Well, I haven't been around for some time now but now I'm back. My blog has suffered from me being wrapped up in a number of collaborations that I entered in to. Recently, I've become a big fan of collaborating on screenplay projects and now that I have worked for some time in these types of partnerships, I have to say that I may never write solo again.
More often than not, I see sales from first time writers come from writing teams as opposed to solo artists. It's only logical... I mean, if one good writer can create a decent script, then two good writers can create a great one... right?
The collaborative process gives the writer the freedom to "step-away" from their baby, but the forward development of the project never halts because it's in the hands of your writing partner. I was able to devise a concept, write out a treatment/first draft and then hand it off. That's it, my co-writers handled adding depth to characters, re-working stale plot points, sharpening dialogue and honing the execution of the concept. When the drafts came back it was just a series of mutual tweakings and twistings to put polish on the work.
Now I'm on the think-train because if two writers can create a great screenplay, how about three, four or five writers? A team of writers? How well could they do? Well, the concept is applied to real life as television shows are often created by a team of writers. I believe the big animation studios, like Pixar, also employ teams of writers. Have you ever seen a Pixar film that was terrible? Has one ever totally bombed at the box office? I can't say for sure, but probably not.
Now my idea... how about a writer's coop? A team of spec writers who all collaborate on single projects to make them great. Collect a team of people with different strengths, conceptualizing, dialogue, story, character... put them all together and bang out great specs in quantity as well as quality.
Is this idea so far off? Could screenwriters forgo their individual screen credits and give them over to the company (coop) they write for? Is there something inherently wrong with a corporation whose sole purpose is to produce creative works, in this place spec and assignment screenplays, and sell them as a product? That's my idea, at least.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Contest Campaign Update
And on and on we roll...
As our wonderful screenwriting contests begin to release their results I find myself becoming more impatient - a watched pot never boils and a screenwriting contest never meets their announcements deadline... especially when you are in it!
STORY PROS
Actually, this contest was very punctual. Never missed an announcements deadline. Beer Pong made it to the finalist's list being one of 10 comedies in the final round. Unfortunately I didn't make the winner's circle and considering that the Grand Prize winner was a comedy and three others took 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the genre... I had to finish in at least 5th. Not what I was hoping for, but a good showing nonetheless.
FADE IN AWARDS
Beer Pong and In Between Days are still on the semifinals list and I should hear something by July10th on whether or not either one had the chops to make a finalist placement.
No other contests have released ant results just yet.
As our wonderful screenwriting contests begin to release their results I find myself becoming more impatient - a watched pot never boils and a screenwriting contest never meets their announcements deadline... especially when you are in it!
STORY PROS
Actually, this contest was very punctual. Never missed an announcements deadline. Beer Pong made it to the finalist's list being one of 10 comedies in the final round. Unfortunately I didn't make the winner's circle and considering that the Grand Prize winner was a comedy and three others took 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the genre... I had to finish in at least 5th. Not what I was hoping for, but a good showing nonetheless.
FADE IN AWARDS
Beer Pong and In Between Days are still on the semifinals list and I should hear something by July10th on whether or not either one had the chops to make a finalist placement.
No other contests have released ant results just yet.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Nuts & Bolts – Edition One
Having reads hundreds of spec scripts over the years, I often try to focus on not only the story elements, but also the formatting – the nuts and bolts of a body of work.
People often argue that a good story trumps crappy formatting. In theory, it definitely does. If you wrote Casablanca, Star Wars, Saving Private Ryan or The Godfather, you’d have one hell of a story and anyone who read one of these stories would be completely engrossed in a layered and exciting plot. Who cares about the format of the screenplay when the story is this good? Well, the answer would be no one. That’s right – if your story was that good, formatting wouldn’t matter.
Here’s the argument though: “Who WOULD get that far into the script if the format was atrocious?” Same answer folks… no one. It would never get read and that is the importance of format. Great format gets eyes on the page – once you do that, your story is all that matters.
The most common issues I see in formatting are with slug lines. I’m going to talk just about slugs for now. Slugline problems almost always scream “amateur” when I see them.
