Seasons in LA - TV

LA is all about seasons. There's a rainy season and a dry season. Ba dum dum. I'm actually not kidding though. At least in the TV world, everything is based on seasons. Many people will tell you that TV has moved from a buying season to an all year development season. While this is true in many respects, MOST projects are still bought in the same way they have for 50 years. So, let's take a minute to discuss how this works. Instead of starting in January like a real calender, we'll start in May, or, the development season. It's important to note that these are just guesstimate dates based on my own experience. Networks have ordered series in June and given script orders in February.

MID MAY - AUGUST/SEPTEMBER - DEVELOPMENT/STAFFING SEASON

After upfronts, where networks announce their line-ups for the following fall, all production company switch from competing to get projects on the air to developing projects for the next year. Even the companies with shows on the air have to begin preparing their shows for the following year. This involves more than just getting a killer concept. They also have to attach writers, get proposals written, and if possible both attach actors and get artwork for pitches.

If you've gotten shows on the air, you begin the process of setting the show up and staffing said show. This is the busiest time of the year for writers, because agents/managers/lawyers are shoving scripts in new showrunner's faces, trying to get their clients on their show. However, this is also a huge time for all crew members as they are vying for spots as PAs, catering, Grip, Electric, and all manner of crew positions.

Shows don't have much time before they are expected to be up and running, so things usually happen fact and furious and people slow to pull the trigger don't get the job.

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER - THANKSGIVING - PITCHING SEASON

After projects are set up and production companies are feeling confident, producers, with writers in tow, go out to networks to try to sell the concept. While some shows are bought in the room, the vast majority are passed on, or made to wait for weeks on end while networks hem and haw about whether to order a script. Even if picked, unless you're JJ Abrams or Seth MacFarlane, you're not going to get a series order in the room. You're going to get a script order.

A script order for a production company means little less than squat. They don't really made any money off a script order since they're paying most to all of it to the writer. Even if a script is bought, produced to pilot, and ordered to series, a production company is going to deficit that money for 4-5 years until it's bought to series, as talked about here.

THANKSGIVING - CHRISTMAS - WRITING SEASON

Most script orders, though not all, are given before Thanksgiving with scripts due by Christmas to review over the long holiday. This is really an extension of Pitching season, however it's worth mentioning in it's own section.

2 WEEKS AFTER NEW YEAR'S - MID MAY - PILOT SEASON

Starting a couple weeks after the New Year, when executive have had time to read all the scripts, pilot orders start trickling out. When pilots are ordered, a little mini spike in production happens. By this point and at every major network, the thousands of pitches have been whittled down to 100 or so script orders and those have been whittled 20 or so pilots. By upfronts, those pilots will be whittled again to a handful of projects which will get on the air.

Interestingly enough, just because a project is ordered to pilot doesn't necessarily mean it has or will have financing. Many scripts come from producers or writers without studios or financing behind them. As we all know, most pilots fail, and most series fail. So, in order for a studio to come on board, they don't only have to believe in the concept of the project, but believe they can sell it internationally and keep it on the air long enough to make a profit. While most of the pilots will find financing, some of them will fall by the wayside. Even others will have to go to several studios to make their case. It's a strange little twist which most people don't talk about.

MAY - UPFRONTS

In May, every network has a presentation of their products, their schedule for the upcoming year. Some would say this is where the production companies who received series orders have won, but we all know that 90% of pilots fail, so it's a little presumptuous for that, wouldn't you say?


I'm sure film also has it's seasons, spec season heats up after Labor Day and dies down in May, but I find the TV season much more interesting. So, what do you think? Are there seasons in LA?

Pilot Season

Since I'm waiting for notes on my script, I've had a chance to catch up on pilot scripts and review orders and I have to say, I'm shockingly disappointed with the quality and originality of what's out there. My manager has a mantra: "Don't show me anything unless it's shockingly original."

I wish these writers listened. Here's a smattering of pickups from the last couple days. Granted, some come close to being original, but the vast majority just seem like rehashing.

CBS has commissioned a pilot for a half-hour multi-camera comedy
entitled “Hitched” about a 20-something newlywed couple who,
surrounded by their family and friends, is still learning about each
other.

ABC has commissioned a pilot for drama entitled “No Ordinary Family”
about a typical American family whose members have special abilities.

CBS has commissioned a pilot for an unnamed comedy about a widower
father who raises his 12-year old son while jumping back into the
dating pool.

Fox has commissioned pilot for multi-camera comedy entitled “Most
Likely to Succeed” about a group of friends who were superstars
growing up and are now dealing with the reality of adulthood.

Fox has commissioned pilot for half-hour single-camera comedy entitled
“Traffic Light” about three male childhood friends, now in their early
thirties, in different stages of his life like a traffic light: (1)
red light is for the one who is married with a child and whose life is
at a standstill; (2) blinking yellow light is for the one who is
living with his girlfriend and on an irreversible journey from
bachelorhood to marriage; and (3) green light is for the eternal
bachelor.

