Posting Scripts On A Personal Website

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  • Posting Scripts On A Personal Website

    Sorry if this doesn't belong in this forum - I wasn't sure where it should really go. But my question is this:

    For the past 10+ years I've been working as an independent filmmaker and have a decently large (somewhat critically acclaimed that has left me broke and obscure) body of work. Lately, I've decided to focus on screenwriting.

    I have a bunch of old scripts that'll never be made - they're from shorts that weren't shot for various logistical reasons, web series that were abandoned after a couple of episodes, TV pilots that never amounted to anything and so on.

    Any thoughts on the pros and cons of posting these old scripts on my filmmaking website? They're good scripts. I was just recently rooting through my Dropbox account and reread some of them for the first time in a few years.

    I was also considering posting the scripts to two TV series that I had optioned several years ago that were never made. I'm not trying to sell them anymore and they are WGAE registered, so is there any downside?

    I suppose somebody could steal the ideas, but that's true of my completed shorts too. Besides, there's always the small chance somebody helpful will come across them.

    Thoughts?

  • #2
    Re: Posting Scripts On A Personal Website

    if you think they are genuinely good, why not put them up on the Black List site, where they are far more likely to be seen (assuming they are genuinely good) by people who would be interested in them?

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Posting Scripts On A Personal Website

      Originally posted by KitesAreFun View Post
      Sorry if this doesn't belong in this forum - I wasn't sure where it should really go. But my question is this:

      For the past 10+ years I've been working as an independent filmmaker and have a decently large (somewhat critically acclaimed that has left me broke and obscure) body of work. Lately, I've decided to focus on screenwriting.

      I have a bunch of old scripts that'll never be made - they're from shorts that weren't shot for various logistical reasons, web series that were abandoned after a couple of episodes, TV pilots that never amounted to anything and so on.

      Any thoughts on the pros and cons of posting these old scripts on my filmmaking website? They're good scripts. I was just recently rooting through my Dropbox account and reread some of them for the first time in a few years.

      I was also considering posting the scripts to two TV series that I had optioned several years ago that were never made. I'm not trying to sell them anymore and they are WGAE registered, so is there any downside?

      I suppose somebody could steal the ideas, but that's true of my completed shorts too. Besides, there's always the small chance somebody helpful will come across them.

      Thoughts?
      What is your goal?

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Posting Scripts On A Personal Website

        Originally posted by Geoff Alexander View Post
        What is your goal?
        Well, I think they're good and it'd be nice for people to read them, but realistically I only have so much time to spend trying to sell/get people to look at my work and so need to focus on newer material. I'm not really actively trying to sell any of these older projects (which were written between 2011-2014) and it'd be too expensive to put every single one on the Black List.

        There's no major goal per se other than having a few pre-existing writing samples on my website. As writers, we spend a lot of time working on material that not a lot of people get to see. It just seems like rather than having them collecting dust in my Dropbox account, somebody might want to read them.

        I'm not saying it's a great idea or even a good one. Just wondering what other people think about it.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Posting Scripts On A Personal Website

          The likelihood of anyone "helpful," as you say, coming across any script you post is practically less than zero, so not sure it's worth your time. Industry people suffer from a deluge of material as it is, queries, referrals, pitches, projects in development, client material, books, ideas, and on and on an on. Nobody is trolling the internet looking for still more "stuff."

          I can't see any harm in it. Just no point, either.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Posting Scripts On A Personal Website

            Originally posted by KitesAreFun View Post
            Well, I think they're good and it'd be nice for people to read them, but realistically I only have so much time to spend trying to sell/get people to look at my work and so need to focus on newer material. I'm not really actively trying to sell any of these older projects (which were written between 2011-2014) and it'd be too expensive to put every single one on the Black List.

            There's no major goal per se other than having a few pre-existing writing samples on my website. As writers, we spend a lot of time working on material that not a lot of people get to see. It just seems like rather than having them collecting dust in my Dropbox account, somebody might want to read them.

            I'm not saying it's a great idea or even a good one. Just wondering what other people think about it.

            K, so I saw this on a screenwriters personal page today and thought it was cool.

            The way she did it was, she used her website as a resume basically, listed all her scripts/work she had done, but only had samples of each one of them...

            I thought that was cool, that way when you are pitching a new script, at the bottom of your query E-mail you can always post your website and let any managers/producers check out some of your other work should they be interested in what you already sent them.

            It basically says "look, I'm not a one trick pony".

            I would not post your whole scripts, just a synopsis and a few page sample for each. It won't help you get "discovered" on its own, but it can help a manager/producer sway one way if he sees you have various works under your belt.
            "We're going to be rich!" - 1/2 hr COMEDY written/directed/edited by me, I also act in it.
            SUBTITLED
            Episode 1 (Beef pills)
            Episode 2 (African commercial)
            Episode 3 (Brenda's rescue)

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Posting Scripts On A Personal Website

              Originally posted by Mpimentel View Post
              K, so I saw this on a screenwriters personal page today and thought it was cool.

              The way she did it was, she used her website as a resume basically, listed all her scripts/work she had done, but only had samples of each one of them...

              I thought that was cool, that way when you are pitching a new script, at the bottom of your query E-mail you can always post your website and let any managers/producers check out some of your other work should they be interested in what you already sent them.

              It basically says "look, I'm not a one trick pony".

              I would not post your whole scripts, just a synopsis and a few page sample for each. It won't help you get "discovered" on its own, but it can help a manager/producer sway one way if he sees you have various works under your belt.
              Yeah, this is a really good idea. I ended up doing something similar to this, which you can see here (http://www.markfeinsod.com/scripts.html). The old stuff is posted in its entirety, but I just put up the first 10 pages of the only recent script that's there. It's for a TV pilot that I wrote in 2009, had optioned in 2010 and recently did a major revision on.

              Open to any thoughts or ideas on the site.

              Comment

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