Trackinb Contest

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  • #16
    Re: Trackinb Contest

    Originally posted by Scriptonian View Post
    The TrackingB site makes it easy to pay (take) your entry fee, but I find nothing speaking to type of script eligibility for their contest (shorts? teleplays?), or any FAQs to be found anywhere on the site. Very late deadline is October 30th for only $110 entry fee, and $25 more to be considered for some other great opportunity. Looks like just another money-making sham contest to me.
    I think your concerns are just, though I would not go so far as to say the contest is a sham. I've had some good back and forth with the organizer--and done very promptly--and he seems like a genuine guy. I don't get the feeling of a scam going on and clearly for the 8 who win/place there is an immense upside. It seems you are almost guaranteed representation/exposure by and to some great people if you place. However...

    I did ask how the contest is judged, and The Insider would not reveal that. That's his choice of course, but if there are 1,000 entries at an average entry fee of close to $100, that's almost $100,000 in revenue. And Scriptonian is right: there is very little to explain what this contest might be looking for or how material is judged. I also asked The Insider about this, and he gave kind of the pat answer of "great stories" or "your best work." Since the winners of the contest do seemed to get signed by the judges I would think commercial work is better than an artsy/indy offering, and you might even look at the companies that are on the panel to see what they are drawn to.

    But my question about this contest has always been, and this is a rhetorical question, if I enter an adaptation or a musical will they still take my money? There's nothing on the site or in the rules to say what you should or should not enter, and since no prize money is paid out and we have no idea how the judging process unfolds that does raise flags.

    Nicholl and Page readers have to provide some kind of grade or form for each script. Sure, they could still skim a script, but at least there is some oversight and those contests do seem to be much more open and transparent. With Tracking B, they could look at the title, throw it away, and take your money and you'd have no idea whatever happened. $100,000 is a lot, especially since we don't know if even a cent of that comes back in overhead for the contest. Interns could be doing most of the reading for all we know. Or, out of 1,000 scripts, 500 could be thrown out immediately based on logline. Point is, we just don't know.

    I do like this contest, and I do like the Insider, but they really should think about improving their practices. If you're a winner, sounds like you get a great deal out of it. To me, this contest really boils down to paying for a chance at agency representation, so if you are to enter I'd do it as early on as possible to pay the lowest fee and thus reduce your risk.
    Quato Lives!

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    • #17
      Re: Trackinb Contest

      Sometimes some posters on this site make me sick.

      You morons will gladly pay some Julie Gray type hundreds of dollars to skim your work, tell you it sucks, and ultimately line you up to pay hundreds more in order to revise your work and then that’s it. Nothing. Done. You have a script some failed writer says she likes and where does that get you? NOWHERE besides close to a thousand bucks lighter.

      Then you see an opportunity like this. This contest has been around for a few years now and it’s grown every year. It’s here to stay. Some of the better posters on this board have been recognized in the contest. The contest has helped get tons of posters represented. Last year’s winner got repped and then his reps SOLD the script to Bold Films. Look at the winners list – most of those writers are repped now and make no mistake, getting repped is the holy grail in terms of entering contests. That should be the end goal in terms of the contest scene.

      Look at the judges affiliated with the Trackingb contest. The list reads like a who’s who in terms of rising industry players. Do you seriously think these people would let themselves be affiliated with a “sham” contest. It’s moronic to even refer to this contest in that manner. Trackingb’s track record is proven.

      EddieCoyle, if you don't think you could be a "winner" then don't enter. Ummm, you're pretty perceptive if you're picking up on the fact that writers who actually WIN or PLACE in contests get a better deal than the losers. That's the law of the jungle, bro. Sorry. Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing.

      And Scriptonian and whoever else thinks similarly, you keep scrawling your scripts with magic marker on construction paper…keep showing them to your grammy…keep listening when she tells you how good they are. I can tell from your posts you shouldn’t enter. You have no shot at winning. In fact, you probably should quit screenwriting all together. I don’t need to read your work to know you don’t have what it takes. Hang it up, bud. Don’t enter Trackingb. Don’t enter Nicholl. Don’t write another word.

      I’ve already wasted too many minutes combating your ineptitude.

      I don’t want to waste any more.

      It would be different if you had any sort of valid content in your posts or your questions. You don't. It's like the drivel of a mad man.

      PASS.
      "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Trackinb Contest

        Originally posted by Johnson View Post
        Brice... I'll put it to you this way -- Like every single contest in the world, it is absolutely 100% not worth the entry fee at all.

        That is if you're expecting a guaranteed return on that investment.