ABC has commissioned pilot for drama project entitled “Edgar Floats”
about a police psychologist who becomes a bounty hunter.

NBC has commissioned pilot for half-hour multi-camera comedy entitled
“Nathan v. Nurture” about a successful 35 year old heart surgeon who
decides to search for his biological parents only to find that they
had three more kids (all underachievers) and kept those kids.

NBC has commissioned pilot for multi-camera comedy entitled “This
Little Piggy” about two adult siblings who move in with their eldest
brother after he inherits his parents’ large, rambling Portland,
Oregon house.

NBC has commissioned pilot for legal drama entitled “Pleading Guilty”
based on Scott Turow's novel, and centers on Mack Malloy, an ex-cop-
turned-attorney who works as a partner at a powerful Chicago law firm.

102 pages

1-3/4 pages away from finishing the outline. There have been some -hiccups - along the way, but the format of this blog didn't work as well as I thought because there were very few. I thought it would be a torturous, laborious process to finish the first pass with work, but it really wasn't. partially, or mostly because I did 2 months of drafting an outline. I'm hoping the rewrite process has most hiccups and issues because who wants to read about a dude with no problems...nobody.

Little Snag

Well, I got a couple pages today. Unfortunately, I had to do an interview over lunch, and do a bunch of errands for my bosses, which is fine. Things are things. I'll keep churning away...chopping wood.

Act 2's butt kicked

It's getting a little sad how quickly I'm kicking this script's butt. After a slow go at first, my speed picked up. I'm 87 pages through the first pass in 2 weeks. 4 pages left to go in my outline. At this point, I'm not even bothering to write dialog or good action blocks, I just want to get it done, scrap my outline document, and work straight from the script.

I actually have, for the most part, liked this process, but I'm hoping where it will really be helpful is in rewriting. When I don't work from an outline, at least 3 drafts are spent just getting to a coherent structure, moving things around and making them work. With this process, I'm hoping I can get to the right structure much quicker. In general, also, I like the script as much as I thought I would on the surface. There's a ton of rewrite work to do and I'm not going to be able to work as fast when I actually have to craft the scenes, but I'm overwhelmingly positive about this draft so far.

I'll probably finish it up in about a week or so, depending on my schedule. There is no holiday weekend, so I won't be writing 40 pages in three days this weekend. I think I can finish during lunches this week, but I'm not sure. Definitely by next week, I think I'll be done this pass.

80 pages in

80 pages in under 2 weeks. Thank you holiday weekend. It's been hellish and grueling since I've only had an hour here and an hour there, never a good idea to be forced to write and not be able to let it flow. Luckily, and this is from the heart, I wrote a really long outline so I can just literally transcribe. It's really helped "zen out" and just keep plugging away.

At this point, I'm really just nervous about reading through it. It's going to be a show.

Nearly half done

52 pages in. Nearly half done with my outline. Still probably have 10 pages to go in script before I'm halfway through. I have off tomorrow so I'm hoping to write another 20 pages. I've honestly never written this close to an outline before. I find it easier actually because it's mindless. I'm literally just transcribing scene by scene. I never have to stop and say, what happens next, which makes my process much faster. Still rubbish though right now.

10 pages on a weekend...what!

dog is gone, wife is gone, the day hasn't started yet. I actually had the whole morning to myself and got 10 pages of this script done. It is coming down. The page count is now just about 120 when I'm through this outline, which is where I want it. Usually, my first drafts are around 100 pages, but I really wanted to have some meat on this script's bones so I could cut and manipulate as much as possible. I won't say I like it. It is a garbage draft after all, but it feels really good to write. I forgot how much I enjoyed it. All of the prep/rewrite/slave to another master bs is gone. I don't have to worry about this being good for anyone but myself. And that feels good.

Taste that Act I

Alright, so it's not great. It's done on first pass, and it actually ended up about right. in the end of my first Act, the girl finds a tooth which she attributes to her father's real killer. It happens four-ish pages into the outline, or 30 pages into the script, which is just about the sweet spot. Of course, by the time I'm done, I'll have whittled that 30 pages down to 15 or 20 and gotten into the action much quicker.

So, my thoughts on Act I. Dialog is really bad. By the end I was just putting placeholder dialog in which conveyed exactly what I wanted said in that scene, but it was really generic, on the nose, and just plain terrible. Still, since I only started this script on the 5th, and I've only written during lunch breaks for the past 2 weeks, I think it's pretty mighty to accomplish a whole first act in what amounts to a grand total of 8 hours, minus that day or two I spent on the web series and the time sucked from me when I had to do work over lunch. Compound that with the fact that I had to get back in rhythm after being away from the project for so long and I'm kinda proud of myself for the effort. However, I will be the first to tell you that it's sh*t right now. That's why I have garbage draft written all over it.

