I’ve been able to read a lot of spec sitcom pilots in the last couple years. Mostly from friends and acquaintances within the Los Angeles improv/comedy scene. The shortcomings of these scripts has been surprisingly consistent. Keep in mind, these are very funny, talented writers so neither of those two things are an issue.
But they all have had similar training in improv and sketch. And while those skills can be invaluable (I can’t recommend them enough) they definitely flex different muscles than writing narrative television and film.
The experience tends to go like this:
It’s a premise pilot. That is, we spend the pilot discovering how the premise of the series comes to be. It starts with a few solid jokes but the humor slows down more and more as the script goes away from character and into plot. By the end of the pilot the narrative momentum has slowed to a crawl as we finally learn what this future series is going to be “about.”
There are a few things here that might make this a tough sell. It’s a premise pilot, and those are less attractive because they don’t demonstrate what a typical show will be. The humor relies too much on characters saying funny things rather than being funny characters. But most of all, the primary dilemma of these scripts has been this:
Nobody wants anything.
Characters are not actively seeking to accomplish something. They are not trying to fix a problem that was introduced in the first act and hence, there are no complications. Funny things happen TO them and they say funny things about those things and then the pilot is over. Some isolated scenes may be funny, but this isn’t sketch or improv, it’s story and with story, narrative momentum needs to carry over and accelerate.
These scripts are missing the three most basic elements of story:
Somebody wants something,
They are having trouble getting it, and
Something will happen if they fail.
Objective, Obstacles and Stakes.
These spec pilots have plots, but no storylines. Most sitcoms have two or three. If someone isn’t actively seeking an outcome, it’s not a storyline. If there are no complications to this want, it’s not a storyline. If there is no resolution (even if that resolution IS that there is no resolution) it’s not a storyline.
If you can’t identify what these things are for each of your storylines, you need to make different choices so that you can.
Just about everything one learns in improv and sketch will be beneficial in writing sitcoms, drama, feature films, whatever. Immensely so. But it also requires a shift in thinking.
You are no longer looking to heighten and heighten and then get out. You are looking to build narrative energy that CARRIES OVER to the next scene. You are not just heightening game, you are heightening tension, stakes and relationships and so much more.
You are doing this because along with extended narrative momentum, good story requires both an emotional as well as a comic payoff.
———————-
A new Screenwriting 101 class begins Wednesday, September 16th in Hollywood. Visit http://bit.ly/screenwriting101 for more information.
Hey so I uploaded this spec pilot I wrote for a Gundma series if I ever got to make one up on my wordpress over at wesaveworld.wordpress.com It's basically fan fiction but in script format so why not check it out?! Also there's other stuff I've written there as well lol.
