Chapitre 15: The Birth of a TV Script (1)
When Levi drove to Enigma Company in the early morning of the next day, although it was not yet 9 o'clock, Bob was already sitting in the company, waiting for Levi. "Michael went to see the professionals, and Alexander made a phone call with your father. He asked us to try to write the outline for the first episode and then wait for the professionals to come. After that, consider writing for the first five episodes." Bob and Levi were talking, introducing the situation, "Also, I suggest you call your father and at least let him know that you are fine."
"Alexander will tell him for me." Levi smiled and didn't know how to get in touch with Adam: he and Adam didn't have any father-son relationship, but he would never refuse Adam's help. Levi felt that there was still some psychological burden of pretending to be his son and lying to him regarding the old man who helped him. And it's not that he doesn't have a biological father himself, and he can't do things like falsely identify his father, so he just tries to avoid Adam as much as possible.
"If Michael goes to find someone, I don't think there is anything to worry about there. Now, let's see how our work should be carried out." Levi also sat down and looked at what Bob and the others had researched now.
Bob, Clark, Levi, plus the experts that Michael may bring back, this TV series, up to now, has at least four screenwriters. As a scriptwriting team for a TV series, these people are still a little less—at least, according to Levi, they are pretty few.
It is very complicated from the beginning to the formation of a TV drama script. A successful TV series can be divided into many groups. If it is split into detail, the creative group of a script can be divided into the creative group, plot group, line group, structure group, character group, detail group, and even a joke group in charge of writing jokes and a lens group in charge of researching shots.
In the eyes of the audience, this is a simple story. However, many things need to be paid attention to when making it. One person cannot accomplish these things. Some things may be considered natural and simple by the audience, but these simple things are a series of practical tasks with professional design, which are the result of the joint efforts of many people.
When Levi studied American TV series, he studied the most popular "Friends," and he also knew this series very well. In "Friends," Rachel frequently uses movement, putting her hands on her shoulders and listening to her friends' conversations- this activity seems simple. Still, it reflects her sexy side very well. Stroking the collarbone shows the beauty of a woman's body. This is the masterpiece of the lens group; they study how to use the lens to express the characters. And Phoebe's clothes have always been bohemian style, and because the character set refuses to wear fur, the material and style of the clothes also need to be selected. This image is the work of the character group. Similarly, Chandler's bad jokes, and Joey's hilariously stupid remarks, are all responsible for the jokes. When the actor of Phoebe was pregnant, how to cover it up? The actor who played Rose's second wife is pregnant, so most of the time, she sat on the bed and covered her stomach with a quilt—these are the creative team's work.
The TV series that people watch is a whole, so it is difficult for people to notice too many details. People who don't care about fashion don't care what Phoebe and Rachel are wearing, but people who care about that do. But for a TV series, these have to be done well. These details determine the success or failure of work. It is almost impossible for one person to complete all of these tasks. Levi also knew that he could not do everything alone, so he needed the help of others. He is responsible for providing ideas and writing the general context of the story. However, the processing part must still be helped by Bob, Clark, and others.
Although Levi got the original memory after traveling, his literary quality still needs to improve. How to write lines that fit the character's identity, make good use of the regional dialect, quote some poetry or something to enrich the character's image, and make some small jokes through language effects, all of these things have to be done by Bob. No matter which version of Levi, these are the things he is not good at.
Although Levi was a film practitioner in his previous life, he only did a little research on allusions and customs in European and American culture. He didn't know anything about the dialects of various regions in the United States. TV dramas must be written according to the characters' identities. If black slang comes out of a white person's mouth or a black person's lines are of Indian style, it becomes a sitcom, and people may sue for racism. Levi can conceive the story's context, formulate the characters' characters, and shape the characters' conflicts, but he can't go further and compile the specific lines of the characters, which is beyond his ability. In particular, scripts are different from novels. In addition to these, you have to consider the length and structure of the lines, as well as the expression and rhythm of the lines, which is quite troublesome. Actors can't tolerate too many long sentences, and cameras can't handle too many short sentences. All these aspects have to be considered.
