Multi-cam shows on TVWriterChat

Good morning, afternoon, and evening. How nice of you to drop by! Tea?

This week's Screenwriters Anonymous detoxification is focussed on writing MULTI-CAM TV (as seen on television). It comprises two TV Writer Chats, the first one shorter to avoid double-ups.

So step into the parlour, it's time to watch some TV.

TV WRITER CHAT 14^th December, 2011

* Once you’ve sold a script, you’ve sold the copyright and your vision. Producers now own it and can make any changes without the writer.
* Single-camera shows will still be in three acts but the script may not show the breaks.
* Some single-cam scripts look like a short film (e.g. Entourage).
* Single-cam shows can tend to be less jokey and more dramatic. Where a multi-cam often ends on a comedic note, single-cam can end on a dramatic or comedic ‘button’.
* Single-cam shows have more scenes, because they’re not so restricted by locations and sets.

TV WRITER CHAT 18^th December, 2011: MULTI-CAM TV

* Double-spacing and act breaks often make multi-camera scripts longer than single-cam.
* All action is in CAPS.
* Multi-cams are written a little more like a play.
* The writing schedules for multi-cam shows are often crazy; it’s hard to have a family and write on such a show. Some days you can start at 9am and go until 6am the next day!
* Most multi-cams state which characters will be appearing in the scene under the slugline.
* It’s more set-up -> punchline.
* Scenes are lettered, not numbered, as they coincide with the studio camera points.
* The faster/earlier you do your set-ups, the faster you’ll get events in motion and have more room for story conflict to evolve.
* Multi-cams tend to have more twists/reversals/complications.
* They have a comic rhythm, a certain cadence you can follow like a beat.
* Most writers consider multi-cams harder to write.
* This type of show is generally given less time on air to find an audience if they don’t rate well immediately (Big Bang Theory is one of the exceptions to this).
* One method you can use to write a multi-cam: start with a premise line before outlining – a cause & effect statement that tells the A-story as a set-up, turn, turn, then major turn.
* The live taping of multi-cams makes the schedule very strict. It’s also more gruelling because of network approvals in between, punch-ups, etc.
* This type of script format takes longer to learn.
* Watch shows, read scripts, and study what happens in the A, B, and C strands!
* Multi-cam shows can be easier to break down ‘cos the format is so strictly established. You can know where the marks should happen.
* Look at the story points at the end of each act break. This will give you an idea of the formula a show uses.

 

Well look at the time. Our session is up for today.  Come back next week when we present the brain pickings of screenwriter, author, and UCLA teacher, Richard Walter. It's a must-see episode!

Screenwriters Anonymous - it's like 7 Minutes in Heaven except it's you at a keyboard for 70 years, alone.

Sitcom writing on Scriptchat

Oh, it's you again. You left your wallet here so you'd have an excuse to return, didn't you? Well, welcome back! I promise I didn't lick all your coins.

On today's Screenwriters Anonymous I relay to you the meatiest bits of the Scriptchat guest-starring writer John Vorhaus. John has written for Married... With Children and Head of the Class. He is the author of 'The Comic Toolbox', 'Creativity Rules', and 'The Little Book of Sitcom'. This man knows his stuff.

SITCOM WRITING 11^th December, 2011
Guest: John Vorhaus 

* Characters are sympathetic monsters. Sympathetic because we like them. Monsters because they don’t always act in their own best interest.
* Biggest mistakes: writing characters from the outside in, constructing characters according to template instead of heart.
* John’s favourite character flaws: going too far, innocence/naivety/obsession.
* “The trouble with too far is you never know you’re going ‘til you’ve gone.”
* Characters who go too far are well-intentioned, therefore ‘sympathetic’ – they just lack limits.
* Michael Scott in The Office goes way too far trying to validate his self image.
* Ask yourself what choices your character must make. Test them by putting them in a situation as a writing exercise. “How would this person cross the street?” Play with the characters before you really try to write them. Don’t use these scenes in your script unless suitable.
* Villains in comedies should be likeable. Villains elsewhere can be unlikeable. e.g. Hannibal Lector.
* Protagonists must be likeable and relatable. Otherwise no-one will come along for the ride. This doesn't necessarily mean they should be nice (look at Al on Married... With Children. What a jerk! But we love him.)
* It’s easy to like a flawed anti-hero – we can relate.
* You can have a more likeable sub-character to act as the viewer’s window in, to make the flawed anti-hero more likeable.
* Antagonists need goals (and love!) too.
* Antagonist’s job: put pressure on the hero, bring him/her to truth.
* Strong supporting characters: more exaggeration, less self-awareness, very strong comic perspectives, and repeatable “bits”.
* John isn’t a fan of unity of opposites + archetypes when crafting characters. “Have the characters be who THEY want to be, not who YOU want them to be.”
* Good writing = honesty + style.
* John says screw character bios! Put your characters into stories, see what they do. That’s where the real learning lies.
* Give your character a strong early choice to define them (the viewer can see the cut of their jib early this way and have a handle on who this person really is).
* The best way to get constructive feedback is find a writer you trust and do the same for him/her.
* If you don’t know writers, join a meet-up group.

