Bluecat feedback?

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #46
    Re: Bluecat feedback?

    Thanks, HL. I only posted that to show that not all of BlueCat's readers were functionally illiterate. It only earned me a semifinal placement (the script quarterfinaled at Nicholl, and semifinaled in two other contests).

    But it had gone wide through a rep a few years earlier and earned me a number of readings. I use it as a sample now, and of course would love to see it made some day.

    Comment


    • #47
      Re: Bluecat feedback?

      Originally posted by wenonah View Post
      I just emailed Final Draft. They do not do it automatically and there's no function to make it automatic.

      spacebar
      spacebar

      old school ... or not.
      Actually, there's a cheat, if you're adventurous.

      If you do a search and replace, you can replace all periods with one white-space to two white-spaces.

      - Bring up Find and Replace

      - In the Find text field enter:

      A period with one space after it using the spacebar

      - In the Replace text field enter:

      A period followed by two spaces after it.

      - Click Replace All (then control z if you don't like it, or apple z if it's a mac)

      And you will have double spaces after your period.
      The best way out is always through. - Robert Frost

      Comment


      • #48
        Re: Bluecat feedback?

        Originally posted by zenplato View Post
        Actually, there's a cheat, if you're adventurous.

        If you do a search and replace, you can replace all periods with one whitespace to two white-spaces.

        - Bring up Find and Replace

        - In the Find text field enter:

        A period with one space using the spacebar

        - In the Replace text field enter:

        A period followed by two spaces after it.

        And you will have double spaces after your period.

        I tried this (is this from the John August site?) it didn't work at all in the find/replace in FD. It didn't recognize the "space" as anything. It said "no instances of .<space> were found"

        As for my script even placing in this comp. I really raced for this early deadline and my script could use another draft (It's already gone through a rewrite since I submitted) so I'm debating whether or not I'm going to resubmit or just let it ride. I've learned not to get too excited about anything anymore. The shine on my brass brads are dulled to a realistic polish.

        I wish you all the best of luck!

        w

        Comment


        • #49
          Re: Bluecat feedback?

          Originally posted by wenonah View Post
          I tried this (is this from the John August site?) it didn't work at all in the find/replace in FD. It didn't recognize the "space" as anything. It said "no instances of .<space> were found"
          Sorry to hear that, but it does work.

          at least on final draft 7 or higher.


          Good luck on the contest.
          The best way out is always through. - Robert Frost

          Comment


          • #50
            Re: Bluecat feedback?

            Jake! How casually you mention placing in the Bluecat semi-finals, and quartering in Nicholl!!! That's terrific, and something to be proud of!

            Way to go!

            HL <--------sighing (along with all the other newbies) in awe
            HL

            Comment


            • #51
              Re: Bluecat feedback?

              Kind of you to say, HL, but placing, as nice as it seems, isn't winning, alas...

              Comment


              • #52
                Re: Bluecat feedback?

                Originally posted by Jake Schuster View Post
                I had rather a good experience with them. I'd sent them a script that placed at Nicholl and did very well at Page and AAA. Here's what Bluecat wrote:

                I think your script idea was very creative and original. The war drama/conspiracy theory idea has been visited a few times before, but I think your script was so distinctive and unique that it has some serious potential to become a great movie.

                Also, the “End of the World” twist was different and added a new dimension to your script.

                I really liked the intensity your script had. Your script had my attention from the first page. The sheer power in it reached out to me, which is a great indication that it will become great if it grabs the rest of your readers, such as actors or directors, as it did me.

                The pace of your script was kept steady throughout the entirety of it, and it had enough drama and intrigue that it kept your audience entertained throughout the script.

                Your characters were developed very well. They were three-dimensional and came alive to your audience. Such aliveness is necessary if you want your screenplay to be attractive to audiences.

                The Mercenary, Johannsen, and Carlyle were all believable villains. They were driven, whether by greed, fear, or both, and allowed the audience to connect with them. I really liked the way you revealed Carlyle to be the traitor in the final scenes. It was brought about leisurely enough so that the audience could believe it, and yet was such a surprise that the audience got excited when they learned exactly what he was. Kudos to you on that detail.

                I also liked Eddie and Fatima. So different, yet so alike, each searching, in their own way, for justice. They were as likable and appealing to the audience as the villains were evil. While they’re both heroes/heroines of the screenplay, they’re so individual, Eddie with his daydreams/talks with himself and Fatima with her dancing, among other things, that the audience connects with them as separate characters instead of a linked team.

                Lisa’s and Gracie’s characters are very good, also. Their disillusionment with and, in spite of everything, love for Eddie is believable to your audience and gives a wonderful “second chance” feeling of hope to your script.

                Your dialogue, for the most part, was very good. It was vivid and individualistic to each respective character; none of them sounded the same. Good job.

                Your descriptions were good. They were well-placed and vivid; they allowed the readers to visualize everything as if it was happening up on screen, instead of paper, which is necessary if you want to show them the maximum potential of your screenplay.

                You did a great job in keeping your script looking tidy, correct, and professional, with no typos, grammatical errors, etc. Many screenwriters don’t understand how important professionalism is in regards to the appearance of their scripts. I’m glad you’ve learned that important piece of information.

                You lucked out Jake. Two years ago, my bluecat notes were in total as long as the first paragraph in yours.

                I entered two scripts just days before the extended deadline based on your writing partner's (La Femme) post about the quality of the contest and also that Ham won two years before.

