Thursday, July 11, 2013

Jim Mercurio DVD Set Now Available



Writer/Director/Screenwriting consultant Jim Mercurio from A-List Screenwriting has released his new 6-DVD set -- Complete Screenwriting from A to Z to A-List. This ain't any ol' screenwriting how-to. This insanely detailed 10+ hours of all-new material (with top-notch motion graphics) guides you step by step through developing high-concept material through execution, using examples from a panoply of hit movies like Liar, Liar, Tangled, Dead Poets Society, The Dark Knight, Superbad -- yes, Superbad -- and more! there's a reason why Mercurio is a consultant to A-List clients. His knowledge of things like Theme and adding emotional resonance to your characters is second to none.

From the description:
In this brand new DVD set, filmmaker, story analyst, and master teacher Jim Mercurio delves deep into the nitty-gritty of screenwriting and shows you how to:

- Teach your brain to see storytelling patterns everywhere.
- Understand why scene writing isn't a separate skill from screenwriting and storytelling.
- Learn to put character first and create structure organically from nothing.
- Right-brained approach to a left-brained topic - Discover how a location, a prop, or even the rewrite of one word contribute towards theme.
- Use Jim's detailed theories to jump-start your creativity and brainstorming.
- Look at the ten criteria of a line of dialogue including how to find its climax, create a reversal, incorporate it into a metaphor, align it to a concept, and reframe it toward theme.
- Perfect the most lucrative skill in Hollywood. Not how to come up with high-concept ideas... but how to execute them!
- Gain a new appreciation for the craft of screenwriting and what it can be.
So if you're looking for an all-in-one solution, the proverbial screenwriting school in a box -- here it is. Check it out right here.


Wednesday, July 03, 2013

Coverage Ink INDEPENDENCE DAY SALE!


Declare your independence from lame script coverage. Coverage Ink's Independence Day Sale runs from now until July 17. $20 off any analysis! Don't send out your screenplay too early. Bring in the industry experts to make sure your script rocks.

Summer is the perfect time to set aside some quality writing time. When fall comes around, the industry comes back to work -- with acquisition budgets to be spent before the end of their fiscal years. Whether you have an agent or manager, or you plan on doing queries, BlackList, Virtual PitchFest or what have you, there will be creative execs willing and ready to read. Once that door opens, it's up to you. You can send out something which is not quite there yet and get the not-especially-polite radio silence pass; or you can roll up your sleeves and polish that draft until its brilliance causes retina burn when the exec cracks the spine.

I don't know about you, but I prefer the second category.

So many of us make the same mistake -- we're so excited when we finish a script, we blast it out to our contacts without getting any constructive, knowledgable feedback. Or we get a couple friends to look at it, and they either don't know enough about screenplays to make useful comments, or they pull their punches. Neither of which does us any favors. Or we do get sone notes; we do the ones we feel like, ignore the rest and assume we're good to go.

Every one of these scenarios results in the exact same result: FAIL.

Coverage Ink has been doing this for a long time. Founded in 2002, we are one of the oldest and best-respected, and top-rated script consulting and development services in the city. Our team of 14 hand-picked story analysts have the chops to root out all your script problems. And we're crazy affordable to boot. The best thing I can say about good notes is, at least once a week I get a e-mail from a client saying that the CI story analyst who reviewed their script ferreted out things the writer always knew were an issue but just couldn't quite put their finger on. When that lightbulb moment happens, it's a beautiful thing.

That's what CI is all about -- empowering writers, pumping up your projects and giving you a fighting chance when that door opens.

Speaking of doors beiung open, mine always is, so feel free to hit me back at any time about anything at info@coverageink.com. Now GO GET 'EM.

Happy Fourth of July!


Jim Cirile
Founder, Coverage Ink

Submit your script now! Use discount code INDEP20 and receive $20 off any screenplay or teleplay analysis at www.coverageink.com.