NEED PRO ADVICE -- Script delivery question

[jtwg50]

New York producers who optioned my script for serious money and have an agreement (no money yet) with a major studio to attach a name director from an approved list say it's OK to submit scripts to those directors, as well as some prodcos, by electronic submission (PDF). I insist they must be sent as "perfect" hard-copy scripts by courier -- the traditional method.
The issue is that I don't use a script software program and did it in Word, using the DD recommended Dark Courier type face, which is beautiful and mimics Final Draft. When converted to PDF, however, the Dark Courier face reverts to a lighter type that is harder to read and not as elegant/bold.
Does this make any difference in terms of that all-important "first impression" or "accepted industry practice?"
I'm a believer in doing it by the book (directors and prodcos are long-accustomed to getting hard-copy scripts by courier).
If that's true, should the producers at least propose they'd "prefer" to send a hard-copy script (since I would?)
Please advise. Thanks.

[Hamboogul]

I'd suggest that you use some of that "serious money" to buy a copy of Final Draft. At some point, we all have to.

Plus, wouldn't sending PDF be cheaper and faster than the mail method?

[EJ Pennypacker]

Didn't rocksadiva mention recently about how in his opinion, pdf's are the norm. now in sending material?

EJ

[jtwg50]

Hi, CE. Thanks for the response. I trust your take more than anyone else's, since I greatly admire all you do to help new writers.
The "book" I was referring to is the long tradition of sending hard-copy scripts by courier -- as all the agencies and management companies still do, correct?
I do understand that electronic submissions are becoming more acceptable, but my concern is the "translation" issue of the Dark Courier type face to PDF (it comes out lighter although still clear).
I have a real shot with the script, and I don't want a peripheral detail to harm my chances for success.
If you say it's OK, I won't worry.
FYI, the "serious money" was $10,000 for 6 months. And you're right -- I'll get Final Draft.
Thanks again for your time and courtesy. Much appreciated.

[LIMAMA]

If the Producers said send it in Swahili, do it.

[YeahWrite]

Print out your script from Word, formatted the way you like and then scan those printed pages back into your computer to make your PDF.

[YeahWrite]

The "book" I was referring to is the long tradition of sending hard-copy scripts by courier -- as all the agencies and management companies still do, correct?
I do understand that electronic submissions are becoming more acceptable, but my concern is the "translation" issue of the Dark Courier type face to PDF (it comes out lighter although still clear).
I have a real shot with the script, and I don't want a peripheral detail to harm my chances for success.You are not an agency or management company. Drop your script in the mail and call it a day. All of your concerns are things we all worried about when getting out our first script only to realize that it hardly matters. Just make it look professional and all they will care about is what's inside.

You also may want to look at Movie Magic Screenwriter.

Good luck.

[BROUGHCUT]

you just need to embed the "dark courier" font into the pdf document. check the pdf settings.

[jtwg50]

Thanks for the kind words, Boski.
To answer your questions, I got about as lucky as a first-timer can. One of the NY producers is a former CBS News executive and successful documentary producer-director. He was drawn to my script because of the subject matter. It's a very realistic, well researched political thriller.
The other is his partner, a former talent manager and film industry business manager with a couple of pretty major stars (one of whom he's casting in my script if all goes according to plan -- an iconic actor everyone knows. I wrote a key role for him.).
Their motive for putting up such good money for an option is that they are both highly motivated to become feature producers and they understand how hard it is. Neither has any feature credits. They were looking for what they considered a great script to give them a leg up, and they found me through a mutual acquaintance, who has now signed on as the third producer and has major connections. She is the one who set up the studio arrangement. She also has relationships with some major Hollywood producers and studio execs.
The three of them believe stongly in the script. We just went through months of rewrites and it will go out next week to the studio-approved directors and others, including some prodcos (the producers understand they will have to hook up with a "real" producer or production entity, too).
I'll post results here. The DD family has been of great help to me on many matters. I've learned an enormous amount from prior posts from CE and many others.
By trade, I've been a journalist, magazine writer and book author for a long time. Now all I want to do is write scripts -- and move back to LA.
Thanks again for your kind encouragement to a stranger.

