The ‘Drop The Pilot’ studio consisted of developing our screenwriting skills through class collaboration in order to conceptualise a prison dramedy called ‘Behind Bars’. This involved forming plot beat sheets, scene breakdowns, overall plotline and character development, until we began to write the pilot of the ‘Behind Bars’ series. The process involved choosing the genre and length of the show by majority vote, followed by thorough in-class discussions about the direction and inspirations we would take for the show. The show is to be an 8-episode finite sitcom, with each episode 45 minutes long (including credits).
When writing the first section of the pilot scrip t, I began writing the scenes that I had the clearest vision for, which was the carjacking, then the party, then Kyle and Mercedes’ FaceTime. After I did those, I would go back to the beginning of the script and work chronologically. I found that I could get more of my ideas on the page that way. And when I connected the gaps from A to B, I could leave polishing the character consistency for the editing phase. Also for scenes that are disconnected or impactful, I was able to give those scenes as much time as I thought they needed without the worry of writing too much or too little. The screenwriting style is very new to me, so it was a unique experience learning all of the new terminology and conventions of the writing style. In a more general sense, the action description has taught me to be smarter with the verbs I use to describe, and that’s applicable to any kind of writing. The most valuable experience for me was definitely the mock writer’s room, allowing for multiple creatives to pitch their ideas and build off of each other. And with more than 20 of us in the room discussing how to progress the show effectively, it’s a rare opportunity to experience and learn from.