Capítulo 18: Script writing

"I think, I have to say, when the professionalism of a TV series can reach this level, this TV series can definitely attract a considerable part of the audience." When Alexander returned from ABC with the news, He found that there was nothing he could do for the time being. Levi and the others have set up a good working group here. They have set up a screenwriting group of eight and are seriously writing the script.

Inside there are eight people, experts hired by Michael and assistants employed by Bob, Clark, and Levi, who are seriously writing the script.

These guys don't care about spending money—Alexander complained in his heart.

Hollywood screenwriters are divided into different grades. The lead screenwriter with the highest income can get 30,000 USD for one TV series episode. At the same time, other screenwriters with their specialties also have a reasonably good income. As for the lowest-level screenwriter, it is one episode of TV drama, only three thousand dollars in remuneration. When Levi said he was looking for someone to write the script together, Alexander paid little attention to the cost. Still, now he found that the price may be high.

There are eight screenwriters, the primary writer is Levi, and there is no need to pay wages. Even if we leave Levi and the others behind, there are still five more people. Since these five people are specially recruited, none of them are hired at the lowest standard. If calculated according to 6,000 U.S. dollars for an episode, then an episode with five people would be 30,000, and for five episodes, it would be 150,000.

This is a lot of money. However, since everyone has already started working, Alexander naturally can't say anything. He didn't know how to write a TV series, so he also decided it was better to give a few compliments instead of arguing.

Also, they work very efficiently. Alexander hadn't come to the company for a day, and their script had already begun to take shape.

"We didn't expect that Nick already had a fairly mature framework in his mind. He would work very quickly with such a framework and enough money." Bob and Alexander had a chat. Bob was a little proud of his words.

Alexander could see Bob's pride. However, Alexander also noticed that when he was speaking, the experts on the other side showed some disapproval.

In their view, the professional level of CSI still needs to improve.

There is still a big difference between CSI and accurate scientific testing. In real crimes, whether it is on-site sampling or follow-up inspection, it takes a long time. A typical case may take two to three months or even longer to complete the assessment. Because many small cities, villages, and towns do not have the related equipment, and if they want to test some evidence, they have to go to big cities; which makes the inspection work in big cities often queue up, and there are always countless cases waiting.

In reality, CSI personnel do not participate in the scene, and it is hard to say how much evidence the police on the scene can find. In addition, sometimes, the judiciary didn't want to wait too long, so they were greedy for the speed of handling cases, and shady judicial scenes happen now and then. In Houston, there was a serial murder case, but someone 'as if' saw one of his neighbors appearing at the crime scene, reported it, and the police directly arrested him without much investigation. After a hasty interrogation, the case was closed. If the murderer hadn't been unable to hold back his urges a year later and jumped out to kill again, the arrested person would have been wronged. As for professional testing? The testing department tells you that this case is still in the queue, and more than 200 cases are in front of him that have not yet started testing! Compared with reality, the CSI group has a breakneck inspection speed; they never procrastinate in their work, and there is no shady judicial scene to consider. They will show up in a Humvee and are as close as a family in private—this is impossible in reality. In the script, there are stringent requirements on the case, scientific research methods, autopsy process, and corpse props, which in these aspects, it is idealistic. These things are different from reality. In the eyes of professionals, the TV series script is written to solve the case too fast, which is completely sci-fi. After the case happened, it is even more inconceivable that the judiciary did not have any shady scenes and went all out to solve the case.

"We can write more realistically." An expert named Emma, sitting at the table, said something.

"Our script mainly reflects the way to solve the case. It is inevitable to be faster. Who wants to watch a case for several weeks? You have to consider the audience." Levi said with a smile while arranging new tasks, "Character design, primary case, after these things are completed, it is necessary to include them into the script. Clark, you are also ready, and the style is finalized. It needs to be filmed according to what we discussed.

Since it is the CSI Las Vegas, it must have the style of Vegas. First, using warm colors for the scenery in the desert area is not a good idea. It is more comfortable to use cool colors for all the scenery. Most of the series transpires at night, and there are a lot of night scenes that need to be shot. It is better not to use wide lenses and long-range shots but to use more close-up shots. Besides, we are shooting scientists, not investigators, and they don't need to fight for a long time in the first place. We are not as substituting as those who shoot police stories, so we should not use the POV perspective too much.

