May 11, 2009

Aku tahu isu penulis skrip dah agak lapuk, tetapi soal penulis skrip yang dibayar macam gampang itu tetap satu hakikat.

1. This should be some sort of insight. It is based on my experience as a script writer for film, TV (documentaries, live concerts, award show etc)

2. Payments made for writers are always a one off basis.

i.e
* RM1,000 - For an award show script.

* RM400 to RM900 - For each episode of a documentary (a minimum of 13 episodes)
* RM10,000 - For a first timer film script
* RM4,000 to RM6,000 - For a telefilm / telemovie Etc etc

3. Payments are made ONE TIME no matter how many times the show will repeat on TV or any other medium/platform.

4. Producers/Asst Producers/Production Assistants/Broadcast Journalists that writes script for the TV show that they are working on normally will not get any extra income because somehow, writing script is/will be the part of the job descriptions.

5. From my experience with Finas (The National Film Development Corporation), there was one time a production company wanted to buy the rights of a famous Malay novel from a famous publisher but ended up claiming that they we shocked with the amount they had to pay which was RM250,000. They thought it was only RM50,000. In the end, they shot a shitty film (guna loan Skim Kemudahan Produksi) and Finas was the custodian of that loan.

My question:

1. How much do you actually pay for a film/TV show/TV Award show/TV Documentary/TV Drama/Telefilms' SCRIPT?

2. Would you gain extra income when your work (the SCRIPT) are turn into DVDs or the programs are sold to another TV station or the programs are sold overseas etc etc?

3. From the silver screen to you BOX at home - would you get more money?

4. Script writers - Do they sell their soul to the devil?

Answer to my own questions above (I might be wrong):

1. There are no specifics rates yet at the moment because we don't have any credible Writer's Guild or anything like that.

(SWAM? Fuck Swam - all they ever do is having AGM/EGM for nominations and selections. I can't even fucking find their websites)

2. NO, because payments are only made ONE TIME.

3. Cinema to TV means extra income for the producers but NOT the script writers.

4. Not that we sell our soul to the devil but that is just the way it is.

The Writers' Guild of Great Britain 1959 - 2009 (TWGGB) is a fucking great example on how this state could change but we need people who can make the changes.

Please look at the rates and agreement impose by TWGGB here. It includes writing for films, TV, radio, theater, video games, new media and even animations.

Ini adalah Robert Towne yang tulis skrip Chinatown, arahan Roman Polanski pada tahun 1974. Shoeshine suka sangat filem ini. Aku pesan DVD originalnya masa teman aku ke Oslo suatu masa lalu. Robert Towne dah kaya raya dah sebab filem ini agaknya kan?

Ini Chuck Palahniuk yang tulis skrip dan novel Fight Club arahan David Fincher pada 1999. Ia adalah skrip yang amat brilliant pada aku. Aku rasa mamat ni pun dah kaya dah.

Okay...sekarang aku nak cakap Melayu sebab SWAM ialah PERSATUAN PENULIS SKRIP MALAYSIA walaupun akronim mereka orang putih (SCRIPT WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA).

TV kita makin hebat. FILEM kita makin hebat. PROGRAM2 kita makin hebat.

Tapi masih ada:

1. Penulis skrip yang dibayar gaji bulan rendah untuk tulis script untuk ratusan episod drama TV.

2. Penulis skrip di stesen TV yang juga dibayar gaji bulan untuk buat script bagi rancangan hiburan mingguan.

3. Penerbit, penolong penerbit, pembantu penerbitan yang tak ada asas tulis skrip menulis skrip untuk hos-hos mereka di TV.

Terus teranglah....you (maybe not all of you) pay merely RM10,000 for a film that you claimed "menelan perbelanjaan RM1.5 juta?"

Asas sesebuah produksi ialah SCRIPT yang baik tetapi inilah IRONINYA.

Kadang-kadang penulis skrip ambil masa berminggu sampai bertahun untuk menulis tetapi akhirnya mereka dibayar sekali sahaja manakala penerbit kaut untung berkali-kali.


KEEP IT COOL

15 comments:

pablo said...

damn true man!
thats why i never send any of my script to malaysian producer.

btw, salam ziarah. sorry blom pa2hal aku dah ter-mencarut dulu. 'ter'...xsengaja tu.huhu

Che Kay said...

kasihan semua penulis skrip...huhu

Naddy said...

o bayar sekali aje. yang kaya produser sebab end produk dia yang punya.

dandelinoid said...

wow. baru aku tahu sistem pembayaran penulis skrip kat malaysia.

ingatkan leh makan ngan jadi penulis skrip...

thx bro, buka benda yang ramai tak tahu...

iamstradust said...

skrip dokumentari aku buat hanya dapat rm200..direct telemovie aku dapat 2k je

nasib baik aku tak kahwin lagi..tak apa lah makan nasi lemak hari-hari pun

alida abidin said...

