Sending FD doc without contract

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  • #16
    Re: Sending FD doc without contract

    Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
    On the other hand, why is anyone proceeding with work on your script without buying it? That makes no sense.
    I can only speak for myself obviously, but I believe my current situation is 100% a byproduct of the Covid situation.

    My producer doesn't have anything in production right now (like everyone else) and has nothing else to do but read and develop.

    I believe they have every intention of optioning it within the next 60 days (for the absolute smallest amount of money they can get away with), but knowing that I am un-repped, are waiting for me to make the first move (ie. telling them that I won't do anymore free re-writes). Some people might feel this is exploitational of them, some might call it paying your dues... We all have to choose our own path.

    I do feel that they're a little foolish for putting time into this without preventing me from showing it to anyone else, but maybe they feel safe because no one is making movies now anyway... Or maybe they just trust me.

    I also want to stress that I would not be doing this for any random person calling themselves a 'producer'. This is a person who can get a $25M movie made, and who I feel is a great contact for me to have now that I have proven I can execute their notes well.

    However this plays out, I'm sure I will have a lot more to say in future discussions about the pros or cons of doing free development work.

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    • #17
      Re: Sending FD doc without contract

      This is a great example of reality vs rules.

      You hear all the time from pro writers -- don't do free work.

      But most pro writers have done free work.

      And they can only now say "NO" to free work because they did free work to make them pros.

      I think it stinks. I wish it wasn't the case.

      But when I hear writers with 20 year careers giving advice like "don't do free work" or newbies giving same advice -- I think sure if life was fair -- but it never is.

      And even when it's "paid" work like $1 dollar option or $1000 is that any better? I mean it's like assistant getting 15 bucks an hour and doing work that is making millions... they are getting paid but it's not close to fair.

      So this is all to say -- try your best to stand up for yourself -- but it happens all the time and honestly I'm not sure how most of us can break in w/o this happening at some point. The goal is to get to the stage where you have reps making sure you get paid. But even then... they want free stuff.

      I mean a lot of us develop stuff with our reps -- they aren't getting paid either -- but we are still working for free and following their direction. At least when we write our own specs at home we get to do it our way.

      Most of things most screenwriters write will be for FREE. Isn't that fun? Like 90% of the stuff written. The goal is to break into the 10% paid world.

      Anyway -- did I cheer everyone up?

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      • #18
        Re: Sending FD doc without contract

        I can think of a couple reasons why the producer might want the fdx.
        • To easily import it into scheduling and budgeting software. This would be a good sign that they're seriously considering it for production, however any decent UPM or line producer can give a pretty accurate estimation of schedule and budget without software.
        • They might want to get an accurate version of the script if the writer has been playing fast and loose with margins and spacing. One of the first things someone does when doing a schedule and budget is to undo all the spacing cheats writers have done in the script so that the software will give them an "accurate" estimation of the schedule.

        Originally posted by TigerFang View Post
        Register your script with the U.S. Copyright Office.
        This is the best advice in this thread. I never recommend WGA registration; it's a relic of the pre-digital past. It offers only minimal legal protection and was only designed for writers to be able to prove when they finished a draft because finishing and delivering triggers a contract provision when writing for hire. Companies must pay within a week of receiving a script written under contract. I know this is often aspirational, but that's where the Guild comes in because they're happy to be the bad guy and badger the company for payment, even though that should be our rep's job.

        HTH,

        .
        Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

        -Steve Trautmann
        3rd & Fairfax: The WGAW Podcast

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Sending FD doc without contract

          Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
          I am a little confused here.

          1. On the one hand, you cannot expect anybody to buy your script without reading it first. So is it the PDF/Final Draft issue that you are worried about? (See my comment on PDF/FDX below.)

          2. On the other hand, why is anyone proceeding with work on your script without buying it? That makes no sense.

          PDF / FDX etc.
          I am always greatly amused and, frankly, just a tiny bit (really, only a tiny bit) annoyed when I offer to read a screenplay for someone and I tell the person that I can handle Final Draft and Fade In (and various other formats), and would like to write some notes within a screenwriting program, but then the person sends me a PDF.
          The implication is always that someone (that's me, in this case) is going to steal the script (nearly always a piece of crap) if it is .fdx or .fadein or .docx, or whatever. Somehow a PDF is supposed to be protection against theft. At least I pick up that vibe all the time.

