Animation writers need feedback too!
Hey kids! Brian here. I recently ran into screenwriter Steven Darancette at a local awesome coffee shop. Steve and I had worked together on several features in the past, but hadn’t hung out for a while.
In the interim, Steve had written for a ton of produced shows, including some for Warner Bros. (Ozzy & Drix, Biker Mice From Mars, Zorro-Generation Z, and others) So when he told me he had opened his new site Darancette Development, a script consulting service focusing on TV animation, I was super curious. I wanted to know how different it is as a script consultant/script analyst providing script notes and script coverage while focusing primarily on animation writers.
So I asked him a few quick questions about the state of the art for the up-and-coming-animation writer:
So Steve, if I’m a writer and I want to break into animation writing, but have no idea how to do it, what should I do?
SD: First thing you have to be sure about is that if this is a medium you really want to write for because just like with anything that requires expertise, you’ll have to have focus and passion. Learn the format, read script examples. And watch animation, watch cartoons. Hey, you can always tell your friends and family that watching SpongeBob is serious work research. Once you think you’ve got a handle on this writing thing, then start looking for work. Sadly, I feel that that last part is the hardest part.
Do you see room in the market for independent, non-studio animated features?
SD: Feature animated films are very expensive and require years of development. That’s why the studios currently dominate this format. If you check there are only like four studios making big animated features shown in theatres (Pixar/Disney, Dreamworks, FOX, Sony Pictures Animation, Universal). That said, there are some independent animated features being made but they are financed usually by overseas entities that find their own production houses overseas to make them, then they have to find distributors. As technology improves and become more affordable every year, you’ll start seeing more and more indie stuff.
When you work with a screenwriter to develop an animated series or even non-animated series, what are the most frustrating errors you see them make?
SD: I am frustrated when I see that they never bothered to do their homework in terms of the different formatting that animated scripts have from features and other kinds of TV scripts. Feature animation scripts aren’t really too different from live-action features. But in TV animation, daytime kids stuff and boys action, especially, there is a difference in the way the action is presented. It’s more detailed and often includes cues for sound effects. So if you think you want to write a BATMAN cartoon spec, be sure to read one thoroughly and learn the format. Format shouldn’t be the first thing I find wrong with your script when you submit it.
How picky are you when selecting clients help with your script consulting services?
SD: I don’t normally turn anyone down if they are seeking my expertise specifically. I haven’t yet had a situation where I just had to say, “Look, this project is terrible, you’re a terrible writer. Please seek help elsewhere.” But it’s a joy and a breeze to work with someone who knows what he or she wants, but who is also willing to listen and take my advice to heart. If I take the time to really create insightful and constructive criticism for your project as well as provide solutions to what’s not working, that’s a good thing. That means I care enough about your project that I’m not bored. Be worried if I have nothing to say or any real advice to contribute.
What screenwriting blogs do you follow? Which should *WE* be following?
SD: I don’t read a lot of blogs about writing. Of the few I do, I like John August’s site. I also like tvwriterchat on twitter and Script Mag. If you want a good focus on animation, visit the sites animationmagazine.net or Animation World Network. Cynopsis is a daily industry newsletter. Cynopsis Kids usually has reports on what children’s or animated series are starting production. This is a good way to track trends and possible job leads.
Writer Beware: Buying “Access” to Studio Execs and Agents
A friend I’ve known for 30 years stopped in for a few days, visiting from the UK. We’ve always been close, so he knew I ran a company that did something with screenplays, but didn’t know exactly what that meant. So he asked, and I showed him how Screenplay Readers worked:
Agents, writers, and producers submit scripts to our reader team, we read them, and then we give our analysis of their scripts in small 4-5 page script coverages.
He was wowed at the whole concept in general, having given up a writing background and pursued a career in the military some 20 years ago, but his biggest question was: “Have any of the scripts you’ve read been sold and turned into big studio movies?”
And that got me thinking. We read over 1,000 scripts every year, and have hundreds of regular trusted clients that come back to us for coverage, but I really haven’t paid close attention to what exactly happens to each script after it passes through the Screenplay Readers office.
I’m sure that one or two of the scripts we’ve covered has had to have made their way to a huge sale, or made it through to production at the studio level, simply guessing from the numbers years we’ve been in business and the thousands of scripts we’ve read.
But at the very least, I know for a fact that several of the scripts we’ve read at Screenplay Readers have landed their writers representation from agents and managers, pitch meetings with executives at major studios, and even option deals from producers, from indie level all the way up to retired studio level.
But then that all got me thinking:
All those great things are NOT the things we sell. They’re just the random results of what happened to the scripts after they happened to pass through our hands.
The core of what Screenplay Readers sells, as any good script coverage service or script consultant sells, is the professional analysis of a screenwriter’s script, with the sole intent of helping the writer improve his spec, or helping the agent or producer improve their script at the core of the package they’re shopping around Hollywood or developing into a motion picture.
So it often makes me giggle to see companies out there on the interwebs promising their customers “access” to their awesome industry insiders, or promising to get their customers’ scripts on the desks of major studios, as part of a service they offer to customers for reading and/or analyzing their scripts, because I can see how easy it would be as a company to just say I’m handing my customers’ scripts off to some higher-up muckety muck at a studio, without my customers ever being able to prove that I actually did it.
What are they thinking?! Here’s what they’re thinking: Hollywood’s a tough nut to crack for writers, and they know it and you know it, and they’ve got a friend or two in high places who may or may not take the time to read your script if, and only if, that person signs off on it and recommends it super-highly.
