the agent situation

by june in the nick fellowship, it was pretty clear brian and i were not going to get to join the shows we had been assigned to, and because of that, we’d miss out on a lot of opportunities. karen told us that hadn’t happened before. she felt bad and told us she would set up agent meetings for us, and gave us a list of 10 or so agencies that she would introduce us to.

june quickly turned into october, the fellowship ended, and the meetings still hadn’t happened. karen said don’t worry, the agent meetings were still going to happen, even if they’re after the fellowship.

Read the full post »

5 Comments
by kiyong on January 25, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in 01 - nickelodeon writing fellowship, 02 - screenwriting

Posted by kiyong on January 25, 2012

http://kiyong.wordpress.com/2012/01/25/the-agent-situation/

2011 year in review, goals for 2012

2011 was an interesting year. i finished up the nick fellowship, which was an amazing experience. i learned a lot, met great people, and wrote a bunch of solid scripts. as great as the experience was, it didn’t lead to a job, so the end of the year after the fellowship was rather depressing. i’m hoping 2012 leads to some sort of breakthrough.
here were my top 3 goals for 2011:

  1. get staffed on a show after the fellowship.
    NO. this didn’t happen. not even close. i also didn’t get an agent, and didn’t get into another writing program (although i did make it past the first round of disney). sigh.
  2. write a pilot script.
    YES. i finally wrote my first pilot! i’m already working on my second.
  3. make a web series or short film.
    SORT OF. i didn’t shoot anything, but i did finish the script for a live action short, so i count that as half.

so out of my 3 goals, i accomplished 1.5. not so great.

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11 Comments
by kiyong on January 11, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in 01 - nickelodeon writing fellowship, 02 - screenwriting, 03 - filmmaking

Posted by kiyong on January 11, 2012

http://kiyong.wordpress.com/2012/01/11/2011-year-in-review-goals-for-2012/

unemployed

it’s been almost 3 months since i’ve left nickelodeon and have been unemployed. i’ve tried to be productive, but it’s hard to maintain momentum at the end of the year with the holidays. here’s my status report:

i finished my pilot script. it was my first one, and i have to say it was difficult to write. i want to start another pilot, and i’m hoping it’ll be easier the second time around. i already have the concept (it’s set in a mailroom) and most of the characters. i’m giving myself a deadline: the end of feb.

karen pushed the agent meetings back till mid january. i really hope that happens! ideally i can get an agent and have another pilot written, and be ready for staffing season.

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8 Comments
by kiyong on December 28, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in 02 - screenwriting

Posted by kiyong on December 28, 2011

http://kiyong.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/unemployed/

interview: tawnya bhattacharya, nbc writers on the verge 2011

i met tawnya several years ago where she taught the writing class that i was taking. i was not a fan of the institution, but i loved tawnya and her class! then a year ago, i saw the list of people who were accepted into the nbc writers on the verge program, and saw that she was one of them. we’ve kept in touch since, and she’s been kind enough to share her experience with us.

What spec did you submit to get into the NBC Writers on the Verge (WOTV) Program? Why did you pick that show?

My writing partner, Ali Laventhol, and I submitted a NURSE JACKIE spec.

I fell in love with NURSE JACKIE early in the first season. I’m personally drawn to darker humor and well-drawn, complex characters with a bit of a serrated edge. Characters that others might dismiss as “unlikeable.” I think it’s okay for a character to have unlikeable qualities and flaws and to do things we deem as wrong or awful as long as we know why they are motivated to do what they do. If we know the psychology behind it or the core wound… we can get behind them. Nurse Jackie is flawed (she’s a rule-breaking, drug addicted liar who’s having an affair) but she happens to have a lot of very likeable and redeemable traits. She’s a fantastic nurse who goes above and beyond, often breaking rules and being vigilante to do what’s best for her patients. She also loves her family and has an awareness and guilt for the wrong she does.

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4 Comments
by kiyong on November 22, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in 02 - screenwriting

Posted by kiyong on November 22, 2011

http://kiyong.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/interview-tawnya-bhattacharya-nbc-writers-on-the-verge-2011/

nickelodeon writing fellowship – month 12

the last month of the fellowship was actually only 2 weeks. whatever anxiety i had earlier had all evaporated, and i just had this delusional, unjustified feeling of calm.

