SCRIPTGNOSTIC
CONSULTANCY FOR PRODUCERS AND WRITERS
“passionate about cinematic storytelling"
I am an independent script/story consultant and writer based in London.
I’ve worked as a script consultant to Northern Ireland Screen on its slate of features for over ten years, as well as leading a writers' room on the New Writer Focus Programme and developing scripts for the low budget feature scheme which launched Stephen Fingleton's critically acclaimed film The Survivalist. I’ve worked with emerging talent on their first projects as well as experienced writers and directors who have successfully developed ideas and projects in film, television and other media.
I also worked at the British Film Institute for over ten years and ran the Projects Fund where I acted as Executive Producer on debut feature films by then new directors, Shane Meadows (Dead Man’s Shoes, This Is England) and Anup Singh (Qisa, The Song of Scorpions), and the first cinema short by Joe Wright (Atonement, Darkest Hour).
I have many years experience teaching on MA and undergraduate script development programmes in film schools (London International and Geneva Ecole des Beaux Arts/HEAD) and Higher Education (the University of Westminster) and have regularly run one-off workshops and seminars for writers and film-makers within the independent sector.
More recently, I have also been working on non-fiction projects, acting as Story Consultant for the BFI Doc Society on commissioned documentaries.
There are various ways in which I can help, long term or short. Long-term involvement in a project will require in-depth discussion and might begin with the consideration of a treatment, continuing through a number of drafts of the screenplay. It could also entail my getting involved at any stage after the treatment. But if you are not looking for a long-term involvement or just not sure whether this is what you need, some one-off options - reports of different kinds - are listed under SERVICES .
For more information on who I am and what I've done, please go to CREDITS (around 30 as script editor, script consultant, development executive and close to 20 as executive producer) with links to my IMDB page, and TESTIMONIALS from producers and writers with whom I have worked.
My name is Steve Brookes, and SCRIPTGNOSTIC is the name of my Script and Story consultancy.
Experience has led me to the conclusion that successful script development is all about facilitating good dialogue. By that I mean not just the one-liners that you often expect to find in a great script, but in the quality of conversation that takes place between members of the team about the project. It's not just about the questions asked either, but also the way in which they are asked, the way in which problems are posed and the way in which creative solutions are looked-for. With this in mind, everything I do is focused on helping develop the best script possible and creating a solid foundation for what everyone will be hoping for at the end of the process - a financeable film.