Script consultancy has been as the heat of a debate within the movie industry universe for the past years. Many leading authorities and experts consider that producers and directors do not really need script consultants, but they are contradicted by other famous experts. What is the truth concerning the profession? Do we really need a script consultancy expertise before releasing a movie?
The truth is that script consultancy can help or harm you, depending on what you choose to do. Script consultancy may help you to improve your script structure and pacing, develop a better storytelling and create a thrilling and catching atmosphere. But script consultancy is above all a matter of honesty and frankness. When script writing is so poor that there is no way to improve it, the consultant has the responsibility to tell the truth before you send your script to a producer, or a producer transmits it to his executive agents. People will certainly agree with the fact that such truth may be difficult to accept, but is necessary if one doesn’t need to exhaust time, money or efforts on a project that will be rejected.
There are certainly good and bad script consultants, and script consultancy is not a profession with perfect agents. A consultant can reject a screenplay that is eventually successful, or accepted by a studio or a producer. But most of the time, experienced script consultants are hardly mistaking, and thousand of script writers have noticed that they should have listened to the advices they received-but too late. Therefore, the question is much more a matter of choice. Instead of considering that script consultancy is useless, you should ask yourself how to select a professional and trustworthy consultant for your project.
Famous consultants can ask up to $5000 to give their opinion on a script. Experts consider that your script should not be as costly as your car, but you are the one to decide if you want to pay such amount just to have an opinion. There are very few consultants who charge so much. You may benefit from good consultancy service for $500 if you want, provided you are ready to go through a script consultancy database and compare the prices of services offered.
However, you should also be aware of the fact that several so-called “experts” on script consultancy who have little or poor experience and establish themselves as consultants juts because they spent one or two years within a production company. They are not qualified to give a realistic opinion on your script and they lack the needed expertise to indicate what you should improve for your script to be hired.