See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

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  • See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

    I would like to know the name of the pro who did my evaluation. Is it possible?

  • #2
    Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

    Originally posted by sidgrey View Post
    I would like to know the name of the pro who did my evaluation. Is it possible?
    That is something the Blacklist keeps secret because The Blacklist believes that most if not all writers are maniacs who will try and stalk the people who review their scripts. Although the Blacklist sets its policies as though ALL writers are crazed stalking maniacs, they have no problem taking money from those same crazed stalkers. Kind of hard to spend money with a company that has an inherent disdain and disrespect for those it claims to be "serving".
    Last edited by mgwriter; 08-22-2016, 11:14 AM.

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    • #3
      Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

      @mg, why so bitter man? You seem upset at blacklist on a couple of the recent threads? Not judging man but honestly just curious.

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      • #4
        Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

        In my opinion, it is understandable that the Black List would not reveal the identity of a reader who reads and scores a script.

        If people knew the names of the readers, then it would become a contentious issue of "Well, what does that reader know? What are his qualifications? How many screenplays has he sold? How long has he worked in the industry? I saw the scores that he gave to other people, and he always gives scores of 4, 5, 6, or even lower. How is that fair?" And on and on.

        I am not a professional screenwriter, nor am I trying to be one. However, I have an interest in theater, film, and literature, and I have been writing in various genres for decades. I have read lots of scripts and have helped people tune up their writing in novels and screenplays for years (sometimes for pay but usually for free).

        In about fifteen years of activity, as described above, I have never seen a script by a wannabe that was ready for production or that would have deserved a 9 or 10, and I probably have seen nothing that deserved an 8.

        I have seen some scripts that were interesting and had a lot of potential, but they needed rewriting. Scripts always contained some defects that either messed up a really good idea or left it undeveloped.

        The second act was weak; the scene-to-scene transitions were awkward; the actions were illogical (like being able to see things at night that would not be visible); the scene sequences were so loose, and contained so many instances of '(CONTINUOUS)' in the Scene Headings, that you could not know whether it was still NIGHT or DAY, because so much had happened in so many different places in the various scenes.

        And the problems go on and on, with incomprehensible sentences, inappropriate word choices, bad grammar, bad spelling, exposition telling what a character is thinking or did years ago in high school, inconsistencies in the plot, confusion of characters, and a complete disregard for anything approaching normal punctuation.

        And, of course, the underlying idea for the story has to include enough conflict for the story to be interesting. We have to care about what happens. The usual situation, in stories that fail, is that we encounter just enough conflict to make us curious and to make us want more of the story - but the more never comes. We are left with unfulfilled promise.

        Scripts that have some significant combination of defects like these are going to get an average score or lower from readers who take their jobs seriously. And people are going to get mad and become bitter.

        And so it goes.

        "The fact that you have seen professionals write poorly is no reason for you to imitate them." - ComicBent.

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        • #5
          Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

          Originally posted by sidgrey View Post
          I would like to know the name of the pro who did my evaluation. Is it possible?
          No. The Blacklist's business model is built around the writer trusting the site to vet its reviewers. It's also done for the protection of the reviewers. Just read on this site on older posts some of the reactions from unhappy and/or angry writers and the reason for this policy by the Blacklist becomes apparent. It's the way they do things. Knowing this ahead of time, writers are free to use the site or not.

          Anytime a human is evaluating writing of any kind, it's a crapshoot. A lot of successful scripts are rejected over and over before they've found the one person who believes in them. And... there are a whole lot more crap scripts from writers who believe they're great than not. Achieving an 8 or better on the Blacklist isn't a guarantee of anything anyway. It's still a long shot anything will come of it, but with the hundreds of thousands of scripts floating around out there sometimes a long shot is better than no shot. Querying is cheaper. Contests can be cheaper. Networking correctly isn't cheap. You need to look at all of it and decide where you want to invest. But you can't succeed as a new writer without investing time and money promoting yourself and your work. It's a big part of being a screenwriter.

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          • #6
            Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

            I'm not sure of too many instances where anyone lets you know who evaluated your script. Big contests like Nicholl or Austin certainly don't. ProdCos and agencies don't. Like anything else, it's a crapshoot if your reader connects with your script or not.

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            • #7
              Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

              Originally posted by sidgrey View Post
              I would like to know the name of the pro who did my evaluation. Is it possible?
              Totally possible. Write a script so good the reader seeks you out to pay you to write.

              Otherwise there is no reason.

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              • #8
                Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

                If the readers' identities were revealed then the BL would never be able to get worthy readers to read for them. The readers would be researched and harassed by countless frustrated writers who feel their scripts were unjustifiably awarded low scores. What's a reader's motivation in that case considering they aren't paid all that much?

                With anonymous readings, the reader is free to express his/her true feelings about a script without fear of a backlash or personal attack. It's the only way the BL can attract any sane readers.

                That said, and though I agree with this setup, it would be nice to know the grading history of readers and their preferred genres of expertise or preference. It would be much easier to swallow a poor review if the reader has an interest in my genre and has praised other stories in said genre in the past. Being completely blind, it does make me wonder if my horror script was reviewed by a lover of rom-coms when I receive a score of 4 after receiving several 7s or 8s.

                A simple chart of the reader's scoring history and his/her preferences (or even a list of his/her top twenty favorite movies) would make me take the reader's comments more seriously given the situation.

