Five Acts No Teaser?Complications Ensue
Complications Ensue:
The Crafty Screenwriting, TV and Game Writing Blog




Archives

April 2004

May 2004

June 2004

July 2004

August 2004

September 2004

October 2004

November 2004

December 2004

January 2005

February 2005

March 2005

April 2005

May 2005

June 2005

July 2005

August 2005

September 2005

October 2005

November 2005

December 2005

January 2006

February 2006

March 2006

April 2006

May 2006

June 2006

July 2006

August 2006

September 2006

October 2006

November 2006

December 2006

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

January 2011

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

April 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

August 2013

September 2013

October 2013

November 2013

December 2013

January 2014

February 2014

March 2014

April 2014

May 2014

June 2014

July 2014

August 2014

September 2014

October 2014

November 2014

December 2014

January 2015

February 2015

March 2015

April 2015

May 2015

June 2015

August 2015

September 2015

October 2015

November 2015

December 2015

January 2016

February 2016

March 2016

April 2016

May 2016

June 2016

July 2016

August 2016

September 2016

October 2016

November 2016

December 2016

January 2017

February 2017

March 2017

May 2017

June 2017

July 2017

August 2017

September 2017

October 2017

November 2017

December 2017

January 2018

March 2018

April 2018

June 2018

July 2018

October 2018

November 2018

December 2018

January 2019

February 2019

November 2019

February 2020

March 2020

April 2020

May 2020

August 2020

September 2020

October 2020

December 2020

January 2021

February 2021

March 2021

May 2021

June 2021

November 2021

December 2021

January 2022

February 2022

August 2022

September 2022

November 2022

February 2023

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023

July 2023

September 2023

November 2023

January 2024

February 2024

 

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Q. My spec pilot is five acts without a teaser. Is that a problem? The story itself doesn't need a teaser, but if I rack my brain I could probably come up with one that integrates in. But I'd really rather not. This story is an entrance into a world with the first act working as an introduction to players and themes, and I don't see an obvious big hook moment in the first two minutes for a teaser.
I've seen hour episodes without teasers. I can't think of any pilots without them. (Anyone have counterexamples.)

Not having a teaser is an interesting choice. It allows you to tell a bigger chunk of story before giving the audience a convenient break during which to leave you. You'll see it from time to time in hour episodes, though rarely in pilots. (Anyone got any examples?)

I feel you almost always want a teaser. I've never written a pilot without a teaser.I want to grab the reader's, the exec's, the audience's attention. A great teaser not only grabs their attention, it tells them what kind of goods the show is promising to deliver.

It does not have to have the main characters, though it usually does. The BUFFY teaser just tells us "this is going to be a narratively surprising show with vampires."

But don't take my word for it. If you're considering skipping your teaser, then you should really try to find some hit series that also skip the teaser. See why they did it, and how it works.

Then, of course, watch a bunch of hit show pilots and see what their teasers do for them.

If you can't find any hit series that don't have a teaser, then unless you consider yourself a narrative genius, and hope to break new narrative ground, I'd spend a week and find myself a teaser.

Always do your research. If you're building a new engine, you want to know how everyone else builds their engine. Otherwise you're liable to reinvent the wheel; and no one will be impressed at your effort.

Labels: ,

17 Comments:

Alex, seeing your link to the 'Save The Cat' movie logline formula got me to thinking: is there a similar formula to create a logline for a pilot? Do Series even have loglines?

By Blogger sean, at 5:47 PM  

This comment has been removed by the author.

By Blogger Dan In LA, at 7:08 PM  

The Friday Night Lights pilot opens with "an entrance into a world, working as an introduction to players and themes" without any "obvious big hook moment." That said, it doesn't really feel like a first act.

The pilot of Mad Men doesn't have a teaser - though it's a cable show with limited commercial interruption, and well-known for being a slow boil.

By Blogger Dan In LA, at 7:11 PM  

The Teaser has often now been tossed in favor of "The long first act."

You cold open (after a previously on) and then play action to a dramatic point, then just take a title card -- and then come back to action.

That's how THE BORDER works. The title card isn't an act out -- because you come straight back to action. But it's effectively the same thing.

