A writing portfolio
NYC Midnight
Screenwriting Challenge 2023
Second Skye takes on NYC Midnight's annual Screenwriting Challenge. See below for a general explanation on the challenge as well as Keegan & Ian's submitted scripts.
Round 1
Round 2
Overview of Screenwriting Challenge
The annual NYC Midnight Screenwriting Challenge is a 3-round screenwriting competition where participants are tasked with writing a short screenplay based off an assigned genre, subject and character within a specified time limit. The 2023 challenge kicked off on April 25th, 2023, with approximately 1600 participants. Both Ian and Keegan advanced to the second round, though their Midnight journey ended without advancement to the third and final round.
Here's a quick breakdown of each round:
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Round 1: Participants were separated into groups of ~30 writers. Each group was assigned a genre, subject and character to base their screenplays on. Writers had eight days to write a maximum 12-page screenplay. The writers of the top five screenplays for each group moved on to Round 2.
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Round 2: The remaining participants (~300 writers) were separated into groups, with new genre/subject/character assignments. Writers had three days to write a maximum 8-page screenplay. The writers of the top three screenplays for each group moved on to the final round (Round 3).
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Round 3: The remaining participants (~36 writers) competed in one group assigned the same genre/subject/character to be incorporated into their screenplay. Writers had 24 hours to write a maximum 5-page screenplay.
First Round Assignments & Results
Round 1:
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Genre
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Ian: Ghost Story
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Keegan: Sci-Fi
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Subject
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Ian: An admission
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Keegan: Adoption
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Character
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Ian: A ventriloquist
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Keegan: A forest ranger
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Check out our first round submissions above, including "By a Thread" by Ian and "Running Low" by Keegan, and let us know your thoughts, including how you might have approached it!
Ian's script ultimately placed third in his Group 6, while Keegan's script placed first in his Group 14, qualifying both writers for the second round. You can see a full breakdown of the first round results here.
Second Round Assignments & Results
Round 2:
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Genre
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Ian: Comedy
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Keegan: Ghost Story
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Subject
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Ian: Idiotproof
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Keegan: Retribution
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Character
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Ian: A butcher
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Keegan: A father-in-law
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Check out our second round submissions above, including "Canadian Gators" by Ian and "Fish & Reflect" by Keegan.
Despite receiving overwhelmingly positive feedback from their second round judges, neither Ian or Keegan's scripts placed high enough to advance for the third and final round. You can see a full breakdown of the second round results here.