That does sound exciting, very. I’ve always learned heaps from hearing a script read. Things pop out that you never dreamed were a problem. Or conversely things that you thought a bit lame suddenly sounded bang on.
The script is one thing on the page, another when you read it aloud yourself, still another when you hear it read by others and another creature altogether when it starts to walk.

I guess it does depend too on the cost. I can sometimes find a group of friends to read, ones that do a pretty good job, but professionals would be awesome.

Tell us more!

That does sound very appealing and would probably do it should the money come along. No matter if you know for sure how many people could pay for it, it wouldn’t hurt to offer it, of course.

Until that opportunity to pay the fee comes up, I’ll stick to playing out my own scripts, no matter how crazy I look.

Also, one might take into consideration the number of writers (pretty much all of them) who hate criticism of their work (especially a work they’ve put a lot of time/effort into). I just had this bad visualization of the actors making fun of a certain line while recording and it ends up on the tape and me crying my eyes out when I finally get to listen to it…

Then again, I’m my own worst critic.

Frankly, this sounds like one of the most exciting ideas ever. I’m still very much at the dabbling stage of screenwriting, and the idea of getting a piece of work recorded by proper actors - even if only for a portfolio - is incredibly enticing.

So, yes, the idea certainly gets my vote. Thought, though - would these be made available to all visitors? Maybe as an opt-in option? It could be great for other writers, and also for the paying writer if they want their material heard by others also.

So, in summary, I think the idea has a lot of potential - useful primarily for hearing the dialogue presented by actors, of course, but offering so much more as well.

One thing - how would you Americans feel about your scripts being read by English voices (rather than American English). That’s not going to be great is it? Or doesn’t it matter? I’m sure I can source American accents if it’s a problem.

Very interesting idea from Iceduck about making the recordings available for others to listen to. Kind of an online portfolio you could point to when you were marketing your script. Also acts as a kind of copyright marker too - if it’s up here first with your name on then it’s harder for people to steal from you. Though that will wreak havoc with me bandwidth, so there would have to be a small additional charge for that I guess. Hmm. All part of the mix. Any more thoughts?

Phil: Oh, trust me, I’m aware a lot worse can happen…that it does get much worse. I guess I do admit that I have a bit of thin skin when it comes to criticism and the only way to really learn is the hard way. To just take it.

Honestly, I’ve gotten great constructive criticism for my writing over the years in classes/workshops and it’s really helped. I’ve gotten a lot of positive responses as well. As I’ve said above, I’m actually my own worst critic and the reason I have a hard to time sitting at my desk at times is…me. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, which is bad, really. It’s the main cause of my “writer’s block”…that I won’t just sit my butt down and write without “Little Miss Perfect” nagging me in my ear.

To answer your next question: As an American, I wouldn’t find it to be a bad thing to listen to English voices read my script should I take advantage of this option…it would be interesting actually. It would give me a whole new feel to my script, I think.

My goodness Phillip…

this is a wonderful idea. Tell me, these pro
actors…how young do they come?

My protagonist is seventeen (”almost 18″ she’s clear to remind you.) Will there be actors available to handle that? She is something else…I’m here to tell you.

Rose

Philip, I think this sounds like a great idea, though I’m afraid it might turn out to be too expensive to be practical. But I’d definitely interested in finding out more.

Some scriptwriting programs include a function to read scripts aloud, but it sucked when I tried it. For one thing, it typically includes one electronic male voice, and one electronic female voice.

And then, they read every word on the page — scene headings, action description, parentheticals — when I want to just hear the dialog.

You may not need to get a lot of actors for this. Jim Dale, for example, does dozens of distinct and recognizable voices when he reads the audio versions of the Harry Potter books. Four or five good voice actors might be able to voice the entire cast of a script. Not that it would necessarily be any cheaper that way, though.

Those electronic voices are ridiculous, aren’t they? I never got much further than a scene or two read in this way - was surprised that voice synths hadn’t got any better in last 20 years. OK - I’m researching voice over studios at the moment.

If you can afford it, enjoy it!
If you can’t, say congratulations to those who can!

Interesting idea about the visuals not being well-served by a reading.
I’ve only ever had readings for theatre pieces. And for dialogue especially they are really useful. Of course beware of a poor reading, I had one instance, after the reading I just kept cutting one of the character’s lines, till I realized it was his interpretation that was making me cringe. When he dropped out it all worked again.

Likewise an actor who can make a phone book sound good.

In some ways one of the best first steps, well it’s requisite really, is to read the whole thing yourself, out loud.

Hopefully you’ll hear the blah blah blahs right off the bat.

And yes, readings are a step, the next one is rehearsal or shooting, the final i guess is when the audience arrives. Then you really hear it for the first time.

Sure - go for it.

Phil