John August

Archives for 2004

Everything is turned in

Charlie, Projects, Tarzan

For the first time in almost a year, I’m caught up on all my writing.

Yesterday, I turned in the oft-delayed [Tarzan](http://johnaugust.com/projects), and this morning I emailed revisions on [Charlie and the Chocolate Factory](http://imdb.com/title/tt0367594/). Adding to the joyous feeling: this is a three-day weekend in the U.S. (Monday is Memorial Day), so I won’t hear anything back from anyone until Tuesday.

I think I’ll start watching the five episodes of [Deadwood](http://imdb.com/title/tt0348914/) I have on the TiVo.

‘A’ scenes and ‘B’ scenes

Formatting, QandA

What are “A Scenes and B Scenes”?

–Jim
Rancho Santa Fe, CA

In film production, A’s and B’s are used to squeeze extra scenes or pages between two pre-existing numbers. Otherwise, you would have to renumber and redistribute all of the relevant scenes or pages, which would be confusing for everyone, and mean a lot more photocopying.

If you need to insert a page between 95 and 96, the new page is labeled 95A. If you need to insert three pages, they would be labeled 95A, 95B and 95C. The tricky part comes when you need to insert a second round of new pages, for instance, two new pages between 95 and 95A. Technically, the new sequence would go 95, 95AA, 95AB, 95A, 95B. In practice, however, this gets too confusing for everyone. In my opinion, you’re better off just generating new pages to replace the current 95A and 95B, which means the sequence would run 95, 95A, 95B, 95C, 95D.

As a kindness to the production team, it’s a good idea to include a memo with any production revisions, listing which pages have changed, and clarifying page order in case there’s any possible confusion.

I learned to do scene numbers the same way as page numbers, so scene 47A would come between scenes 47 and 48. [Katterli Frauenfelder](http://imdb.com/name/nm0292390/), the 1st AD on Big Fish and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, prefers to do it differently: 47, A48, 48. I chafed at first, but it makes sense.

During production, each new camera setup is given a sequential letter. For instance, the master shot might be labeled Sc. 47, while the first closeup is labeled Sc. 47A. Subsequent angles become 47B, 47C, etc. If the scene itself were numbered 47A, this would obviously get confusing. But Sc. A47A is unambiguous.

In my experience, [Final Draft](http://www.finaldraft.com) does a pretty good job handling both scene and page revisions, but don’t let it make the decisions for you. By thinking ahead, you can almost always simplify the process and keep your screenplay more reader-friendly.

Dead copyright holders, and being too young

QandA, Rights and Copyright

I read the section on your site pertaining to copyrights and adapting a book or novel to a screenplay.  My only question is, if the copyright hasn’t expired, but the author died some time ago, what is one to do?  I’ve started the adaptation, but I don’t know if I should continue due to my uncertainty. 

Also, I’m a young screenwriter, a teenager, and although I’m confident in my writing, will my age hold me back from breaking into the world of screenwriting?  Thank you very much for your time.

–Brandon
New York City

When an author dies, the copyright passes on to his heirs. For instance, Roald Dahl wrote *Charlie and the Chocolate Factory*. He died in 1990, but in order to make a movie version of his book, Warner Bros. had to negotiate with the executors of his estate to obtain the rights.

In your case, someone, somewhere owns the rights you seek. In all likelihood, the publisher is sending royalty checks to someone, so the standard advice (call the publisher’s “sub-rights” department) still holds.

[Reminder: It’s copyright, not *copywrite*; the past tense is copyrighted, not *copywritten.* I changed the spelling in Brandon’s question because it hurt my eyes. And yes, there is such a word as copywriter, but that’s a person who writes copy for advertising.]

As for your second question, yes, your age may hold you back from breaking into the world of screenwriting. But guess what? You’ll get older. Age is the only quality which increases without any effort on your part.

Getting a reader job

Film Industry, QandA

I’m heading to LA to begin the Professional Program in Screenwriting at UCLA and would love to get a day job as a reader if possible. Where do you start looking for reader jobs being offered and what gets you hired as such?

–Angel
Fabens, Texas

For those unfamiliar with Hollywood parlance, a reader is someone who writes coverage on a screenplay — essentially a summary of the plot, along with a short critique of the the script’s characters, narrative, dialogue and structure. Along with answering phones and working in the mailroom, being a reader is one of the classic first jobs in the film industry.

In order to get hired as a paid reader, you need samples and references. The best way to get these is to intern somewhere. Pretty much any small production company would be fine for this. There are a few ways to find one:

1. When you get to Los Angeles, pick up a copy of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. In the classifieds section, you’ll find ads for “readers wanted.” Some of those are scams; some are real. You just have to meet with them to figure it out. (Trust your gut.)

2. Since you’re going to be at UCLA, check the bulletin boards in the film school. There will likely be some “interns wanted” flyers there.

3. The classic resource is the UTA job list, which is published every week and lists every assistant-level job open in Hollywood. Technically, you’re not supposed to get it unless you’re on the official distribution list, and if you call UTA, they’ll deny it exists. But if you’re already working one internship, chances are someone else in the office gets the UTA list, and if you ask nicely they’ll let you see it. A sample listing from this week would be:

> Feature film production company with Academy Award-winning Producer needs one more intern. Candidate must have experience writing coverage and should be a student or recent graduate. In addition to assisting with daily office management, our interns take on the role of story analysts, evaluating our current projects. Must be available to start immediately and be present in the office at least two days a week. Unpaid. Please fax cover letter and resume to 310-555-5555 5/14

The goal with this first, unpaid reader job is to get experience, a recommendation, and stack of 10-15 good examples of coverage. You can have multiple internships at the same time, and you don’t need to stay with one for very long — not more than a few months. Everyone leaves; you won’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Take your good sample coverage and look for a paid job. The same resources listed above are good places to start looking, but hopefully you’ve made some contacts by now who can help you as well. Many of the more interesting jobs are never listed.