          But I can take any PDF, even an image PDF (no text), and still convert it to text and then to a standard screenplay format like .fdx and .fadein. It may be quick and easy (about a minute), or it may take a couple of hours if the PDF is junk from the Microsoft PDF driver (really, it is horrible), or if I have to do an optical scan of an image. But if you think that you are protecting your work by refusing to provide the native file, you are just wrong.
          So it seems to me that the issue here is that they are starting work on your script without buying it.
          Can you import a PDF that contains a watermark into another writing software?

          Can you make changes in an FD draft if you lock the pages?
          "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Sending FD doc without contract

            Originally posted by finalact4 View Post
            Can you import a PDF that contains a watermark into another writing software?
            Yes. I just created a script file with a watermark. Exported it as text. It added one extra step to the process. I had to find/replace "the watermark" text with nothing to clear it out. Saved the text file. Imported into a different script program.

            Other than a few small formatting tweaks here & there, it worked like a charm. No issues at all.

            It does appear that Adobe has some function built-in to protect a document but from what I can tell it looks like it's a premium feature. Not positive.

            Locked pages or not should not affect whether a document can be saved/exported as a text file.
            Last edited by Done Deal Pro; 07-31-2020, 04:05 PM. Reason: Clarification
            Will
            Done Deal Pro
            www.donedealpro.com

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Sending FD doc without contract

              Originally posted by finalact4 View Post
              ... Can you make changes in an FD draft if you lock the pages?
              Yes.

              Locking pages is a function designed for production so that once production meetings start page numbers don't change, which is important for scheduling, props, hair/makeup, and costumes who reference scene numbers and page numbers for elements of their jobs.

              HTH,
              Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

              -Steve Trautmann
              3rd & Fairfax: The WGAW Podcast

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Sending FD doc without contract

                Thank you KitchonaSteve and Comicbent. Appreciate the clarification.
                "Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy b/c you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say." -- Edward Snowden

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Sending FD doc without contract

                  Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
                  PDF / FDX etc.[/U]
                  I am always greatly amused and, frankly, just a tiny bit (really, only a tiny bit) annoyed when I offer to read a screenplay for someone and I tell the person that I can handle Final Draft and Fade In (and various other formats), and would like to write some notes within a screenwriting program, but then the person sends me a PDF.
                  The implication is always that someone (that's me, in this case) is going to steal the script (nearly always a piece of crap) if it is .fdx or .fadein or .docx, or whatever. Somehow a PDF is supposed to be protection against theft. At least I pick up that vibe all the time.

                  But I can take any PDF, even an image PDF (no text), and still convert it to text and then to a standard screenplay format like .fdx and .fadein. It may be quick and easy (about a minute), or it may take a couple of hours if the PDF is junk from the Microsoft PDF driver (really, it is horrible), or if I have to do an optical scan of an image. But if you think that you are protecting your work by refusing to provide the native file, you are just wrong.
                  The following is why I always include a PDF file of my scripts. ComicBent, this trend may be why you receive PDFs:

                  “Please always send your documents to us as PDF files. Not Doc files or FDX files. (Unless specified for a particular purpose.) PDFs are easiest for us to annotate and read.” — John Zaozirny, Literary Manager and Head of Bellevue Productions, Producer of ELI, and upcoming Paramount film INFINITE.
                  Last edited by Clint Hill; 08-01-2020, 03:03 PM.
                  “Nothing is what rocks dream about” ― Aristotle

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Sending FD doc without contract

                    Originally posted by ComicBent View Post
                    I am always greatly amused and, frankly, just a tiny bit (really, only a tiny bit) annoyed when I offer to read a screenplay for someone and I tell the person that I can handle Final Draft and Fade In (and various other formats), and would like to write some notes within a screenwriting program, but then the person sends me a PDF.
                    PDF is industry standard until the script needs to be broken down for production purposes, so at the point of getting a serious budget done. PDF is easy for reading. People read everywhere and not everyone wants to have to get multiple screenwriting programs on their ipad or whatever other devices just so they are covered for all possibilities; PDF is universal.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Sending FD doc without contract

                      Originally posted by Northbank View Post
                      ... PDF is universal.
                      Quite true. PDF stands for Portable Document Format. I also remember the early days when it wasn't, and the PDF reader didn't always work well on some computers.

                      HTH,
                      Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.

                      -Steve Trautmann
                      3rd & Fairfax: The WGAW Podcast

                      Comment

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