Nicholl 2009

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  • #61
    Re: Nicholl 2009

    Thank you for your answers. I'd been through the FAQs and knew of the answer for Seniors, but didn't know if there was, perhaps, a difference when one is in an earlier year. It was just something I was unclear on.

    INT. PINEAPPLE - DAY


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    • #62
      Re: Nicholl 2009

      got a question: got a script that has two very different versions. one with a manager's notes and one without. can they both be submitted (of course as separate entries)?

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      • #63
        Re: Nicholl 2009

        Originally posted by lordmanji View Post
        got a question: got a script that has two very different versions. one with a manager's notes and one without. can they both be submitted (of course as separate entries)?
        Per the rules:

        Only one copy, draft or version of any screenplay may be submitted by an entrant or entrants. Under no circumstances will substitutions of either corrected pages or new drafts of the entry screenplays be allowed. An entrant may submit a MAXIMUM of three screenplays in the current competition.

        So, no, you can't submit two versions of the same script.

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        • #64
          Re: Nicholl 2009

          So, no, you can't submit two versions of the same script.
          what about three versions of the same script? is that allowed?

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          • #65
            Re: Nicholl 2009

            just kidding. but the bad "blond" joke was nagging at me so i had to do it.

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            • #66
              Re: Nicholl 2009

              Originally posted by NikeeGoddess View Post
              what about three versions of the same script? is that allowed?
              I was thinkin'... What if you made 2 (more) copies of a script, changed the titles, character names and locations but left the story exactly the same...

              Sorry. I'll stop thinkin' now.

              Just my luck I'd get the same reader for all 3.
              sigpic

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              • #67
                Re: Nicholl 2009

                Originally posted by Mark Twain Weck View Post
                I was thinkin'... What if you made 2 (more) copies of a script, changed the titles, character names and locations but left the story exactly the same...

                Sorry. I'll stop thinkin' now.

                Just my luck I'd get the same reader for all 3.
                I realize that both of you are joking but let me use the jokes as a jumping off point.

                First, if an entrant submitted various versions of a script, the entrant would be breaking the rules, which means that, if we discovered the multiple versions, all entries would be disqualified.

                While it's possible that we would discover the multiple entries after the first read, as the reads continued, it would become even more likely that we would discover the versions. In other words, the better the scripts the more likely it would be that we would uncover the versions.

                Why would any entrant want to risk the disqualification of a good script?

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                • #68
                  Re: Nicholl 2009

                  Why would any entrant want to risk the disqualification of a good script?
                  aside from the fact that it is a rule breaker... i can answer that for you. it's because so many writers are completely clueless as to what any particular producer wants. they assume that if they write it one way it may get a pass but if they write it another way then it could get passed on up the line to tptb.

                  what they don't realize is that this competition (and i'm sure many others will say the same thing) is looking for superior writing as opposed to what is commercially viable or what will greenlight a sale/production deal.

                  if people would look at the genre breakdown and the loglines of the winners then they would see that dramas win far and above any other genre which is quite the opposite of what a new writer is told can sell. and one can notice that "tentpole" is not a genre.

                  also why i'm at it... there are a few contests that are sponsored by a production company looking for material. there is a different motivation generating their contest. but many new to the contest game may not have picked that up yet.

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                  • #69
                    Re: Nicholl 2009

                    I entered this this contest either last year or a couple of years ago. I was able to enter the contest oninle via Final Draft format. Now it only states PDF. Can you still enter a final draft file?

                    I have an older version of Final Draft and when I try to convert it to PDF it messes the entire script up and there is no way to edit it once it is in pdf format. I do not know if it is the older version of Final Draft clashing with Windows Vista or something else...

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                    • #70
                      Re: Nicholl 2009

                      Originally posted by NikeeGoddess View Post
                      aside from the fact that it is a rule breaker... i can answer that for you. it's because so many writers are completely clueless as to what any particular producer wants. they assume that if they write it one way it may get a pass but if they write it another way then it could get passed on up the line to tptb.

                      what they don't realize is that this competition (and i'm sure many others will say the same thing) is looking for superior writing as opposed to what is commercially viable or what will greenlight a sale/production deal.

                      if people would look at the genre breakdown and the loglines of the winners then they would see that dramas win far and above any other genre which is quite the opposite of what a new writer is told can sell. and one can notice that "tentpole" is not a genre.

                      also why i'm at it... there are a few contests that are sponsored by a production company looking for material. there is a different motivation generating their contest. but many new to the contest game may not have picked that up yet.
                      gotta disagree with you. just cuz a script is developed and changed with a producer does not make it bad or inferior to the original version. could be better or equally as good in a different way. and producers especially have a keen eye for material so chances are if they like it someone else (not you) will like it, too.

