Screenwriting for CBBC - Detailed Notes

Good evening! 

Yesterday was a fantastic day in London with Neil Baker and Katie McCullough. I also spotted Piers Beckley (although I couldn't be 100% it was him and was consequently too shy to approach!) and we missed Jason Arnopp, too, who scarpered off quick sharp afterwards to attend to some writing that needed doing. I do hope to meet both Piers and Jason properly next time!

Today the CBBC Q&A has been "the talk of the screenwriting town". It was a really informative session and although a lot of it was common sense, there were some real nuggets of wisdom thrown in and some juicy tips.

The session made me realise that my current idea lacked some crucial elements they were after - Firstly, it wasn't really very exciting - it's a one-off emotional drama. Secondly, this competition isn't just about showing how good you can write - like a writing sample - It's the new ideas and potential characters/series' they are after. So I have decided to start all over again! I had a lightbulb flash at work today and have thus come up with a brilliant new idea, that I hope will remain brilliant as I begin to develop and write it!

So without further ado, I shall reproduce my notes (with my added waffle) for you!

The Vision

--Expanding the imagination of kids
--Educate and inform through entertainment
--Help children find their place in the world
--Sustenance – providing quality shows that kids will remember well into adulthood. What shows do adults still talk about today over a pint in the pub?

I know that I still feel impacted by shows such as “Aquila”, “Byker Grove”, “Grange Hill”, “Earthfasts” and “The Demon Headmaster”. Even recently, having watched “Press Gang” for the first time, I felt impacted by it. I was disappointed when all of them ended. I wanted more. 

--Competition. There are over 15 kids channels across the world, including Disney and Nickelodeon... How can we achieve unmissable storytelling and produce really memorable shows?

Character

--You need to get inside kids' heads. You need to know them inside out.
--Kids shows need to be child-driven. Rooted in a child's world.
--The kids are the heroes – they're the ones who need to solve the problems, not adults! 
--You need solid characters
--Characters with depth – can you see into a character as though “peeling away the layers of an onion”

--Be careful with labelling characters and generalisation– OK, so Matthew is a geek? What kind of geek? A food geek? A sports geek? Specify!

--There's always a pretty character, a clever character, a rebellious character... But what makes them different?

Budget

--Small cast
--Need a good dose of adult/alternative scenes in children's shows, because kids are only allowed to work for a certain amount of time – adult/alternative scenes are needed to economise the usage of the child stars.

--Child actors are more prone to being off work ill. Enough cast is needed so that in the event of a re-write, the writers will have characters who can fill in.

--Sets/locations are limited. In Dr Who, the baddies can blow up the world. In MI High, the baddies can blow up the school...

--You may be limited in sets but you can push the boundaries. You have to be careful what you show, but you CAN show things like accidents/immoral behaviour. The main rule is, where you show bad behaviour or accidents brought about by bad behaviour, you must show the CONSEQUENCES. So, if a kid sets fire to something, they have to get caught and get into trouble. Even in a seemingly simple event such as falling out of a tree – it's got to hurt/do damage!

Ideas

--Inventive
--Captivating
--The worlds of the kids in the shows are exciting and different
--Not everything is always as it seems...In “Bo & The Spirit World” kids end up in a spirit world and have to collect tokens in order to save the lives of their parents. This show gives a nod to House of Flying Daggers and anime. So you can hint at/talk about life and death and have such issues looked at

--You can take risks – such as making a show scary – but be careful not to make it so scary that it would need a warning

--Although you can take risks, be aware that some risks may be turned away. However, if you have taken too big a risk, but the producers particularly love your characters, they may develop them with you

--Kids TV is limitless – kids have big ambitions for stories - storylines can go anywhere and be   as obscure as you like! 

--You can't always explain everything .Example given for this and the above point was that of a scene in Grange Hill, where a girl looks after her ill mother and her brothers and sisters by herself, scared that if she tells anyone the social services will get involved. They do turn up, and that's where the episode ended. A little girl was asked “What do you think happens next?” and she took the adventurous approach of “They ran away and snuck onto a train, but then the ticket inspector came along and because they didn't have any tickets they got chucked off the train, and then they found a cave...” and it goes on like that. We, of course, and the older kids, will know that the social worker will put the children into care. 

--There needs to be a juxtaposition between action/excitement and emotion

--The best ideas come from writers who want to explore a particular genre/area and really know what it's all about!

