INTRODUCTION TO WRITING TV DRAMA

Creative Ireland is committed to developing Ireland as a media production hub of excellence; one of the aspirations is that Ireland becomes an international player in TV Drama.  

This is great news for writers, as producers will be seeking new originated series for streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube. In addition, the BBC and ITV has stated their intention to develop new drama series to serve audience hungry for the box-set viewing experience. This means more opportunities for new and emerging talent.

If you have an idea you think could work as a TV Drama this course is for you. Or if you would like to give writing TV Drama a shot this course if for you. 

Over five sessions, one evening a week you will be challenged to test and develop your ideas as you gain an understanding of the fundamentals of TV Drama.

Course Content:

• The principles of screenwriting and their application for television drama.

• Creating the franchise. The world of the series and defining the story engine.

• Creating compelling characters.

• Pitch, treatment, outline and series bible.

• The current best practice for submitting drama proposals to broadcasters and television production companies.

• The commissioning process and broadcaster requirements at the various stages of the development process.

Testimonials:

I can't recommend Eilish's courses enough. After leaving the industry for a number of years my confidence was low and the industry norms had changed. Not only did she help me develop my writing skills and confidence. Her insight into structure, concept and character development are a necessity. First time writer, refresher, or actively developing - the course is like sticking a motor on your sail boat. You'll get to where you want to go while saving an enormous amount of time and energy.

Roisín Kearney, Writer/Director/Producer 2018 *****

I took Eilish’s feature writing course and, shortly after, I returned for her TV drama course. Elish has a forensic knowledge and understanding of how drama for TV and Film works and she has a remarkable ability to help distill your idea down to its dramatic essence. By deconstructing some top-notch films and tv series, she reveals the mechanics of successful drama-writing so that you can begin to develop your idea along these lines. She is bang up-to-date with trends in both TV and film and will help you to push your idea towards maximum commercial viability. She is a positive, encouraging and no-nonsense teacher and, if you have an idea you want to develop, I highly recommend taking one of her courses. *****

Libby McCormack, RTÉ, 2018

“I did enjoy the course and I heard others on it who had done similar courses say that it was the best by far. I thought Eilish really knew her stuff, she explained things well and illustrated all of her points with examples from real series’ which was really useful. It’s great to be taught by someone working in the field.”

-Áine O’Connor, 2015

“Doing the Writing for TV course in Filmbase with Eilish Kent not only gave me a great introduction to what is required to work within the world of the small screen, but also the confidence to want to build a career as a screenwriter. The foundations laid during those eight weeks have remained solid ever since, and Eilish’s advice and guidance has proved invaluable to my development.”

– Paul O’Reilly (Paul recently published a collection of short stories, The Girl Missing From The Window for Doire Press.  His adaptation of Claire Keegan’s short story Men And Women won a FilmOffaly/Filmbase Short Film Award and was produced in 2013).

“Eilish Kent’s workshops are extremely intense and very enjoyable.  Anyone wishing to further their career as a scriptwriter would be well advised to do these workshops.  Not only is Eilish well respected in the industry, she is full of sound advice – outlining the tricky skills of preparing a pitch and treatment.  She explains clearly the expectations of the industry and by carefully analysing the more successful TV series she helps participants to come to grips with what makes a ‘really good’ script.  I found the workshops challenging and as a result feel that they really upped my game.  Now, instead of faffing about with script ideas, I have come away from the course with a clearer sense of what is required of me as a writer.  This course is for those who are serious about becoming scriptwriters and Eilish Kent’s extensive knowledge and experience is just fantastic.  When you sign up, prepare to work!”

– Caroline Barry, has three books published to date, and her latest novel The Dolocher was published March 2016 with Black&White Publishers, Scotland.