FS2P ONLINE
We are now international! We have filmmakers participating from Canada and Europe as well as all over the United States.
We are now taking teams! The Zoom format has allowed us to accommodate teams and share materials in a much more fluid way.
Guests! Guests! Guests! We are now bringing in many more marvelous guests from the industry to review our materials and provide guidance.
Producers! We have instituted a Producers Panel to review the materials created by each filmmaker and suggest next steps for each project.
Pilots! We are now accepting series pilot scripts into the lab.
Writer’s Boot Camp! We are now offering a boot camp for writers looking to polish their screenplays and pilot scripts before submitting to the lab.
WRITER’S BOOT CAMP
We have noticed that screenplays often need another pass or two before they proceed to development and that sometimes filmmakers find themselves playing catch-up during the lab - doing re-writes when they should be devoting their time to creating the materials necessary to move their projects forward. To help filmmakers, last year we started a Writer’s Boot Camp to run before the FS2P lab started. It proved so popular, we had to run a second session. And the benefits were immediate - the filmmakers progressing much more swiftly in the lab and the guests and producers we invited noting a real difference in the presentations. So this year we are placing more emphasis on the Writers Boot Camp as step one in our development process.
Here are the changes. First, we are opening applications to both programs early - in July instead of August - so that we can give filmmakers more time to work on their scripts in the boot camp. Second, we are extending the boot camp from one month to two months to allow time for an additional draft and more feedback. The boot camp will meet four times during the first month, as described below, and twice in the second month, allowing for the completion of the first rewrite draft, notes and feedback, and then a second rewrite draft and additional notes and feedback. Like last year, the Writers Boot Camp will meet for two hours on Friday nights or Saturday afternoons depending on writer availability.
All writers invited to participate in the Writers Boot Camp will read everyone’s work and provide constructive feedback throughout. In the first month, we will address fundamental issues: theme, premise/ending, world, tone, audience, structure, plot, character and dialogue. Every writer will work every week and receive - and give - feedback every session. At the end of these four weeks, each writer will have a treatment/blueprint for the rewrite draft. In the next month, we will meet twice, allotting time in between meetings for the writer to write new drafts. Every writer will continue to review the work of the other writers in the lab and will give and receive feedback at both sessions. And yes, it’s a lot of work. It’s a boot camp, after all, and at the end of it, you’ll have a much better script and be ready to move forward with development. The cost for these two months is $200. If a filmmaker finishes the two month program, they will be eligible to apply to the lab with no additional application fees.
Please note. Participation in the Writers Boot Camp is not a requirement for entry to the lab. There are lots of scripts out there that have already run through labs and script development and are ready for the work we do in the lab. The Writers Boot Camp is for scripts that are almost there so that we can help filmmakers move forward.
The Writer’s Boot Camp is also a good choice for writers who just want to polish their scripts. Filmmakers with teams, scheduling, and financing in place can make use of the boot camp to make sure their scripts are where they want them to be before they begin production. As for series writers looking to get staffed, pilot scripts have become the preferred sample, and the boot camp is a good way to get feedback and do re-writes. Series writers who intend to put together a package for a potential series - or intend to make their pilots or series - are eligible for the FS2P Lab.
THE FS2P LAB CURRICULUM
PART ONE - The Words
Part One leans on your skills as a writer to create the materials and presentations you need to share your project in a coherent and inspiring way. It will also give you a much deeper insight into your project, leading to a much better film or pilot.
We also address the problems inherent in this process. It’s not easy to see your own project objectively, to identify themes and core ideas that developed organically. And it may not feel good to “toot your own horn” or to ask for money or consideration or support. This is why we work collaboratively and practice together every week, with every member of the cohort providing informed feedback and support in a safe environment.
At the end of the six weeks, if you complete all the assignments, you will have created multiple versions of your logline, various synopses, and several pitches. You’ll have the materials you need to apply to contests, labs and workshops.
PART TWO - The Pictures
Part Two of the Lab relies upon the work you’ve done in Part One, leaning heavily on the core ideas of your film and its themes, and then inviting you to leave the writer’s head and step into the director’s shoes to create a lookbook for your film or pilot that will demonstrate your visual skills and your ability to tell a story. You will write a director’s statement describing your visual approach. You will draw on your various loglines and synopses to provide story continuity and add a dozen or more images to bring the reader into the mood and world of your film or pilot. You will choose comps and possible actors to represent your vision of your characters. And you will pull the package together with style, selecting fonts, graphics, a color palette and a rhythm for your slides.
