Les is Moore

Q. I am currently working on a spec pilot and have a series bible to accompany it. In the bible, I give synopses of each of the characters--long, one-page descriptions of the major characters, a few paragraphs for the supporting characters, and brief blurbs for the rest.

My question: how much of these descriptions should I carry over to the pilot, and embed into the teleplay?

On the one hand I don't want to clutter the script with a lot of material that is found in the Bible, both because it's redundant and because it breaks up the pace.

On the other hand, just introducing the lead character with "Claire, 23, has long hair, wears little makeup, and tends to favor clothing with a 60's and 70's flair" doesn't provide any context for her actions, and it seems likely that whoever is reading this thing is going to do so before plowing through the Bible.

A pilot should stand by itself. It should read like an episode of a show. It should leave you with a sense of having experienced a great episode of television, while clearly showing the reader what each episode of the series is going to be like (its template).

I keep description down to a minimum. I try to show what the character is like by having them immediately bust out a line that only they would ever say, and do something only they would ever do. So instead of saying, "JESSICA, 16, sarcastic and sulky," better to have Jessica just start in with, "Go ahead, be a dick about it."

Show, don't tell.

I generally avoid physical description of core cast because an actor reading for the part may be perfect, but feel dissed if you said "tall" and they're short, for example.

Try to avoid telling us overall details, anyway. How do we know Claire tends to favor clothing with a 70's flair? Just put her in a tie-dyed blouse.

In the US you generally go out with a pilot script, not with a bible. In Canada, because there's more development money floating around for political reasons, you can set up a project with a one-pager or a six-eight page pitch bible. I use the latter because I find it's hard to sell my ideas off a single page. These both contrast with the kind of bible you might see in a writer's room, which would have synopses of all the produced episodes, detailed character descriptions, etc. You would never go out with one of those. No one has the time to read one unless they're staffed on a show.

I wouldn't overdo descriptions in the bible, either. Tell us who the character is, not what he or she looks like. Tell us what he wants, what he's scared of, what is going to put him in conflict with the other members of the cast. You probably don't need to describe more than the core cast in the pitch bible, unless you have heavily recurring characters. If your show goes into production, someone may or may not put together character descriptions of minor characters, but those will change regularly anyway, so no need to do it now.

Who Needs a Bible?

Q. I've developed a kick-ass (aren't they all?) concept for a Spanish language non-fiction series.

Now my Hollywood lawyer is asking me to cough up a bible so she can shop it around a bit.
So:
A. I'm not sure she's right about that. I thought a simple treatment sufficed at this stage.
B. Not only have I never seen a bible, but can't seem to find an example online.

In non-fiction, I tend to think 6 pages ought to do it. A page or two for the hook. A page or two about who you are and what you're doing. A page or two of sample episodes. The longer things are, the slower they get read. And after 6 pages, they either like your idea or they don't. They're going to want to have their input at that point, I would think, to shape it in the direction they want to go.

In fiction, you pretty much always need at least a spec pilot in the States. (In Canada, I know some "emerging" writers who've got development deals off 6-8 page pitches.)

I'm not sure there are that many bibles online. Does anyone know of any? (Just try Googling "online bible" and see what you get, Punky.) I suspect most people don't want to put theirs up.

The basic format I use for a pitch is:

a. The show in a nutshell -- a page of salesmanship

b. Format -- what happens every episode?

c. Who's the show for?

d. Who's producing the show? Why are they qualified?

e. A whack of episode ideas.

This basic structure works for both fiction and non-fiction, except that in non-fiction "Format" is more literal -- "every episode, we interview a humorous ethnic person, then teach him a circus trick" -- and in fiction it's more story oriented -- "every episode, Earl tries to make it up to someone."

UPDATE: As Book of Don points out in his helpful and insightful comment below, a pitch is not a bible. (Sometimes if you keep tinkering with it, the pitch gets long and becomes sort of a pitch-bible.) The bible is really a document created by the production as researchers bring in research, writers create scripts, etc. You wouldn't really write a bible in advance of setting the show up with a network because you don't know how they'll see your show. Six to eight pages should sink the hook if it's going to be sunk; more can just give them reasons to say "no," while eating up your time.

UPDATE: Piers has a great roundup of online bibles here. Thanks Piers!

Rrrr?

Q. What is the difference between a bible and the television business bible to submit to producers? Our writing community has been great supplying templates but it's to the point, they are all different. What is a writer to do for television?

Can you clarify the question?

What is the differences in the outline format for creating a television series bible (creative) as compared to a television series business bible?

What is a television series business bible?

What's a Spec Pilot For?

Q. When writing a spec pilot should I spend a lot of time on the bible or, as a writing sample, is it more important to prove I can write an original five-act script that conforms to television parameters? I would, of course, set up relationships and introduce conflict that would continue throughout the series but how important is it to know where the show is going? What are the chances the spec pilot would ever function as anything other than a writing sample?

You wouldn't be the first writer to write a spec without knowing where the show is going. Just look at J. J. Abrams and LOST. Or Aaron Sorkin and STUDIO 60. Many big showrunners sell the pilot and then arc out the show when they have staff.

(That's not how I do it. But up here in Canada you can option a bible and get paid to write a pilot. In fact, that's what's paying my mortgage right now.)

When you circulate a spec pilot, you're not circulating the bible with it. You're sending around an excellent half hour or hour of television that tells a single story and introduces an arc of future stories. You want people to finish the script and think, "Wow. That was great. I'm dying to find out what happens next."

Usually the pilot asks the driving question. "How can we get off this damn island?" (LOST, GILLIGAN'S ISLAND) "Who do I want to be when I grow up?" (FELICITY, etc.) "Will Sam and Diane ever get along?" (CHEERS)

I think you probably want to know where your series is headed. It's a good idea to know where Season One is going to end. It's a good idea to have an answer for "What's the 100th episode of this series?" But more specific than that, I don't think you need to be.

What are the odds of selling your pilot? Tiny. It's mostly a writing sample. So take risks. It's more important to write a memorable pilot than one that would make it easy for you to write the season. If your pilot gets set up, you'll have help solving the problems you set yourself. If your pilot is not memorable, it won't get set up anyway, no matter how "well wrought" it is in the abstract.

Gnostic Gospels

Pavement & Stars has rounded up an assortment of real live show bibles, and then adds a few more.