I've been asked to write/direct a web series pilot... for actual money! Woo-hoo! They would like it to ultimately be a 10 episode season. Each episode being 5-10 minutes. The idea is to use the pilot to help raise money for the rest. My plan is to outline the entire series as if it were a movie AND to break down each episode as a mini movie with at least the core 5 points of the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet (which are imo: Setup, Catalyst/Break into 2, Fun & Games, Bad Guys Close in, Climax). I'd like to squeeze all 15 in, of course, but some are more flexible than others. So, are there any web series writers out there? Any tips, trick, or shortcuts that I could benefit from? Other info- Budget: A paltry $10k Location: Orlando Show Longline: A very conservative religious family that has been living in a bubble with other people of their faith - the kids go to a religious private school, the father works at a religious institute- is suddenly thrown into the "real world" when the patriarch loses his job and the wife has to go to work (and discovers women's lib) and kids have to go to public school. Hilarity ensues as their naiveté gets them into trouble. (It's' "The Goldbergs" mixed with "The Unbreakable Kimme Schmidt").
Screenwriting : Web Series Outline? by Stanley Pomianowski
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Very clever. I can't wait to see it.
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Thanks! I thought it up. I'm just not sure how exactly to implement it for a web series necessarily. I'm assuming it is more like writing for TV where the idea would be to end each episode with a cliff hanger...
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I can't wait to hear more about this project.
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Oh, and I've been stumped with coming up with a name! I'm up for any suggestions.
Wings For Tomorrow
How about "Not a Cult" Haha!
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Wow. Keep me posted. I want to watch this!!! I'm drawing a blank on the name, but that's because the premise is really good.
Thanks Lisa!
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Stanley this sounds like a great pilot, good luck!!
I think using the feature film structure may work, you should check out the structure 8 sequences which roughly run around the 10 minute mark if you haven't seen that already. A google search will yield the info readily. Interestingly we had the same plan and we shot our project, but it turned out to be a feature film and not a series of webisodes. I think the main thing is that the webisodes have to stand on their own as well as connect as a whole. I think that may be tough to do, but it's worth a shot! You can see some of our project here if you're curious: http://www.cinecoup.com/theories/
Connecting while standing on their own! Definitely the challenge! I'm planning on each episode being it's own storyline and then sprinkling in the over-all arc for each character as the "season" progresses. My cork board is starting to look like a conspiracy theorists.