We can all get along very well Skillet

i wont even waste my time on this issue again. if you have a complex, go settle it with yourself.

we can get along but we dont have to. from all indications you are here to be antagonistic and i have passed that level in life. forget teachers and students or big and small men. if you cant be happy when you see big men around you, then i think the problem is with you. and your answer to tonys question is wrong. VERY WRONG.

Terribly sorry you are so riled about being corrected. Please refrain from posting the below ever as how things are done.

skillet:
will look like this for a hollywood movie-

SCENE 1
CLOUDY DAY, 5PM, EXTERIOR, MAZI OKONKWO'S COMPOUND

There are people here to learn & I have no interest in discussing your very obvious issues or even my apparent issues. We're here to talk scriptwriting. End of!

This thread that was cooking up is now so hot...!
Please guys cool it down....please..
@VillageBoi and @Skillet...please you guys are the Ogas here you should help to 'ginger' we the newerbies.
You guys are saying the same thing from different angles...and opinions are bound to differ because one is a professional in Nigeria and the other is a professional in the Diaspora. So drop everything and concentrate on the boyz and gurlz.
----
So back to the question my pal asked...
"How much do producers pay scriptwriters in Nigeria?"

*hiding at prof's back*
E be like say my inquisitive question wan cause vulcano eruption for here o. Oga skillet abeg bone the querry, but pls lay comment(s) on my post in TV/MOVIE section, it's a thread about my shortfilm script titled: MOTHER SHE WROTE.

its aiight. i am not bothered. i know their type.

so back to the question. how much does a script cost?

conventionally, it is known that the movie script draws two fees from the producers. the first one is a fee for intellectual property. the second is a fee for providing the base on which production is built.

the first one isnt fixed but the second is.

as for intellectual props, it depends on you and your bargaining power.

if you want to learn how to up your bargaining power, let me know.

as for providing the base, in hollywood, it is pegged at about 3percent of total production costs. in nollywood, it is about 5percent.

if you want to know more, let me know.

Eeeerm *clears throat*

@Villageboi, incase you are wondering....I was the first person to like your post! ....and I just liked another one!


@Skillet, you need to visit TV/movies section more often. In all honesty (please don't feel offended), you shouldn't be here trying to 'teach' newbies....Cos you sound like a newbie and an amateur yourself (the heading you wrote in one of your earlier posts says a lot)! And ofcourse....the Nigerian thing....you argue too blindly and arrogantly at that! (also very nigerian). If you don't wanna learn, you are not gonna broaden your knowledge....

No one is trying to be antagonistic here dude, the deadline is; Villageboi is so right! And you are so wrong! Forget Mr Prof trying to be diplomatic! Well except you are one of the 'Professional' alaba/pound road scriptwriters - everything is right for them ....but stop trying to teach people nonsense! Tenk.

Someone has to tell you the truth straight up! You need to work on your attitude and ego! If na me you dey argue with (even though I can't afford all the epistle Villageboi bothered to write for you), I for don abuse hell commot for your body (even though I no know reach my ogas in the house )!

*looks left & right* abeg okada carry me commot

*Zooms off before Skillet pounces on me too*

----
So back to the question my pal asked...
"How much do producers pay scriptwriters in Nigeria?"[/quote]

It depends on the writer's bargaining power. Many Nigerian producers start from N50,000 for a movie script(which is a rip off in my view. I heard the guy who wrote Jennifer got N10,000!!! ). But try to aim at N100,000 for a screenplay. There are some that earn more than that.Many start from N200,000 to N700,000 but it all depends on your experience. I heard ,though unconfirmed, that the guy, Tunde Babalola, who wrote Otober 1st produced by Kunle Afolayan earns N3million per script due to his having worked on the British TV series coronation street for years. So try to aim at N100,000 as a starting point. If he's not willing to pay that then forget him/her as he/she will not produce a good job and the joy of scriptwriting is seeing one's work on screen. Hope this helps Tony Ayo.

@ speedyboi - yes sir. thank you sir. anything else?

@lynx, thats spot on. if you check out the figures you will see that nollywood producers spend an average of 3mill on a movie, hence the budget of about 200thou for script.