Also laugh inducing: Companies posting “Such and such came to our site, ordered our service, we got it in front of a muckety-muck, and then his script sold for $500,000!”
Maybe that service was ultimately responsible for selling that script, but maybe it wasn’t. Maybe it was the merits of the script’s concept, or the writer’s friendly persistence, or personal charm at a coffee meeting with the buyer, which sold that script. Or maybe it was because the buyer was looking for a vampire vehicle for Phyllis Diller that week.
But heck, I don’t wanna be a curmudgeon and poo-poo ALL my colleagues in the access industry.
If you’re comfortable with buying access, by all means, go for it. It may turn out to be a good investment for you, and the much needed “crack in the ice” you’ve been struggling for. Not all companies or contests that promise to get your script read by muckety-mucks are in business to rip you off.
The best path for my company, however, is to stay focused on the core of our business: improving the script. Access, contests, formatting, proofreading… all of these are viable script services.
But to put it bluntly, no service will ever get your script sold. Not a coverage service, not an access service, not a consultant, and not a contest.
Le Bottom Line:
The biggest thing sitting in the way of getting a script sold for 95% of all screenwriters is: the script itself. At Screenplay Readers, 95% of the scripts we read are rated as a PASS. 4% are CONSIDERS. 1% receives a RECOMMEND.
So my advice to my compadres in the screen trade:
Don’t think of access until your script is part of that 4% or 1%. And even then, only invest in promises of access if you feel you can afford to lose that investment. And if you can afford to lose that investment, please email me and send me cash. I’m saving for a trip to orbit aboard Spaceship 1.
Field Guide to Spotting Screenwriters In The Wild (Part Two)
Classifying the myriad types of screenwriters out there has been a task that’s eluded science since the dawn of cinema. But me and my team from the University of Screenplay Readers has been able to compile and catalog, at long last, these unique creatures. And we’ve put them in our blog. Because that’s what scientists do.
In my Field Guide To Spotting Screenwriters In The Wild (Part One), I was able to classify several major species of screenwriters you may encounter in their natural habitats. I now continue that work in part two:
The Actor (thespianus self-gratitorus)
This special offshoot of Screenwriter is known by his plumage, and for his lack of stealth. The Actor is a screenwriter who has taken his acting career into his own hands, usually writing a script containing a nice juicy part for himself, and/or is writing a script because he’s fed up with rejection as an actor and has decided to take matters into his own hands by becoming a producer.
Depending on the variety of actor-screenwriter you encounter, he or she may be a completely fluffy tool, vapid and shallow with nothing to say, or a genius waiting to happen, along the lines of the now-extinct breed of actor-screenwriter, orsonus welles rex, who fed on copious amounts of pasta, meat, and wine, but was able to write and star in such great films as Citizen Kane and great commercials for Paul Masson Wine.
The Eternal Neophyte (newbus permanentus insufferablus)
The Eternal Neophyte screenwriter is mostly found in midwestern climes, or rural areas, and has the distinction of being the breed of screenwriter that’s most closely related to the common ostrich.
That’s because Eternal Neophyte screenwriters have evolved without eyes and ears, so they’re incapable of receiving feedback from other screenwriters, or anyone else for that matter, so they live in an environment where everything they write is awesome, every typo they make doesn’t matter, everybody else is wrong, and even their own dung doesn’t have a scent.
These sorts of screenwriters are only rarely spotted near major population centers, as they believe social interaction with film industry humans is not necessary in order to grow and/or succeed as an artist, but they can spread misery and torment via the telephone and other electronic means, so be prepared should you run across one.
The Auteur (spielburgus delusionus)
The Auteur spends most of her days storyboarding her screenplay. She’ll spend 2 weeks writing it, and 9 months storyboarding, or creating high-tech video animatics. Shot by shot, this screenwriter has her film planned down to the T. Every camera movement, every special effects shot.
To the Auteur, a script is just a form to fill out; one more document standing in her way, keeping her from blowing the world away with her visual storytelling genius. This person is amazing in a pitch when she has her storyboards and visuals, but feels a bit naked when pitching with just a screenplay.
It’s her enthusiasm, her vision for the project, which tends to speed the Auteur through the screenwriting process and get to the visualization as soon as possible, which is admirable and expected of film directors, but isn’t always beneficial to the survival of this species of screenwriter.
More often than not, the Auteur couples with a non-Auteur variety of screenwriter and is able to bring more flesh and textual /structural craftsmanship to her screenplay, but it should be noted that there are those rare mutants of Auteur who are able to write amazing scripts by themselves while managing also to go balls-to-the-wall with their visuals, animatics, and storyboards. That being said, there are also Yetis.
Field Guide to Spotting Screenwriters In The Wild (Part One)
I’ve worked with all types of screenwriters here at Screenplay Readers, good, bad, friendly, evil, you name it. And having written, directed and produced 5 feature films, I’ve had the fortune of being exposed to (or inoculated by, you might say) an even wider variety of the species known as screenwriterus domesticus.
So, since the moviemaking world has been clamoring for some sort of taxonomy/classification system for all the different species of screenwriters, I thought I would take it upon myself to do the honors.
I present to you, dear reader, the several major species of screenwriter, in the interest of science, and in the hopes that you may better understand yourself and your place in the screenwriting food chain/cycle of life, should you happen to be a cinematic scribe of any proportion:
The Collaborator (teamus uppus excessus)
Collaborator screenwriters can be primarily identified by their “dens,” where they reside. These places tend to be constantly in a state of mess and/or unkemptitude due to the fact that the Collaborator is hardly ever at home.
