Do Coverage Notes Help You Become a Better Screenwriter?

I hadn't given this question much thought over the years, as I learned rather early what coverage notes entail and their purpose in the whole screenwriting biz.

Coverage notes are normally provided by a production assistant to a producer, and they provide basic "cliff notes" for each screenplay they read. Most of these P.A.'s have writing experience, but even if they don't, they have learned what their producer is looking for in a viable screenplay.

They provide a "cover sheet" (ergo, the term "coverage notes") that indicates a title, genre, logline, page count and a synopsis of the overall story- usually one page, maximum. They'll also provide a score based on whatever scoring system their company employs. These scores generally define strengths and weaknesses in the screenplay story, plot, and various screenwriting elements.

You have probably seen these types notes before through other venues, like screenwriting competitions. Their overall structure is basically universal.

The PURPOSE of these notes are to reduce the time spent by the all-too-busy producer in having to READ each screenplay that comes into his/her office. Some only want to see the best screenplays, while others really want to review each and every screenplay. If the producer trusts the reading and objectivity of each PA, then they know they're a team in search of the best of the best for their company.

Do these PA's necessarily care if you know how to WRITE a screenplay? Not in the least. If the story keeps their attention, and it is well-written (as a STORY, not as a script), and all else follows suit, that's really their only concern.

So why, do you ask, does it MATTER if the screenplay is well-written, or close to "perfect" when submitted to begin with, if this isn't part of the overall consideration?

It IS part of the "consideration", but it's not the sole criteria. The impact of a poorly written screenplay of a great concept comes AFTER the review.

If a spec screenplay like "Lethal Weapon" were to cross a producer's desk in, say, 1985, and it was written by a new screenwriter with no foundation in learning how to write a screenplay back in the day, the concept might have been considered original enough to buy outright, and have it rewritten into a better, more investable, screenplay. The writer, Shane Black (22) may have received $3,000 for his efforts- still a lot of money in 1985-87.

However, Shane was somewhat entrenched in movies at the time, a somewhat working actor, and had been mentored by many screenwriters of his day. He KNEW how to properly format a screenplay back then (20 years before Final Draft did it for you), and he knew HOW to write parentheticals, inserts and master scene headings- or, at least, how it was acceptable back in the day. More importantly, he knew what constituted a solid script foundation, the necessary story beats (before they were defined and labeled by the late Blake Snyder), and a unique concept that started many new trends in Hollywood- the emergence of action comedies, and the buddy-buddy comedy.

Because of this, Shane was paid $250,000 for this particular spec script. Doesn't seem to be an earth-shattering amount, granted. He was able to parlay that success into a Lethal Weapon 2, The Last Boy Scout ($1.7M spec price), and eventually, "The Long Kiss Goodnight" ($4M spec price). Notably he has since written many other very successful movies, including Iron Man 3, one of the top-grossing films of all-time.

It's a long way from a $3K one-time payday, to a $4M/ a script, forty-year career in the industry. The notable difference was, of course, LEARNING THE CRAFT.

Now, do contest reviews and feedback give you that working knowledge?

Not hardly.

This was part of an email I received recently where the client couldn't understand why I was picking HIS screenplay apart on things HE didn't think mattered all that much;

"I got coverage notes from one contest that ripped it to shreds for the same reasons that the other ones criticized it for... they don't care about the formatting, spelling, or typos. They're searching for unique stories- not a future typist...I reject some of your formatting?corrections because...I don't have the time or inclination to re-do all the work you did by going through it page by page to find which words and apostrophe's you changed. Only the plot is important."

Because the screenplay contest review didn't mention formatting issues and typos, we're to accept the fact they are not important?

Contest "reviews" (whoever is writing them, as they never tell you) are coverage notes. They simply tell you the strengths and weaknesses in your script, which they will do for $100 ($50 to the contest, $50 to the coverage writer). Add to this, their opinion on what works and what doesn't is all subjective, so you have to hope the writer somewhat enjoys the genre and subject matter of which you are writing.

How does all of this differ from working with a paid screenwriting mentor (which I am) or screenwriting consultant (which I am not)? It differs tremendously. Our goal is to get the writer to a place where they no longer require assistance. In fact, several of our (paid) mentors were our paying clients first!?The idea is to learn, then stop making the same mistakes over again, and get better with each pass. If you don't accept the advice or the instruction, you won't succeed. If you stop going to high school classes, you won't graduate. It's basic cause and effect.

So many writers are willing to pay "extra" to have their egos stroked about their writing abilities. Read any contest screenplay feedback; positive, positive, positive, slightly negative, needs work, positive, positive. This is by design. They want you to pay for their feedback contest after contest, year after bloody year. They don't care if you get better; in fact, it's more profitable for them if you don't improve. If they wrote what they REALLY thought of your screenplay, you'd never come back and you'd tell all of your friends to stay away. This is the reality of this business.

So, you have to ask yourself- do I want to be told the TRUTH and be given the tools to FIX my mistakes OR is it more important to FEEL good about myself, and continue to struggle, getting nowhere in this industry?

WRITER'S BIO: Mr. Scala spent 24-plus years in the Hollywood community and was the Executive Director for the?72nd Annual Academy Awards,?as well as The Soul Train Awards,?The Grammys,?The Blockbuster Video Awards Show?and?The Saturn Awards Show. With three produced features- "Assassin 33 A.D.",?"Black Easter"?and?"The Tombs". All three are currently available on Amazon Prime and Tubi.

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