Testing the Waters: Can AI Help Me Write a Screenplay?
Written by Matthew J. Kaplan
I’ve been thinking a lot about AI recently. I understand its benefits but also, I fear a world overly influenced by artificial intelligence. I’ve been hesitant to use it beyond the more common applications like spellcheck and transcription. But as I age, I’m concerned that if I’m not engaging with new technology, I will quickly lose touch with the world around me. I look forward to a future full of old man fist-shaking but in the case of technology, it’s time to open those hands and better understand what AI can do.
My two biggest concerns with AI are that it will take work away from people, and that it will rob the world of unique, beautiful human contributions. So, I allowed myself to use AI for something that I would have never otherwise asked a human to do: read a zombie-comedy feature screenplay that I shelved years ago.
Zombie Extra: As a struggling actor transforms into a zombie, he finds success on the sets of low-budget horror films where he feasts on other extras, but the cops are out to arrest him, the mafia is out to kill him and worst of all, his best friend is out to cure him!
I’ve returned to Zombie Extra not because I’m currently interested in making or pitching this film, but because I think it would be the perfect screenplay for an AI report. My control subject is this screenplay that I know inside and out, and Artificial Intelligence is the new variable.
I started writing Zombie Extra ten years ago, while regularly working as a background actor and dreaming of being a horror film star. To assist with the process, I was part of a great writer's group, I paid for professional coverage, I asked friends to read the screenplay, and I even hosted a full taco-dinner table-read. But otherwise, this screenplay, after years of passion, has lived in a folder on my laptop - until now!
Although I’m not here to endorse a specific company, or AI at all, I do want to note that I used ScreenplayIQ.com for my AI report and I’d like to briefly explain why I chose them. To start, I like how ScreenplayIQ presents their reports. ScreenplayIQ does not share uploaded scripts with other humans nor does it use them to train its AI. ScreenplayIQ founder Guy Goldstein is a writer first. He and his team create services to assist writers, not to exploit them. (We writers are insecure and easily exploitable) An AI revolution is happening whether we like it or not, so I figure I should support the companies that I trust will do it with the utmost care and integrity.
When using ScreenplayIQ.com, you can choose reports packages, and/or order the services a la carte. I chose almost everything. The only major add-on I did not purchase is a Table Read. With the assistance of a 50% discount code, my total cost was $49 and I received my report for the 102-page screenplay in just under nine hours.
I don’t want to go too far into the specific results. You most likely have not read my screenplay (but you can, especially if you have the cash to shoot the film!) and I don’t want to bore you with too many details. But for those who love details, please reach out to me if you’d like to see the full report or discuss further. (Editor’s Note: Matthew can be contacted through his website, MatthewJKaplan.com.)
But I do want to share a few specifics. First off, this report is THOROUGH! It provides a full synopsis and structure breakdown, and full character analysis, covering everything from their speaking style to their emotional journey. It also offers images of what your character could look like.
The report provides a full assessment of the story’s themes and the screenplay’s narrative style. It notes your estimated viewer rating (R) and estimated budget ($2-5M), along with specific cost drivers. I also opted in for the proofread report.
Overall, I feel like ScreenplayIQ “understood” my screenplay. It was able to fully picture the film and my characters. It recognized the genre and noted how my take on the genre may deviate, and perhaps even elevate it beyond the usual visual gags, and provide my characters with depth and growth. ScreenplayIQ understood that while this is comedy and horror, it’s ultimately a story about friendship, love and self-acceptance. This is all music to a writer’s ears.
One might assume that this technology is designed to respond favorably to keep the customer satisfied and to keep them coming back for more. Maybe that’s true. I’d like to think that the positive feedback is due to my talents and years of hard work with this screenplay. Am I delusional? Maybe. Or maybe it’s time for me to start trying to get this film made again!
But, despite much that I love about this AI-generated report, there were some things that either didn’t make sense or left me feeling a little flat. For example, I opened the screenplay with a flashback and AI struggled with presenting these characters in both the present and the past. Additionally, there were times when AI confused or combined characters that have similar occupations.
There are a few other minor examples like this, but the question I need to ask myself is, did AI not understand, or did I not make things clear enough so that anyone can understand? If it’s the former, I am confident that issues like this will be fixed in the near future. But if it’s the latter, AI’s “confusion” can be an invaluable writer’s tool, and I might need to revisit those parts of the screenplay.
But while I easily moved past those issues, I was let down by the pitch trailer. The rest of my report reflected an understanding of my screenplay and the film it can be, but the pitch trailer felt inconsistent and unfocused - like it wasn’t paying attention to itself. Additionally, the trailer didn’t feel like a strong pitch, as it spent more time explaining the plot details than actually trying to convince a viewer that this is a screenplay to buy and/or a film to produce.
Creating an AI pitch trailer is an ambitious undertaking. When I think of a trailer, I picture moving images or some sort of animation, but this looks more like a PowerPoint presentation with AI voice-over, so maybe my expectations were too high.
I contacted ScreenplayIQ with my pitch trailer feedback. They are aware of these issues and have already made some improvements since my trailer was generated. Their ultimate goal with the pitch trailer is that it will be a starting point for further user customization. A great pitch trailer would be a tremendous win for any emerging writer with limited resources, and I look forward to seeing ScreenplayIQ’s improved offering.
So, my overall thoughts on ScreenplayIQ? It will not offer you specific ideas on how to change or improve your screenplay. But it does provide clear information (written and illustrated) about your screenplay that can be used to compare it to other films as well as your own original intentions and goals when writing it. It may not tell you what to do about a specific issue, but it will make it clear if something isn’t lining up as you had hoped. For example, if it’s important to you that your protagonist comes out of this film as a changed person who has experienced extreme personal growth (as is quite often the goal for a protagonist), ScreenplayIQ will let you know if you succeeded in that goal.
My biggest takeaway from this AI experience is that it should be used as an additional tool, not as a replacement for humans. I know a lot of writers and perhaps the most common question we ask is, “Is this any good?” AI won’t answer that question (sorry!) but it can help address the specifics of what we think makes something good or bad. We don’t accept every Grammarly suggestion and we certainly don’t like every song Spotify auto-plays, and the same should be true for AI-generated notes. If we remove the human element, if we blindly accept everything AI offers, we are doing ourselves a tremendous disservice. Progress and new technology are wonderful, we just need to keep an eye on our relationship with it. AI doesn’t want to replace us and robots don’t want to rule the world – those are human desires!
Ready to give it a try? ScreenplayIQ has offered a 50% discount code: FOG50 – enjoy! (Please note that this is NOT a paid article or promotion.)
Matthew J. Kaplan
Matthew J. Kaplan is a playwright, filmmaker, musician, and now, due to a clerical error, a contributor to Haus of Fog. There are a lot of NYC stories, but Matt likes to tell the ones that are a bit off the beaten pavement. You'll see some of those stories here, and the rest can be found at matthewjkaplan.com
Instagram: @matthewjkaplan