*Ilmu utk dikongsi dr buku Screenplay : The Foundations of Screenwriting by Syd Field ISBN:0385339038 (page 19-20)

What is a screenplay? Is it a guide, or maybe an outline, for a movie? A blueprint, or a diagram? Or maybe it’s a series of images, scenes, and sequences strung together with dialogue and description, like pearls on a strand? Perhaps it’s simply the landscape of a dream?

Well, for one thing, a screenplay is not a novel, and it’s most certainly not a play. If you look at a novel and try to define its fundamental nature, you’ll see that the dramatic action, the story line, usually takes place inside the head of the main character. We see the story line unfold through the eyes of the character, through his/her point of view. We are privy to the character’s thoughts, feelings, emotions, words, actions, memories, dreams, hopes, ambitions, opinions, and more. The character and reader go through the action together, sharing in the drama and emotion of the story. We know how they act, feel, react, and figure things out. If other characters appear and are brought into the narrative line of action, then the story embraces their point of view, but the main thrust of the story line always returns to the main character. The main character is who the story is about. In a novel, the action takes place inside the character’s head, within the mindscape of dramatic action.

A play is different. The action, or story line, occurs onstage, under the proscenium arch, and the audience becomes the forth wall, eavesdropping on the lives of the characters, what they think and feel and say. They talk about their hopes and dreams, past and future plans, discuss their needs and desires, fears and conflicts. In this case, the action of the play occurs within the language of dramatic action; it is spoken in words that describe feelings, actions, and emotions.

A screenplay is different. Movies are different. Film is a visual medium that dramatizes a basic story line; it deals in pictures, images, bits and pieces of film: We see a clock ticking, a window opening, a person in the distance leaning over a balcony, smoking; in the background we hear a phone ringing, a baby crying, a dog barking as we see two people laughing as their car pulls away from the curb. “Just making pictures”. The nature of the screenplay deals in pictures, and if we wanted to define it, we could say that a screenplay is a story told with pictures, in dialogue and description, and placed within the context of dramatic structure.

That is its essential nature, just like a rock is hard and water’s wet.

Because a screenplay is a story told in pictures, we can ask ourselves, what do all stories have in common? They have a BEGINNING (act 1/set-up), MIDDLE (act 2/confrontation) and an END (act 3/resolution), not necessarily in that order, as Jean-Luc Godard says. Screenplays have a basic linear structure that creates the form of the screenplay because it holds all the individual elements, or pieces, of the story line in place.

Script coverage consists of a number of elements. The first is a 1 to 2 page synopsis of the script’s story highlighting the main characters and events of the tale. The second is a review of the piece (running from 2 to 10 pages) that assesses the effectiveness of the screenplay’s various components—including its concept, story structure, story development, characters, dialogue, and writing style—and points out its strong points and problem areas. Following the review is a 1 to 2 paragraph final evaluation that assesses the script’s overall creative success or failure, its suitability for production (by taking into consideration factors such as whether or not the lead roles can be filled with bankable actors and whether or not the scope and scale of the piece will allow it to be produced on a reasonable budget), and its commercial viability (by taking into account factors such as likely box office and home video potential as well as marketing and merchandising possibilities). The evaluation ends with a recommendation from the analyst as to what he/she feels the production entity should do with the script. This recommendation usually employs 1 of 3 terms:

• Pass: This means that the reader feels that the script fails to make the grade in most areas and that the production entity should not proceed with it.

• Consider: This means that the reader feels that the script has a considerable number of strong points and is good enough to proceed with, while acknowledging that it has a number of significant problems that need to be successfully solved before the piece can be considered suitable for production.

• Recommend: This means that the reader feels that the script is extremely strong in all respects and that the production entity should proceed with it without reservation.

When completed, the synopsis, review, and evaluation are assembled and fronted with a cover page that lists the script’s vital information (the author’s name, the genre of the story, the time and locations it takes place in, the length of the script, etc.) and contains a brief summary of the story and the review. The cover page usually contains a checklist in which the script’s various aspects are rated on a scale ranging from poor to excellent. Finally, the cover page highlights the analyst’s ultimate recommendation.

