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Posts tagged as “Assistants”

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]

TV Script Formatting (PT73)

Alex and Nick go over how formatting works in TV scripts and the various pre-draft documents you’ll be writing on TV shows.

What are the formatting and structural differences in writing a TV screenplay as opposed to a feature? How do half-hours and one-hours differ in their acts and page count? Which documents will you be writing before going to draft on a TV episode? What are important formatting elements to know and common mistakes to avoid?

Plus, we answer questions about genre and screenwriting software you should be using.

The Paper Team adjusts their margins…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Scraps: TV format versus TV genre, and screenwriting software you should be using (00:52)
1 – Differences in formats: TV and feature, one-hour and half-hour, network and cable, multi-cam and single-cam (10:56)
2 – Story areas, treatments, and outlines: documents to write before going to draft and annotating revisions (18:10)
3 – Formatting on the page and common mistakes (26:02)
Takeaways and Resources (56:35)

Links

“Comedy v. Drama: Declare Your TV Major” (PT02)
Final Draft
Fade In
WriterDuet
Highland
Celtx
Movie Magic Screenwriter
Scrivener
“Being a TV Script Coordinator” (PT21)
Scenechronize
Movie Magic Budgeting

Resources

“The Hollywood Standard” – Christopher Riley

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]

Assisting a TV Literary Agent ft. Matt Thilenius (CAA) (PT63)

Alex and Nick invite Matt Thilenius, TV literary assistant at the Creative Artists Agency, to discuss the role of agents representing TV writers.

What is the relationship between TV literary agents and TV writers? How do agents operate during staffing season? How do they find new clients? What are tips for writers looking for representation? How often should writers be generating new material to best help their agent get them work?

The Paper Team finds a rep…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Assisting a TV literary agent, the role of agents, TV writing seasons, finding clients, the writer’s brand, samples, staffing season, agency landscape, production companies (00:22)
Resources and Next Week On (36:33)

Links

“Profiles of Television: Matt Thilenius” – TV Calling
CAA
JHRTS
WME
UTA
ICM
Paradigm

Resources

“Powerhouse” – James Andrew Miller

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]