By Blogger DMc, at 8:06 PM  

Terminator - The Sarah Connor Chronicles has five acts/no teaser (I'm not sure if it falls under the category of "hit series" or not, but as an example). A PDF copy of the pilot can be found here (scroll down):

http://tvwriting.googlepages.com/scriptsm-z

By Blogger Wade White, at 8:47 PM  

The Sarah Conner Chronicles pilot definitely had a Teaser. It also had some very strong Act Outs.

I think J.J. Abrams stuff, particularly ALIAS, really started the long First Act, but it's really more of a 8-10 minute Teaser than anything. LOST felt like it had two Teasers. One for the island, one for the flashback/forward storyline.

Fringe is all about the Teaser.

I don't think it is mandatory to have a Teaser, but in terms of the person who sent in the email -- if you could rewrite your story to have an interesting hook into the episode -- why wouldn't you?

By Blogger James, at 8:59 PM  

@DMc: seems to me that whatchamacallit before the title card functions exactly as a teaser. Just that you don't cut to commercial. You have a pretty tease-y non-teaser. The first time I watched the show on my DVR I wound up having to rewind because the show had so much of a teaser effect my fingers assumed you were going to cut to a commercial.

By Blogger Alex Epstein, at 10:07 PM  

I believe Madmen never have teasers

By Blogger jakob, at 10:30 PM  

Ja, but MAD MEN is pay cable. Big dif there. No need to make sure the audience sees it, they've already paid for it.

By Blogger Alex Epstein, at 10:47 PM  

The venerable Jane Espenson just blogged about teasers, and she talks about the importance of encapsulating your show on the first page...
http://www.janeespenson.com/archives/00000602.php

By Blogger Tim W., at 12:05 AM  

Can you make some of act one your teaser? Note some dramas that have very long teasers - watch the BROTHERS AND SISTERS one. It's like 13 minutes or something, and packs a ton of information.

As for "I don't see an obvious big hook moment" - that might be kind of a problem in itself. What's the hook in your pitch? Why should people watch you show?

By Blogger Amanda, at 2:16 AM  

The pitch itself is solid and the act outs are strong, but the pilot doesn't have a typical procedural component to hang a teaser on. Buffy's teaser introduced the villain or problem for the ep. Fringe, House and dozens of others take a similar path. This show just isn't suited for something like that.

This pilot has a lot of DNA in common with Friday Night Lights. The reason why I can't use that as a template is that the cast, main character and world in Friday Nights Lights are introduced together in a 12 page teaser. My pilot has the main character introduced to her world in the first act. But I feel like a teaser needs both the m.c. and the world in it, and yet the world is something she isn't familiar with at the onset (though Buffy is a good example of tossing the mc out of the teaser, but again that had a procedural component and was two part episode so talking about it's structure is misleading)

I mean my act one is fifteen pages, if i take brother and sisters or house as an example, maybe I could just rename act one teaser, follow suit with the rest and turn it into a teaser and four act show? Or is that a cheap out?

By Blogger just some guy trying to write, at 3:12 PM  

If it's 15 pages long, no one will consider it a teaser. A teaser would be max 5 pages, normally 2 or 3.

By Blogger Alex Epstein, at 4:05 PM  

I guess your right.

Now I actually have to come up with a creative solution that improves my script.

sigh....

By Blogger just some guy trying to write, at 9:32 PM  

A little late to this discussion, but I can think of a few shows that don't use a teaser. However, they usually have one in the pilot episode. Think the aforementioned Sarah Connor Chronicles or Gossip Girl. Then again, GG's "Previously on Gossip Girl" could be seen as a something of a teaser.

By Blogger Sam, at 3:00 PM  

I think Gossip Girl is all teaser.

By Blogger Alex Epstein, at 3:15 PM  

What about the pilot for JERICHO?

It has a TEASER that goes on for 11 pages. It sets up all characters, but ends softly in terms of an act out with the lead JAKE (Skeet Ulrich) walking into a tense union meeting to see his dad, the mayor of Jericho, Kansas--who he hasn't seen for 5 years.

By comparison, ACT ONE ends with all the major characters seeing a huge mushroom cloud (just 7 pages later) hanging over what used to be Denver.

Jericho was definitely a cult show, but certainly not a hit show, so maybe there's the answer...

By Blogger George, at 7:56 PM  

Post a Comment

Back to Complications Ensue main blog page.



This page is powered by Blogger.