Guys, concerning the argument between Village boi and skillet, time is NEVER specified in a script. Only NIGHT or DAY. Even if you are not shooting at that time one can "cheat" while shooting. Leave the timing to the director. This is the standard format.

INT. BOLA'S LIVING ROOM - DAY.

Show the interior or exterior, the location of the viewing and whether it's day or night for the heading of a scene. Check the websites I listed. Most Nigerian producers have no standards so do whatever they like. No disrespect Skillet but Villageboi is right.

VillageBoi:

Welcome Lynx, how now?

Am good Villageboi. Hope u are good in Mama Charlie's land.

lynx200: ----
So back to the question my pal asked...
"How much do producers pay scriptwriters in Nigeria?"

It depends on the writer's bargaining power. Many Nigerian producers start from N50,000 for a movie script(which is a rip off in my view. I heard the guy who wrote Jennifer got N10,000!!! ). But try to aim at N100,000 for a screenplay. There are some that earn more than that.Many start from N200,000 to N700,000 but it all depends on your experience. I heard ,though unconfirmed, that the guy, Tunde Babalola, who wrote Otober 1st produced by Kunle Afolayan earns N3million per script due to his having worked on the British TV series coronation street for years. So try to aim at N100,000 as a starting point. If he's not willing to pay that then forget him/her as he/she will not produce a good job and the joy of scriptwriting is seeing one's work on screen. Hope this helps Tony Ayo.

I see. I've always wondered why his name is always staring at my face everywhere! So na because of British experience? okay na
He is not that good Jo IMO. Kemi Adesoye is still better than him in my own opinion.
That guy will be smiling to the bank by now! He wrote for Last flight to abuja, Maami, the meeting and now October 1. He also writes for Tinsel! Can you imagine?

I guess...he just seized the advantage Cos we don't have much good and 'professional' scriptwriters in Nigeria. Even Kemi Adesoye is also on average level

lynx, with all due respect, in this matter, you are as ignorant as they come. if the movie is 24HOURS nko? we will leave that to the director abi?

and come to think of it. how can you say kunle gets 3mill for a script just due to the fact he worked on coronation street? that is the most absurd reasoning i have ever heard. so, if he is contracted to write for an indie film with a total budget of 3mill nko? he will refuse abi? why dont you just google the price of movie scripts and stop talking half assedd.

lynx200: ----
So back to the question my pal asked...
"How much do producers pay scriptwriters in Nigeria?"

It depends on the writer's bargaining power. Many Nigerian producers start from N50,000 for a movie script(which is a rip off in my view. I heard the guy who wrote Jennifer got N10,000!!! ). But try to aim at N100,000 for a screenplay. There are some that earn more than that.Many start from N200,000 to N700,000 but it all depends on your experience. I heard ,though unconfirmed, that the guy, Tunde Babalola, who wrote Otober 1st produced by Kunle Afolayan earns N3million per script due to his having worked on the British TV series coronation street for years. So try to aim at N100,000 as a starting point. If he's not willing to pay that then forget him/her as he/she will not produce a good job and the joy of scriptwriting is seeing one's work on screen. Hope this helps Tony Ayo.

@first bolded...he deserves it. It should be free sef....nonsense...that na film?
Okay don't get me wrong; I'm not against that kinda of film with that kinda story. But isn't it obvious that Jennifer film was 'dumbly' written? yuck!


@second bolded! Very true. That's the beauty of scriptwriting. Bad production will ruin anything you worked on, no matter how good! I have to agree then....when the pay is too little, don't surrender your script Cos it will probably end up being bad!

One other thing. Like Skillet said there are two types of fees. If you are the one creating the story the fee is going to be higher but many producers have a story that they will want a screenwriter to screenplay for them so when you are charging make sure you have a mark up if you are going to be creating the story.

For TV series the fee ranges. It starts from N10000 for a 30min episode but the average is N20,000-N30,000 per episode but a professional outfit (Like the producers of tinsel) will pay N50,000 for a 30min episode. Multiply that by the number of episodes you will be writing. Many of the best writers in the country write for TV. You also get paid for consultancy(that is offering an opinion on how the script should go) and that comes to a minimum of N10000 per meeting. (Insist on this so that you can weed out the unserious people. Remember you are trading your intellect and time here folks) There are also people who write for reality TV but I don't have their figures yet.

skillet: lynx, with all due respect, in this matter, you are as ignorant as they come. if the movie is 24HOURS nko? we will leave that to the director abi?

