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Posts tagged as “Lost”

TV Pilot 301: Scope, Beginnings, and Ends (PT184)

Alex and Nick talk about the big picture of your TV pilot script and its scope, from what the first episode should capture, to what it can leave out.

What defines the scope of your TV pilot? What are ways of deciding when the pilot should start and when it should end? How do you tell a satisfying episodic story while also setting up a longer-tail series? What are common mistakes people make when deciding on the scope of their pilot story? Why shouldn’t you “save it for later”?

The Paper Team hones in…

Content

1 – TV pilot scope and common mistakes (00:29)
2 – TV pilot beginnings and ends (28:58)

Links

TV Pilot 101 (PT30)
TV Pilot 201: Keeping the Reader Interested (PT84)
TV Formula 101: Building an Engine For Your Show (PT117)
Act Breaks (PT15)
Weaving Storylines: A/B/C Stories (PT53)
Teasers & Cold Opens (PT61)
Analyzing Great TV Pilots: Case Studies of Alias, Community, Homicide, The O.C., Scrubs and 3rd Rock from the Sun (PT54)

If you enjoy Paper Team, please consider supporting us on Patreon at paperteam.co/patreon! :)

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

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

TV Prose 201: Breaking Rules (PT156)

Alex and Nick delve into the nuances of editorializing on the page, and take a look at unconventional ways of breaking rules in your TV writing.

What is the goal of breaking rules with prose? What are unique tools to convey information in scene descriptions? How do you direct on the page in an emotional way? When can you editorialize your writing? What is meta-prose and how should you use it? When is formatting worth playing with?

The Paper Team comments…

Content

1 – Preface (01:01)
2 – Editorializing the prose (04:19)
3 – Directing on the page (23:56)
4 – Meta-prose and breaking the fourth wall (30:25)
5 – Playing with formatting (37:48)
Takeaways and Next Week On (44:16)

Links

TV Prose and Scene Description 101 (PT48)
The Girlfriend Experience (TV Show)
The Rules of Attraction (Movie)
TV Characters 101 (PT46)
The Hunt

This episode brought to you by Roadmap Writers
Use the code PAPERTEAM to get $15 OFF your Roadmap Writers Program

If you enjoy Paper Team, please consider supporting us on Patreon at paperteam.co/patreon! :)

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

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

Common Mistakes to Avoid in Your TV Scripts (PT148)

Alex and Nick discuss the many common mistakes to avoid in your TV scripts. From structure and character to dialogue and formatting, we go over the frequent problems we’ve encountered, and our advice on fixing them.

Content

1 – Before the draft (01:41)
2 – Macro mistakes: structure, acts, stories (13:54)
3 – Micro mistakes: scenes, dialogue, prose (28:37)
4 – On the page (42:07)

If you enjoyed this episode and others, please consider supporting us on Patreon at paperteam.co/patreon! :)

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

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