| SOME INSIGHT INTO THE PROCESS COVERAGE - When materials, e.g., screenplay, manuscripts, books, treatments, tapes, are submitted to a studio, production company, agency, etc. they must be reviewed, i.e., "covered" by someone. Coverage usually consists of the following: LOGLINE - usually one or two sentences that describe the material SYNOPSIS - usually a 1-2-page (often longer for books) description of the story COMMENTS - The Story Analyst (or whomever reviewed the materials) will discuss the story, characters, writing and potential as a film. The Story Analyst usually has a lot of latitude in terms of what he/she will say, but may also discuss marketability, would it make a good film, is it right for this particular company, is it better-suited to television (if so, network or cable), is it a good vehicle for a star, etc. STORY ANALYSTS (a.k.a. READERS) and STORY EDITORS - Most high-level executives are so inundated with materials, they can't possibly read or watch everything that is submitted to them. Therefore, most companies have a Story Department, which is usually headed by a Story Editor, who is usually the person who keeps track of the materials and often the one who hires Story Analysts (also referred to as Readers) to write these reports. Sometimes, in addition to professional Story Analysts, companies will also have their empolyees, e.g., assistants, interns, or whoever is available and willing to do the work. Often, a professional Story Analyst may work for more than one company at once. Studios are usually required to use union Story Analysts, however, most companies can hire whomever they wish, and there is no special degree required to do this. The life of a Story Analyst is often exhausting and difficult, as one is always inundated with materials, and often has short deadlines on getting the reports back to the company, so execs can discuss materials in early morning staff meetings. Although one reads all week long, usually weekends are especially busy with what is referred to as the "weekend read", and on Monday mornings, most companies have an early morning meeting to discuss what they have read over the weekend. Speed is often an important factor in acquiring good/great material, as several companies may bid on a "hot" project at the same time, which would then spark, what is referred to as a "bidding war." Therefore, there is a constant race to get material first in order to one-up the competition. Many companies hire book scouts and others who spend their time trying to find out what is getting published or written, so they can get these materials to, or inform, their clients before the competition finds out about them. If a Story Analyst reads something that he/she feels is really right for the company, he/she may even call a company executive at home and suggest that the executive read this material ASAP. So, there is a lot of pressure on Story Analysts to not only get their reports in ASAP, but to be accurate in assessing them. Hey, no one wants to be the Reader who passed on the hottest film of the year. But, when one is reading so much and is under so much pressure all the time, one can easily get jaded, as one sees a lot of the same concepts over and over again. As soon as a movie or subject becomes popular, everyone tends to write a script about it. While it can be rewarding, interesting and a great learning process, being a professional Story Analyst can also be exhausting, and often, one is grossly under paid and underappreciated. Since everyone has different tastes and sensibilities, different Readers will often have contrasting opinions about the same material. So, sometimes, it's the luck of the draw, as to who reviews your material. And, sometimes a Reader is just having an off-day, he/she is tired, not especially fond of the genre, has read too many scripts about the same subject lately, etc. So, while there is a method to the madness, it is also a very hectic and somewhat arbitrary process. SPEC SCRIPT - an original screenplay (not based on previously published material) that is written by a writer with the hope that it will sell (the writer was not hired or paid to write this script). Often times, an agent or manager will go to great lengths to create a huge "buzz" (get the word out, in a big way, about how great and hot the script is) before he/she "goes out with" it (submits it to a number of production companies and/or studios). Sometimes, even if the project isn't that great, an agent can create enough drama and/or instill enough fear in executives to sell a mediocre, or even terrible, script for huge amounts of money. This happens more than one would than one might imagine. There are millions of dollars spent on screenplays that for various reasons will never get made GENRE - the category to which a story belongs, e.g., drama, romantic comedy, broad comedy, etc. Sometimes a project has elements of more than one genre. |
 |
 |