For some of you, this holiday season offers a few days of vacation time and, with that, the opportunity to send out query letters. Remember when you submit your queries, do not address the letter with “To Whom it May Concern” — this demonstrates to the letter’s recipient that you have not taken the time to research the company and the appropriate person you should be querying. It guarantees that your query will be discarded.
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Top 10 Screenwriting Pet Peeves
Here are 10 universal (and not just my) pet peeves, gathered from story analysts and film industry folks with whom I have interviewed for various screenwriting publications and for my book The Savvy Screenwriter: How to Sell Your Screenplay (and Yourself) Without Selling Out! This top-ten list is in no particular order.
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THE SINGING ROOMS CD released on September 21
PraiseMaker (Alvin Singleton, composer/ Susan Kouguell, text) Robert Spano conducts the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. To order:http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/albums/TEL-32630-02/
Reviews of PraiseMaker…
“[PraiseMaker] is homophonic but uses that simplicity as a virtue, building up a raw and concentrated spiritual intensity, with flashes of rage. Singleton’s music here makes a potent impact from a limited palette.”– Pierre Ruhe, Atlanta Journal Constitution
“The real choral winner is Alvin Singleton’s PraiseMaker, a piece of extraordinary depth and emotion. The work intends on being a universal secular celebration of accomplishments and learning. This it indeed does, and I found it enthralling from first to last…”– Steven Ritter, audiophileaudition.com
Here is my “Ask the Screenplay Doctor” October NewEnglandFilm.com Column
Working with Independent Directors
If you have written a screenplay for a short film, there are several avenues you can choose to find a potential director. NewEnglandFilm.com, as well as other screenwriting and film publications, have sections containing information about screenwriters seeking directors and vice versa, and lists of festivals that specialize in short films. When possible, attending these film festivals is a great way to see directors’ work to determine if you share the same sensibilities as the filmmaker.
To read more:
http://www.newenglandfilm.com/magazine/2010/10/screenplay
PraiseMaker (Alvin Singelton, composer/ Susan Kouguell, text) Robert Spano conducts the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
To order:
http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/albums/TEL-32630-02/
OR:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B003YOMN5Y/ref=dp_image_z_0?ie=UTF8&n=5174&s=music
Ask the Screenplay Doctor: Converting Short Stories and Writing in Screenplay Format
This month the Screenplay Doctor addresses how writers might convert short stories, as well as the proper format for a script.
NEWENGLANDFILM.COM: ASK THE SCREENPLAY DOCTOR column
“Where to Send Your Script”
When you believe you are ready to submit your screenplay for representation or to a production company, put yourself in the executives’ shoes. Make sure that your screenplay is really ready for submission and that you are not sending it off because you think it’s good enough as is, and someone else will fix it. Do not be lazy! Your script is your calling card. If your script has typos, grammatical errors, copy machine marks, missing pages, sloppy mistakes, formatting errors, and so on, be warned — your script will be discarded and there is a very good chance that the company will never want to read anything else that you send them.
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SUSAN’S MONTHLY COLUMN AT NEWENGLANDFILM.COM
Getting the call, email, or snail mail letter that an agent has requested to read your work is great news…but don’t lose your common sense. Keep in mind that just because an agent has expressed interest in your work, you should not jump into a relationship without making sure the agent is a good match for you.
Here is a question I get on a regular basis: Can you provide some guidelines on how a screenwriter can choose the “right” agent to represent his or her script?
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I consulted on Joe’s film Brother’s Keeper…his film Crude is a must-see. Read Redford’s article, donate, read more at NY Times, and other film publications about this important issue.
Joe Berlinger vs. Chevron: Why We Must All Defend Independent Filmmaking www.huffingtonpost.com
Documentary filmmakers’ success as storytellers depends on access to those who are willing to talk on camera. If the subjects of hard-hitting films are fearful of the ramifications of telling the truth then the filmmaker has no story.
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