Entering the television industry is known as a very difficult thing, but with the advent of cheap technology and the distribution of the internet, getting viewers has now become easier. Almost anyone can become famous, but it takes a lot of commitment and hard work.
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Method 1 of 3: Developing Ideas
Step 1. Create a compelling premise or “what if?
Your ideas can be as simple as "what if a documentary film crew films about a small paper company" (The Office) to big and complex ideas like "what if a chemistry teacher starts making methamphetamine?" (Breaking Bad). your event, what makes it different from the rest, and what makes it desirable.
- Many "what if" ideas are created by mixing and matching existing events. 30 Rock, for example, is an SNL world mixed with The Office or Cheers-style office humor. The hit drama The Wire is a mix between a crime show and a political thriller.
- Think of an event you admire and might like to replicate-what's the simple "what if" idea?
Step 2. Determine the genre and format of your show
This is one of the most important decisions you will ever make, as it will affect everything going forward. A genre is the feel and color of a show-is it a comedy, a hospital drama, or a reality show? Format is the form in which the event is shown, and there are several options:
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Episodic:
Each episode is a standalone story. Comedies are usually episodic half-hour shows, but some crime or murder mystery shows are also episodic.
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Serial:
Each episode builds on the previous story. Shows like these generally tell a season-long story, like Breaking Bad, or The West Wing. These are usually nearly an hour long events and are generally dramatic.
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Sketch:
The sketch show consists of many shorter, stand-alone stories. It's like Saturday Night Live, Key & Peele, or MadTV.
Step 3. Develop your characters
Write down each character and explain it in 2-3 sentences. Avoid physical descriptions, instead try to write down what makes each character unique:
- Good characters have advantages and disadvantages. They are round characters-which means they have more personalities than just a "grumpy gardener" or a "loving mom."
- What does each character want? What is the character afraid of? This is what drives the actions of each character in the show.
- Reality shows still have to portray the characters. What makes your subject interesting or alluring? What can make the audience want to hear their story?
Step 4. Make a treatment event
Treatment is a kind of blueprint for the event. This is usually used to show development executives exactly what to expect from an event, if they are going to create it themselves. To develop a treatment, you'll need a few things:
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Title:
A good title usually has two meanings. Take Mad Men, for example, which offers the world of advertising agency as well as Don Draper's declining sanity.
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Loglines:
This is a summary of 1-2 strong sentences. This is a hook based on the "what if" premise. For example, the logline for the TV series Community might be "A great lawyer was forced to make a crazy new group of friends because his fake law degree forced him to return to the community academy."
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Synopsis:
This is a short story idea of 1 page long. What is the setting, plot and general focus of each episode? What is your way of capturing the essence of the event in 3-4 sentences? If this is a serial show, outline the development of the first season.
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Character Sheet:
List each main character in 1-2 sentences, focusing on their personality and goals rather than their appearance.
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Episode Guide:
Write a short paragraph about the 4-5 episodes you want to show, detailing the plot that will build most of the content of your show.
Step 5. Build some content around your idea
The best way to sell your event is to show someone the progress of the event. Thanks to the abundance of cheap equipment these days, it's now easier than ever to put parts of your event on the web and get people. But the type of material you develop will depend on your event.
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Manuscript:
There's nothing wrong with having a script, and it's the most conventional and most successful approach to creating your show, especially one hour shows and plays.
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Webisode:
The best way to get noticed is simply to create your own event. YouTube has made it very easy for us to record short 2-5 minute episodes involving your characters and share them with the world. It was in this way that Broad City and Workaholics were both bought out by producers.
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Storyboard and Sizzle Reel:
This is a webisode-like project but longer, like a test recording for your event. This could be an interview for a talk show, test footage for an episode of a reality show, or storyboards and drawings for an animated show.
Method 2 of 3: Writing a TV Script
Step 1. Understand the structure and conventions of basic screenwriting
Scenarios are specially structured so that each page covers approximately 1 minute of run time. This layout is the standard layout in the industry, and deviating from this layout will often result in your scenario being discarded. The best way to avoid this is to use scripting software, such as Celtx, Writer Duets or Final Draft.