Rather, he’s out meeting for coffee with his co-writer, and brainstorming major beats and plot points with another of his kind.
The Collaborator is rarely found working alone on his own scripts, as he finds that working with another writer in the room is the only way he can get motivated to put ink to paper.
His strong suit is his ability to bounce ideas back and forth, and his ability to “kill his darlings” with great alacrity. That is, he rarely holds anything in his screenplay too sacrosanct to change, so can often be a great person to work with.
The Tweaker (methamphetamus scriptchangicus)
The Tweaker screenwriter is one who thrives on chaos. You can usually spot a Tweaker in the wild by her flailing arms and wide eyes, frantically typing, deleting, and retyping her scenes for no apparent reason.
Ah, but there is a reason. Long-term studies of this species has revealed that the Tweaker is just changing things in her script at random for one of two major reasons:
Either
A) She’s not confident enough in her ideas to commit to paper with finality,
or
B) She simply has too many good ideas rushing out of her brain at any given moment, and feels compelled to pack them all into her script at once. SQUIRREL!
Similar to the Collaborator, the Tweaker is all too happy to kill her darlings and try new things. This can be a great species to work with, but it can often lead to headaches, as the Tweaker has been known to hurl her babies out with the bathwater.
The Perfectionist (analus retentivus extraordinairicus)
“A film is never finished. It’s just abandoned, and then rebooted 20 years later with shitty special effects and a talking asshole lizard.” – George Lucas
The Perfectionist can never leave well enough the hell alone. Similar to the Tweaker, he’s always trying new things, but in general, those things are almost always insignificant to the screenplay or the film as a whole, and can even be danger to himself and his screenplay if he takes his perfectionism too far.
Rather than spend a week getting the script in front of a writers group or getting it out to agents, the Perfectionist would prefer to sit in his office, paralyzed with fear that his screenplay is not good enough, and needs far more work than it actually needs.
The Perfectionist screenwriter is a species that tends to be more of a “thinking” species than a “doing” species. They are mutants, in other words.
However, there is something to be said about Perfectionists, (Actually, there’s only one thing to be said about Perfectionists), and that’s that sometimes, despite their evolutionary handicaps, they can actually create amazing screenplays and films.
The Volcano (burstus writerus maximus)
The Volcano is a screenwriter species that lies dormant for most of the year, then suddenly EXPLODES and spends a month writing an amazing amount of material; good or otherwise.
You can spot a Volcano in the Hollywood environment by its peculiar ABSENCE for most of the year. That’s because The Volcano is off working on side projects, such as a day job, or a business, or a band.
The Volcano isn’t so much a non-prolific screenwriter. He’s more of a differently-prolific screenwriter. That is, she’s prolific, but just in wild, sudden bursts.
The strongest natural asset of a Volcano screenwriter is her ability to burn the midnight oil for long stretches at a time: weeks, or even a few months, nonstop. Her weakest asset is that she’s “out of the loop” for many months out of the year, and can be hard to “re-ignite” once she’s back in the game.
Our field studies into the nature of all different types of screenwriters, wild and domestic, will continue soon, so check back for Part Two!
Top 5 Self-Tweaks To Make You More Appealing to An Agent
If you’re a screenwriter looking for representation, you’re probably well aware of the basics: be a nice person, be firm, be confident, etc. But here are five angles you may want to consider before sending out that first query letter, which may help boost your chances of landing that agent or manager who could make the difference to your screenwriting career.
#5 – Make your concept mind-blowingly original and amazing
Easy, right? Well put it this way: if you haven’t been able to come up with at least ONE script that meets this criteria, you probably shouldn’t be sending your work out there just yet.
A mindblowing concept is really the only thing that gets turned into a film these days, other than reboots, remakes, movies based on toys, or the occasional heartfelt honest art film that’s a pet project of a name actor, producer, or director, so you’re really fighting an uphill battle if you don’t have a concept that’s simply SMASHING.
So that film of yours with the two guys talking in the coffee shop with the guns? Maybe mindblowing in 1990, but in 2012, it’s a retread, and probably an instant pass.
What’s an amazingly original concept? I say in my own book, The Screenwriter’s Cheat Book:
A mind-blowing hook is simply this – Something about the script that, when you tell them in one sentence what the script is about, simply makes people, all people who can read the printed word, universally and without exception, say any or all of the following:
a) “Why didn’t I think of that!?”
b) “That is an awesome idea!”
c) “Wow! How much do you want for that idea?”
d) Or if you’re Christopher Walken: “My mind, it is blown… by this hook.”
#4 Make your concept sayable in less than one sentence
The best sign of an awesome amazing concept is that it can be said in one sentence, or even less.
Two guys crash weddings to hit on women.
Maybe Wedding Crashers isn’t the most amazing film (although I chuckled), but the concept is super strong.
If your concept is more like:
A police detective pulls the lid off of a police corruption ring and gets more than he bargained for.
…then I’m asleep within the first few words, not only because it’s a non-specific, super-boring concept, but because you took an extra 4 seconds to articulate it.
Hint: If you can’t say it in 10 words, and it doesn’t blow someone’s mind when they hear it, go back to the drawing board.
Granted, I’m being pretty drastic with these arbitrary rules, but think of these rules as weights, and you’re a bodybuilder. You’ve got to practice with these weights in order to build your muscles.
That is, if you can force yourself to think with these restrictions, you’ll discipline yourself to think more strategically about your script’s concept and how you pitch it, and that will boost your chances of connecting with an agent or other gatekeeper.