--You need a solid/unusual concept

--Most kids shows fall into the following genres: Action adventure, modern morality, Narnia, comedy, multi-cultural. Try not to do them all at once!

--Kids audiences are on average 12 years old, so try to stay away from relationships.

--High action is liked. The clips we saw were from The Sarah Jane Adventures and MI High. Both scenes were high in doing rather than saying – and were all the more powerful for it!

What they want in particular for the competition?

--They're looking for new writing talent, new ideas and potential series'. The impression I got was that they want the ideas more than just an example of how you can write for children. It's the ideas and potential that will catch their attention

--Really fresh perspectives, new and delightful characters and new voices
--New perspectives/outlooks on growing up
--Cultural/social perspectives - Insight into different social/cultural lives

--In an ideal world, every child in an audience would feel represented. This isn't easily or realistically achieved, but the more we open the eyes of the children who watch kids TV to the world around them, the more accepting they will be of those around them 

--Mental illness is something that hasn't been covered much before – but be careful – do your research and do it right. 

--Comedy/drama is always liked.
--Sports-oriented shows aren't really wanted at the moment
--They would like something that could be developed further – so potential for a series

--Something that kept coming up time and time again was the phrase “Will I love the character and want to get to know them better?” If you can create an interesting, likeable/loveable character that will stick in the minds of kids and producers alike, you're onto a winner!

--They're not too keen on multi platform concepts, because often writers can get caught up in technology and the different ways stories are communicated to a mass-market than they are in choosing the best method to communicate their particular story. It's the story they are looking to commission, not the different way in which it is shown.

Writing it

--Don't use lots of dialogue. Actions speak better than words. Plus the kids find it easier to remember shorter lines!

--Length depends on format, but the usual screenplay format (not new page per scene) should come in at no less than 28 pages and no more than 32. 

--Read your script out loud afterwards, calculating the time for action, too, and see if it fits within the time-frame

 
--Do number scenes. It's handy for reference when discussing/developing
--A good tip is to prepare your world and your characters well before you begin to write – you can lose your way with the story otherwise

--Make sure you write from a child's perspective, or at least respect how they will perceive it
--Is the way you have written it appropriate for the audience tonally?
--Be very clear on the relationships between characters
--Be very clear with action and description – make your intentions very clear and never assume others will “get” what you mean.

--Make it clear how your dialogue should be delivered. There are so many ways a line could be said – spell it out!

--Don't over-write though, such as giving directions. You will just annoy producers if you try and be director as well as writer!

--If you can't captivate them in the one script then they're not fussed
--First 10 pages essential. Hook the reader! Don't forget that action/excitement can be good to catch the interest of viewers. What'll happen next?!!!

--Is your show as magical as seeing snow falling for the first time?

--Is it as exciting as waiting for Christmas eve to be over with so that Christmas day can ensue?

--Is it as thrilling as a roller-coaster ride?

Interesting thought...

“Some writers write anything in order to get on TV, whereas some actually have something to say”.

Which category do you fall into?

Entering the competition:

--They only want a script. No loglines/synopsis' or what have you

Other advice for writing/submitting work for the CBBC:

Comedy

--Comedy is incredibly difficult – it's either funny or it's not, you've either got the skill or you haven't!
--Most welcome to write sitcoms
--Children's comedy must be about more than just silliness – characters need depth too
--Cliché can be your friend – it may be a no no in drama, but cliché can actually work for comed
--Example given was Phoebe from Friends – the character is grounded as person but exaggerated to the limit = comedy!

Adaptations

--With adaptations you want to match the voice of the author so as not to disappoint the fans

--Have to be inventive within that to come up with new possibilities.

--Likewise, when you write for an existing show, you need to identify the tone and emulate it.

--Similarly, when you write a script you need to set a tone so that other writers can adapt to it.

--It's very rare that a new writer will be commissioned to write the whole of the series they conceived of. If you're lucky enough to have a series commissioned, other writers will be brought in to work with you and they need to be able to adapt to the tone you have set.

Pitching

--You need to know how to pitch
--You need a point of difference – what makes your idea special?
--You need to know how to express this in a pitch
--You also really need to know where your show is going – can you see beyond the pilot?
--You need to know what's on kids TV if you want to write for children – be prepared!

Etiquette for pitching ideas 

--You should be able to sum it up in a sentence – what's it all about?
--500 words is the limit to pitch your idea. Not 501, 500! Eek!