TIME NOTATION: Let’s get fancy. My scene takes place at sunset – it sets the mood so I’m going to write:
EXT. BEACH – SUNSET
(okay, just imagine the big red X from the old Family Feud game show popping up on your computer screen)
In reality, there are only two time notations DAY and NIGHT.
DAY = Afternoon, morning, sunset, sunrise, dusk, 1:00 pm, lunchtime, brunch, an early dinner… it’s all DAY people.
NIGHT = Midnight, after the sun has set, no natural light, closing time… all NIGHT!
Are there exceptions? Sure. Again, I’ve argued over these because some feel it is camera direction [another issue altogether], but sometimes you can use the following instead of DAY or NIGHT:
SAME – If two scenes are happening at the same time:
INT. HOUSE – DAY
John waits impatiently with a phone to his ear.
EXT. PARK – SAME
Mary flips open her cell phone.
CONTINUOUS – This means that you are going from one location to another but the camera isn’t cutting away – it’s a continuous shot. Use this sparingly and only when it is necessary.
INT. HOUSE – DAY
John rushes toward the front door. Mary holds his lunch box out. He grabs it as he reaches the open door.
JOHN
Is the bus here?
MARY
Just pulled up!
EXT. YARD – CONTINUOUS
John barrels out of the house and leaps a skateboard on the walkway. The bus pulls away as he streaks across the lawn.
JOHN
Wait!
LATER – This is almost never used in a master scene heading but I decided to include it anyway. Later notes a change in time but not location:
INT. HOUSE – DAY
John drops down on the sofa and cracks open a beer.
LATER
Sever empty beers litter the coffee table. John snoozes on the couch.
There you have it. Some worth exceptions to DAY and NIGHT.
The next thing I see quite a bit is what I refer to as “blank slugs.” I’m not sure if that is a technical term or not, but I’m calling it my own for now. A blank slug is when a writer slugs a scene, but skips the set up and goes right into dialogue. You always need to set up your scenes with some action text so we all know what is going on. It doesn’t matter if we were just in that location or not. Scenes are always shot out of order, so your spec chronology almost never is the shooting chronology of the film.
INT. HOUSE – DAY
JOHN
Hey! Where’s the scene set-up?
(Here comes that red “X” again!)
INT. HOUSE – DAY
John opens the refrigerator and looks inside.
JOHN
Much better… but who drank all my beer?
So, what does this have to do with marketing? Well, let’s put it this way. In order to sell a script, someone other than your mother has to read it. In order to get the script read, it has to look professional. How’s that for an indirect line to financial security through screenwriting?
People often argue that a good story trumps crappy formatting. In theory, it definitely does. If you wrote Casablanca, Star Wars, Saving Private Ryan or The Godfather, you’d have one hell of a story and anyone who read one of these stories would be completely engrossed in a layered and exciting plot. Who cares about the format of the screenplay when the story is this good? Well, the answer would be no one. That’s right – if your story was that good, formatting wouldn’t matter.
Here’s the argument though: “Who WOULD get that far into the script if the format was atrocious?” Same answer folks… no one. It would never get read and that is the importance of format. Great format gets eyes on the page – once you do that, your story is all that matters.
The most common issues I see in formatting are with slug lines. I’m going to talk just about slugs for now. Slugline problems almost always scream “amateur” when I see them.
TIME NOTATION: Let’s get fancy. My scene takes place at sunset – it sets the mood so I’m going to write:
EXT. BEACH – SUNSET
(okay, just imagine the big red X from the old Family Feud game show popping up on your computer screen)
In reality, there are only two time notations DAY and NIGHT.
DAY = Afternoon, morning, sunset, sunrise, dusk, 1:00 pm, lunchtime, brunch, an early dinner… it’s all DAY people.
NIGHT = Midnight, after the sun has set, no natural light, closing time… all NIGHT!
Are there exceptions? Sure. Again, I’ve argued over these because some feel it is camera direction [another issue altogether], but sometimes you can use the following instead of DAY or NIGHT:
SAME – If two scenes are happening at the same time:
INT. HOUSE – DAY
John waits impatiently with a phone to his ear.
EXT. PARK – SAME
Mary flips open her cell phone.
CONTINUOUS – This means that you are going from one location to another but the camera isn’t cutting away – it’s a continuous shot. Use this sparingly and only when it is necessary.
