But you always know deep down when you are being used & you know that the person asking has absolutely no idea how long it will take.

I had the opportunity to work with a very experienced business partner, who would always get asked these questions mainly because of his years in the business & his success. He would always face the question honestly & head on. It was an interesting proposition but he was way too busy, he didn’t feel it was for him or that he could do it justice.

But this was the great part he always referred them on. He would get on the mobile right to another of his many contacts, say he’s got this great guy who they should meet and they might be able to work together on a project. Mobile numbers were exchanged, the meeting time was organised right there and then and hey sometimes it worked out & sometimes it didn’t.

He never took offence to the question, it was just part of doing business. It was just that he found a polite & professional way of saying ‘bugger off’ without offending that person because you just never know when you might have to ask a favour.

Sadly, even with my European bluntness, I’m not great at saying, ‘No’.

If s/he thinks this idea so so great, is it not not worth enough to back with their own effort, time and money instead of asking for someone else’s’ resources?

Usually it is the people who have no idea what is involved in realising their request,who are driven to get you to accept. So, you’d be doing this person a big favour by spelling out exactly how it all works in the industry (back to my European bluntness) – A mini lesson, for FREE at that.

I’d end it by saying that, since ideas/concepts cannot be copyrighted, they’d better be careful who they share it with ;D (Oooh! That’s beyond EU bluntness LOL).

Seriously, invite them to your Story Series workshop so they can learn how to do it for themselves. Great value for money and when they finish, they might just have a sellable product.

I know you offer industry discount but have you considered offering a discount for students, unemployed, pensioners? This person must be very poor.

Wow… This is a great statement: “an essential part of anyone’s success in this industry is their ability to get people to do things for free.”

So true.

Thanks for the insight.

The question you have to ask yourself (or imagine the other person asking themselves if the request is coming from you) is – what’s in it for me? This may seem callous, but I believe an understanding of this is the key to negotiating the problem.

For myself, I divide requests up into two – things I normally do for money, and things I don’t do for money. If someone asks me to speak at a meeting, or meet up for coffee for some career advice (such as I am able to give), then the anwser is usually yes. I’ve even occassionally read scripts and given comments for some people (and before you ask, only a small proportion of them were cute young women). What’s in it for me? A warm fuzzy glow, and the chance to get out of the house.

Now if someone asks me to write a feature script on spec (and what Karel was being asked to do is of this order), the answer is always no. Why? Because – what’s in it for me? Years of unpaid work on a script that I don’t even control the rights to. If I’m working on spec, I’ll work on my own material, thanks.

I’ve succesfully asked people to work on a short film for free. What was in it for them? For the actors and some of the crew, it was the chance for more experience. For the editor and DoP, who didn’t need the experience, it was a bit of fun. Importantly, it didn’t take up too much of their time, and no one missed out on paying work by being involved.

It sounds like the person asking for Karel’s help has no idea of the amount of work involved in what they were requesting. We’re all trying to be professionals, but the request has the strong whiff of coming from an amatuer.

To be honest, I’m not sure a blog post and a response could be compared in relation to time. Sure, one reply to the “poor suffering soul” might ease him momentarily, but if the response was satisfying, I’m sure he would come back for another hit of Karel-caine. I know I would. And have. *looks down at vein

How do I personally handle this on a practical level? I don’t have a “blanket response” and treat each case specifically on its merits. Of course, this takes time, and time is the great equaliser. When I am working on a project, I shut the door. Metaphorically and literally. I don’t answer emails. I don’t take phone calls (unless they are about set project) and I find that filters out the needy from the greedy. If there is someone who knows my work, and is quite keen to work with me, they will firstly sympathise with my situation. If not, they are probably not someone I really want to work with.

I feel your pain, Karel, but it doesn’t seem like too high a price to pay to do what one loves. Keep up these types of posts, they generate the kind of arguments we need to be having.

Makes perfect sense…. but I’ve done this one too many times in the past already.

The added benefit of this blog post is that it informs newbies who are googling for advice on what to do when they have their [search string:] “great-idea-for-a-screenplay”.

Sun’s out. Gotta get back to the pool now.

Nice, Jock! That’s Australian charm vs. European bluntness… :)

I actually did respond saying that I don’t have the resources to give him what he needs.

Oh OK, but only because you’re a mate.

My reply when someone without a publisher asks me to do some “rough drawings” for their kids book idea is, (with a compassionate/charming smile), aw sorry mate but I don’t really have the time and it’s my job and so I can’t really do it for nothing, BUT, here’s a tip… (insert an awesome tip).