        No matter which contest you enter, the cash is gone. If you happen to place high enough to experience a benefit, then maybe it is worth it. But not everyone who gets a QF result in Nicholl gets a rep. So is it worth the fee just to say you got top 15%, 10%, QF... ?? Point is, nobody can answer that question for you. Each person has to make their own cost/benefit analysis and decide how to spend their dough. I fully support the idea of cold querying any of the companies/ reps listed as judges. If you can get them to read you for free, why wouldn't you?

        Contests are proverbial Dick measuring. It's also a gamble where the result is sometimes left to the whims of a single reader. We've all read the tons and tons of threads about contests... But sometimes... Sometimes... Contests are a shortcut that let you leap frog a few gate-keepers if you can do well. So in that respect, if you're confident and willing to lay your cash down for the gamble... Well then, TrackingB vaults it's top 1% (or slightly less) right past more gatekeepers than a lot of other contests. And far as I know, the Insider really works hard to get the top 8 repped and beyond that, yes, you're on your own.

        So if you're the gambling type, and you feel like you've got the chops, then hell yeah it's worth it.

        Terrific post, Johnson.

        Also loved this from Ducky:

        You miss 100% of the shots you don't take... that's a true statistic for ya


        Eddie - I think your questions/concerns are legit. And I do think it's a roll of the dice. We've all heard the contest reader horror stories. I'll add one more.

        A reader for one of the two contests (most) recognized as the most prestigious told me that he had so many scripts to read that if the story didn't capture him in the first 10-20 pages, it was over and out. We've all heard stories like this. Sure it happens all the time.

        I can certainly understand the desire for more transparency on how a contest is judged, especially in the crap-shoot early rounds. Perhaps there is less pressure on the early round readers when there are only 1000 entries. I don't know. Or maybe it just comes down to accepting that your first reader may be a prideful one, or he may be a jaded cynic. God knows, even when it comes to coverage, I've seen both sides of the spectrum with exactly the same script.

        ChiliP

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Trackinb Contest

          Originally posted by Scriptonian View Post
          The TrackingB site makes it easy to pay (take) your entry fee, but I find nothing speaking to type of script eligibility for their contest (shorts? teleplays?), or any FAQs to be found anywhere on the site. Very late deadline is October 30th for only $110 entry fee, and $25 more to be considered for some other great opportunity. Looks like just another money-making sham contest to me.
          How does the below linked page not answer your question? It's called a FEATURE SCRIPT CONTEST, HOSS. Do you not know what "feature" means?

          http://www.trackingb.com/?page_id=861

          Now go stalk a sitcom star.

          Sorry folks, but I'm done spoonfeedin' and sugar coatin'.

          It's tough love from here on out.
          "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Trackinb Contest

            Originally posted by joe9alt View Post
            Sometimes some posters on this site make me sick.

            You morons will gladly pay some Julie Gray type hundreds of dollars to skim your work, tell you it sucks, and ultimately line you up to pay hundreds more in order to revise your work and then that's it. Nothing. Done. You have a script some failed writer says she likes and where does that get you? NOWHERE besides close to a thousand bucks lighter.

            Then you see an opportunity like this. This contest has been around for a few years now and it's grown every year. It's here to stay. Some of the better posters on this board have been recognized in the contest. The contest has helped get tons of posters represented. Last year's winner got repped and then his reps SOLD the script to Bold Films. Look at the winners list - most of those writers are repped now and make no mistake, getting repped is the holy grail in terms of entering contests. That should be the end goal in terms of the contest scene.

            Look at the judges affiliated with the Trackingb contest. The list reads like a who's who in terms of rising industry players. Do you seriously think these people would let themselves be affiliated with a "sham- contest. It's moronic to even refer to this contest in that manner. Trackingb's track record is proven.

            EddieCoyle, if you don't think you could be a "winner" then don't enter. Ummm, you're pretty perceptive if you're picking up on the fact that writers who actually WIN or PLACE in contests get a better deal than the losers. That's the law of the jungle, bro. Sorry. Winning isn't everything. It's the only thing.

            And Scriptonian and whoever else thinks similarly, you keep scrawling your scripts with magic marker on construction paper...keep showing them to your grammy...keep listening when she tells you how good they are. I can tell from your posts you shouldn't enter. You have no shot at winning. In fact, you probably should quit screenwriting all together. I don't need to read your work to know you don't have what it takes. Hang it up, bud. Don't enter Trackingb. Don't enter Nicholl. Don't write another word.

            I've already wasted too many minutes combating your ineptitude.

            I don't want to waste any more.

            It would be different if you had any sort of valid content in your posts or your questions. You don't. It's like the drivel of a mad man.

