Starting points:
“I watched [insert title of web and/or series here], and it got me thinking about…”
“I am thinking about how serials are crafted, and wondering…”
“I have decided that the difference between TV series and web series is…”
“A web/series that really inspires me is [insert title of web and/or series here], because…”
“The last thing I binge-watched was [insert title of web and/or series here] and the thing that kept me hooked was x, and I think it’s because y…”
“I started to watch [insert title of web and/or series here] but was unengaged, and I think it’s because…”
“One thing that interests/bores/bewilders me about the serial form is…”
“For me, the biggest difference between writing a stand-alone story and a continuing serial is…”
Task based prompts:
Reflect upon an influential text (e.g. a reading, or a screening) you encountered during the studio, and discuss it in terms of your own developing practice. This might be (but not limited to), how it introduced you to new ideas. Or, how it changed or reinforced your previous ways of working. Or, how it inspired you to begin thinking about your ideas for the series.
Thinking about creating a serial for the screen, discuss this quote: “If seriality no longer emerges in the repetition of the television schedule, can we even talk about serial form as a programming strategy?” (Keinonan 2016, p. 73).
Drawing on an experience of collaborating within the studio, discuss whether or not you agree with this quote and why (using examples): “I always find that if two (or more) of us throw ideas backwards and forwards I get to more interesting and original places than I could have ever have gotten to on my own” A lecture on creativity (Cleese 1991, 27:20mins).
Upload a piece of writing you completed during a studio task/activity/workshop. Include a short paragraph reflecting upon a) what you think works with the piece and b) how you think the piece could be improved.
Read two series ‘bibles’ that you find searching online at sites such as The Daily Script or Simply Scripts (or use the ones here from The Wire and Freaks and Geeks) and compare the tone, layout, and ways of approaching different elements in the context of the series we’re developing in the studio.
Find a script for an episode from a serial, from the library (shelved under 791.4372, either in published book form or, at Carlton, the real deal sourced from productions), the fabulous AFI Research Collection (located on the second floor of where the library used to be), or searching online, as above. Identify the different storylines and discuss.
Consider this quote, discussing television genre in the context of HBO series, and discuss: “A character’s narrative arc within a specific genre is the single largest transformative factor in HBO’s generic practice, profoundly affecting the way that the protagonist’s story is ultimately told. Examples lie in the first-person account of either Carrie Bradshaw’s (Sarah Jessica Parker) weekly column in Sex in the City or Tony Soprano’s (James Gandolfini) weekly therapy sessions in The Sopranos, both of which become syntactical fixtures within the respective series” (Tait 2010).
Choose a comedy or drama from this year’s offical selection for the Melbourne Webfest and analyse it as a serial.
Use a free visualisation tool, such as Easel.ly, to create a flowchart for a storyline you’re developing or have developed. You might post the image as it is, or contextualise it with some discussion.
Create a social media account for one of the characters. Post the link and discuss their online presence.