JPF Home Page Forums Creative Arts Forums Acting, Theater, Film and TV Forum Is it worth $100?

Ok, that's a story:
I submitted my logline somewhere 2 month ago via ISA...
several days ago got an email with a proposal from

http://www.wildsound.ca/screenplaycontest.html

they offer reading of selected scene from a script performed by
actors and placed on youtube like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUuStMA2xbDWnmiyWzebxgYQ&v=CUL3kU40TVg

and all this costs 100 bucks...

So, did someone use such a service and is it worth that investment? Do producers/managers/agents watch those videos?

Hey Alek,

The read through is not for prospective managers/agents.

It's done to see if certain scenes "work" and therefor be carried or dumped, as part of the process.

I've never heard of a "service" doing this kind of stuff, usually it's people whom you know and trust, and when a script gets to a certain point, people whom you know fulfil this role and discussion is held afterward as to the veracity or legitimacy of the characterisation to move the project forward.

I have seen this in London,( at great cost ) but only used where there is some prospect of the project heading forward.

Also it can be done around a kitchen table with trained actors who know what they are doing.

Essentially it is a writers tool to make sure you are on the right track.

As a service ? Sure, I don't see any problem with that, as long as the actors read the part/s and then discuss how they feel in that role, and wether or not the dialogue "works".

For $100 ? Why not. The London rate comes in at well over $5k.

cheers, niteshift

niteshift thanks,

already got a certain opinion on that service (grateful to ISA
members for their input).
Resume: it's useless, and you're right about it,
saying:
"The read through is not for prospective managers/agents."

PS. For $100 I could send my script to the 10 real pros,
and am going to do so

I watched a few minutes of that. Going by the acting level of what I saw one could get nearly as much just by running a script through some text to voice software. It's robotic but it still helps a lot to hear it read and it's free and easy.

Alex,

If serious about being in that field, I suggest doing what my cowriter's sister did years ago, and that is to go to college and take up all related classes, with an eye on a Master's. That degree got her scripts made into short films by that college, which one has been aired on Public TV and was placed in the top four at all the film festivals in the USA that she entered. She also worked for Gary Marshall and others. She even would get hired to do proof reading of scripts, and then for rewriting some for a fee.

They tend to give jobs to those in such a field already right out of college, or later if not that creative, or never at all. BUT, being trained and getting a recommendation from such professors give a leg up over those who just do some things here and there. If that 100 dollar thing is not biggie for you to pay for, ad you think you might have a kick out of it, sure. Or, put that 100 toward books at a dramatic arts college, and get the ball rolling with contacts form that too later on.

Hobby or Pro Ambitions?

Best of anything,

John

Alex,

For 100 bucks you can get a lot of services to do a lot of things. I think you might be better off looking for any orgs or groups who work together to help each other, sort of like this group here only in your field and perhaps get people locally in the Ukraine to get together and read a scene from each others work acting out the parts for each other. Short of that, I agree there are voice programs that will do the same thing for you. Look at some of those.

Brian