TV Pilots - javier grillo-marxuach - World Building and Length

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  • TV Pilots - javier grillo-marxuach - World Building and Length

    I follow JGM on Twitter @OKBJGM and this is a series with very good advice for TV writers looking to break in with a new pilot.

    check it out, you won't be sorry... https://twitter.com/OKBJGM/status/1225413427578929153

    @wgasolidaritychallenge - this is one of the hashtags i've encouraged writers to follow and I think Javier is a good writer to follow. This is one of the writers out there helping other writers with read opportunities.

    couple of words as i settle down to read scripts for the #wgasolidaritychallenge - a lot of the scripts are way over 60 pages, some close to 70. now that’s not a deal breaker, but it’s not a good thing for me - most hour long pilots are clocking in at a LOT less nowadays (1/5)
    javier grillo-marxuach
    @OKBJGM
    ·
    1h
    part of that is that the quality of the visual image in tv has increased exponentially - action set pieces, montages, even just plain old “fancy shots” are a lot more prevalent as directors have more time and resources to do more than shoot a master and some separations... (2/5)
    javier grillo-marxuach
    @OKBJGM
    ·
    1h
    tv is just a lot more cinematic than it ever was - and that needs to be reflected in your selection of story material for your pilot. the sixty plus page pilot is a relic of a time when shows were wall-to-wall dialogue with a few establishing shots in between. (3/5)
    javier grillo-marxuach
    @OKBJGM
    ·
    1h
    if you handed me a pilot longer than that, don’t worry, i am not grading on that, but bear this in mind, if you got a greenlight tomorrow, you’d have to cut 10 to 15 pages. most episodics and pilots are clocking in at about 50 pages or less nowadays. (4/5)

    javier grillo-marxuach
    @OKBJGM
    a pilot is all about establishing worlds and characters in the most efficient way possible - if you need sixty five pages to do that, try to consider how much of those pages could wind up in episode 2! here endeth the lesson. (5/5)
    so for all those amazing world-building feature writers-- TV might be your thang!

    BTW, there's also a google doc of writers accepting submissions for reads. They are very specific requirements. Follow the rules, so these amazing writers will continue to support and read other writer's work. It's primarily TV.
    Last edited by finalact4; 02-06-2020, 08:34 AM.
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