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Reasonable price for a short
- Thread starter Reg
- Start date
Whatever the market will bear...
Having said that...
You can expect to pay more for a short written by a produced screenwriter... On top of that, you can expect to pay more for a screenplay written by a member of the WGA .
For small indie type productions like most of us are used to, WideShot is right... From FREE to maybe a couple of hundred bucks but in all actuality, most screenwriters of a short are usually willing to give the script away for free as long as it's going to be produced...
The problem here of course is convincing a short script screenwriter that you're up to the task...
Hope that helps...
filmy
I know of shorts being sold on InkTip.com for $10K... Whatever the market will bear is what you can expect to pay for a short...Reg said:
Having said that...
You can expect to pay more for a short written by a produced screenwriter... On top of that, you can expect to pay more for a screenplay written by a member of the WGA .
For small indie type productions like most of us are used to, WideShot is right... From FREE to maybe a couple of hundred bucks but in all actuality, most screenwriters of a short are usually willing to give the script away for free as long as it's going to be produced...
The problem here of course is convincing a short script screenwriter that you're up to the task...
Hope that helps...
filmy
Are we being cheap?
$25, $50, or $100 for a short? Are we being cheap or what?
We all know that shorts sell for alot more than that!
Save yourselves and go under the guildlines.....If it's 10 pages, then $1,000. If it's 20, then $2,000. If it's 50, then $5,000. Do the math. The more you pay, the better quality you will receive.
Any screenwriter in they're right mind would NOT except $50.00 for a script (which most of the time is their own mind) I know. I use to write. Most writers don't have a second job, so what you pay them keeps them going. Pay the screenwriter right! Don't rip them off with $50 bucks!
$25, $50, or $100 for a short? Are we being cheap or what?
We all know that shorts sell for alot more than that!
Save yourselves and go under the guildlines.....If it's 10 pages, then $1,000. If it's 20, then $2,000. If it's 50, then $5,000. Do the math. The more you pay, the better quality you will receive.
Any screenwriter in they're right mind would NOT except $50.00 for a script (which most of the time is their own mind) I know. I use to write. Most writers don't have a second job, so what you pay them keeps them going. Pay the screenwriter right! Don't rip them off with $50 bucks!
I didn't know that.handsuppro said:
The "standard" for a non-union feature script is three to five percent of the total budget. Even if a producer went as high as 10% I can't imagine a short filmmaker being able to afford $1,000 for a ten page script. How many of us make 10 minute shorts for $10,000?
Very few short filmmakers are paying anyone their true day rate - not the DP, not the actors, not the editor, not the sound mixer, not the director and not the writer. Most people on a short work for free. The last short film I made (on 16mm) cost me a total of $2,200. No way could I have afforded to spend $1,000 on the script.
But it's been a long time since I made a short. So are those $10,000 sales on InkTip typical? Is the going rate for short scripts really in the $1,000 per 10 pages neighborhood? Is this what writers want or what producers are paying?
I've got to agree with directorik.
The problem with shorts is that they have little or no conmmercial value. They represent a negative commercial value to the producer and therefore any payment at all for writing a short is unusual.
For the screenwriter gettting a short into production and getting it onto the festival circuit is generally worth more than any potential fee, simply because it creates exposure. An festival winning short can lead to agent interest and opportunites to get into the real money, which of course is in features/TV.
I think as a writer myself, the key to getting me on side for a short would have been production values and potential exposure. I never saw them as a source of income.
The problem with shorts is that they have little or no conmmercial value. They represent a negative commercial value to the producer and therefore any payment at all for writing a short is unusual.
For the screenwriter gettting a short into production and getting it onto the festival circuit is generally worth more than any potential fee, simply because it creates exposure. An festival winning short can lead to agent interest and opportunites to get into the real money, which of course is in features/TV.
I think as a writer myself, the key to getting me on side for a short would have been production values and potential exposure. I never saw them as a source of income.
handsuppro said:$25, $50, or $100 for a short? Are we being cheap or what?