Diablo Cody of Juno fame yang first time tulis movie script terus kaya raya, menang award dan rasanya boleh hidup sampai mati dengan duit tu.

lavidalabelle said...

oh sgt tak adil bayar ciput dan one time only.

bukan patut ada royalti mcm iklan atau album ke. sekali dipampang atau diulang tayang, harus dibayar.

thts sucks :(

Anonymous said...

tima kasih menjadi pejuang writer di Malaysia...

taknak citer ke pengalaman di astro, finas, tv3, tv9, spore, astro...

:)

joegrimjow said...

masalah ni dew kat man2 pon
tp cam xbesh la adew kat mesia
ingt dieorg xde anak nak bagi makanan ke??

emo!!

errk, kenyang said...

saya masih keliru dengan "hakmilik intelektual".

macam kes sebegini(skrip)ia nya menjadi hak siapa?
penerbit atau penulis?

saya juga anggap kita di malaysia tidak mengamalkan perkongsian keuntungan. saya pernah terbaca yang penulis(contoh) barat tidak mengambil pra-pembayaran, tetapi menerima bahagian apabila cukup kiraan tempoh keuntungan, dan jika setelah 8 tahun(contoh) masih mendatangkan keuntungan - penulis masih menerima pembayaran.

Juga mentaliti tempatan yang menganggap "wang adalah modal".
Maka skrip akan dianggap sebagai "aset cair bersifat sementara".

Aimi Rosli said...

oh, ini realitinya !

GuardianX said...

oooye ke cam tu..ini aku rasa tak adil..aku ingat penulis skrip pun akan dapat royalti...

emmm kena fight laa cam ni bro!!

muteaudio said...

I think the tv station also reaped the benefits. They don't pay royalty to the producers hence the producers can reciprocate the actions to the production team. You've been there at the tv station and think you should also highlight how the stations have been repeating tv programs and dramas countless of time.

As bulk of the jobs for writers comes from tv stations (throught the producers of course), I believe the tv stations are the bigger culprit than film producers.

muteaudio said...

And I think SWAM, Karyawan, FDAM, PPFM etc. don't play much role in the development of this industry. They're only good at complaining when things don't go their way.

If all these associations were to work together with the 'production labours', the industry can be as strong and good as those you see in US & UK.

29 said...

I am a new screenwriter and I just want to say, dont let this post be expired until it reaches the blood cell in the brain of SWAM's president like a mosquitoe trapped in a cave of shithead.

But can't really blame them as most screenwriters in Msia don't use the right format (they dont know Syd Field), and the idea is pretty much the same.

Maybe you dont have to know syd Field, but it shows that you didnt do study.

Lastly, keep up the good works and fight for your rights.

May 11, 2009

Aku tahu isu penulis skrip dah agak lapuk, tetapi soal penulis skrip yang dibayar macam gampang itu tetap satu hakikat.

1. This should be some sort of insight. It is based on my experience as a script writer for film, TV (documentaries, live concerts, award show etc)

2. Payments made for writers are always a one off basis.

i.e
* RM1,000 - For an award show script.

* RM400 to RM900 - For each episode of a documentary (a minimum of 13 episodes)
* RM10,000 - For a first timer film script
* RM4,000 to RM6,000 - For a telefilm / telemovie Etc etc

3. Payments are made ONE TIME no matter how many times the show will repeat on TV or any other medium/platform.

4. Producers/Asst Producers/Production Assistants/Broadcast Journalists that writes script for the TV show that they are working on normally will not get any extra income because somehow, writing script is/will be the part of the job descriptions.

5. From my experience with Finas (The National Film Development Corporation), there was one time a production company wanted to buy the rights of a famous Malay novel from a famous publisher but ended up claiming that they we shocked with the amount they had to pay which was RM250,000. They thought it was only RM50,000. In the end, they shot a shitty film (guna loan Skim Kemudahan Produksi) and Finas was the custodian of that loan.

My question:

1. How much do you actually pay for a film/TV show/TV Award show/TV Documentary/TV Drama/Telefilms' SCRIPT?

2. Would you gain extra income when your work (the SCRIPT) are turn into DVDs or the programs are sold to another TV station or the programs are sold overseas etc etc?

3. From the silver screen to you BOX at home - would you get more money?

4. Script writers - Do they sell their soul to the devil?

Answer to my own questions above (I might be wrong):

1. There are no specifics rates yet at the moment because we don't have any credible Writer's Guild or anything like that.

(SWAM? Fuck Swam - all they ever do is having AGM/EGM for nominations and selections. I can't even fucking find their websites)

2. NO, because payments are only made ONE TIME.

3. Cinema to TV means extra income for the producers but NOT the script writers.

4. Not that we sell our soul to the devil but that is just the way it is.

The Writers' Guild of Great Britain 1959 - 2009 (TWGGB) is a fucking great example on how this state could change but we need people who can make the changes.

Please look at the rates and agreement impose by TWGGB here. It includes writing for films, TV, radio, theater, video games, new media and even animations.

Ini adalah Robert Towne yang tulis skrip Chinatown, arahan Roman Polanski pada tahun 1974. Shoeshine suka sangat filem ini. Aku pesan DVD originalnya masa teman aku ke Oslo suatu masa lalu. Robert Towne dah kaya raya dah sebab filem ini agaknya kan?

