Netflix series

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 5

Create your own Netflix series

Many of you have spent a significant amount of time watching series on TV or online over the past years. For most of you that’s a lot of viewing experience which you have been accumulating over the years.  

Create your own Netflix series

We want to tap into all this knowledge which you have acquired: we want you to create your own series. This assignment is a three parter. We want you to make a guide book for the series, we want you to create an outline of the pilot episode and we want you to draw a storyboard.

Writing a guidebook

The guidebook needs to be 300-400 words. In the guidebook you must include the following:

Future episode synopses – Keep this brief. Time is money, as they say, and no one wants to have to trawl through detailed accounts of every single episode you’ve developed. Focus on the main story, highlighting whatever captivating drama, hilarious situations, unraveling mystery, or emotional turmoil you’re putting your characters through.

Format – Again, don’t spend a lot of time on this, but make it clear just what you’re selling here; a sitcom, continuing drama, story of the week etc. Explain how your series ends, how it moves onto the next one, and who your returning characters are. You can talk about target audience, why it may suit a particular channel or time slot here too.

Writing a guidebook

Brief character bios – Focus on your core cast here, and one or two minor characters if they’re particularly relevant. You guessed it, keep this brief too. Talk character types instead of casting the roles with actors you envisage playing the roles. Mention strengths, weaknesses, character goals and emotional needs, as well as telling us about the personal development of each character (unless this is a sitcom, where characters generally stay the same throughout a series)

Extras – There are tons of other components that you can throw in if you choose to. Just remember, on each page, your focus needs to be on hooking the reader. Make sure your show guide reflects the tone of your series. If it’s a comedy, make sure your bible is funny and entertaining etc. Concept art, pages of script, location details, style, and what’s original about your idea are all extras that can help sell your idea.

Camera angles - Do not just write dialogue, but also describe what is going on in the scene. What is the general atmosphere of the scene? How do the actors move? You should also include camera angles.   

Making an outline for a pilot

Now you are going to write the outline of the pilot episode. Work alone. An outline is the scene by scene development of the events in your pilot episode. Generally, a TV show episode has the following structure: After the introduction you start building up the tension: which problems do the main characters have to deal with? What is the climax of the story and how does the resolution take place? The outline needs to be 300-400 words. 

Create a storyboard

Look at the following website to find an example of a famous storyboard. Your storyboard should show a scene from the pilot and contain 9 or more pictures.

fs-clark109508sp.blogspot.com

moodle.cygy.nl

www.studiobinder.com

Summarizing Netflix assignment

- write guidebook (300 - 400 words)

- write pilot episode (300 - 400 words)

- draw a storyboard (at least 9 pictures)

For pairs everything should be twice as long. 

More information

For more information: go to one of the following links:

How to write a script

Storyboarding for people who can't draw