Young Adult TV Show

There are a lot of violent phrases to describe advancement in the professional world: dog-eat-dog, cut-throat, back-stabbing… but unless you are vying to dominate in the world of Hannibal the Pomeranian or seeking to outrank Michael Myers, I find these to be over-hyphenated and a little fatalistic (get it? fatal!?).

Top of the corporate ladder!

Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of things that are less-than-rad in the working world. However, there is one part of career mobility that gets an undeserving rap, and much like Anacostia, could probably use an image overhaul. I speak, of course, about Networking.

Unfortunately, there are very few industries based purely on meritocracy, of course with the exception of  Senators, who stay in power solely based on personal achievement, qualifications and intellect. Otherwise, everyone networks. And while it is not necessarily fair, consider connections another tool outside your inherent ability to analyze data, recite Hamlet or ace your MCAT.

I am not one to slander bad commercials. I have gotten more pleasure from the Magic Bullet ad than Lindsay Lohan has from Sam Ronson covered in Dime Bags. However, I must say, when the TV tells you not to succumb to peer pressure- networking is one case where it is blatantly wrong. If everyone else if using connections- put your pride aside and do the same. It is survival of the fittest, strongest and most connectedest.

Ask yourself this, if it weren’t for “who you know,” where would Tori Spelling bee/be? Or even the Little Mermaid. Her dad was the King of the Sea for crying out loud! Nice boobs, a karaoke-good singing voice and a father who runs an entire ocean. Great message Disney, prep ‘em young.

My dad's in government, how about yours?

Ultimately, at its most basic and optimistic level, networking should be viewed as an opportunity to branch out, learn about the industry that thrills you and to make new friends (everyone loves friends!). So put yourself out there, be it through industry events, college alumni services, family, friends or family friends. You never know who knows who.

Don't judge an influential book by its cover.

I am no Emily Post, but I wanted to offer you a few DO’s and DONT’s to find and land that career dream date.

1. DO acknowledge that networking takes leg-work. The internet is one valuable resource, but it shouldn’t be your primary tool. Phone = personal.
2. DO offer to pay for something when meeting, at least the first drink. Your charming presence = good. Your charming presence + free drink = super good.
3. DON’T tell someone “I want to network with you”. Just say you’d like to hang out and hear about the industry and how they got into it. Subtle but effective. Note: if you did, in fact, think saying “I want to network” was a good tack, proceed directly to the Sling Blade School for Social Skills.
   

   Your MBA from Wharton can only get you so far, mmm hmmm.

4. DO ask them to tell you about themselves and how they got “into the biz”. Everyone likes to talk about themselves (I know. I write a blog. aka a gigantic “look what I did!”).
5. DO ask specific questions, especially if the person is shy. Some people don’t want to sound like they’re bragging, so this is an effective go-around.
6. DON’T immediately ask for whatever favor you may have… or do. The Sling Blade School has room for many students.
7. DO follow up (unless they say otherwise). The onus is on you. <Insert favor asking here>.

See! Look how many Do’s there are! This shows that networking can be a positive experience. So go forth young prospects and never fear, meritocracy is not entirely dead. Unless Meritocracy was the name of your pet dog… in which case, another dog probably ate it.

Lauren

I was on the phone the other day with an ITC help desk person when he asked me to spell my last name. A-B-R-A-M-S-O-N. Since we aren’t in the Jewish Shtetl and it isn’t as common a last name as Jones or Smith or Hernandez, he then proceeded to ask for clarification:

Mensa member: So, is that B as in barber or B as in boy?
Me: <deafening silence>

At this point, I couldn’t help but ask a few questions of my own.
1. What?

2. Wait… what?

And more importantly,

3. How is this man employed?

4. Why hasn’t Darwinism weeded him out?

Well, writing a script for a TV pilot is very similar. You have to have the what, the how and the why.

What: what are your characters like?  They need to be multi-dimensional and believable. Sure, I could watch this man all day:

but for the typical viewer, a one-dimensional, stereotypical, caricature of a person does not sustain  interest.

How: you need an execution. how to bring your project to life.

Industry jargon term of the day: Beat Sheet (not to be confused with a sock that is shoved under your bed after watching The Girl Next Door).
The beat sheet is ex lax for writer’s block. This is similar to an outline and should serve as a springboard before starting to write the dialog. For a 30-minute pilot it should be about 3-6 pages and should be clear, concise and simple, breaking your story down into bite-size beats or scenes.

Why: you need a motivation. Why do the characters do the things they do. As mentioned above, this stems from having well-thought out, realistic characters.

The writing team for Young Adult has been going very smoothly. This week marked their third writer’s meeting and they almost have a completed first draft of the script. Here are a few do’s and dont’s that have come out of the process…

DO get a Script Supervisor. It is this person’s job to ensure continuity from scene to scene during filming so that when your show is produced your legions of nerd-followers don’t start a blog about the inconsistencies of the script.

Moviemistakes.com. Where dorks go on date night.

DON’T assume “editing will fix it.” Photoshop fixes haphazardly arched eyebrows, not loosely-woven, tenuous story lines. If you want your sitcom to be 22 minutes and you film 30, don’t assume you can edit away 8 minutes of footage.

