This may be a silly question, but when writing a tv series do I just focus solely on mastering the pilot to pitch and worry about the rest later? Or finish a whole season before pitching it?
Advice from ScriptReaderPro [https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/how-to-write-a-tv-pilot-script/]:
"For now, though, all you need to worry about is how to write a TV pilot episode. Don’t worry about coming up with ten episodes for a whole season. And there’s no need right now to come up with a show bible. (This is a more polished outline designed to show to execs and producers when you’re hawking the script around town.)"
"You’ll need to write an outline—a breakdown of the story and characters—but a bible can wait until you’ve garnered some interest in the pilot TV show. When you really need to give people something more concrete."
Make sure you have the full universe in your head. You have to be able to explain a story arc that goes for a few seasons. Explain the world that everything happens in.
I can tell you what I did in this show I've been working on.
First I had the idea for the whole show, then (because lockdown is a thing) I wrote a rough draft of the whole first season (8 episodes). Then I outlined the rest of the show (seasons 2-8) and finally I polished the pilot so that it would set-up a lot of things for future seasons and really felt like there was a whole world there to explore. In the meantime I wrote the show bible and started working on the pitch deck and a 90-second animatic teaser for the first season.
Now I started sending the pilot, so let's see how it goes.
But as far as I know, most people just write the pilot and outline the first season and work on a good pitch deck, so I guess it varies from writer to writer.
If we're talking about drama: Back where I'm from, we're big fans of working backward. You start with the season's story (big lines) and then you break it down in approximative episodes. Why work backward? Because that forces the writer to go deeper in the emotional charges (tension) of the story rather than coming up with new plots and twits (that might be surprising but can lack depth and flavor) as you go.
Your pilot should also be about setting up conflict, therefor it's better to have an idea of where the story is going.
If you talk about comedy, I think you can get away with not working on the whole season and really focus on characters and tonality.
I would write that pilot. It’s very difficult to know all the ends and outs of a story if you haven’t written it. Also, if the pilot is good, then you can use it as a writing sample for assignments or to get into a writer’s room.
A good pitch deck/bible that outlines your first season, world and characters is always good to show, as it demonstrates what will make audiences want to invest into the world and characters you have created and keep them coming back for more. This should also have an outline for your pilot episode. A pilot script is good to demonstrate your own personal writing ability along with your world and characters in practice.
As for the "silly question" - Nine times out of ten the silly question is the one that doesn't get asked at all. So ask as many questions on here as you like! Its how anybody learns : )
3 people like this
Advice from ScriptReaderPro [https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/how-to-write-a-tv-pilot-script/]:
"For now, though, all you need to worry about is how to write a TV pilot episode. Don’t worry about coming up with ten episodes for a whole season. And there’s no need right now to come up with a show bible. (This is a more polished outline designed to show to execs and producers when you’re hawking the script around town.)"
"You’ll need to write an outline—a breakdown of the story and characters—but a bible can wait until you’ve garnered some interest in the pilot TV show. When you really need to give people something more concrete."3 people like this
I have heard this many times from professionals.
Make sure you have the full universe in your head. You have to be able to explain a story arc that goes for a few seasons. Explain the world that everything happens in.
3 people like this
I'm going to keep preaching this, because after ingesting this webinar - DON'T WRITE THE PILOT! Write the bible!
https://www.stage32.com/webinars/Stage-32-%20-Netflix-Present-Television...
2 people like this
I can tell you what I did in this show I've been working on.
First I had the idea for the whole show, then (because lockdown is a thing) I wrote a rough draft of the whole first season (8 episodes). Then I outlined the rest of the show (seasons 2-8) and finally I polished the pilot so that it would set-up a lot of things for future seasons and really felt like there was a whole world there to explore. In the meantime I wrote the show bible and started working on the pitch deck and a 90-second animatic teaser for the first season.
Now I started sending the pilot, so let's see how it goes.
But as far as I know, most people just write the pilot and outline the first season and work on a good pitch deck, so I guess it varies from writer to writer.
2 people like this
Hi! It's actually a very good question...
My two cents;
If we're talking about drama: Back where I'm from, we're big fans of working backward. You start with the season's story (big lines) and then you break it down in approximative episodes. Why work backward? Because that forces the writer to go deeper in the emotional charges (tension) of the story rather than coming up with new plots and twits (that might be surprising but can lack depth and flavor) as you go.
Your pilot should also be about setting up conflict, therefor it's better to have an idea of where the story is going.
If you talk about comedy, I think you can get away with not working on the whole season and really focus on characters and tonality.
6 people like this
Can't say it enough. WORLD BUILD!!! WORLD BUILD!!! WORLD BUILD!!!
2 people like this
I would write that pilot. It’s very difficult to know all the ends and outs of a story if you haven’t written it. Also, if the pilot is good, then you can use it as a writing sample for assignments or to get into a writer’s room.
1 person likes this
Many produced stuff has an answer to your question...
1 person likes this
Pilot, pitch deck and outline of season 1.
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The question you have to ask yourself is; would you go around town trying to sell a feature script with just the first ten pages or a full synopsis?
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you'd be a Hollywood unicorn if you sold a spec pilot as a rookie writer and it went to production series.
4 people like this
A good pitch deck/bible that outlines your first season, world and characters is always good to show, as it demonstrates what will make audiences want to invest into the world and characters you have created and keep them coming back for more. This should also have an outline for your pilot episode. A pilot script is good to demonstrate your own personal writing ability along with your world and characters in practice.
As for the "silly question" - Nine times out of ten the silly question is the one that doesn't get asked at all. So ask as many questions on here as you like! Its how anybody learns : )
3 people like this
It may not be inspiring but it's true.