Writing for Television From ‘Spec Script’ to Original Pilot

Catalog description

Prerequisite: at least one prior college-level scriptwriting course In fall, we will practice the fundamental skill of successful television writers—the ability to craft entertaining and compelling stories for characters, worlds, and situations created by others. Though dozens of writers may work on a show over the course of its run, the “voice” of the show is unified and singular. The best way to learn to write for television is to draft a sample episode of a preexisting show, known as a “spec script.” Developing, pitching, writing, and rewriting stories hundreds of times, extremely quickly, in collaboration and on tight deadlines is what television staff writers do every day, fitting each episode seamlessly into the series as a whole in tone, concept, and execution. In fall, students will be introduced to these fundamental skills, working step-by-step through the writing of their own spec script for an ongoing scripted television series, effectively taking students from premise lines, through the outline/beat sheet, to writing a complete draft of a full teleplay for a currently airing show. In conference, students will work on deepening characters, understanding dramatic and comedic techniques, and developing additional components of their portfolios. Students are expected to have an extensive working knowledge across many genres of television shows that have aired domestically and internationally during the past 25-30 years. Students are also expected to be committed to developing work from concept through premise lines, beat sheets, and outlines—with multiple drafts of each—and with extensive peer collaboration and instructor “green light” before writing script pages. In spring, the course will build on fundamentals learned in fall, this time with the focus on creating new work for original television pilots. Students will be expected to enter the spring with a…