by Beka Ashley and Jack Spyra

Screenwriters are one of the most essential players in the movie-making process. Once the script is ready, the screenwriter hands it over to the director to take it into the next phase. 

Trying to enter the movie-making business can be wrought with hurdles for newcomers –  a screenwriter might ask, "how can I find the right people to work with?" Thankfully, a new entertainment networking app tap. makes this process incredibly easy. 

tap. connects everyone in entertainment.  The mobile app is home to over 10 million productions and over 11 million user records.  All major studio productions and the development, pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution teams that worked on the productions can be found on tap. This makes it super easy for veteran or novice writers to connect with the right verified people.  

Sometimes writers want to shift gears and become producers or directors to bring their idea to life. This can be equally challenging trying to find and expand one's career.

tap. Helps New Screenwriters Expand Their Career

One person who successfully expanded his writing career and broke into the movie-making scene is Alex Garland. Garland is a novelist turned screenwriter and filmmaker best known for films Ex Machina and Annihilation. He shared his transitional experience with Kaylee Dugan of Slash Films:

"It wasn't that I had any great urge to direct,” he says, “it was more born out of anxiety based on writing: I'd find it very agitating if something [in the film] felt totally wrong to me, or something that I felt was important was absent.”

Multidisciplinary roles in entertainment are common.  The transition can be arduous. However, through tap., it's simple and easy to find exactly who you’re looking for through its machine-learning technology.  Find anyone in any niche in any part of the world to make your script a reality.

tap. Connects Screenwriters and Directors

Although only some screenwriters want to be a director, every screenplay has to be managed by a director to become a movie. tap. makes it a breeze for screenwriters to share their work and gain exposure to directors who will bring their ideas to life. 

Spirit Award-nominated Billy Ray (Captain Phillips) told Meri Hilalian of Film Independent, “When you write a movie that’s not for you to direct, you have to think of it as a relay race. You have to run your lap and hand off the baton.” 

He refers to disagreeing with directors, “You can’t change the way they’re going to run their race…as long as you’re not disagreeing about the what.” 

Each screenwriter on the app can create a Media 360 Profile to share their ideas. Here, they can share their work with everyone in entertainment that is part of their network, which includes directors, producers, and executives looking for new ideas. This gives writers a unique opportunity to showcase their work in front of people who will honor the important parts of their career and the story.

tap. allows users to create new productions or add themselves to preexisting productions. Once verified, the production will appear on the user's profile, and a post will be sent to the Access Feed alerting the users’ network of the new production added.

The Direct Message Thread feature on the app is a helpful tool for writers to connect with producers and studio executives in their internal or external professional network. Through this feature, writers can pitch their ideas, send screenplays, and sign contracts – all in one place. Screenwriters can even get paid directly on tap. 

tap. Protects the Hard Work of Screenwriters

It’s very important to have firm contracts with collaborators. You want to ensure your terms are clearly stated in black and white. This includes whose role is what, the negotiated rates or agreements made, and the number of drafts. Many screenwriters jump into deals without negotiating contracts or signing a deal memo. tap.’s document management feature provides access to legal contracts and deal memos structured by licensed entertainment studio attorneys for parties to execute. 

Screenwriters can connect with everyone in entertainment with tap.

tap. is the central professional network for everyone who works in the global media and entertainment industry. Headquartered in Playa Vista, CA, tap. is on a mission to help professionals in film, TV, music, radio, and publishing connect, network, book work, and manage their entire entertainment career. For more information, visit www.tap.ec. and follow the company on Instagram @tap.ec. 

Available for download now on the App Store and Google Play. 

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About Beka Ashley: 
Beka is tap.’s Senior Communications Editorial Assistant. She manages the growing publication strategy for tap., including writing for the website’s blog and editing other interns’ current industry research. In addition to this role, she works as a freelance writer and critical care nurse. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or see more of what she’s written here.

About Jack Spyra:
Jack is an aspiring screenplay writer, film director, and actor. He is currently attending Ohio University, where he studies media arts. One day, he hopes to make films that inspire people to make the world a better place. He is a research assistant advising tap. about film directors and their role in the entertainment industry. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.