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The Practice, Etc.: Types

The document discusses different types of television shows and provides guidelines for writing television scripts. It lists common show genres such as procedurals, lawyer/political dramas, police dramas, and fantasy/sci-fi shows. It also discusses writing spec episodes for existing shows and spec pilots for new shows. Guidelines are provided for television script formatting, including targeting 50-60 pages divided into a teaser and 4 acts with act breaks. Websites are listed that provide information on breaking into television writing through fellowships, agents, and contests.

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95 views3 pages

The Practice, Etc.: Types

The document discusses different types of television shows and provides guidelines for writing television scripts. It lists common show genres such as procedurals, lawyer/political dramas, police dramas, and fantasy/sci-fi shows. It also discusses writing spec episodes for existing shows and spec pilots for new shows. Guidelines are provided for television script formatting, including targeting 50-60 pages divided into a teaser and 4 acts with act breaks. Websites are listed that provide information on breaking into television writing through fellowships, agents, and contests.

Uploaded by

The Fandom
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Types:

● the procedural, which consists of shows such as the Law and Order franchise and the CSI
franchise,
● Next are the shows that deal with lawyers and politics. These are shows like The West Wing,
The Practice, etc.
● Police dramas, such as, The District and NYPD Blue.
● Hero-types which consist of shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Smallville.
● Fantasy/Sci-Fi - examples here are Enterprise, Twilight Zone, Dead Zone, etc.
● Cable - Shows such as Queer as Folk, The Sopranos, and Six Feet Under are written without the
act breaks seen in commercial television.

Spec episodes- writing an episode for an existing show (mimicking style, following the rules)

Spec pilot- a possible pilot (unique storyline)

I page= 1 minute of screentime, total is roughly 50-60 pages for average TV


5 sections- teaser and 4 acts, act break occurs after strong dramatic moment
Teaser: 2-4 pages
Act One: 11-15 pages (goal)
Act Two: 11-15 Pages (obstacle/failure)
Act Three: 11-15 Pages (complicate mission/add obstacles, the lowest point)
Act Four: 11-15 Pages (prevailing)
Act Five: (closure) NOT ALWAYS AN ACT 5
Tag: 1-2 Pages
Total: 59 to 66 pages
-all margins except left margins are 1 inch, the left margin is 1.5 inches, single spaced
-first page is not numbered

Exercises:
-summarize action onscreen w/one-two sentences, split the episode in the classic act outline
-transcribe scripts

Steps to take:
- writing fellowships (Disney, Nickelodeon, Universal, Sundance, Warner Bros, CBS
- get a television agent
- live in an area where movies/tv are made
- contact people and ask for advice

Formatting:
https://www.finaldraft.com/learn/how-to-format-a-screenplay/
websites:
http://www.movieoutline.com/articles/television-script-format.html
https://www.writersstore.com/breaking-into-television-writing/
http://splitsider.com/2016/02/how-does-one-get-a-job-as-a-writers-assistant/
https://www.writersstore.com/how-to-write-a-screenplay-a-guide-to-scriptwriting/ - script format
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/screencraft/the-screenwriters-simple_b_8923734.html - examples
http://www.scriptreaderpro.com/how-to-write-for-tv/ -spec episodes/pilots
SimplySripts/Script City- tv scripts to download
http://www.scriptreaderpro.com/how-to-write-for-tv/ - overviews the steps to take (very good
website)
http://www.scriptreaderpro.com/screenwriting-contests/ ---- Contests
https://screencraft.org/2015/12/01/pixar-screenwriting-themes/ -Pixar Movie Layout

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