Want to see inside the mind of a reader? Want to know what goes on in there? Read this:
http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=features&Id=1766
Scary funny, no? This is the kid you have to get by. This is the reader. The lowest of the low, and gatekeeper of every front door in the biz. Want in at an agency? You’ll need to get your script by a reader. Production company? Yep, it’ll be covered by a reader. Screenwriting contest? Oh yes. And whether your script was rejected because it’s no good, or because the reader got caught in a 90 minute traffic jam along US 101 and was pissed off—you will never know. Only one thing is guaranteed: There will be a reader judging you. Objectively, subjectively…here, there, everywhere.
The Reader has tired eyes. They need to read many, many scripts each week to make a living. While there is a Reader’s union, many of them work freelance. Others have taken a break in job at the production companies that pay $50-$75 per script. If it takes 1 ½ hours to read the script and two hours to write up coverage, you’re looking at, what, about $15 per hour, taxed? No wonder they’re in a foul mood.
They are looking for any excuse to flush your deeply-felt drama based on personal experience canoeing down the Cahulawassee River in a remote Georgia wilderness. Unless you’ve written Delieverance—even if you written Delieverance—they are looking to tell their boss Pass, flat out. And if not Pass, then a tough-earned Consider.
Control what you can control. When you write excessive screen direction, you kill the Reader’s eye. You give them a reason to say no.
When nothing happens in the first 5 pages; when you cannot I.D who the protagonist is or what is the main conflict; when you don’t format correctly or have grammatical errors—you kill the reader. And you kill your own chances with it.
Getting past the reader is an epic struggle. You have to find a way to beat the reader. Don’t believe me? Here’s Terry Rossio’s take on the subject:
http://www.wordplayer.com/columns/wp05.Death.to.Readers.html
The ultimate way to beat the reader is to never bring him into the process.
Short of this, don’t give them a reason to say no. Do the first 5 pages sing? Establish your protagonist, world, tone, conflict. Do a spell check. Give it to a friend to proofread. And never write a character named Frederix…
And now for something special: A look into the life of a Studio Reader. Funniest YouTube video I’ve seen in a long time. Welcome, Good Reader, to the world of Studio Reader Stan.