The challenge here is that the visuals you imagine don’t exist. This is, of course, why you are making the film or pilot. But the uniqueness of your vision – its strength – is also what makes it particularly difficult to find the right images to represent what you want to do. If you choose to create your images, it’s also challenging – is this the location you’ll ultimately want, are these the actors, the costumes, the props? Here again, our collaborative approach helps. Together we will review all your materials – including your reels and personal websites – to make sure that your vision is consistent and compelling. You will also practice pitching with your lookbook so that you’ll leave the lab ready to make complete presentations.
At the end of five weeks, if you have completed all the assignments, you will have created what we call a “master lookbook” – a polished, designed lookbook with every element you might ever need. As you go forward, you will pick and choose the pages you need to assemble whatever the moment requires, including imagery for websites, pages, teasers and crowdfunding campaigns.
PART THREE – The Numbers
Part Three of the Lab asks you to set a date, develop a schedule and budget your film or pilot – in other words, to face the practical challenges presented by your script. You will put on your producer’s hat and think about the best time of year to shoot your story and how much time you really need. You’ll break down your script for all the elements, develop a schedule and a budget. And yes, these are preliminary estimates. You don’t have real dates yet or a crew or cast or locations. But this sort of effort is necessary to develop a realistic top sheet and a convincing pitch package.
As any producer will tell you, budgeting is a creative exercise. And by that I don’t mean that we make up the numbers. I mean that as independent filmmakers we have to think creatively about how to get everything we need. If one of your scenes takes place in a hospital, can you find a nursing home willing to rent you a vacant room and a bit of the hallway for half a day? If you have scenes that take place in a school, can you schedule your shoot in the summer? Or over a holiday or on a weekend? We work collaboratively to share information and research expenses and brainstorm solutions so that your budget and top sheet are as reliable as possible.
At the end of seven weeks, you will have a preliminary schedule and budget, a solid top sheet and a pitch package. You will be a fully versed ambassador for your project and an attractive partner for producers. Bottom line, knowing how much money and time you need and how to lay out the costs and reasonable expectations for success will help you safeguard your vision.
Session Dates
Writers Boot Camp
Friday nights or Saturday afternoons (TBD by writer availability) from Oct 5th, 2024 - November 23, 2024. There may be more than one session running concurrently to keep the size down - 5 writers/session.
Please note: the first assignment will go out September 27th and is demanding - all the participating scripts will need to be read and questions answered and submitted before our first meeting on October 5th.
From Script to PreProduction Lab
Saturday afternoons from January 11, 2025 through May 24, 2025 / 2-5 pm ET (11 am-2 pm PT)
Please note: The first assignment will go out December 15th and is demanding - all the participating scripts will need to be read and questions answered and submitted before our first meeting on January 11th, 2025.
Applications
Application Dates
Please Note: All applications will be considered for both the Writers Boot Camp and the From Script to PreProduction Lab unless you check off that you are only applying to the Writers Boot Camp. As stated above, fully realized scripts will proceed directly to the applicant pool for the lab. Those scripts that would benefit from the Writers Boot Camp will be considered for that program first.
Early Bird Applications: July 22- Aug 11
Regular Applications: Aug 12 - Sept 1
Late Applications: Sept 2 - Sept 22
Applications close: Sept 22
Finalist Notification Dates
Finalists for the Writers Boot Camp will be contacted by the week of September 22nd.
Finalists for the From Script to PreProduction lab will be contacted after Thanksgiving to set up a zoom conversation in late November/early December about goals for the lab and to determine fit. Final decisions will be made on December 11.
FS2P Lab Notification Date
December 12, 2023
Submission Requirements
All we need is your work and your contact info. No essays, no statements, no plans. You’re welcome.
Every applicant must submit a PDF of the narrative feature script or series pilot they will be developing in the lab and a link to a narrative short directed by the intended director of the project. This can be from the writer-director or the director on the team. The short does not have to relate in any way to the feature or pilot. We are asking for the short only to confirm that the director has the chops to make a feature or pilot.
Cost
For the Writer’s Boot Camp: $200 per script payable in full September 25th.
For the FS2P Lab: $1,500 per project payable in six $250 installments. Payment in full before the beginning of the lab will be discounted by $50. The first payment is due December 16th so that participation is confirmed and scripts may be released to all participants.
Should more than one team member wish to participate in a given section (for example, perhaps both the director and the producer wish to take “The Numbers”), the “additional” team member may participate at a reduced rate, to be determined on a case by case basis. Please contact us at fs2pnywift@gmail.com.
Please Note: For Part Three, EP has granted us Movie Magic Scheduling 5 and Movie Magic Budgeting 7 software. Should you wish to subscribe to the most recent versions of these applications, that also works. The principles are the same in all versions. You will also need to purchase the textbook, Planning the Low-Budget Film by Robert Latham Brown.