Zoetrope

Randall_Oelerich

Randall_Oelerich

Veteran
I noticed Ted commented about Zoetrope on a different thread. Anybody here joined up on and used Zoetrope for screenplay critique? Did the legalese in the EULA seem reasonable, any warnings in that EULA to be concerned about? Did you find zoetrope useful for screenwriting/story development, rewriting? If so in what way? Thank you in advance.
 
I think most people will find it a mixed bag, but worth doing. It goes like this:

Once you've signed up and reviewed four scripts by other members (that you selected from a randomized list of about 10) you get to submit one of your own for review. I've done it several times, and generally got 5 or 6 reviews. Each time there were useful ones and worthless ones. The latter tended to be either bare-minimal (just meeting the site's requirements for review length), one-issue (think format Nazi, etc.), or borderline illiterate. You just take those in stride to get the useful stuff, and each time there has been enough of that for me to make it worth the trouble. As for my own reviews, I try to be as helpful as possible, and to skim through the available choices to eliminate what's really crappy.

Interestingly, there seem to be many more crappy scripts in the feature film section, which is a separate area from the shorts. Evidently clueless Hollywood wannabees tend to have little interest in the education that a short script might provide, instead going directly for the presumed feature film pot-o-gold. This is reflected in the reviews as well. For the three short scripts I've submitted, relatively few of the reviews were completely worthless.

As far as the EULA is concerned, it's been so long (I signed up in '06) that I've completely forgotten what it said. I don't think there's anything particularly onerous or scary in it. Right?
 
Ted Spencer said:
Interestingly, there seem to be many more crappy scripts in the feature film section, which is a separate area from the shorts
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I've only submitted to the short films, because I'm most likely going to make the short, if it gets made at all. The other popular site, Trigger Street, doesn't have a short script section, but does have a short film section... I did contribute to an anthology script on Trigger Street, which turned out ok. But because they only take feature length scripts... I've not submitted anything.

As far as the EULA is concerned, it's been so long (I signed up in '06) that I've completely forgotten what it said. I don't think there's anything particularly onerous or scary in it. Right?
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A close reading suggests that your brain is now the property of Francis Ford Coppola... sorry but everything you think for the rest of your life is copyrighted by them... THEM...

As I recall "Little Miss Sunshine"(2006) at some early, early draft, been on the scripts department read list. There may be others, but I've not kept up on that.
 
I decided to join up, alread have read and reviewed two feature length screenplays on Zoetrope, two more and then I get to see any reviews on my own screenplay (one so far, but I only get to see an overall score, not the details, until I pay my dues of reviewing four screenplays). Looks worthwhile.

Zoetrope-screenshot.jpg
 
Ted Spencer said:
Just read the first 10 pages. I like it so far : )
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Thx. Goes up on inktip today, maybe a low budget prodco will pick it up, as I designed it for low budget from the start, even thought of producing it myself but tabling that for now, sticking to the writing. Going to pitch it to WGA agencies for possible representation. It has gotten good (plot, etc) to very good (cinematic quality, writing style) ratings so far on zoetrope. I found some zoetrope reviews to be useful, incorporated some points into revisions; I think I will go ahead and review four more scripts on zoetrope so i can put up another screenplay for review. Okay off to work on queries and envelopes to WGA agents.
 
Yeah, for whatever reason the 'traffic' at zoetrope has slowed considerably. I'd still submit most things I write there for now though. Impartial feedback is not easy to get...
 
Ted Spencer said:
Yeah, for whatever reason the 'traffic' at zoetrope has slowed considerably. I'd still submit most things I write there for now though. Impartial feedback is not easy to get...
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As far as I can tell submissions for features has slowed on Trigger Street as well. Perhaps the 'wave' of interest has passed... or all those people who sold their first time specs for millions are now retiring to the south coast of France...
 