[yvonnjanae]

I don't know if it's amusing or disturbing that so much discussion centers around the way a script is presented.

Maybe I don't really want to be in this business. Because I find any development executive who becomes so righteously indignant over a script being done in Microsoft Word that they won't even read it as unworthy of the good fortune bestowed on them.

Sooner or later, somebody's gonna get around to putting the quality of the plot ahead of these other things. I hope.

[jtwg50]

Writerly is correct, I think. Like it or not, the screenwriting business is fraught with ways to be nailed as an "amateur" or wanna-be before you have a chance. Given the ungodly deluge of scripts registered with WGA every year, versus the relatively tiny number that are ever sold, or even accepted by bona fide agents and managers for representation, there is little or no margin for error in presentation and that all-important first impression.
That is precisely why I asked the question in the first place about how best to deliver my own script.
Anyone who thinks they can run fast and loose with accepted industry standards for writers is in for heartbreak. And rightly so. You might not be William Goldman or David Mamet or Charlie Kaufman, but to have a chance, you should at least have a perfectly formatted, error-free, aesthetically flawless script that gives you a fighting chance if there's magic on the page.

[yvonnjanae]

Well, since I haven't sold a script yet, I'm not in the business anyway.
Although I do submit in pdf -- because that's what is requested -- it starts out in Word. I guess they're falling all over themselves laughing at me.

[jtwg50]

I wasn't talking about PDF. I was talking about general considerations -- the right format, margins, type face and so on. It's a very judgmental trade, and if you don't appreciate that, you probably are in the wrong business.
If they can find any reason, quickly, to dismiss your script as a waste of time, they do -- simply as a result of the ever-growing, monster pile of (usually bad) scripts they have to plow through to find the ones worth considering. Time is money to agents and producers -- literally. That's the very reason it's so hard to get their attention. Just ask CE. He's on the hotseat every day.
I'm convinced that a huge part of succeeding in this business revolves around understanding and appreciating the business. There's a lot more to it than simply writing a great script.
I'm also convinced, perhaps naively, that if you create a truly great script, and pay attention to the nuances of the business, you will succeed.
I hope I'm on the verge of proving that, to myself at least.

[yvonnjanae]

Thanks for explaining it to me.

[ComicBent]

This is not a problem.

Listen to what Broughcut advised, above. You can embed the font in your PDF. It will be exactly the same font in the PDF.

I will add that you can write in any program you want, as long as your goal is to produce a PDF. It's different if you intend to share a file later and need to use the same program as someone else.

Go to

http://www.primopdf.com

and download the free PDF maker there. It will allow you to embed fonts, if you do not already have a program that does that. You may be currently using a PDF "writer" instead of a true PDF maker that allows font embedding.

EDIT TO ADD: If you know how to use Word well, you can even include the title page in your document without messing up the page numbering when you create the PDF.

[kidcharlemagne]

BC and CB are right. A friend kept sending me scripts that got converted to Ariel on my machine. It looked horrible.

We needed to solve the problem because I had to send his script to an agent. Embedding the font solved the problem.:)

And yes, .pdf is the norm. I rarely get a request for a hard copy these days. Financiers, producers, sales agents, casting directors, directors etc - mostly they all request .pdf.

There are still a few stuffy UK agencies that insist on hard copies but I even managed to convince some of them to accept a .pdf.:)

[ComicBent]

And if they like what they see in the PDF, they can always print it out fast on one of their printers, which of course are better than the clunker that you are probably still using (if you are like me). :)

[jtwg50]

Thanks to Brough, I downloaded the free PDF program from www.pdf995.com (http://www.pdf995.com) and paid the $19.95 to get an ad-free version. It allows for embedding of the font and combination of two PDFs, allowing me to put the title page in the same document as the text of the script.
I'm now sending out beautiful, perfect PDFs.
Problem solved. Brough does it again.
And DD comes through again. Best money I ever spent.