As with many others on here, I received my first e-mail about using a script.

Here's the contents, slight edited.

"Hello,


My name is E*** O****. I am a producer and student at Colorado Film School. I read 12 seconds on simplyscripts.com. I like it! I'm looking for a short script to make. The director i'm working with is very talented and I want to find a good story for him to tell. Are you interested?


E*** O****
****** Productions LLC
*********@gmail.com
(phone number)"

I looked through other posts like this on here, but there wasn't much info about anything.

Few sides notes:

He says he's in film school.
Claims the director's talented. Talented in general or talented for film school?
Interested suggests to me that he wants to option it, but how much money would I expect (if this is legit) from someone in school?

Any help in this situation is very helpful.

-Thanks.

Quoted from Mr. Blonde how much money would I expect

None...

Sorry to break it to you, but he's a student and it is a short, right?

Pretty much what I figured. I was thinking the same thing when I read he was in film school

very rarely do yo get paid for a short...

I think Z is the only one I know who's been paid for one.  :)

I would have thought if they are at a Film Shool they'd have plenty of people around them with whom to work, so it is strange that they are trawling the internet!

There are a number of threads along these lines on SS at the moment, so this may be as good a place as any for this anecdote!

I know a film director. Small time, nothing fancy. He is hired to make a low budget movie - direct to DVD primarily. The producer is very well known. He makes a lot of movies, with a lot of different level budgets, working with complete unknowns and with big names.

My acquaintance looks at his giant contract and decides he needs advice. As it happens his best friend is a very successful director - probably one of the UK's biggest names at present. His friend passes the contract on to his lawyers. They find it is full of catches that would have seen my acquaintance work for nothing, in effect.

These are shark infested waters and anyone taking a dip needs to wear plenty of shark repellant!

This could be a legit email, Sean, but it could also be a con - "we're film students so can't pay you, please sign away all rights to your work here, here and here!" and the next thing you know it's out on DVD with someone else getting the credit - and the money - for it!

First rule of Script Club - Trust No One.

I'm perfectly prepared for it to be a scam, so it doesn't matter to me either way.

He didn't reply back, which is good, because I didn't really take it seriously in the first place.

Quoted from Grandma Bear very rarely do yo get paid for a short... I think Z is the only one I know who's been paid for one.  :)

This is true, well partly. I got paid to write a short for someone.

In most cases you won't get paid for a short. So don't expect to.

Cindy

If it's your first short to be produced, let them do it simply for credit and a copy.  Getting your name out there is more important than making a few bucks.  Shorts don't usually pay out because they rarely make money; it's just a business card for those involved.

Tell the filmmaker (should you choose to have him make it) that you have the following conditions:

1.  You get two copies of the finished film.
2.  You get sole credit as writer.
3.  Any changes in the script must be made by you, or with your permission.
4.  You want the write to reproduce and distribute the finished product for personal use.

See what happens with this.


Phil

Quoted from dogglebe If it's your first short to be produced, let them do it simply for credit and a copy.  Getting your name out there is more important than making a few bucks.  Shorts don't usually pay out because they rarely make money; it's just a business card for those involved. Tell the filmmaker (should you choose to have him make it) that you have the following conditions: 1.  You get two copies of the finished film. 2.  You get sole credit as writer. 3.  Any changes in the script must be made by you, or with your permission. 4.  You want the write to reproduce and distribute the finished product for personal use. See what happens with this. Phil

Thanks, Dog. I figured on three of the four, but first, I'm just waiting for a reply...

A quick question.

After his initial e-mail and a response from me that boils down to, "You've got my attention. What are you thinking?", how long without a return e-mail from him would you wait before giving up on them?

-Thanks, in advance.

Months.

Pia was saying just the other day that a guy hadn't written back to her for ages, and she had forgotten about it, and when he finally did, he had made her script.

People are busy, there are many reasons why he wouldn't write back.

Don't forget that most fall through, sometimes the reason being the person just doesn't write back.

Quoted from dogglebe Tell the filmmaker (should you choose to have him make it) that you have the following conditions: 1.  You get two copies of the finished film. 2.  You get sole credit as writer. 3.  Any changes in the script must be made by you, or with your permission. 4.  You want the write to reproduce and distribute the finished product for personal use.

That sounds like very sound advice to me. Maybe a community consensus can be reached on best practice. and then a 'Sticky' created? It's just that ruminating on the issue could cloud that best practice when dealing with these mails.

Andrew

I've only received payment for one script, and that was very little.. Most  times I've worked in collaboration on shorts, where none of the cast or crew gets paid but are happy to work on a project for exposure. I have received a writer's creidit and (1) copy of the DVD, plus invites to screenings, when they have occurred. Interestingly, for me, the one I (along with the cast and crew, was paid for)  did pretty well, winning best picture at a recent film festival, and it stayed pretty true to the originalscript, as the director cast it appropriately.

