| WHY I WON'T DO "COVERAGE" FOR YOU For those of you who may be new to the Biz, I define "coverage" and explain the process of covering material in the section, "Some Insights into the Process." While most Story Analysts offer to write "professional" or "studio" coverage for you, I choose not to do so, because when a company hires a Story Analyst to do coverage for them, they expect the Reader to be honest and to the point about the writer and material. So, as you can imagine, coverage is often written in rather blunt or harsh terms that could truly be offensive and hurtful to the writer or someone close to the material. In other words: one would not necessarily want to speak in such overtly candid terms to someone who has poured his/her heart, soul and precious time into a screenplay. This is not to say that coverage can't be positive and constructive, but it does not have to be so, and the truth be told, often it is not. Therefore, any professional, e.g., an agent, producer, or production/ development executive who is reading your screenplay would certainly not take seriously coverage, i.e., "opinions" that were paid for by the writer and/or person submitting the material. In other words, the fact that you paid for it, invalidates its credibility, even if it is accurate and well-written. However, if a writer does have access to coverage done by a well-established company, then that would most likely carry some weight, although any credible company will still have the material covered. This is why, in my opinion, paying for "coverage," even if the person writing it is respected in the Industry, is a waste of your money. And if I work with you, I very much want to earn your respect, trust and hard-earned money in a productive and constructive working relationship. , |
| Smoke 'n' Mirrors Entertainment Pamela Leeds Producer, Story Analyst, Editor & Consultant [email protected] |
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