- Television scripts are structured differently from film scripts, in that you have to create act breaks or space for commercials. Make sure you read and study the TV script to find out about these conventions.
- There are many examples of scripting on the internet, such as this lesson written in script form.
Step 2. Read as many scenarios as you can that are in the same genre as your show
Go to the internet and look at the script of any event that is similar to yours. Watching TV is a great way to understand plotting, but if you're going to write a script, you have to understand the art of scriptwriting. Take notes as you read about style, plot and subject matter.
- Screenplay reading is a must in this industry. You need to learn how to be funny, dramatic, suspenseful and captivating without any actors, cameras or music helping you.
- Make notes of what worked, what didn't, and how the author built the world in the episode on a piece of paper.
Step 3. Understand the need for good pilots
The pilot is the first episode of a TV series, and it's notoriously difficult to write well. Why? Because the pilot requires you to do many things at once in a matter of short pages. You must:
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Introducing the characters:
You don't have to tell their entire backstory, but viewers want to know enough about these characters to feel like following their story. The first time you see a character, it should show their basic personality.
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Introducing the world:
It's more than just a setting, it's the "rules" of the show. What are the main concerns for these characters? What kind of incidents usually happen? This is an exploration of your "what if" premise.
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Show the general pattern of events:
Your pilot episode should not only introduce everything, it should make for a great show. You need to give people an idea, what they will see each week. Arrested Development, which is considered to have one of the best pilots, does it perfectly-the show builds characters, shows its world (global hedge fund managers and rich and corrupt socialites), and shows a humorous and intertwined plot structure, which made the event famous.
Step 4. Outline your plot using the TV act structure
TV shows, despite their originality and variety, have a fairly strict structure. Since most TV has commercials, these short breaks are the perfect place to end each act. Think of an act as a collection of scenes that tell a small story from an episode. Between each set of ads, there is a story development, ending with a big moment, change or climax that makes the viewer excited to keep watching after the ad is over. Understanding this "framework" will help shape your event with a formula:
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Opening (Cold Open):
As is usually the case with sitcoms, this is a short 2-3 minute scene right before the opening title. It could affect the plot or be just a joke or a short scene. In drama, this is often a triggering event, such as the discovery of a corpse in the series Law & Order.
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Acts:
An hour long event has 5 acts, and a half hour event has 3 acts. You need to make each act stand alone: the show has an opening issue, a series of complexities that prevent the characters from solving the problem, a climax and a resolution.
- Act 1 introduces a problem, and the characters try to fix it but fail.
- In Act 2, the characters are in even more chaos, due to their failures. They try again and things get much worse than before, or new problems arise because of old problems.
- In Act 3, everything returns to normal, either with the characters crashing back to earth or finally being able to fix the mess they were in.
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End:
The final act should bring the audience back. For pilots, you have to show viewers why they should come back next week.
- On drama shows, this usually happens with a hanging scene, or the promise of next week's adventure.
- On comedy shows, episodes almost always end where they started. Your character hasn't changed much and is ready for next week's pranks. The situation is back to normal.
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Tags:
This is a small scene right before or after the credits. Usually, the goal is to continue the joke, show some resolution, or hint at what's going to happen in the next episode.
Step 5. Take a reading after your first draft
Get your friends together and give them a copy of your script, then have them read each line as if they were actors. You can read the narration, but try not to play any characters. Instead, make notes about what sounds natural and what doesn't. Afterwards, ask your guests what they thought of the script: were they confused, what did they enjoy, did they feel the characters were "authentic," and would they like to see the show? You need to get outside input, and hearing your manuscript read aloud is the best way to spot mistakes you might have missed while reading it yourself.
