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Posts tagged as “Site Updates”

Paper Team is Live!

Paper Team is Live!

It’s Monday August 1st, which means it’s time to launch and release into the wild the first six episodes of our awesome new TV writing podcast Paper Team!

You can now get each episode, the show notes, and subscribe all over here:
Episode 1 – Moving to Los Angeles (and Things We Wish We Knew Before)
Episode 2 – Comedy v. Drama: Declare Your TV Major
Episode 3 – How to Meet People in LA (When You Don’t Know Anyone)
Episode 4 – Spec v. Pilot: What You Should Be Writing Next
Episode 5 – Networking 101: How to Talk With People in Hollywood
Episode 6 – Bringing the TV Writers’ Room Process Home

And here’s a playlist of our latest episodes:

If you enjoy our Paper Teaming, please leave us an iTunes review and/or rating at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

Subscribing to Paper Team

By subscribing to Paper Team, you will automatically receive the latest episodes downloaded to your computer or portable device.

Every subsequent (weekly) episode will be posted on TV Calling (i.e. here), on paperteam.co (which redirects to our Paper Team hub), and all major podcast subscription medium (iTunes, Google Play, Android podcast apps, RSS, etc.).

You can access any episode and show notes by adding the episode number after “paperteam.co/”.
For example: Episode 1 – paperteam.co/1; Episode 2 – paperteam.co/2; and so on…

Select the subscription method below that best fits your super awesome lifestyle.

iTunes and iOS (iPhone, iPad, and iPod)

To subscribe, select the “Subscribe on iTunes” button or go to paperteam.co/itunes.

Mac and Windows

To subscribe, select the “Subscribe on iTunes” button or add our RSS feed to your subscription.

Google Play Music

We are also on Google Play Music! If you have it (it’s free), you can subscribe by following this link: paperteam.co/googleplay

Android and Amazon Fire

To subscribe, click the “Subscribe on Android” button above on your mobile device.

Your favorite application

If you can’t already find us on it, copy the address found in the box above, and paste into your favorite podcast application/news reader.

Bookmark this podcast

To bookmark this podcast site, press the "Ctrl" and "D" keys on your Windows keyboard, or “Command” + “D” for Mac.

In case you’re very confused and missed my original announcement post on Paper Team, here’s everything else you need to know about the podcast:

Who is on Paper Team?

I’ll be manning one of the mics. Yes, that means you’ll be hearing my sublime voice after all these years (assuming you’ve actually been reading me for that time). And you’ll be getting more of the great TV Calling content you know and love (now in audio form!).

Like every great podcast, this is a two-hander.
The other half of Paper Team is another awesome writer: Nick Watson.
While I’m of the TV drama sensibility, Nick will represent the TV comedy side. He’s also a fellow foreigner (from Australia). So you get the bonus of listening to two different non-American accents!

While most episodes will just be us two talking about TV writing, things are already in the works to bring in great, knowledgeable guests with more direct experience to future topics we’ll cover.

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 much more.

If you have any thoughts, problems or comments, you can e-mail us directly: [email protected]
You can find both Paper Team members on Twitter:
Alex – @TVCalling
Nick – @_njwatson

Write on.

Introducing Paper Team – A podcast about television writing (and becoming a TV writer)

Introducing Paper Team – A podcast about television writing (and becoming a TV writer)

On TV Calling’s eighth birthday last month, I teased a couple secret projects.
Today, it’s time to announce one of them.

Introducing Paper Team.
A podcast about television writing, and becoming a TV writer.

That’s right.

There’s yet another podcast on the market.

Who is on Paper Team?

I’ll be manning one of the mics. Yes, that means you’ll be hearing my sublime voice after all these years (assuming you’ve actually been reading me for that time). And you’ll be getting more of the great TV Calling content you know and love (now in audio form!).

Like every great podcast, this is a two-hander.
The other half of Paper Team is another awesome writer: Nick Watson.
While I’m of the TV drama sensibility, Nick will represent the TV comedy side. He’s also a fellow foreigner (from Australia). So you get the bonus of listening to two different non-American accents!

