As I understand it, querying major studios is basically a futile effort in this day and age, but has anyone had success sending out queries to independent studios? What are the steps and how did you find them?

Not personally, but a friend of mine recently sold a script for a vampire rom com to one. First thing he ever wrote. Sent out 200 queries. Got one reply asking for the script.

They bought it.

Only advice I can give...just be polite, professional and to the point about the script and target companies that make the type of fil you're pimping in terms of genre and budget.

I sent a few out once and got some really helpful advice... which was that I would be better off doing it all myself. It's really not that hard once you have the determination to see something through. The only thing preventing me from making my first feature (not even having no money is a barrier) is that I'm unsure which one to make.

This rings true for every producer I've spoken to. They may well think your script is amazing, will even agree that it will make money... they're just not seeing themselves producing it. They then end up making something shit later down the line... only we're not around to say, I told you so.

The best thing to do Josh.... is make plans to get into producing films yourself. Today. Don't wait. Get your mates together and even make new ones, people you need. Like camera operators. Especially camera operators. Don't neglect sound and editing skills. The easiest thing to find is actors. Seriously though mate, it's the best thing to do. Especially if you want to be different. Nobody will listen to you until you show them how it's done.

Thanks Scar Tissue! I'll keep that in mind if I do end up doing this.

Dustin, that's a great plan. I have made some shorts, but a lot of them I just hate. They embarrass me. And sometimes it feels like my friends don't take the project as seriously as I do, which is understandable, but still frustrating.

Although I will try and start doing more. In your experience, is there a specific resource of actors to hire? I've tried Craigslist, but I've gotten maybe two replies and they have not answered back.

Quoted from Scar Tissue Films Only advice I can give...just be polite, professional and to the point about the script and target companies that make the type of fil you're pimping in terms of genre and budget.

Pretty much.

I sent out a ton of queries. In the email I included a movie poster for the script. I had it set up so I can track how many people opened up the link. So I would know how many people really read the mail. Anyway, out of 370 e-mails I sent for that script, I saw that about 30-40 people actually clicked on the movie poster. So I can assume that amount probably opened up the email. My guess is that a lot of studios don't check out the email once they see Query in the subject. I didn't want to leave out Query as it seemed a bit dishonest.

I got like 4 to request the script. Two of which I heard back. Both passed but had nice things to say about my dialogue. Few months later I got an email from one of the companies asking if I would be interested to do re-writes on a script they had, rewrite the dialogue (I passed).  The other emailed me a month back asking if I had written anything new that might be a good fit for them. That we should keep in touch.

So you never know. It's hard. Probably won't get a lot of emails back. But something might happen. You never know. It's up to you to try.

You might want to read this article from PJ McNeil (pseudonym).

How do you do it?

Don’t worry, we’ll get to “Development Hell”. But this is something I’ve been meaning to write about for awhile, and after getting a few e-mails on the subject, I thought it was worth exploring (sooner, rather than later).

So I go on a great deal about querying; about what to say to production companies, managers, etc. There’s a lot of blogs that do that: talk about how to query or how not to query. But few talk about how to contact those you’re supposed to query. These blogs all assume that you just “know” how to do it, and I apologize because I have been no different.


http://www.simplyscripts.com/2014/08/29/notes-from-a-veteran-writer-how-do-you-do-it-p-j-mcneill/

Quoted from Josh Thanks Scar Tissue! I'll keep that in mind if I do end up doing this. Dustin, that's a great plan. I have made some shorts, but a lot of them I just hate. They embarrass me. And sometimes it feels like my friends don't take the project as seriously as I do, which is understandable, but still frustrating. Although I will try and start doing more. In your experience, is there a specific resource of actors to hire? I've tried Craigslist, but I've gotten maybe two replies and they have not answered back.

I used Star Now and Facebook. Don't just take anyone. Audition. Watch show reels. Watching show reels is the most important as that's when you get to see the actors work. With just an audition you can make a slip. Somebody could appear full of confidence on that day, but when the crunch comes they fail. Headhunting is another way. Watch short films. Another thing you should consider is attachments. Don't be scared of approaching out of work actors and asking them if they'd like to play the part in your script. No pay... but they get to keep their hand in...  so long as you have a good team behind you and belief that you're going to win, they will consider it.

Same goes for your crew. Don't just take anyone, because you're only ever going to be as strong as your weakest link.

Stage 32 is another great place to fins cast and crew...

Anthony

Just found this thread and curious, What is the best way to find these email addresses to send your query to?

I'm told you can find correct Producer details on IMD Pro and they do a 2 week free trial.

Also Ashey Scott Myers has a service to send out email queries to producers that has been successful for some.

I think if you are querying producers/production companies the trick is to make sure the script is in the wheelhouse of what they are likely to make.

Anthony

Quoted from DustinBowcot Google.

Yeah, I took it that Google was the place to go. But finding contact information for these studios seems to be tough. I know on their websites it has their contact info but is that the email I use or do I have to delve a little deeper?

Yeah that's the email you use... but personally, I like to delve a little deeper. I still use google to do that though. Find names... just whatever you can and google, google, google.

That's the plan Dustin, thanks.

Quoted from IamGlenn Just found this thread and curious, What is the best way to find these email addresses to send your query to?

Glenn, read this article: http://www.simplyscripts.com/2014/08/29/notes-from-a-veteran-writer-how-do-you-do-it-p-j-mcneill/

It has info on how to find email addresses.

- Don

Will do Don, cheers.