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Posts published in “Paper Team”

How to Meet People in LA (When You Don’t Know Anyone) (PT03)

How to Meet People in LA (When You Don’t Know Anyone) (PT03)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:16 — 43.4MB)

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Alex and Nick discuss tips and advice on making new TV and other industry contacts in Los Angeles. How do you create connections for yourself before setting foot in Hollywood? How do you use ones you may already have? And where do you start when you don’t know anyone in this strange city? The Paper Team tackles the subject and much more.

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – Making connections before getting to LA (00:40)
2 – Don’t lose sight of the connections you already have (07:29)
3 – What to do when you don’t know anyone (14:24)
4 – Creating your own adventures (41:04)
Takeaways and Resources (44:31)

Links

JHRTS
International Screenwriters Association
Tracking-Board.com
TrackingB
Jen Grisanti’s Friday Night Drinks
The Black List Events
Nerdist Writers Panel
Austin Film Festival
San Diego Comic-Con
WonderCon (Anaheim/Los Angeles)
Jeffrey Lieber’s Twitter
Javier Grillo-Marxuach’s Twitter
Jose Molina’s Twitter
reddit’s Screenwriting subreddit

Resources

Meetup.com
LA TV Writers Group – Yahoo
LA TV Writers Group – Facebook
Hollywood Game Plan – Carole Kirschner

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please leave us an iTunes review and/or rating 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]

Comedy v. Drama: Declare Your TV Major (PT02)

Comedy v. Drama: Declare Your TV Major (PT02)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 41:59 — 38.5MB)

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On today’s episode of Paper Team, Alex and Nick discuss one of the most important decisions before you can become a fully-fledged TV writer: choosing whether to write for comedy (half-hour) or drama (one-hour).

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – Defining comedy and drama in television (01:02)
2 – What you are going to be doing as a comedy or drama writer (18:44)
3 – How to figure out if you are more suited for comedy or drama (23:21)
Takeaways and Resources(37:56)

Links

Alan Yang on breaking stories
Jane Espenson on writing comedy and drama for TV

Resources

The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror V” – Available on DVD
Six Feet Under – “Everyone’s Waiting” (Series Finale) – Available on DVD

If you enjoyed this episode (and others), please leave us an iTunes review and/or rating 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]

Moving to Los Angeles (and Things We Wish We Knew) (PT01)

Moving to Los Angeles (and Things We Wish We Knew) (PT01)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 35:11 — 32.3MB)

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NEW: Get the episode cheat sheet on our Patreon!

In the inaugural episode of Paper Team, Alex and Nick discuss the very first step to becoming a TV writer: moving to Los Angeles.

This is not only about knowing why you need to be here, by also why you want to be here. Why did we both literally cross oceans and continents to live in LA? What can you do to prepare your nascent TV writing career before you step on a plane? And why do you need to know the town (and get a car)?

Let’s dig in…

SHOWNOTES

Content

1 – About Paper Team (00:17)
2 – Why television? (03:40)
3 – Why are we in Los Angeles? (07:23)
4 – What you need to do before stepping on a plane (14:27)
5 – Getting set up once you arrive in LA (24:32)
Takeaways and Resources (31:53)

Links

Paris – Six-Part Mini-Series From France
NCIS: LA showrunner Shane Brennan to reboot Australian TV
La Fémis Launches New TV Centered Training Program
Jeffrey Lieber’s Twitter
Academy Nicholl Fellowships
Austin Film Festival
SNL‘s The Californians

Resources

Small Screen, Big Picture – Chad Gervich
This Business of Television – Howard Blumenthal
The Hollywood Assistants Handbook – Peter Nowalk & Hillary Stamm

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

What is Paper Team all about?

This is a podcast about television writing and becoming a TV writer.
It is for people like us–working their way into the business from the ground up–who aspire to be TV writers (whether drama or comedy).
It is also for everyone interested in the television industry and everything around it.

We’ll be alternating every episode between two threads vital to being a successful TV writer: the business side, and the writing side.
On the industry end, we’ll be discussing things like meeting people, networking, finding work, being an assistant, and the television business itself.

On the writing front, we’ll be tackling anything related to our craft. Writing TV pilots, TV specs, taking notes, structure, theme, working in a writers’ room, in a writing team, and so much more.

Our first few episodes aim to give you a basic step-by-step guide to getting yourself established in LA, armed with a basic understanding of TV writing, and giving you the tools needed to start your journey to the writers’ room.

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]