If you want to learn more, you can check out John's books and follow him on Twitter at @TrueFactBarFact

The next post will come very soon, with tasty treats from the TVWriterChat about mutli-cam TV shows. It will be awesome from multiple angles.
Please don't hit me.

Screenwriters Anonymous - your IMDb profile can't save you now, mwa ha haaa!

Thrillers on Scriptchat

Roll up, roll up, and welcome to the latest session of Screenwriters Anonymous, where the screenfreaks and word geeks dwell. Today's confessional is about THRILLERS. It should be... thrilling*
(*no responsibility will be taken for dad-grade puns)

This is a bit of a long one, but pure gold if you're getting into the lucrative and exciting field of writing thriller films. Enjoy the knowledge!

THRILLERS 4^th December 2011

* Thrillers were well-repped in 2011 sales. Thrillers and comedies were the big spec sellers.
* They are the only movies than can look dirt cheap and make millions.
* Thrillers work ‘cos sets and props are relatable to our real lives.
* They are more action-oriented and often more violent than straight suspense.
* Competency of Main Character is important. In horror, the MC is unprepared. In a thriller, they are better equipped to face the situation.
* Increase intensity with each scene.
* Thrillers are usually more about plot than character.
* Spec thrillers too often focussed on characters and become drama. It’s a difficult genre to balance.
* Thrillers are more about feeling the plot twists than thinking them. You don’t want your audience cerebral, you want to take them along for the ride.
* Suspense is more passive, thriller more active.
* A story about avoiding a bomb blast = suspense. A story about diffusing a bomb = thriller. Getting chased = suspense. Chasing = thriller.
* A good thriller is more story, less gory. Implied is more powerful than shown (see the end of Se7en). Thrillers don’t rely on special effects – they rely on the audience’s imagination.
* Stakes. Conflict. Tension. Power on both sides (hero’s side and villain’s side).
* Natural dialogue, relatable characters.
* Keep ‘em guessing, hide your misdirection. TWISTS!
* Have a dramatic question to frame each sequence, along with an overarching dramatic question for the film.
* A good thriller just stops short of revealing too much in each scene, Each scene builds like a house of cards to the finale.
* The opponent preys on the hero’s psychological weaknesses, big-time.
* A good Main Character is one you never quite trust. Are they good or bad? It creates a great guessing game. Look at Leo’s character in Shutter Island.
* Allow the audience to share a secret with the protagonist. When the protag. conceals or lies, the audience is complicit. Shutter Island is filled with great examples of this.
* Main Character must have doubt in themselves.
* A good thriller will pass ‘the piss test’ – the film should make you need to pee (but dare not leave the screen). Don’t give the audience any chance to go to the toilet.
* A solid Main Character has a clear goal, and the ability to follow a string of actions to achieve it. They use their flaws as an advantage.
* The hero must be smart, but the villain must be smarter.
* Most thrillers are justice vs. injustice.
* The best thrillers save some innocent victims, and punish the smart people. Mercy then mercilessness. A glimpse of order in the universe, that the good will be saved, only to be dashed violently, and chaos returned.
* Leave your viewers with new questions as you answer old ones.
* Thriller recommendations: Zodiac, Se7en, Silence of the Lambs, Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Hot Fuzz, Sneakers, The Game, Stakeout.
* Other recommendations: Documentary – ‘Terror in the Aisles’.


That's all for today, folks. Next time I'll feed you the hot bites from the comedy Scriptchat starring writer John Vorhaus (Married With Children). Delicious.

Screenwriters Anonymous - for people who have worse carpal tunnel than professional fluffers.

Writing a Scene - Scriptcast notes

Hello my festive eyeballers. Today’s Screenwriters Anonymous is about scene writing. This handful of nuggets comes care of the Scriptcast podcast (you can find it here on iTunes). You could go listen to it yourself, or you can save your minutes and read the crux below, but it's still a podcast worth a regular listen.

I’ve gotta say, I love a lot of these screenwriting podcasts, and we should show gratitude to the awesome folks who make them without getting a buck back from them. Kudos.