                But the reader's name or that of his/her company should never be revealed for their own good, given the nature of the Internet.
                Last edited by guiltypleasures; 12-07-2016, 10:11 PM. Reason: ETA and yes, I am one of those writers who received a puzzling low score after receiving high scores.

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                • #9
                  Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

                  Originally posted by guiltypleasures View Post
                  That said, and though I agree with this setup, it would be nice to know the grading history of readers and their preferred genres of expertise or preference. It would be much easier to swallow a poor review if the reader has an interest in my genre and has praised other stories in said genre in the past. Being completely blind, it does make me wonder if my horror script was reviewed by a lover of rom-coms when I receive a score of 4 after receiving several 7s or 8s.
                  You can be assured that lovers of rom-coms aren't reading your horror script (and vice versa) unless they happen to be both lovers of rom-coms and horror scripts (they do exist.)

                  All evaluations are assigned to readers with a particular interest in the genres in which they read.

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                  • #10
                    Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

                    Originally posted by FranklinLeonard View Post
                    You can be assured that lovers of rom-coms aren't reading your horror script (and vice versa) unless they happen to be both lovers of rom-coms and horror scripts (they do exist.)

                    All evaluations are assigned to readers with a particular interest in the genres in which they read.

                    I had never heard that. Is that the way you've always done it?

                    Regardless, I'm glad to hear it. Certainly makes the most sense.

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                    • #11
                      Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

                      Originally posted by SBdeb View Post
                      I had never heard that. Is that the way you've always done it?

                      Regardless, I'm glad to hear it. Certainly makes the most sense.
                      How we've always done it.

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                      • #12
                        Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

                        Originally posted by FranklinLeonard View Post
                        How we've always done it.
                        Hey Franklin, good to have you back.

                        Now that you are back, can you respond to the new questions in the "Ask Franklin Anything" thread you started? It's been 3 months since your last reply!:

                        http://messageboard.donedealpro.com/...ad.php?t=81489

                        Hoping my questions didn't scare you off.
                        "I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork.-- Peter De Vries

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                        • #13
                          Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

                          Originally posted by FranklinLeonard View Post
                          You can be assured that lovers of rom-coms aren't reading your horror script (and vice versa) unless they happen to be both lovers of rom-coms and horror scripts (they do exist.)

                          All evaluations are assigned to readers with a particular interest in the genres in which they read.
                          Hey, Franklin, thanks for the response. I'm pretty sure I read something on your site that made mention of this, but I'm sure you can understand that after reading conflicting reviews, it makes a writer wonder, or at the very least, confused.

                          That said, when selecting an appropriate reader, how much emphasis is put on the "SELECT GENRE" and "SELECT TAGS" section of a script page--we're encouraged to tick off as many boxes as applicable? For example, my script may contain some political inclinations but is not a true political story, per se. Or it may contain "ASSASSINS" or "FATHERS" (two of the many TAG selections available) to some extent but the overall story is not primarily focused on them. I'm nervous to tick those boxes for fear that someone might assume that my script is an overall political story and focuses on assassins and fathers, when in reality all those aspects may be minor points, and therefore could disappoint a paid reader who is a lover of true political stories involving assassins or dads.

                          My point is, are these GENRE and TAG options taken into account when BL selects a paid reader for the script? If so, are we better off narrowing our selections when we tick off these boxes? Or are these selections just for the benefit of pro readers?

                          Thanks.

                          --a neurotic writer

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                          • #14
                            Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

                            Originally posted by EdFury View Post
                            No. The Blacklist's business model is built around the writer trusting the site to vet its reviewers. It's also done for the protection of the reviewers. Just read on this site on older posts some of the reactions from unhappy and/or angry writers and the reason for this policy by the Blacklist becomes apparent. It's the way they do things. Knowing this ahead of time, writers are free to use the site or not.

                            Anytime a human is evaluating writing of any kind, it's a crapshoot. A lot of successful scripts are rejected over and over before they've found the one person who believes in them. And... there are a whole lot more crap scripts from writers who believe they're great than not. Achieving an 8 or better on the Blacklist isn't a guarantee of anything anyway. It's still a long shot anything will come of it, but with the hundreds of thousands of scripts floating around out there sometimes a long shot is better than no shot. Querying is cheaper. Contests can be cheaper. Networking correctly isn't cheap. You need to look at all of it and decide where you want to invest. But you can't succeed as a new writer without investing time and money promoting yourself and your work. It's a big part of being a screenwriter.
                            True. But not all of a writer's time and money can be spent one site. It's best the writer try multiple approaches. Check out BlackLists. Enter some contests. Go to industry events.
                            Check out my videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/NyFilmmaker32/videos

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                            • #15
                              Re: See WHO evaluated you on Blacklist?

                              Originally posted by EdFury View Post
                              Anytime a human is evaluating writing of any kind, it's a crapshoot..
                              YES, EdFury, exactly.

                              People constantly question the BL reviewers and business model because the site offers that their reads are, in fact, NOT crapshoots. That is why all the constant questions, gripes, dissatisfaction, and hopes turned into confusion surround the BL reads, scores, and evaluations.

                              Greg Beal says all the time that a script can get to the semis of the Nicholl and then not even place at all the next year. It's the way it goes. No one thinks less of him or his competition, because they know it is a fact of the industry.

                              Yet that is something that the BL will not admit. When the BL's mantra is they are not a crapshoot -- well, people expect it not to be. Thus, outrage.

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