The number one idea I hear from people trying to get their screenplay produced is to have it made into a comic book first. Nine times out of ten, they're headed for disaster. Here's why. This is an issue that I feel very strongly about. There's a big difference between the two forms of storytelling and you need to know it if you want to make the jump successfully.
Your Stage : Should I Turn My Screenplay Into A Comic Book. by Christopher Cooksey
Should I Turn My Screenplay Into A Comic Book.
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Damian Lloyd There are two points worth addressing in your comment. The first one is the practical element of cost. It does cost money to produce a comic book, it just costs far more to produce a movie, which is what makes comic books attractive to screenwriters. The second is to your comment about every page of a script equaling one page of a comic book. Comic books don't translate that way at all. Pages arn't minutes of screentime. There is no screen. If you're going to convert your script into a comic you have to fundamentally transform your story to fit the medium. Your page count will depend on what kind of story you're telling and how the medium can be used to make it impactful within it. You may be able to tell a story in four issues or twelve, forty pages or two hundred.
Damian Lloyd Yes, overall that is my point and your summary of my thesis is correct. You've got a point about a micro-budget drama being shot for $8K but of course, I'm speaking to a wider spectrum of storytelling. If you want to tell a Star Wars inspired space opera but can't afford to fund it, the temptation to translate it into a comic book for far less will present itself. If you have the ability to draw, it becomes cheaper, still. As someone who has worked in comics, I do wish your statement of starting pages rates being $200 a day were true. These days, established talent has trouble getting even near that amount.
Damian Lloyd I think that was my original point, but yeah, you have to know the medium.
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Any kind of adaptation isn't 'a copy', there will always difference between different platforms. What can you do better when your story becomes 'something else;' ?
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Steve James I'd say that the question is not so much "What can you do better?" (because we're always seeking to do better) but rather how does the medium affect how events need to play out and how you can maximize those strengths of said medium to their greatest effect?