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TV writer checking in. Well... aspiring TV writer. I hate the word "aspiring" but what else can I call myself if I'm not getting paid to write? I've been working in television for 3 years, and I'm still trying to break into writing. I was lucky enough to get a PA job on a sitcom soon after moving out here, and I've been trying to work up the traditional ladder. It's not working so well. After 3 sitcoms and 4 pilots, I'm still a PA. I haven't been able to make it to the writers' side of the office yet. It's a little soul crushing, but everyone I ever talked to about writing has told me to give it 5 years before anything significant happens in your career. So, chin up. Besides, I'm working in the industry, I'm employed on a sitcom, and to paraphrase Woody Allen, 80% of the game is just being here. It's especially rough for comedy writers (me), because they're just not making as many comedies as they used to. Many of the entry-level writing jobs (writers' assistant, script coordinator) are being taken by out-of-work writers. On the sitcom I worked on last summer, our writers' assistant was over 30 and the script coordinator was over 40. Disheartening. The show I'm on now has a halfway decent chance of getting a second season. We haven't aired yet, but the network is really into us. I could become a writers' assistant if they promote the current one, but that's no guarantee. I'm not sure what else to do besides keep writing and keep meeting people. Argyle fucked around with this message at 03:20 on Nov 5, 2010 |
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Nov 5, 2010 03:14
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screenwritersblues posted:Hey Argyle, got a question for you. I haven't seen either of those bibles, but yeah I imagine they're very different. I can't tell you which is a better model for you because it depends what kind of show you're writing. Is it a drama? Procedural? Dramedy? Serial drama? Single-camera comedy? Multicam comedy? All of those shows have very different bibles. But honestly, writing a whole bible might be getting ahead of yourself. Keep notes for yourself, with character history and bios, and maybe a loose outline for the series, but the most important thing is for the pilot itself to be as good as possible. Have something ready if you get to the point where you're shopping around, but if you're "still working it out in your mind," just write the pilot itself. And rewrite. And rewrite. Argyle fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Nov 8, 2010 |
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Nov 8, 2010 18:42
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the Bunt posted:I found the easiest thing to do was to get a camera and start filming stuff on my own This is the best advice I can give anyone. DIY + networking. Entertainment is not an industry of "what can you do?" it's "what have you done?" Write stuff that's produceable, then make it. Keep it simple, use locations that are available to you. Find a director to shoot it. Or direct it yourself if you're up for it. Find local actors. Get a musical buddy to score it. Make good stuff. Make bad stuff. Learn from both. If you're thinking about film school, here's my input. I went to Columbia College Chicago, where I earned a post-baccalaureate certificate of major (read: second BA) in television writing and producing. Pros: - learning all the technical stuff that goes with the art - environment where you can make mistakes and it doesn't really matter - if you actually put effort into it, you can build a portfolio or reel to have when you get out of school. A reel is way more valuable than any resume. - teachers (at columbia at least) were all current or former employees in the industry - got to try everything in production at least once, from directing to holding a boom mic - got to enter my first job with much less of a learning curve than going in green - one of my teachers hooked me up with my first job, and the producer I worked with has brought me with him onto all of his projects. So I basically owe my career to one teacher. Cons: - No one in the industry really cares where you went to school. Or if you went to school at all. - Columbia was super expensive. Like, retardedly so. It's a private school. I'm sure state colleges have more affordable programs. - The business side of the industry has changed so much in the past decade that a lot of my professors' career advice was terribly out of date. - A lot of what I learned in school, I could have learned in one season of being a PA. Not everything, but a lot. - The people who are in film school go into it with way too much focus on art, and not enough focus on actually working in the industry. - Your classmates, especially in directing classes, will be intolerable douches. - Seriously, most directing majors are complete douches. I'm glad I went to film school (well, TV school), but I have no idea if I'd be farther along in my career if I had skipped it and just moved to LA. It was worth it for the connections alone, as I got my first job through a teacher. If you work hard and STICK WITH IT, you will make it. Also, if you're serious about screenwriting at all, move to LA. Too many writers have this fantasy that they can just write screenplays from a cabin in the woods and mail them to Hollywood. Nuh-uh. Getting a script read is all about connections, and you need to be living in LA to make them.
