In this episode of the TV Matters Podcast, I’m joined by Jamie Tenenbaum, a creative development executive and producer with more than fifteen years of experience developing projects for studios including NBCUniversal, Amazon, and Sony Pictures Television. This year, Jamie also joined me as a judge for the STN Film Excellence Competition, where we spent several weeks reviewing high school student films in the drama and comedy categories.
Watching dozens of student films back-to-back is revealing. Some submissions were rough and incomplete, while others featured ambitious locations, choreographed action scenes, and impressive production value.
Across the competition, one pattern quickly emerged. Many students had strong ideas, humor, and imagination, yet the films often struggled to showcase the underlying story. As Jamie observed while judging, “there’s so much imagination and humor and intelligence in these students—but when the project doesn’t have a story, those qualities don’t really come through.”
EP208 Jamie Tenenbaum, Creative Development Executive and Contest Judge – TV Matters
From English Major to Development Executive
Jamie’s career in television development began with a love of written storytelling. She studied English with a focus on American literature, but deep down always knew she wanted to work in a creative field connected to television.
After moving to Los Angeles, she applied for an assistant role at Pilgrim Studios. During the interview, the development executive asked a simple question: What reality shows do you watch?
Jamie responded by listing nearly every show across networks like Bravo and MTV. That enthusiasm—and familiarity with the medium—helped land her first job in the biz.
At Pilgrim she moved into creative development, the part of the industry responsible for generating and shaping new television projects. Development teams identify promising ideas, refine concepts, collaborate with writers, and build pitches that can be presented to studios or networks. Sometimes that work involves identifying a story within a much larger piece of material.
Jamie shared an example from her career involving a nonfiction book about the origins of ISIS. While reading the book, she found a short passage about a Native American Marine who helped build trust with Iraqi villagers during the Anbar Awakening. That moment became the emotional center of a television pitch developed with an Academy Award–nominated writer and eventually set up at Amazon Studios.
Although the project ultimately didn’t move forward, the experience illustrates how development works: identifying the narrative within a larger story and shaping it into something audiences can follow.
Judging the STN Film Excellence Competition
Jamie’s development background shaped how she approached judging student films. In past years, Jamie and Misha would watch only the top five films together to determine the winning order. However, this year she watched and judged all the films.
Seeing the entire pool of submissions revealed just how wide the range of filmmaking skills can be across high school programs. Some films were technically rough, while others demonstrated careful planning and impressive execution that took months of preparation.
But the biggest difference between films wasn’t equipment or production value – it was the story.
Many submissions included interesting visuals, clever moments, or strong performances. What they often lacked was a clear narrative structure connecting those moments together.
What Makes a Film a Story
For Jamie, the key question when evaluating a film is simple: what makes this a story rather than just a sequence of events? This is a question we teach students daily at EditMentor within our filmmaking curriculum.
At the most basic level, stories follow recognizable milestones—a beginning, a middle, and an end. More importantly, stories rely on causality, where one action leads to another.
In a narrative film story, a character’s life changes because of an inciting incident. The character pursues a goal, encounters obstacles, and eventually reaches some form of resolution.
Without that progression, films can feel like disconnected scenes or a schtick rather than a cohesive narrative.
Jamie also emphasized something unique about filmmaking as a medium. Film can communicate meaning visually in ways other mediums like theater cannot. The camera allows you to create close-ups, reaction shots, or carefully frame an image to reveal emotion without dialogue.
Because of that, filmmaking rewards showing rather than telling. Characters reveal themselves through actions and decisions rather than speeches explaining who they are.
Narrative Economy in Short Films
One recurring issue in student submissions was pacing.
Many five-minute films included scenes that didn’t advance the story—extended shots of characters waking up, making breakfast, or walking through hallways. This reflects a lack of narrative economy.
Every moment in a short film has to earn its place. If a scene doesn’t move the story forward, reveal something about the character, or create tension, it likely doesn’t belong in the film.
Understanding story structure earlier in the process helps students make these decisions before production begins.
Practical Ways to Develop a Story
Jamie discussed several simple approaches teachers can use to help students strengthen story structure.
One is outlining the story before writing a full script. When a film exists as a sequence of story beats, it’s much easier to adjust structure and pacing.
Jamie also mentioned the Kenn Adams Story Spine, a classic storytelling exercise used in improv and screenwriting. Exercises like this help students understand narrative progression before they begin shooting.
Effort Shows on Screen
While story is the most important factor in judging, smaller creative decisions also influence how a film is perceived.
Locations, costumes, and props all contribute to whether a film’s world feels believable.
Jamie pointed to one student film set entirely inside a supermarket. The filmmakers built the story around that location, using the aisles and back rooms as part of the narrative.
On the other hand, mismatched details can pull viewers out of a story. In one project about siblings growing up in a difficult neighborhood, the emotional final scene was undermined when a character drove away in a brand-new luxury SUV that didn’t match the story’s premise. As Jamie joked, that moment immediately “took you out of the story.”Production choices like that can affect the credibility of a film’s world.
Comedy Still Needs Structure
Another pattern appeared in the comedy category. Some students approached comedy as a series of jokes or funny situations without developing a story around them.
But comedy still relies on narrative structure. Characters need goals, obstacles need to escalate, and the audience needs to understand what the character wants and what stands in the way. The strongest comedic submissions layered humor on top of a clear narrative arc.
The Difference Between Good and Great
After reviewing dozens of films, Jamie estimated that only about 10 to 15 percent of submissions demonstrated a fully realized narrative structure.
Not surprisingly, those films tended to rise to the top of the competition.
But once judges narrow the field to the top few films, the differences become more subtle. At that level, decisions often come down to emotional impact, originality, and execution.
Sometimes the technically polished film wins. Other times a simpler project stands out because it connects more strongly with the audience.
Ultimately, the films that rise to the top are the ones that successfully make viewers feel something.
The Future of Student Filmmaking
Jamie remains optimistic about the next generation of filmmakers. As she pointed out during the conversation, young creators are the only ones who truly know what it feels like to grow up in their cultural moment—and that perspective is invaluable to storytelling.
Students today have unprecedented access to cameras, editing software, and distribution platforms. The barrier to entry for filmmaking has never been lower.
At the same time, many young creators consume large amounts of short-form content through platforms like TikTok and YouTube, which may influence how they think about storytelling.
For educators, that makes teaching narrative structure even more important. Watching and analyzing complete films—not just short clips—helps students develop a deeper understanding of how stories work.
That imagination and authenticity, Jamie believes, is something educators should continue to encourage and develop.
Listen to the full episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to hear Jamie Tenenbaum’s perspective on development, judging student films, and what strong storytelling looks like in high school filmmaking.
