IndieTalk’s Script to Screen Challenge

by MovieMaker Staff | Published February 18, 2007

Online film forum IndieTalk thrives from making the online film community as interactive as possible, providing networking opportunities as well as a space for hardcore film buffs to share their obsessions with one another. Now, IndieTalk has taken it one step further with the Script to Screen challenge, a two-stage moviemaking competition that puts a unique twist on the traditional “film festival.”

In the first stage of the competition (which is free for Premier members of IndieTalk), participants submitted a script up to 10 pages long. On December 16, the winners in three categories (Comedy, Drama and Dramedy) were announced, marking the second stage of the Challenge.

Now, moviemakers are given the opportunity to turn any of the three screenplays into a completed, low-budget short film over the course of six weeks, with the winning films announced at the end of February. â€œWhat we are looking for is a well-made film that follows the script,â€ says IndieTalk founder Dan Oâ€™Berry, though he notes that the Challengeâ€™s â€œ90 percent ruleâ€ allows for some creativity and flexibility on the part of the moviemaker. According to this caveat, the director may alter no more than 10 percent of the script, whether that means altering the dialogue, deleting a scene or adding an entirely new character.

Judges of the second phase will determine whether entries have remained 90 percent faithful to the original screenplay, and one of the three prizes will go to the moviemaker who makes most original use of this rule. Oâ€™Berry remarks that â€œthis inaugural challenge has proven very successful,â€ and that IndieTalk plans to run the Challenge at least once a year from this point forward.

For more information on the Script to Screen Challenge and to check out the winners of this yearâ€™s round, visit www.indietalk.com.

Sound Off: Do you think more directors should adhere to IndieTalkâ€™s 90 percent rule? Weigh in by posting in the comments section!

SHARE THIS STORY

TAGS
festival of the week

COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT

Comment by IndieTalk on 2/20/07 at 5:47 am

Thanks for the write-up. The Challenge was a huge success, and the winning films, as well as all the entries, were superb. They are all viewable online.
-----

Comment by Spatula on 2/20/07 at 6:36 am

Short films mean one of three things to me; they are either a training ground to buff up skills and techniques, a place to experiment and draw from the very bottom of the creative well, or as a form entertaining people without asking for much commitment… creating a “calling card” for your style in the end.

The 90% rule was a great idea, in regards to the “training ground” because it’s like the voice of the little Executive Producer saying “Don’t do that”.. realistically on a professional feature, if someone handed me a Charlie Kauffman script (I wish!), that 90% rule might even be 99%.
But the 90% also enhances the creative aspect, by imposing limitations. Creativity is simply how you deal with those limitations. I’d go so far as to say that creativity is stifled when you have NO limits. Do you say “We have no money, so let’s figure a way to do this car chase in a way no one has seen before” or do you say “We’ve got 50million; let’s build a highway like those Matrix guys"…

It was a fun challenge this year (Indietalk has had other types of challenges/festivals before this as well) because of the way the rules were structured. The prizes were AWESOME too. More filmmakers should get in on this… oh wait, no! That means more competition!
There is no contest! It’s cancelled- go away!

Bah!

Comment by bird on 2/20/07 at 6:59 am

I think this is the most innovative online film competition to come along in years. The program allowed screenwriters, who may not be able to produce their own work, to actually see a visual interpretation of their scripts...and also gave aspirng filmakers a chance to compose a piece from quality written material (which they may not have had access to previously). All in all, it was a prime opportunity to forge creative alliances between writers and filmmakers...and that’s what a good filmaking site should nuture! :)

Comment by Unk on 2/20/07 at 8:29 am

I think was was an outstanding opportunity for non professional screenwriters and filmmakers to collaborate on a project together and come out with something outstanding!

Just reading the posts and replies from the winners and entrants over at IndieTalk.com reveals that a lot was learned about collaboration EVEN if the screenwriter and filmmaker didn’t actually work together.

I would LOVE to see MORE competitions like this in the future!

Great job, INDIETALK!

Unk

Comment by Poke on 2/20/07 at 8:50 am

As one of the winning writers who made a short from my own script, the 90% rule was a blessing and a curse.

Blessing: it helped me keep the actors from improvising dialogue that had been fine tuned over the course of three years. Not that the actors didn’t bring good ideas to the characters, though.

And that leads me to the curse: new ideas had to be weighed against the 90% rule, and some pretty good ones were dropped.

I guess because it was my own script, I felt I should have been given free reign to change what I wanted. But I think I know what Spatula meant when he said, “Iâ€™d go so far as to say that creativity is stifled when you have NO limits.” So, maybe the curse is actually the blessing or another blessing in addition to the original blessing. Or maybe....who cares.

In any case, I can not wait until the next ITSTSC. I am glad I was a part of the first and will continue to be a part of all of them.

Poke

Comment by sonnyboo on 2/21/07 at 11:00 am