Do you think it's appropriate to comment on someone's script if you haven't read all of it?  Like only a first impression, or what you think about what you have read so far, would that be appropriate?  Sorry if this question sounds kind of dumb, but I haven't been able to find time to read some scripts I've been wanting to read due to finals.

If you let the writer know that you haven't finished it, though I wouldn't make a habit out of it.  And I wouldn't start another script until I finished the last one.


Phil

I don't like 'em on mine.  Other people might not care, though.

No matter what else you might say, what it really says is, "I got bored and stopped reading."  Especially if you never come back to finish.  Ouch.

The only thing I hate worse are posts that say, "I'm going to read this...sometime."

Who cares?  If you are one of those people, just let us know when you are finished, OK?

[quote=Bert]No matter what else you might say, what it really says is, "I got bored and stopped reading."  Especially if you never come back to finish.  Ouch./quote]

Sometimes this can't be avoided, Bert.  I've put down scripts fifteen and twenty pages in because they were extremely bad and I didn't want to subject myself to the other ninety pages.  They're not going to get any better, so I just give the script a review based on what I've read.


Phil

So, does the Simply Scripts community frown upon reviews like this? I just can't keep reading for that long of a time, because I get too distracted. I also have other things I need to attend to rather than reading for more than an hour.

I can read a short in one sitting, but a feature is very difficult. Especially one that surpasses 100 pages.

As I said earlier, don't make a habit out of it.  If a script is painful to raed, that's one thing.  If you're distracted by something shiny, that's just not good.

And you don't have to read a feature all in one sitting.

Quoted from Kamran Nikhad Do you think it's appropriate to comment on someone's script if you haven't read all of it?

Every review (full or partial) helps the writer. But when I read partial reviews I immediatly think of someone helping an old lady to cross the street... only half of the way. And it feels wrong.

Experienced readers can measure the suckiness of a script by just reading the first pages; I think it's possible -for the trained eye- to give an accurate "pass" without reading all the material.

But this site is not a production company, it's a place to get (and give in return) objective feedback. And the writer of a script that you want to put down after ten pages, needs objective feedback much more than a writer who's able to grab you by page 1.

Puting down the script a leaving a partial review -which will be limited to format and writing style mostly- pretty much beats the purpouse of this site. You may think that at least you're giving the author something to work on... but lets face it: after a "I didn't finish reading the script" comment, most writers will take the rest of the review with a grain of salt (even if the partial review is a "good" one).

I left a couple of partial reviews years ago, but then noticed -for the reasons explaned above- that it was much better to give complete reviews.

Quoted from Rice Grenades ...I just can't keep reading for that long of a time, because I get too distracted. I also have other things I need to attend to rather than reading for more than an hour.

No...it's not that big a deal.  It's just because somebody asked, you know?

Of course you can't always read a script in one sitting -- but those updates -- "I am up to page 20" -- then tomorrow, "I am up to page 40" -- and so on...

Now J.D. (for example) has 10 posts on his thread (this is plus responses) when it could just as easily have been two.  Consider saving your comments, particularly if you only have a few.

It gets tedious, and that is how threads get so bloated that people ignore them.

I know because I've got one.

Like I said tho -- no big deal, really.  I'm just sayin' because the conversation is here.

If a script is going nowhere fast and the characters are all two-dimensional sound-alikes, I'll stop reading and comment on what I've read.  I hate it when the writer says that it picks up after my stopping point.  The script should start getting interesting at page twenty; it should start at page one.


Phil

I agree with what all of you have said. For instance, instead of having 5 posts that are short reviews of 20-some pages. You could read 20 pages, take a break but don't post anything, then rinse and repeat until you've finished.

Dear BIGk, I particularly don't care about you read mine, because most of the scripts are short or very short (or yet shortest), but as MRZ said "I immediatly think of someone helping an old lady to cross the street... only half of the way. And it feels wrong."

It's is very dangerous because the old lady could be hit by a 26 wheels truck lodead with wood! Half of everything seems to be very...you know very half. Could you think to make half love with someone or have a half heart
surgery?

So do not review them, just stay silent!

When I find myself in the midst of a bad script, I will always finish it and leave a review of some kind. It's usually an overview of what worked and what didn't. I basically read the script a little quicker by not taking nitpicky notes, since it needs work on a higher level than the little stuff. On those I also don't usually mess with format or style, since those are the easiest things to fix and the story needs more work.

Then again, I will also read poorly formatted scripts with only a passing comment on the fact that they aren't formatted correctly. Usually, by the time I read something, this poor person has gotten 15 comments complaining about the format, and I figure there's no point in beating that dead horse.

When I first joined the boards, I would read the entire script, no matter how bad it was.  It gave me too much of a headache.  Now, I generally read the first twenty pages which is twice what agents/producers/Hollywood readers read.  If you don't hook someone buy page ten, then there's a problem.


Phil

I think if you start reading a script and then stop, there's no point in leaving any kind of comment altogether. Saying that you started reading it but that it didn't grab your attention is very discouraging. Whether the dialogue, structure or style is off/slow, it's unhelpful for the writer to say this to them, unless you can back that up with a full review of the entire thing. For me, it's like walking out of a movie theatre after a slow opening scene in a movie. If I start watching or reading, the least I can do is to get to the end and then offer my opinion or critique afterwards. Anything less is premature and that's just my personal opinion.

If the movie or book or script is a complete stinkburger, the author should know.  How else will he learn.  I've never written, this script stinks in itself.  I'll back up what I say.


Phil