The prize is they turn the winning script into a cartoon for publication in 'Loaded' magazine... And depending on the quality of entries, will probably have four runners up, which will be cartoons on the 'Loaded' website...
Oh I understand. Here on the North Norfolk coast we have a number of carnivals. Sheringham and Cromer etc. They have Beauty Queens and parades etc. One altruistic local fishmonger came up with the idea of the biggest fish in the window display competition. As you can imagine a lot of tourist fisherman (think amateur) come to the area every year and they catch literally hundreds of fish, most of them pretty unimpressive, the sort that would get discarded immediately. Now this fishmonger has a competition and the person who catches the biggest fish of all, (it has to be a side splitting portion size) wins the prize of having it displayed in the window, complete with caption. The lucky winner can then look in the window and watch the admiring glances of the holiday makers as they troop past, ooohing and aahing. At the end of the day he goes home with an enormous sense of pride and the altuistic fishmonger gets to cook the lovely fish and feed his family of eight and the mother-in-law.
What a heart-warming tale (tail) from Norfolk there. We seem to have a similar competition down here in the local Bus Station. Various unkempt men display their goods via the opening of a rain coat with vocal captions such as "'Ello darlin'". Coincidently there is a distinct smell of fish in the air too. Fascinating.
I had a feeling you probably meant that last night - that for a comp with a national magazine involved, you'd expect it to be a paid op for the used contribution...
It's a difficult one - obviously if you were submitting to a magazine like that ordinarily (and the piece was accepted) then it would of course involve some financial transaction... But the WOOs aren't really about that - it's just a networking thing, an op to expand your CV, and a chance to have fun being involved with things you probably wouldn't be otherwise (like making a ringtone for E4, or making a cartoon for Loaded)...
Financial transactions isn't the point. Loaded magazine get sent hundred of freebies etc all the time, for review purposes. Much like 4Laughs - who have come up with great prizes. It wouldn't be very hard for them to come up with a prize too.
I suppose if you are trying to get a job on Sunday Sport then a credit for Loaded might come in handy mind.
Maybe the point is...that's the competition, that's the prize, if you don't like it , don't enter. If you want a tiara, a free centre spread pic of a saucy bit of crumpet (Warburton's) or a wad of filthy twenty pound notes to lick then I guess you need to be patient Sab...wait for next months "Filthy Tiara Wearing Crumpet Comp". (obligatory Seth style emoticon coming up) (there we go , all is right in the world)
Absolutely... The WOOs will only get more exciting as the site grows and the opportunities will be many and varied as they try to get 'something for everyone' (there may even be a 'Crumpet Comp' )... It occured to me also, that as they're asking for everyone's contact details etc, if they particularly like the contributions, it could well lead to a regular gig with them - that is really another thing the 'Window of Opportunity' certainly could be about: getting you in front of the right people who can help you and your work go places...
Back when I was first starting out, there were never ops like this around (even the internet was just in its infancy and there was very little on it), and pretty much the only entry point was local newspapers... I would've been over the moon for a shot at being in 'Loaded' back then - and quite frankly, I still would be now...
If you really want to get into Loaded Seth there's a good surgeon in Amsterdam (no questions asked) I've heard of...also it may be wise for you to start dating Wayne Rooney. Good luck
We didn't ask for a 'prize' as we thought the exposure from writing for a leading national magazine would be enough...
I'm not sure if you know, but 4Laughs doesn't pay anyone to run a competition nor do we accept money to run them. All these comps are are organised on a cross-promotion basis and all for FREE.
If you want something to review, Ive got a box load of stuff under my desk, just give me a shout.
I think there's been some cracking ops on here so far, yes... And I've been more than happy with the WOOs we've had to date...
A little while ago, we had a thread with suggestions for future WOOs - it's probably still there somewhere, but another idea I had, which I thought might be good, was if we could somehow get Channel 4 interested in releasing a DVD of 'new comedy' - not necessarily just work from here, but maybe as an open call through 4Talent...
There'd definitely be a market for it, if known personalities that people want to watch were involved in the filming process - Carr/Lee Collins for example... Maybe even call it 'The Sketch Project'...
So that way, a good portion of people would get an official writing credit on a released DVD... That would really be fantastic...
I would like to review the first series of Not Going Out if you have it.. as I have never seen it and heard it is great and it will save me buying it from Amazon.!
Or.... anything you like. Not stand up though as I just think that's personal taste.
)... It occured to me also, that as they're asking for everyone's contact details etc, if they particularly like the contributions, it could well lead to a regular gig with them - that is really another thing the 'Window of Opportunity' certainly could be about: getting you in front of the right people who can help you and your work go places... 
