The Art of Negotiation

The final agreement in a negotiation is the written contract.

Doctor Chester L. Karrass, chairman of Karrass, said, “In business, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.” Negotiating is one of the hardest parts of business. In the filming industry, an executive producer is constantly negotiating several matters including salaries, obtaining investments, and establishing filming locations. It can be daunting to walk into the room not knowing if the person you are negotiating with is a master negotiator, a rookie, or someone in between.

Positional bargaining is a negotiation strategy that is based on fixed positions and usually results in an agreement or no agreement. In other words, the end to positional bargaining is a win/lose result. Positional bargaining is usually present in salary negotiations. For instance, the recruiter pressures the candidate to name a salary or hourly rate. Ramit Sethi, personal financer and entrepreneur, states to never name the least amount you will accept because it may be below what number the recruiter had in mind. If it is below that number, they will be happy to offer you that particular number, and nothing above the number. Instead, place the pressure back on the recruiter by asking him or her questions about the salary range.

Before you enter into any negotiation, do your homework including obtaining objective criteria. You need to know what is the value of the position that you want, and what is the value you are worth. Knowing the salary for a particular position can assist you when the recruiter is pressuring you for a number. You can tell the recruiter a range and where you fall within that range based on your previous experience and any objective criteria that may be relevant. Objective criteria include researching the business that you are negotiating with. The more prepared you are the stronger your position and the better your negotiation will be.

Changing negotiation strategies from positional bargaining into a mutual agreement provides the best results for both parties because it is a win/win outcome. You need to frame your stipulations in terms that will benefit the other negotiator. If a recruiter states that he or she cannot offer a higher salary because the economy is bad, the candidate can tell the recruiter that the increase in salary is an investment in their business. Then the candidate will explain how it is an investment in the company.

Negotiating is an essential skill that every producer must have. Additional lessons I learned from each video was that you must be confident, prepare for your negotiations, be able to read people, and never disclose your bottom line. Like everything else in life, practice applying your negotiation skills. By practicing, it will make you a stronger and better negotiator. 

Hollywood and the Benjamins

Hollywood Money

You may have a great idea for a television show, but unless you can “show me the money”, the idea will not come to life. Hollywood is “all about the Benjamins”. It takes a lot of Benjamins to produce anything in film. The amount of Benjamins depends on a variety of factors including the type of genre, amount of time, and the type of network. For instance, HBO’s drama The Wire cost approximately $1.5 million per episode. While MTV’s reality show Jersey Shore cost appropriately $10,000 per episode. However, E! Online reports a thirty-minute reality show cost between $100,000 and $500,000. It is still cheaper than drama series like The Wire.  From the examples, you can understand why reality shows on television have skyrocketed in the last ten years.

Why are reality shows cheaper? One answer is the cost of talent. The talent is paid, but they are not well-known actors. A well-known actor like Charlie Sheen was earning $840,000 per episode when he was on Two and a Half Men, and worth $120 million. Kim Kardashian’s net worth is $40 million. She makes approximately $80 thousand per episode, but was not paid that amount when Keeping Up With the Kardashians first aired in 2007.

Reality shows require fewer writers. Yes, reality shows have writers. They use mostly nonunion and freelance writers and crew members resulting in not having to pay certain salary amounts as listed in various unions like the Writers Guild. The show does not have to worry about employee strikes.

Reality shows generate a lot of advertising revenue because of product placement. The contestants on the show Survivor are awarded with Snicker bars and Dortios nacho chips.

Reality shows generate more money in DVD and Bluray sales than other television shows. Shows like The Amazing Race outsold and outranked dramas like Desperate Housewives.

Since their expenses are significantly smaller than a drama series, their payoff is high revenue. In other words, less Benjamins going out, and more Benjamins coming in. Since it is all about the Benjamins, reality shows are here to stay and will continue to soar in Hollywood. 

The Software of Hollywood Screenwriters

Screenplay

The actor Hugh Laurie said, “Screenwriting is the most prized of all the cinematic arts. Actually, it isn’t, but it should be.” No matter what genre, all films and television series need the one key ingredient – the screenplay. After all, the screenplay is the blueprint, and without it, there is no film or television episode.

Writing the screenplays for Western Heights, I’m thankful that we have computers instead of typewriters. I can use a typewriter if I have too, but computers have word processors. Unlike a typewriter, word processing software allows you to write a scene, save it, and come back to it later.

These days, Hollywood screenwriters use screenwriting software. Screenwriting software allows the writer the ability to focus on the writing and not solely on the format. Most screenwriting software writes the screenplay in the format that Hollywood requires. There are so many to choose from. Which screenwriting software is the best one?

The Final Draft Pro is the screenwriting software many top Hollywood studios and companies are using. With recommendations from Tom Hanks, James Cameron, and J.J. Abrams, Final Draft is at the top of the list of screenwriting software. The software allows the writer to write for films, television, or theater. The feature panel system allows the writer to view his or her script cards while writing the script. The ScriptNotes allows the writer to keep track of feedback and ideas concerning sections of the script. The production features allows the writer to break down the script, prepare it for scheduling, and print out special reports like Scene and Location reports. Entertainment universities like Full Sail University require Final Draft Pro. Final Draft version 8 is available for Macintosh and Windows, and cost $249.95.

An alternative to Final Draft is Celtx. It offers both screenwriting and pre-production processes. Celtx allows the writer to write screenplays for film, television, theater, storyboards, comics, and novels. The writer has many options that Final Draft has. There are two versions – the free version and Celtx Plus. Celtx Plus offers a few more options for the writer like index cards with full view of the timeline and plot. Both versions are available for Macintosh, Windows, and Linux. Celtx Plus cost $14.99.

There are many more screenwriting software options. So which one do you purchase? The answer is simple. You purchase the one that meets your needs and the needs of your pocketbook. I am currently using Celtx, and I’m happy with it. However, if I get the chance, I will purchase Final Draft. After all, I want to use the software that most Hollywood screenwriters are using.