What is "Standard MOW Format?"

fedorable1 said:

I've read on some websites for TV Script contests or publishing company that to accept a TV Movie or Miniseries the scripts must be in "standard M.O.W. format." Obviously MOW is Movie-of-the-Week but what's the format exactly?

Click to expand...

Basically:








7-ACT FEATURE FORMAT

7 Acts, 48 scenes as follows:

Act 1 = 20 minutes long with 12 scenes to cliffhanger with:
Scene 1. Get to know of become interested in protagonist
Scene 2. Inciting incident
Scene 3. Progressive complications start here
Scenes 4 - 11
Scene 12. Cliffhanger

Acts 2 and 3 = both 12 minutes long with six scenes, the last scene in each act ending with a cliffhanger; a big cliffhanger at the end of Act 3.

STATION BREAK

Acts 4, 5, 6 = each 12 minutes long with six scenes, each with progressive, escalating complications and a crisis; Act 6 also: Scene 41 = crisis; Scene 42 = decision and crisis cliffhanger.

Act 7 = 12 minutes long with six scenes with progressive, escalating complications and crisis; story reaches climax; Scene 48 = resolution

fedorable1 said:

So this applies to each part of a miniseries? I was under the impression that a TV miniseries lasts about an hour per episode - but this would make it 2 (with commercials).

Am I mistaken?

Click to expand...

This is just for your standard 90 minute MOW.

I've only written two TV miniseries, both based on books.

Are you actually going to write a TV miniseries? For specs, I've only ever seen flagship episode specs with the remaining episodes in treatment form.

fedorable1 said:

Yes, I am. There is someone who asked about the project, and I want to make sure I have it in the right format before I submit it. Also, should this person decline, I want to make sure the scripts are acceptable to others.

Right now I have 4 of the 10 episodes written, each about an hour (50-55 pages) long with station break indicators. Most of the miniseries' I've seen were hour-long programs.

Would you suggest I just make a treatment for episodes 5-10 for now?

Click to expand...

Interesting question... I've worked/written two miniseries, as I mentioned, but both were 4 episides long in the 120 minute format... though they were both called "miniseries", they were, in my opinion, limited series. There were through lines but the episodes were stand-alones so they could play as MOW's on their own.

You sound like you're writing a single story told episodically -- is that right?

What you need the most is a REALLY strong first episode where the main characters are introduced, protagonist and antagonist both, and you set up the problem, the mission, the stakes and hint at the complications to come. I, personally, would write episode two as well, which you have done.

After that, having paragraph-size synopses of the rest of the episodes so that the buyers can see the arc, the crisis, the climax and the resolution... and, of course, possible future ways to stretch the material into another season or two.

But don't write too much spec stuff -- invariably the buyer will want to change things, add things, or whatever, and you want to be able to do that with minimum fuss... and you want them to pay you to write more. You WILL NOT be admired for writing an entire series on your own initiative by most folks -- that's a red flag... they'll be wondering why it didn't sell before now or if you have too much emotionally invested in the material so that you won't be open to changes.

That's my advice for what it's worth...