What is Episodic TV Video Production?

Episodic TV video production represents the creation and planning, script writing, storyboarding, casting, crew and talent coordination, filming, and post-production editing of video content that is episodic in nature meaning each episode is individual and that a viewer can watch any episode, in order or out of order, and still understand the story fully.

Episodic television and storytelling is gaining popularity over the past decade with more and more people turning to these types of shows both on-demand and on cable television.

Episodic TV represents a series of television shows that are loosely related but which do not take on a story within the story characteristic in which each episode builds upon the next such as a series does.

In fact, an episodic television show represents a self-contained story that begins, and ends, within the designated time limit that is pre-defined for the video.

The Challenge 

Episodic video production includes the creative briefing, planning, script writing, storyboarding, casting, crew coordination, filming and post-production editing of content that is self-contained within the story.

Episode storytelling is challenging in many ways because it creates struggles in the development of characters and consequences within the story. While each episode is stand-alone and should essentially reset at the end, back to the beginning, episodic TV production isn’t quite that simple.

Storylines do progress, characters do change gradually within the story over time, and there are times where a certain level of continuity must be developed such as in the introduction of new characters or when an old character leaves the show.

Episodic TV Video Production Process

Episodic TV video production generally includes the following:

• Planning and creation of characters, storyline, and plot.
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• Individual script writing for each episode.
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• Storyboarding to include camera movements, angles, and props.
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• Location planning and setup.
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• Equipment procurement.
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• Casting and crew.
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• Filming of a-roll and b-roll.
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• Post-production editing, sound design, special effects, and graphics.

Producing an episodic television show requires the most focus on the script writing and general continuity in the production to ensure that the multi-threaded series makes sense from episode to episode whether the viewer is able to watch the prior episode or not.

Is Episodic TV Video Production the Right Choice?

Many episodic TV programs have evolved over the past several years as consumers are more and more interested in watching just a few shows at a time (or even just one episode) and don’t care necessarily for the long, drawn out storyline.

However, some series choose to walk that middle line, bordering both episodic and serial, representing a story within a story in many ways.

How?

Some series will include a new story or feature in each episode, making it very much episodic in nature, but they also have a plan for progression over time.

For example, you may have watched a mystery series in which a new mystery is solved in each episode, but the goal is to solve an overall mystery that will come to a close at the end of the entire series.

Thus, you can watch each show individually, and it will make sense to an extent, but there’s also a bigger picture story that is taking place which would require viewing the entire series in order to solve the full problem.

Consider the Big Picture

Deciding whether episodic TV video production is the right choice for your idea is really dependent upon the story you wish to tell, your desired audience, and various other elements.

If you’ve got a long-term vision, and wish to show a character develop over time, you may want to opt for a series rather than an episodic film. Likewise, if you don’t intend to develop the character over time, episodic videos can be incredibly effective.