(On occasion, script analysts will also write a set of notes—several pages of suggestions as to how to improve the script and fix its specific problems—although this is a separate task from preparing coverage and is usually done by an independent script consultant or by members of the production entity’s development staff rather than by a reader).

Although script coverage is a tool used primarily by motion picture production entities, it is sometimes used by screenwriting competitions as a way of separating wheat from chaff. The coverage done for script competitions is usually simpler than that done for production companies—substituting a logline (a brief 1 or 2 line summary of the story) for the synopsis and simplifying the assessment—often employing only the checklist rating of the script’s various aspects.

In addition to production entities and screenwriting competitions, a number of independent services employ a roster of veteran script analysts to provide professional-level coverage for screenwriters who wish to see how their scripts will be received by the industry. This gives the writers a chance to identify and resolve problems before submitting them to production entities.

ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Script_coverage

What is coverage?

Coverage is the movie industry’s idea of a two-page Cliff Notes guide with a Grade attached (Recommend, Consider, or Pass). It summarizes a screenplay’s strengths and weaknesses, and is used to screen incoming material by development executives at studios and production companies. Coverage is faster to read than the entire script, and industry professionals can sift through a lot more coverage reports than a pile of 120 page scripts. Do the math.  Why not send a query letter/email with a coverage report attached and make a better impression over a query by itself, or sending an unsolicited script. Executives and producers at a major studio or independent production company are more likely to take a look at your script if a "Recommend" is stamped on the coverage report, versus taking the time to read the entire script that could actually be a "Pass."

What are the coverage ratings?
Recommend, Consider, and Pass. Both the script and the writer are graded with these scores in mind.

A rating of Recommend means that the script has originality, cinematic value, marketability, and a strong plot/story/structure combination. A writer who receives this rating knows script format and structure well, and has shown the ability to deliver all the elements that the industry seeks from talented writers.

A rating of Consider means that the script and/or writer has the potential to be a contender in the marketplace, but revisions to the material are in order. Most script that receive this rating have weaknesses in either the plot or structure. A writer with this rating has a definite grasp of script format and industry needs, but has not shown the ability to deliver a strong plot/story/structure combination.

A rating of Pass means that either the script or the writer does not show many of the necessary elements to contend in the marketplace. Lack of originality in story concept and/or poor plot progression are leading contributors to receiving this grade.  Likewise, material with heavy grammatical and script formatting errors bring lower marks.

ref: http://www.myscriptneedshelp.com/

When evaluating a Submission for representation, our Readers discuss and rate the following six catagories in their Coverage.

PREMISE - How compelling is the underlying CORE CONCEPT of the story? As Blake Snyder puts it: “The premise could be explained to a caveman.” This does not mean the premise must be simplistic; rather, it should be interesting and marketable to the largest amount of people -independent of time period or culture.

STRUCTURE - How well does the Screenplay fit into a 3 act structure as outlined by Christopher Vogler, Syd Field, Blake Snyder and Joseph Campbell?

CHARACTERS - Since a movie’s story revolves around main character’s internal and external JOURNEY, how effectively does the Protagonist come across to the audience? How effectively do the supporting characters influence and change the Protagonist?

DIALOGUE - While the domain of movies involves VISUAL ACTION, dialogue plays an important role to the audience. How well does the dialogue ENHANCE the plot?  Do Characters sound realistic - with different dialects, slang, and personalities?

CLARITY OF STORY - At the heart of every Screenplay there is a STORY that must effectively come across to the audience. How well does the Screenplay reach the goals outlined by the GENRE and CORE CONCEPT, as laid out by the author? If the Screenplay is a comedy or horror film, how funny or frightening was it?

WRITING ABILITY - The Screenplay can be likened to SHEET MUSIC, in that – like a song that can only be recorded once – we want to make sure it’s exactly right. How well does the ACTION paragraphs flow together as an INDUSTRY STANDARD Screenplay? Do poor spelling and grammar affect the story being told?

ref: http://www.abbotmanagement.com/screenplaycoverage.php