Teleplays
The Unforgiven
different than a movie, other than the commercial breaks and all? Any help
would be grateful.
--
And when they would tell their own children the tale by
candlelight in the warmth of their homes , on the streets
where the lamps burned under stars that still stirred the
power to dream, they would always begin the tale with
the same magic words:
"Once Upon A Time..."
-Robert McCammon, Swan Song
Some websites by friends of mine:
http://www.king100.demon.co.uk/abdk/
http://www.public.asu.edu/~ernestf/castle/
http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/catsreadbooks
The Unforgiven--Assistant Castle Librarian, Court Loon, Royal Hacker of
the Castle
Steven J. Weller
"The Unforgiven" <zero...@cvn.net> writes:
> How long should each act be between fade in's and fade out's? Is it any
> different than a movie, other than the commercial breaks and all? Any help
> would be grateful.
Every show will be a little different; I've been taping V.I.P. for a
spec I'm writing and have found it to be 4 acts, plus a teaser, PLUS an
epilogue. It runs roughly 5 minutes for the tease, then 8-1/2 minutes
for the first act, 11 minutes for the second act, 7-8 minutes for the
third, 6-7 for the fourth, and a minute or two for the epilogue.
Typically, a 1-hour show will have either 4 acts and a tease or 4 acts
and an epilogue (less common these days), and the acts will be roughly
10 minutes each, with the tease around 5 minutes, for a final running
time (sans commercials) of around 43-45 minutes.
Different shows will break things up a little differently, but most
have a formula they stick to fairly closely. If you're writing for a
particular show, tape a few eps or buy some copies of the scripts (or
get the prodco to send you the scripts if you're working on assignment)
and see exactly how they do it.
Except...
The general rule is, you don't send a spec to the show itself. If
you're writing a spec Ally cBeal, then Ally McBeal is the one place you
WOULDN'T send it. So it's probaby not quite as crucial to replicate
the minutia of the show's format, as the only people who would notice
are the people who won't be reading your material.
At least, I hope that's the case, or I'm screwed on my Crow spec.
--
Life Continues, Despite
Evidence to the Contrary
Steven
The Unforgiven
And when they would tell their own children the tale by
candlelight in the warmth of their homes , on the streets
where the lamps burned under stars that still stirred the
power to dream, they would always begin the tale with
the same magic words:
"Once Upon A Time..."
-Robert McCammon, Swan Song
Some websites by friends of mine:
http://www.king100.demon.co.uk/abdk/
http://www.public.asu.edu/~ernestf/castle/
http://www.angelfire.com/ca2/catsreadbooks
The Unforgiven--Assistant Castle Librarian, Court Loon, Royal Hacker of
the Castle
Steven J. Weller wrote in message <8anh6l$itt$1...@zook.lafn.org>...
The Unforgiven
typical?
--
Steven J. Weller
"The Unforgiven" <zero...@cvn.net> writes:
> Now that I know the time length, how about page length? What would be
> typical?
It varies somewhat from one series to the next, but shoot for about 55
pages for a one hour drama.
MwsReader
> It varies somewhat from one series to the next, but shoot for about 55
> pages for a one hour drama.
Not on a MOW, however. Going over 100 pages for a 2 hour isn't a
good idea in most cases. When writing those, I'd recommend aiming
for 95, plus or minus a few pages. (But, keep in mind... since each
act starts on a fresh page, you can come up shorter than you think
if you have a lot of acts that end with just an 1/8 or 1/4 page.)
This reminds me of something... A few weeks back, it was suggested
that MOW specs should be written without regard to the act breaks.
I can't believe that this is the best way to do them, since the structure
and timing of acts and their breaks is one of the most important (and
difficult) tasks involved in writing a teleplay.
We've all seen theatrical features on TV that go to commercial at
weird moments, since they weren't designed to be cut up, and don't
automatically have dramatic (or even passable) breaking points
built in. Can a script without acts and breaks really be called a
teleplay? Some might say so, but I don't think I'd be among them.
My op, for what it's worth.
Ken
Ovum
should I just write it as a feature and let the agent/prodco/whoever decide it
should be a MOW and get me to rewrite it with commercial breaks after it's
sold?
------------------------------------------------
In essentials, unity.
In non-essentials, liberty.
In all things, charity.
-- Augustine
Steven J. Weller
ov...@aol.com (Ovum) writes:
> Stupid question: if I think my script would work as a feature *or* a MOW,
> should I just write it as a feature and let the agent/prodco/whoever decide it
> should be a MOW and get me to rewrite it with commercial breaks after it's
> sold?
That would be my advice, though others might differ. A MOW that's
being presented as a theatrical movie (on cable or otherwise) usually
feels a little funky - you can sense the act breaks even when there
isn't a commercial interruption. My guess is that there's also more
chance of getting a spec produced as a feature (thetrical, cable, DTV,
whatever) than as a MOW; they're fairly specialized animals, and the
same people tend to be hired over and over for the task. If someone
buys your spec as a MOW, they'll probably hire Ken to do the rewrite
anyway ;^).
The Unforgiven
typical?
--