|
|
|
                |
The third annual Breaking the TV Barrier seminar, titled "The Shifting Television Landscape," was held on Saturday, Feb. 27, at Paramount Studios - and had many attendees wondering, "what barriers?" The near-sellout crowd spent the day listening to advice from more than forty television executives, agents, writers and show runners on navigating the swift waters of today's television industry.
Here's how the day progressed: Keynote Address Tony Krantz began the day with a keynote speech addressing the changes in the television business and how writers can create their own careers without losing their creativity. One of the greatest hindrances to creativity is fear. It drives decisions in the industry and we allow it to drive the decisions we make in our own careers. We need to put our fears aside and keep in mind that successful people are no different from us. At the beginning of all our careers, we're basically the same. The difference is hard work. Each success begets the next success. Stop looking at the past as a way of defining what to do in the future. Krantz pointed to such shows as David Lynch's Twin Peaks, South Park, ER and Aaron Sorkin's Sports Night in explaining that true vision is not dependent on what has gone before. It is not uncommon to look at what worked in the past and use that to define the future -- this is something we should avoid in our careers. Have a vision, be true to your voice, and let that pull you forward. Become a student of the business. Live out loud. Talk about what you want to do in the business. The more you identify with that, the more you relate to yourself that way. What follows is that the world begins to relate to you in that way. The Starting Line: The Paths of the Beginning Writer Beth Bohn, Gillian Horvath and Tod Himmel, the Starting Line panelists, came to television from different directions but agreed on they key points that new writers need to know. The eternal question -- what to write - prompted this consensus: Don't worry about what's hot at the moment, and don't bother with writing pilots at the beginning phase of your career. Write a spec for a show that you love, as long as it's reasonably popular and has some life left. Begin your agent search with at least four sitcom scripts or three hour dramas. Though some feature writers succeed in crossing over to television, for those just starting out, a feature isn't enough. At the other extreme, it's better to have three outstanding scripts than ten or fifteen mediocre ones. Horvath's entree to television was via the college internship and assistant route. After three years as a writer's assistant and researcher, she knew people in the business and how things work. That experience helped when querying agents, since it showed that she was already working on her own behalf. She found that entry-level jobs can be used to gain skills, but both Horvath and Bohn cautioned that you should do the job you were hired to do and do it well. Regarding queries in general, Bohn began with an admonition about timing: Any time from July to the fall is better than right now, when agents are trying to place their existing clients on staffs. When writing a query letter, keep it short but put something of yourself on the page. Comedy writers should definitely be funny, drama writers should make it clever. Himmel reminded that follow-up is important. Bohn regards the query letter as a showcase for cleverness and passion, while the follow-up call reveals how the writer deals with people. When you start getting meetings, Himmel's advice to the shy is to work on "people" skills. Bohn favors practicing pitches before a meeting, but Horvath warned against memorizing them, passing along this gem from a show runner: "Go in with notes. That way, it doesn't look like you came up with the ideas in the car on the way to the meeting." Getting Hired: Meetings Matt Bedrosian moderated this panel and led a lively discussion of meetings with Lucia Cottone, Bruce Evans, Jim Geoghan, Kay Reindl and Frank South. The session was packed with important tidbits, interesting information and advice relating to the various types of meetings writers face in the business. Just a few highlights of the excellent advice given follows. Your writing is what gets you in the door. Preparation is the key. Talk to your agent. Work with them. Let them know what you want to accomplish in your career, but don't pigeon-hole yourself by only wanting to work on one show or type of show. In any meeting, let your passion for your work shine through -- but don't just sit there and tell them you have passion for your work. Don't be desperate. Dress the way you dress, but no suits, briefcases or jeans -- go for "dressy casual." Get there on time. Keep in mind that, on the whole, you're walking into a positive situation. The people you're meeting with aren't looking to judge you -- they want to like you. Pitch meetings for sitcoms and dramas are covered below, but these panelists gave some general advice: If you're going in to pitch for a freelance job, keep in mind that you're also up for a staff position. They're looking for people with a complete lack of negativity who are malleable. Flow with the meeting. If there's a hard chair in the room, take it. Look the person you're talking to in the eye. You don't have to be "on" -- be yourself. Know your pitch, don't read it. In the sitcom arena, it's important to keep the room moving. The Payoff: Staff Survival Skills Phil Breman and Marti Noxon, the "newest" writers on the panel, both admitted to being terrified on their first day as staff writers -- but they assured us that new writers don't need to know everything walking in the door. You'll learn from the veterans in the room. Cindy Chupack reminded us that you're also an audience in the room, so be supportive and always laugh. Renee Kurtz