Video 5: World Building

Now it’s time to focus on building the world of your story! We often see pitches that have worked out hugely complex worlds and backstories at the expense of an emotional character story, so make sure you don’t lose the core of your characters when creating the world they live in. 

It’s important to create a believable and specific world (ideally one that we haven’t seen hundreds of times before). Here are the main questions to ask yourself:  

• What are the specifics of this world? What are the politics, the power structures, the hierarchies, the flaws and boundaries? 

• What is the atmosphere like? What are the smells and textures and vibe of this world? 

• What are some key locations of your series? 

The more you know about the world you’re welcoming an audience into, the more they’ll want to invest and join you there. Some examples of shows with interesting and specific worlds are “Unorthodox” and “The Queen’s Gambit”.  These are worlds that most audiences have never been to before, and take the audience on a unique and specific journey.