We all know that shorts sell for alot more than that!
Save yourselves and go under the guildlines.....If it's 10 pages, then $1,000. If it's 20, then $2,000. If it's 50, then $5,000. Do the math. The more you pay, the better quality you will receive.
Any screenwriter in they're right mind would NOT except $50.00 for a script (which most of the time is their own mind) I know. I use to write. Most writers don't have a second job, so what you pay them keeps them going. Pay the screenwriter right! Don't rip them off with $50 bucks!
You obviously came from the studio system and have not seen what 95% of film festival shorts are compised of.
I would venture to say 75% of all DV shorts do not even have a budget of $1000.
Perhaps you can fill us in on the shorts you have written and been paid a thousand dollars for.
I dont dispute the payment scale for scripts for features which generally have budgets of millions of dollars, but since shorts have practically no commercial value, there is no way the scale could possibly hold up.
Not typical...
Lots of well written shorts on InkTip.com are gotten for free... It really depends on what you find and what the writer is really looking to do with the short...
Some writers are writing shorts just to get produced... Others are actually trying to sell them...
I do know however, that there are some quality shorts on InkTip.com and a lot of short film filmmakers go there to "hopefully" find a gem that will help launch everyone...
filmy
No... The $10K for a short is not typical at all... I just pointed that out to show what a well written short could bring...directorik said:
Lots of well written shorts on InkTip.com are gotten for free... It really depends on what you find and what the writer is really looking to do with the short...
Some writers are writing shorts just to get produced... Others are actually trying to sell them...
I do know however, that there are some quality shorts on InkTip.com and a lot of short film filmmakers go there to "hopefully" find a gem that will help launch everyone...
filmy
I've heard good things about InkTip. What would you say is the typical price paid for a short script - in the 10 to 20 minute range?FilmJumper said:
Probably free...
Again, the screenwriter is usually wanting a produced credit... From what I understand, the screenwriters of the better written shorts normally want to see some kind of evidence that the filmmaker knows what they're doing when they're giving away their screenplay...
filmy
From what I hear, most are free actually... However, you have to get through the gatekeepers as a legit production company to be able to browse through them... I know of at least three shorts that I've read that seemed very well written to me that were obtained free.directorik said:
Again, the screenwriter is usually wanting a produced credit... From what I understand, the screenwriters of the better written shorts normally want to see some kind of evidence that the filmmaker knows what they're doing when they're giving away their screenplay...
filmy
That’s what I thought, filmy. I was a little surprised to hear that any short script sold in the ten large range. And handsuppro’s mention that there are guidelines made me wonder if the market for shorts was changing.
I’m sure it happens. Every once in a while a $35,000 movie will hit the theaters and earn $240,000,000. But I have always thought of short films as a labor of love, a learning tool and a showcase of the talents involved, not as a money maker.
I’m sure it happens. Every once in a while a $35,000 movie will hit the theaters and earn $240,000,000. But I have always thought of short films as a labor of love, a learning tool and a showcase of the talents involved, not as a money maker.
it's all about the project...
Indies are entirely different animals... I know A-List screenwriters helping Indie filmmaker friends by writing for nothing but credit...
It's all about the project and who's behind it...
filmy
I wouldn't even consider selling a feature screenplay to a production company for anything under $250K...Pilyav said:
Indies are entirely different animals... I know A-List screenwriters helping Indie filmmaker friends by writing for nothing but credit...
It's all about the project and who's behind it...
filmy
$250K is fair, but only if Universal is buying. Like you said, it's all about the project and who's behind it. But if a studio can save $150K, produce a $10 million flick, and make a $20 million profit, the chances of them paying me $500K for screenplay #2 are that much better. Naturally, money only talks when the quality of the material talks louder . . . if I were pitching a piece of total garbage, they'd expect me to lowball. If I'm pitching a masterpiece, they'd be surprised. But I doubt anyone would object.