Does anyone else have their scripts evaluated on The Black List or find it useful? I've had one script done twice and the score wasn't exactly great not that I have a problem with the score honestly, every reader is going to be different and I'm under no illusion my script is perfect. My first evaluation is below and the second, most recent one, is the screen shot. Has anyone actually found the evaluation useful? There's a few pieces of actionable feedback I know I can pull out of it though I'm waiting currently for some other feedback to come in first to compare. I suppose I'm just wondering if anyone genuinely found it useful or if it's just a waste of time and money?
Overall: 5; Premise: 4; Plot: 4; Character: 5; Dialogue: 5; Setting: 5
Strengths
This pilot serves as a fairly compelling throwback procedural in the classical sense. At the dawn of the genre, the term did not necessarily refer to the procedural nature of the narrative (like how audiences know that if the Law & Order gang or Dr House have their solution at the 20min mark, then it's going to be a red herring), but instead described a story that luxuriated in the procedural nature of the jobs that they depicted. This is clearly a script written by someone with a deep passion for (and well of experience in) the world of first-responders and this is evidenced in the way its characters interact both in moments of crisis and down-time. While it ultimately does not provide the level of direct conflict and drama buyers (and audiences) would like to see from a pilot, there is something compelling conceptually about its humanizing choice to present the life-or- death crises faced by the show's various victims and perpetrators as ultimately exhausting and banal events in the day-to-day lives of those who serve them.
Weaknesses
Unfortunately, this pilot's inherent lack of direct, meaningful, character-based conflict is ultimately what works against it succeeding as an episode of a modern television drama. The best pilots can often be distilled towards a character (or characters) in a dire set of circumstances being forced to make a decision that will reverberate through their story across the rest of the series to come. When this script's characters attempt to reduce its most thrilling moments to just another day in the life of a first responder, the drama will naturally convey as banal to the audience as well. Meanwhile, the lack of particularly compelling interpersonal conflicts between any of the characters (aside from one amongst the leadership that is discussed indirectly by their subordinates), means that there really isn't much for the audience to take away from this pilot that sets expectations for the kind of story that will come in future. There are places where realism can thrive, but network drama has rarely been one of them.
Prospects
On one level, this pilot has everything that buyers from broadcast networks to premium streamers are looking for in its straightforward, relatively low-budget and easy-to- produce presentation of classic procedural drama. The last five years, which have seen pandemic lockdowns, industry-spanning strikes, and an ongoing sense of deep economic uncertainty, have led to fairly substantial contractions in both the total number of new series getting made as well as the individual episodic budgets allotted to those few shows that do make the cut. As a result, all buyers have turned away from the sort of blockbuster-budgeted genre epics that defined much of the 2010s' "peak TV" era in favor of simple, procedural crime dramas with potential mass appeal. Unfortunately, it is impossible to ignore the fact that this series' premise is nearly identical to that of 9-1-1, a series that has run for eight seasons and counting and has spurred two spin-offs across two separate networks. Given these similarities and the inherent lack of propulsive drama relative to that very soap-y series, it is hard to see wear this project might find a home.
second eval prospects:
Prospects
While it’s always exciting to see a new, underexplored location in the procedural space, this project fails to meet the threshold required in such a competitive, saturated genre. The project feels similar to Fox’s smash hit franchise, 911, though slightly darker in tone. This isn’t entirely an issue, as the familiar, repetitive formula is part of the appeal of a procedural. Unfortunately, merging several worlds (police, firefighters, and paramedics) requires a delicate balance and a clear idea of which world is meant to be the focus. The writing feels uninspired, and the characters struggle to exist past their function in the overflowing plot. The unique location of Indianapolis could attract interested parties. It’s an idea worth revising, but it will struggle to gain traction as currently written.
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Hannah Augenstine I've also had a script evaluated by on the Blacklist. I found this feedback to be rather vague and with little actionable feedback. If you read their FAQ about evaluations, these are "an overview of how your project might fare if circulated in its relevant industry." To me this means they won't really tell you what's wrong with it but based on the scores you know it needs some work. I've gotten better feedback and actionable items from my screenwriting groups and other peer to peer evaluation..
However, if your script scores well on the Blacklist. If you get an 8 or better, they'll host your script free for a couple of months unless you get more 8's. If you get like 5, they'll host it permanently. There are advantages and disadvantages.
Wish you luck.
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Daniel Silvas I appreciate it. Honestly wasn't sure if it was all that worth it to continue that route right now. Will probably hold off until coverage and competition feedback comes back trending consistently positive.
