How much detail should we put in a tv pilot for a series? Like detail to set the tone of the show? To set up the scene? I am getting different feedback from producers - some love the details while others not so much. Any help would be great thank you!!
Screenwriting : Details - how many details for tv pilot (3.22.21) by Amazing Kacee
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I've been told if you say something is in the scene you have to use it in the scene. Like if you mention there's a candle on the table, then the candle has to come in to play at some point. Hope that helps!
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It's definitely a hard thing to balance. Especially with so many different approaches by different producers. I was never sure how much of the secrets to give away in the pilot and the best advice was to at least give hints of things to come. I ended up adding a few brief scenes of the characters and situation that the main character will get involved in down the line.
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Show the viewer everything and everyone they need to know to "get" your story and gain understanding of what the intention of the story is moving forward....
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Agree with @Bill about adding seeds that offer future growth, (his word “hint”). I don’t go for overkill with details per sae but producers want to know “does this show have legs?” so when pitching a series I lay an intriguing foundation that begs a question they need to seek the answer to. (LOL hopefully).
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It’s a tough balance. In general, the pilot needs to setup the series and also be a complete episode. The scripts tend to be several pages longer than the regular episodes because you need a little more description to give life to the major sets that we’ll live in each episode. You also need to show the story engine - essentially how each episode operates and why we need to keep coming back.