How To Make A Web Series #1: Development
Developing A Web Series
In this ongoing series, I’ll walk you through the ins and outs of making a web series, filled with lessons from making one or two and notes on what I should have done.
So you want to make a web series…
Great idea! It’s fun, educational, and the perfect stepping stone towards your ultimate goal of TV production. It’s also pretty stressful and if you’re anything like me you’ll have your hands all over the whole thing.
Writing your contracts, planning your schedule, framing your shots, and syncing your audio.
But that’s for the other lessons.
Today we’re starting with development.
N.B: I’m talking about micro-budget, ‘we’re shooting off my credit card’ kind of web series here. The cons of these tiny budgets are endless. But the pros can be pretty dope too.
Sounds exciting!
It is!
The first thing I do whenever I want to start a new project is get out a pen and paper and start writing down some notes. Sometimes it’s titles, characters, or just scenarios I want to get to eventually. Now put them away for two to five years.
Just kidding.
But this is how I got a lot of my web series ideas.
Super Fund was originally a TV pilot for a 2013 final year writing subject based off a friend’s joke about superhero superannuation (an Australian 401k if you’re not in the lucky country).
Sugar Coated is (was?) the title of a novella I wrote for National Novel Writing Month in 2012 that’s wildly different than the project it is now. Think Spike Jonze meets Willy Wonka by a half-cut undergrad.
Lemon Moon exists because I told Joel Spargo I wanted three funny ideas in three days. He thought it over and delivered an . elephant-meets-Metamorphosis feature, something else, and a comedy about two brothers with a lemonade stand on the Moon.
There’s a lot to be said for the artistic process needing time and freedom but I tend to lean the other way — limitations are more helpful to creatives than complete freedom.
Find your artistic process and work with an idea that you can pitch in one sentence.
Sugar Coated isn’t so good with this, but that’s why it doesn’t really exist yet. Super Fund‘s not great either, but Lemon Moon is.
The InterTen Show‘s logline was: Last week on the Internet in (roughly) ten minutes. We keep up so you don’t have to.
Limitations are more helpful to creatives than complete freedom.
If you’re stuck for ideas but you’re really itching to go do something, ask yourself:
What would I shoot if I had the following?
1x camera
2x willing actors
1x sound recording equipment
1x location, hopefully with natural light
Then write that idea down.
Then see if it works across six episodes. I’d hesitate to commit any longer than that for fear of burnout – especially at these lower budgets, because I’m assuming you have a job, a partner, friends, or even some wine to help yourself to.
If it doesn’t work, that’s okay. That’s what development is — throwing shit at a wall to see what sticks.
But if it does work?
Tell your friends.
Or just a friend. Or an honest partner. Someone that will give you good, valuable, useful feedback. Even if you disagree with the feedback you need it. Water your idea with the power of constructive criticism.
Find the balance between having your idea torn up and having your idea explored and expanded. Both of these experiences can be pretty uncomfortable, especially if you’re not used to it, but you’ll never get anywhere without it.
“Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.”
Neil Gaiman
So you have a workable idea.
Your friends/creative collaborators/actors liked it but it needed work. So you fixed it up, better mapped out your comic relief character, and your location hasn’t pulled out yet. Great.
Give it a sweet title. Aim for something thematically cool and distinctive enough to survive a simple Google search. (Once again, something Super Fund does not do.)
Up next…
This blog was originally published on manesz.tv. Find part two on the website here, or live on LinkedIn next week.