            PASS.
            Come on, Joe. This is uncalled for. One can support a contest and still say there is room for improvement. If one pays for something, one does have the right to ask questions. I seem to recall we got into this once before. I've consistently said this is a "good contest," but I think important questions about it remain unanswered. Do you really think it's out of bounds to ask a few questions and provide a few comments where shortcomings might be found? Isn't that what this site is all about?
            Quato Lives!

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Trackinb Contest

              You can ask whatever you want and I can think whatever I want about your question.

              One of your questions basically was, "why do winners get a better deal than losers? That's not right!"

              Is that a smart question, Eddie? I mean really? I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm just trying to give it to you straight, man. That's a dumb way of thinking. Losers think like that.

              Are you a loser, Eddie, or are you a winner?

              You better at least fake the winner's funk if you want to get anywhere in this game, brother, and that's the straight stuff.

              As far as how the contest is judged? Hmmm, let me go out on a limb and say that common sense would dictate that the Insider and probably some trusted friends and associates judge the first rounds and then select who moves on to the next rounds. How else would it work?

              Or maybe they're just randomly picking scripts to advance. That would explain why you and Scriptonian didn't advance and are bitter now, right?

              Yeah they're just randomly picking scripts to advance and then they're showing them to people like David Boxerbaum and Mike Esola and then those uber-agents are just randomly signing the writers based on a whim.

              Yeah, that makes sense.

              C'mon, dude.

              Man up already.
              "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Trackinb Contest

                EddieCoyle vs. joe9alt in a writing throwdown. On a topic of my choosing.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Trackinb Contest

                  Look at the previous posts, Ham. I already won that.
                  "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Trackinb Contest

                    Originally posted by joe9alt View Post
                    You can ask whatever you want and I can think whatever I want about your question.

                    One of your questions basically was, "why do winners get a better deal than losers? That's not right!"

                    Is that a smart question, Eddie? I mean really? I'm not trying to be a jerk. I'm just trying to give it to you straight, man. That's a dumb way of thinking. Losers think like that.

                    Are you a loser, Eddie, or are you a winner?

                    You better at least fake the winner's funk if you want to get anywhere in this game, brother, and that's the straight stuff.

                    As far as how the contest is judged? Hmmm, let me go out on a limb and say that common sense would dictate that the Insider and probably some trusted friends and associates judge the first rounds and then select who moves on to the next rounds. How else would it work?

                    Or maybe they're just randomly picking scripts to advance. That would explain why you and Scriptonian didn't advance and are bitter now, right?

                    Yeah they're just randomly picking scripts to advance and then they're showing them to people like David Boxerbaum and Mike Esola and then those uber-agents are just randomly signing the writers based on a whim.

                    Yeah, that makes sense.

                    C'mon, dude.

                    Man up already.
                    Joe,
                    You are embarrassing yourself with a post like this. I'm not going to dignify any of this with a response. I'm done.
                    EC
                    Quato Lives!

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Trackinb Contest

                      Originally posted by Hamboogul View Post
                      EddieCoyle vs. joe9alt in a writing throwdown. On a topic of my choosing.
                      I'm in. Let's do it! No fear here. One caveat. I'm going away for the weekend so I can't do anything until next week.
                      Quato Lives!

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Trackinb Contest

                        I don't want to speak for others, but there is a member on this board who was a trackingb finalist. That led directly to getting his current reps, who in turn sold the script for six figures. The movie is now in pre-production.

                        Seems to me that trackingb be a legit industry contest. It can and has led to real results, unlike 99.9% of the other ones people seem to have no problem entering.

                        I do have doubts about their TV contest - though some have gotten reps from it, I haven't seen much success there. But that one is still new, so I'll give it time. TV's a different beast anyway.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Trackinb Contest

                          Originally posted by Hamboogul View Post
                          EddieCoyle vs. joe9alt in a writing throwdown. On a topic of my choosing.
                          Oh snap! Sh!t just got real.
                          "I was dreamin' when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray." - Prince

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Trackinb Contest

                            I'm too busy working on my latest spec and chasing assignments, Eddie, but I'll tell you what, I'll send the script that was an honorable mention in the Trackingb contest in 2007 to Ham and you send whatever script you want to him and we'll go from there. Maybe he can post the first ten of each. How'd that be? Would that get you through the day?
                            "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Re: Trackinb Contest

                              There is no need for hostility on this board from anybody.

                              People have questions. Sometimes those questions seem silly because you already know the answer. The best way to handle that is to give an honest and respectful response.

                              We're all in this together.
                              Chicks Who Script podcast

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Trackinb Contest

                                Daaaaayum.

                                Joe is kicking asses and taking names.

                                But let's not kid ourselves, you're no Chuck Norris
                                Quack.

                                Writer on a cable drama.

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