The Word Cloud

Hi Cloudies,

Can't spend much time on the cloud at the mo apart from popping in occasionally because I'm doing NaNoWriMo for the first time. However, I saw the following and thought I would pass on the info - these opportunities sound too good to miss if you want to write for TV.

One of the projects is only for writers from my part of the country i.e. the North-East of England, but I know there are at least 3 cloudies up here, and the others are open to all.

Let me know if you are going to submit!

Axx

Northern Film and Media are promoting a raft of exciting new writing opportunities for writers… Read on to find out more – and please note the looming deadline for the first opportunity.

Cracking crime
This is an exciting new opportunity for writers committed to writing for TV. A second series of Vera was greenlit by ITV earlier this year after drawing average viewing figures of 6.6 million. Four more instalments of the crime drama starring Brenda Blethyn and David Leon are currently being shot across the North East. The show is based on North East author Ann Cleeves’ best-selling sequence of books. Writers serious about breaking into TV writing are invited to submit a treatment for an episode of the series of no more than 2,000 words by 5pm on Friday 11 November.

Shortlisted writers will be invited to join a number of masterclasses with a range of industry experts in adaptation, character development and visual storytelling. Successful participants will be assigned a mentor/script editor and will be introduced to Vera producer Elaine Collins, who will talk them through the script process on Vera. The opportunity is aimed at writers with some experience who are keen to move into writing mainstream TV drama. New Writing North director Claire Malcolm will be helping to shortlist entries for the scheme.

At the recent Durham Book Festival, Ann Cleeves, Sally Wainwright (screenwriter of recent ITV hit Scott & Bailey) and novelist Val McDermid (who wrote the novels behind ITV’s Wire in the Blood) took part in a conversation about Criminal Women . This inspirational discussion may help inspire some new approaches to pitching for this project. You can listen to a recording of the event at http://newwritingnorth.podomatic.com.

You can read full details of the scheme at www.northernmedia.org/?mod=news&pageid=38&id=1417.

Contact joanna@northernmedia.org for further information on how to submit your work. Please not that this initiative is only open to writers based in north east England.
 

Jesting About 2 launches
Jesting About is Northern Film and Media’s flagship project with the BBC. This wide-ranging scheme for writers at all stages of their careers offer a variety of opportunities to submit ideas in the field of radio, TV sitcom and TV comedy.

Radio
BBC Newcastle and BBC Tees are keen to discover new comedic talent to write and/or perform sketch material for a specially commissioned half-hour pilot show to be developed for a daytime audience across the North East. This 30-minute programme will be made up of individual two-minute written sketches. These can take the form of individual written stand-up sequences or performed vignettes. In terms of subject matter, they are interested in comedic reflections of life in the North East but without being too parochial. You can hear the half-hour sketch show created by previous Jesting About participants at http://bbc.in/jestingabout.

TV sitcom
The BBC are making the development of new scripted comedy a high priority and are keen to see ideas brimming with confidence and underpinned with a real understanding of the BBC audience. The show pitches need to be loud, noisy and mainstream and have the potential for real longevity; think My Family, My Hero, Green Green Grass. There are two specific projects that writers can pitch for:

* A new project for Joe Tracini and Miriam Margolyes that builds on the chemistry the two actors had in Coming of Age. The episode that they feature in can be seen at http://vimeo.com/29845989. (Use the password Comingofage1)

* Toy Boy: the story of a 22-year-old who hooks up with a successful 48-year-old divorced mother of two.

Writers wanting to pitch for either of these need to deliver a treatment that gives a six-episode overview with key character breakdown and ten pages of the first draft of the pilot episode. Selected writers will be mentored to develop their script further with a view to holding a read-through with actors.

Comedy entertainment
The BBC are looking for a weekly live comedy and entertainment series that will work on BBC3 and they are keen to experiment with new formats. There are two projects to pitch for:

* Show ideas that are based on traditional game show formats re-imagined for the 21st century

* North versus South: a hybrid comedy entertainment show which pitches guests from the North against counterparts from the South. The show might be made up of interviews, pre-recorded sketches, live stunts, hidden camera set pieces and more.

Writers are invited to send a short overview of a format idea plus up to three ideas/scripts for sketches/ rounds/strands based on either of the briefs above.

Deadlines for Jesting About 2
The deadline for applications is 12 noon on Monday 28 November 2011.

Successful applicants will be notified by Friday 9 December 2011 and must confirm that they can attend North East located workshops that are planned for the beginning of December through to February/March 2012.

Read the detail
Full information on the project strands, helpful notes and the small print about fees and rights if your work is shortlisted are available at www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/comedy.

Further help
Jesting About project manager Helen Spencer will be undertaking a limited number of one-to-one meetings with writers on Wednesday 9 November. Email joanna@northernmedia.org if you are interested in taking part. There is also lots of useful background support available on the BBC writersroom website at www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom.