Industrial Scripts - www.industrialscripts.co.uk

The course I purchased was so lousy, I could see it from the moment I signed in to retrieve my purchase. I asked for a refund within 10 minutes of my purchase because I knew I made a huge mistake. They told me they won’t issue me a refund and then they ignored me. $240 down the tubes just like that. They have terrible communication and make it impossible to get hold of them. They take your money and then ignore you. I never used the online course and never will, but they still refuse to refund me.

Furthermore, I did some digging to find out who they are (because they have no transparency on their website) and it ends up they hire film school students to do their “professional script doctoring”... a far cry from a qualified professional.

Stay away from this company. 

A friend suggested I buy a Groupon for Industrial Scripts' online Novel Writing Course. It was supposedly a steal at $39US rather than the customary $680US. I bought the groupon and signed up.

The first thing I noticed was that the course isn't a course at all. Instead it is a series of thirty-odd web articles. Yes, there are a few questions that see if the reader comprehended the web article. That does not make it a course.

The second thing I noticed was the horrible typos. These are typos that scream out: "I have never been published!" Why on earth would a person take advice from such a sloppy author? As an example: "you" and "your" and "you're" are frequently misused. As another example, the author speaks about "peaking your interest."

I want my money back.

On each occasion, I have been impressed with the level of detail adopted in the review of my ideas and storylines. The feedback is both highly constructive and instructive.

I've received my Project Analysis in no-time (8 days).

Professionals at Industrial Scripts certainly went well above and beyond the call of duty, providing me with more information then I've ever hoped to receive. Not to mention I'm so very happy they've found my title well worth pursuing.

Project overview is very clear and to the point, even with a sound advice on how to make the story better and even more appealing to the broad audience I'm hoping to communicate with.

Notes work through the acts pinpointing the strong and weak points of the story. OK, I'm proud to say, in their opinion, I've had no weak points, except for one small glitch at the end that can be easily repaired.

And the Conclusion leaves no place for doubt: this analysis is done by true professionals and I'm certain to use Industrial Scripts further down the road with my initial draft, as well as recommend them to anyone in need of similar services.

Thanks, Industrial Scripts.

The day was intense but so very informative and I learnt so much. The course tutor had a great sense of humour and kept the pace going throughout. It is a long day and you don't stop writing from the start to the finish of the day.

I think it would have been helpful a few weeks before the course to have a list of the films that would be referred to during the day as some of the films I hadn't seen in 30 years! Otherwise it was a brillant day and demystified the craft of writing for screen. I would 200% recommend the course to anyone wanting to write for tv or cinema.

The course was intense and a lot was packed into the day. Luckily the tutor maintained a good pace, humour and managed to keep this up for the whole day which was impressive. The tone was very informative and not patronising or slushy - this was practical on the job advice, from how to construct formal story arcs to working successfully with agents. No bones were made about the script structures expected by the industry. Fee structures were skipped over a little as we ran out of time and perhaps we could have done with one or two handouts - or a simplified PDF to cover the key points from the day emailed after the course. Otherwise I would highly recommend this course to beginners or eternal procrastinators.

Overall - I found it incredibly insightful as someone yet to acquire real experience in the industry. It was concise, informative and the person we spoke to was particularly helpful and willing to take questions during and after the course was finished. Some of the material you get given as part of the course has no price on it and it really puts the realities of working in the US in perspective. With regard to the format and delivery of the lecture, I have no real criticism either. It was a very friendly atmosphere too. Very pleased considering I missed Chelsea/Man City for the occasion.

The day was busy and very dense... a lot of material was covered and it was very informative.

Issues of construction, character and format where well exemplified.

The difficulties and heart ache of being a writer where not shied away from and you are left with no illusions about how difficult the business is.

The only reason this doesn't get 5 stars from me is simply the fact that a hand-out would have made the day a bit easier. The excerpt of 'Dark Knight' when played would have benefited from a hand-out to us of the script related to the scene. The OHP didn't cut it as it was impossible to read from the back, and the few pages that would have been given out would have been brilliant reference material for us beginners to take away.

Also a lot of time copying down the course material could have been saved with the offer of a hand-out or the chance to download the course work from a website after. It did go through my mind that a large class kept busy copying can't be asking too many questions... (which there wasn't time for anyway)!

But I did get to ask all the questions I wanted answering and the tutor was very well prepared and informed and the delivery was clear and concise.

The other not so important downer, was the less than easy booking process.

I would recommend Industrial Scripts Screen Writing for Beginners to anyone who is seriously considering writing for a living. Well worth it.

This was a fantastic day. Our course tutor was extremely knowledgable, and the course material was fascinating and brilliantly delivered - he made full use of every minute available and was a brilliant tutor. I would recommend this course to anyone with any interest in the film industry and storytelling in general.

Really professionally put together session - very useful for anybody looking for a really pragmatic seminar on how to approach attempting to break in to the LA / American market. Even if you think you know it all, you're sure to learn plenty here you hadn't even thought to think of.