Development
Development Goal
S: Improve the screenplay.
M: I will get feedback from my peers and experienced writers.
A: I will be attending the writer's workshop to get feedback and opinions. I will also be sending the script and getting feedback from my professional writer contact Nick.
R: Making improvements to the script will attract more interest and
T: I will have a much-improved screenplay by December 2018.
Original Screenplay
In September 2017 I was emailed some plot outlines from screenwriting graduate Christopher Moore, a LinkedIn connection of mine. Sometimes people go the extra mile promoting themselves, I guess.
I really liked Window's premise and I wanted to read the script. However, after reading the script I was not really satisfied as the story did not have a third act. There was also no dialogue and no character names. The script was also dealing with domestic violence which I did not want to make a film about. So I left the script to sit in the dust while I wrote and produced other films at Weston College.​
In September 2018 when I started at Screenology I asked Adam Bastin if he wanted to make this film and direct, I didn't want to direct. I knew Adam was a great storyteller but also a close friend. He said that he would be more than happy to direct Window. I showed Brandon Shears the screenplay and he agreed it was an interesting idea but it needed work. I asked if Brandon would like to edit the film and be involved with script early on, he was on board.
First Revision
In October Brandon and I discussed and worked on the first revision of the screenplay. Brandon especially did not like the ending and wasn't interested in promoting a campaign or cause. We came up with the old man dropping a note to the couple, perhaps it could calm the situation down. This we felt this could also give the story more of an arc.
After this revision, I wasn't sure of the plot and I wanted some advice. I was lucky to meet the very kind author and screenwriter, Nick Harding who had previously given feedback on my work in Weston College.
Nick made clear in his email that our writer had made a very stripped down script. We had to add transitions, character names and lots more description of the action.
In November we attended the writer's workshop. The workshop was extremely helpful because the result really tightened the plot and the message we were trying to convey. The final result of this development was a second draft that completely changed the message, end and much more subtext.
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I emailed Nick back with our 2nd draft and he replied with this email below.
After taking on board most of Nick's tips we had 95% of the final material:
However, Adam Stafford-Smith, the actor playing Sean, surprised me in an email of his he listed some changes to dialogue:
So I made the final changes and here is our finalised shooting script: