Movies for TV

[Big_Al]

When writing for a TV movie, should I use TV or movie format?

If it's TV, which format do I use in Movie Magic SW?

[icerose]

You got me. I format everything in the feature format because it's what I know. Thankfully the company I work for doesn't care because I can't read all caps, it makes my eyes bleed, nearly literally because blood vessels in my eyes do break under the strain.

[NikeeGoddess]

tv movies and feature movies are the same. use the same formatting style.
the only difference is structure. you should format tv movies with appropriate highs and lows so there is a cliffhanger at the commercial break. but know that premium cable tv movies don't have commercial breaks either.

i don't write for tv but maybe you can get better answers at http://www.tvwriter.com

[velveeta]

I have a MOW making the rounds now and I used the 7 Act format with a Teaser. One cable network requested it be in MOW format and it did help me think in terms of those commercial cliffhanger moments. I suspect, however if you have a great story, 3 Act or 7 Act will do since you'll have to rewrite it to their specifications later.

Best of luck.

Velveeta

[Big_Al]

I have a MOW making the rounds now and I used the 7 Act format with a Teaser. One cable network requested it be in MOW format and it did help me think in terms of those commercial cliffhanger moments. I suspect, however if you have a great story, 3 Act or 7 Act will do since you'll have to rewrite it to their specifications later.

Best of luck.

Velveeta

How many pages should it be?

[NikeeGoddess]

around 90 pages for a 2 hour tv movie.

[zeprosnepsid]

Yeah, isn't TV 44 minutes an hour? So times two that'd be 88. So like Nikee says, circa 90. Some scripts are longer if there's a lot of fast talking (see:Gilmore Girls, West Wing).

[velveeta]

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28595

This thread discusses MOW format. Maybe it could be helpful.

Velveeta.

[Big_Al]

Ok, thank you every one.

[Madbandit]

Yeah, isn't TV 44 minutes an hour? So times two that'd be 88. So like Nikee says, circa 90. Some scripts are longer if there's a lot of fast talking (see:Gilmore Girls, West Wing).

Half-Hour (Sitcoms): 22 min.
Full-Hour (Drama): 44 min.

[odocoileus]

TV scripts for hour dramas typically run 50 to 60 pages (http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/house-occam_srazor%5B2%5D.pdf). The page a minute rule doesn't apply. The page count varies from show to show, of course. Dialog heavy shows like ER can run up to 70 pages (http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/ER_Motherhood.pdf) for a 45 minute episode.

Half hour sitcoms come in two flavors, single camera and multi camera. Multicamera scripts have their own distinct formatting, (http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/How_I_Met_Your_Mother_--_Pilot.pdf) and run 45 to 55 pages for a 22 minute show.Single camera scripts run 30 to 35 pages (http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/office,the-emailsurveillance%5B2%5D.pdf), and have the same format as hour dramas - basically feature format with act breaks.

According to Trottier's format guide, The Screenwriters Bible (http://www.amazon.com/Screenwriters-Bible-Complete-Writing-Formatting/dp/1879505444), MOW's run 93 minutes for a 2 hour timeslot. MOW scripts typically have a hundred pages or so. Seven acts.

According to Larry Brody's TV Writing from the Inside Out, MOW scripts run 110 pages with seven acts.

I've got a copy of the shooting script for the 1995 MOW, Robin Cook's
Virus, with 100 pages. Seven acts.


If I were writing one, I'd estimate the page count by doubling the page count from an hour long drama that closely resembled the movie I was writing. So if it's a "Lost" type story, the typical lost script runs 55 pages. Double is 110.

Made for TV movies are assignment only work as far as I know. So you'd have to get on somebody's list with a regular feature spec, and then be invited in to pitch. Which is a long ways away for most beginners.