advised sitcom writers to make sure you're at least one of three things: good in the room, able to deliver a great first draft, or know how to take notes so you can deliver a killer rewrite. Howard Gordon pointed out that the most important thing for a new writer to do is deliver a great first draft. This was seconded by the entire panel. A great first draft will endear you to the Executive Producer, because it'll mean less work for them. The last piece of good advice, from Chupack but again agreed to by the others, was to find something personal to express in your writing. As important as it is to re-create the voice of the show, make sure you find something that you as a writer can invest in as well. So, as much as we should all polish up our social skills and remember all the do's and don'ts mother taught us, getting on staff doesn't mean we can slack off on our writing skills. Blurring the Lines More than any other panel, this session focused on how the television landscape is shifting -- specifically with the recent emergence of "blurred shows," shows that cross the boundaries between genres. Many of the "blurred" writers on the panel boasted "blurred" careers as well -- Javier Grillo-Marxuach is a former network executive in comedy and drama; Pam Veasey wrote sitcoms and sketch comedy for twelve years; Aaron Sorkin is a playwright and feature writer with both drama and comedy films to his credit; George Snyder is a writer working as a development executive for a feature writer who developed a feature into a drama series; Rob Thomas is a novelist whose first job came about after a television executive read one of his books; moderator Joe Voci has worked in both drama and comedy development at networks and studios. So what does all this boundary breaking mean to the writer wanting to break in? Increased opportunity, for one thing. Thomas hired people from both the one-hour and half-hour worlds for Cupid, and Veasey found that her background in comedy was just what the Executive Producers of Martial Law were looking for. Snyder noted that much of the genre blurring has come from the emergence of newer "baby networks," cable and first-run syndication -- a genre-crossing show like Buffy the Vampire Slayer would probably have been too risky for one of the traditional networks. Grillo-Marxuach noted that many television executives now have a writing background, which can make it easier for the writers they work with. Many on the panel noted a resurgence of interest in features as writing samples to show a clear indication of the writer's unique vision. Others noted that a writer may need samples from both formats -- Snyder mentioned that Joss Whedon's current favorite specs to read for Buffy are The Simpsons, King of the Hill and Party of Five. Many on the panel felt these blurred shows, while recent, are not unprecedented: MASH and The Rockford Files, for example, combined comedy and drama without making a big deal of it. The renewed interest in shows that combine genres and formats means that television writers can now use all the tools at their disposal, the comic and the dramatic. Writing for Animation Writing for animation comes with its own assets and challenges. Writers have more power than in live action, with involvement in each step of the process. With that power comes responsibilities -- writers need to include stage directions to explain jokes and story, and to help the animators understand the writer's intentions. They also must be aware of the fact that some seemingly simples gestures and facial movements cause animators fits! When writing animation specs, Larry Doyle says, "The spec is the one opportunity to show what you can do... Break the rules to tell the story better." Johnny Hardwick warns, "Don't edit yourself. The network and I will edit you." "Don't worry about what's acceptable, what the limits are," advises Gordon Bressack. The one exception to breaking the rules is having characters do something they would never do -- don't do that. What should you spec? Bressack will read anything that makes him laugh, while Alan Burnett looks for great dialogue and doesn't like to read animated scripts. Larry Wilmore looks for "certain sensibilities and attention to character" in specs for shows like Everybody Loves Raymond, The Simpsons and King of the Hill. The Development Process Many came to the Development panel hoping to hear the magic formula of how to get a show on the air -- but there is no magic formula. According to John Sacret Young, "it's hard work," and many on the panel advised writers to "wait until you're ready." Toni Graphia went so far as to say, "Don't try to jump there, enjoy the climb." Moderator Pat Quinn noted that the upcoming season will be "odd" because of three factors: changes in the financial rules for series television, the shift in leadership at Fox and NBC, and the drop in ratings for most of the networks. She also explained that the networks will hear over 1,000 pitches for new shows, make development orders on 400 of those pitches, and order between 100 and 125 pilots from those orders. Only 36 or 37 of those pilots will become fall shows, and about five of those shows will be considered "hits." The difficult process of selling and developing a show varies between syndication and network and among various production companies and networks. Navigating the path is not easy, but Ellen Byron summed it up best when she said the trick is "doing what you want while giving them what they want." Drama Pitching Workshop If you can give them what they need, they will love you -- but to do that in a pitch is one of the hardest, least understood and most important aspects of a television writer's life. The Drama Pitching Workshop provided insights into what is expected of a writer before, during and after entering the room. A couple of people were allowed to pitch so