#3 Make yourself valuable
Agents aren’t assholes, mostly. Some may be artists themselves, but all of them are primarily businesspeople first, artists and patrons of the arts second, babysitters third, shrinks fourth. You get the idea.
They’re not out to ruin your day or crap all over you and your script. They simply want to put together the best quality, most profitable packages (script and talent) as humanly possible.
So they’ve got their feelers out, hardcore, for new talent, because they don’t want to miss out on a great new spec script from a hot new writer. But in doing so, they’ve also got their filters up, just as hardcore.
They can spot who’s worth working with, and who’s not, from a mile away.
And, duh, you want to be one of those folks who’s worth working with.
So make yourself valuable. Have a few successful films with festival runs under your belt, or a stint as a writer’s assistant on a TV show, or simply have a ton of great scripts on your shelf, and demonstrate how prolific a writer you are (agents love writers who WRITE!).
To put it another way, if you come to an agent with the mindset of “HELP ME! Rescue me from my job at Office Depot and make me a star! Please!” … then the agent isn’t going to be interested.
But if you treat the agent like a cool human being, and be a cool human being yourself, and come off as an equal who’s got chops, experience, a strong work ethic, and patience, then your chances of getting represented double, triple, QUADRUPLE.
And of course, all that has to be combined with that kickass script concept I mentioned earlier.
#2 Infect the office
No, don’t do any anthrax bombs. Just see if you can’t get your script read by as many people as possible in the office. Yes, I’m aware that it’s hugely difficult to get your script by ONE person, let alone an entire office, but I insist.
Simply because agents who see your script making the rounds in their own office are more likely to pick it up themselves, if the buzz is good.
Work the phone, work the assistants, work through a manager, or however you like, but see if you can’t get that script circulated.
#1 Make it as easy as possible for the agent
Bottom line: If working with you is a chore, if talking with you on the telephone is a chore, if reading your screenplay is a chore, you’re not gonna land an agent. Or at least not land a very good one.
You’ve got to keep in mind how much these folks are doing on a daily basis. I’m probably 1/2 as busy as your average household literary agent on any given day, and yet my time STILL FLIES BY, and I’m always left with stuff I didn’t get done at the end of the day.
In order to boost your chances with agents, you first have to show them you’re valuable (See step 3).
THEN, you’ve got to show them that dealing with you is not a time suck.
Don’t do anything, or ask for anything, until you’ve established those two vital things with the agent.
Once you’ve shown you’re valuable AND can deal with them in quick blocks of time, hitting them with your mindblowing concept stands a much better chance of success.
But after all that legwork to prime your relationship with the agent, for God’s sake, please make sure your SCRIPT is as easy to read as possible. I HAMMER this into my screenwriting compatriots and clients:
Use less words. Give me white space or give me death!
It’s primarily a STRATEGIC bit of advice, not necessarily a creative/artistic suggestion.
More white space = faster read.
Do all agents check for white space before they decide to read something? Of course not.
But as an unsold spec writer, you need to stack the deck in your favor as much as possible. You may only get one good shot at this.
So be amazing, be brief, be valuable, infect people, and be one easy sumbish to work with, and you’ll have a much easier time finding that perfect lit agent that’s right for you, while being the right client for them.
Teamwork, you see? Makes the world go ’round.
Shooting The Messenger – How to Not Be A Dick When Getting Paid Script Feedback
My company Screenplay Readers provides script coverage, and we’re a team of vastly different script analysts, with vastly different tastes and backgrounds, as is any good script coverage company (and there are LOTS of good script coverage companies (coverageink.com, scriptapalooza.com, etc).
But where you go wrong as a screenwriter in choosing one of us script coverage companies to cover your script is when you treat the entire process as if it’s an *objective science*, free of reader biases. Like geology. Or auto repair.
The business of fixing a car is one thing. Either your engine works, or it doesn’t, and there are certain specific, tangible, purchasable parts and repairs that need to be made to make that engine run.
But the business of fixing a screenplay is an entirely different ball of beans. Because it’s right around 10% objectivity, and 90% subjectivity. That is, it’s almost entirely OPINION.
Not only that, but it’s an opinion you’re PAYING for.
And not only that, but it’s opinion that probably flies in the face of everything you hold dear about this screenplay you’ve been working on for perhaps many months or even years.
We go out of our way at Screenplay Readers to make sure our potential customers understand that what we’re providing is not an objective analysis of a screenplay, but rather a real life “dry run” of your script as if it were submitted to an agency or prodco, and read by a reader there.
Those folks – those real-life script readers at agencies, production companies, studios, etc. – they don’t pull punches if your script happens to end up on their desk. And, it might come as a shock to you, but one reader at that agency may give it a PASS while the next may give it a RECOMMEND.
But despite those facts, and despite how hard we try, we have people miffed at our services ALL THE TIME. As I’m sure our friendly competitors do as well.
(I spend at least 15 minutes every week on the phone or emailing back and forth with at least 1 angry customer who felt our script readers missed several details on their script, or are pissed because the last reader gave their script a CONSIDER, but this NEW reader gave it a PASS.)
Yet the vast majority of our clients, flat out, LOVE what we do, and how we do it, and have been sending us their work for over a decade.
But to tell the truth, if we weren’t pissing some people off, I don’t think we’d be doing our jobs.
Because it would mean we’d probably be taking peoples’ money only to tell them what they want to hear.
I write this not in defense of my own company. To heck with that. We’re doing just fine, even when we get railed on, fairly or unfairly, by an angry customer, or in a public forum by one ex-client out of the hundreds we’ve worked with over the last 12 years.