KORRA
although things didn’t work out with robot & monster, karen was able to get me in the writers’ room of The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra for the last 2 weeks. the room consisted of one of the creators (the other creator focused more on the art), 2 writers, and a writers assistant.

i think most rooms break stories either using a whiteboard, or a corkboard with index cards. korra was an index card room. they line up cards into three columns, each column being an act. they figure out what scene should follow the previous scene, then talk about what’s going on in the scene in detail while the writers assistant takes notes. Read the full post »

3 Comments
by kiyong on October 27, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in 01 - nickelodeon writing fellowship, 02 - screenwriting

Posted by kiyong on October 27, 2011

http://kiyong.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/nickelodeon-writing-fellowship-%e2%80%93-month-12/

new fox writing program info

fox updated the info on their writing program. actually, there are 2 now.

for experienced writers
http://www.fox.com/audiencestrategy/foxwritersintensive/

for new writers
http://www.fox.com/audiencestrategy/foxwritersresidency/

1 Comment
by kiyong on October 13, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in 02 - screenwriting

Posted by kiyong on October 13, 2011

http://kiyong.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/new-fox-writing-program-info/

nickelodeon writing fellowship – month 11

UNCERTAINTY
i’m a planner by nature, and having nothing lined up as the fellowship comes to an end has been very stressful. some days were ok. other days, i couldn’t sleep, lost my appetite, and couldn’t focus. but then i realized that all this uncertainty is something i better get used to, because i can be certain my life will have more it in the future.

even if i got staffed on a show at nick during the fellowship, the network might not renew the show for another season. or if i had an agent, that wouldn’t mean i’d get staffed during staffing season. if i was staffed, seasons ends. shows get cancelled. that’s what it is to work as a writer. it’s just part of the job.

if you can’t deal with instability and uncertainty, give up now and save yourself the stress. go become an accountant or something. with less than 2 weeks left to go, i’m not that stressed anymore. i’ve accepted it, i know i’m going to keep writing, and that’s all that matters.

seriously though, stress is bad. watch this documentary. i think they have it streaming on netflix.

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10 Comments
by kiyong on October 6, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in 01 - nickelodeon writing fellowship

Posted by kiyong on October 6, 2011

http://kiyong.wordpress.com/2011/10/06/nickelodeon-writing-fellowship-%e2%80%93-month-11/

steve jobs: 1955 – 2011

steve jobs, you were our prometheus. thanks for giving us the fire.

1 Comment
by kiyong on October 5, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in 06 - misc

Posted by kiyong on October 5, 2011

http://kiyong.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/steve-jobs-1955-2011/

writing program notifications – rejection

it’s that time of year when the writing programs (nickelodeon, wb, nbc, cbs, abc/disney) start notifying people. if you get a call, that means you made it past the first of several rounds. most of us will not get calls, and this is a message to all those people.

getting into one of these writing programs is hard. there are a LOT of submissions and it’s ridiculously competitive. at nick, i think there were about 1300 submissions. only 25 or so make it onto karen’s desk. then from there, she might only pick 12 or so that are good enough to be semifinalists. 12 out of 1300+. then that will probably be whittled down to 5 finalists, and then 3 fellows.

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42 Comments
by kiyong on September 4, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in 02 - screenwriting

Posted by kiyong on September 4, 2011

http://kiyong.wordpress.com/2011/09/04/writing-program-notifications-rejection/

an interview i found – nicholl fellowship winner

my focus has been tv writing, but for those who write features, you should definitely submit to the nicholl fellowship. here’s an interview with the winner from 2010, from ashley who herself is a past semi-finalist.

http://ashleyfmiller.wordpress.com/2011/04/10/interview-with-nicholl-fellowship-winner-micah-ranum/

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by kiyong on September 1, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in 02 - screenwriting

Posted by kiyong on September 1, 2011

http://kiyong.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/an-interview-i-found-nicholl-fellowship-winner/

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