Script coverage: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:53, 7 May 2015

Revision as of 00:26, 1 June 2015

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==The Script Timeline==

Script coverage is the summary and analysis of a script's plot and writing quality, used by agencies and production companies to track film and TV screenplays. Coverage consists of a number of elements. The first is a 1 to 2 page synopsis of the script’s story highlighting the main characters and events of the tale. The second is a subjective review of the piece (runningtypical length of which could range anywhere from 21 sentence, in short-form contest coverage, to 102 or 3 pages) thatwhich assesses the effectiveness of the screenplay’s various components—including its concept, story structure, story development, characters, dialogue, and writing style—and points out its strong points and problem areas. Following the review is a 1 to 2 paragraph final evaluation that assesses the script’s overall creative success or failure, its suitability for production (by taking into consideration factors such as whether or not the lead roles can be filled with bankable actors and whether or not the scope and scale of the piece will allow it to be produced on a reasonable budget), and its commercial viability (by taking into account factors such as likely box office and home video potential as well as marketing and merchandising possibilities). The evaluation ends with a recommendation from the analyst as to what he/she feels the production entity should do with the script. This recommendation usually employs 1 of 3 terms:

• '''Pass:''' The reader feels the script fails to make the grade in most areas and that the production entity should not proceed with it.

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When completed, the synopsis, review, and evaluation are assembled and fronted with a cover page that lists the script’s vital information (author’s name, story genre, time and locations it which it takes place, length of the script, etc.) and contains a brief summary of the story and the review. The cover page usually includes a checklist in which the script’s various aspects are rated on a scale ranging from poor to excellent. Finally, the cover page highlights the analyst’s ultimate recommendation.

Coverage is sometimes mistaken for notes. There are even independent script development services that offer coverage services. However, suggestions about how to improve specific aspects of a script are called development notes.

Although script coverage is a tool used primarily by motion picture production entities, it is sometimes used by screenwriting competitions as a way of separating "wheat from chaff." The coverage done for script competitions is usually simpler than that done for production companies—substituting a logline (a brief 1 or 2 line summary of the story) for the synopsis and simplifying the assessment—often employing only the checklist rating of the script’s various aspects.