ATTN JMS: Story Timing in General

[B5JMS Poster]

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From: "James Jackson" <jameskjack at earthlink.net>
Date: 10 Mar 1998 12:05:19 -0700
Lines: 21

Joe:

I was just wondering about story timing.

One of the things that annoys me about some TV shows is the
unbalanced timing.  The main crisis takes too long to build
up to, and the resolution takes place in the last 5 minutes,
or in some cases, during the last commercial break.  When the
show resumes, everyone is talking about how they resolved the
crisis, but the audience never sees it.  Everyone laughs and
the credits roll.

B5 seems to me to be a lot more balanced in this respect.  Do
you try to begin the resolution by a certain time to allow
time to show the actual resolution before the final break,
and use the epilogue for something else?  Or just how do you
try to do it?  Is it in the editing?

--
James K. Jackson
JamesKJack at Earthlink.net

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From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Date: 11 Mar 1998 23:09:43 -0700
Lines: 25

>One of the things that annoys me about some TV shows is the
>unbalanced timing.  The main crisis takes too long to build
>up to, and the resolution takes place in the last 5 minutes,
>or in some cases, during the last commercial break.

>B5 seems to me to be a lot more balanced in this respect.  Do
>you try to begin the resolution by a certain time to allow
>time to show the actual resolution before the final break,
>and use the epilogue for something else?  Or just how do you
>try to do it?  Is it in the editing?

It's generally the same...I use a straightforward approach to the stories:
teaser sets the tone for the episode, hooks the audience, makes you wonder what
the heck's going on.  First act introduces the problem in greater detail; here
and in act two you get the characters dealing with the problem, with a major
problem or complication hitting at the bottom of act 2...act three prepares
your characters to deal with the situation, and act four deals with the
situation, leaving the tag (and sometimes part of the fourth act) to have some
nice character moments.  

 jms

(jmsatb5 at aol.com)
B5 Official Fan Club at:
http://www.thestation.com
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