Spanish screenwriters before the ‘stream’ of series and films: more work, but opaque data

isabel pick “It started out as great news: more work and the possibility of creating and writing more adult stories, very different from what’s been labeled ‘prime time'”. Peña wrote the mini-series ‘Antidisturbios’ with Sorogoyen for Movistar Plus+. “But this picture faded very quickly,” he adds. “Always take less creative risks and materials are needed in less time, in this profession time is crucial to doing your job well. Of course there are exceptions.”

Aitor Gabilondo responsible for one. The most successful Spanish drama ‘Patria’, based on the novel by Fernando Aramburu. He thinks, “There is a larger volume of work. As the salaries have increased, the conditions have also improved. And the recognition of our work. This does not mean that everything is rosy. There are struggles to be made, such as the distribution of rights,” he thinks. .

No producer wanted to finance it ‘Faith of Etarras’ And Borja Cobeaga finally did it Netflix. The first impression of the platforms is good: “They put a lot of work into the entire audiovisual sector.” But all is not well: “It is true that the first discourse of all platforms is more revolutionary. Years later they become paid Telecinco or Antena 3. Because Where ‘house of cards’ or ‘wire’ is there are now also ‘reality shows’ or series that are very similar to what is already being produced on public television”.

It is appropriate to deepen what has already been achieved. There are two related aspects for Cobeaga: “First, it’s not a bubble, there’s still a lot of script work and other audiovisual trades. Second, the platforms allowed it. Things unimaginable in Spanish production. Without them, it would be unthinkable to be tasked with making a series about how I got my license (“I don’t like to drive”). I know of many series cases that would not be possible without platforms.“.

Similarly, it deepens coral crossFor himself, “the rise of editing on platforms has significantly increased the job offer for Spanish screenwriters. First of all, there is much more work to be done to develop new proposals.” The creator of ‘To be or not to be’ for RTVE Play said, “After several years of great hope for the change that platforms bring, we are now A kind of maximum common sense premise has been established when betting on some of the riskier projects. in form and content”.

More ways to finance

“I started writing movies before platforms came along, and I hope to continue writing even if they disappear,” he explains. Fernando Navarro. for the screenwriter “Veronica”“Financing and production patterns are constantly changing. There used to be only one way of financing, two or three. Now there are several more. But we can’t trust each other. How long?freedom of martha reminiscent of his personal experience: “When I graduated from ESCAC as a script specialist and Being from Barcelona There were few possibilities to work as a screenwriter. The rise of different platforms has meant much more work for many more people. Before that, if you had a ‘writer’ movie you’d go to TVE (and there were many of us), if you had a more ‘commercial’ comedy or something of the genre, you’d go to Telecinco or Antena 3. several prospects for a project received the funding it needed. That has changed with platforms. On the other hand, except for the movie, the opacity of the viewing data It has made it extremely difficult to manage the copyright held by screenwriters and other professionals.”