Back and ready to go.

Okay, well…  I was way off on my Oscar picks and went 0 for 2 on the writing nominations.  Still, I thought the show was pretty entertaining, although the presenters they booked were at times disappointing.

The weekend away completely recharged my battery.  Relaxing at baseball games with my wife and the nice weather was just what I needed.

Plus, I came back to find a job offer for another freelance writing gig and information about a new short scene competition in my inbox:

Last October, I participated in the Cyberspace Open online short scene competition.  Last year’s event was the first time the annual contest was done online instead of at the Screenwriting Expo, giving writers who couldn’t make the event an opportunity to participate.

Well, it looks like they’re going to have a Spring 2010 Edition.  I already threw in my entry.  Go here to enter or get more information.

What This Unique Contest Is And How It Works

The Cyberspace Open is an on-line elimination contest in which writers compete for three prizes of $3,000, $500, and $300.  In addition, we will give winners great industry exposure:

•  We will send 300+ producers the names and describe the achievements of the winners.
• The written scenes and videos of the three winning scenes will be posted on the Web, with an explanation of the tough conditions under which they were made.
• Also, we send feedback by email to all entrants. 

Like no other contest in the world, this contest tests your ability to write creatively for a movie or TV production on a tight deadline.  The skills it takes are very much like some of the key skills of a script doctor called in to fix a script quickly, or a TV writer working on a weekly show.

The Steps In The Elimination Contest
The Cyberspace Open is a four-stage elimination contest:

Round 1: A Weekend To Write A Scene: 100 Survivors
In Round 1, we post a scene premise at the web site on Friday, April 16, 2010 at or just before 5:00 p.m.   You will have until 9:00 a.m. Monday, April 19 to email your finished scene to the entry email address. That gives you an entire weekend to conceive, write, rewrite, and polish your first-round entry. 

What Round 1 Simulates:
We think of Round 1 as being much like this situation: A movie or show is being shot.  It becomes clear on Friday afternoon that a key scene is just not working.  You are called in to save the budget and schedule by writing a new scene over the weekend and delivering it to the producer (us) by 9:00 a.m. sharp on Monday.  The entire film/TV crew will be sitting around on the set Monday waiting for your words.  There is no margin for late delivery. 

Round 2: Absolutely, Positively, Must Be There The Next Morning
In Round 2, the 100 finalists who survive Round 1 will receive a new scene premise by having it posted on this page at 10 A.M. on Saturday, May 22, 2010.  These 100 finalists will have until 10:00 A.M. Sunday, May 23 to email it to the entry email address.

That timetable gives finalists 24 hours to conceive, write, rewrite, and polish second-round entries.

What Round  2 Simulates:
Round 2 is much like this situation: a movie or show is being shot.  It becomes clear on the morning that a key scene is just not working.  You are called in to save the budget and schedule by writing a new scene by the next morning and delivering it to the producer (us) by 10:00 a.m. sharp.  The entire film/TV crew will be sitting around on the set Sunday waiting for your words.  So there is no margin for late delivery.

The Three Winners Advance To The Live Round:
The three highest scorers among Round 2 finalists are  all prize winners.  They will advance to Audience Voting to determine first, second, and third place. 

Brand New And Very Cool: Winning Scenes Videotaped:
In this contest, each of the three winners will have his/her second scene videotaped:

• Actors will perform a reading of each of the three scenes before a camera/cameras provided by the Contest, which will be video recorded.
• The three videos of scenes and the scene texts will be placed on the Internet for viewing.
• Recipients of our CS Weekly E-Zine (approx. 80,000) will be invited to vote for a winner.  
• Voting will take place through an online survey system.  The three winning positions (first, second third) will be on the basis of highest score.  One vote will be allowed per IP address. 

Bonus For All Entrants: Brief Feedback On Your Scene. 
Judges will provide your score and feedback to you if you provide an email address.  Be sure your mail server does not block emails from the servers @creativescreenwriting.com and @screenwritingexpo.com in order to receive your score and feedback.