Biggest Mistakes Writers Make With TV Pilots - Niceole R. Levy
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- Опубликовано: 1 июн 2024
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After growing up near China Lake Naval Weapons Center in the middle of the Mojave Desert, Niceole escaped to the bright lights of Los Angeles. While studying acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, she realized her true love was writing stories, not playing them out. She worked as a police dispatcher to pay her way through USC undergrad and then completed the Master of Professional Writing program, also at USC. An alum of the CBS Writers Mentoring Program, NBC's Writers on the Verge, and the WGAW Showrunner Training Program, Niceole has written on “Ironside,” “Allegiance,” “The Mysteries of Laura,” “Shades of Blue,” "Cloak & Dagger," “Fate: the Winx Saga,” “S.W.A.T,” and “Graymail.” She also co-wrote a feature, "The Banker," with former “Allegiance” showrunner and director George Nolfi, available on AppleTV+, and is now writing “Spark,” a film inspired by the life of Claudette Colvin. Niceole is currently a co-executive producer on an upcoming Netflix series and has several TV and feature projects in development. Her first book, “The Writers’ Room Survival Guide,” will be released in October of this year.
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One more piece of advice I can give to anyone writing a pilot is don't reveal too much. Don't give the whole game away in the first episode. Leave them wanting more for later episodes.
True!
She's so directly honest. I'm really glad she listed the pilots she says are great. Glad she didn't leave us empty handed to search for a good example.
Thanks for watching! Much more to come with Niceole!
This was a great segment. When I was head of TV Comedy I read many sitcom scripts where the writer didn't watch TV, didn't really like TV and wanted to reinvent the genre. Niceole is spot on. If you don't watch TV, love TV then how can you write for it?
Does one necessarily have to love today's TV?
Is a love of yesterday's TV sufficient?
Pre and post ALF for example. Alf went from being human hearted the first season to something less the last two seasons. The rest of TV seemed to follow.
Most of TV today is stupid, preachy and certainly not the least human hearted. Although it strives to be nothing but. The failure is because someone in the chain is the antithesis of empathic. (Human hearted is a translation of a Confucian term... Jen).
There's no much work opportunities for writers, they are already starving. Maybe that's why. And there's nothing bad in innovation 🤷
Is it a case of innovate, but not too far off the rails? As in there's a few winning formulas, and moving away from them should be done incrementally?
I thought Wiseguy when she mentioned good pilots and i gasped when she also mentioned it cos I haven’t seen it since it aired on Irish tv way back, but I remembered it’s power.
Something I noticed. When she said the main characters in the Miami Vice didn't meet each other for an hour, I instantly thought of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. That first episode was so effective even though Sam and Bucky didn't share a single scene.
I would accept Niceole's challenge about what show is the greatest show in television history. Yes, Hill Street Blues was one of them. Authentic, but my choice for the title of "the greatest show in the history of television" is the 1985-1989 detective dramedy "Moonlighting" on ABC. The pilot was written by Glenn Gordon Caron and starred Cybill Shepherd, Bruce Willis (pre-Die Hard), Allyce Beasley...and later Curtis Armstrong (from Revenge of The Nerds) was subsequently cast. The pilot was written as a two-hour television movie, and the series picked up where the pilot left off. It was a fantastic series.
Moonlighting was my childhood) the pilot sets the characters' dynamic perfectly!
Niceole is genius!!! She expresses herself so clearly, it just sounds like music to the mind! :D Thank you! I learned a lot, and always look for this kind of logic and clarity in presenters.
Glad you enjoyed it Vera! Much more to come with Niceole!
This is probably my favorite video on the channel. You definitely know what you're talking about and your ideas are so easily conveyed. I legit learned something here.
Much more to come with Niceole!
Had the absolute pleasure of listening to this brilliant and lovely woman as a panelist at the most recent Austin Film Festival29, and hear her share tales from inside the writers room. Had an even better discussion the very next day in an up close Q&A round table panel discussion. She is so spot on in this video.
Thanks for posting Frank!
Too everyone complaining this video is showing you how too be prepared for Hollywood and or big studios with managers and producers and what you should be ready for, sure if you want more passion and do what you want go for it, but that won't get you too Hollywood which isn't a bad, but this video is extremely helpful for those who want too go there and for those who just want too make films and shows with absolutely no restrictions and not care about the more corporate side of things just don't watch or even better watch it, because well... Ya never know what might help you and knowing things is always a nice thing anyway
I couldn't care less about Hollywood.
@@davidsuper773 than don't watch it
@@davidsuper773 I even said in my comment if your not interested in that than okay, but don't criticise her points
Hill Street was exactly what I thought of when you said, no, great pilots don't age out. Devastating.
Her “must watch” TV pilot recommendations:
- Hill Street Blues
- Wiseguy
- Miami Vice
- Homicide: Life on the Street
Batman The Animated Series pilot On Leather Wings is a half hour animated example of an excellent pilot. You learned so much about Batman through his actions and choices in that premiere
Perfect timing!!! That’s exactly what I needed!🙌💚
Excellent information! Niceole, I love how you express it and break it down! Bravo!!
I love this Vlog!!
Totally agree bout cutting down on the twists. So many movies and series started off well, nicely acted, nice cinematography, … then just destroyed by smart-alecky eye-rolling twists.
We tend not to know much about bad pilots cause they never go to series and the pilot is never seen by the public. I guess she means bad pilots that actually got over their troubles and went to series...but I can't really think of a show with a bad pilot that went to series.
