Читать книгу Writing the TV Drama Series 3rd edition - Pamela Douglas - Страница 6
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Executive Producer: ER, The West Wing, Southland
WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT TV DRAMA SERIES?
Three Qualities of Episodic TV Series
Myth 3: You can’t do that on TV.
Myth 4: All TV series are the same.
Myth 5: Television is a wasteland.
• An hour show has to fit an hour.
• Series deadlines are for real.
• Drama series have an act structure.
• Each series fits a franchise.
GUEST SPEAKER: DAVID ISAACS (M*A*S*H, Cheers, Frasier, Mad Men)
HOW SHOWS GET ON TV AND THE TV SEASON
Chart: Traditional Two-Year Development and Production of a New Show
(4) Create a Presentation Reel
July and August: The Network
Chart: New Series Development at One Network
September to November: The Pilot Script
December and January: The Greenlight
February to April: Pilot Season
May: Pick-Ups
• Full season
• Short order
• Midseason
• Backup scripts
Year Two
June: Staffing
July and August: Write Like Crazy
Chart: Sample Character Arcs for a Season
September and October: The Debut
November through March: Completing the Season
April: Hiatus
What’s New?
Summary Points
GUEST SPEAKER: CHARLES COLLIER
President, AMC Cable TV
HOW A CLASSIC SCRIPT IS CRAFTED
The Dramatic Beat
A–B–C Stories
Chart: Basic Four-Act Grid
Five- and Six-act Structure
The More Things Change…
The Two-Page Scene
Using the Grid
Teasers
About these Excerpts
Excerpt from NYPD Blue, “Simone Says”
Analysis
Opening Scenes
Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
Scene 4
Scene 5
Scene 6
The Second Excerpt
Excerpt from NYPD Blue, “Hearts and Souls”
Analysis
Cold Opening
Act One
What You Should Do Next
Summary Points
GUEST SPEAKER: STEVEN BOCHCO (Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, NYPD Blue)
SPOTLIGHT ON WRITING PROCEDURALS
GUEST SPEAKER: ANN DONAHUE (CSI: NY, CSI: Miami)
GUEST SPEAKERS: MICHELLE & ROBERT KING (The Good Wife)
Finding your stories
Breaking your stories
Credibility
Rooting interest
The Grid
Chart: Basic Four-Act Grid
The Outline
How to write your outline
Outline Sample
Alternate outline forms
Fragment of ER outline
Sonny’s List
Your First Draft
Sample script format
Troubleshooting
If you’re running long
If you’re running short
At the end of it all…
Your Second Draft
Your Polish
What’s next?
Summary Points
GUEST SPEAKER: DAVID SIMON (Homicide, The Wire, Treme)
SPOTLIGHT ON WRITING YOUR PILOT SCRIPT
Create the “World”
Find the Story Springboards
Populate the “World”
Make a Plan
GUEST SPEAKER: GEORGIA JEFFRIES (Cagney & Lacey, China Beach)
IT’S WHO YOU KNOW: WORKING ON STAFF
The Staff from Hell
Mistake 1: Don’t separate from the staff.
Mistake 2: Don’t mix personal and work issues.
Mistake 3: Don’t have other plans.
Mistake 4: Don’t work at home instead.
Mistake 5: Don’t be precious about your script.
Mistake 6: Don’t “dis” the culture of the staff.
Mistake 7: Don’t work on a series that’s wrong for you.
The Good Staff
A Slice of Life
The Staff Ladder
1. Freelance Writer
2. Staff Writer
3. Story Editor / Executive Story Editor
4. Producer
5. Supervising Producer
6. Creative Consultant
7. Executive Producer / Showrunner
Summary Points
SPOTLIGHT ON “UNSCRIPTED/REALITY” SHOWS
GUEST SPEAKER: SCOTT A. STONE (The Mole, The Joe Schmo Show, Top Design)
The rules:
Write what you love.
Don’t spec the series you plan to pitch.
Ask the right questions about a series.
Have the right tools.
Have representation.
Be in Los Angeles.
The secret of success
Summary Points
What’s New?
LIFE AFTER FILM SCHOOL: CAUTIONARY TALES AND SUCCESS STORIES
The Class of ’97
Three Years Later
Seven Years after Graduating
Fourteen Years after Graduating
GUEST SPEAKER: DAVID GOETSCH (The Big Bang Theory, 3rd Rock from the Sun)
A TOUR OF THE FUTURE
Internet Drama Series
Webisodes
The Web is Dead
HOME IS THE WHOLE WORLD
Right Now
