Writing Samples: Understanding What A Creative Exec Needs
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Webinar hosted by: Topher Rhys-Lawrence
Vice President at Atlas Entertainment
Topher Rhys-Lawrence is a Creative Executive at Atlas Entertainment, one of the entertainment industry’s premier film and television production companies. In this position, he is involved in the packaging, production and development of projects for both Atlas Entertainment and Atlas Independent. He also serves as the publicity and marketing liaison for the company. Topher was promoted to Creative Executive in January 2014. He began his tenure at Atlas Entertainment in July 2011 as assistant to producer Charles Roven, Founder of Atlas. While assisting Mr. Roven, Topher had the privilege of working on a variety of films in development and production, such as: The Dark Knight Rises Man of Steel American Hustle (nominated for 10 Academy Awards ® and winner of 3 Golden Globes ® including Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical) Topher began his entertainment career at Creative Artists Agency in 2009 providing creative and administrative support to multiple departments and eventually working for Emanuel Nunez in Film Finance. Prior to moving to Los Angeles, he studied at University of California – Irvine where he double majored in Economics and International Studies, graduating in 2008. Full Bio »
Webinar Summary
Every day a creative executive has dozens of scripts on his or her desk from agents, clients and colleagues. It is their job to find and uncover great talent to bring into the marketplace. If a creative executive is interested in a writer 100% of the time they will ask for more writing samples, so what exactly does that mean and how should you be prepared?
We have brought in Topher Rhys-Lawrence, a creative executive for Atlas Entertainment, a production and management company, which works on a variety of budgeted films such as 12 Monkeys, Get Smart, American Hustle, Batman vs. Superman and more. Part of Topher's job is to find the best writers for scripts on all types of projects… and within that comes a need for writing samples. In this exclusive Stage 32 Next Level Webinar Topher will go over what it means when a creative executive is interested in you as a writer, why your writing samples are important and give examples of types of samples you should have in your arsenal.
What You'll Learn
What you will learn:
Part 1: Understanding the landscape as as writer
- Understanding a Creative Executive's role
- What a CE is responsible for - How do you get in front of a CE?
- What will make you stand out?
- Do you need a manager or agent to get to a CE?
- Why are they saying no?
- Common mistakes you might be making
- The importance of the first ten pages
- The importance of developing a unique voice
- Keeping their attention
- What it means when a Creative Executive is interested in you as a writer
- We will go over various examples of becoming a working writer which include:
- Studio project
- Independent film projects
- TV writing projects
- Script doctoring
- Co-writing
- Ghost-writing
- Why are writing samples important?
- What a CE uses writing samples for
- How writing samples fit into production company pitches
Part 2: Types of Writing Samples
We will go over each of these various types of writing samples in detail. You will be armed with a clear understanding of what each sample should look like and how a CE uses this in his or her role:
- Script samples
- What scripts you should have ready
- Tips & tricks on industry expectations
- Examples of good scripts
- Examples of bad scripts - what NOT to do
- Treatment samples
- What treatments you should have ready
- Tips & tricks on industry expectations
- Examples of good treatments
- Examples of bad treatments - what NOT to do
- Synopsis samples
- What synopsis' you should have ready
- Tips & tricks on industry expectations
- Examples of good synopsis
- Examples of bad synopsis - what NOT to do
- Logline samples
- What loglines you should have ready
- Tips & tricks on industry expectations
- Examples of good loglines
- Examples of bad loglines - what NOT to do
About Your Instructor
Topher Rhys-Lawrence
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Reviews Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5
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Veialu Aila-Unsworth Great, honest insight. Especially into the writer-executive relationship and making the most of your first general meeting together. -
Paul Bliss Fantastic look into how an exec is looking at your project, and the realities of what they have to consider when working with writers. -
Ian Martin Really good and informative webinar.
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