While most episodes will just be us two talking about TV writing, things are already in the works to bring in great, knowledgeable guests with more direct experience to future topics we’ll cover.

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 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.

To give you a tease, here’s what we’ll be talking about in our first six episodes:
Episode 1 – Moving to Los Angeles (and Things We Wish We Knew Before)
Episode 2 – Comedy v. Drama: Declare Your TV Major
Episode 3 – How to Meet People in LA (When You Don’t Know Anyone)
Episode 4 – Spec v. Pilot: What You Should Be Writing Next
Episode 5 – Networking 101: How to Talk With People in Hollywood
Episode 6 – Bringing the TV Writers’ Room Process Home

Episode runtime will vary depending on the topic — anywhere from 30 minutes to over an hour.
We want to say as much as we feel interesting and informational, while still being relevant to the episode in question.
No padding!

We’ve been working hard on this project since May, and it’s about time to release it out to the world.
We can’t wait for you to take a listen!

How do I listen to it?

Paper Team is available on all major podcast platforms, including iTunes, Google Play, Android podcast apps, RSS, and even email.

If you enjoy our Paper Teaming, please consider leaving us an iTunes review and/or rating at paperteam.co/itunes! :)

When is it coming out?

Paper Team is live now!

iTunes and iOS (iPhone, iPad, and iPod)

To subscribe, select the “Subscribe on iTunes” button or go to paperteam.co/itunes.

Mac and Windows

To subscribe, select the “Subscribe on iTunes” button or add our RSS feed to your subscription.

Google Play Music

To subscribe, select the “Subscribe on Google Play” button or go to paperteam.co/googleplay.

We are also on Google Play Music! If you have it (it’s free), you can subscribe by following this link: paperteam.co/googleplay

Android and Amazon Fire

To subscribe, click the “Subscribe on Android” button above on your mobile device.

Your favorite application

If you can’t already find us on it, copy the feed address found in the box above, and paste into your favorite podcast application/news reader.

Write on.

Eight Years of TV Calling

Eight Years of TV Calling

Yes, indeed!
Today is TV Calling’s eighth birthday!
We’re basically as old as Obama’s first presidential election.

Think about all the amazing things we’ve accomplished over that time:
We predicted the rise of Netflix and OTTs (kinda). We explored television writing in all its forms (sorta). We revolutionized the TV spec industry (definitely not).

Bottom line is, we’re still going (and growing) strong, deep into our first decade.

Once more, let me reiterate a heartfelt thank you!
Thank you for your readership. Thank you for your comments. Thank you for your faithfulness.

TV Calling currently hovers between 10,000-15,000 unique visitors a month.
This past May, we shattered our record with 18,000 visitors and an average of 580 people per day!

That’s thanks to you for being awesome and sharing the wealth.

Since last year (when we celebrated seven years of posts over seven days), a few cool events have happened:
– The fourth design of TV Calling launched in July.
– I was one of the four writers selected in the inaugural JHRTS Pilot Script Competition in August.
– In October, I got one of Tracking-Board’s Launchpad Mentorship three spots, plus separately traveled to the NY TV Festival as an Official Artist.
– TV Calling switched to site-wide SSL security in March.
– I finally became an American citizen in April. (Triple-citizen-threat!)
– And of course, we had our annual (as-of-now-2016) Spec Script Lists for Dramas and Comedies.

There’s also the matter of us surpassing Six Hundred (!) posts a couple months back.
With this little gem, we’re now up to 624 and counting.

Last but certainly not least, I highly encourage you to get our new, free PDF guide: the amazingly useful Spec Test. You’ll be getting several key questions (and explanations) to make sure the show you picked for your TV spec is the right one for you.

In future news, I’ve been working on two super-secret projects that should come to light within the next couple of months. (Hence the recently limited online presence.)

Don’t worry. I’ll soon be back to full force.

In the meantime, here’s to another great year (and more) of sweet TV Calling content for all!

Stay tuned for the TV writing bonanza.