the panelists could point out what works and what doesn't. Charles Holland defined the pitch as an opportunity -- for the show runner to get a script to plug a hole and possibly find a person for staff, and for the writer to get a paycheck. To make that opportunity happen, Lisa Klink said the trick is to come up with something original that fits within the confines of the show and its voice. John Wirth elaborated -- he wants to know a writer's take on his characters more than the A-story. Tim Minear added that a great teaser worked for him, since it would suggest the rest of the story. Other advice was equally sound: Lead with the concept. Get them excited enough to ask questions, because they have to be invested in your story. Do your homework. Know what your buyer wants to buy. Talk to them before the meeting -- they'll provide you with episodes and scripts. Don't bring stuff in that will take away from your pitch. And finally, the most definitive "don't," from Minear: "I think hand puppets would turn me off." Drama Story Workshop Jacquelyn Blain lead in interactive session aimed at building a good story. She began by giving participants the "hook" of the story's teaser. Then, working as though we were the writing staff, we began to flesh it out into a beat sheet. Before going on to the beat sheet, you should ask yourself questions about where you're going. So we threw some questions onto the board. Then we threw up some answers. From this list, the beat sheet was born. Blain also gave us some insights on how "the room" actually works and some tips that we should keep in mind to help us be successful: You must be flexible and not married to your own ideas. Don't be afraid to put your ideas out there, even off-the-wall ones; sometimes they're the fix for a story problem. Pay attention to production confines and be aware of budget restrictions. Know what you can and can't shoot. Know that being on staff means having to work stories around actor schedules, personalities, abilities, etc. It all affects the stories you can tell. Sitcom Pitching Workshop Keep it short. Keep it simple. Those were the headlines in an informative panel on pitching for sitcoms. Calling on their versatile and vast experience, Stevie Ray Fromstein, Jay Kogen and Arnie Kogen offered sage advice on the art of the pitch. A lively discussion on the inner workings of sitcoms included these pitching tips: Come into the pitch meeting armed with at least eight to ten solid A-stories. Try to gage the attitude of the producers you're pitching to and let them determine how much story you should delve into. And don't be knocked off course by the response, "we're already working on that." That's where the extra ideas come in handy. A few brave participants stepped up to the plate and pitched stories they're working on. Hands-on guidance from the panelists helped them hone their skills and focus on the story elements that needed to be strengthened to support the pitch. Above all, the panelists encouraged the group to try and engage the producers you're pitching to. Let them see a positive personality that would be an asset to their staffs. Careers can be built on the foundation of a solid pitch. Sitcom Story Workshop Michael Jamin led the workshop through his outline of a very funny Just Shoot Me episode, pointing out where the producers had changed various plot points and beats. He then presented a few scenes on videotape from the finished episode, allowing workshop participants to compare and contrast the outline and the episode. Jeffrey Hodes & Nastaran Dibai, a husband/wife writing team, also offered valuable insight into the various pressures exerted on their freshman sitcom, Jesse. They gave participants an outline and compared that to a videotape showing how a key scene in their script had been changed. In all, a very productive session, filled with insider info and an exploration of the writing process. Whew! What a day! If you missed any part of it, audio tapes of all sessions except the Pitching Workshops will be available soon (for members only). Contributors to this article were Rick Bitzelberger, Cheryl Cain, Colin Campbell, Rae DeVito, Jennise Hall, Andrew Nordvall, Crystal Ann Taylor, Lynn Terashita and Don Tsuchiyama. It was compiled and edited by Genia Shipman. The photographs are by Lisa Bevis and Dan Stroncak. The Seminar Committee would like to extend special thanks to Rose Catherine Pinkney of Women In Film for her invaluable assistance. We would also like to thank the following Women In Film and Scriptwriters Network members who volunteered their time to help make the Seminar run smoothly: Attica, Tami Carlson, Beth Ann Carr, Sylvia Cary, Gregg Champion, Gabrielle Collins, Trisha Debski, Skye Dent, Fred Dray, C.S. Drotman, Chris Easterly, Jack Gelman, Michael Givanillo, Chuck Gordon, Barbara Hammond, Susan Jizba, Maura Kennedy, Ed Laroque, Linda Lichtman, Carolyn Murray, Sal Ortiz, J'Amy Pacheco, Rich Perri, Robin Peterson, Jason Rhodes, Kate Schrader, Alan Sitomer, Nancy Slick, Natasha Soleil, Sharon Steinhauser, Shelley Stuart, Mary Helen Turner, Mary Ward, Sharon Woods and Stacey Jill Zackin. We owe extra special thanks and a debt of gratitude to Volunteer Coordinator Lucia T. Delgado of Women In Film, without whom the day would've been a colossal mess. This year's "Breaking the TV Barrier" Seminar would not have been possible without the countless hours of hard work and dedication of the Seminar Committee -- Sam Adams, Bonita Alford, Heather E. Ash, Rick Bitzelberger, Shea E. Butler, Cheryl Cain, Flo Cameron, Colin Campbell, David Couper, Rae DeVito, Melody Fox, Todd Hagans, Jennise Hall, Laura Karr, Justin McFarr, Charles Meyer, Sharon Nelson, Andrew Nordvall, Maria Elena Rodriguez, Genia Shipman, Crystal Ann Taylor, Lynn Terashita, Don Tsuchiyama, Layne Wong -- and the Seminar Committee Chair, Kris Emery.
| ||