In other cases, there have had to be major changes to the script, sometimes right at the last minute, because of a change to the cast, or location, and the lack of budget and time available to shoot can result  in problems with quality, or changes that have been detrimental to the original idea and script.

However, it is good experience, and I've gained a lot from it.

Quoted from harrietb In other cases, there have had to be major changes to the script, sometimes right at the last minute, because of a change to the cast, or location, and the lack of budget and time available to shoot can result  in problems with quality, or changes that have been detrimental to the original idea and script.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the screenwriter.

Congratulations, by the way, on having a script filmed successfully - paid or not, that is what makes it all worthwhile.

What is it called?

The one I was paid for is called Taxi. It will be screened as part of a festival later this month, and if any of you are in New York area you might catch it. here
http://www.hdfest.com/HDmovies/taxi-high-definition.html

I was one of four wirters. There were four stoires set in the back of a taxi, and we each wrote our own script.

best,

h

I received another e-mail today. This one seems a hell of a lot more legit than the last one did.

"Hello there,
My name is Brandi C. Creason, and I am a teacher at The Art Institute of California - Hollywood.
I am teaching a class this quarter on set decoration, and I found your script quite intriguing and I was
wondering if we might gain permission to use it in our class to do a breakdown of set, characters and
budgets.
Please let me know ASAP, as I would need to get the proper forms signed for authorization.
Thank you very much.
You may respond to this email, or my educational email at : bcreason@aii.edu
Thank you again for your response!
Brandi C. Creason / Art Director"

This is their page. Am I crazy to think that this isn't a scam?

http://www.artzfart.com/index.html

Quoted from Mr. Blonde Am I crazy to think that this isn't a scam?

Not at all.

In that case, I'm glad I'm not crazy.

Now, we play the waiting game. Again. =)

If that is the email he wrote then I would be a little suspicious. He doesn't address you by name or mentioned the title of your script.

RED ALERT RED ALERT

The name of the script was the title of the e-mail.

And, it's a she.

"35 script usage" (E-mail title.)

You could check out this "Art Institute of California" online, see if it exists and if so what it is, and then contact them direct to check out the credentials of this person.

To be honest, their having a website called "artzfart" does not exactly inspire confidence!

And is this the person's name on the email or one you have used for posting purposes on SS - because it does sound incredibly fake!

And I also find it very suspicious you have received two emails in such a short space of time, both from educational establishments!

I thought it could be fake. But, not quite likely. Remember the name from the e-mail I sent, "Brandi C. Creason"?

http://www.artzfart.com/

Then, I checked here. Many of the same ones are listed.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1188998/

EDIT: That's the exact name from the e-mail. Which reminds me, here's the contents of e-mail 2:

"Thank you Sean,
Actually, for our purposes, the script being unfinished is not a bad thing
at all. It helps us, because I want the students to be able to breakdown smaller
scripts, and be able to focus on smaller parts of the scripts anyway. So I would
still be very much interested in using it. And when they are finished with the unit
I would be happy to share the students work with you. It would put more
pressure on them to have to do a more thorough job if they knew the writer
would be looking at their work! So, yes, I would love to use it regardless of
its state! Please let me know how you would like to proceed, and how I may
contact, if email is the best, as I will have to get the appropriate authorization
forms for you to sign and get back to me.
Thank you for your response, and I look forward to working with you!
Brandi C. Creason / Art Director"

EDIT 2: The first e-mail was sent late last night, 7:27PM PST. I wasn't online. E-mail 2 was sent after I replied this morning.

EDIT 3:

Latest reply:

"Great Sean!! Thank you again.
Well, the form is just an authorization saying that you are allowing us to use
your script in class for educational purposes. Its because of copyright laws, I
just have to make sure I have permission or we are not allowed to use it!
So, I will try to email the form, then maybe you can send it back to me!
Thank you again, and I will definitely let you know what my students come
up with!!
Brandi C.
BTW - the script that I saw, was only 4 pages, but the description said 35 pages.
Is it only finished to the four pages right now? Or is there more to add to it, and if
so, maybe you can just email me a copy for use? Let me know! Thanks"

maybe keep an eye on this one too...
http://www.simplyscripts.net/cgi-bin/Blah/Blah.pl?m-1254958906/

Quoted from Mr. Blonde "Well, the form is just an authorization saying that you are allowing us to use your script in class for educational purposes. Its because of copyright laws, I just have to make sure I have permission or we are not allowed to use it!"

I think the law allows for the use of copyrighted material for educational purposes without the author's permission.


Phil

That's probably where this comes into play. Just got it about a half hour ago.

"Hey there Sean,
So, I talked to the librarian about the copyright issues, and shes says that as long as I keep the email confirmation of your authorization of my in-class usage of your script, that is all I need. I just wanted to make sure that you knew, I would hand out 2 copies in-class for the students to work with and I will keep 1 copy on reserve in the library in case they need to access it.
Thanks and I will let you know how they respond to your script!
Sincerely,
Brandi C."