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Posts tagged as “Books”

Acting for TV ft. Jona Xiao (Halt and Catch Fire/Being Mary Jane) (PT78)

Alex and Nick invite Jona Xiao (Halt and Catch Fire, Being Mary Jane, Gifted) to discuss acting for television, and what writers can learn from actors.

What is the casting process like in TV? How are character descriptions influenced by the script? What preparation can actors do before going into production? What makes an interesting character and compelling scenes for an actor? What can TV writers learn from performers?

The Paper Team gets set to recur…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Early influences, building a career, getting representation, casting process, diversity, getting cast, actor preparation, drama versus comedy, character descriptions, table reads, production, scripts, character arcs, script revisions, post-production, getting cut in the editing, fan interaction, goals and aspirations (01:06)
Resources and Next Week On (43:47)

Links

Jona Xiao on Twitter
Jona Xiao on IMDb
Bananatag
Sidekick

Resources

Career ACTivate
“The Eight Characters of Comedy” – Scott Sedita

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]

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]