1.09 What is the life-cycle of the typical show? (Friends)
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This article is from the Friends FAQ, by Andy J. Williams AndyJW@dartmouth.edu with numerous contributions by others.
1.09 What is the life-cycle of the typical show? (Friends)
JG:
* Brainstorming. Just the writers sitting around, throwing out ideas,
seeing what strikes a chord. This takes four or five days, during which
time we'll generate a dozen or so things that feel like stories.
* Story-breaking. We take each story and break it down into individual
scenes. This generally takes a day or two per story, depending on its
scale.
* Mix-'n'-match. This is often the toughest phase of the process --
picking from the bunch of stories we have, and seeing what goes with
what. (The basic rule is three stories per episode.) We also have to
make sure each of the six characters is serviced in each show, and that
the stories jibe in terms of time sequence. This phase may also include
some additional brainstorming and story-breaking as we try to fill in
the gaps in each episode. For a typical episode, this would take
another coupla days.
* Outline. We divvy up the episodes and each writer goes off and does an
outline. The producers give them notes on the outline, and then they're
off to...
* Write a first draft. Generally the writer has about a week to do this.
The producers give them notes, and then they...
* Write a second draft, which we then begin...
* "Tabling". This is all the writers in a room, going through the script
line by line, scene by scene, making it better. Punching up jokes,
making sure the story is telling itself properly, etc. This takes about
four (often very long) days, at the end of which we have a finished
script we're all pretty happy with.
Then a whole new phase begins: Production.
* "Table read." This happens on a Wednesday around noon. The actors sit
around a table with us and read through the script. This hopefully
gives us some idea what's working and what's not. It's also a chance
for the network, the studio and the director to give us whatever
thoughts they have. Based on this, the writing staff spends the rest of
the day and night doing a group rewrite.
* Thursday run-through. After the actors have spent much of the morning
and early afternoon working with the material, they run through the
whole show for the writers and producers. This is our first chance to
see the show "on its feet". Early notes are given to the actors on
performances, we see if the changes we made Wednesday night are
working, and then we spend Thursday evening rewriting the script
*again*
* Friday (network and studio) run-though. Again, we get a feel for what's
working and what isn't. The network and studio contribute their
thoughts. The director and cast may offer additional ideas. The dreaded
Friday night rewrite ensues.
* Monday camera blocking. The director runs through the show with the
cast, figuring out what his or her shots are going to be, finalizing
the actors' blocking, etc. There may be some marginal changes at this
point if a particular joke just isn't getting there, but at this point
the script is pretty much locked.
* Tuesday night -- we shoot the damn thing!
* Post-production. Cutting, recutting and mixing the show can take
anywhere from a week to three weeks, depending on how close to the air
date we are.
* It's on TV!
* You see it and post messages to the mailing list.
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