What does a Story Editor do exactly?

Dalmatian

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Mar 10, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/10/97

to

Don't get me wrong here. I'm not totally dense that I can't
figure out what the position above is.
BUT, I can't narrow it down to what the specific duties are
for this person.

You'll also forgive me if I'm not totally aware of this fellow's
name. (LarryBW, right?)

Anyways, I imagine he'd be involved with stories, of course.
But does it include (please forgive me, but I don't know the
specific jargen for these things):

approving/creating both short term and long term story lines?
Short term being like "Dark Designs" (ick)
Long term being that alien/alien planet issues.

I can think of more things that could be done, but I don't
want to embarass myself if I'm totally wrong, if I'm not
totally wrong already.

This would help me a lot to know these things.
It sort of helps me to understand the process for making BW. :)

Dalmatian

Playground Psychotic

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Mar 13, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/13/97

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Dalmatian wrote:
>
> Don't get me wrong here. I'm not totally dense that I can't
> figure out what the position above is.
> BUT, I can't narrow it down to what the specific duties are
> for this person.

> Anyways, I imagine he'd be involved with stories, of course.
> But does it include (please forgive me, but I don't know the
> specific jargen for these things):
> approving/creating both short term and long term story lines?
> Short term being like "Dark Designs" (ick)
> Long term being that alien/alien planet issues.

Yeh, that's pretty close. As I understand it, a more descriptive title
would be "Writer In Chief". Larry DiTillo and Bob Forward, Story
Editors, are the main writers for the show, and the keeper of the
continuity. If one of the staff writers writes a script in which it's
revealed that Waspinator is actually Ironhide and Optimus Primal is
actually Arcee, Larry and Bob get to yell "Nix! Naught! Nein!" and laugh
and mock the poor moron with no sense of continuing plot. But, if it's a
good story anyway, they'll edit it so the good parts are left in, but
the idiocy gets rewritten.

Of course, I may be wrong. But then again, I may be a sea cucumber.

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___________Playground_Psychotic_____________

BeastBob1

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Mar 16, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/16/97

to

>>Don't get me wrong here. I'm not totally dense that I can't
figure out what the position above is.
BUT, I can't narrow it down to what the specific duties are
for this person. <<

You're not the only one. I've run into producers who thought they didn't
need a story editor ("What, we've got the characters, right? Just hire
thirteen writers to do thirteen scripts and we can roll!") but they
quickly change their mind.

The story editor's duties are not specific, but can be summed up as:
"Hired gun." The story editor is the one who takes the initial idea and
makes it work as a series. The bible is written, the series arc (if there
is one) is worked out and the usually conficting ideas of the various
producers and network execs are resolved.

Once scripts are in production, the story editor is the guarantee that the
scripts will come through on time, to length, and with a series
consistancy. If there is a problem, the story editor must handle it
personally. This may mean rewriting the entire script (as Larry did with
"Law Of The Jungle") or doing whatever else is required.

Mostly it means reworking premises, reworking outlines, writing or
revising scripts, arguing with producers, screaming at writers who decide
to go on vacation instead of finishing their scripts, going slowly insane,
and drinking heavily.

But every once in a while you get a good show that makes it all
worthwhile.

Bob Forward
Story Ed -- Beast Wars

BUBSY

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Mar 18, 1997, 3:00:00 AM3/18/97

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beas...@aol.com (BeastBob1) wrote:

>Mostly it means reworking premises, reworking outlines, writing or
>revising scripts, arguing with producers, screaming at writers who decide
>to go on vacation instead of finishing their scripts, going slowly insane,
>and drinking heavily.

>But every once in a while you get a good show that makes it all
>worthwhile.

>Bob Forward
>Story Ed -- Beast Wars

so I take it you do a lot of story editor work for hasbro, like on
action man, etc... also, do you get a choice of what shows you work
on? if you do, why did you do action man? i mean, it's SO BAD! (no
offence to you, mr foreward... i love bw, and i loved he-man when i
was little...)
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