{"id":1119,"date":"2024-12-16T21:46:09","date_gmt":"2024-12-16T21:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/?p=1119"},"modified":"2024-12-18T16:08:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T16:08:06","slug":"questions-to-ask-when-getting-script-notes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfreeway.com\/articles\/questions-to-ask-when-getting-script-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Questions to Ask Yourself When Getting Script Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

So you\u2019re ready for the next draft of your script\u2014congrats! You\u2019ve done the hardest part and conquered the blank page. This next phase is all about notes: You might\u2019ve received a pile of them. Remember to take in all feedback and not get defensive. Don\u2019t push back or dismiss anyone\u2019s thoughts or opinions out of hand. Your goal is to organize these notes and determine which are the most important pieces of feedback and which are worth letting fall to the wayside, or getting more clarity on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These questions should also allow you to approach feedback from executives, producers, and reps with an open mind, and help you catalog your notes on the notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is this note about formatting or a typo?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Highlight these types of notes and go through your script to correct them first. It will be easier to find them now, before you make any changes, since the reader likely listed page numbers and further changes could impact the location of these typos. Software like Grammarly could also help you identify any script typos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the notes are formatting-related, definitely check out screenwriting software like Final Draft<\/a>. It will save you a great deal of time and energy. The best way to learn what your formatting should be is to use ready-made screenwriting software and read recently produced professional scripts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is this a world or prose note?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Are there any notes that mention your prose writing style? Any that point out moments when the story drags but you\u2019ve included these scenes to show the audience the rules over the world? How about comments about having too much exposition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter the genre, there\u2019s information you have to get across to the audience, and you want to do it in an interesting way. Sometimes, you simply have to include exposition in dialogue, but the goal is to get anything in this vein across through the story, which means character action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of movies like 2015\u2019s \u201cInside Out,\u201d which uses the opening to show us not only who Joy is (setting up her emotional arc, vulnerabilities, and desires), but also the bigger rules of the fantastical world in a little girl\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even in more grounded stories, like Emma Seligman\u2019s 2023 teen comedy \u201cBottoms,\u201d the script uses character interactions and humor that let us know how different the heightened attitudes at the high school are from real life. Without this distinction, you would never allow yourself the suspension of disbelief to go along with the premise of the film: two girls start an administratively sanctioned fight club at their school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is this a plot or structure note?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s look through your feedback and highlight anything that falls into \u201cstructure.\u201d The reader may be looking for an inciting incident, catalyst, midpoint, low point, all-is-lost moment, climax, reversal, pinch, setback, etc., to anchor your story. Do you have clear moments in your script that cause your character to palpably change? That is what your structure is meant to elicit.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re writing an action film, for example, you might hear over and over to make it \u201cbigger.\u201d The reader likely wants bigger setpiece moments that stand out, either to crank up emotional intensity or to advance a character\u2019s trajectory. As you go bigger, don\u2019t forget the stakes\u2014whether it\u2019s something tangible (like money) or emotional (like a relationship).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is this a character note?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand why a character did this.\u201d \u201cThis moment didn\u2019t feel that big to me.\u201d These kinds of notes come when the reader doesn\u2019t know who your character is and what makes them tick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The audience needs to know early on:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n