No problem. I will look for an episode of 24 to paste here. That should settle it.

skillet: and come to think of it. how can you say kunle gets 3mill for a script just due to the fact he worked on coronation street? that is the most absurd reasoning i have ever heard. so, if he is contracted to write for an indie film with a total budget of 3mill nko? he will refuse abi? why dont you just google the price of movie scripts and stop talking half assedd.

I said uncomfirmed meaning it's hear say. And its Tunde Babalola not Kunle Afolayan (who is not a screenwriter but majorly a director). I am not here to argue with anyone. Everyman to his opinion.

lynx200: ----
So back to the question my pal asked...
"How much do producers pay scriptwriters in Nigeria?"

It depends on the writer's bargaining power. Many Nigerian producers start from N50,000 for a movie script(which is a rip off in my view. I heard the guy who wrote Jennifer got N10,000!!! ). But try to aim at N100,000 for a screenplay. There are some that earn more than that.Many start from N200,000 to N700,000 but it all depends on your experience. I heard ,though unconfirmed, that the guy, Tunde Babalola, who wrote Otober 1st produced by Kunle Afolayan earns N3million per script due to his having worked on the British TV series coronation street for years. So try to aim at N100,000 as a starting point. If he's not willing to pay that then forget him/her as he/she will not produce a good job and the joy of scriptwriting is seeing one's work on screen. Hope this helps Tony Ayo.

Yeah... it helps alot, thanx lynx.

okay lynx, i hear o. but the reasoning still doesnt follow regardless of who he is.

skillet: and come to think of it. how can you say kunle gets 3mill for a script just due to the fact he worked on coronation street? that is the most absurd reasoning i have ever heard. so, if he is contracted to write for an indie film with a total budget of 3mill nko? he will refuse abi? why dont you just google the price of movie scripts and stop talking half assedd.

You are obviously from alaba. How can a movie cost 3 million naira? That's roughly 20,000 dollars for crying out loud! We are talking movies here not home videos...(no offence).
The total budget of October 1 was estimated at 2 million dollars (according to the press release)...that's roughly 300,000,000+ naira. Paying 3 million for the script of that Kinda film is not too much.
Normally....screenplay costs from 5% of the total budget everywhere. So whether na studio or Indie...5% of the total budget is often given to the screenwriting.
Btw, do we have scriptwriter's guild/association in Nigeria? If yes, then screenwriters from the association (professionals....most of them having box office hits to their credits) have standard rates (always more expensive). I doubt that we have such in Nigeria. Lemme use google to find out. Brb.







@bolded...I didn't say he was paid that amount Cos of that. That amount doesn't affect me (if true), Cos it's not out of place. What I said was that he is probably getting lots of job Cos of that! - I was only guessing.
Btw..its tunde...not kunle!

tony, having lynx impression on the whole costing thing is wrong. why not google the cost of purchase of scripts. IT IS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL PRODUCTION COST. google and see for yourself. in hollywood we have what is known as the OPTION system. in nollywood, we dont have that system. so, tony, if someone wants to buy your script, find out what his budget for the movie would look like and go for 5percent of it.

@speedy ALABA IS NOLLYWOOD. abi is there another one that you know?

skillet: @speedy ALABA IS NOLLYWOOD. abi is there another one that you know?

Well...There is New Nollywood. Which are made of high standard films coming out of niaja.
Films Like figurine,...Ije,...Last flight to Abuja,..etc are Nollywood but they are definitely not Alaba.
See..? Nollywood is not Alaba.
Though I know you are part of Alaba and have churned out numerous Alaba films and have made your money...I think you should also appreciate these 'New Nollywood' too.

Thank you..@Lynx200 and @skillet.
You guys have been helpful in answering the question: "what does a script cost?"

Now...back to the 'bone of confusion' since I've been accused of being diplomatic.
----
I would like to set the records right because there are other people reading this to learn.
Scene Heading is the same across industries. There is a very basic format for writing it like lynx200 pointed out:

lynx200: Guys, concerning the argument between Village boi and skillet, time is NEVER specified in a script. Only NIGHT or DAY. Even if you are not shooting at that time one can "cheat" while shooting. Leave the timing to the director. This is the standard format.

