Writing the TV Pilot offers writers and creative producers the chance to plan and write a 50-minute pilot episode of an original drama series over an intensive two-week period. Delivered in the NFTS Scotland Virtual Classroom, accessed via Zoom. Open to international applications.
The success of ‘Box Set’ TV Drama has created a new appetite among audiences for original and challenging drama series on television. Led by NFTS's own Peter Ansorge (Ex-commissioning Editor and Head of Channel 4 Drama) whose award-winning career includes: A Very British Coup, Traffik, GBH, The Politician’s Wife, Tales of the City, Brookside and The Camomile Lawn, this course covers:
Week One:
We will address the challenge of writing the opening minutes of the pilot. We’ll look at landmark series and analyse how you grab an audience. At the end of the week, a group of actors will work on your opening ten minutes. We will reference great drama series of the past and present. You will be writing between three and five minutes of your pilot each day, and reworking overnight.
Week Two:
We will move towards the completion of your pilot, and offer advice on the next stage, how to get your pilot script onto the desks of the right producer and commissioning editor.
We are looking for fresh ideas and the tenacity to bring them to screen. Be prepared to write, re-write and fine-tune overnight. We will encourage the kind of ambition achieved by the best drama series based on the actual practice of working on a script among professionals.
Participants from last year's course said:
"Since (completing the course) I have managed to secure deals on four more original series ideas with some of the leading production companies in the UK, achieved my first pilot commission and had an interview for working on a new big budget drama series from BBC America.... It really felt as close to an apprenticeship in TV writing as it's possible to get."
"I would highly recommend this course. In just two weeks I have produced a TV script worthy of submission."
"The highlight of this course was getting positive feedback and encouragement in a supportive and honest environment."
Course Dates: 30th November - 10th December 2020
Freelance Rate: £950 Corporate Rate: £1675 (Bursaries, supported by the Scottish Government and BBC Scotland, are available for those who are eligible.)
Find out more on our website
Deadline for applications: 2 November 2020 at 17:00.