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Posts published in “Paper Team”

Analyzing Great TV Scenes: Case Studies of Deep Space Nine, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Good Place, The Good Wife, Lost and The Simpsons (PT77)

Alex and Nick break down six iconic TV scenes to look at what makes them engaging and unique.

The moments explored in this episode include scenes from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Good Place, The Good Wife, Lost, and The Simpsons.

What makes for a great TV scene? How can a simple exchange play off character and story? How can dialogue be used to define a moment? What are ways acting, directing and editing influence the impact of a scene? What TV writing lessons can you learn from these scenes?

Plus, we talk how many people should be in a writing group.

The Paper Team gets in and out…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Scraps: How many people in a writing group? (00:00:58)
1 – Introduction to the six TV scenes (00:03:09)
2 – “The Simpsons” Steamed Ham scene (00:08:02)
3 – “Deep Space Nine” Benny Rant scene (00:16:15)
4 – “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” Papa scene (00:29:35)
5 – “Lost” Henry Gale Breakfast scene (00:37:24)
6 – “The Good Place” Many Attempts Montage scene (00:44:55)
7 – “The Good Wife” Will vs. Alicia scene (00:53:02)
Next Week On (01:03:38)

Links

“Feedback and Notes: Building Your Reading Onion” (PT08)
“Analyzing Great TV Pilots” (PT54)
“Analyzing Great TV Characters” (PT72)
“22 Short Films about Springfield (7×21 – The Simpsons)
The Simpsons’ Steamed Ham scene
“Far Beyond the Stars” (6×13 – Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
Deep Space Nine’s Benny Rant scene
“Papa’s Got a Brand New Excuse” (4×24 – The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air)
Prince of Bel-Air’s Papa scene
“The Whole Truth” (2×16 – Lost)
Lost’s Henry Gale Breakfast scene
“Dance Dance Resolution” (2×03 – The Good Place)
“Hitting the Fan” (5×05 – The Good Wife)
“I’m mad as hell” scene from Network
DS9 comment by Kingofmadcows
“Nonlinear Storytelling” (PT70)

This episode brought to you by Tracking Board’s Launch Pad Writing Competitions

Use code PAPERTEAM to get $15 OFF when you enter a Launch Pad Competition

Special thanks to Alex Switzky for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex@TVCalling
Nick@_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

Being a TV Showrunner’s Assistant ft. Sydney Mitchel (NCIS: New Orleans/Outcast) and Zimran Jacob (Marvel’s The Punisher) (PT76)

Alex and Nick invite Sydney Mitchel from NCIS: New Orleans & Outcast, and Zimran Jacob from Marvel’s The Punisher, to discuss the responsibilities, duties, and opportunities of being a TV showrunner’s assistant.

What does the job of a showrunner’s assistant entail? How do you get hired on a show? What does a typical work-day look like? How do assistants communicate with their showrunner? How creatively involved are showrunner’s assistants? What amount of notes and feedback do showrunners get? How can you balance working long hours and writing your own scripts?

The Paper Team gets an in…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Working in television, what a showrunner does, hiring process, duties of a showrunner’s assistant, day-to-day, communicating with the showrunner, creative involvement, shooting and production, post-production, calls and meetings, tips and advice for showrunner’s assistants, balance work and life, future projects (01:01)
Resources and Next Week On (45:20)

Links

Zimran Jacob on Twitter
Sydney Mitchel on IMDb
NCIS: New Orleans airs Tuesdays 10/9c on CBS
Outcast available on Cinemax
Marvel’s The Punisher available on Netflix
“Kevin Pollak To Direct Indie Comedy ‘Swag’” – Deadline

This episode brought to you by Tracking Board’s Launch Pad Writing Competitions

Use code PAPERTEAM to get $15 OFF when you enter a Launch Pad Competition

Special thanks to Alex Switzky for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex@TVCalling
Nick@_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]

Putting Yourself Out There (PT75)

Alex and Nick discuss how you can put yourself out there as a creative and TV writer. From proactive networking to content generation, learn ways of staying in the loop and in people’s minds.

How do you build new connections and foster meaningful professional relationships? How do you stay in the conversation for new jobs and opportunities? What are ways of putting your content out there and creating a presence? What should you look for in a mentor?

Plus, we talk finding a first agent.

The Paper Team gets out…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Scraps: Getting an agent and more reviews (00:52)
1 – Putting yourself out there: proactively building relationships (04:55)
2 – Putting your content out there: presence and branding (18:06)
3 – Putting others in there: mentoring and passing the torch (26:04)
Challenges and Resources (32:19)

Links

“TV Writer Representation 101” (PT31)
“189 – The Assistant’s Track” – Hilliard Guess’ Screenwriters Rant Room

Resources

“Breaking In: Tales from the Screenwriting Trenches” – Lee Jessup
Buffer

This episode brought to you by Tracking Board’s Launch Pad Writing Competitions

Use code PAPERTEAM to get $15 OFF when you enter a Launch Pad Competition

Special thanks to Alex Switzky for helping us edit this episode.

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please consider leaving us an iTunes review at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

You can find Paper Team on Twitter:
Alex@TVCalling
Nick@_njwatson
If you have any questions, comments or feedback, you can e-mail us: [email protected]