A good rule of thumb: 1 page of dialog = 1 minute of plot (that’s 22 pages to you, ITC help desk guy)

DO take advantage of group-think. Once your actors/writers have a good grasp on the characters, let them role play (kinky). Have them improv some dialog. Starting an email chain of ideas is another good trick of the trade (so are hand cuffs. Really kinky).

DON’T take jobs away from Asian factory workers. If your script reads like a Korean-to-English instruction manual and would make even Flava Flav question your grammatical aptitude, you need to rework it.

"That split infinitive is whack son!"

DO have someone read your work to see if it makes sense. Someone should be able to ‘get’ your story just by reading it (without you having to explain it repeatedly). Unless you have a stack of LSD stamps or are JJ Abrams writing Lost, you can’t get away with crazy incoherence.

Until next week, please feel free to Google JJ Abrams’s work as an example… just remember- that’s Abrams with a B as in boy… or barber.

Happy Friday those of you in Australia (happy Thursday everyone else),

This week’s theme centers around time management. It may not have when I started writing this, but damn it, if my college education is good for anything, it is pulling out a loosely-conceived, feebly contrived motif where one never had any business being in the first place. Whether it be the time spent rehearsing, filming or bed hopping with all your cast mates, you have to have a Germanic dedication to structure when looking for success.

Random international reader: Hey Lauren! I’m from Hungary. That is close to Germany, does that count?

Lauren: Germany was forced to relinquish its control of your country as a product of the Potsdam Agreement at the end of World War II. So, absolutely not.

For the rest of you, read on!

1. DO delegate. You are smart and capable and therefore, have likely surrounded yourself by a very talented cast and crew. If you haven’t come up with an utterly crappy idea, it is almost guaranteed they will be on board with your project. Use their strengths; let them help where they want to. Empower them.

If she could make munitions, surely your actors can hang up flyers. Look at the tenacity, the drive, the arch in her eyebrows.

2. DON’T pull a Fiddler on the Roof and work your cast/crew from Sunrise to Sunset. However, if long hours or late nights are a must, at least provide some spacing between the shooting days. They are actors, not Guatemalan wunderkinds.

3. DO allow ample time for post-production. The second the director calls “That’s a wrap,” it might seem like a yahoo moment.* However, in many ways, the critical phases are just beginning. The pacing, tone and quality of your final product hinge on editing. It’s kinda like the difference between turning in a term paper with the sentence:

Bravo tv does good producing mass quanitites of tv were peopel throw shit and yell at eachother.

vs.

While lacking in any sort of creative ingenuity, the approach to programming Bravo takes is at once formulaic and deliciously addictive.

While there is no one size fits all approach to how much time to allocate to your phases of production, it is a good rule of thumb to allow as much time for post-production as you do production. Pre-production can vary more widely, especially depending on the size of your cast and number of locations.

*Yoohoo moment. Not the same.

4. DO have a wrap party. It’s a great way to celebrate the project, have cast bonding (if everyone can still stand each other) and to generate buzz as you are now ready to shop around the final product.

So there you have it. In sum- don’t waste time… this is a time-constrained project, not the government.

Hello budding YA fans! My name is Lauren Abramson and I just wanted to introduce myself.

I’m Lauren.

Great! Now that that’s out of the way, welcome to the Young Adult blog, your source for all things Young Adults: the people and the TV show.

So you want to do a pilot? Awesome! I’d do her too. Aim high!

Now that you’ve enjoyed that pun, let’s go to the meaty stuff. So you want to WRITE a pilot? This blog will periodically feature some do’s and dont’s as you bring your project to life. Young Adult is my second foray into television acting. Previous work on television shows has in no way made me a guru. Nor can I guarantee following these steps will be your iron clad path to fame and 13 VH1 spin-offs. However, check back often for some hopefully helpful tips from pre to post stages of production, because Lord knows I’m learning Do’s and Don’ts by the minute.

So, open up a blank document on your Blackberry and make a few of these notes-to-self.

Young Adults. Do’s and Don’ts of producing a pilot.

1. DO scope out the competition. What kind of shows exist in a similar genre, production style, etc to yours? Grab your cast and crew and bond over some wine and cinematic critiquing.

2. DON’T pee in the pool. AKA- don’t do things that make people want to avoid you like the plague… or, well, like pee in the pool. This includes, acting crazy, irrationally lashing out at people, unrealistic expectations, manic behavior. If you want to go bat shit crazy to use industry jargon- wait until you’ve made it big so at least you can benefit from the PR:

Bat Shit Crazy: Wait until you’ve made a name for yourself, relatively, at least.

3. DO spend money when it’s visible. Production costs can be high- especially on things such as lighting. However, it can make all the difference between a polished, professional, marketable product and another homemade Youtube video of a black lady singing and fallin’ down:

Wasted Potential.

Imagine what some appropriately placed lighting could have done for Scarlett’s potential star quality. But, alas, she will be relegated to the black hole of fallen stars. Get it? Fallen? And you thought I had reached the pinacle of puns with that “do a pilot” joke.

4. DON’T micromanage. If you assign someone to be your PR person- let him/her do it. Provide guidance when sought and information as it pertains to your vision. If you are micromanaging all the side-projects, you will have a lot of watered down results and annoyed cast mates. Bottom line: use the talented pool of people you have found…. just don’t pee in it.

Check back next Thursday and every Thursday as I discuss more about the show, my character, Vikki, and all sorts of nutritional topics for your television diet.

Talk to YA later!

-LA