Ini Chuck Palahniuk yang tulis skrip dan novel Fight Club arahan David Fincher pada 1999. Ia adalah skrip yang amat brilliant pada aku. Aku rasa mamat ni pun dah kaya dah.

Okay...sekarang aku nak cakap Melayu sebab SWAM ialah PERSATUAN PENULIS SKRIP MALAYSIA walaupun akronim mereka orang putih (SCRIPT WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA).

TV kita makin hebat. FILEM kita makin hebat. PROGRAM2 kita makin hebat.

Tapi masih ada:

1. Penulis skrip yang dibayar gaji bulan rendah untuk tulis script untuk ratusan episod drama TV.

2. Penulis skrip di stesen TV yang juga dibayar gaji bulan untuk buat script bagi rancangan hiburan mingguan.

3. Penerbit, penolong penerbit, pembantu penerbitan yang tak ada asas tulis skrip menulis skrip untuk hos-hos mereka di TV.

Terus teranglah....you (maybe not all of you) pay merely RM10,000 for a film that you claimed "menelan perbelanjaan RM1.5 juta?"

Asas sesebuah produksi ialah SCRIPT yang baik tetapi inilah IRONINYA.

Kadang-kadang penulis skrip ambil masa berminggu sampai bertahun untuk menulis tetapi akhirnya mereka dibayar sekali sahaja manakala penerbit kaut untung berkali-kali.


KEEP IT COOL

15 comments:

pablo said...

damn true man!
thats why i never send any of my script to malaysian producer.

btw, salam ziarah. sorry blom pa2hal aku dah ter-mencarut dulu. 'ter'...xsengaja tu.huhu

Che Kay said...

kasihan semua penulis skrip...huhu

Naddy said...

o bayar sekali aje. yang kaya produser sebab end produk dia yang punya.

dandelinoid said...

wow. baru aku tahu sistem pembayaran penulis skrip kat malaysia.

ingatkan leh makan ngan jadi penulis skrip...

thx bro, buka benda yang ramai tak tahu...

iamstradust said...

skrip dokumentari aku buat hanya dapat rm200..direct telemovie aku dapat 2k je

nasib baik aku tak kahwin lagi..tak apa lah makan nasi lemak hari-hari pun

alida abidin said...

Diablo Cody of Juno fame yang first time tulis movie script terus kaya raya, menang award dan rasanya boleh hidup sampai mati dengan duit tu.

lavidalabelle said...

oh sgt tak adil bayar ciput dan one time only.

bukan patut ada royalti mcm iklan atau album ke. sekali dipampang atau diulang tayang, harus dibayar.

thts sucks :(

Anonymous said...

tima kasih menjadi pejuang writer di Malaysia...

taknak citer ke pengalaman di astro, finas, tv3, tv9, spore, astro...

:)

joegrimjow said...

masalah ni dew kat man2 pon
tp cam xbesh la adew kat mesia
ingt dieorg xde anak nak bagi makanan ke??

emo!!

errk, kenyang said...

saya masih keliru dengan "hakmilik intelektual".

macam kes sebegini(skrip)ia nya menjadi hak siapa?
penerbit atau penulis?

saya juga anggap kita di malaysia tidak mengamalkan perkongsian keuntungan. saya pernah terbaca yang penulis(contoh) barat tidak mengambil pra-pembayaran, tetapi menerima bahagian apabila cukup kiraan tempoh keuntungan, dan jika setelah 8 tahun(contoh) masih mendatangkan keuntungan - penulis masih menerima pembayaran.

Juga mentaliti tempatan yang menganggap "wang adalah modal".
Maka skrip akan dianggap sebagai "aset cair bersifat sementara".

Aimi Rosli said...

oh, ini realitinya !

GuardianX said...

oooye ke cam tu..ini aku rasa tak adil..aku ingat penulis skrip pun akan dapat royalti...

emmm kena fight laa cam ni bro!!

muteaudio said...

I think the tv station also reaped the benefits. They don't pay royalty to the producers hence the producers can reciprocate the actions to the production team. You've been there at the tv station and think you should also highlight how the stations have been repeating tv programs and dramas countless of time.

As bulk of the jobs for writers comes from tv stations (throught the producers of course), I believe the tv stations are the bigger culprit than film producers.

muteaudio said...

And I think SWAM, Karyawan, FDAM, PPFM etc. don't play much role in the development of this industry. They're only good at complaining when things don't go their way.

If all these associations were to work together with the 'production labours', the industry can be as strong and good as those you see in US & UK.

29 said...

I am a new screenwriter and I just want to say, dont let this post be expired until it reaches the blood cell in the brain of SWAM's president like a mosquitoe trapped in a cave of shithead.

But can't really blame them as most screenwriters in Msia don't use the right format (they dont know Syd Field), and the idea is pretty much the same.

Maybe you dont have to know syd Field, but it shows that you didnt do study.

Lastly, keep up the good works and fight for your rights.