Kyleigh Maddox

Honors English B

Ms. Hitt

May 5, 2014

Research Paper Rough Draft

How a Television Show is Made

Almost everyone enjoys watching television shows, but few people actually know how much work

and effort goes into producing one.What you see on the screen at home is the product of many people

working long, arduous hours for your entertainment. According to executive producer Richard Hatum

and actor Daniel diTomasso, who work on the television show Witches of East End, making a quality

show takes painstaking effort. From planning the shows in a season to filming each episode, creating an

entertaining TV show involves many people working together to produce a finished product.

Once it's time to put together a season of Witches of East End the writers and producers come

together in an office provided for them by the studio, Fox 21. According to Richard Hatum, executive

Producer for Witches of East End, they each have their own offices, but most of the time is spent in the

“writer's room” a big conference room where they all come up with ideas. The writer's room has a large

dry erase board on each wall, where an assistant puts up the ideas on the boards. Another assistant

transcribes everything they say onto her laptop and sends them notes at the end of the day covering

everything that they have discussed. The first few weeks are spent looking at the upcoming season as a

whole and deciding what the writers want to happen over the course of the full thirteen episodes. Long

character arcs, ongoing stories, that plays out over multiple episodes according to Mr. Hatum.

Once the writers have an understanding of the whole season they begin breaking the episodes one by

one. Breaking means figuring out each individual episode, act by act, scene by scene. Most networks

and cable shows are now divided into five or six acts. Each act ends with a commercial break. The

expectation is that each act will end with a big scene, or a big turning point in the story that will

encourage the viewer to stick around and keep watching after the commercial. When the writers break

an episode they divide a white board into six columns and will start filling in scenes until they have six

full acts. Again when discussing an episode they start big and then work small. They ask questions like

What is the episode about? What is each characters story? Is there an over-arcing theme? For example

Sometimes while discussing ideas, the writers will discover or decide on a theme. For example, in an

episode named “You Can't Always Get What You Want” each character's story in the episode involves

them striving for something they ultimately can't have. Once the writers have an idea what the episode

is about, they can start breaking up the story into scenes. Because each character usually has their own

story each episode, they write the scenes in different color markers. For example, Freya's story might

be in red, Ingrid might be in blue, and Joanna in green.

This process goes on for days putting an episode on the board usually takes about a week. Then the

writers will call the studio and the network and pitch the episode to them, talking them through each

characters story. The studio and network will give their reactions, and then those reactions are

incorporated into the story. After this process, a writer or a team of writers will be assigned to write a

more “fleshed out “ outline of the episode. These usually run twelve to fifteen pages. More details are

added, like snippets of dialogue, etc. The outlines will go to the studio and network for further notes.

Once everyone feels solid about the outline, the same writer will then proceed to write the actual script

for the episode. Scripts usually run about fifty pages. Then the studio/network notes process happens

again.

At this point, the script is also sent to Vancouver, BC where the show is filmed. They have a large

production staff there with; producers, directors, costume designers, make-up artists, and set designers,

etc. They get the script and the production phase of the episode begins. Figuring out how to get

everything from the script translated onto film. There are many meetings are held to figure out every

aspect of filming. Which scenes require stunts? Which scenes require special effects? There is a

seperate department responsible for all these things, and every department must coordinate under the

direction of the producer and director of the specific episode.

Filming an episode takes seven days. Actors film twelve hours a day, usually covering roughly seven

pages of script daily. Filming is done out of order and is usually grouped by location. For example,

every scene at the Beauchamp house is filmed the same day or days. Then they will move to The Bent

Elbow set, the bar where Killian works, etc. The actual filming of the episodes are a long, arduous

process. It is slow paced and deliberate.

As each day's work is completed, the digital files are sent to the editors who begin assembling the

scenes into something that resembles what we see on television. This is the beginning of what is called

post production editing, sound recording, music, etc. The studio network tracks each episode every step

of the way and gives notes on each cut until the episode is complete. Once production begins, the

whole operation is like a conveyor belt: episodes are being written, shot and edited at the same time,

one after the other, with no breaks. For example, if the crew finishes filming episode seven on a

Thursday, they start right up filming episode eight on Friday. In this season of Witches of East End they

are doing thirteen episodes. They just completed filming episode one. The last episode, thirteen, will be

completed on August 29, 2014.

The actors have very little input about the scripts, but sometimes they will ask questions about scenes

or specific lines of dialogue. Emergent situations like an injury to an actor happen all the time.

Sometimes due to the weather, outdoor scenes have to be moved indoors because of rain. Last minute

changes for any number of reasons happen often. The writer will adjust the script to reflect the changes

and everyone has to be ready to adapt at a moment's notice. In an e-mail Mr. Richard Hatum says

everyone, he means hundreds of people including the cast and crew who work on Witches of East End.

It never fails to impress him how good everyone is at their jobs and how professional they are in

responding to the last minute changes.

Daniel diTomasso is the actor who plays Killian Gardiner on Witches of East End. He has been a part

of the show since its inception. His character has a “connection” with one of the female leads, Freya

who is played by Jenna Dewan Tatum. Daniel wrote me in great detail what being an actor on a

television series entails. Daniel agreed that it takes seven days to film an episode. His days however

vary a lot. Some days he is filming all day and into the night. Other days he may not be required to film

at all. He has very limited input in regards to the production of the show, but his creative concerns are

taken into consideration. Daniel stated that the cast is “pretty good about sticking to the script” which

makes the writers very happy. Sometimes something may be improvised and it works so it is kept. He

loves these “little moments that are spontaneous and genuine”.

Daniel admits that he fights to do “as many stunts as he can.” If the stunt is considered unsafe,

production can't risk an injury, so they find a stunt double. His favorite part of the being on “Witches of

East End” is “the cast and crew”. Daniel says, “I love the people I work with, and have a blast every

day I am on set.”. When asked about his favorite scene, Daniel admitted that he loved the boat scene

with Freya, particularly because of the way it was shot and the innocence that was captured between

two soul mates. He says that his character Killian “always follows his heart, and lives in the present-

two admirable qualities.”

In regards to dialogue some episodes are heavier than others. Daniel stated “I try to be present in

everything Killian does, whether he speaks or not.” He thinks a lot can be captured or communicated

without dialogue especially on camera. He actually enjoys those dialogue “light” scenes very much.

There is so much effort, time, and energy that goes into creating a television program. From

brainstorming ideas for the season, to breaking down episodes, not to mention all the hard work put in

by production staff and crew. The actors work long hours and manage to convey any mood in any

situation no matter how tired they are. It's not all glamor, limousines, and Hollywood like most people

think. Many people think that actors, writers, producers don't actually work for a living. After hearing

what goes into putting a series on television, however, I can attest to the fact that they are some of the

hardest working people around.

I am so incredibly thankful to Richard Hatum and Daniel diTomasso for their generosity in giving me

this information. After seeing what goes into their days and how ridiculously busy they can be I am

even more grateful that they took time for me, and answered all my questions so completely and

without hesitation. I am a fan of this show because of it's amazing cast, and the storylines make me feel

every single emotion, every single episode. It's not so much about the “witches” as it is about love,

honor, family, and community. My hope is that it continues to thrive and that Lifetime Network will

continue to renew the contract of this show. Maybe long enough so that one day I can be a part of it.

Whether I am an extra or an assistant I know that I will have to work hard, be adaptable, and love long

days. Ok, where do I sign up?

Works Cited

Hatum, Richard. E-mail answers. May 1, 2014

diTomasso, Daniel. Direct Twitter Message. April 29, 2014