SCENE WRITING
* Start with a slugline – what happens? (What needs to happen in the scene based off your outline?)
* Four elements:

-An emotional moment (if you’re writing comedy, this could be the funny bit)

-A character moment

-Plot movement

-Visual
Your MUST have AT LEAST TWO of these moments per scene.
* What information are you giving? Do you give it more than once? Cut that shit down, son.
* What does each character want, and what will they do to get it?  Where’s the CONFLICT?!
* You can add a third character to a scene to create friction when the two other characters are talking (the great example they gave was The Big Lebowski, how when Walter & The Dude are talking at the bowling lane, Donnie keeps pissing Walter off).
* Characters CAN hate each other.
* You can get a lot of comedy from a stupid character, or a character that lies a lot.
* Think of several ways to write a scene. Don’t just write it one way! Explore. Rigidity is not your friend – experimentation is (unless you’re in college, in which case rigidity and experimentation may go together).

That's all for today, but very soon I'll post a chunky recap of the brilliant Scriptchat on THRILLERS. It should be... thrilling. Yes, I know. Dad humour. I love you too.

Merry Crustmas, Happy Harmonukkah, Joyous Ryan Kawnten-za, and any other holiday religion I forgot to offend. Stay safe, be generous, and get started on those New Year's Resolutions. Next year is set to be huge, considering it will be Earth's going out of business sale, if you believe those meddling Mayans.

Screenwriters Anonymous - when we say give yourself over to a higher power, we do not mean Robert McKee.

Structure - tips from Scriptchat

We're born, we do shit, we die. There's our three act structure.
But when it comes to the stories we tell, it gets more complicated, because we must play God and be the architect of our characters' fates.

Structure is a tricky thing - so set in stone in some ways, so loose and 'anything is possible' in others. And it's something you'll be lucky if they teach in a screenwriting course (I am scowling at my university as I write).

Here are some gems shared by the brains trust of Scriptchat. I hope you find some helpful wisdom in here.

STRUCTURE 30^th October 2011

* There’s overall structure and individual scene structure.

* When writing a scene ask yourself “What do I want this scene to be about?” Let that guide how you construct the scene.
* Start with a solid structure (don’t overthink it!) then let your characters run free so the structure becomes organic.
* Once the outline is written, stop stressing on structure and have fun with the story.
* Think of your script in quarters (like 4 acts).
* The midpoint is a thematic break, rather than a plot break. This is why 3 acts can often seem like 4.
* Think of the midpoint as page 60 of a 120 page script. A major plot decision that highlights the theme.
* Focus on set-ups and pay-offs.
* A good guide for scenes: they should be on average 2 minutes long. 7 in the first act, up to page 28-ish. Proceeds accordingly. (The maths on this doesn’t add up – maybe the person who suggested this tip could clarify?)
* Try to focus on plot events rather than acts when charting your A, B, and C strands.
* The major key to cracking structure is figuring out what events drive the plot. Not comprise it, but CAUSE IT.
* Do extensive character work, really get to know these people in and out, and the plot points you devise will be organic to your characters and believable to the audience.
* What’s your character’s goal? Their obstacles? Don’t prescribe, LISTEN!
* Don’t be married to your outline or you won’t embrace changes.
* Plotting: ‘Veni, vidi, vici – I came, I saw, I conquered’.
* Be sure that your lead character drives the action, despite you having ‘outlined their fate’.
* Characters should always be making choices true to the character. Bring ‘em to their breaking point honestly.
* You could break plot into 7 – 8 blocks with a dramatic question for each, and plot points spinning the story in a new direction (even if your story is linear, it shouldn’t walk a straight line!)
* Inciting incidents tend to appear earlier now than they used to in films, now occurring between page 5 – 10.
* Conflict drives story. Never forget that. Dexter was at its best when you were constantly fearing Dex getting caught. The Big Lebowski is funnier when Walter is yelling at Donnie.
* By page 5, the reader should know who the main character is and what they want. Why they can’t get it should follow soon after.
* The best scenes have three layers of conflict: intrapersonal (inside the character), interpersonal (between characters), and circumstantial (conflicting with their environment/situation/the greater world or order).
* Always know what all of your characters want, and how those desires clash, and there’s your tension.
* Your inciting incident should never be the most exciting thing in your script. The conflict should.
* DVD recommendation: ‘Heroes 2 Journeys’ (structure & character development)
* Book recommendations: ‘How to write a movie in 21 days’. ‘Myth & the movies’ by Stuart Voytilla (myth structures for 50 top films). Books written by David Howard, including ‘How to build a great screenplay’, and Paul Joseph Gulino, including ‘Screenwriting: the sequence approach’.

I don't know about you, but I think there's a lot of gold written above. Structure of plot and scenes intimidates me, but I think some of these tips will help me to move forward.

Next time I'll share some notes I made listening to a podcast. Yes, you could listen to the podcast yourself, but not everyone has 45 minutes to give their full attention over to a sound file. The topic will be scene writing, and it should be a nice little follow-up to this post on structure.