Nay, I write this for my fellow screenwriters, and in defense of my fellow script analysts and script coverage companies:
No script coverage company wants to be raked over the coals by a hypersensitive screenwriter who’s never had their scripts critiqued before.
They want to be able to be honest about their feedback and have a certain baseline understanding with their screenwriter client that: Yes, we’re going to tell you what we think of your script, and yes, we know you can handle that.
Not only that, but we want to work with folks to whom we can say “Hey, your main character isn’t believable enough, and it’s ruining your entire script, and here’s what you can do to fix it,” and NOT have that screenwriter completely IGNORE that major note and then absolutely CRUCIFY US over stuff like this:
“Your coverage sucks and your reader obviously didn’t read the script because he confused a submarine explosion with a helicopter explosion on p.54!”
“Your reader didn’t read the script because that B-character’s name is MOLLY, not MAGGY!!!! p. 66″
Or even worse:
“Your reader said my lobster fisherman wasn’t ‘believable! Well let me tell you something – I worked as a lobster fisherman for 40 years, so she’s wrong!”
Wait a sec… What about what we just told you? You know, that great note we just gave you about how your main character isn’t believable enough and here’s how to fix it?
And you’re busting our chops over “MAGGY?” And a submarine?
“Yes! Because it proves your reader didn’t read the script!!!! Or she’s a total idiot novice!!!”
Here’s the solution:
If you’re not up for honest criticism, paid or otherwise, that’s totally cool! Just don’t go asking for it.
And especially don’t go paying for it.
If you’re more interested in picking a fight with your script analyst or script coverage company over insignificant details in your screenplay that have very little or even NOTHING to do with the major flaws of your script, you should probably reconsider the whole script feedback angle to begin with.
Put frankly, there’s nothing worse than a guy who asks for feedback or orders script coverage, and then becomes a “lawyer” for his script once he reads that feedback, arguing you over stuff that DOESN’T REALLY MATTER, compared with the larger, more substantial problems his script has.
But, if you ARE up for honest criticism, then here’s my advice, as a person who’s worked as a script analyst for nearly 25 years, and who’s run one of the best script coverage companies on the web since 1999:
Flat out: Don’t pay for feedback right away!
That is, before you get script coverage, get screenwriter friends to help you improve your script, such as simplyscripts (tons of great peeps ), or in writers groups, for FREE.
Then, and only then, if you feel you need another angle on your feedback, try script coverage. (But absolutely don’t spend an arm and a leg!)
And THEN, if you want to take it to the next level, and can afford it, work with a script consultant or a script doctor.
But what you DON’T want to do is expect any third party, no matter how much or how little you pay them, to treat your script as if it’s a BMW in need of engine repair, or a house in need of painting.
Because remember: script coverage and script notes are extremely SUBJECTIVE.
So not only will everyone who gives you notes have a different opinion of your script… those opinions could be VASTLY different from each other, even if they’re from the same company.
And if you’re just dead set on being a “lawyer” for your script, and/or not seeing the forest for the trees when you get notes you disagree with, keep in mind, screenwriters really don’t “NEED” any feedback.
I’m certain there are many screenwriters who write in a total vacuum, getting notes from no one, and still make a living.
I’ve just never met one.
Top 5 Ways to Get a Recommend on your Script Coverage
Has your screenplay ever received a RECOMMEND when getting script coverage? As a script analyst running my own script coverage company, Screenplay Readers, I’m constantly bombarded with questions from screenwriters and producers, but perhaps no question is asked more than:
“What do I gotta do to get my script rated as a RECOMMEND?”
And after replying to email after email over the years, I finally realized that there were 5 basic things I was telling the screenwriters who asked this question. And those top five things are below:
#5 Demonstrate That You’re a Professional
Many screenwriters are part-timers, first-timers, or hobbyists. And there are many talented folks in those categories. But realize this: When a script reader rates your script with a RECOMMEND in her script coverage, that reader is sticking her head out BIG TIME.
Because that reader is essentially saying to their boss, whether it be an agent, producer, studio head, or big time financier, “Hey, I personally vouch for this script. If you take it home and spend 2 hours reading it, you will not be disappointed.”
And that boils down to: “Hey, spend 2 hours of your time reading this.”
Which further boils down to: “Hey, take 2 hours away from spending time with your kids, or making money, or picking up your dog from the vet, and read this script.”
No script reader in their right mind is going to stick their neck out for you unless they feel reasonably certain that your screenwriting is of professional caliber.
So how do you demonstrate that you’re a professional?
Basically, format your script properly, pare down on the amount of words you use, show don’t tell, and most importantly, connect with the reader!
#4 Connect With the Reader!
Straight up: If the reader doesn’t feel anything emotionally, or get excited about your story in any way, you’re sunk.
But here’s the great part:
Once you’re past showing the reader that you’re a professional, and that she doesn’t have to worry about typos, crappy format, and bloated text all over your script’s pages, her guard is down. Not fully down, but down enough for you to have the opportunity to stick her right in the heart; to move her; to excite her; to make her laugh and/or cry.
So how stupid would you be to NOT take advantage of that?
The dirty little secret: script readers WANT to be moved. They love movies! They love being stirred to great heights, and plummeted to severe depths, during a movie. Else they’d've not become a creative part of the film industry.
So make sure your characters aren’t just text on a page, but actually do and say things that move an audience, and your script reader, as that first audience, will love you for it.
#3 Make the Reader Go “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Script readers are often screenwriters themselves. Or producers, or actors, or directors. And that means they can probably recognize an AWESOME STORY IDEA when they see it.