Even though it is best not to use it at all, using such a lens will make people feel immersive the feeling of the environment. Still, since we want to shoot a more realistic work, it may not be suitable for the audience to watch the anatomy personally. It could be more conducive to letting the audience take the moral high ground we have thought about. The theme of character evaluation is better to use less..."

After designing the characters, Levi also talked to Clark about the things that needed to be noticed in the lens design of the script of this TV series.

In Levi's memory, CSI is divided into three cities with more than 40 seasons. Of course, one person cannot complete such a large production volume. Because of the use of different directors and crews, the CSI's Styles vary widely. The three parts have characteristics: the cool tone of Vegas, the enthusiasm of Miami, and the hustle and bustle of New York's metropolis. And because of the long span, different seasons also have their characteristics.

Now, what Levi has to do is determine a shooting style. And what he adopted was the style of Vegas. The style of New York is too close to Law and Order, while the style of Miami is too energetic. Most of the American dramas in the 1990s use warm colors, which are close to the style of Miami. What Levi want is something different.

In an orange-yellow light, shooting a TV series with a cool tone is more likely to succeed—Levi knows very well that after five or six years of popularity, people have grown from loving warm tones to being bored with warm tones; it was used everywhere.

Levi assigned his screenwriting team their respective tasks. After that, he saw that Alexander seemed a little worried on the side. He stood up and pulled Alexander aside, "Alex, what's the matter? Is there anything happening?"

"Nothing happened; you don't have to worry. I'm just worried about the script. Nick, are we being too reckless in doing this? Did you pay attention to it yourself? In your shooting of this TV series, there are too many great innovations in all aspects. Such a TV series may be excellent, but the greater possibility will only be a failure. We must be safe and make something closer to the mainstream, right?"

Unlike others, Alexander's thinking is still relatively conservative. What he hopes more is to earn enough money. Therefore, he also hopes that his TV series can have enough people to watch. Levi's idea, while good, just seemed too innovative. The process, from shooting techniques to script creation, differs entirely from traditional methods. Such an attempt is too risky.

Success is unparalleled, but what if it fails?

Levi understands Alexander's worry very well: his friends are all too young, and the scripts they write are likely to be unloved because of their excessive pursuit of artistic sense and sense of reality.

"Alex, you don't have to worry. My idea is based on the timing." Levi comforted him, "We still remember that a major case just happened last October because of the problem of scientific testing. Trouble arose..."

"The murder of O. J. Simpson's wife?" Alexander answered immediately. He remembered something, "That's right, this matter is now at a time when people are paying more attention to it!"

In 1994, a famous case occurred in the United States: NFL star O. J. Simpson was suspected of killing his wife. The incident attracted considerable attention, as the acquittal of an alleged killer because the methods of scientific testing were unlawful also fueled a surge in interest in scientific testing. In solving the case, it can be said that the evidence is conclusive. However, because the blood sampling process did not follow the prescribed procedures, Simpson's lawyer found a flaw, tried to invalidate the evidence, and finally made Simpson acquitted in October 1995. Although the court found him innocent, many people still believed he was the murderer. Moreover, Simpson wrote a book in 2006 after he was declared not guilty, describing the killing process in detail. Of course, the premise of "if I killed it" was added in front of it.

One of the biggest reasons why crime dramas can attract the attention of many people is because survival is the first instinct of human beings. When something appears in real life that may threaten the survival and safety of human beings and is not taken seriously, it will naturally cause people to panic. Shooting CSI can now be regarded as capturing current political hotspots, which can attract a lot of attention.

Of course, the filming of TV dramas must be closely related to the situation at the time. If Levi dared to shoot 24-hour counter-terrorism in 1996, it wouldn't get the popularity it achieved post 9/11. However, broadcasting CSI in 1996 was maybe even better than in 2000. Because the murder of Simpson's wife in 1995 has not been completely forgotten, and the TV series released at this time may have a better effect.

"You can rest assured that our script has a good enough screenwriter, support, creativity, and a good enough background of the times - the success of this TV series is unquestionable." Levi laughed. Of course, he also considered the possibility of failure. However, the likelihood is minimal, but in this regard, he is still preparing for the second hand, "Even if it fails, it will have the influence of Simpson's wife's murder case. We also believe that we will not lose money. This TV series will be a surefire victory!"

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