The Writer's Studio: The Idea of TV Pilots

On February 6, please join us for The Idea of TV Pilots, a Writer's Studio workshop hosted by Adam Tobin.

Some of the most idiosyncratic, challenging cinematic storytelling is in “television,” a medium that is constantly being redefined. Episodic or serialized, half-hour or hour, commercial or subscriber, ongoing or limited series, streaming or cable or broadcast -- these are all called TV. As the first episode launching a series, a pilot script needs to tell an engaging story, create an original world, channel the writer’s distinctive voice, introduce an ensemble of characters, and provide the possibility for dozens or hundreds of stories to come. This workshop will look at the building blocks of an idea for a television pilot and series and allow students to begin their journey into writing for "television."

Adam Tobin is a Senior Lecturer teaching screenwriting in the Film & Media Studies program in the Department of Art & Art History. He received his MFA in screenwriting from USC School of Cinematic Arts and worked in industry in Los Angeles and New York. He created the comedy series About a Girl and the reality show Best Friend's Date for Viacom's The-N Network, and has advised animation studios including DreamWorks Animation, Aardman Animation, and Twentieth Century Fox/Blue Sky Studios. He also wrote the book and lyrics for She Persisted: the Musical, a New York Times Critic's pick at the Atlantic Theatre Company.