Step 6. Write, write and write again
Take a few days to distance yourself from the script and reread it with a new light. Your manuscript must be as neat as possible in order to make an impression, because there are hundreds of manuscripts vying for attention. Some things to note include:
- Spelling, grammar and arrangement. A typo on the first page is a hint for someone to throw it all away without reading it.
- Rate. Each scene should advance the plot. Otherwise, the event will automatically feel slow. The scene shouldn't start in one place and stay there all the time. The characters or circumstances have to change all the time, otherwise the scene feels too slow.
- Dialog. Do your characters sound natural? You need to be able to put the image of the characters in your reader's mind with just dialogue, so each character should speak in a natural and unique way, not just the way they need to speak in the scene. Character is important, and you show character through words.
Step 7. Keep your script as short as possible
Get rid of unnecessary expositions of scene explanations and character traits. If it is not important to the plot, it needs to be discarded. Everything else, from the appearance of the actors to the color of the walls, will be decided by the director, not you. The script should be readable like an event; goes fast and engages the reader into the story and the characters. Shorter is always better because it means you get rid of anything that isn't awesome or important.
- An hour-long program should be between 45-70 pages.
- Half-hour programs usually range from 25-37 pages.
Method 3 of 3: Getting Your Show Live
Step 1. Consider recording your own event
If you've never gotten a job in Hollywood before, the best way to get attention is to ask for it. Getting someone to read your script is tough, but if you can get a few thousand views on your video, people will start to take notice. You also don't need to record the entire event. Sites like Amazon Studios, for example, allow you to upload videos where people can vote for them or not, providing an overview of great ideas.
- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, for example, was written and recorded for a small amount of money, then sent to executives at FX. They were so impressed with what they saw that they bought the show.
- Almost anyone can enter an event into Public Access, and there is often a selection of equipment and training available.
Step 2. Leverage sources and industry representatives
Look for agents and producers who are open to script acceptance and enter contests and festivals to make your name known. The best way to do this is through so-called "trades", such as on Deadline.com or Variety. These sites are a must read, as they cover development contracts, who is looking for events and agents to contact at the moment.
- Whenever you see an event like yours or a writer/producer you admire getting a job, take note of their agency (like CAA or WME) and their collaborating partners. Take a look at their site and send a letter asking to meet.
- You can also put your idea on a search site, such as The Blacklist, which allows agencies to search for manuscripts that match their interests. But these sites cost money, and you should always look for "success stories" by browsing projects online to see if events are actually created.
Step 3. Make a list of companies to approach that create events like yours
Find a group of companies that create events like yours and send them a short letter. Use their site to get the names and email addresses of executives and workers in the "Development" division. The more you can detail your search for people who will be interested in your script, the higher your chances of creating an event.
You definitely don't want to offer NBC a cheesy monster show, you're going to send it to SyFy. Reality shows weren't supposed to be sent to the producers of The Sopranos. Think about what the studio has created in order to be able to offer it to the right people
Step 4. Keep writing, making films and working in the film or TV industry
Very few TV show creators start a career not from the bottom. You can always produce your own show, and you'll probably be successful. But 95% of existing TV show creators started their careers as production assistants, assistant writers, camera operators, actors, etc. This is a great way to meet people who might help you later and an opportunity to learn about the process of creating a TV show.
You should have 3-5 pilot scripts saved or working at one time. You never know when an idea will be picked up, when someone will like you but want a different story, or when someone wants to see more of your work. People whose TV shows are successful will continue to work, write, and write again until a work is shown
Tips
- If you work on a TV show with people who are experienced in any area of TV programming, they will help by expanding your network of connections, increasing the chances of your script being sold or famous and adding to your contact list with almost anyone who works in the TV business..
- Promoting your events, video clips and ideas on social media is a great way to get attention to yourself.
Warning
- Do not submit your draft or program without a trace such as, e-mail, fax or other means of building exposure evidence. You can also register your manuscript for protection at WGA.
- It's not easy to build your own TV show that people will watch on TV (eg on BBC, ITV, ABC). But keep looking for ways to do it - do not give up!
