TV Writing I: 10-Week Workshop (Online) (Live Online)

This course gives you a firm grounding in the basics of TV writing craft and gets you writing a TV script for an existing show.Course components:LecturesWriting exercisesWorkshopping of student projects (each student presenting work two times)TV Writing I is for beginners or anyone who wants to brush up on the fundamentals. Students must be 18 years or older.Please Note:TV writers either work on the staff of an existing series or they create an original show. To break into the business, you need samples of your work—either episodes of existing shows or original scripts, the latter more desirable these days.TV I focuses on writing “spec” scripts for existing shows, which is the best way to learn how TV episodes work. TV II focuses on creating an original series and “pilot” episode.These courses cover “scripted” shows, as opposed to reality TV. Course Syllabus:Introduction to TV Writing: Writing samples—specs for existing shows, original work. Elements of a TV series—type, premise, episodes (self-contained/serialized, storylines, signatures), characters, setting, tone, secret theme. How to choose a show to spec. Studying shows.Episode Ideas: Getting storyline ideas. Finding ideas inside and outside the show. Vertical exploration of regular characters. Interaction of multiple storylines. Using the expected and unexpected.Mapping It Out: Finding the storyline beats. Plot basics. Prose outlines. Segments. Step outlines. Tips for outlining.Character: Understanding the regular characters. Desire—super objective, episode objective. Strengths/flaws. Personality. Relationships.Format/Description: Examining the technical format for TV scripts. How to handle description.Scene: Scene defined. Scene guidelines—importance, desire, structure, character. Scenes analyzed—short, medium, long.Dialogue: Naturalistic dialogue. The art of compression. Stylized dialogue. Lingo. Character through dialogue. Subtext. Stage directions.Drama/Comedy: Drama—character complexity, emotion, suspense, action. Comedy—character folly, extreme situations, verbal wit, physical humor. Comedy/Drama—finding the right balance.The Process: The real-world process of writing TV shows. Your process-beating it out, breaking story, scenes, transitions, length, finishing touches. Making sure a script is ready.The Business: Building a collection of samples. Getting in the door-connections, non-writing jobs in the business, agents/managers, production companies. Who to contact. Query letter. Response. Meetings. Ways to maximize your chances.Content may vary among individual classes.Important:Schedule posted is the Start and End date of the class. You may access the class at any time, day or night, within the schedule provided. Please see Online Class Delivery for more details.