Ted Spencer said:
Just read the first 10 pages. I like it so far : )
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I've done significant rewriting since the version you likely read. Posted latest version just now on zoetrope. Cut out some material in Act One. Cut out quit a bit of exploitive gratuitious nudity and such (not all but lots). This is a story that was originally meant for possible indie thriller/horror production (thus the nudity, violence, hey it sells for no-budget indie horror), but now I have morphed it more into spec to hopefully get picked up (duh). Could be produced on a low budget, or high budget. If I had the money and experience I would love to produce it myself. Oh well, on to the next spec, so many in the barrel to pull out and finish/rewrite. While I market the heck out of this one. I received 5 reviews so far on zoetrope, generally good and useful, was able to incorporate some reviewers' suggestions as I fervently did lots of rewriting on this screenplay.
 
Six reviews on Zoetrope-- 2 loved it, 2 liked it, 1 thought it was mediocre, 1 had only negative things to say about it. I guess such is the nature of reviews. I only need one agent/prodco to like it, so I guess one takes the the negativity in stride. This is not a contest/Oscar winner to be sure, my script/story is a simple action/thriller with a sprinkling of mystery designed from the start for low budget indie. I wonder if reviewers had read the screenplay for The Strangers before it was a film would have had much positive to say about the characters or dialogue or plot, I know I would have likely given it negative reviews, but then it was made into a film and made a ton of cash (ROI) for Rogue Pictures.
 
Sounds pretty much like 'par for the course' in my zoetrope experience. I always say that it doesn't matter if some people hate your (art) work (of any kind) as long as a substantial number genuinely love it. Sounds like you hit that mark. And the negative-only types will always be there. Some seem to think that's all they're supposed to do - point out what's wrong. Enlightened critics know better...

Randall_Oelerich said:
Six reviews on Zoetrope-- 2 loved it, 2 liked it, 1 thought it was mediocre, 1 had only negative things to say about it. I guess such is the nature of reviews. I only need one agent/prodco to like it, so I guess one takes the the negativity in stride. This is not a contest/Oscar winner to be sure, my script/story is a simple action/thriller with a sprinkling of mystery designed from the start for low budget indie. I wonder if reviewers had read the screenplay for The Strangers before it was a film would have had much positive to say about the characters or dialogue or plot, I know I would have likely given it negative reviews, but then it was made into a film and made a ton of cash (ROI) for Rogue Pictures.
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Ted Spencer said:
Sounds pretty much like 'par for the course' in my zoetrope experience. I always say that it doesn't matter if some people hate your (art) work (of any kind) as long as a substantial number genuinely love it. Sounds like you hit that mark. And the negative-only types will always be there. Some seem to think that's all they're supposed to do - point out what's wrong. Enlightened critics know better...
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Kind words Ted, just gets so hard who to know whom to trust with feedback, starts to feel like a schizoid experience after awhile when you get notes saying the script is great, other notes that it sucks, blah blah blah. I think maybe sometimes it comes down to genre-- I mean if I reviewed a musical screenplay, or some drama or scifi screenplays, I would probably be skewed towards giving them negative reviews if even subconsciously. Sometimes I think it comes down to whether a reviewer is looking for artistic merit (snappy dialogue, clever plot, etc) instead of commercial potential. Yeah if all reviews are negative I would be slamming a bottle of Jack Daniels, lol; if all the reviews were positive I'd be booking a flight for Seaworld to escape the hellishly long winter (snow will be gone from my yard today, hopefully). Mixed reviews-- maybe good enough for me, as I only need a very small fraction of the 500 prodcos out there to take an interest and perhaps option/buy it, even if from a no-budget indie. Oh well, marketing the sheeet out of this then moving on with a romcom rewrite (high concept, more defined goal/plot, better characters, not just an action-thriller).

This is an interesting blog article I came across today regarding script notes:
http://scriptcat.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/how-to-avoid-the-hell-of-chasing-screenplay-notes/
 
Anyone getting through to Zoetrope? I haven't had any replies to attempts to register.

Thanks.
 
KurtF said:
Anyone getting through to Zoetrope? I haven't had any replies to attempts to register.

Thanks.
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The people running Zoetrope seem really slow to get back or take action. I have had to wait several days whenver I contacted the mods/admin there on something.
 
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