Category: Resources

40 years worth of TV writing experience and info, yours for the taking.

Peggy Bechko on Your Characters’ Needs & Desires

The Joker’s Wants vs. Batman’s Needs – now THAT’s conflict!

by Peggy Bechko

When you begin crafting a story have you taken into consideration the needs and wants of your main characters?

You should. Because when you get down to it, those are the driving forces of your story.

Now many people may jump up and yell, no, it’s conflict! “If there isn’t conflict, there isn’t a story.” But where does that conflict come from? read article

Bri Castellini: How To Find Places To Film For Free or Cheap – @stareable

Just your typical grad school hallway – dressed to look like it went thru an apocalypse

 by Bri Castellini

You can have the most incredible, dedicated cast and crew in the world, the best equipment, and an Oscar-worthy script, but if you don’t have places to actually film, none of that matters. Luckily, it can be easier than you might realize to scrape together adequate locations to bring your concept to life.

First, a reminder from my column about pre-production, relating to the considerations you should keep in mind when scouting potential locations:

  • Have you seen the location during the time of day you will be filming? Scouting is so, so important, meaning that you take your director and, preferably, your sound person and DP, on a tour of the location to get everyone on the same page and to experience what a day of shooting might look like. Sometimes, a location is great, but there isn’t enough space for a tripod, or there’s a particularly loud exercise group nearby at the exact time you’d want to film your scenes.
  • How easy is this location to get to? How close to public transportation is it, or is there sufficient parking availability?
  • Is there ambient sound that will cause problems? This means everything from crowds to a refrigerator you can’t turn off, to traffic, to a construction site nearby.
  • Is there enough space for the camera and crew? Remember, there will be quite a few people behind the camera as well as in front of it, all of whom need to be hidden from view. Sometimes these problems can be addressed if you’re able to move the furniture around to accommodate, but if the space isn’t yours, ALWAYS ASK.
  • Where is the nearest bathroom? This is especially a concern for outdoor shoots.
  • Is there another area nearby you can use for “holding?” Holding is just an area, preferably away from where the actual filming is taking place, for cast and crew to hang out when they’re not needed. Even during breaks, try to take them away from set, otherwise, you risk production design or continuity.
  • Will this location be available again for reshoots or for multiple shooting days? You’ll frequently end up filming multiple days in a single location, so you need to make sure a location is available for as long as you actually need it.
  • How much control do you have over the space? Can you control lighting/rearrange furniture/put up posters and set decorations? Can you redirect traffic or tell people in other rooms to pipe down? Does one need licenses or other approval for outdoor scenes? Do they need to be prepared to lie to cops? The more control you have over the variables, the better a location is going to be. Otherwise, you better be good at improv.

Now, moving on: read article

Don’t “Write What Sells”

Second-guessing buyers seldom gets anybody anywhere in the wonderful world of showbiz.

Not in books, TV, films, you name it.

Over the years it’s become clear here at TVWriter™ that the big TV writer-creator-producer successes are those who write what they want to see and are fortunate enough to discover that their sensibilities are in sync with both audiences and TV development executives. read article

John Ostrander: The Ultimate Illegal Alien

by John Ostrander

I’m indebted to Fox News anchor (and blogger) Todd Starnes. About three weeks ago – okay, I’m late to the party again – he posted a commentary entitled “Superman defends illegals against angry American.”

In his complaint, Starnes gripes about a scene in the most recent Action Comics where “Superman comes to the rescue of a group of illegal aliens – under attack from a white guy wearing an American flag bandana and waving around a machine gun… Instead of rounding up the illegals and flying them back to where they came from, the Man of Steel snatches the white guy and with a menacing look snarls, ‘The only person responsible for the blackness smothering your soul – is you.’”

This upset Mr. Starnes no end and has provided me with grist for this week’s column. read article

Star Trek: The Original Series Story Editor D.C. Fontana Speaks!

Back in the day when Our Beloved Leader Larry Brody was breaking into the biz one of his early mentors was his still very good friend Dorothy Fontana, known best by her oft-seen D.C. Fontana TV byline on everything from ST:TOS to The Six Million Dollar Man, Kung Fu, The Streets of San Francisco, Logan’s Run, The Waltons, ST: NG, The Silver Surfer, to just about 2 million other great shows.

There’s no question that Dorothy is one of the pioneering and genuine greats of TV writing. Talk about knowing your stuff! It’s always a treat to hear what she has to say: