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Category Archives: act length

Joss and Four Acts

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

There’s a comment thread on Whedonesque – the Joss Whedon fan site — about my post about Dollhouse and the fact that the script is written in four acts. I’d leave a comment there but you have to sign on to do so. I tried to join but the site is not accepting […]

Filed in Dollhouse, Joss Whedon, act length, act breaks, pilot script | Comments (0)

Californication

Monday, August 13, 2007

Californication written by Tom Kapinos (who ran Dawson’s Creek in its fourth season) aired. You’ve seen it. Maybe you liked it. I know I did.
Let’s look under the hood.

It is more a typical-episode pilot than a premise pilot. Hank bumbles through what seems to be his normal routine. But it […]

Filed in Tom Kapinos, typisode pilot, act length, Californication, screenwriting | Comments (5)

Pilot Structure Trends

Thursday, August 9, 2007

These are the structural trends emerging from the pilots I’ve read and watched:
Open long.A lot of teases are running very long. Or scripts are eschewing teases altogether and leading off with titles followed by a long act one. Once you get the viewer tuned in, why give them a commercial and let them […]

Filed in character beats, act length, theme, Teasers, structure | Comments (1)