MIDPOINT TV Launch 2020

The MIDPOINT TV Launch 2016 graduates and the HBO Europe Award winners, Anna Stoeva and Till Kleinert, will talk about their journey on the recently released show and TV Launch alumni project, Hausen.

Moderator: Katarina Tomkova
Speakers: Anna Stoeva, Till Kleinert

Experienced film and television lawyer Christoph Fey will guide the audience into the do's and dont's of negotiations and communication with global streamers, explain how to manage expectations, be aware of the potential decisions to make and outline a best practice.

Speaker: Christoph Fey

Presentation of the 9 graduating projects of the TV Launch 2020 program, the so-called “Season Finale”, will introduce exciting series in development coming from Central and Eastern Europe which had gone through an intense training in the past few months under the mentorship of renowned tutors and experts.

Moderator: Katarina Tomkova

Whether it is a book, a feature film, a previous series, a real-life persona or a combination of several of these pre-existing ideas or stories, the development process of series based on an existing IP have some specific features that perhaps differ from starting a project from scratch. In this panel discussion, we'll be talking to Cyril Tysz (Skam France), Ben Harris (Young Wallander), Ben Morris (Mr Selfridge) and Gabor Krigler (Golden Life).

Moderator: Katarina Tomkova
Speakers: Gabor Krigler, Ben Harris, Cyril Tysz, Ben Morris

(Closed session for MIDPOINT TV Launch 2020 & ScriptPool TV 2020 participants)

This workshop will share with the writer some best practices on how to create and document their best version of a character driven series. By asking the right questions and looking at your series using the character's goals and motivations versus the plot, you will be able to create a professional looking pitch document that will allow a buyer to easily decide whether or not your show is right for their streaming service or network.

Lecturer: Christopher Mac

The new digital era brought many new trends in storytelling, web series, also called short form series, being one of the most significant, bringing whole new perspectives and styles. Both major and independent content providers are exploring new ways to deliver original programmes specific to the digital audiences. Short form series are without any doubt an attractive audiovisual field that allures many talented creative minds. But what are the main differences between the short form series and other forms of storytelling and what to keep in mind while creating your own short form series?

Moderator: Katarina Tomkova
Speakers: Sullivan Le Postec, Kirsten Loose, Luke Eve, Vratislav Slajer

Whenever you do something from the bottom of your heart all the great energy you put in reflects in a form of an excellent result. There are no general rules that define a great pitch. The only rule is to know your story well and be able to have your heart present while pitching it. During her lecture, Michaela Sabo will guide the audience to find their strengths and weaknesses and make an advantage of both of them, to create a custom-made pitch. And last but not least, Michaela will give useful tips on how to overcome jitters, how to stay focused, how to find the core elements of the story and how to transfer it to the pitch audience.

Marike Muselaers will discuss the process of entering the TV market and how to navigate the current landscape in this age of plenty. She will give examples of different ways to finance/package a TV series with international partners and discuss various TV business models. She will talk about how to stay true to your concept when (digitally or face to face) pitching to a variety of players, what to expect from possible co-producers, sales agents, broadcasters, platforms and financing partners, and last but not least: why it is so important to know both your audience and your industry.

Many of us are already familiar with how to prepare and organize a feature film shooting and postproduction, but when it comes to series, it can be a slightly different process with its own specifics and rules. This roundtable will try to shed a light on the most important moments of the production that will help to achieve a satisfying result. Time is the key factor in the production of series and in order to find out how this “alchemy” of turning words in picture works.

What is the position of a writer in the European ecosystem, what to look out for when it comes to contracts and which expectations to have, what possibilities of working in English there are for an Eastern European writer? We’ll discuss all this and more in a closed session where there are no bad questions with Fabian Haslob, representing the German-based Players agency.

Director, producer and writer Rumle Hammerich will talk about the importance of finding the theme, the core and the philosophy of the show and how this "shared vision" is the common platform for the writer, the producer and the director. The script and the money are almost two-dimensional or digital, but a TV series will eventually happen in the third and fourth dimension and this is the director’s focus: transforming the script into four dimensions. Rumle Hammerich will talk about the director’s role and responsibility in a TV series production. Trust is the major element in the creative triangle. One vision is death.

Steve Matthews, an experienced expert, now the Executive Producer of Drama Development at HBO Europe, will discuss the process from pitching your project through series development, production and beyond. What to expect, the stages in the process, the pitfalls to watch out for, and learning to love notes.

Ms. Murphy will discuss the highlights of the most powerful and critical parts of your script… The beginning and the end. In this market of television where there are hundreds of shows to watch - how can you break out of the clutter. It is critical to hook the audience in the first 10 or 15 pages. This is the heart of your show… the make it or break it. Maggie will screen an assortment of iconic pilot openings and analyze why they keep the audience mesmerized. There will also be discussion on the ending of your pilot and how it must also be equally strong to bring the audience back for more.

At the core of each series lies an engine, a central question, a central conflict that, unlike in a movie, must not be solved. Stretching a movie for 8 hours might not be the solution either, for a series is NOT a long film chopped into small pieces. So how do you provide the fuel to go beyond the pilot? What sustains the conflict and makes the audience want to watch the next episode?

While in film, the legendary chicken and egg question of which comes first: the plot or the character remains unanswered, in TV series, CHARACTERS are the way to go: they are the reason we come back to watch the show.

In this lecture, Cyril will study the specifics of series characters. How they have to be approached, how they must be combined and confronted with one another in order to sustain conflict and generate situations and scenes for a long time. He will also discuss how they affect the narrative specifics that are at the core of any series, whether procedurals or serialized, all that good stuff that makes a series – a series.

A pilot episode needs to serve many different needs. First and foremost, it has to be a great story itself but also must set up a long, ongoing narrative. We will be looking at the various elements necessary to introduce in a pilot to hook the audience and make them want more of your stories.

Wherever you’ve come from and wherever you’re going as a screenwriter, one thing is certain: notes will be coming your way! They will come from all angles: above you, below you, beside you… and even from you yourself, at all stages of the process. Ben will use his experience working on both sides of the table - in development/production and also as a writer - to discuss how to give and take notes in a way that is productive, collegiate and fun. Egos at the door folks because it’s all about the show!

How do anthology, continuing and mini series work? And why should we care? Examining the formal structures and common story elements that compose the “DNA” of a series, we will look for the ‘engine’ that powers the storytelling in each series format. We will review clips from current shows to look for new trends in series writing. The goal of this seminar is to help you find the series format that’s right for your show.