“That jerk just used half my pitch time!!” If you’ve been through the pitching cycle at festivals you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. If you haven’t yet, this is bound to happen to you. And if you’re not ready
Pitching At Festivals
Carry Bolt Cutters Everywhere
Here are 24 maxims from German director Werner Herzog. Some apply to film, some apply to life, and all of them are worth reading. -Keith – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Redundancy Department
Department of Redundancy Department Excuse me if I’m repeating myself. With NATPE, Realscreen, and other festivals coming up I have been going flat out helping people with their Pitch Packages and the consistent problem I see is redundancy in the
Don’t Be Late
One of the many things I love about TV Show Production is how everyone is on time. It doesn’t matter about weather, traffic, or mechanical issues; the crew somehow manages to get to set on time, every time. So what
Only Pitch Fully Developed Ideas
I have my #1 rule for pitching TV shows. “Only pitch fully developed ideas”. Pretty simple, right? I swear by this rule. Always have. But in a pitch meeting a few weeks ago the Exec didn’t like any of the
3 Ways Reality TV Deals Are Made – And Why You Need To Know Them
For people who do not work in this particular area of the entertainment industry it can be quite a mystery on how reality TV deals are made and structured. It has only gotten harder to understand recently as there have
Create A Reality TV Show
So you’ve got an idea for a Reality TV Show? Broadcasters and Production Companies are always looking for new ideas and fresh takes on old ideas, so putting some work into your idea and trying to sell it isn’t as
Pitch Meeting Structure
So you just booked your first pitch meeting for your show. You did your homework and found the correct Executive to pitch to, you did a good enough job selling yourself and your idea to get a meeting, and you
How To Write Your Logline
The Logline is the single most important tool in your sales arsenal. The Logline starts everything: your Elevator Pitch, Meeting Pitch, One Sheet, and is the succinct and catchy answer to the question, “So what’s your show about?” When you
Pitch Material Overload
If you’re sending Television Executives everything you’ve written about your show, you’re not sending pitch materials, you’re sending a reason for them not to pay attention to your messages in the future. I’ve written about this before, but let’s revisit…
How to Get TV Show Executives to Listen to A Pitch
A Member emailed me this problem: he knows the network his show is right for, he knows his demographic, and he knows who the TV show Executives are that he needs to pitch to. The question he asks, is, “How
It’ll Write Itself
I was reading a thread the other day that was offering advice on how to write and pitch a documentary. Some of the advice given was, “if you’re really passionate about it, it’ll write itself”. I’m curious about which writing