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A bible, also known as a show bible or pitch bible, is a reference document used by
How to Write a TV Bible
Continuity (fiction) Reference works Television terminology {{tv-stub
A bible, also known as a show bible or pitch bible, is a reference document used by screenwriter
A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based.
...
s for information on characters, settings, and other elements of a television or film project.
Types
Bibles are updated with information on the characters after the information has been established on screen. For example, the ''Frasier
''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...
'' show bible was "scrupulously maintained", and anything established on air — "the name of Frasier's mother, Niles' favorite professor, Martin's favorite bar...even a list of Maris' ozens offood allergies" — was reflected in the bible. The updated bible then serves as a resource for writers to keep everything within the series consistent.
Other bibles are used as sales documents to help a television network
A television network or television broadcaster is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, where a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay television providers. Until the mid ...
or studio
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
understand a series, and are sometimes given to new writers when they join the writing staff for the same reason. These types of bibles discuss the backstories of the main characters and the history of the series' fictional universe.
Television series often rely on writers' assistants and script coordinators to serve as "walking bibles" in remembering details about a series.
Writers Guild of America
In the United States, writing the bible of a produced series earns that writer the 24 units of required credit necessary to qualify for membership in theWriters Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is the joint efforts of two different US labor unions representing TV and film writers:
* The Writers Guild of America, East (WGAE), headquartered in New York City and affiliated with the AFL–CIO
* The Writers Gu ...
.
See also
*Canon (fiction)
In fiction, canon is the material accepted as officially part of the story in an individual universe of that story by its fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction. The alternative terms mythology, tim ...
References
External links
How to Write a TV Bible
Continuity (fiction) Reference works Television terminology {{tv-stub