Why don't I write at home? I live in a 1 bedroom apartment with a wife, 2 bunnies, and a dog. Work is the least hectic place in my life. There is nowhere to hide.

Chopping Wood

23 pages into the first draft today. 2+ pages through the outline. It's coming down. I'm only looking at a 180 page screenplay now on the first draft, down from 400.

As predicted, I've been getting on a roll lately with the writing. Now that I know the characters, they keep speaking to me. Writer's block be damned. I'm writing mostly junk, specifically for one of my characters whose characterization is all wrong, but at least he's a minor character. Plus, that's stuff I don't have to think about for a couple weeks until I'm done with banging out this draft. I found a pace that works for me, since the only real writing time I have is during lunch, and I can crank out 5 terribly inadequate pages in that time. I'm very lucky that in my mind, pages don't have to start taking shape until the 3rd or 4th draft.

I'm still looking at more rewriting for the web series and producers engaging in rewrites for my feature and TV shows, but for now I can bowl ahead with the script and at least be writing something. I'm actually thinking about turning this into a book now. I think it could be good. Writing delusions, you are my best friend.

That was exhausting

Let me tell you, if you ever have a chance to deliver a new script in 3 days...pass. Luckily the script was only 17 pages long, 6 episodes (of which I only rewrote 5), but the pace was long and rewriting is always a crapshoot for me. I tend to write fast and then see what I wrote and say "this is good". I step back and come back and say...this is sh*t, tear it down and start fresh. That process continues until my fragile ego is beaten lower than a bow legged caterpillar and I eventually get to deadline with something I again think is good, but wish I had one more crack at.

It's always the same. I try to psych myself up that this time will be different. Maybe next time will be. Now, back to my baby, which I'm beginning to pitch around a bit and getting nothing but head shakes and sighs. Hey, it's not a commercial movie, but I've never cared about a project more. And when a story stays with you for years, it's something that needs to get out on paper.

Rewriting woes

the problem with rewriting based on notes is that you have to assimilate your taste with the taste of the producers on the project.

***NOTE: I think the producer of this web series is really open to ideas and I enjoy working with him very much because he will at least listen to an idea before he tears it down and is always up for spirited debate.***

Now, when you're always functioning on all cylinders and see the projects the same way, it's great and things get done quickly, but it's almost like sitting at work and having your boss tell you what she wants on you desk without describing it well. You might get it in one shot, or you could bumble around trying to figure out the right thing for an hour. It can get frustrating at times and it's very often like pulling your hair out.

Moved away

So, I had a meeting about my web series with its producer and now have to switch gears to focus on that for the weekend. Hopefully I'll be back to writing this script by Monday, but rewrites of real projects come before writing by baby.

Outline

So, I wrote a little more at lunch today. I'm now 11 pages in. I'm 1/2 page through my 18 page outline, which means I'm looking at a 400 pages script. Suck on that 110 pages!

6 pages

So, for lunch today I had a steaming pile of completed six pages of the first pass. Why do scripts always suck when you're writing them but feel better when you read them? I have a habit, which I've found works for me. Whether I go back and reread a script while I'm writing or not, I never change anything, except typos, on the first pass. First drafts always suck, but I started and that's the hardest part. Once I'm past 30 pages, it turns easier. Hemingway said first drafts are shit, and I believe him. Only problem is, I'm not so sure my final products aren't equally shit, polished to a streak free shine. We'll see.

Also, I've pretty much decided I'm going to turn this blog, at least for the time being, into me expressing my dread over writing this script. Hopefully, it will keep me motivated and give you an insight into my addled mind. If nothing else, it'll help me.

Stalling...

My computer is looking at me out of the corner of it's eye. Sitting at work, my boss out, I brought my laptop in today planning to finally crack this script over an early lunch. But I haven't, and my computer keeps looking at me, disappointed. I don't know what it wants me to do? I'm busy. Okay, I'm not really that busy. I should put it away, before it starts yelling at me.

Blocked...

So, I haven't written anything recently except outlines, treatments, rewrites, and blog entries. Mainly, nothing impressive or important. It's not because I don't have something to write. I actually have a banged out 18 page outline which I can start writing tonight if I wanted.

Why? I tell people it's because I'm blocked, but I think it's because I'm scared. Right now, I'm at a place in my career where I should be (in my mind) be selling a script. 9.5 features, a bunch of tv, web series, produced movies, options, etc. Plus, I'm turning 28 this year, and almost everyone I respect broke around 28. So, it's a little nerve-racking.

I'm not really giving out advice. I'm going to try something new this year on this blog. I'm just going to be honest. No advice, just my thoughts. I'm scared of this year as much as I am excited. Now, I'm going back to work.