As I mentioned earlier, I adapted the first novella in my 5-book series into a 2-hr feature screenplay, then adapted that into a more appropriate tv series format. So, my question to you all is this: I now have a 2-hr pilot and two 1-hr episodes (fyi, my novellas were all written in an 8-act structure so separating in the middle was easy). Anyway, I have submitted the first episode to several contests but I have never seen a request for a 2-hr pilot, which I would obviously love to see. So, is there any interest in 2-hr pilots by the industry or is this a waste of time and effort?
Screenwriting : 2-hr pilots: a waste of effort? by Joseph Rhea
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What is 'an 8-act structure'? That's new to me.
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I've tried it. https://thescriptlab.com/screenwriting/structure/the-sequence/45-the-eig...
Doug, what I meant is that each if my novellas are really 2 smaller, but connected, stories, each of which can be broken into 4 acts. So adapting one book into two hour-long series episode format was relatively easy.
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It could be a hard sell. But if it's a page-turner there's always a possibility you interest someone. You still may want to consider pitching it as a pilot episode part 1 and 2.
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Jerry. Even in books I've always been bothered by the "3-act" structure, because the 2nd act is really 2 acts (it is often called 2a and 2b) so lets all just admit that it is 4 acts. :)
Also, while the traditional Hero's Journey has 12 parts, I tend to simplify them into 8, so your 8 structure format makes perfect sense to me.
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How are book sales? Where are you published? Very few novelists adapt their own stuff for tv. My cousin works for a major publishing co. and one client is a best seller, house hold name, and books optioned major American movie tv/film studios, and the suits in charge always hire someone else to adapt.
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Dan (sorry, I haven't figured out how to respond directly from my phone) I originally wanted to write my Novum saga as a tv series, but knowing that the probability of that ever coming to fruition was slim at best, I decided to write the series as a collection of novellas, each one covering about 2 hours of the tv series in my head. The books were self-published worldwide on Amazon and have had unanimously positive reviews, but all along I was hoping someone would magically see the potential for tv and make me an offer. Well, during covid I decided to stop waiting and adapted the first book myself, just to prove it could be done. My current dream is that someone will see that I have the entire series already written in a prose format that was designed specifically to be easily adapted into a 12-episode tv series, and then make me an offer to option the books.
Wow, sorry this was so long...
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Its now rare to see feature length pilots. These are usually 1 TV hour (37-42 minutes for broadcasters/ 1 hour for streamers), so if your pilot is 2 hours without ad breaks it will run very long if you're sending it to a broaddcaster.
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Hi Ewan. You are correct, of course, and that's actually why I have both versions; a 2-hr pilot and also the first two 1-hr episodes written. The 2-hr version is similar to the 2-hr pilot for the old tv series Firefly, where it's a complete introduction to the cast and a launching platform for the coming series, but it also had a mid-point cliffhanger (the girl in the box) that allowed them to air it as 2 episodes.
Likewise, the 1-hr first episode of Novum ends with the main plot task completed but ends with a major teaser of what is going to happen in the 2nd episode. So, maybe the 1-hr episode is better anyway, because it ends with you wanting to see what happens next (hopefully!) ;)
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Hmmm my thoughts are it's not worth it. Can you turn it into a mini-series? Maybe even be able to extend it into 5 parts of 1 hours each. Try to write it up as the one hour pilot and try to sell that. And if you can, then you can just make each episode longer.
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Denise, thanks for the comments. Actually, since this pilot was adapted from the first book in my 5-book series, I already have enough material for at least a 12-episode limited series (the last 2 books are longer and equal 3 hours each). There is also a natural break at the end of book 3, so that could lend itself to two seasons of 6-episodes each. Anyway, lots of options. ;)
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That's great! Like I said, I'd make it a one hour pilot and pitch it as a mini-series. These are so popular now!
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Thanks again, Denise!