Www.rcboe.org



Distance Learning (Dramatic Writing) Week 4In class we mostly focused on sitcoms (situation comedies) because of the time constraints of the class. While we are distance learning, that is not an issue, we can focus on longer works of film.In television there are three types of half-hour television shows: sitcom, serial, and hybrid. This applies to hour long shows as well; however, the sitcom is replaced with the procedural, and there are still serials and hybrids. A procedural works just as a sitcom does where each show is unique from the others. In other words, it doesn’t matter if you miss an episode. In both the half-hour and hour-long serials each episode is part of a longer story arc throughout an entire season. And, a hybrid show is somewhere in the middle. If you miss an episode within the season, you can continue with the season, but there is a smaller story arc present in the back ground that largely presents itself in the first and last episodes of the season with small pieces of this story in little bits throughout the middle of the season.This week we are going to focus on hybrid television shows.Some Sitcom/Serial Hybrid examples are: Modern Family, Last Man on Earth, Wrecked, Archer, and Scrubs.Some Procedural/Serial Hybrid examples are: The Good Wife, Suits, Rescue Me, The Fall, and BroadChurch.These are examples that you are welcome to use for this assignment. (Note: we have already used Scrubs, so you cannot.) They are not requirements. You may use whatever show you would like as long as it meets the criteria of being a hybrid show. Hybrids will be much easier to find with Procedurals. Most of your Crime or Medical shows will be hybrid. I know some of the examples are a little bit dated.Step 1: Choose a Hybrid show that you want to use for this week and next week’s work. This week will focus on the beginning of the season and next week will focus on the middle and end. For this week you only need to watch the first episode of a season. You may start with the pilot, but you do not have to. If you watch the first episode and do not enjoy it, feel free to pick a different show before completing the work.Step 2: Answer each of the following questions in one or two sentences. Make sure that you are using full descriptive sentences, but you do not need a paragraph for each answer. Each question is worth twenty points.1) What is the name of your show and the main characters within the plot of your show?2) What is your main character’s conflict? Is this the same or different than the conflict of the show as a whole? (Remember: with Hybrid’s the main character’s conflict may arch throughout the season while the main conflict is what is unique to each individual episode.)3) In what way is the arching conflict related to/separate from the type of conflict that will be seen in each individual episode in the season?4) What questions do the writers of the show leave the audience with by the end of the first episode that makes them want to watch the second episode? (Consider the arch story that will progress throughout the season as you answer this question.) ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download