                For one script the reader indicated it was the best spec he/she read in awhile, script had no big problems -- as a result no notes. This script never even made the first cut.

                The other (which was the better script, got a consider from Nww Line), the notes centered only around instructing me to NEVER capitalize the names of minor characters when intoducing them, even when they have speaking parts. Made up example, not from script:

                The BUS DRIVER (50s) storms down the aisle.

                BUS DRIVER
                Get off my damn bus!

                Also - I was told to never capitalize sounds, i.e.: BANG-BANG. That was it -- comments on capitalization.

                I sent a complaint email -- it was never answered. I should have asked for my money back.

                Perhaps my late entry may have been part of the reason for super-thin notes but I paid full price - I didn't get a discount.
                Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

                Comment


                • #53
                  Re: Bluecat feedback?

                  Originally posted by Jake Schuster View Post
                  Thanks, HL. I only posted that to show that not all of BlueCat's readers were functionally illiterate. It only earned me a semifinal placement (the script quarterfinaled at Nicholl, and semifinaled in two other contests).

                  But it had gone wide through a rep a few years earlier and earned me a number of readings. I use it as a sample now, and of course would love to see it made some day.

                  Hi Jake, congrats on your analysis. I'm wondering what you meant by "using it as a sample" - the screenplay or the review?

                  Can you put rave reviews in query letters, stuff like that?

                  If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you. - J.C.

                  Comment


                  • #54
                    Re: Bluecat feedback?

                    Okay, I ended up getting a good reader.

                    I had already been trimming certain scenes and added a key element to the story when I got my feedback, which suggested the same thing. (the reader, however, wants more than I can trim - suggesting that I go from 119 pgs to 100!)

                    The reader also took the time to point out and analyze things that s/he liked about script. Overall, I felt that time was taken and my script was read carefully.
                    If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you. - J.C.

                    Comment


                    • #55
                      Re: Bluecat feedback?

                      Originally posted by WildChild View Post
                      Hi Jake, congrats on your analysis. I'm wondering what you meant by "using it as a sample" - the screenplay or the review?

                      Can you put rave reviews in query letters, stuff like that?
                      Using it as a sample means that if someone wants to see an example of your work, it's always good to send them something that received some praise elsewhere and that's truly representative of my style and my voice. For me, this is my most original and, I think, best-written screenplay. I've done things with a writing partner and another writing team that I think are equally as good, but represent the effort of more than just myself.

                      As for using any quotes from it in a query letter, I'd steer away from that. It's just coverage, really, by an anonymous source, and an exec would ignore it.

                      SC: I paid full price as well. A few years earlier I'd submitted the same script to AAA, Page and Nicholl, and placed very well in the first two (semifinalling in both), and moderately so in Nicholl (quarterfinalist), and thought I'd give BlueCat a shot. La Femme, as you know, had worked for Gordy, and I was curious to see if I could get some decent coverage and perhaps, if I lucked out, a chance to have Gordy's brother look at the script as a possible vehicle for himself, as even a cursory reading would show him to be perfect for the role. I got the first, but not the second.

                      Gordy did send an email many months later asking for feedback on the contest, and of course I had every reason to be pleased with my coverage.

                      But my attorney took it upon himself to send the same script to Phoenix Pictures a few years before that--a first-rate company, as you know--and though the script had been sent up to development for a second and third look (and eventually a pass), the coverage was ill-written and ignorant of some of what I'd written. So you never know.

                      This is the script that got me all kinds of meetings when it went out wide in 2003, but because it dealt peripherally with the Iraq War (more precisely with the looting of the museum there), execs were nervous about it.

                      Comment


                      • #56
                        Re: Bluecat feedback?

                        Jake --

                        My point is, you received 500 words of comprehensive notes.

                        I received 50 words -- no mention of plot, character - nothing. And on one of the scripts the misspelled diatribe was offering incorrect advice.

                        The inconsistency in the notes they promise is bogus.

                        Others have experienced similar inconsistencies.

                        There's no excuse. It's bad business.

                        Hiring readers off Craigslist is also suspect.

                        And there's no way I would recommend Bluecat.
                        Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

                        Comment


                        • #57
                          Re: Bluecat feedback?

                          Sounds like this bluecat feedback is very hit and miss. Luckily, it seems like I got a 'hit'. My feedback was very clear and specific (732 words long too). The reader referenced many specific pages, characters and scenes, so they obviously read the whole thing. Maybe it helped that they seemed to like the script. Overall, the feedback was pretty complimentary.

                          Honestly, I forgot bluecat even gave feedback, so I wasn't expecting this. Turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

                          Hopefully, I at least make the first round cut, LOL.

                          Comment


                          • #58
                            Re: Bluecat feedback?

                            Of course I agree, SC111. I was only pointing out how inconsistent their promised notes are.

                            Comment


                            • #59
                              Re: Bluecat feedback?

                              I got very good feedback from Bluecat last year. The notes were a full page and they certainly "got" the script. They made some really good comments.

                              My only complaint would be that they pointed out more that was wrong with the script. Their main criticisms were simply technical. But the notes were certainly worth the price of admission. I made QF round.

                              One question regarding these posts. Are you guys getting your notes before the judging? That seems weird.

                              Comment


                              • #60
                                Re: Bluecat feedback?

                                Originally posted by dwest View Post
                                One question regarding these posts. Are you guys getting your notes before the judging? That seems weird.
                                I entered on 3/22 and got my feedback on 4/27.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X