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Nov 9, 2010 07:06
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Jalumibnkrayal posted:If you want to write a script...then write one. The Screenwriting Thread: Just loving Write it Already Writers write. Seriously, do you know why so many lovely scripts get bought every year? It's because they're actually finished. You can't sell the idea you've been kicking around about, like, this guy who's really talented but can't seem to find motivation, but then he meets this girl who really inspires him but she's with some other dude who doesn't appreciate her, and I don't know it's kind of like Adaptation meets Chasing Amy, but with some early David Lynch elements thrown in AHHHH SHOOT ME IN THE DICK Find a routine. Write every day. Write anything, it doesn't have to be screenplay related. Write a poem, a song, transcribe a weird conversation you heard earlier, flesh out a thought, make up a recipe for apple pie. Just write something every day. I find that most writers (of all sorts) fall into 1 of 2 work ethics: 1) The routine. Set aside designated times to write during the week. Head to Starbucks or the park, or your backyard. Wherever you can get poo poo done. Write for an hour, no more. Leave yourself something to come back to. Keep notes, make steady incremental progress toward your work. 2) The zone. You crank through page after page in marathon sessions. Once you get writing, don't stop for anything. Crank out 10, 12, 15, 20 pages at a time. Burn the midnight oil. Read your old poo poo, scream "WHAT WAS I THINKING" and then fix it. Look at you. Look at what a romantic artist you are. I'm a #2 and I hate it. I really really long to be a #1. Trust me, folks, #2 is not the most productive way to go. Routines are where it's at.
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Dec 7, 2010 23:46
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culdesac posted:I honestly just have no idea how this part of the business works and any insight would be appreciated. Is it ridiculous to assume that this can get anywhere right now without the 2 of us having any clout in the industry? Yep. Golden Bee posted:Finish the pilot, that's your next step. Make a proof of concept video or trailer. Those are your immediate next steps. This. Be patient. Meet people. And when someone finally does open a door for you and says "what are you working on?" have it ready. Don't mail it to networks. For legal reasons, pretty much all networks do not read/accept unsolicited material. If you're worried about anyone stealing the idea, you can and should register the script with the WGA (you do not have to be a member of the WGA to do this). Or, for like $35, you can get an honest-to-goodness copyright from the government. As far as working in the industry goes, I started an Ask/Tell thread about my experience in the industry so far. I'm still just a PA for now, but there might be some stuff worth reading in there.
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Dec 17, 2010 03:14
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The_Doctor posted:Up till now, the 'written by' was just my name. They never told me when I handed in the 2nd draft they were going to go over it themselves. If they'd said 'we need these bits fixed, kill this guy, add this stuff', I'd have done it happily. "Screenplay by," "Story by," and "Based on a concept by" are all different credits. Since it sounds like you worked a lot on the story itself (especially if you hashed it out from just a few sentences), you should fight for a "story by" credit as well as "Screenplay by." They can keep "based on a concept." Suggest this: Screenplay by: The_Doctor, writer 1, writer 2 Story by: The_Doctor, writer 1, writer 2 Based on a concept by: writer 1, writer 2 If they changed more than half of your words, then I don't know if they actually have to keep your name on "screenplay by." Check the official WGA Screen Credits Manual for more. But, as usual, on ANY project, GET poo poo IN WRITING. Especially if you're writing someone else's stuff.
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Jan 12, 2011 03:30
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Hellwuzzat posted:If you find a channel that you think would air your show, check the submissions information on their website. You would be hard pressed to find a network that accepts unsolicited scripts. Hellwuzzat posted:e: I dunno about the 4 six episode seasons thing, though. Seasons tend to run 12-26 episodes, no? Traditionally: A "Full order" is 20-22 episodes (or more) A "Half order" is 10-12 However, networks are wild and unpredictable with their orders these days. Walking Dead was a 6 episode order. House of Payne got a 100 episode order (split up into seasons, but still). Argyle fucked around with this message at 03:07 on Jan 19, 2011 |
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Jan 19, 2011 03:01
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