INT. HOUSE – DAY
John rushes toward the front door. Mary holds his lunch box out. He grabs it as he reaches the open door.
JOHN
Is the bus here?
MARY
Just pulled up!
EXT. YARD – CONTINUOUS
John barrels out of the house and leaps a skateboard on the walkway. The bus pulls away as he streaks across the lawn.
JOHN
Wait!
LATER – This is almost never used in a master scene heading but I decided to include it anyway. Later notes a change in time but not location:
INT. HOUSE – DAY
John drops down on the sofa and cracks open a beer.
LATER
Sever empty beers litter the coffee table. John snoozes on the couch.
There you have it. Some worth exceptions to DAY and NIGHT.
The next thing I see quite a bit is what I refer to as “blank slugs.” I’m not sure if that is a technical term or not, but I’m calling it my own for now. A blank slug is when a writer slugs a scene, but skips the set up and goes right into dialogue. You always need to set up your scenes with some action text so we all know what is going on. It doesn’t matter if we were just in that location or not. Scenes are always shot out of order, so your spec chronology almost never is the shooting chronology of the film.
INT. HOUSE – DAY
JOHN
Hey! Where’s the scene set-up?
(Here comes that red “X” again!)
INT. HOUSE – DAY
John opens the refrigerator and looks inside.
JOHN
Much better… but who drank all my beer?
So, what does this have to do with marketing? Well, let’s put it this way. In order to sell a script, someone other than your mother has to read it. In order to get the script read, it has to look professional. How’s that for an indirect line to financial security through screenwriting?
Monday, May 5, 2008
Contest Campaign Update
As I've noted before, I have entered a number of contests this year. The contests that I'm in include BlueCat, StoryPros, Austin Film Festival, Page International, Fade In Awards, Scriptapalooza, Script Pimp, and Final Draft (Big Break).
This year I entered my Comedy titled "Beer Pong" which is a story about an untalented student athlete who, in order to obtain an athletic scholarship, must win a beer pong tournament against a superstar team handpicked by a sadistic Athletic Director who is trying to stop him.
The early results are beginning to trickle in and I have made the Quarterfinals in both the Fade In Awards and StoryPros Awards. (Actually, I entered a low-budget indie feature titled "In Between Days" into the FIA along with Beer Pong - both have qualified). So I'm off to a good start so far.
As I said before, for those of us who are geographically separated from the epicenter of film production (L.A.) - contests are always worth the gamble. Drawing attention to yourself is always a good idea and high contest placements will do just that.
More to come...
This year I entered my Comedy titled "Beer Pong" which is a story about an untalented student athlete who, in order to obtain an athletic scholarship, must win a beer pong tournament against a superstar team handpicked by a sadistic Athletic Director who is trying to stop him.
The early results are beginning to trickle in and I have made the Quarterfinals in both the Fade In Awards and StoryPros Awards. (Actually, I entered a low-budget indie feature titled "In Between Days" into the FIA along with Beer Pong - both have qualified). So I'm off to a good start so far.
As I said before, for those of us who are geographically separated from the epicenter of film production (L.A.) - contests are always worth the gamble. Drawing attention to yourself is always a good idea and high contest placements will do just that.
More to come...
Monday, April 7, 2008
Going... Short
I've decided to take on a new project recently - writing a short script.
I'm currently collaborating with a short story writer on a short script, but this project is completely separate from that. What I did was take a feature-length screenplay of mine and wrote a 12 page mockumentary based on the subject matter.
The word on the street is that short films are the way to go for budding screenwriters looking for production credits. Again, this would tie in to your marketing efforts, but this time you aren't aimed at marketing your work as much as you are marketing yourself - which is just as important.
Short films are cheap to produce and this makes finding a producer much easier. Another added benefit is that InkTip, which we've discussed before, allow you to post short scripts in their database for free (from what I understand, at least). Shorts are also quick to write. I had the added benefit of already having the subject matter fleshed out in a feature that I wrote, so I was able to crank out a first draft in a matter of hours, but I would peg the writing process for a short to be less than a week.
I'm passing the script around to a few close writer friends of mine at the moment (for feedback), but stayed tuned and I'll let you in on the success (or lack thereof) at InkTip.
