Here are the steps we take to determine your project’s ranking:
- We “add up” (more on how we do this below) all of your project’s scores and accolades to give your project a raw score which is hidden, including to you.
- We compare that raw score with other discoverable projects on Coverfly. Your percentile rank reflects the percentage of projects that you’re ahead of.
OK, so how do we “add up” your project’s scores and accolades?
We split your placements into two different parts to calculate your rank: a qualitative score and a heat, or relevancy, bonus.
The qualitative score is a set score** based on your placement. In the calculation of your ranking, we take your top 5 qualitative scores. We do this so that a person who is a 4x Nicholl winner will not be ranked lower than someone who has 20 Semifinalist and Quarterfinalist placements. All of your placements will still be reflected on your profile, but only your five highest qualitative scores will factor into your rank.
In addition to the qualitative score, there is also a heat bonus. Every new placement is given a heat bonus, equal to the qualitative score, which diminishes over the course of one year. Say you win in the Austin Film Festival in September 2021 and, for example, you’re given a heat bonus of 500. Your cumulative score for your win would be higher than someone who won at Austin in 2017.
In this example, beginning December 2021 (90 days after you achieved the placement), that number would begin to drop off by 25%, and then again every 90 days, until it completely drops off after a year. While there’s nothing wrong with an old reliable script that has won you many awards for years, many of our industry partners are more interested in discovering a writer’s latest offering. That said, the qualitative component of your score will always remain.
The heat bonus of every placement will factor into your rank. However, after your top five heat bonuses, each subsequent one will be worth the bonus divided by its rank minus 4. So if you have 6 placements with heat bonuses, and the 6th-ranked heat bonus has a value of 200 points, you would earn (200 / (6 - 4)) = 100 points for that placement. If you received a 7th placement with a heat bonus, and the value of that placement was 150, then you would earn (150 / (7 - 4)) = 50 points for that placement.
**The value of a placement will take into account the amount of submissions selected for that placement by the program, as well as the quality of submissions submitted to that program.