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                      • #71
                        Re: Nicholl 2009

                        just cuz a script is developed and changed with a producer does not make it bad or inferior to the original version. could be better or equally as good in a different way.
                        where did i say anything about one script being inferior to another?

                        and producers especially have a keen eye for material so chances are if they like it someone else (not you) will like it, too
                        i talking strictly about competitions and their motivations not what producers want. i was answering a specific question, not a general one.

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                        • #72
                          Re: Nicholl 2009

                          Originally posted by NikeeGoddess View Post
                          i talking strictly about competitions and their motivations not what producers want. i was answering a specific question, not a general one.
                          I think there's a simpler answer.

                          Duplicate entries = multiple reads = theoretically improved chances that the script will be read by someone who likes it

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                          • #73
                            Re: Nicholl 2009

                            Originally posted by NikeeGoddess View Post
                            where did i say anything about one script being inferior to another?

                            i talking strictly about competitions and their motivations not what producers want. i was answering a specific question, not a general one.
                            as you said, you were talking about their motivations. and when "writers are clueless as to what producers want," then you can safely assume that that script will be awful as a result and thus inferior to the original, unconsulted version.

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                            • #74
                              Re: Nicholl 2009

                              Originally posted by NikeeGoddess View Post
                              if people would look at the genre breakdown and the loglines of the winners then they would see that dramas win far and above any other genre which is quite the opposite of what a new writer is told can sell. and one can notice that "tentpole" is not a genre.
                              I think the mix of genres among Nicholl winners is actually quite similar to the number of scripts entered in each genre. Here's the breakdown over the past six years:

                              adventure - 2
                              animated - 1
                              comedy - 3
                              comedy drama - 1
                              dark comedy - 1
                              romantic comedy - 1
                              drama - 5
                              coming of age/ family drama - 3
                              horror - 2
                              science fiction - 2
                              thriller/crime/mystery - 5
                              war/terrorist - 4

                              Here's the breakdown since we opened the competition beyond students:

                              A: Genres of Nicholl Fellows’ Entry Scripts (1989–2008)
                              action-adventure – 7
                              animated comedy – 1
                              comedy – 7
                              romantic comedy – 4
                              comedy-drama – 9
                              coming-of-age drama – 8
                              drama – 25
                              romantic drama-fantasy – 2
                              horror – 3
                              science fiction – 2
                              thriller / crime / caper – 17
                              war / terrorism – 10
                              Western – 3

                              It's simply not true that dramas comprise the majority of Nicholl winning scripts. It's even less true over recent years.

                              Since the Nicholl Fellowship program's goal is to identify and encourage talented writers, it is true that judges are not necessarily considering the exact same factors as a producer when looking at submissions solely for production. The Nicholl process seems similar to what producers and executives do when looking at writing samples when considering writers for an assignment.

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                              • #75
                                Re: Nicholl 2009

                                Originally posted by Se7en082 View Post
                                I entered this this contest either last year or a couple of years ago. I was able to enter the contest oninle via Final Draft format. Now it only states PDF. Can you still enter a final draft file?

                                I have an older version of Final Draft and when I try to convert it to PDF it messes the entire script up and there is no way to edit it once it is in pdf format. I do not know if it is the older version of Final Draft clashing with Windows Vista or something else...
                                Since Nicholl competition accepted electronic submissions for the first time last year and then only on a limited basis (almost exclusively to foreign entrants) and only with PDF submissions, you must be thinking of a different competition that allowed Final Draft submissons. It was not the Nicholl competition.

                                Perhaps you could post your conversion problem/question in the Services, Software & Supplies sub-Forum. One of the moderators seems to know quite a bit about PDF conversions.

                                Sorry you are having trouble with converting from your older version of FD. Have you asked them for advice?

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