Storytelling in series

"Okay, now try to describe the entire content in a single log line." John Yorke doesn't let up. The Script Writer is not yet satisfied with his counterpart's logline. Too complex, too intricate. Yorke opens the dialogue and asks the group: "Why would you watch the series, what makes the story interesting for you?" Now the workshop group passes the ball to each other and they gradually get closer to the core of the series. John Yorke is one of the two Script Doctors who worked with 20 producer-writer teams on their series material at the Series Lab Hamburg 2017. A total of eight Hamburg production companies and twelve from other European countries travelled to Hamburg's HafenCity for the Lab together with their authors. In addition to German production companies such as Tamtam, Red Balloon and The StoryBay, Monster Scripted (Norway), Filmlance (Sweden) and Zodiak Belgium also travelled from abroad. The content and formats of the series are as diverse as the countries their Executive Producers come from. The material presented over two days in October ranged from a coming-of-age drama set in a competitive sports school to historical medieval films and a German politician found dead in a Danish sauna. The Series Lab was organised for the second time by Creative Europe Desk Hamburg, Letterbox Filmproduktion and the FFHSH.

Two internationally experienced Script Writers, John Yorke and Nikolaj Scherfig, were on hand to give participants valuable tips in small workshops. In 2016, Yorke was recognised forWolf Hall took home the Golden Globe for best miniseries. Nikolaj Scherfig's seriesThe Bridge internationally. Yorke and Scherfig are therefore exactly the right coaches when it comes to making a good script or an interesting concept that little bit better. After the first day started with a morning pitch in which all 20 Script Writers briefly presented their project to the group, the programme continued with small workshops. "The basics of storytelling haven't really changed for centuries - what has changed is the way it's consumed," Yorke reveals. "A long time ago it was about theatre in five acts, then at some point it became theatre in three acts, then printed books, cinema, radio and television came along. But a story is a story is a story." And so it is hardly surprising that special attention was paid to the plot, character constellations and the central motifs of the projects. One of the Script Doctors dedicated around two hours to each series. Not enough time to make far-reaching changes, but enough time to tweak a few things: "In two of the projects, for example, I quickly realised that the episodes were too short. This is a classic dilemma, especially for young authors. They usually don't have much experience with TV series. Here you need a lot more scenes, more twists and turns in the plot, there simply has to be more happening," says Scherfig. If you've only made cinema films before, you have to get used to it.

Over the course of the two days, the two script doctors worked their way through the European series landscape piece by piece in different workshop rooms. The format was very well received by the participants: "The Series Lab offered an inspiring, in-depth analysis of our project, combined with focused one-on-one meetings," says Dutch Executive Producer Idse Grotenhuis from Topkapi Films. "It was great to get new perspectives on the development of our story."

Script Writer Lennard Eberlein was the youngest participant in the Series Lab at the age of 23 and travelled there together with his Executive Producer Andrea Schütte from Tamtam Film. As his series is set in Denmark, the tips from Nikolaj Scherfig were valuable in two respects: there were tips on dramaturgy as well as on the local particularities in Denmark. "Regardless of the direct feedback on our project, it is particularly exciting for me to be able to exchange ideas so directly with the industry - other Script Writers, Executive Producers and Editors - and to get very precise information about their ideas and strategies. You can now focus even better and know where you need to continue working in a targeted manner," says Eberlein.

And what tips would the Danish Script Writer Scherfig give young writers in general? "Always write about something you know about or have experienced yourself. And if you're young, write about yourself, your friends and the things that are happening around you. Don't try to copy what others have already done," says Scherfig. According to John Yorke, you should also watch a lot of series yourself: "You need to know what series are out there to see what works and what doesn't. For example, I used to watch the series Eldorado, which really isn't very good. There were three episodes every week for a year - and I watched them all. That way I knew quite quickly what wasn't working. Sometimes you learn more from bad shows than good ones and don't repeat the mistakes that someone else has already made." Good advice from someone who should know.

However, it is of course also worth looking at the major US productions to see which formats are successful. But which series have particularly impressed the two script doctors in recent years? "There's a great series in England calledHappy Valleywhich is about a policewoman in a small town. However, my favourite series from the last few years isThe Americanswhich is set during the Cold War and centres on two Soviet spies who are also a married couple. Really well written," says Yorke. And what about the extremely successfulGame of Thrones out? "Oh, I love Game of Thrones. I think the series has changed a lot of things. Nobody has made TV series at this level before. The budget is huge and it's getting bigger and bigger. It's so entertaining and popular that a lot of people forget that it's also just an extremely well-written series with great actors and actresses," says the Brit. For Scherfig, some of the strongest series of recent years areMad Men,House of Cards,Mr Robot andBreaking Bad. But the German three-parterOur mothers, our fathers impressed him.

But even the best series with the strongest storytelling is of little use if there is no money to produce it. And so a speed dating event was organised as part of the Series Lab, in which 22 potential financiers from broadcasters, global distributors and film funds took part. These included Sky Deutschland and ZDF Enterprises, whose commitment to series is particularly strong, as the recent productions Babylon Berlin and Maltese have shown. A meeting that is probably unique in this context in Europe.

In addition, Norddeutscher Rundfunk awarded a cash prize for the best European series concept. The Albatross Prize, endowed with 7,500 euros, was awarded at the Series Lab by the international jury consisting of Maria Furtwängler (NDR Tatort Commissioner), Nikolaj Scherfig and Christian Granderath (NDR) and went to the Belgian-German series GR5 by Executive Producer Serge Bierset (Zodiak Belgium) and Hamburg co-producer Dorothe Beinemeier (Red Balloon Film). "We have already received so much positive feedback at this stage, which encourages us to get this European project off the ground together," says Dorothe Beinemeier. "This award is a wonderful confirmation of our endeavour." Even if series "made in Europe" are currently still lagging somewhat behind the rest of the world, we are in for a few series highlights in the next few years that need not shy away from international comparison and may motivate other filmmakers to follow suit. There was already a lot of potential to be seen at the Series Lab 2017 - now it's time to capitalise on it.