Intro to Screenwriting Week 11: Forms of Screenwritng

This week we took a look at other forms of screenwriting besides features and shorts. 

Lecture

We went over a handful of other types of screenwriting, as so far we have only covered writing for features and shorts. The lecture discussed four:

1. Adaptation
2. Video Games
3. Fiction Podcasts
4. Television

It was interesting to learn how to apply the skill and technique we have learned to other practices, especially video games and podcasts for me. I have learned about podcast writing in my multimedia classwork and never looked at it in a creative or fictional way. I think that could be a super fun project to work on!

Writing for Television

My main interest lies in television writing. Since I started writing comedy on one of our U-View shows that I now produce, I’ve thought writing for any show, but especially one like Saturday Night Live would be so so cool. I am also highly interested in sitcom writing and plan to take the class here at Point Park later on. 

Writer’s Room Hierarchy

Television operates on a writer’s room hierarchy:

1. Showrunner
2. Co-Executive Producers/Supervising Producers
3. Producers + Co-Producers
4. Story Editors
5. Staff Writers
6. Writer’s Assistants

Starting a TV Show

The process for getting a show up and running is as follows:

1. “Break” story for season
2. Outline episodes
3. Assign writers to episodes
4. Sign off from Co-Executive Producers + Show Runners
5. Send off for network approval

TV Show Screenplay Structure

In terms of tv show screenwriting structure, the format is the same but the story structure is different.

Each episode tells an individual story and overall story through 5 Act Structure:

1. Teaser: cold open
2. Act 1: Exposition
3. Act 2: Conflict introduced
4. Act 3: Conflict worsens
5. Act 4: Conflict resolves
6. Act 5: Loose ends tied, aftermath, set-up for next episode

Screening

To view an example of tv writing, we were to watch the pilot episode of J.J. Abrams‘ 2001 series Alias. 

I had never heard of this show, but I LOVED this first episode. They did so much set up for Sydney’s character so quickly, yet thoroughly, and managed to create many plot lines for the season moving forward. 

I thought that the writing was well done. Each character felt fleshed out, the dialogue was natural and characterized, and the actual content kept me extremely engaged. 

I definitely see why this show got picked up!

Assignment

Our assignment this week was to read the screenplay for Cord Jefferson’s 2023 film, American Fiction.

When Monk is sent on leave from work, he devises a plan to give publishers what they want: black stereotypes. Monk must stop its popularization before he’s found out and succumbs to his past. 

It is an adaptation, which went along great with our lecture. I am very curious how the film looks versus the original source material. 

I loved this story and actual script. Cord Jefferson adds these hints of commentary in his action that I really enjoyed, and felt like added to my understanding of the plot and characters.

His storytelling was also extremely effective. Every character felt like their own and contributed meaningfully to the story. 

Our assignment focused on the 7 Plot Points, want and need, and all of those ideas we have been studying.

Conclusion

I will definitely be adding American Fiction and Alias to my watch list! It was very cool getting to take a look at two new types of screenwriting in action, and done so well.

Although we did not get to share our short film scripts this week, I am very excited to next time! 

Be sure to check out last week’s post and stay tuned for more!