An invaluable guide to script reports

I have written script reports for The Artists' Studio, for John Yorke at the BBC and for various freelancers. However I have never known exactly what I was doing. I just sort of analysed the scripts. I treated it like a review based on all those essays I knocked out at uni and A-level theatre studies and English lit. But for those less keen to blag it Danny Stack has provided a handy go to guide here. It was first posted in 2005 but all details are still extremely relevant, and you can see people have commented on it over a number of years. The best use of this would be as a kind of checklist. Write your report and then ask yourself if you have covered each are, or if there are any glaring omissions:

First, talk about CONCEPT: is the idea any good? Is it commercially appealing or more intellectual and discerning? Or is it just a shameless rip off of a million genre flicks before it? Or does it bring something new to the table? Is it genre?

PLOT: Does it make sense? Is it convincing and/or original? Too predictable maybe. Jumbled?

STRUCTURE: is there a basic understanding of craft on display? Is it a join the dot three-act structure or does it contain a solid and reliable framework to tell its story? However, the reader shouldn’t get bogged down with restructuring tips because it’s not a script editing exercise.

CHARACTERS: Are the central and minor characters believable, original, compelling, inspiring, colourful, loathsome, boring etc? Decent character development or emotional journey for the protagonist? Effective use of subplot with the supporting characters?

DIALOGUE: Distinctive, realistic, off-the-wall, on-the-nose, funny, dull, plain, quirks, true to each character?

TONE: Does the writer have an original voice; is the tone of the story consistent to the genre etc?

PACE: Pace, rhythm, tempo. Scenes start too soon, too late? Cut too soon, too late? Boring segments with little dramatic impact or importance? Where does the pace flag? What’s its overall effectiveness?

SETTING: Is it important to the story - does it make a valid and visual contribution to the characters & plot? Is it noteworthy at all?

APPEAL: will the idea and story find an audience? Is it marketable? Who is the audience? Is it really cinematic?

Thanks Danny, priceless advice.