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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…
1 – TV pilot scope and common mistakes (00:29)
2 – TV pilot beginnings and ends (28:58)
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: ask@paperteam.co
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