If your script doesn’t have an AWESOME HOOK, aka an AWESOME STORY idea, aka an AWESOME CONCEPT, you may want to reconsider submitting it. Hell, in all actuality, you may want to reconsider even writing it to begin with, because today’s film market is MORE THAN EVER about the HIGH CONCEPT IDEA.
Sure, there’s always room for the soft concept pictures, but the high concept/strong concept screenplays are the ones which stand the best chance of getting produced.
So is your script high concept? Pitch the logline to a friend who hasn’t heard about it before. If they don’t say “Wow, that’s an amazing idea,” you probably don’t have a high concept.
#2 Don’t Chase Trends!
Shiny vampire movies are hot this year! But you shouldn’t concern yourself with that. Don’t be a johnny-come-lately and think that just because you’ve written a script that seems like a great knockoff of a popular blockbuster that that script is going to get any traction.
Keep in mind, by the time your script weaves its way through the Hollywood development maze, the concept you’re hitching your wagon to may have long ago become a tired, overdone joke.
By and large, the good producers, the good agents, the good directors and actors, aren’t looking PRIMARILY to capitalize on the latest, hottest box office trends. Yes, they want to make money, and make BIG MONEY, but the truly talented folks that will make your script a reality are the ones who tend to go for HIGH CONCEPT FIRST.
#1 Actually USE the Script Notes You Receive
That is, LISTEN TO PEOPLE who tell you how to fix your script.
If someone’s taken 2 hours out of their lives to read your script, and another hour to provide you with feedback or notes, there’s probably something in those notes you can use, so pay attention!
Don’t be an island and think your shinola doesn’t stink, and that your script’s the greatest thing since sliced mayonnaise. Filmmaking is a collaborative effort. It takes many minds to bring a film to fruition, and to market.
And despite the romantic notion of the screenwriter-auteur, if you’re lucky enough to have your script considered for purchase or development, as a first time screenwriter, you’ll be extremely lucky to be even kept in the loop, let alone kept aboard as a creative force, as your script goes through development and other writers are brought aboard by the producers in order to punch it up or make it easier to shoot.
So learn to let go of your ego. Take those notes. Listen to the good, listen to the bad. If you can get your script sold, you’ll be in a much better political position to have more say on the next one.
The Top 5 Day Jobs for Strategic Screenwriters
There’s screenwriters who write one script, mail it off to Hollywood, and sell it for $500k.
And then there’s the rest of us: working our butts off in the trenches, slogging through bills, slaving away at some soul-sucking day job so we can pay the rent and keep writing our screenplays, working towards that “big break.”
If you’re up for contemplating a career change, one which can boost your skills as a screenwriter, harden your resolve and build your character, or even plug you in with powerful contacts, take a look at my list below, where I’ve enumerated my top five best day jobs you can have as a screenwriter – jobs that, yes, will keep you working and the money coming in, but also have specific FRINGE BENEFITS to those of us interested in landing that first big script sale.
#5 Hollywood Wage Slave – GO BIG!
Benefits: Financial stability, possible industry contacts if you play your cards right
First off, if you’re dead set on being a wage slave, chasing dollars for the sake of supporting your lifestyle, or simply to pay off massive student loans or other debts, take my advice:
GO BIG.
That is, if you’re slaving away at a day job because MONEY is your key priority right now, or because MONEY is the big obstacle keeping you from pursuing your screenwriting… Get a HIGH PAYING day job.
In other words, if money is your priority, and money’s what you need to buy comfort and peace of mind, and peace of mind is what you need to write screenplays, for the love of Pete, just GO GET THE MONEY.
(For the record, I think pursuing money is perhaps the LEAST important, LEAST valuable thing you can do as a screenwriter of ANY RANK.)
But my point is simply: if you’re chasing your tail for money because you feel you have to, AT LEAST GO BIG and max out your salary however you can.
And another key component of this: MAKE SURE THE JOB IS IN LOS ANGELES (or any other viable “film town”), and preferably FILM RELATED. The contacts you meet in any other industry aren’t going to be NEARLY as helpful as those you meet in the film industry.
#4 Studio Temp – Be a master of your free time
Benefits: Control over your schedule, possible industry connections
YOU pick when you work, or when you take a week off to write.
Some very talented screenwriters I’ve known (some of whom are WGA members even) have stayed afloat in leaner times between writing gigs by temping at studios or other film-related companies. And there’s nothing wrong with it.
The only downsides are: the work is usually tedious, and valuable friendships are slightly tougher to build due to the fact that you might not be working full time.
#3 Script Reader – Get the screenwriting edge
Benefits: Massive insight the craft of screenwriting / Significant insight on the business side of screenwriting
Reading scripts for a living, either part time or full time, is one of THE most valuable things you can do as a screenwriter, with regards to your skillset.
There’s nothing like reading 8 bad scripts per week to make you realize HOW MUCH YOU’VE BEEN DOING WRONG YOURSELF, as a screenwriter. Whether it’s your script’s creative substance, or the more nitpicky format and “look” or “flow” of the script, as a script reader reading other peoples’ scripts, you get up to speed VERY QUICKLY on what a good script looks and smells like.
And bringing that insight to your own screenwriting is just HUGELY VALUABLE.
#2 Agent’s Assistant – Access is awesome!
Benefits: All the benefits of being a script reader, but while also building a valuable relationship with an agent or manager
I interned and then worked for an agent back in the 1990′s, reading scripts, providing coverage, and growing as a screenwriter in leapsies and boundsies.
