What does scriptmatix do? Where did we come from? And what problems are we solving? All that coming right up.
Scriptmatix has tackled the lofty endeavor of decoding the psyche of cinema. Sounds pretty complicated and what’s the point? We started this journey a few years ago as a script development agency. Basically, we were working on lots of scripts from all over the world, helping producers tighten up their narratives and prepare their scripts for the marketplace. But in an effort to screen material, there was one fundamental problem with the world of “coverage”; it was endemically subjective and inconsistent; meaning, how does one reconcile the idea that a one reader/analyst liked a script and the other didn’t. It was troubling because nobody wants to see great material fall through the cracks and, at the same time, nobody wants to be looking over a reader’s shoulder. So, this was the impetus for change. We got into Research and Development by constructing extremely tenuous training periods. While this improved the deviation in scoring, it didn’t solve it as analyst subjective opinion kept getting in the way. So, we scrapped that idea and we got back to the drawing board, which led to the 3rd generation of analysis; Algorithmic content valuation. Instead of relying on analysts to score, we relieved them of that burden through some very creative software development. The analyst’s job essentially remained the same – they read, they analyzed – but the scores became more accurate. We were pleased with it but it was still yielding inconsistent results from time to time. We had pretty much gotten scores to within a deviation that was acceptable, which is great, but we still weren’t satisfied. So, we went back to the drawing board again for our 4th generation algorithmic content valuation, where we changed our entire approach again, BUT this time it was with a major realization that the process of analysis was fundamentally ALL WRONG and we scrapped it all one final time. That’s where we summoned some the best minds in psychology, philosophy, amongst several other disciplines and – again – started from the ground up. It took us 4 generations of tearing it all down and building it all back up again to get to this point, where we did the due diligence and got the results we were looking for: Consistently small deviations in scoring, a high levels of analyst/developer understanding, and with more granular insights.
Today, our analysis interprets a screenplay or on multiple different lines: physical plot, emotional plot, and psycho-dynamic plot, all while articulating strength of plot linkages. On top of that, it provides the most objective scoring algorithm that one can create and leverages some amazing technological insights that help our developers and analysts complete an analysis with the most in-depth understanding.
And while the art is subjective, we leave room for that too. We believe the subjective view, as long as it’s rooted in a strong understanding of story mechanics, is a valuable tool to the writer to rewrite and adjust how their script is interpreted.