StorytimeWednesday

  Earlier this month I posted a piece about Character Bibles and how they should be created. Today I am going to delve into how to create a show pitch bible for any television show, or even movie script pitch. For a television show you have the original pilot then the first season of shows and onward. A movie script pitch is a little different. Right now the concept idea is in your head but you want to get it in front of a manager or agent to help you get it in front of a few producers or executives to get it to screen. So, now’s the time for you to get the story idea out of your head and onto paper. A mentor of mine once said “the story sounds great verbally, but you must put it on paper/computer screen for it to feel and be real. So, get it out of your head now.” He was right. Once I got it out of my head it took on a life of its own and ended up being both a book and a movie script. Although each of my books start out as a movie script because it’s easier to lay out the scenes...

  What is a storyboard? Why do you need it for a film? Storyboards are a huge part of the pre-production phase of making a film come alive. You don’t have to be a fancy artist or filmmaker to create a storyboard, but you do have to have a concept of the movie script to create one. You see a storyboard is a layout of each scene of the script. A storyboard is a visual of every scene in the movie. It allows the director, the camera guy, and even the actor to know what is expected in every scene. Camera angle, what the action will be in the scene, pan left, static shot, what the action will be in the scene, etc.  When you think of the movie script you can’t see the various scenes on paper, until you turn to the storyboard where the visualized scenes appear like magic. The storyboard shows the type of shot (single, close-up, far away, etc.) what the character movement will be, the camera movement will be if there is a voiceover in the shot, what the camera placement will be, th...

  Character Bible A character bible is a detailed document that outlines everything about a character, a detailed description of what they look like, including their background story, personality, motivations, and desires so the actor can better understand who they will be portraying in the movie or television show. Similar to a Story Bible used in TV shows like any cops and robbers show, or detective series, a character bible is essential for novelists and script writers. It serves as a reference tool, ensuring continuity and providing depth to characters, making their interactions more realistic. **Creating a Character Bible: Key Elements** 1. **Content**: Focus on the essentials—physical appearance (skin), backstory (flesh), and psychology (core). Address how characters look, their past influences, and their inner motivations. 2. **Coverage**: Include every character, not just the main ones. Even minor characters should have some background to make them feel real and contribute ...

What does a movie script look like once it’s broken down? Well when you break down a movie script you have many components so lets break them down to see what goes into a movie production. Preproduction priorities are as follows: Funding must be procured for the film first or at least enough to hire the director and camera director Hire Lawyers to protect the integrity of the film and prepare necessary contracts for actors and crew members. Hire accounting firm or use your bank firm to create billable items for taxes and proper accounting and payroll procedures for the film. Director and camera director must be hired first. You don’t have casting first off, instead you have shooting locations where the movie will be filmed to choose. This could be broken down into many filming locations based on the script scenes. Then once you have the locations chosen, You then have to decide on props to use in the shots. Historical data needs to be researched to help with costumes, character ...