Has anyone had the dilemma, where they've had an idea for a story, but not sure whether it would work out best as a 3 part series or a feature....what did you do to help decide|???
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3 part series or feature
- Thread starter derek smith
- Start date
Shoot the story you want to tell and if you need to break it up later, you can.
I just wrote it. When the first draft was finished I had a better
understanding of my overall story.
If yours is too long for a feature then during your rewrite you can
think of it as a three part series and rewrite accordingly. If the
first draft is feature length... you have your answer.
simple but effective advice, thanks......I know of the 3 act structure for Features....Do 1 hour episodes, follow any similar structures...I read that it follows a 6 act structure, then a 4....already looked at my story, and got a good idea how to break it up by episode, but curious if there is respected structure?
All screenplays are structured fundamentally with a 'three act' concept: intro, action, resolution. Each of those pieces can be teased apart in different ways. Writing for television (or a series) requires very clean style. A very good guide is that every five pages has a minor beat. Every 10-12 pages is a major beat. So in a typical series you have:
TEASER: 2-3 pages title sequence & commercial break
ACT I: 10-12 pages commercial break
ACT II: 10-12 pages commercial break
ACT III: 10-12 pages commercial break
ACT IV: 10-12 pages commercial break
TAG: 2-3 pages credits
From practice, I find this tends to be about where my writing naturally breaks. Write your feature and see where your breaks fall. If you decide to go the series route, look to break your episodes along the 10-12 page block units. They are points of dynamic tension that can serve as hooks and/or resolutions as they often follow on major transitions.
TEASER: 2-3 pages title sequence & commercial break
ACT I: 10-12 pages commercial break
ACT II: 10-12 pages commercial break
ACT III: 10-12 pages commercial break
ACT IV: 10-12 pages commercial break
TAG: 2-3 pages credits
From practice, I find this tends to be about where my writing naturally breaks. Write your feature and see where your breaks fall. If you decide to go the series route, look to break your episodes along the 10-12 page block units. They are points of dynamic tension that can serve as hooks and/or resolutions as they often follow on major transitions.