The first few weeks were ridiculously tough, and I was loaded down with scripts (when I wasn’t answering phones), but by the end of the third week or so, I looked up from my desk and realized I was helping out every single agent in that office.
Literary, talent, and commercial talent agents were all my friends, (or at least friend-LY), and I was handling favors for all of them. (Whether that was helping them dodge a client on the phone, wading through a last-minute script pile, or even driving their clients to auditions).
All the while, I was reading scripts and learning the business end of screenwriting. Within 3 weeks I went from starry-eyed ARTEEST screenwriter to starry-eye arteest screenwriter who knew how to translate that starry-eyed screenplay into a language and format which AGENTS and PRODUCERS could understand.
#1 Assistant to Name Talent – It’s All Who You Know
Benefits: UBER CONNECTIONS, but usually LOTS OF WORK for not a lot of pay
Name actors, name producers, show-runners – they all work with ASSISTANTS. Assistants’ duties range from picking up dry cleaning to script development, and the pay usually isn’t STELLAR, but the relationship you’re building with the name actor or producer you’re working for is the real benefit to this gig.
Think about it. You’re a struggling screenwriter, but you have no industry contacts to send your spec script to.
Suddenly, you spend a year working for BIG MOVIE STAR PRODUCER GUY, and BOOM – there’s a potential “IN.” Chances are, you’re on a first name basis with her, and can call her up directly and say “Hey Susan, it’s Brian! Listen, I know you’ve been looking for a female-driven western, so I just wrote one. Wanna take a look?”
Naturally, you want to be a good human. Don’t go trying to cash in on your relationship before you seriously earn it. And make sure you get a sense, as soon as possible, of whether or not the A-Lister you’re working for is someone who reciprocates, or even appreciates your hard work. If they’re stuck in their own la-la land of me-me-me, (and many are), you might not be able to use the connection after all.
So where are you at right now, screenwriter? Still delivering pizzas? Or working in the aerospace industry?
Get off your caboose and get TACTICAL about your screenwriting. Maybe a career tweak is what you need to take yourself to the next level.
Top 5 Bad Things Script Consultants Say About Script Coverage Which Aren’t True
Script coverage, as we all know, is 3-4 page “book report” on a screenplay, consisting of a synopsis and a set of reader comments on the script itself. The basic idea is, a busy producer or agent hires a script reader to read the stack of scripts on her desk, and then write COVERAGE for each script. That way, the agent can read the 3-4 pages of coverage, rather than the full 100-page script, saving time and money.
And as you know, many companies online now offer script coverage as a service.
But ooooh, watch out. Because that really chaps the hide of many a high-priced script consultant selling their script consultant services online.
So many of those script consultants turn their noses up at script coverage services, mostly as a way to sort of “poo-poo” the more affordable “coverage service” in order to show how awesome and necessary their more expensive, more in-depth script consultant services are.
And below, for the first time, I’ve compiled the 5 biggest myths about script coverage which are perpetuated by many script consultants.
#5 “Script consulting gives you more than what you get with script coverage”
True, in many cases! But script consultants are generally five times more expensive than script coverage, with their low-end services starting around $200 and skyrocketing up to the $600′s and $700′s from there.
I might be crazy, but the average struggling screenwriter looking to improve his script usually doesn’t have enough money to buy a round of drinks on Saturday, let alone $500 to spend on script notes.
I’ve used a couple of these script consultants in the past, and flat out, let me tell you – most of them are good! Some are even great!
But what I really needed to improve my script at that point was just a few different perspectives on what was working, and what wasn’t.
I needed a read or two! Not a full-blown script consultant package.
Script coverage offers perspective in a much more affordable way, because for the price of one script consultant going over my script with a fine-toothed comb, I can order script coverage from 5 -10 different script readers, all of which are sure to have totally different backgrounds, (as different humans are wont to do.)
And each of those readers are going to give me a different take on my script. From those different “soundings,” I can choose the script notes I think are coming up in a pattern, and can ignore the rest.
Yes, you do get much more in-depth notes from a script consultant, generally, than you do from script coverage. But the questions are: Do you need it? And, can you afford it?
If $200-$700 (and up) is in your budget, and you’re absolutely befuddled as to how to improve your script, a script consultant is definitely one way to go. But you might be able to spend half of that and get the same results, simply by getting script coverage from a few different readers.
#4 “You get what you pay for”
This is one of my favorites. It’s also a huge favorite of the big script consultants who poo-poo my company and companies like mine. (I love you guys anyway!)
Why I find it hilarious is because of its underlying premise, which is:
“Quality can only be attained if you fork over enough money.”
Which is so flatly wrong, and so patently lazy, and so obviously geared towards justifying high dollar script services, I have to chuckle.
I’m not against script consultants hanging up a shingle and charging whatever rate they like. Far from it.
I think expertise has a definite price, and if you’ve spent a lifetime fixing screenplays, you have more than earned the right to charge whatever you please for your time and intellect.
But, frankly dear script consultant, if your expertise is as good as you say it is, then you should be able to sell yourself on that alone, rather than also relying on angrily shouting “You get what you pay for! You get what you pay for!” at your friendly neighborhood script coverage company.
#3 “Script coverage is written by college interns and underpaid wage slaves”
Ah, that old delicious myth.
Think about it. How long would any script coverage company be in business if they hired folks to do their coverage who didn’t know what the heck they were talking about?
Every script company worth its salt does a great job at screening their script readers for maximum entertainment industry experience and script analysis skills.
Script consultants and script gurus have every right to tout their experience and skillset, but it’s often done by contrasting themselves, unfairly and inaccurately, against a whole population of super-talented script readers, some of which are script consultants themselves, or working in script development on an ongoing basis.
