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What to look for when picking a short script to produce

Capra

Capra

My short script contest is coming to an end and next will be deciding the finalist. My productions company is just starting out and small. When judging what should I be looking for? Dialouge and charcters are important to me. Any thoughts?:D


www.soggymopsproductionco.com
 
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Look at where your own strengths are. When you pick a SOLID script that
allows you to do what you are best at, you'll deliver a strong message about
how good you are.
 
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Thanks. I think (from the few I read) that they don't quite understand the meaning of a short. In my mind I dont think a short film in a feature film cut to be a short film. I think that it is a short story in a sense. Who knows. The contest ends wed so we'll see. The fun thing is I'm getting scripts from all over the world.
 
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I'd look for something that tells a larger story than what's contained in the short itself. Do you get some sense of a backstory for the characters outside of what they say & do on screen, is there a larger world implied but not necessarily shown? Hinting at stuff like this allows the audience to fill in & expand upon the film in their imagination - which makes it more 'theirs' and more likely they'll relate to it. I'd watch out specifically for the opposite - scripts that basically spell everything out too literally.
 
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Short and Feature are nothing more than descriptions of length... Short is < 30 minutes, feature is > 60 minutes (in most descriptions)... there are variations as well: Long Short or Short Feature describe things in that 30-60 minute range. One page of a properly formatted script =~ 1 minute of screen time, action will be slightly longer and dialog slightly shorter.

When choosing a script, I first look at the page and visually scan for the balance of dialog to action (just non-dialog, not necessarily explosions) blocks. A nice blend with short (no longer than 3 sentence) pieces of dialog will prompt me to actually give the first 3-5 pages a read through.

Glaring grammatical errors or typos (depending on the experience of the writer) will close the file for me and I won't read past those 3 pages. I take notes as I read through the first time with my initial reactions to anything in the script, questions I have about plot or character inconsistencies/ vagaries, or anything else that comes to mind during this first time through. If the story is solid and the script is financially and technologically approachable from a production standpoint, I then consider the script produceable.

I've just gone through this process after making a request on this forum for scripts. I received about a hundred offers from writers of various levels of ability and I've read precisely 2 full scripts using this method. If it seems harsh, the reality is that the writer needs to write in a way that doesn't waste the producers' time and the producer needs to be able to maximize theirs so that they can get on with producing. Many of the offers I couldn't get past the first 2 pages, the scripts were huge blocks of dialog with no action blocks at all on a visual scan of the whole document and the dialog was completely expository with no hint of plot give outside the dialog. Many of them were poorly written from a grammar and spelling standpoint as well making the time I did spend on them difficult at best. (If you're going to claim to be a writer, please learn the language in which you're writing - in these cases, English - there's rule books out there for you to follow and classes to take that can help you out - and a pocket dictionary should be sitting next to your computer at all times like it is on mine and I don't claim to be a writer).

As a producer, I need to budget my time wisely, having an initial check list that gets the difficult reads out of the way helps do that. Do I miss great stories? I don't know, but I know that what I miss in possibilities there I save in Tylenol from trying to make my way through some of the scripts I've received.
 
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@knightly
So how did it go with the script that you chose from those 100? Did it become
a film out of it?
Fun to read about how you read the scripts, by the way, because I think I send
you one back then.
 
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We're currently in development doing rewrites with the writer and after about 5-10 of those will be moving forward with preproduction.

You were actually the first person who responded... I didn't give you notes on your script for you and I apologize for that... here's the specific reasons we decided not to use "REUNION"

1) We eventually decided to approach a feature length project for this first one as it'll be easier to finance due to the possibility of distribution.

2) The story was smaller than we were looking for, we wanted something with a larger scope.

3) budgeting resources would have been difficult without transferring the script into a different program to make sure it fit the "proper" script format correctly.

4) there were some spelling issues, etc... but the writing sounded to me like it was due to your nationality rather than your command of the english language (some phrases that came off as slightly odd - but make perfect sense in German). These I happily overlooked and if we had moved forward, would have ironed out in a rewrite.

So as you can see, even with a good story, it needs to be something we can dedicate time and resources toward as we try to move from indie to indy filmmakers (bigger budgets define that distinction for me). I want my cast/crew paid this go around. I want to get paid too, so we're specifically targeting productions that have a commercial feel to them and can potentially garner a paycheck at the end of the day.
 
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As tragic as it is, statistically only one in two thousand scripts is "viable". That's a lot of reading to get through to find one. My days of shorts are long gone though, so I can't remember much of that.

But if you can't find a script, maybe consider making an observational documentary. They're fun too. And they don't cost anything, and very small crew. Great way to get attention at festival. All you have to do is find a subject that interests you.

Like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvkX-2lZnuA
 
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Wow! Thanks a lot man. I didn't think you'd remember, but I'm clearly dealing with a professional, he-he! It's a dark script. I have sort of buried it down below other scripts because I imagine it is too depressive for people who want a break through. But good to hear about your feature project. Sounds like a wise decision in my ears. Let's hope we'll see a good movie come out of it.

You know it's crazy here in Europe with the languages. I speak six by now... and not voluntarily. Mostly I'm dealing on my fourth language these days. English is my third. It's sort of better for everybody that I focus on the story and if someone wants to produce a script they can relatively easily fix the language issues. And when you love the characters and the story a re-write will not be a huge job in a ten page short.
 
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And just a suggestion, you know, like the spelling and grammar thing, just trying to be constructive, maybe the name soggy mops isn't going to encourage confidence.

I mean.... not wanting to be the massive troll I am, but ...... soggy mops?

No no no, don't start explaining about the magic of "that" moment, because, I'm not going to be able to relate to it.

man, oh man, soggy mops.
 
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