Folks,

I am planning an update to the unproduced listings this summer.  One of the biggest complaints is that there is not enough information about budget, location, characters, etc.  I am going to add additional, optional information to the submission form.  I would like thoughts/input.  

Total Characters - numeric
Budget - Low, Medium, High
Number of Locations - numeric

With characters, should I add Male/Female/Other rather than total?
Can I get some help on defining Low, Med, High budget?
Anything else?  

Great idea Don

For budget I'd suggest a lower category of Micro too and for me then the definition could be something like...
Micro - <100k
Low - 100k-1m
Med - 1-10m
High - 10m +

Or something like that maybe.

Is Character volume enough, or would it be better/possible to list main character traits?

Anyway, great idea!

In regard shorts, the budget limits would be different... so perhaps leave it out for those. Also, maybe as writers we're not best placed to define budget. What we may consider medium budget, could be made for a lot, lot cheaper depending on certain circumstances. I suppose if the info is optional there can be no complaints... but I'd be wary of putting off potential producers by mentioning budget. Unless it's obviously high.

I agree that writers don't always know what the budget would be of a script. I have no idea how much something I wrote would cost to produce, I couldn't even make a close guess, and many other writers who are new or newer like me would have no idea as well. Also, the cost can vary drastically depending on what resources the director/producer has available to them.

About the total characters thing, if you do it like where there are spots for total, male, and female that would work the best, I think, because some minor characters don't always have a gender. So, you could have like Total Characters: 9 (Male: 4, Female: 3) for a script where 4 characters are written as male, 3 are written as female, and 2 are written without a gender in mind, because, at least for me, when writing minor/unnamed characters, I often don't have a specific gender in mind or believe it doesn't matter.

Good point re budget, we aren't line producers... but I think estimating within fairly wide margins is doable. Afterall it's not a guarantee to the propspective film maker, it's just an estimate to allow them to filter the results.

To Dustin's point, on Inktip they actually allow you to select multiple budget categories, allowing for some flexibility.

Anthony

The update to the unproduced listings this summer sounds good.

Many have already said what I might have said, so for a change, I don't have a lot to say.

Up work keep good the. Or something like that. Etc.

R

Good point CJ re check boxes... I think Inktip. MovieBytes etc put limits on how many boxes per category you can tick, so two ticks in Genre, no more than three together on the budget list, that sort of thing.

I think the reddit example is useful, though people don't seem to fill it in! But I think that one is very much written from the writers perspective, if the here idea is to make it easier for Prodcers/Directors to search and find scripts based on certain criteria then an initial set of filters is definitely the way to go.

Don - maybe you could put a web survey and ask Producers/Directors to complete it?

How about adding a section where we can pitch our scripts like scriptshadow? We can include like our movie posters we create if we so choose to.



I'm not sure we need budget. Budget is subjective. Once they read it and want to make it, they can determine the cost at that point. We have to at least hook them in to getting it made.

Gabe

I think it's the Producers who'd like some indication of budget, and they don't want to read scripts that they just don't have the resources to make...

So agreed, it's subjective to a degree, but a two character drama, set in one easy to source location is likely V cheap, versus an effects filled SciFi epic with a cast of thousands.

It'd be someghing like Room vs Star Wars...

So something like I suggested or CJ's idea which gives the Producer an idea of the size of the budget, and if they should read the scrpt or not.

For me, and hopefully I understand the request, this is about making it easier for the Producer to find the scripts they are looking for without wading through a bunch of unsuitable ones. If the improvements can help with this then SS could rival Inktip and Blklst as a source of scripts... Not that it doesn't do pretty well already!

I like the idea of a *loose* budget designation, like Anthony and CJ have suggested. I agree with Dustin that it's not really our place to define budget specifically, but certainly some set of options would be extremely helpful to producers and would be preferable to none at all. "High" and "low" are relative terms, but there're definitely some obvious thresholds between, say, sci-fi/fantasy type scripts and household dramas.

I also like the idea of numbering characters and locations, as well as a Male/Female count. Really cut-and-dry specs and, again, helpful. Why not?

Not much else to add, really. Just showing my support.

I think you can do just about every script with high or low budget. It will have an effect on quality (probably) but I don't think it would be a good idea to tell a producer which budget they need. I guess that's rather something they will figure out themselves after reading the script. At least for shorts..

