Use feedback to
give them exactly
what they need

The only way to sell a screenplay is to get the right project in the right hands at exactly the right moment in time. In other words, your screenplay must be aligned with the people who can turn it into a film. That won't always happen with a spec script, so pro screenwriters must develop the ability to use notes and feedback to align any project to producers' real-world needs.

In this breakthrough phase, you'll shift gears — you're now ready to step into the professional mindset. You'll get notes and feedback on your page-turner screenplay, and discover how to separate the useful feedback from the distracting opinions, and use all of it to craft a screenplay that's exactly what the producer needs.

The Alignment Phase has
2 Movements:

1. Understand Their Needs

   You'll start by getting notes and feedback on your page-turner screenplay, using the most powerful exercise a screenwriter can do. You'll use a simple system for interpreting the feedback and understanding how and where in your screenplay to make changes in order to align to the reader's needs — even when the reader can't put their own thoughts into words.

2. Align to Their Expectations

   Armed with a clear grasp of their needs, you'll rewrite to align with them — but in a way that satisfies you creatively as well. And because you're building on everything you've mastered throughout this system, you'll be able to go beyond their expectations to deliver uniquely satisfying results.

NOTE: Alignment is NOT about compromise; it's about finding solutions that satisfy both the creative needs of the writer and the business needs of the producer. It's about aligning the members of the team to achieve common goals (like getting your movie made).

When you've completed the Alignment Phase, you'll have a compelling production-ready screenplay that's exactly what the producer needs — one that's poised to make a sale in the Payoff Phase.

Plus, you'll have a clear and simple way to rewrite any script to satisfy notes and feedback in any professional setting.

Some of what you’ll learn, do, and master in the Alignment Phase

It would be impossible to list everything included in this phase, but here's a small taste of what's in store:

• How to prepare yourself for notes and feedback (the wrong attitude will blind you to the most profound gifts you'll ever get)
• How to protect your work legally before you send it out (not to be paranoid, but to be professional)
• The most powerful excercise a writer will ever do (and why we had to wait until now to do it)
• How to get honest opinions even from people who already love you (you'll want blunt honesty once you see how to work with it)
• How to uncover the truth behind the comment (this is more than "reading between the lines" — you'll get to the core of what they're thinking)
• How to interpret ambiguous notes (because more often than not, the note-giver won't be very clear)
• How to know when a note is really just a personal opinion (and what to do with those — it's probably not what you think)
• How to make sure you don't ignore the most valuable advice you get (hint: when you're obsessed with something, it's easy to miss something more important)
• How to decipher what a note-giver wants you to change (it may be quite different to what they're suggesting)
• How to know which notes to use and which to ignore (a simple yet extraordinarily powerful method for deciding)
• What to do when you have two or more directly conflicting notes (most writers get stuck — not you anymore)
• What to do when someone hates the thing you love — or vice versa
• Why feedback on this project is invaluable to your future projects (you'll never look at notes the same way again)
• How to see beyond the note and figure out what's really bugging your reader (it may have nothing to do with your project)
• What notes and feedback are telling you about your idea (not about your screenplay — about your idea)
• How mastering alignment will single-handedly turn you into a pro (it's the single most valuable skill a screenwriter can acquire)
• Why friends will never tell you the truth (but how to find it out anyway)
• Why you should always let your cheerleaders read your screenplay (even though you can't trust their feedback)
• How to plug feedback into the Strengthen Phase rewrite process (you'll start to see how these phases fit seamlessly together)
• Why your reader can't read it twice (and what this means for when to send it to whom)
• How to test a newly-aligned screenplay (everyone will have different opinions — here's what to do about that)
• When to pay for feedback/assessment services and when not to (hint: until you understand how to interpret feedback, you're wasting your money — most writers do it way too soon)
• A surprising way to get into the mind of the producer (even if they're not the one giving the feedback)
• How to know with certainty that your screenplay is ready to sell (and how to test it before you make a fool of yourself)
• How to use these skills to guarantee production-ready projects every time (once you master it, this will transform all the earlier phases of the system the next time through)
• How to use this phase to begin your next project (wait 'til you see how this links to the Setup Phase)
• How to see complex and hidden solutions in minutes, and blast through the steps of the Alignment Phase in days on every future project
  
  ...and we haven't even scratched the surface!
  
  
  

We turned all that
into this:

The secret to professional success, step by step.

Everyone will always have an opinion. Now, you'll use all that feedback to steer you directly to their needs. Imagine having a clear way to decipher their notes and align your script to be both what you want and what they need.

The Alignment Phase is a step by step feedback and notes rewrite that prepares your screenplays for the professional arena. Simply DO the steps, and you'll have a production-ready screenplay producers can actually use.

 

While the Alignment Phase is, in principle, a stand-alone phase, it builds upon skills and knowledge developed throughout all of the previous phases. For this reason, to fully grasp its intangible layers, physical completion of everything to this point is required.

When you're done here, you're ready for: