Script Doctor
A script consultation for early-career professionals: writers who have a finished screenplay or synopsis and are preparing it for a producer, a pitch or a competition.
The consultation consists of two meetings with written notes in between. At the end the writer has a list of the text’s problems in order of importance and a plan for the next draft.
Who it is for
- Film school and screenwriting course graduates with a first or second feature, a pilot or a series pitch.
- Writers who received a rejection or an editor’s notes and do not understand what exactly to fix.
- Writers who have rewritten the text several times and no longer see its weak points.
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Act I
First meeting
We know what we are, but know not what we may be
The writer presents the concept: what the story is about, who it is for, and what should happen to the text next. The writer brings their own questions about the text, and I add mine. By the end of the meeting it is decided what I read: the full screenplay or the synopsis.
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Act II
The read
Words, words, words
I read the screenplay from the first page to the last, or analyse the synopsis. I mark where the story loses tension, where the protagonist acts without a reason, where a scene repeats what has already been said.
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Act III
Short notes
Brevity is the soul of wit
Written notes with no plot summary. They name the main problems of the text and what already works in it: the concept, the protagonist and their goal, the structure, the scenes, the dialogue. The writer receives the notes before the second meeting and has time to think them over.
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Act IV
Second consultation
Suit the action to the word, the word to the action
We go through the notes and the writer’s questions. The outcome of the meeting: a revision plan in order, where to start the next draft and what to leave unchanged.
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Act V
The new draft
What's past is prologue
The fifth act is written by the writer. Rewriting is not part of the consultation: the writer makes the changes, following the plan from the second meeting.
What I work with
Sports films, children’s films, melodrama, stories about family and generations. More than 20 years in film and television; I teach screenwriting at VGIK. Credited on IMDb as Mitia Borisenko. More on the Teacher and Screenwriter page.
How to start
Write by email or Telegram: the title, the genre, a logline of one or two sentences, and what has been written so far. I will reply whether the text suits the consultation and suggest a time for the first meeting.
Price
Two meetings, the read and written notes: $230 for the whole consultation.