Compared to the high quality of everything after it, the pilot of Inbetweeners is pretty meh.
Thank you. Very interesting.
WKRP in Cincinnati, is an incredible pilot
Fantastic interview and the questions asked were even better. 👏
Thanks! More to come
this channel os so good, so rich on content and wisdom. thank you so much for all of your work and interviews
Our pleasure! Thank you for watching. Great to hear you are finding the videos helpful!
Honestly, ngl I always wanted to create a TV show of my own. Creating stories is something I really love to do.
The protagonists in respective shows are all me (I live and breathe in each of them), the other characters are kinda like real people and I love to put them in unique settings.
Genres? It doesn't which one I like to create. I love... to... create genres; but what I also like is the emotion. Doesn't matter what I create. It can be action, drama, comedy, whatever.
Overall, I been working on pilots. Though I kinda slack off a bit, I'm currently working on them.
There's nothing stopping you from trying now. There's always going "Independent" and producing your own work. Although I admit. It will be extremely changing, yet rewarding.
This is being very helpful
Amen Niceole-- Hillstreet blues, Miami Vice. Mom liked-- Law and Order.. Very good stuff.
I watch every video you have on TV Show.. Much thanks
More to come!
These Rock!
I would say, think thats your Show is all about, the Themes the things you wanna focus on. Establish the Maincharakters, and tell a somewhat selfecontained Story, what has enough build up for future Plotlines. Dont just establish things for later, otherwhise your Pilot turns into a long Trailer, and dont overwelm your Audience whit Side Charakters.
Depending on the lenght of the Pilot and the Size of the important Side Charakters it might be good to let some out for now, or establish them much later to give the Maincharakters enough Time to shine and the Audience the Chance to understand them, befor they start interacting whit others.
Depents heavily on the Show of course.
12.36 is an amazing point and I thank you for that, your are the first person that I have heared state it. A jamican friend of mine came to UK in the late 60s, to survive she had done sex work to feed her children. She eventually became the Mayor of Liverpool UK and then the media hounded her because of her past. Her political party made her and outcast and sadlt she past away. She will always live in my heart and memory as a lady that did what she needed to do and be to survive. She never stopped doing good for others.
Excellent advice.
I think the greatest TV show is Breaking Bad. 😂
LOST and MR ROBOT have the greatest pilot in Television history.
not
Thank you 🙏
HILL Street Blues 100%, Just watched the new Sexy Beast, lots of money but missing dark grit.
Must a pilot always be the first episode?
There are many ways, however, if the writer does NOT engage the audience, what use is it??
So this lady likes cop shows and police shows. That's all I got from this 15 minutes.
She's certainly right, if you don't understand how to build a foundation, your results are bound to be wobbly and suffer as a result.
William Rabkin has a handy little book on the subject, with the advice that -- in the present day -- your pilot needs to be one that you can shoot yourself :-)
Since I had police bust on our house in London in which we had no drugs and the police were moaning ng that they could have been watching Hill street blues Never watched it since then but didn’t like it b4 anyway
😂😂😂
Sorry too here it
All this advice about tv writing and pleasing executives. Writers learning to be good dogs and then move up in the pack.
Where's the unique voices in Film? Where's the passion for original storytelling?
It's all cookie cutter stuff now.
Well this is more of a preparation for Hollywood and what too expect
What?! My writing is original but I’m very aware of all the things she pointed out re pacing I too have had people tell me to ramp it up What I find is a lot of pretty ordinary writers are never willing to listen to experience
@S e p hセフ I live in Hollywood and work in Hollywood. Here you are saying I'm "mediocre" 🤔🤣 yet you want to constrain creativity? Take some time and watch films by Tarkovsky, Sergei Parajanov or Ozu. Then burn your copy of that b.s. book "Save the Cat".
You wrote, "Creativity exists in a place with constraints." You are describing a cookie cutter . . . And you embarrassed yourself.
@@mrjackelbox4418 Yes it is. You have to listen to and read all the advice that's out there so you know what's garbage and what's good.. However the best things you can do is get a copy of Pauline Kael's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Andrei Tarkovsky's Sculpting in Time. Then learn all the rules and find your own voice.
Don't waste your time on writing a Pilot. Write a spec film script and work very hard to get it read by a real working professional in the industry. It will be a calling card to more real work and maybe it will get made.
@@roshanhill6009 The very first script I optioned was to a producer who worked on films that have made over $4 billion at the box office. Guess what? He didn't know story or story structure and his assistants didn't either. They know CONCEPT and packaging. Their notes were vague and worthless. So when you chose someone with experience in the industry - Choose wisely.
Gene Roddenberry also learned how to write for TV by watching and studying what he saw on TV.
Worked for him, I'd say.
Hill street blues
Miami vice
Homocide life on street
spiffing channel
Cheers!
Mistake #1
Writing a pilot
I'm sorry but Hill Street Blues was the worse TV show ever made. It sucked snot from a sewer. It was all story... no plot or spectacle, at all. ; )
Hogan's Heroes and Beverly Hillbillies, on the other hand, were great shows. They included story, plot and spectacle.
Barnaby Jones had a great pilot but the show was mediocre. While The Rockford Files had a mediocre pilot but became one of the best PI shows ever made.
You need to have somebody on to talk about the SIT-COM PILOT
What do you need to know?
@@filmcourage I guess the difference of how you go about putting it together as a package vs the hour long pilot.