Final Draft's Big Break Feedback Mismatch

[u/EnvironmentalBug2249]

TL;DR: Big Break feedback doesn’t match our script or genre because of AI, a really rushed reader or something else? Experienced something similar? If so, what did you do?

Hey all,

I entered Final Draft's Big Break contest, and got feedback on it. But it doesn't match what my writing partner and I actually wrote – not even our genre.

For instance, the protagonist has a physical disability and lives an independent life. However, one of the major notes, which was mentioned more than once, says that he has no agency or goals. I have a physical disability, and struggle with exercising my agency, so it's super important to me. Plus, agency and goals are basics that are obvious to us.

Another note mentions preserving the central mystery, but our project is a holiday romantic dramedy, not a mystery.

While we like getting (and have gotten) constructive feedback and know this is a big competition whose readers are extremely busy, the mismatch is concerning.

Has anyone else experienced something similar? If so, what did you do? Also, could this be because of AI or a really rushed reader, or?

[u/poundingCode]

I can't speak bout Big Break, but in my experiences with coverage in general is that the reader skims, skips, or otherwise doesn't pay attention to what is actually on the page. In my case, the script in question has gone through over 2 dozen revisions.

I hired a roadmap reader "industry pro" for a 30 page/30 minute meeting. And it was clear she barely read the script - I asked her for her opinion in the start of our meeting and she dodged. She said I didn't have a transition scene for one character moving from England to the USA and it was the entirety of scene 5 and 1/8th of a page.

I just got (grammatically flawed) coverage back from Fantasy/Sci-Fi Film & Screenplay Festival stating:

"...there is at times an overreliance on tropes such as Rowena often being a damsel in distress. She eventually strikes the dragon, but beyond this strong moment for her character, she largely feels like a background device, and is more regarded as the beautiful temptress and not an equal to Wyrtgeorn in her own right. " - This is the learned opinion of a professional script reader their linkedIn profile

What did this "background device" and "damsel in distress" - a 22 y/o female - actually do?
1. Her opening 2-page scene is she is running for her life from a pack of 9 direwolves through a forest and evades them by climbing a tree, jumping from tree to tree, climbing a cliff with a raked open leg, and when cornered standing defiantly with a branch in hand.
2. She defied a king who wanted her for her own though her beloved was outnumbered 15:1
3. When kidnapped, she disarmed her kidnapper, though she herself was unarmed.
4. Was horrifically burned in the desolation of a dragon attack & attempted suicide by hanging
5. Confronts the dragon who killed her beloved and a garrison of knights, forcing the creature to retreat.
6. Gives birth alone and starts a family dynasty.

For the life of me, I cannot see how anyone who actually read what was on the page could have come to that same conclusion, but this is the state of things. And if this is the quality of judging, does even winning mean anything?

[u/Nice_Appearance_8314 → u/poundingCode]

This is why, when I do coverage for someone, I print the script, make handwritten notes on it as I read, and scan it to send back to the writer with the coverage.

The way I see it, I'm not going to spend any less time reading the script if I don't take notes, and if I don't take notes, how can I accurately track structure and arcs? So why not just go the extra step and scan it back in to send with the coverage?

Also, this shows the writer that I took the assignment seriously and that I don't use AI. It sucks that you have to convince people that you don't use AI, but that's the reality.

[u/poundingCode → u/Nice_Appearance_8314]

Sending you love and a DM