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How to credit this?

Zensteve

Zensteve

Here is the situation...

I came up with a story idea.

I tell my friend this story idea, who the people are, what happens, how it happens, why it happens, and how the situation resolves. It's the blueprint for the short.

Next, I ask her if she'd like to write it.

She does.

She's done the actual dialogue, set it in workable (for me) locations, and a tonne of scene-setting details. (Forget what that's called, too)

_______

What does she get credited as?

I would think it's more than just "Screenplay by..." as all she had to work with was my 100%-verbal descriptions. She did a lot more work than just transposing some completed prose story into a screenplay format.

Any ideas on what is appropriate for a situation like this? "Technically" appropriate, that is. This is more of a curiousity question, than anything.

As it is, I am giving her shared "Written by..." credit.

Maybe *I* don't earn the "Written by..." shared part?

Opinions, if you please. :)
 
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Zensteve said:
Here is the situation...

I came up with a story idea.

I tell my friend this story idea, who the people are, what happens, how it happens, why it happens, and how the situation resolves. It's the blueprint for the short.

Next, I ask her if she'd like to write it.

She does.

She's done the actual dialogue, set it in workable (for me) locations, and a tonne of scene-setting details. (Forget what that's called, too)

_______

What does she get credited as?

I would think it's more than just "Screenplay by..." as all she had to work with was my 100%-verbal descriptions. She did a lot more work than just transposing some completed prose story into a screenplay format.

Any ideas on what is appropriate for a situation like this? "Technically" appropriate, that is. This is more of a curiousity question, than anything.

As it is, I am giving her shared "Written by..." credit.

Maybe *I* don't earn the "Written by..." shared part?

Opinions, if you please. :)
Click to expand...

Zen,

Since your friend wrote the script and added to most if not all the elements you gave her with your initial pitch/idea, she should certainly share story credit with you at a minimum. Of course she would also get Screenplay By credit as well.

Since you had the idea, you should share Story By credit with her.

Having said that...

Since this is going to be a short film, you might also consider something like:

She gets:

Screenplay By credit
Story By credit credit

Based on an idea from Zensteve

I only mention the latter because I've actually seen it on a couple of short films...

filmy
 
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I agree with Filmy, but I'd simplify it even more to

Written by "credit to her"

From an original idea by ZenSteve

She wrote the script, you merely provided the treatment that she worked from.
 
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Or you could do:

Created by: ZenSteve
Written by: Myfriend

But then if you wrote something down to begin with, even if it was just a short story then you could be:

Based on "Title of Original Work" by: ZenSteve
Written by: Myfriend
 
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Didn't you develop the story and the characters without hte dialogue anyway? Because if you did then it means that the screenplay credits could be as follows:

Story by "You"
Screenplay by "Friend (and you, if neccessary)"
 
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