I'm currently collaborating with a short story writer on a short script, but this project is completely separate from that. What I did was take a feature-length screenplay of mine and wrote a 12 page mockumentary based on the subject matter.
The word on the street is that short films are the way to go for budding screenwriters looking for production credits. Again, this would tie in to your marketing efforts, but this time you aren't aimed at marketing your work as much as you are marketing yourself - which is just as important.
Short films are cheap to produce and this makes finding a producer much easier. Another added benefit is that InkTip, which we've discussed before, allow you to post short scripts in their database for free (from what I understand, at least). Shorts are also quick to write. I had the added benefit of already having the subject matter fleshed out in a feature that I wrote, so I was able to crank out a first draft in a matter of hours, but I would peg the writing process for a short to be less than a week.
I'm passing the script around to a few close writer friends of mine at the moment (for feedback), but stayed tuned and I'll let you in on the success (or lack thereof) at InkTip.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Operation: Atomic Blitz
If you’ve been reading any of my posts, you know that I had recently teamed up with a writer to create the next big thing in Hollywood… well, we just want to finish a script an I’ll leave it at that.
Mickey is this co-writer and I wanted to publish this post in his honor. You see, he just completed a major accomplishment over at Triggerstreet. Each month on TS, writers with the best screenplays are chosen as Screenplay of the Month nominees. Three nominees are chosen and the screenplays are sent off to Script Shark for professional coverage. Only one can win and for February, that was Mickey.
Winning Screenplay of the Month is certainly no small accomplishment, but what really makes this a special occasion is the results of the coverage. Script Shark can be quite brutal when tearing your baby apart. I’ve seen smack-down notes from these guys (In fact, I’ve been on the receiving end) and I’ve seen positive coverage as well. What I’ve never seen is a glowing review of a TS writer’s work. And that’s just what Mickey’s work (titled Operation: Atomic Blitz) got. It was honestly the best coverage I’ve seen in a long time and he earned a CONSIDER from the Shark. His CONSIDER now gives him the opportunity to have Script Shark do some marketing on his behalf.
Operation: Atomic Blitz is the story of a British commando who must rescue a beautiful atomic physicist in order to stop a rogue German general from creating a superweapon. If anything is right in the land of Holly, this should be then next great franchise and the best thing to hit the silver screen since we were introduced to a man they called Indiana.
Read the coverage here.
Mickey is this co-writer and I wanted to publish this post in his honor. You see, he just completed a major accomplishment over at Triggerstreet. Each month on TS, writers with the best screenplays are chosen as Screenplay of the Month nominees. Three nominees are chosen and the screenplays are sent off to Script Shark for professional coverage. Only one can win and for February, that was Mickey.
Winning Screenplay of the Month is certainly no small accomplishment, but what really makes this a special occasion is the results of the coverage. Script Shark can be quite brutal when tearing your baby apart. I’ve seen smack-down notes from these guys (In fact, I’ve been on the receiving end) and I’ve seen positive coverage as well. What I’ve never seen is a glowing review of a TS writer’s work. And that’s just what Mickey’s work (titled Operation: Atomic Blitz) got. It was honestly the best coverage I’ve seen in a long time and he earned a CONSIDER from the Shark. His CONSIDER now gives him the opportunity to have Script Shark do some marketing on his behalf.
Operation: Atomic Blitz is the story of a British commando who must rescue a beautiful atomic physicist in order to stop a rogue German general from creating a superweapon. If anything is right in the land of Holly, this should be then next great franchise and the best thing to hit the silver screen since we were introduced to a man they called Indiana.
Read the coverage here.
Answering Questions - Edition One
I really love it when folks who read my blog ask me questions... especially if I know the answers! So if you have any, let me know.
I received a comment on one of my previous posts from Rick:
How did you find the producer to whom you submitted your script? I'm thinking of buying into Hollywood Creative Directory or Script Pimp. Would you have a recommendation in this area? And do you have a point of view on InkTip?
All good questions, Rick. Most unrepresented screenwriters want to know how to find that elusive producer who will pay them for the work they pour so much time, blood, sweat and so often, tears into.
Unfortunately, there isn’t one answer I can give. I’ve used a ton of different methods to try and get my work out there. After all, if you work isn’t on the desk of a producer or their assistant, then you have no chance of getting a sale.
