Three Things and a Question
About a two-day workshop in London in September
Things have been quiet here for a couple of weeks. I’ve been busy with a few things. And I’d like to ask you some question about the last thing. But here’s the first thing:
Thing #1 The Lab
I’ve been developing and writing a studio sitcom set in a forensic lab. It’s called The Lab. It’s essentially CSI-meets-IT Crowd. But with a cast of eight. I ran an online webinar in which I revealed the first draft and we talked about it. I’ve just finished the second draft and I don’t hate it! So that’s good. I’ve sent it to a few fellow writers for comment and arranging for a read-through in London at some point in June which you might be able to attend. I’ll keep you posted on that.
Thing #2 Field Notes From a Sitcom Writer
Writing about writing is a heck of a lot easier than writing sitcoms! Writing about myself is even easier. Since February, I’ve been enjoying writing about my experience of writing the Lab script, and reflecting on my career and what happens next.
After all, it’s 25 years since my first sitcom episode was broadcast back in October 2001. That was the first episode of Think The Unthinkable recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 16th October 2001.
I’ve just turned fifty, so why not turn my mid-life crisis into a book as I look ahead to the next 25 years? It feels like it’s going to be very different from the last 25 years. So that book might well be available from October of this year.
But I’ll be blogging entries from that book here on the Situation Room in due course. I might even put some on YouTube. I’ll keep you posted on that too. In the meantime, which of these do you prefer?
Thing #3 YouTube video series coming
I’ve been working in a series of short YouTube videos that explain how to write a sitcom, from conception to pilot. Each begins with the letter P. Then, I hope to put them something more comprehensive. Ten short ones. And then one big long video going through the whole process, working through an example. That’s the plan. And this might be the thumbnail for the first one:
I mention it because I’d like to be honest about what I’m trying to do here on the blog and the webinars and all that. There is no point running courses and sessions in which I tell you stuff in a workshop that you could learn from a YouTube video for free (or at immense cost on an MA in Screenwriting). Pretty soon, AI will be able to tell you the basics (mostly cribbed from blogs like mine. You are welcome, tech bros. The cheque’s in the post, right?).
What that means is that there is much more scope to do things ‘offline’ that push further and deeper. That’s what I’m interested in doing – and that what seems to be wanted and needed.
I ran a day-long workshop at MediaCityUK in Manchester earlier this year that people enjoyed, but even that wasn’t enough!
That’s why I’m thinking about running a two-day workshop in London on 11-12 September. That’s a Friday and Saturday. The idea is to get experience of pitching and developing stories, breaking them down into beats and then plotting them out, and combining them with other plots and building episodes. It’s the bit that can’t really be taught via YouTube or even on a Webinar. So:
In the meantime, seen this video about voiceovers in sitcoms?