First - generally a good idea. But before you decide on approach and elements, I think you need to determine if the resultant information is going to eventually form a searchable data base of some sort. i.e., will users have the functionality of searching for scripts by genre, budget, length, etc. If so, you might consider a check box approach as it will generally more accurately serve a search function.  

Off topic - and no desire to hijack this thread so nuke this part if you want - but I would like to see something similar from writers when they post their scripts in terms of their review desires. e.g., Just a dialogue box that would be posted when the script is loaded that speaks to their review objectives (e.g., looking for everything, not engaging in reviews or comments - just hosting script, etc). Just a thought.

I think that a good idea would be to put a price on short scripts. Even if we're prepared to give them away for free it should be stipulated. This would also help prevent thefts. The main argument for thieves is that the scripts are in the public domain. Well, the same can be said when we go to a supermarket, all of the items are there for the taking. The only thing stopping us is the knowledge that the items have a price.

It will save a lot of time for the producers too. If they haven't got two pennies to rub together then they can not bother wasting their time reading scripts that do have a price and concentrate on the 'free to good home' ones.

Thank you everyone for the input.  If you think of any other ideas, please let me know.

Don

What is budget based on mostly? Number of Locations? Number of characters? Special effects?

Maybe we should define some categories which significantly influence budget and have them as optional fields instead of forcing writers to write something like 100k-500k there. I also don't think adding a price tag there would be helpful. If someone was interested in my script, I'd like to talk to them in private about the contract details.

Field to mention contest awards?

Quoted from Bogey Field to mention contest awards?

Good idea! Also, a place to mention you have coverage where the script has received CONSIDERS or RECOMMENDS. Assuming here that no one would mention the PASSES.  

This is a suggestion about the site in general, not necessarily for Producers or Directors (though it might help them as well).  When reading the comments in a script thread (assuming they do), you come to the bottom of a page and then have to scroll all the way back up to get to the Portal.  Now, they probably don't use the Portal, but if they do, it might help to have the links you have at the top (Portal,Chat,Home, etc.) at the bottom as well.  Okay, it just may be me, but that's what I would like to see.  Good navigation will get them where they need to go.

Maybe even navigation buttons on the side that don't move.

I like some of the other suggestions already mentioned and think it's a great idea what you're doing.

Thanks.

The option to include a synopsis would be useful.

Some great suggestions.  

Quoted from SteveDiablo The option to include a synopsis would be useful.

Steve,

How would this differ from the logline?

Quoted from Jeremiah Johnson This is a suggestion about the site in general, not necessarily for Producers or Directors (though it might help them as well).  When reading the comments in a script thread (assuming they do), you come to the bottom of a page and then have to scroll all the way back up to get to the Portal.  Now, they probably don't use the Portal, but if they do, it might help to have the links you have at the top (Portal,Chat,Home, etc.) at the bottom as well.  Okay, it just may be me, but that's what I would like to see.  Good navigation will get them where they need to go. Maybe even navigation buttons on the side that don't move. I like some of the other suggestions already mentioned and think it's a great idea what you're doing. Thanks.

This I may be able to pull off pretty quickly.

Good idea.

Quoted from Jeremiah Johnson This is a suggestion about the site in general, not necessarily for Producers or Directors (though it might help them as well).  When reading the comments in a script thread (assuming they do), you come to the bottom of a page and then have to scroll all the way back up to get to the Portal.  Now, they probably don't use the Portal, but if they do, it might help to have the links you have at the top (Portal,Chat,Home, etc.) at the bottom as well.  Okay, it just may be me, but that's what I would like to see.  Good navigation will get them where they need to go. Maybe even navigation buttons on the side that don't move. I like some of the other suggestions already mentioned and think it's a great idea what you're doing. Thanks.

There are some keys on your keyboard... simply pressing 'Home' will take you back to the top of a web page. You can also press 'page Up' and 'Page Down' to move in smaller increments.

Quoted from DustinBowcot There are some keys on your keyboard... simply pressing 'Home' will take you back to the top of a web page. You can also press 'page Up' and 'Page Down' to move in smaller increments.

Yes, but that would entail either removing my one hand from the mouse or setting down the sandwich in my other hand.

Both are entirely too much of a bother.

Thumbs up for a portal button at the bottom of the page!

Quoted from bert Yes, but that would entail either removing my one hand from the mouse or setting down the sandwich in my other hand. Both are entirely too much of a bother. Thumbs up for a portal button at the bottom of the page!

