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WRITING THE WEB SERIES

Seven years ago, when I wrote the first edition of this book, many people thought web series or webisodes were the next big thing. In my mind, web series haven’t really hit yet in the way everyone expected. That’s because — to date — no one seems to know for sure what the exact model is and/or how to make it work. Right now, for the most part, networks aren’t intimidated by web series. Down the road, I believe that will change, as more and more people watch TV on their computers. The tide may not have turned yet, but with series like House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black, it’s threatening to.

But, let’s you and I deal with the here and now. There seems to be a misconception among new writers that it’s easy to be discovered by doing a series and putting it on the web for the whole wide world to see. Young writers often tend to think that this is the easiest path to a job writing on a television show. It’s true network executives troll the Internet looking for new material and talent. But the notion that you put a series on the web, executives see it and fly you out to Hollywood might be a bit of a stretch. This is no reflection of you or your work. The fact is, the Internet is darned crowded these days with lots of fame and fortune seekers. In addition to serious writers/producers/directors like you there are those who make things just for kicks — like some Moe in East Osh Kosh with no industry know-how who thinks making a web series in his man cave and posting it is great fun. Add to this the fact that big name industry players are also toying in this arena. Thus, breaking through all the clutter and having your work stand out can be more than a challenge. Besides competing with wananbees, you’re also competing with queen bees. And the queen bees have lots of money and resources at their disposal, which can put you at a disadvantage in terms of gaining notoriety.

That said, writing and producing a web series is something I would definitely encourage you to pursue. Nowadays whenever possible, you need to be producing the scripts you write — be they web series or short films. In fact, agents, executives, and producers expect it of you, and honestly, there’s no excuse not to do it. Decent cameras are easy to get your hands on and they’re relatively inexpensive. For some of them, the quality is almost as good as what you see on a network. Bottom line: when writing a web series, the world is your oyster, and if you really push the envelope and think outside of the box, you can do some wonderfully creative stuff.

TV SERIES VS. WEB SERIES

There are some web series that for all intents and purposes really are TV series. Case in point: House of Cards. That’s a show that could easily be produced by a cable network like HBO or Showtime. It has big-name stars and a substantial production budget. The episodes run about the same time as an hour-long drama. The only real difference is, the distribution. The audience views it on the web vs. on television. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for most web series. Often people think, “If I could just write and produce a great web series, a network executive will see it and pick it up.” I am sorry to tell you that so far, this has not proven to be the case for most writer/producers. Only a smattering of web series have made the successful jump from web series to TV series. Perhaps the best known is Web Therapy, which started as an online series and then got picked up by Showtime. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? Just bear in mind that the series is written and produced by Lisa Kudrow, who also stars in it. So, we aren’t talking about some unknown without any clout or connections. Not to mention, Kudrow can use her celebrity-status to bring in a lot of wellknown guest stars, including her famous former Friends castmates. That alone seems like it would be appealing to almost any network.

Of course there are some web series that are designed specifically for the web only. Based on content, they are simply not meant to ever be seen on television.

CREATING YOUR WEB SERIES

Writing a web series is not all that different than writing a pilot. First, you have to ask yourself if you want to write comedy or drama. The web naturally lends itself more to comedy. The reason is that webisodes (or chapters as they are sometimes called) are short and sweet. Roughly five minutes. You can be totally funny in five minutes…or less. To prove my point, let’s look at certain commercials. Take the Geico TV ads for example. Those commercials are always a hoot. My favorite at the moment happens to be the Camel Hump Day commercial. It tells a very funny story in about 30 seconds of a camel who parades around an office, just thrilled that it’s “Hump Day.” It’s hysterically funny and extremely creative. Drama, on the other hand is a totally different beast. Creating a dramatic web series is much more difficult as it’s hard to build a compelling drama in a short amount of time. But that’s not to say it can’t be done. Maybe you are the one who can figure it out and create a new model.

As with a pilot, you are starting from scratch. You need to come up with an interesting premise and dynamic characters. Of course, you then have to figure out the story and series arc. As with all good storytelling, each webisode should have a definitive beginning, middle, and end. When it’s time to start writing you should try to write the entire series. Because webisodes are short, you should plan for a very tight production schedule. Once you have the location, you get it all lit, get the actors on set, it would be rather foolish to tell everyone to come back the following week to shoot the next five-minute installment. What this means though, is that before you can start production, you really have to have the script pretty well locked. Production is hectic. It will be too difficult for you to make changes on the fly.

THINK SMALL, BUT OUTSIDE OF THE BOX

When coming up with a web series, you want to think of things that could be done on a smaller scale rather than an all out huge production. Remember you and/or your friends are going to have to shoot this. So you don’t want to have 17 locations and 10,000 people lining the streets for a big parade. If you try to do too much — especially your first time out — I can almost promise you the results will be mediocre. Better to have a great web series that takes place in one or two locations, than an okay web series that has 25 different locations.

Just because I am advising you to keep it simple doesn’t mean I am saying cut back on your creativity. The opposite is true. Now is the time — especially when you likely don’t have a ton of money to spend — to really push your creative self to come up with a big idea. In fact, if you really put your thinking cap on, you may even get someone to invest in your web series. Here’s an example, off the top of my head. Say you live in a small picturesque town in Colorado that has the mountains as a natural backdrop. And that little town has a nice little winery that may not get a ton of traffic just because of its location. We’re not talking Napa Valley, after all. You might approach the owners and tell them you would like to create a web series that centers on their winery. This is a creative way of offering them free global advertising. If your web series gets popular enough, they might find business increasing. At the same time, you are getting a web series — and interesting sets right at your disposal. You might even get them to kick in a few bucks to help with production costs. See how easy that was? Just look around your own back yard. My guess is there are things right under your nose that you could create a good web series around. You just have to push yourself to find them. How many times have you driven by the gates of that winery? How many times have you thought of it as the backdrop for a web series? Probably none. But now that I’ve planted the seeds in your mind…can’t you just see the possibilities?

SIZZLE REEL NICE

Here’s the good news: there’s no law that says you can’t use your original web series to try to get some buzz on the Internet while at the same time using it to break in as a TV writer. I would suggest you shoot and edit your entire web series. Once that is in the can, you should consider doing a sizzle reel. If you don’t know what a sizzle reel is, let me explain it in two seconds. Think of it as a trailer. You know when you go to the movies and you see previews for upcoming films? They take little bits of certain scenes (usually the best ones) and edit them together in a way that the audience will understand what the film is about, and hopefully want to race out and see it. That is what you want to do with your sizzle reel. You want to choose the most compelling parts of your series and edit them together in a way that will wow people — and make them say “This looks really good. I want to see the whole thing.” Your sizzle reel can be used to show producers, executives, managers, and agents what you’re made of. If done well, many will find watching it a nice break from the pile of scripts sitting on their desks, waiting to be read. They may even decide they want to meet you.