Screenwriters Anonymous - where a narcissistic, egotistical God complex with features of grandeur delusions is absolutely mandatory.

The First 15 Pages - tips from Scriptchat

If you get someone to read your script, you're lucky. Even if it's just your landlady's nephew with the weird nose spasm, you're lucky. 120 pages is a big investment of a person's time and gives-a-crapness.

But the most important step after getting them reading, is keeping them reading. If they get to page 8 and your characters are confusing, your time periods are changing, and the lead character isn't interesting, then you're not interesting and your script won't be read.

So what's the secret? Make your first 15 pages killer. Leave your reader dripping from the mouth and turning the pages feverishly.

Here's a few pointers on how you make those first 15 dazzle.

THE FIRST 15 PAGES 16th October 2011

* Too many writers now days don’t play with structure any more. Figure out fresh, new styles.
* Don’t follow a cookie-cutter structure style. Don’t let those screenwriting books make you uniform. They’re there to help you craft your art, not make you a clone.
* Don’t be strict with structure – let story unfold in an organic and interesting way.
* What is the unique identity of the script? Why does it need to be made?
* Every page must pull the reader onto the next. Cliffhang the shit out your work.
* Don’t try to establish everything, just get the reader interested. Films are moments, not information.
* Make audience worry about the decision the main character has to make.
* Want to break into the industry? Go make a movie. No-one’s looking to “discover” anyone anymore. Discover yourself and show yourself to the world, but maybe not in the way a 3-year-old boy does.
* Try a 4 act structure – breaking act II into two parts.
* Some writers do 10 x 10 page beats.
* Don’t clutter your dialogue with exposition.
* Let yourself suck. Then go back and fix all the parts that suck. Writers block is no excuse not to write. There are still things you can be doing.
* A lot of the best beginnings of films have little dialogue: Jaws, E.T., Halloween, Wall-E.
* Tone is huge; it needs to match the piece. If you’re writing a comedy, it can’t read dry and academic. If you can’t get at least one laugh from page one, you’ve done something very wrong.
* Character, dialogue, action, what’s happening beneath the surface, a hook – make people desperate for what happens next.
* Book recommendation: William Martell’s ‘The Secrets of Action Screenwriting’.

Also, don't fall into the trap of editing the start of your script 14,000 times more than the rest. Move on.

Next time on the show we talk to a woman whose husband turned out to be a woman who was really a duck, we see if we can play 7 Minutes in Heaven with Herman Cain in an inappropriate work setting, and fill you in on the big, fat, juicy tips from the Scriptchat on screenplay structure. Don't miss it, it'll be a doozy. 

What is a doozy anyway?

Screenwriters Anonymous - what happens in Final Draft, stays in Final Draft.

Quick TVWriterChat bite with writers of Shit My Dad Says

     Howdy pardners! Just a really short #TVWriterChat catch-up today to start catching up on the backlog (Is there such thing as a frontlog?)
Coming up in a few days, you can read the highlights from Scriptchat on the 16th of October, which focuses on how to write kickass first 15 pages of your script.

    TV WRITER CHAT 9^th October 2011
Guest-starring: Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker of HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN and SHIT MY DAD SAYS

* Patrick and Justin got their start based off Justin’s Twitter account – ShitMyDadSays.
* It went from Twitter to book to TV deal.
* In TV, purchase-to-shoot is fast, usually pilot-to-purchase-to-TV all in one year.
* Cross-platform like this is seldom seen, but it could be a good opportunity for a writer to think outside the box, and not necessarily go straight for the screenplay route. There are other ways of getting attention.
* In pitching, above all, be passionate. It’ll sell you.
* Treat yourself like a brand.
* Hook up with experienced showrunner – they’ll shepherd the whole process.
* Multi-cam is set-up—joke. Feed the beast. Single-cam is more like a movie. Both can be great, or bad.
* U.S. TV pitching season: June – mid-September for networks, year-round for cable.
* It’s all about character. People watch because they connect with the characters, not one-liners.
* You can see the funnies on Twitter: ShitMyDadSays, follow Justin Halpern: Justin Halpern and Patrick Schumacker: PMSchumacker.

     There ya go! I just saved you reading through the transcript of a one-hour chat. You can thank me in your Oscars speech. Is that an impractical expectation? Okay, you can thank me in your daytime Emmy award speech.

'Til next time, read a damn script. Pick one you wouldn't normally read, or watch. I've got Knocked Up sitting here. Not big on the Judd Apatow humour, but if we only read and watched what we like, we'd, well actually, we'd probably all be happy, balanced, functioning human beings.
Damn.

     Screenwriters Anonymous - admitting you have a 2nd act problem is the first step to recovery.