Chapter 14: The preparation of the script
"This idea is excellent. I have to admit, Nick, I underestimated you." After thinking about it carefully, Bob also spoke, "If this kind of script can render the atmosphere well enough and if the filming of the story is good enough, what we may get is not a TV series, but more likely a new form of crime drama. The crime drama is the highest-rated drama, and if we can shoot an epoch-making work-we will become famous overnight. All of Hollywood will be saying our names." After thinking about what Levi said, Bob admitted that what Levi said was indeed a good idea. Levi is also quite satisfied with this: his friends can see that this TV series is good, which shows that they still have good vision. It's not terrible to be less creative, but it is bad if the opportunity is in front of you and you don't recognize it.
Fortunately, they are not fools. Due to their ability, they can't make good TV series themselves, but they can grasp good ideas when they see them.
"I am sure of this, and not only will we have a great reputation, but I think the ratings of this TV series will also be amazing," Levi added. It is not that Levi doesn't know better ones among the drama series with the highest ratings. He has three in his memory - 'The Sopranos,' 'Breaking Bad,' and 'The Wire.' Before coming up with this idea, Levi had considered not only the issue of reputation but also the issue of money.
All three shows are good; even when people argue about which show is the best drama, these three will be part of the list. Levi has also seen these three series, but the problem is that Levi can't shoot these things.
The reason is quite simple: these three plays are all products of the fee-paying platform, and the things of the platform naturally have one thing in common: the cost is too high.
The things on the pay station are far more refined than those on the free station. Of course, the pick fee is also higher. These plays are all good TV series, but it is difficult for ABC to be willing to spend a lot of money for a fledgling director like himself to shoot TV series. Levi thought he could only ask the TV station to allocate a little money for TV dramas. It's better to be realistic.
Moreover, even if the fee is not mentioned, there is still a big problem. Because these three dramas are all pay stations, they are all adult TV dramas.
Generally speaking, TV dramas on public channels are rated TV-G—that is, they are suitable for everyone to watch. American TV series are also rated - a point that many people ignore. Secondly, some programs are TV-PG, that is, TV programs that children need parental guidance to watch. Some content that contains violent and pornographic information is classified in this way, such as "The Big Bang Theory" because there are too many dirty jokes in it; it is not TV-G, but TV-PG.
Other levels are TV14, which is not suitable for viewing under the age of 14; TV-Y7, which is not ideal for viewing under the age of 7; and TV-Y is for children, which is suitable for viewing between the ages of 2-6. HBO's TV series generally belong to TV-M. In other words, it is not suitable for viewing under 17. They are PAY-TV and can play this way in front of their audience, but other TV stations can't do it like this. The most they accept is TV-PG for public stations.
The reason here is also straightforward: public TV stations rely on advertising fees to make a living; if people under 17 are not allowed to watch, they drive away their audience. They are not paid TV stations and cannot find fees for watching dramas, so what they do naturally has to be more popular. How can anyone make money if the audience doesn't watch it and the advertisement doesn't work? To put it bluntly, TV ratings are a simple warning: tell viewers what level of TV series this is. The viewers don't care about it; that's their own business. The difference between TV-G and TV-PG is not that big. Most crime dramas are TV-PG. But at the level of TV-M, there are some things that even adults may not be able to bear, not to mention children. Too many heavy-tasting things can make some people feel extremely excited and may result in lesser viewership. TV dramas of this level are suitable for paid channels; whoever wants to watch them should pay to watch them.
It is a consensus to shoot TV dramas and a TV-G or TV-PG to meet the requirements of public channels. This is the first time Levi has worked as a director for a TV series, so he can only play around a little. So, it's better to be conservative and shoot TV series like CSI.
The crime drama has always been one of the most prominent branches of TV drama, regardless of country. In the continuous innovation of TV dramas, many new types of dramas continue to emerge, which have always promoted the invention of creative ideas. The TV series CSI is an idea introduced by people in the future. CSI has attracted a large number of viewers through the introduction of high-tech means. Many people only noticed the popularity of this TV series but ignored the reason behind its popularity.
