictional audiovisual production is carried out it means that a huge number of factors. Among all of them, the literary script is just one more; and in most cases not even the first. Paradoxes of the profession. Therefore, deciding to write a fiction script without anyone asking you to do it is a gesture; a boldness that implies a great investment of time; it's a egotistical act of credibility in oneself; is to enter a creative abyss and is, above all, an aesthetic exercise of television or cinematographic narrative concretion. If we think about it from a professional perspective, writing a script tests our artistic ability, our intellectuality and our knowledge of the industry and the market. In short, as Azcona said, a waste of time or put another way: pure drive and pure love of art.

Before the arrival of the platforms to Spain, there were few scriptwriters (…). However, today, in times of post-seriality, the glocalization or of ‘peak tv’, we have experienced a change of paradigm radical thanks to the impact that streaming has produced in our lives.

He is a screenwriter who writes scripts. Although the phrase is obvious, writing is what makes you a screenwriter. In an industry in constant and unstoppable transformation in which everyone has ideas, I have asked myself many times What does it mean to practice the profession today?. Writing is the central and constituent act of the screenwriter, but not the only one. Not so many years ago, being a fiction screenwriter in Spain was being a rare review; It was having a job that had been reached from one fortuitous and bizarre way from theater, journalism, literature or a vibrant vocation. It was belonging to strange sections of self-employed workers in the Tax Agency, such as the marble workers' guild or the bullfighters' guild; and it consisted of opening the way in an industry that was built on the basis of trial, success and error with the sole objective of writing good stories and selling them.

Before the arrival of the platforms to Spain, there were few scriptwriters, they were scattered and they were not experts in pitch nor did they know anything about teasers in mood boards. However, today, in times of post-seriality, the glocalization or of ‘peak tv’, we screenwriters have experienced a radical paradigm shift thanks to the impact that the streaming has occurred in our lives. In recent years, the production of audiovisual projects has grown exponentially as international platforms They settled in Spain and the locals appeared ready to compete. The content – ​​that increasingly diffuse term that encompasses everything – expanded, became king and with it, the scriptwriters acquired a new status as creators going from exercising a trade to having a 'profession' cool’ and sued. Thus, in the Spanish audiovisual industry – which today finally plays a key role in the economy and is considered a strategic sector – we screenwriters have stopped being free and erratic souls to have regulated contracts, be showrunners, feel listened to creatively and even occupy a small media space. We can even do strikes and paralyze everything.

In the Spanish audiovisual industry –which today finally has a key role in the economy and is considered a strategic sector–, we screenwriters have stopped being souls free and erratic.

It is logical that in this new production framework the work processes of the scriptwriters have changed, have become industrialized, standardized and professionalized thanks to the competition that has caused the internationalization of projects. This does not mean that before we were not professionals, but that we worked under new production paradigms more sophisticated, ambitious and complex. Working in film or television today means being part of an industrial fabric that is projected on a global scale. And this is so whether we talk about works of character mainstream as india o copyright, because even the margins require industry.

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A new era for the world of scriptwriting

The demands of this new context of creation and production have generated a classification of documents, deliveries and project presentation that directly affect the screenwriter's work. Devise proposals; identify trends; conceptualize and develop stories in different formats, from the one-pager to treatment; make development documents, pre-development, bibles or files; pitchear, That which turns us for an instant into apprentice stand-up comedians. In addition, actively working with producers, directors and other scriptwriters, testing our social and teamwork skills. We are not so alone anymore. Now our capabilities have expanded, they have taken us further and we even jump naturally from fiction to non-fiction, from the world scripted al unscripted, from series to long films. There is no doubt that this greater professionalization is also linked to the existence of training developed in schools and universities that offer specialized teachings in the audiovisual field, and specifically in script. Also, in recent years, incubators have emerged in this new universe full of screenwriters, mentorings, development programs and aid, scholarships with tutoring, artistic residencies or script camps. All of this, in addition to evidencing this new professionalized competence to which I referred before, gives space to new voices from the writing of the script.

These new players those we interact with are producers or content managers that are clearly committed to development from a greater knowledge of trends.

For these reasons, and with the perspective that the twenty years that I have been working as a screenwriter give me, I can say that today we are in a more mature industry, somewhat less fluid and that offers more certainties. We have a union that protects and ensures our rights and, at a structural level, we have highly professional and experienced interlocutors both in production and in the evaluation and selection of projects. These new players with whom we interact are producers or responsible for content that aclearly put by the development from a greater knowledge of the trends. They provide value, financial muscle and are capable of incubating projects. The platforms that, although they replicate excessively successful content, also They are willing to listen and bet on innovative strongholds. Public and private televisions also seek their identity from concepts premium. Other agents or forums emerge, such as festivals, meetings or calls that contain risk and new proposals. And all this framed in an institutional context that timidly dares to bet on culture through the defense of local industry and the promotion of international links.

The platforms, although they replicate excessively successful content, also They are willing to listen and bet on innovative strongholds.

In short, the industry that we have, and that we have created together, allows screenwriters not only to have work but also build a career. But be careful, we cannot forget that today, just as before, being a screenwriter is much more than being part of a production team or winning a screenwriting award. Being a screenwriter means create and, as such, it means having a creative, artistic mind and a profession to which risk and a certain degree of uncertainty will always be linked. Therefore, being a screenwriter entails writing, what you are assigned and what you are not assigned; that your computer is full of projects that will never be done but that are part of your personal growth; not enter every month but work every day. And most importantly, being a screenwriter means being linked for life to a profession that loves cinema and that, many times, leads us to waste time. Azcona already said it.

Laura Pousa

Screenwriter and director of the online Master's Degree in Film and Television Scriptwriting The Core-Entertainment Science School