Bronze VIP Archive for October 29, 1999
Warning! Possible Spoilers!!
- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 23:40:09 1999 152.163.195.214)
Oh, we haven't forgotten about Faith.
bye
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- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 23:36:11 1999 152.163.195.214)
Pause while I roll around laughing insanely -- do we get to be Joss when Joss writes an ep? Hee hee hee. no. When Joss writes an ep, Joss writes an ep. It's a beautiful process of alone-ness. Actually quite inspiring.
I'm just answering questions wildly now: yes, no, yes, sometimes...
Tracey Forbes is a full time writer and has been all season.
Thania St. John and I have never met. She pitched the "parent's group, witch-burning idea" a long time ago. I pitched a "book burning" idea. Joss meshed 'em, I added Hansel and Gretel, and someone arranged the shared "story by" credit. I did talk with Thania on the phone after the ep aired and she seemed great -- I'm glad she's doing well.
We're breaking ep 11 now. Joss is writing ep 10 (and you're right -- he takes the very important eps -- this is one of those -- an innovative tour de force).
Okay... I'm pretty sure I'm done. Hope I didn't skip any really crucial question.
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- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 23:27:31 1999 152.163.195.214)
Okay... a llittle longer. A "beat sheet" is a less specific outline. It only lists where the scene takes place, which characters are in it, and the barest version of the scene. The beat sheet for "Harsh Light" might have said: (SPOILERS)
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int. bronze
Buffy Willow and Xander talk about Parker, who is there. Buffy is interested.
ext. bronze
Oz, Willow and Devon load equipment into the van. Willow left alone. Harmony attacks.
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See? It's like that.
Advice for aspiring TV writers:
Watch TV (I'm serious).
Read books on writing for TV.
Watch VOYAGER (star trek shows read unagented scripts!!!).
Get sample scripts (some Hollywood book stores have them.)
Write sample scripts for respected shows. (Sopranos or Buffy, not Pacific Blue or Snoops -- sorry to anyone involved with the latter).
Apply to writers' fellowships (Disney has one, so does Universal, I think).
Get a list of agents from the Writers Guild of America, call them. Send them your specs.
And that's all I can think of. It's tough, but it's possible.
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- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 23:17:56 1999 152.163.195.214)
Okay, gonna go soon... but first...
How scripts are assigned. Usually it kind of rotates -- whoever has had the longest break writes the next one. But if one person pitched a specific idea, they usually get to write it (like my Band Candy or Tracey's Beer Bad). Or if a specific story calls for a specific kind of writing strength -- Marti tend to get the big love relationship stories. And then sometimes a writer's personal schedule will dictate which eps they're available for... anyway, there are lots of factors.
And there was something else I wanted to say.... oh yeah, someone asked something spoilery about my Angel epl. Let me try to do a spoiler thing:
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okay -- Angel dripping wet in a towel... actually, first I wrote the scene with him reading a book, fully clothed. Then I thought... hey... not particularly cinematic choice... what might work better? Dripping wet and naked just suggested itself... and what do you know... I think it's a little better than the whole book thing. But America didn't get to hear all the funny lines I wrote about Wuthering Heights. Oh well.
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Okay... possibly leaving now.
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- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 23:07:58 1999 152.163.195.214)
By the way, Hi to everyone I see frantically waving at me! Hi y'all!
You asked for an example of a line only that character could say in "Harsh Light." Hmm... I liked Xander's "actually turning into a woman as I say this" line. And Spike's big "... hear bugger all about sodding France" speech.
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- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 23:01:59 1999 152.163.195.214)
Ooh. A neat question about the writing process... skip over this if that sort of thing bores you. Joss and the whole staff work out the story for each episode together and in detail -- in theory. In actuality, we all sit and pretend we're being helpful while Joss works out the whole story in detail.
Then the writer for that ep writes a beat sheet, and then a full outline, based on that work. An outline is usually 14 pages of single-spaced text in which each scene is described per what Joss worked out. What the writer has added at this point is an indication of the shape of the scene -- the order the information comes out in, some more specifics about what each character thinks and expresses during the scene, how it transitions into the next scenes, a few sample jokes, that kind of thing.
Joss gives the writer notes on the beat sheet, then subsequently on the outline. He nixes bad things, adds good things, makes sure it's on track.
Then the writer writes the first draft. From 14 pages you go to approx. 50-55 pages of fun-filled description and dialog. It may sound like this doesn't leave much room for individual creativity -- after all, the writer knows exactly what will happen in each scene, but in fact, there are remarkly many ways to write each scene, and the writer has to pick the best way.
Then Joss gives notes on the first draft... these can be minor or enormous, detailed or more like "this scene? make it better." It takes several days usually, for the writer to implement the changes he asks for, because it usually requires rethinking some things in a big way. Then there may be further drafts after that, time permitting.
Eventually, Joss takes the script away from the writer, into his lair of genius and he does his own rewrite -- again, minor or enormous. Then it gets filmed.
So I laugh when people say that one of us has better "plotting" than another or that Joss wouldn't have let a character say that if he'd written the ep... it all goes through the big guy, and it's all better for it.
WOW. I'm tired from talking so much. Everyone bored yet?
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- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 22:48:30 1999 152.163.195.214)
Okay, I'm changing my story on the soup. It's because Chicken and Stars is Buffy's fave flave. And it's got a funny name. Oh... and she was purposefully saying something funny to distract Buffy from reading her smutty Giles thoughts.
A couple people asked about writing -- actually my favorite thing is finding the voices of the characters when I write. I love finding the phrase that only that one character could ever say. It's a good skill for a TV writer. It's a lot harder creating an original voice, say, for a movie character.
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- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 22:39:52 1999 152.163.195.214)
Ooh, that's right, my Angel's on next week... I kept thinking only about Buffy. Well, I hope you like it. Big Cordelia fun. Doyle's in trouble, too... I wonder if he survives... maybe this is it???? Maybe not????
About "Pangs," well, let's see, I guess I can tell you that it was an interesting week on the set and that no animals were harmed that weren't already dead when we hired them.
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- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 22:33:12 1999 152.163.195.214)
Well, would you look at that? It only lights up if you do my whole name... how bizarre is that?
What did Joss say about Doyle?
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- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 22:27:30 1999 152.163.195.214)
Joyce does, in fact, cook. That very fact is important (but not crucial) in my next ep which airs right before Thanksgiving. BUT, I feel that she really wanted Buffy to have soup, the food of sickness, and it's hard to whip up a quick beef stock in a jiffy.
Anyone buying that?
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- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 22:23:32 1999 152.163.195.214)
Okay, they got me the fancy codeword, so how come when you all type "jane" it doesn't color up? That's all I asked for -- didn't even want the codeword. *sigh*
And, actually, next week's ep is by Tracey Forbes. But I wish it was mine--- my kind of ep. You'll like it.
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- Jane Espenson (Writer) says:
(Fri Oct 29 22:18:16 1999 152.163.195.214)
Hi, It's me, Jane, not really an imposter! Hope I didn't scare anyone!
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