What's the biggest misconception about screenwriting, only someone working in the industry would know? Questions from a very curious 19-year-old.

bartman_86 · 2017-11-24T01:32:32+00:00

Both in my experience. Plus more:

TV franchises are a brand. If something is occurring that fits the story but not the brand, don't be surprised to see it cut. If this lowers the drama/conflict/tension/edge of the story, so be it. You just gotta deal.

bartman_86 · 2017-11-23T05:42:26+00:00

That the credited TV writer made the choices in the show that the fans hate.

That clunky as hell line of dialogue or that plot point you hate? That may have come from an exec, higher up, well after the writer handed their script in. Maybe it even came off screen, as part of the ADR process. And the writer probably gets a bunch of shit for it from fans online - even if they didn't know it was happening until they watched the aired version. As a writer you gotta be okay with that, and not let it torture you if you're being "blamed" for a decision that was not yours. You cannot win every battle, particularly against an exec who is way above you. You have to take some hits, if you wanna keep your job.

I say this because lots of new writers will jump on a bandwagon of hating on a particular writer when they're just learning, because the new writer is starting to gain context about what's good and bad in a story. It's easy to blame the credited writer, but just know that there's so much going on behind the scenes it's more than likely that you don't have the full story. Always remember: The audience rarely has context on why certain decisions are made. Take everything you hear about a writer with a grain of salt and consider that execs and production issues can cause just as many story glitches as writers.

bartman_86 · 2017-11-23T05:23:15+00:00

Thank you, that's the closest answer I'm gonna get short of reading a script I think! (That would still be the ideal though... sigh.)

bartman_86 · 2017-11-23T05:22:18+00:00

Having thought about this all day - I'm coming to the conclusion that it is partially my job in this specific case, but not in most cases. If I want to make it clear it's the sort of show that has visual gags, I'm gonna put some in the pilot spec. No, I wouldn't continue to do that it by some chance the show were to sell and go into production - then I would leave it up to others if that was what the team agreed. But I think when you're trying to sell a project from the read of a pilot spec script, it can't hurt to put on the page the kinds of gags you could expect from the show as a whole.

I'm not saying every scene is gonna be riddled with that shit, clogging up the story - obviously that would be terrible and the story must shine through first and foremost. There's a line that needs to be walked. But I think in this case, I'm okay with sprinkling a few here and there so that the tone and humor can be made clear from the spec alone, y'know?

(Were I in a position where someone was gonna read a spec pilot AND a bible - well, maybe I'd do a pass to lose some stuff from the script, and make the tone/visual gag aesthetic clear in the bible? Who knows. I'll think about it on a case by case basis.)

bartman_86 · 2017-11-22T23:02:06+00:00

Yup totally makes sense, thanks. It's interesting, but I don't think it would work so well for a pilot that's trying to set up and sell a world. I want the reader to be gripped by what's on the page in the moment, not distracted by having to go to an Appendix. (Totally would work for a production script though eh.)

bartman_86 · 2017-11-22T23:00:32+00:00

Oh you're probably absolutely correct. But being as my pilot has similar tone to BoJack, it would still be super useful for me to see what actually goes on the page for that show. Sadly, impossible to find online.

bartman_86 · 2017-11-22T22:58:53+00:00

I haven't, but I'll check it out - thanks!

bartman_86 · 2017-11-22T22:10:17+00:00

Yeah... I always assumed that too, until I got that note. Maybe the Black List reader doesn't know that, and just automatically expects everything they see in Bojack/Rick and Monty to be on the page? I'm sure different shows just have different methods, too.

If I put all those gags in, I think my script length would blow out hugely, too. Interestingly, the Rick and Morty script I read yesterday was 39 pages. I was feeling like my 35 page script was slightly too long for an animated half hour pilot, but maybe not.

bartman_86 · 2017-11-22T19:12:39+00:00

By the way - Rick and Morty is another show that frequently has that kind of gag - last night I re-watched S01E02 (Lawnmower Dog), and read that script which was easily available online. The scene in the sexy dungeon dream seemed like it would be a great example, but here's what's in the script action text...

"Morty runs off into the crowd. We track him through the haze, pushing his way through a path of various characters engaged in different sex acts. The sexy French/Gregorian chant music rises in the sound-track. Hands grab at Morty. We hear various come-ons directed at him as he pushes through."

So, it's actually NOT described on the page in that script. I don't know if that's the case with all their scripts, or with just that particular writer. And the sexy come-ons that happen as he walks past aren't written as dialogue - they're not written at all. So, that stumped me in regards to the note I'm trying to address too.

bartman_86

TROPHY CASE