First off, let me say that I haven’t used the services of ScriptPimp, so I can’t really comment on how effective they are.
When I optioned my Romantic Comedy, I actually found the producer through Triggerstreet.com. For those who are unfamiliar, this is a peer review community for filmmakers, screenwriters, play writers, novelists and short story writers. It’s a fantastic resource for any writer out there looking for feedback on their work. A producer had posted a call for entries on their message boards which I responded to. It just so happens that my script was chosen out of the submissions received.
My previous post centered around a relationship that I developed with a producer that sort of evolved into an open door situation. What I mean by that is that I can email this individual with any new screenplays I have and almost certainly get a read. So, the question is how did I get into this type of situation. I found this producer by using an email query service run by SoYouWannaSellAScript.com. These types of services will take your query letter and email it out to all their producer contacts in their database. This database usually consists of several hundred producers, managers and agents. SYWSAS also has tools to help manage your query campaign and your subscription lasts about 6 months, I believe.
I’ve never used the Hollywood Creative Directory, but I know what sort of information it contains. I decided to use the email service over this because it does all the work for you. If you are looking for a very specific and target query campaign, then I believe the HCD is the tool for you. I should tell you that paper-based queries generally bring back a low response. I’ve found that email queries are much more effective.
InkTip is another animal all together and I’ve heard some wonderful success stories from writers who have used it. I have posted some of my work on InkTip but had very little success with it. I think if you are writing in the low budget range with a limited cast and locations, you may find success here. I felt that their leads newsletter was a much better resource than actually posting a script on the site. This newsletter provides you with leads to producers who subscribe to InkTip one a week. These are call for entries from various filmmakers looking for stories to produce. If you have a script that matches what someone is looking for, then you are free to query them through the InkTip site.
Hope that helps to answer some of your questions.
I received a comment on one of my previous posts from Rick:
How did you find the producer to whom you submitted your script? I'm thinking of buying into Hollywood Creative Directory or Script Pimp. Would you have a recommendation in this area? And do you have a point of view on InkTip?
All good questions, Rick. Most unrepresented screenwriters want to know how to find that elusive producer who will pay them for the work they pour so much time, blood, sweat and so often, tears into.
Unfortunately, there isn’t one answer I can give. I’ve used a ton of different methods to try and get my work out there. After all, if you work isn’t on the desk of a producer or their assistant, then you have no chance of getting a sale.
First off, let me say that I haven’t used the services of ScriptPimp, so I can’t really comment on how effective they are.
When I optioned my Romantic Comedy, I actually found the producer through Triggerstreet.com. For those who are unfamiliar, this is a peer review community for filmmakers, screenwriters, play writers, novelists and short story writers. It’s a fantastic resource for any writer out there looking for feedback on their work. A producer had posted a call for entries on their message boards which I responded to. It just so happens that my script was chosen out of the submissions received.
My previous post centered around a relationship that I developed with a producer that sort of evolved into an open door situation. What I mean by that is that I can email this individual with any new screenplays I have and almost certainly get a read. So, the question is how did I get into this type of situation. I found this producer by using an email query service run by SoYouWannaSellAScript.com. These types of services will take your query letter and email it out to all their producer contacts in their database. This database usually consists of several hundred producers, managers and agents. SYWSAS also has tools to help manage your query campaign and your subscription lasts about 6 months, I believe.
I’ve never used the Hollywood Creative Directory, but I know what sort of information it contains. I decided to use the email service over this because it does all the work for you. If you are looking for a very specific and target query campaign, then I believe the HCD is the tool for you. I should tell you that paper-based queries generally bring back a low response. I’ve found that email queries are much more effective.
InkTip is another animal all together and I’ve heard some wonderful success stories from writers who have used it. I have posted some of my work on InkTip but had very little success with it. I think if you are writing in the low budget range with a limited cast and locations, you may find success here. I felt that their leads newsletter was a much better resource than actually posting a script on the site. This newsletter provides you with leads to producers who subscribe to InkTip one a week. These are call for entries from various filmmakers looking for stories to produce. If you have a script that matches what someone is looking for, then you are free to query them through the InkTip site.
Hope that helps to answer some of your questions.
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