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Category Archives: screenwriting

Milch Lecture Online

Check out the videos of David Milch on “The Idea of the Writer” here.

Digital Media

I was lucky enough to attend the nextMEDIA conference entitled Monetizing Digital Media. I was interested in what opportunities there are for screenwriters in the ongoing digital wave and the word “monetizing” sounded promising.
I’ll get to the bottom line first: the money’s in advertising. Whether it’s banner ads, product placement or building a […]

Across the River to Motor City

I meant to write about Across the River to Motor City much closer to its release, however a little rally and something suspiciously like paying work got in the way. So please forgive the lack of timeliness of this post.
I was particularly interested in breaking down the first episode of this six-pack because Denis […]

Screenwriting in France, Iceland and More!

Just a few last thoughts about the International Affiliation of Writers Guilds meetings and then back to regularly scheduled programming.
I haven’t mentioned the French guild — Union-Guilde des scénaristes (UGS).. They were represented by Treasurer Bernard Besserglik and Co-President Olivier Lorelle, the award winning screenwriter of Indigènes, Don Quichotte ou Les mésaventures d’un homme […]

Television Writing in Ireland

In Ireland, anti-competition laws prevent screenwriters from negotiating minimum terms because they are independent contractors.  According to Chief Executive of the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild David Kavanagh it’s a difficult problem to solve.  So the IPSG is developing best practice standards to help guide writers in negotiating their deals.
The TV writing market in Ireland […]

Master of Their Domain - Seinfeld

I find myself working on some half hour comedies and hence watching them. In order to understand the half hour, I’ve tried to check in with a variety of series mid-run, rather than watching the pilots. So the next few posts will review what I’ve been watching.
What I’m up to is a quick […]

Last Night on Heroes

The episode entitled Chapter 2: Lizards was written by Michael Green.

There was a teaser plus five acts. That was no tag at the end. The fifth was a real act.
Teaser
A. Peter lost his shirt and his memory
B. HRG (Claire’s dad) isn’t laying as low as he wants Claire to
C. Matt is investigating Nakamura’s death
D. […]

Components of a Series

Kay Reindl at Seriocity has some really interesting things to say about pitching shows. She talks about how pitching works in LA and what some of her own meetings have been like. She goes on to talk about the components of the pitch, which are of course, the components of the series.
It’s a great piece […]

Californication

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 […]

Pilot Structure Part 2

Here are three more techniques to keep in mind:

Sub-plot Free First Acts
A teaser or first act of a pilot can follow a single story line without introducing a single subplot. The teaser of the CSI pilot is almost all about one of the mysteries of the week. The seven minute teaser for Burn Notice, on […]