Is there much difference in terms of writing technique between writing features and writing for TV (sitcoms, half hour shows, hour-long stuff and so forth???
Screenwriting : Feature writing vs writing for TV by Zlatan Mustafica
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Just a generality, but TV evolved from radio and tends to be more dialogue oriented, while film evolved from silent films and tends to be more visual storytelling oriented and less dialogue oriented.
Emily, I was thinking more about formatting, I guess. For the life of me I can´t remember where, but I read somewhere that formatting between the two mediums differs in certain areas. I read a lot of scripts for Tv shows and I can´t really tell those scripts apart from any motion picture script. Or is it some kind of new development in the industry I am blissfully unaware of? LIke William says obvious differences are those he mentions and I agree with that. I am just wondering if a new "set of rules" regarding teleplay-writing is out there? I might be overthinking it though.
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I haven't read this entire guide, so I can't fully vouch for it. From the parts I've read, I mostly agree. I'm sure it's a fine general guide. One very notable section to understand is about multi-cam formatting. https://blcklst.com/help/tv_script_standards.pdf
Great, Regina, thank you, this is exactly what I´m talking about. This is very interesting to me because of some feedback I recieved not to long ago, on one of my "ideas for a TV-drama", where I was told my formatting of a TV script was not perfect, which of course got me thinking a bit. Awesome! Thank you so much, Regina!
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Zlatan: There are two formats for TV writing, depending on the number of cameras used. A single camera show, such as "Last Man on Earth," is written in a similar format as a feature film, single-spaced, one minute per page, etc. Whereas a multi-cam show, such as "The Big Bang Theory," uses a double-spaced format with a few other differences. The primary difference with multi-cam, other than double-spacing, is that action blocks are typed in ALL CAPS. And the double-spacing makes it read at a 30 seconds per page rate instead of one minute. If you have a commercial screenwriting software such as Final Draft or Movie Magic, it will have a template for each.
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Hi Zlatan, "one of my 'ideas for a TV-drama,' where I was told my formatting of a TV script was not perfect" - It's possible there was a mechanical formatting issue, or it's possible that your story was too close-ended (like a movie) instead of ongoing like a series. Anyway, good luck with the next draft!
Excellent breakdown Bob, I appreciate it, thank you. Hi Regina, and yes, I believe it to be that the writing I did on that project was simply far too movie-like with certain technical issues as well. That is perfectly clear to me now that I understand more about what a teleplay should look like on a page. I have not really tried to write much for TV but maybe I should try it more, I don´t know. My feature-length scripts kind of take all the time right now. What are your feelings on either / or Bob? Regina? I mean, TV has exploded in recent years where more and more smaller networks come into play and really go for it and do it well by the way. Is TV maybe a medium that is more open to new writers or is that also just an illusion? Thank you guys for your inputs. Nice to see that no matter how I feel sometimes, I am not really alone loving this crazy, beautiful craft of ours.