INT. BOLA'S LIVING ROOM - DAY

Show the interior or exterior, the location of the viewing and whether it's day or night for the heading of a scene. Check the websites I listed. Most Nigerian producers have no standards so do whatever they like. No disrespect Skillet but Villageboi is right.

Though there can be variations depending on skill and necessity there is NEVER a time when the input of 'time of day' (like 5pm) is allowed unless of course, you are going to shoot it yourself.

---
'Time of day' (like 5pm) is inserted or indicated by using the appropriate element which is 'superimpose' or even 'title over'(used in 24)
e.g:
superimpose: Lagos beach resort -5:00pm.
This is it. Period!

Now.
I have the 'writing Template draft' for any writer who is writing an episode of 24. This is what the writer will use as a guideline when writing.


It is attached below, feel free to download. It is just 102kb.

Download the script template for 24 above and you will notice how the scenes were Titled.

'Clock-Time of Day' was never used in the "Scene Heading". But it was subjected to the 'title over' element.

The same goes for magicals.:
If the scene is dark, we use 'NIGHT'.
If the scene is going to be bright, we use 'DAY'.
Except space scene where we just write 'SPACE'.
e.g:
INT. ASTRONAUT'S CRIB - SPACE

please lets leave this matter. its unprofitable to argue. old nollywood gave us new nollywood. the greatest attribute of nollywood is its ability to churn out nice movies at little cost, maximising profit. so even though i respect new nollywood, they DO NOT GROSS as much as old nollywood. furthermore ALL new nollywood practitioners owe their success to their appearances in old nollywood movies.

(clears throat)
Em... @skillet. Thanks for helping out, but i don't see what's wrong with what lynx and speedboi said about the prices of scripts, what i understand in what they're saying is that writers that writes for low budget direct to video movies amount are different (low) from the big budgets movies, in hollywood i've researched that since the late 90's to date that newbies spec-scripts are sold btw $200000 to $700000 without minding the production's budget, I'm an aspiring writer (newbie) who believes that one day my script will get there, the reason i asked the question is because i couldn't find it on the net about nollywood scripts prices, the only person that has the right to the movie budgets are commisioned writers that might get a cut in the gross revenue or so. Lynx enlightened me that if my script can be bought 4 N100k, it's 70% obvious that the script got to the right peeps. The only proposition i've gotten as a writer was when a unknown T.V producer called me to write a series for him after viewing my post here, he shunned me after i said i'll take 20k per episode (believing he might try to cut it down), but now i just figured out that the fella is a wishy washer (wasn't expecting the episodic parade). So... a guy collecting N3mil per script isn't bad at all, he might not be better than me and u, but his 'name' is doing it for him, a producer whose movie budget is N3mil will never think of hiring the guy, coz the guy won't care about the budget but will charge the producer the same amt he charges others. What i believe is that all spec scripts has a price tag, for shooting scripts, it all depends on the contract.
I'm Nkemdy Okereke A.K.A Tony Ayo, an aspiring scriptwriting (took it seriously in 2013), has written 2 features, 2 shorts, 3 pilots. Thank you, peace out.

tony, keep trying. one day, they will pay your asking price. amen.

lol at- his 'name' is doing it for him. so you think its just his name that is doing it? wake up and smell the coffee.

well since you dont need my help, its fine by me.

any other real questions?

skillet:

well since you dont need my help, its fine by me.

any other real questions?

Well...he did ask you to help critique his short. Here is the link:

www.nairaland.com/1477619/murder-she-wrote-short-film

tony ayo: Oga skillet abeg bone the querry, but pls lay comment(s) on my post in TV/MOVIE section, it's a thread about my shortfilm script titled: MOTHER SHE WROTE.

Here is the link:
www.nairaland.com/1477619/murder-she-wrote-short-film

i have seen it and its good. i give it an A for effort. but quite frankly, it still needs a lot of work and more importantly, the writer, tony, needs to understand the rudiments of scriptwriting. as well as screenplaying. his script is a mixture of both. using point of view of characters as well as camera angles even when not necessary, is a common mistake. this lowers the value of the script.