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Write 4 10-12-minute scripts for a video series, with 3 of them being past the 2nd draft
philipschall Writing DK30 Quarantine 2020 1 1
Description
With the quarantine leaving me jobless and unable to perform live (I’m a sketch comedian), and with most livestream comedy shows being hot hot garbage, I figure now’s the best time to pivot towards straight scripted stuff. I have a pretty alright idea for a scripted series of video essays ala Colbert Report, and now’s the best time to get it going. Plus, it’ll give me a chance to just get better at this format of writing, which I’ve always been watching but haven’t put much elbow grease into learning.
Recent Updates
5 days in, and I’ve only sat down once to write for it. The adapting to the isolation, the maintaining of a new (frickin’ awesome) long distance relationship, some stresses over unemployment, severe sleep issues, and some old anxieties about making stuff have made this trickier than expected. Even though the base idea is good, I recognize that it’s not going to magically write itself. I gotta start from where I’m at and not where I think I’ll be.
This officially starts tomorrow, and I feel like I have a good shot. I have the aesthetics of the show figured out, half of its voice, and a few scattered bits here and there. I’m thinking a lot about production aspects which I take as a sign that I’m still hesitant about actually writing this, but HOPEFULLY the void in front of me will help push past that.
I also was incredibly fortunate to get a copy of a Last Week Tonight script from a friend who’s a legit (unemployed) television writer. Seeing their marking system has given me a good insight into how they at least arrange their essays to coincide with the other media they present in their videos. I am incredibly grateful to my friend for that.
Estimated Timeframe
Apr 10th - May 10th
Week 1 Goal
Week 1- Outline topic #1, try to find where I want it to go. Try to get a rough draft by the end of the week. Outline topic #2 Week 2- take another pass at topic 1, write as much of a rough draft as possible for topic #2, Outline topic #3 Week 3- take another pass at either 1 or 2, get a rough draft for 3, outline #4 Week 4- CRUNCH, take a couple passes at 1, 2, or 3, rough draft for 4.
That’s the minimum I want to hit. If things go super, super well, I’d love to have an actual video to show, but knowing how much these things can take and how good I want them to be, I won’t be bummed if they’re not ready to shoot.