Although he is white, Levi didn't have the ability to use English as his mother tongue and write lines with ease. But Bob was born into a screenwriting family after all, and he has been in this industry for a long time. Although he may not be perfect for this work, he can do a good enough job. His parents are Broadway artists, and he has been exposed to the knowledge of theatre production since childhood. In this regard, he has a specialty in script writing.
As for Michael's task, it is to consult professional people for relevant knowledge. After all, scripts require a lot of professional expertise, and few people understand criminal investigations. However, it is not a day or two since Hollywood has been shooting crime dramas. They still know who to contact in this regard. Michael has done a lot of jobs in Hollywood, from production management to assistant director. He knows where he needs to go to find the best ones. He is perfect at this and should contact the relevant people. Since Levi wants to show the story of CSI, someone must study how to set up the laboratory, morgue, and inspection department. In these areas, Clark is now in charge. While Levi designed the story frame, Clark developed a primary setting method and the scene's composition.
The manpower is still a little less now and has to be increased in the future. After Michael finds all the people, they first need to design a good enough story based on some real cases. Then, after finding the actors, they need to design appropriate costumes based on their personalities, looks, and temperaments.
It's appropriate for a TV series to have five or six scriptwriters if there are few and even more than twenty if there are many. It is almost impossible for one person to take on all these things. Levi also had to be thankful that he had such a good group of subordinates; otherwise, he would still need help in scriptwriting.
But now, the experts have yet to come; they need to create the main storyline and characters' main line.
"The background of the story can be set in Las Vegas. Firstly, the CSI team should be the best outside of the FBI. Secondly, compared with big cities such as New York, Las Vegas is closer to Los Angeles, so it is convenient for filming to save money on filming. There is no need to discuss this aspect. The main thing we need to consider is the characterization of TV drama production.
In TV drama creation, the main character line is an essential job. We have to create a few appealing characters to attract the audience. Even the best detective drama cannot guarantee that every case will be great. Then, it is crucial to string together the stories based on the attractiveness of the characters and make the audience willing to watch them. Then how to write the characters who are appealing? Americans have written TV dramas for many years and have some experience. When writing TV dramas, the screenwriters are very pragmatic. They have already communicated and summed it up, and it has become a shared secret.
This so-called routine may not make people feel innovative, but at least it will not make people think unacceptable.
"The protagonist should be 30-35 years old, have some disease, or have a tragic childhood memory. He is good at work, has a family, not necessarily complete, and has subordinates and opponents. Considering the characteristics of our writing objects, we have to give him a high IQ." Bob wrote quickly on the paper, listing all the characteristics the protagonist should have, "There is no problem in setting up the character in this way." It stands to reason that there is no problem: these are the characteristics of American screenwriters. A golden routine summed up over a long period. Middle-aged people are facing a mid-life crisis, and people are happy to watch it-American dramas are aimed at middle-aged audiences, so naturally, they all pay attention to the mid-life crisis. Being good at his job, being extraordinary, and having a disease make the audience understand and root for him, not envy him. Having a family can highlight the concept of family supremacy. Americans like high-IQ protagonists. This is the protagonist's superpower, and with subordinates and opponents, the plot can be promoted.
The details of successful TV dramas may be different when they are produced. Still, the fundamental attribute of creating an attractive protagonist must be remembered.
With these, along with sex, violence, corpses, danger, and a little comedy, it can attract many audiences.
However, in principle, there is nothing wrong with saying this, but in this TV series, there are some differences. "Bob, you must understand that what we want to create is not a great protagonist but a group image. We can't let one person occupy all the appealing elements. We must separate these elements and disperse them into several different characters." After listening to Bob's words, Levi spoke, "What we want to create is not the image of one character, but the image of multiple characters. I'm afraid this traditional model of character construction is not suitable."
CSI broke several previous crime drama models, the most important of which is the model of the detective team it shaped. Now that he has figured it out, he needs to rely on each character's charm to attract the audience, so he has to naturally create a group of attractive characters.
"Making all the characters charming doesn't seem easy to write." Bob thought for a while but still frowned. Many TV dramas portray the characters vividly. However, it is much more challenging to create a character in this way than to only create a spiritual character.
"Actually, it's not too difficult." Levi pondered for a moment before speaking, "The important thing is to follow the golden formula."
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