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To be honest, the Blacklist was probably the least useful feedback I got early on in my career - and the most expensive. I would avoid. Feels a lot like a money-grab over there to be completely honest.
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Subjective opinions like all of them. IMO. Kind of fed up with the game.
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I agree with Hannah Augenstine . The feedback really was meh. I got feedback on paid coverage from one of the festivals, which was five pages long, specific to the script, story, characters, typos (had a lot of them, apparently I have a problem with parentheticals on placement and purpose (oops, there I go again)). They gave me actionable feedback on the story arc which improved my screenplay significantly. Blacklist was just an expensive subscription, in my estimation.
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Vaugue comments sounding like what one would get from AI.
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I used my feedback from the Blacklist to polish my script and do better. I did find the feedback useful and never felt it was irrelevant also it’s very short it was very impactful. I scored a 6 then the same screenplay scored a 5 after I edited it because it needed a lot of work. I am now working on my 3rd screenplay and using all my previous work as motivation
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They seem to like to hook you in with a generally positive review; only to hit you with a lot middling to bad ratings from reviewers who may or may not have actually read your script. The fact so many people in the Town actually look to this site to find new talent is, to say the least, concerning; because I think their only goal is just to separate you from your money.
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Dear Hannah,
I think this feedback was actually quite useful. I’ve already submitted four pitches myself, but I haven’t received any evaluations yet – though I’m really looking forward to them. I’m not necessarily expecting them to say “awesome, let’s go for it” – of course, that’s what I’d love the most – but rather I hope to get comments that will help me rethink and further develop my story.
As I mentioned before, it’s important to consider the issue of supply and demand. The evaluators know the statistics: what works, what doesn’t, and if something works, how it works. It’s worth learning from these insights instead of getting discouraged by them.
Notes like “you reveal the solution too early” or “there’s not enough conflict” are, in my opinion, absolutely fixable. These are technical aspects you can work on. The bigger challenge is adapting to market demand. But I don’t think they questioned your talent – they just pointed out the direction in which it might be worth rethinking the story.
Sit down, maybe come up with a new story, and keep these suggestions in mind so the same issues don’t crop up next time. I know criticism can sting – I’ve also received both positive and negative comments from beta readers – but I always tried to think it through and find the golden middle ground.
Stay strong, I think you’re on the right track!
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I'm in the middle of rewriting my latest script based on the feedback I received. I also received feedback from another source, and it basically said the same thing. So I feel that I must take the Blacklist feedback with more than just a grain of salt.
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It seems like some very informative notes and instructions that will really empower you to hone in and develop your script even more. Out of all of the notes the one that stands out the most is the word “uninspired”, that was pretty profound. Sometimes we have to re-evaluate our intent and what we are writing about In our scripts. We can ask ourselves what is the thing that speaks to me the most, or what evokes passion out of me.? Some of our greatest stories will be born out of our experiences in life and it will reveal a lot about us and out of this process, emerges many buried treasures that lie dormant within us . In other words invaluable content that really help us to craft a dynamic story that matters to us. For example with your logline, You are speaking of three different levels of emergency services. What about narrowing down one of the services like 911 or the Firefighters? Then to make it even more specific, what about a certain character or characters at a certain precinct. Then you can add in what is the world like? You could create your own perspective of the world even further and even interview some of these people. Then after you have decided the place and their world what specifically do you want to focus on? Is there a particular incident that happened or some life-changing event that affected the whole world? Think out of the box like what’s so different that no other show has the same storyline. This is just a few examples. Screenwriting is writing and rewriting countless times and just when you think that your work is completed most of the time it's more work to be done. Be open to notes and corrections, try not to be offended. Even when we don’t agree with someone’s opinion, we still can learn something from their notes. It’s like “eating the fish and throwing the bones away. "Just because we get a fish that we don’t like doesn’t mean that we throw the whole thing away. I have been blessed to work with a screenwriting consultant for years and so I have other eyes looking at my work. She has been in the industry for years. One of the things that I have learned from her is sometimes, when I think that I am articulating certain thoughts, it does not always translate in my script. I am able to see what needs to be done, from a second set of eyes. It's impossible for us to see everything ourselves. You still got a good score , which says a lot. You have the building blocks of what you need to make the necessary changes to your story. Be encouraged and get back to the drawing board.
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I was wholly disappointed with my feedback from The Black List. They said "3 pages" but it was 3 paragraphs, one on each page. Vague, not very actionable, just bland. I learned much more from feedback elsewhere, including here on S32.