(And besides, that’s just patently offensive to some of those really talented college interns and underpaid wage slaves we all know!)
#2 “Script coverage companies try to bait you into getting more and more coverage”
Another delightful selling point for script consultants, and actually some script coverage companies, who try to scare you into not buying from their competition.
I’m sure there are some super-dumb screenwriters out there. But how long do you think it would take for screenwriter of average- or above average IQ to realize she was being baited and upsold into receiving more and more coverage, with the ever-elusive “RECOMMEND” rating always just around the corner?
Word travels fast in the screenwriting community. There are a lot of us, but not THAT many.
Beware of phantoms! This one’s a Deusy.
#1 “Script coverage readers hide behind anonymity, so you can’t trust them”
One of the greatest things about script coverage, as opposed to receiving great script consultation from a script consultant, is that, by and large, your script is getting a DRY RUN of the real-world script-submission process.
That is, when you submit your script to a producer or an agent, they may read it. If they DO read it, they’re likely gonna have the reader write up a script coverage.
Problem is? 999 times out of 1000, you’ll never SEE that script coverage.
Any good script coverage company is providing you with a real-world simulation of that whole process, with the only difference being: you get to actually see the coverage.
You get the “inside scoop” on what someone who doesn’t know you, and who you’ll never know, thinks of your script. It’s that very anonymity that allows a script reader to really tear into the script and give her honest, perhaps even BRUTALLY honest, opinion of it.
And even when that anonymous reader gets your script entirely wrong, there’s STILL much you can take away from the entire script coverage experience.
Because it’s an opportunity to tweak your script to prevent, or at least mitigate, future script readers like that from misinterpreting your screenplay. (AKA idiot-proof your script!)
So take it all in, gentle screenwriter. There are many tools available in your toolbox:
Some tools are super-high-priced, but provide an in-depth service which you may need to completely overhaul your screenplay from the ground up.
Other tools are lower-priced, but provide a closer real-world experience, and allow you to take advantage of multiple perspectives, in those cases where your script needs just a few tweaks to make sure it’s working before you send it out to agents and producers.
And other tools, well, they’re just tools.
The “Am I A Good Screenwriter?” Quiz
Hey screenwriters and screenwriter wannabes! Think you got what it takes to be a screenwriter in this Chew-’Em-Up-Spit-’Em-Out Hollywood Town?
Take my easy 5-question screenwriter quiz to see if you’ve got the good when it comes to turning your screenplay into a lean, mean, agent-wooing machine.
Answers are at the bottom.
1) Which character description is better?
A) PETER JENKINS (40) – plump in a polo shirt, blond, Nextel on his belt.
B) PETER JENKINS, late thirties/early 40′s, slightly overweight, sandy blond hair and innocent blue eyes, carries his Nextel on his belt loop in an outdated leather case.
C) PETER JENKINS is in his late thirties but doesn’t look like it. He has an innocent expression on his face and wears a Nextel cell phone on his belt, and his polo shirt is tucked in.
2) Which action line is better?
A) Joey slams on the brakes and the car screeches to a halt just an inch away from the propane tank.
B) Joey slams the brakes. The car screeches to a halt, inches from the propane tank.
C) SCREEEEECH! Joey slams on the brakes. The car screeches to a halt, skidding its tires, and stops just inches away from the propane tank.
3) Which slugline is better?
A) INT. FRITO LAY PLANT – PETER JENKIN’S CORNER OFFICE – DAY
B) INT. FRITO LAY PLANT – OFFICE – DAY
C) EXT. FRITO LAY PLANT – OFFICE – DAY
4) Which action is better?
A) Larry leans up against the bar. He looks down at his drink, thinking about Meg.
B) Larry leans up against the bar, looking down at his drink, thinking about Meg.
C) Larry looks at his drink, then looks at a photo of Meg in his wallet. He takes a drink.
5) Which dialogue/action combo is better?
A)
PETER
(excitedly)
I can’t wait to try my new AK-47!
B)
Peter bounces and smiles.
PETER
I can’t wait to try out my new AK-47!
C)
PETER
(jumping up and down, smiling like an excited kid)
I can’t wait to try out my new AK-47!
SCROLL DOWN FOR THE ANSWERS, GRASSHOPPER.
Correct answers: A, B, B, C, B
1) Brevity, brevity, brevity! Maximum impact, minimum amount of words!
2) Just the essentials. The reader is perfectly able to imagine her own “screech” if you include the verb, instead of the sound effect.
3) Chances are, the scene will unfold with Peter Jenkins IN the office, so we’ll know right away it’s HIS office. Don’t be redundant!
4) We can’t see or hear Larry THINKING. So SHOW him thinking. When he looks at the pic, we know what he’s thinking about.
5) Keep your action and descriptions in the action lines, and only use parentheticals if, without them, there’s absolutely no way the reader will understand the way the line is supposed to be delivered.
Naturally, these 5 questions aren’t the end-all-be-all of whether or not you’re a good screenwriter. Even the pro’s still make these mistakes, so no worries if you got some wrong!
Just remember – the idea is to say MORE with FEWER WORDS, and KEEP THAT READER READING. If the reader gets bogged down in too much text, she could put down your script, and it may never get to the next rung on the ladder.
Show, don’t tell! Whatever we can’t SEE or HEAR needs to be DELETED from your script. That is, no thinking, wondering, or other internal processes that we can’t see. If you can’t SHOW IT, don’t include it!
That’s all for today, but I’ll be back with another quiz soon. Stay frosty!
Brian
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