My name is Porter Skouson, for my senior project I wanted to write the pilot episode for my original tv show “the Dead Beat”. The project was not only the script but also some necessary pre-production steps such as the target audience, the logline, and writing pieces of the “show bible” (the rules of the world).
My Process
My first attempt at writing the script was just that, sitting down and writing it. I had the idea I wanted to capture and in my head I had the rough points I wanted to hit. After several hours I had a “Terrible First Draft” which meant it could only get better. After saving a copy of the terrible first draft I reopened my script writing software held “ctr-A” then “backspace” erasing the whole thing. There was no rescuing that draft, it was better to start over.
My second attempt I went back to the drawing board, literally, I did what I should have done from the very beginning. I wrote down my target audience, I worked on the logline until I got one that worked, and the most helpful part of the process, I made an outline for the script. The outline consisted of the three act structure I wanted to follow, and broke down those three into subpoints with a rough estimation of how many pages I wanted to capture them in.
- Target Audience
- Demographic- females between the ages of 18-35
- Geographic- living in the Great Lakes Region of the United States
- Psychographic- who love mystery shows, supernatural/urban fantasy, and episodic storytelling
- Logline
- Alicia Layne must adapt to the fact she is a medium, someone who can speak with the ghosts, she learns of an artifact hidden in Detroit that can end the world, but she isn’t the only one looking.
- Outline
- Act One: Introduction to main character
- Alicia working her beat (2 pages)
- Alicia saving Jude and he asks her on a date (4 pages)
- Alicia filling out paperwork and talking about how nothing happens in her life (3 pages)
- Act Two: Toby’s arrival and death
- Toby steals the artifact and escapes the ship (3 pages)
- Toby gets shot and turns to someone unseen for help (2 pages)
- Alicia gets home from work, Toby stumbling into the apartment and dies, secretly unlocking Alicia’s latent powers. (3 pages)
- Act Three: Toby returns and begins to explain the world
- Alicia stays at her partners house, she hears voices (2 pages)
- Alicia goes to work, complaining of a headache, the captain sends her home (3 pages)
- On the way out, Alicia sees the spirits of two dead cops (2 pages)
- Alicia speaks to Toby’s ghost and he explains the world (4 pages)
- The “bad guys” board meeting (3 pages)
- The artifact is found (1 page)
- Act One: Introduction to main character
My third attempt was revising as I wrote, seeing that certain scenes were better shorter, or some scenes needed to be longer. I gave myself the freedom to adapt as I went so I would continue the process and where the story was going.
Once I was content with the bones of the story I moved onto revisions. I went through the story again improving the verbs in the script, then I went through again to work on the dialogue (does each character have a unique voice). After revising it again and again it was finally time for a fresh set of eyes to look over and advise me on the points where the story could be improved. Then it was up to me to see which suggestions they came up with were good to implement and which ones don’t fit and had to be left behind.
Finally I had a version that I believed was good enough to present at the senior showcase. Is the script done? No. It will need several more versions, and fresh pairs of eyes, before it would be ready to film.
Reflection
What I Liked
I liked the script that I wrote, and I am proud of the outline, logline, and how everything ended. The project is one that I would be willing to share with a production company, even if it was just for feedback.
What I Wish
I wished that I would have started with the right steps. I thought that I could just sit down and bomb out the script and start revising. However it would not have turned out as well as it did. Without the right foundations the rest of the project would have been weak. I am glad that I had the drive to start over knowing that it would be better in the end then sticking with something that never would have amounted to anything.
The Dead Beat: Pilot, Full Episode
This is a copy of my senior project, it includes everything from the preproduction points, the Show Bible, and the completed script.