Industry formatted Scriptwriting
Do you have a short story, novel, or just an idea that you think would make a great movie? Perhaps you even studied the craft, and finished a couple scripts, but have not had any success with them, or simply don't know how to get it into the hands of production companies or filmmakers.
There are a lot of great ideas, and even great scripts out there, but because the intro is a little weak, or it's not written in the proper font, or it's five pages too long, it never gets into the hands of the Spielbergs and the Lucas' of the world. Thus, a great story, that just needed a little more reformatting and some inside wisdom, never gets to see the light of day.
It's time to break through those barriers and obstacles, and do what it takes to tell your story.
What is "Industry Formatting"
There are certain formatting rules that have to be followed before a producer, or director
of development will read your script. These include among other things, the positioning of
the dialogue, the margin size, the font style, the type of paper it is printed on, and
even the type of fasteners you use to hold your pages together. When a director of
development goes into work in the morning, he may literally have hundreds of scripts
waiting for him at his office door. His company may only make one movie that whole year,
and it is his or her job to choose from those hundreds of scripts which one he is going to
make into a movie. If he can find any excuse to weed out as many of them as he can, he
will. they need scripts to be formatted in this strict format so that they can determine
the length of the script, among other things. If it's not properly formatted, they will
not even read your script. I know the proper format. I will guarantee your script is
properly formatted. back to top
Isn't there word processing software that can do that for
me?
Yes. And that is actually what I use. (That guarantees that there are no formatting
mistakes, because the program will only produce properly formatted scripts, thus
eliminating human error in that area. But these programs can cost as much as $300.00. And
once you buy it, you then must acclimate yourself to the program; learn where all the
buttons are, learn how to print properly, and even learn how to import and export your
current text file into it, as well as exporting it. On top of that, there are entire rules
of grammar, language style, and structure concerns that take years of studying to
learn. I already own one of the most popular and award winning software programs as
well as have been studying scriptwriting fort several years. If you've only got one
script, it may be to your advantage to avoid all headaches and hire me to format it
professionally for you.
Don't you have to have spent years in the industry to get
your script read?
No. There are many examples of successful movies that have come from first-time writers.
And even Spielberg had to start from the bottom. It's just as true to say that the
successful writers have been plugging away at it for years as it is to say that there are
writers who have been working most of their lives at it, but still have yet to sell a
script. There are many, many reasons for this. Because of my experience living in
Hollywood and learning from the industry professionals who have learned what those reasons
are the hard way, I have the foreknowledge and wisdom to avoid most, if not all, of the
mistakes made by young, inexperienced aspiring screenwriters. back to
top
Are you going to change my script into something I
don't want it to be?
No. I will only advise you on what I think you should change, but not without telling you
why. If you agree, or see any wisdom in my words, then you will either change it
yourself. Or, you will pay me to change it for you. You are the boss. which leads me
to the next question; 
Do I still maintain all my rights to my script after you've worked on it? Yes. I am just offering a critique service. However, in the midst of the critique service, if we come to a mutual desire to co-partner with each other, we can write up a legally binding contract that we would both agree to which clearly defines the ownership of your intellectual property (i.e. your script). This would be another matter entirely, at which point I would no longer be work-for-hire, but a partner. But legal precedents would be agreed upon and set down in writing before we proceed to that step.
Can you get my script into the hands of Hollywood
Producers?
I cannot make an absolute guarantee that your script will be read by another individual
with his own free will, but if you do pay for my services, and you do follow my advice, I
can promise you this much; -I can work to personally get it into the hands of directors of
development (I do have some connections).
-your script will not be rejected because of improper formatting.
-If you follow my advice, the script will be of such quality that if/when production
companies do not decide to buy the script/make the film, etc,; it will not be because it
isn't good writing, or a compelling story.
(It will be because it is not what they're looking to produce right now, or for some other
political issues within the studio that we have no control over).
Can I see samples of your writing?
Of course. I give out samples of my writing by request. Just email me and ask me what
you're looking for. I also have several samples of previously critiqued scripts so you can
get an idea of what kind of service you'll get for your money.
So how do you charge, and what exactly am I getting for that price?
Many screenwriting services already operating in Hollywood charge as much as $2.00 a page.
For a 120-page script, that takes only two hours to read, that could be as much as $240.00
per actual hour of labor. I charge a flat fee of $25 per hour for my services, with a
minimum of two hours for my work. You tell me how much work you want me to put into
your script, and how much you want to spend. Among the things I can do for you
include;
- Several copies of your script on floppy disk, in several file formats for
your convenience, properly formatted to industry standards.
- Copyright or WGA registration for your protection.
- Recommendations/referrals to respectable agencies/lawyers in the biz
- Thorough information about intellectual property ownership and your
creative rights.
- Web hosting with your own URL to display your script in text format for
anyone to read on-line (after WGA or copyright registration).
- Analysis of the plot structure; (weak points as well as the strong points,
basic act structure and story flow, etc.)
- Character analysis (flat vs. 3-dimensional; character archs &
archetypes, etc.)
- Dialogue, action and scene description critique (believability of
characters, visual descriptions of action as well as settings, economy of word choice,
etc.).
- Subjective as well as objective criticism. (ask to see samples)
- Recommendations for further academic pursuit; (books/articles to read to
help you improve your weak areas, movies to see involving similar themes, etc).
- Q&A about the business, the art of filmmaking, the nature of the
industry (T.V. & film), I'll tell you anything I know.
O.K, so I hired you, and have developed my script. Now what
happens?
That's up to you. But I can still be involved in the process. Like I said, I do know
professionals living, working and thriving in the industry. I'll do what I can with
whatever resources I have to help you on that exciting path to pursuing your dreams, or
even just helping you to along to the next step of the process. I hope to be an ally of
yours in your journey of telling your story.
Click here to contact me with other
questions;
Thank you for choosing A Cappella Productions
610-420-4727
Home
| Joe's Words | Videogallery | Our Mission
Weddings | Consulting | Videography services | Jingle Barks!
| Tape Maintenance
Audio services | Order a Demo | Client projects | Guestbook
| Web design | Memorial Videos