Message Board

Hello all,

I've been lurking around the forum for a while. Read some good, insightful things. Seems like there's a depth of expertise and insight here so I thought this would be a good place to ask a question...

I recently got my script coverage back from a competition (Creative World Awards) and received a "Consider" (8.86/10 rating). That was Greek to me until I read up on it, and learned that getting a "consider" seems to be fairly highly regarded. So, I guess that's my question... what's getting a "consider" in contest coverage worth?

...enough to start marketing the piece to agents, studios? Sell my VW and buy a Porsche? (JK. The VW's leased)

Also, this is only the first round of the contest. Best to wait to see where I place before I do anything?

If you're in the market for competitions, I thought the coverage from CWA was very solid and in depth. The judge clearly put time and effort into the material and understood my vision for the story. Good suggestions for improvement too. Granted, I don't have much of a basis of comparison (my first contest), but I was very pleased with what my 20 - 30 extra bucks got me. Certainly worth the money in my opinion if you're considering competitions. I think it's still open for 2011 at this point...

Anyway, thanks in advance. If you haven't guessed I'm fairly new to screenwriting (wrote a novel before) and looking forward to learning something here on Moviebytes!

Best, Matt

Marjory, Robert,

Thanks so much for the replies. I think what you've both told me pretty confirms what I thought: it's a decent start and a step in the right direction. Not being real familiar with the industry rating system I just wanted to get a more experienced person's take on it.

Marjory, I will take your advice and polish the logline/synopsis and start researching some relevant studios. I'll probably hold off on actually sending it until I see where I see where I place in this contest and the others I entered. If I actually do place, as Robert said, then maybe I've got something to work with.

Again, thanks for sharing. When I find out what happens with this piece, I will update. See you both around the forum.

Matt

Irin,

That's a good idea to contact CWA directly. I actually emailed their general info address (because I wasn't exactly sure how to interpret the results) and got a nice response quickly. And yes, certainly this is good resume material--already put it in, actually.

And that's another thing... I don't read much about CWA around the net. I mean, "what do I know," but the contest seems pretty professional: nice website with good descriptions of the rules, etc. And I thought the coverage was good. Every bit as good as the PAGE Awards which receives a lot more play around the net (I also entered that one, albeit with a significantly less-polished version of the script). So I dunno, maybe give CWA a try?

Michelle...

I Googled around about receiving an "Undecided" in script coverage... couldn't find anything about it . So I'm not exactly sure what to tell you on how to take that. You might want to email CWA's info address... the gal that wrote me back was responsive and professional. I'm sure that would shed some light on it.

Hey, thanks for the congrats!

Haven't posted in a while, but with all the contest results coming out I figured I'd check the boards... totally didn't expect to see my name. Glad to hear so many folks here are making it into the finals.

But yeah... mine's in the Q-finals in CWA and the semifinals in Expo. I guess you'd say it's a psych-thriller... with a supernatural twist? Anyway, keeping my fingers crossed--since apparently I'm going to be going up against you guys...

And, like Steve, I was also wondering what kind of numbers these contests pull in?? Hundreds for sure. Thousands? Possibly?

Anyway... thanks again, and best of luck to all of you!

Thanks, guys (girls).

Congrats, and best of luck.

Thanks all...

Much appreciated. Very happy to have made it this far. Best of luck to the Moviebytes crew...