So I’ve done a few commissions before, none of them have been produced yet, but I still got paid and had fun writing. Let me note that I jumped in on commission work without full understanding on what it means. I did, however, work out contract negotiations with my client in case rights were sold and what I would receive if this should occur. I don’t recommend anyone not having some form of written contract about your rights and credits. If you put any work into anything, you should always be able to have your name credited. (Unless you’re ghostwriting, then you know what you signed up for.)
A couple years ago, I signed up for this freelancing website that connects clients who needs work done with you, the freelancer, who needs jobs. I didn’t think I was going to get any work from there, but kept my account open just in case. Then my client contacted me, we had an interview, and the rest is history.
Commissions are different because I’m not working up my own ideas, I’m refining someone else’s. The first time I worked on commission, I was nervous, because I didn’t want to do anything that wasn’t my client’s ideas, but I found some plot holes that needed plugging and I had a lot of suggestions that I felt would make the story better. I got over my fear of losing my client and straight out explained why I think some elements needed to be changed or worked on. After a few back and forth emails and phone calls, we agreed on some of my changes and the script ended up near perfect.
I’ve written a couple other scripts for my client and have learned and grown from this experience. We’ve learned to trust each other over decisions on story elements. This experience was amazing because not only did I get paid while writing, but I was able to learn more about scripts and storytelling. I was able to write scripts that I never would have thought of writing in the first place.
I’m looking to do more commission work from other clients. I’d love to do anything from short films to features and even television.
I have a commission tier set up for short films on Patreon. It’s a $100/month for 6 months. I’m waiting to see how well the short films tier does before I set up something for features.
But, if you’re interested in making your own feature films and don’t like writing scripts, contact me! We can definitely draw up a contract or I can set up a tier on Patreon just for you.