Scripts - TV Calling

Presenting Paper Tease: a TV Pilot Teaser Competition

It’s been nearly two years since Paper Team began, and we’ve decided to lean into our mission statement with a new, free competition — Paper Tease.

Every month, we read on air a few listeners’ teasers from their TV pilot scripts and offer feedback. The best ones even win prizes!

Paper Tease is open to any original teasers (or cold-opens) of up to 8 pages, of any TV format (one-hour/half-hour) and any genre (comedy/drama). No features though.

All the rules and prizes can be found on the official Paper Tease entry page.

Yes, it’s really free.

Do you have a TV teaser ready to go, and have read the linked rules on the Paper Tease page? Enter right here:

TV Spec Script 201: Starting Your Research (PT79)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:46 — 43.0MB)

Alex and Nick discuss how to start researching your TV spec script and the show you selected.

Which episodes and scripts should you watch and read to prepare? Where should your spec script fit within a show? How do you research the structure, characters and stories? What should you look for in scripts of the show you want to spec?

Plus, we answer more voicemails.

The Paper Team does some reverse-engineering…

SHOWNOTES

Content

Paper Scraps: Spec script headers (01:11)
1 – Preparing the research (03:51)
2 – Researching the show on a macro level: structure, character, story and theme (13:40)
3 – Researching the show on a micro and macro level: prose, formatting and added sources (34:31)
Takeaways and Resources (43:10)

Links

Send a voicemail to TV Calling & Paper Team
Roadmap Writers
“TV Spec Script 101” (PT34)
“When should your TV spec script be placed?” – TV Calling
“Weaving Storylines: A/B/C Stories” (PT53)
“Act Breaks” (PT15)

Resources

WGF Library
KCRW’s “The Business”
WGAW’s “3rd & Fairfax”
Barry Katz’s “Industry Standard”

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)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 59:23 — 54.6MB)

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…