Yeah, I can't figure out if I'm just lazy or want to be more efficient.  Now I'll go make a sandwich.

Quoted from Jeremiah Johnson Yeah, I can't figure out if I'm just lazy or want to be more efficient.  Now I'll go make a sandwich.

Thanks, both of you are jerks.

Now I'm hungry too.

major jerks!!

Quoted from Don Some great suggestions.   Steve, How would this differ from the logline?

A logline is a one to two sentence summary of the script.
A synopsis is a detailed breakdown of the script, from act one to the act three. This ONE PAGER has been requested from producers, sort of a back cover blurb, but it's a bit mnore than that and often overlooked.
It could be placed under the logline, producers often ask for a one page synopsis.

I think the better we all get at writiing these one pagers, the better our scripts will be.

The benefits include: You could tell from the synopsis that the writer has given a shit. He/She has bothered to write the breakdown of the script in three short paragraphs.

Hey guys,
    I came across this post by accident:
http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?m-1095531482/s-60/#num73

And I was amazed at how concise this all was.  Isn't this kinda what you are looking for?  A place where a director or producer could look over everything the site has, then click on what they want to see?

Sure, it'd need to be revamped and make sure that the links work properly, but, it's all there.

It should have its own post.  We all love Janet, but, isn't it time to take down the card for Janet for her surgery (which she kicked azzz in her recovery!! ) and perhaps post it there, that way, anyone interested in making a movie could see it in the main section, and click on it.

I looked at some of your listings and some of you have over 20 things listed, that's a ton of work, just lost to the antiquities of this site....  And that's sad...

Just my 2 cents.

Dan

Quoted from Don This I may be able to pull off pretty quickly. Good idea.

Don, just so you know, I use the NEW buttons at the bottom all the time now.  And not just because it was my idea.   Thanks for doing this so quickly!

Actually, here's a recommendation (that may have already been suggested, but this is a long thread and too dense to wade through):

I'd suggest adding a filter for:
Feature vs. Short
Genre (with multiple options)

In other words, if one wants to click buttons for SF Shorts (or SF - Comedy Shorts), there would be an easy-peasy way to pull up a short list.  My five cents!  

Sorry to bump an old thread but this seemed the most relevant to raise this point.

I decided to peruse these forums on my mobile while on the train last night and quickly changed my mind as I was presented with the Desktop version. It was pretty unreadable on my Samsung Galaxy S4. Yes I need an upgrade but  apart from that, mobile devices are quickly outpacing desktops for people’s preferred method of browsing, so if you want to make this site more producer/director friendly I’d look into providing a mobile version of the site if that is possible.

Haven't read the whole thread and the above thread...

just one idea I have for a while now, in case there's a change to come or something… as the recent discussions (especially the thread above) suggest.

I thought if it'd be valuable that there'd be an open "passerby" showcase board, restricted to producers and filmmakers.

I mean open in the sense of free to comment without registration. It could help to get more feedback of producers, consultants, agents, filmmakers in general and gain a complete other kind of feedback as we usually give toward each other from screenwriter to screenwriter.

I think many producers do read here BUT they only seem to contact members if they want to negotiate and exchange when there's definite interest. That's understandable since they may not want to registry in a department to participate, which isn't their own. So they usually just decide between contact, maybe buy, or not.

To fill in the status producer/lector ... etc. could be the only requirement to post.

The point is, I think there's a missed potential here, because there must be lots of producers around since they buy and develop scripts from here constantly. What about those who hang around and search? How many are there? What do they think about the quality? Perhaps some writers are pretty close to draw interest with their scripts but they'll never know cause the producers can't articulate "quickly" about what and why. Also, they may not want to be "the" producer who's openly reachable on a writers' dicussion board. The anonymity, without needing to discuss if not wanted, could help to act more frankly and give some quick advice/impression.

Should the whole producer-angle be vague dark figures as yet?

Of course this sounds like work, so I wouldn't make it a big thing, and anyway, I think I don't have the right to demand sth. from an awesome free board as this is… it was just a thought…

If the one "registration-free-board" suggestion here is rubbish, perhaps there's a different/better suggestion… from someone who gets my point, or the Don himself.

Definitely lots of problems, difficulties and complications to overcome with such an approach, I'd admit that 100%

Just in case somebody mixes this up with the whole production information thing and giving more project information: My thought would be described best as "FILMMAKER NOTES" (only)