There is always a reason why a work is attractive. The popularity of any TV series is not accidental. CSI captivates audiences by being brilliant in every way, and remarkably, it had a lot of success.
This TV series solves many problems of traditional detective dramas and makes the shooting of such TV series more scientific and credible. This is the most crucial reason for its popularity. Now he is going to shoot it in advance. However, it can't be used as it was literally because it involves a lot of technology, actors, and even some cases that have yet to happen. Still, as long as he captures the core for the success of this TV series, he can deduce other places by himself.
Every TV series has its core; if you capture it, you can succeed. Everyone watches TV dramas, but how to find out the deep-seated reasons why a TV drama is so popular is something only some can do. Considering which TV series will be popular in the future is not a skill, but analyzing why these are popular and knowing how to shoot to produce similar things is what Levi is proud of.
Levi knew the excellence of that show, and he wanted to shoot a similar TV series. "Now, our problem is how to write this TV series. Michael, you go to contact some professionals for consultation. Bob, Clark, you, and I work together to conceive how to create characters and storylines. Alexander, you go and ask, if we're doing a crime drama, how much money will ABC give us? Guys, let's hit the ground running."
All that's left now is writing the script. Levi is unlikely to shoot the original version: one is that he can't remember what the original version was like. He couldn't memorize it even if it were him. Moreover, he only watched the original TV series but did not go through the script so he couldn't write the script himself. The three CSIs add up to nearly 40 seasons.
Moreover, one of the footholds of this TV series is the efficient and feasible science and technology. Science and technology are no different than others. You can emulate whatever you want.
In Levi's memory, he vaguely remembers that in the previous seasons of CSI, experts were still needed for skull restoration. In the next few seasons, you only need to scan the image. The technology in 1996 may be very different from the technology in 2000. If you copy what you remember, and the technology was not invented in 1996, then that would turn a crime drama into a science fiction film. In plays that involve technological issues, professional issues are critical. Science and technology are advancing with each passing day. If one mistake is made, the entire play will be ruined. TV dramas differ from movies; in many cases, they must follow the times closely, and even some episodes must follow the broadcast time closely.
Moreover, even if he could memorize them all, he couldn't just write them down silently. He is unequivocal that in the script creation process of an American TV series, only a few have to cooperate with seven or eight people. For some large-scale American TV series with many layers of design, there are even 15-20 screenwriters per episode. Especially for such a highly professional script, a script involves multiple aspects of knowledge.
Human beings, indeed, have geniuses who can create many everlasting works. A genius can build cars at home, but writing scripts containing five or six pieces of professional knowledge is impossible. It is impossible to condense the work of 20 people into a work that one person will create. Even a fool can detect that it is plagiarism.
Low IQ and low morality are two different things. Levi doesn't care about plagiarism, and he doesn't care about being accused of plagiarism by others. However, Levi still cares about using such a stupid way to announce his plagiarism to the world.
Even if there is no way to copy it, it doesn't mean that he can't find out the reason for the success of this kind of TV series and then use the core to make TV series by himself and his companions.
It is impossible to remember a TV series in its entirety. However, recognizing the reason for the success of a TV series and trying to shoot it is not impossible. Moreover, if he does it like this, he can also see for himself whether these friends of his are people who can do things.
The production of this TV series can be used creatively, but the content must be done by himself. Therefore, when Levi wanted to make this TV series, he had already thought about it. He wished to know if his group of partners could be his collaborators. Thus, since he entered the door to chat, he has been observing his partners.
Facts have proved that these people are qualified, at least in terms of vision and knowledge. What is needed now is to work together to produce TV dramas. He is lucky to have such partners.
Although this group is small, it has all the essential components. Maybe that little Mr. Levi didn't have enough talent to make such a team work well, but things would be completely different if he were replaced by himself. He will never encounter such a thing as exhaustion of ideas. With his creativity, coupled with the work of these people, such a company called Enigma has extensive prospects.
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