I always hate it when my coworkers are left to finish the day at work and say “it’s nothing personal” when they complain. That means it’s absolutely personal and I’ll have hell to pay when I get back.
Not that I didn’t have a good reason to leave work early: today was the orientation meeting for first and second round judges for the Austin Film Fest 2010 Script Contest.
Some things had changed since last year, namely the quota being raised 10 more scripts and there being an online system for feedback, but what was truly new for me was the fact that I was starting the season at the starting gun. Last year I was a late addition to the game, coming into the contest halfway through and having to trip over myself up to six scripts in a day to catch up (which I don’t recommend. If you don’t have at least 2.5 hours to read a script, you’re doing both you and the writer a huge disservice). This time I’d be there at the opening whistle, start off with a good pace, and avoid the last-minute binging of last year.
It was interesting to see who else was a returning reader. Our ever-wonderful host Matt Dy made sure we all got a chance to introduce ourselves. Most were involved in some aspect of screenwriting or production professionally (though many were not, and I have much more respect to those who were upfront about it,) but the group itself run the gamut from recent film school grads to Hollywood expats who had come to Austin to escape the Old Guard of Los Angeles. I even ran into some familiar faces from the Austin Screenwriting Group whose scripts I’d read over the past few months.
Then it was off to the office to grab my first stack of scripts: 5 dramas, pulled from a random stack, with no rhyme or reason to why they were selected.
As they say: Let the games begin.
My mission is simple: read 105 screenplays by July 16. If I start today, that means I have to read about 10 scripts a week, which isn’t terribly unreasonable. Back when I was on Zhura (now Scripped.com,) I usually read about that many and that was when there was nothing in it for me!
Going into the competition, here’s what I hope to gain:
1. Get myself back into the “screenwriting” mindset and break my creative dry-spell that I’ve been in for the past few months.
2. Take more notes on what I like and dislike about a script for self-exploration.
3. Meet up with other readers/writers in Austin and make some solid contacts, not just for career purposes but also just to be more involved with the Austin creative community.
4. Have fun and read some great scripts!
If there’s one thing I took from being a contest judge last year, it’s that the proud few that stick with you will change your life forever. They will be the scripts you tell others about, the ones you rave about, the ones that you are jealous of because they do something that you wish you could.
Last year I read three such scripts. Here’s hoping I can top five this year.
Not that I didn’t have a good reason to leave work early: today was the orientation meeting for first and second round judges for the Austin Film Fest 2010 Script Contest.
Some things had changed since last year, namely the quota being raised 10 more scripts and there being an online system for feedback, but what was truly new for me was the fact that I was starting the season at the starting gun. Last year I was a late addition to the game, coming into the contest halfway through and having to trip over myself up to six scripts in a day to catch up (which I don’t recommend. If you don’t have at least 2.5 hours to read a script, you’re doing both you and the writer a huge disservice). This time I’d be there at the opening whistle, start off with a good pace, and avoid the last-minute binging of last year.
It was interesting to see who else was a returning reader. Our ever-wonderful host Matt Dy made sure we all got a chance to introduce ourselves. Most were involved in some aspect of screenwriting or production professionally (though many were not, and I have much more respect to those who were upfront about it,) but the group itself run the gamut from recent film school grads to Hollywood expats who had come to Austin to escape the Old Guard of Los Angeles. I even ran into some familiar faces from the Austin Screenwriting Group whose scripts I’d read over the past few months.
Then it was off to the office to grab my first stack of scripts: 5 dramas, pulled from a random stack, with no rhyme or reason to why they were selected.
As they say: Let the games begin.
My mission is simple: read 105 screenplays by July 16. If I start today, that means I have to read about 10 scripts a week, which isn’t terribly unreasonable. Back when I was on Zhura (now Scripped.com,) I usually read about that many and that was when there was nothing in it for me!
Going into the competition, here’s what I hope to gain:
1. Get myself back into the “screenwriting” mindset and break my creative dry-spell that I’ve been in for the past few months.
2. Take more notes on what I like and dislike about a script for self-exploration.
3. Meet up with other readers/writers in Austin and make some solid contacts, not just for career purposes but also just to be more involved with the Austin creative community.
4. Have fun and read some great scripts!
If there’s one thing I took from being a contest judge last year, it’s that the proud few that stick with you will change your life forever. They will be the scripts you tell others about, the ones you rave about, the ones that you are jealous of because they do something that you wish you could.
Last year I read three such scripts. Here’s hoping I can top five this year.
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