Dramatic Tension – don’t let them go (part II)
Keeping audiences hooked relies on meaningful dramatic questions, yet few stories generate tension on the most meaningful level.
PATRICK O'DRISCOLL
SCRIPT EDITOR | STORY CONSULTANT | SCREENWRITER
Story is King
Since Neanderthals first told fireside tales of the hunt, stories have had to be engaging, distinctive, resonating and satisfying in order to earn audience interest – and not get the storyteller booed out of their cave.
An experienced script editor and funding assessor, Patrick O'Driscoll delivers honest, cohesive, actionable development assistance aimed at meeting a writer or creative team’s objectives and maximising a story’s ability to compete in its target market. Patrick's services cover each level of development, from budding synopses, treatments and early draft scripts to finance-seeking production packages.
He collaborates closely with writers, producers and creative teams from Ireland, UK, US and Australia, developing projects of all genres and formats, aimed at different audiences, with excitingly diverse strengths and needs. From his base in Cork, Ireland, Patrick also consults with public funding bodies here (BAI) and in the UK (NIS), evaluating fiction and factual film/TV proposals in support of funding decisions.
Whether he is helping writers to strengthen their stories, script-editing successive drafts with creative teams or selecting financeable projects with funding managers, Patrick's guiding focus is on quality of content, a value that stems from his background in writing, a lifelong appreciation of cinematic narratives – and his desire to keep storytellers from being booed out of their respective caves.
Articles
Script Services
Feedback Report
Sharper than industry-standard analysis, this report provides a comprehensive examination of the script’s primary narrative elements with solid recommendations. For writers who need to pinpoint and resolve a number of story problems.
Advanced Development Notes
Applying scientific scrutiny to all story elements, this report provides a comprehensive assessment of your project and in-depth recommendations.
Aimed at enhancing the narrative's overall quality and its distinctive sell, this is a particularly useful service if preparing a rewrite.
Script Editing
For writers or creative teams undertaking a challenging rewrite, this service provides written and in-person development assistance. Creative meetings, feedback reports and collaborative troubleshooting make this an effective process.
Funding Proposal Assessment
For companies and producers preparing Irish and/or UK financing applications, this service provides a realistic and constructive assessment of your complete funding proposal to strengthen its effectiveness and viability.
Testimonials
Service received: Script Editing
We worked with Patrick over the course of a year, doing extended development on two drafts of an Irish/Australian co/pro feature film with funding support from the South Australian Film Corporation.
Patrick’s approach to story structure and the precision of his analysis meant that we were able to compress four or five drafts into two. The writer gained enormously from Patrick’s expertise, which is reflected in the quality of the screenplay.
Patrick’s detailed and insightful notes are incomparable to any story developer I have worked with and the funding agency were also blown away by his work. It’s an acknowledged truism that a writer is as good as the developer they’re working with. Patrick will elevate any writer worth their salt, with his tireless commitment to developing screenwriting craft, honouring the story, and pushing the writer to do their best work. We will work with him again and again.
Karena Slaninka – producer, Comedy Waltz Australia
Adelaide, Australia
Courses and Clips
5 Week Course – “Screenwriting: Tools, not Rules.”
October 31st - November 28th, 2018
Film In Cork is hosting evening classes by Patrick O'Driscoll for new-to-intermediate level screenwriters aimed at helping participants to develop their screenwriting approaches and skills.
Weekend Workshop – “Script Writing: Expanding the Toolbox”
July 23rd and 24th, 2016
Comprehensively exploring screenwriting’s primary elements, Patrick O'Driscoll's course is about increasing writers’ knowledge of modern screenwriting standards and enhancing their storytelling abilities.
Film in Cork (screen commission) – Interview
Film in Cork catch up with Cork-based script editor and development consultant Patrick O'Driscoll.
5 Tips for New Screenwriters
February 6, 2014
Story analyst and script editor Patrick O’Driscoll lays out his 5 tips for aspiring screenwriters – some solid advice you should be made aware of as you begin your journey.