Netflix and Stage 32 have partnered on an exclusive global education series in an effort to democratize the worldwide entertainment industry. Together, over the course of 5 webcasts Stage 32's world class educators will bring their knowledge of what it takes to write, develop and produce today's television for the Stage 32 and Netflix creator community.

In our second webinar in series, we are going to talk about how you can effectively write a TV series to budget.

More television than ever is being made and consumed. With streamers like Netflix looking for new, exciting, original stories from all over the world to produce, you have to put yourself in the best position to make sure your story stands out. But, the truth is that an intriguing story in today's marketplace is not enough. You have to look at the practicalities of making your story into a television series, and with that, you have to think about how what you write will affect the budget. Getting a clear understanding of how to think about budget when you are writing will help give you the competitive advantage you need to get you closer to your greenlight. 

To help you is Jeanette B. Milio, a producer who has worked on over 500 hours of film and television content in the US, Europe, Dubai and South Africa. She produced the Netflix Original THE EXPERIMENT starring Adrian Brody and Forrest Whittaker and has worked with ABC/Disney, USA, Showtime, TLC, CW, Discovery, Lionsgate, Paramount and more. She has also consulted for the international co-production department of Warner Bros. in the U.S. and Germany, which was focused on producing local feature content in Europe. 

In this exclusive Stage 32 + Netflix webinar, Jeanette will go in-depth on how to think about your characters, locations and scenes when you are writing to give your script the best chance of being produced. She will go over how decisions you make at the script stage have a trickledown effect that affect an entire production and how you, as a writer, can be a valuable member of the team by thinking about these things as you are writing your story. She will break down writing exercises you can use to apply to your characters and locations and give you handouts that you can use to apply to your own script.

You will walk away with a clearer understanding of how you can give your story a competitive advantage by thinking through characters, locations and scenes as you are writing. 

Some examples will be used from notable TV shows on network, cable, and streaming platforms including:

• ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING
• SQUID GAME
• MADMEN
• THE BOYS
• EUPHORIA
• QUEEN'S GAMBIT
• SUPERSTORE

PLUS! you will receive the following worksheets to help you analyze your own script:

• Character Trait Breakdown sheet
• Location Sheet

Note: You will receive the Zoom link to login by the morning of the webinar.

If you are not yet a member of the Stage 32 community, we encourage you to join the community today at www.stage32.com, it is FREE! You will instantly connect with over 800,000 creatives and professionals in the entertainment industry from all over the world who use Stage 32 to network, find work, learn and develop their projects. YOU MUST HAVE A STAGE 32 PROFILE TO WATCH YOUR VIDEO.

How to Write a TV Series to Budget with Stage 32 Educator Jeanette B. Milio

Negotiation of Art vs. Reality

• Art – your idea and your script
• Reality – This is a business which requires an ROI to your buyer which likely means some creative concessions

How to Keep Your Creativity in the Outline Phase but Think Within the Means of a Production

Characters

• The Trickle Down Effect - Why is it important to keep character count in mind and how it trickles down and affects different parts of the production team: producers, actor offers, casting directors, logistics for production.
• Thinking of characters in terms of multiple episodes, multiple seasons
• Tips to implement during the script phase
• Right number of characters
• Creating your characters
• Writing children and animals
• Writing for A-level talent
• Writing a character that time jumps
• Writing cast diversity
• Cast conflicts 

Locations

• The Trickle Down Effect - Why is it important to keep locations in mind and how it trickles down and affects different parts of the production team: location scouts, POC, Transportation, Camera, Producers, Cast, Crew
• Thinking of locations in terms of multiple episodes, multiple seasons
• Tips to implement during the script phase
  • Location is a character
  • Less is more: limit locations
  • Write locations wisely
  • Write locations that support your lead character
  • Design locations with easy access
  • Write locations within reach that truly serve your story

Scene Structure and Number of Scenes

• The Trickle Down Effect: Why is it important to keep scene structure and scene count in mind and how it trickles down and affects different parts of the production team: POC, Transportation, Camera, Producers, Cast, Crew
• Tips to implement during the script phase
  • Scene Structure
    • Combining dialogue from different scenes into one, more manageable scene
    • Are you getting in and out of a scene quickly? 
    • Dialogue vs. actor experience
    • Create a rhythm with your scene

• Number of Scenes
  • Every scene must have a reason to be there and move the story forward
  • Each new location poses its own challenges and stretches the budget, how can you truncate scenes?

Other Production Factors that Contribute Significantly to the Budget

• Extras
• Special effects
• Stunts
• Chases through cities
• Explosions and accidents. How to be smart about them
• Shooting on the water, in the water and what else to avoid

Q&A with Jeanette

Want to see the other webcasts in this exclusive Stage 32 + Netflix Creating Television Content for a Global Marketplace series?

Click here: TV Pitch Documents with Chris Mack

Click here: TV Pitch Documents with Chris Mack - Closed Caption

Click here: TV Story Structure with Anna Henry

Click here: Writing Scripts to Budget with Jeanette B. Milio

Click here: Writing Hit Sci-Fi Scripts for Streaming Television with Mickey Fisher

Click here: Writing Hit Comedy Scripts for Streaming Television with Vijal Pital

Click here: Writing Hit Drama for Streaming Television with Leila Cohan

All levels of directors (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to learn how to think about your characters, locations and scenes when you are writing.

All levels of writers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to learn how to think about your characters, locations and scenes when you are writing.

Producers looking to learn how to think about your characters, locations and scenes when you are writing.

Actors looking to learn how to think about your characters, locations and scenes when you are writing.