Who Is Keith

Hi there. My name is Keith. I’m going to quickly tell you a bit about myself and then tell you about this site.

I currently have two TV shows optioned in Canada and the US. I am represented by CAA in Los Angeles, and in addition to the options I am working with Production Companies in Vancouver, Los Angeles and New York developing other shows.

It took me a long time to get here and one of the things I found as I struggled to find this place is there wasn’t much help teaching how to avoid the pitfalls of creating a show.

Yes I know, there are lots of websites and books and audio materials you can get to teach you about pitching, but I couldn’t find much help on the previous steps: taking a raw idea and getting it to the point where it was ready to pitch.

So you have a great idea. So now what? Do you try to set up a meeting with a Broadcaster? Do you do a budget? Do you talk to some actors you know to see if they want to be in it when it gets picked up? Do you buy a camera at Best Buy and start shooting?

There are tons of questions. So I started writing down some of the answers I had found along this path. And the path was long. From the time I started with a raw idea for my first show it was over four years until I took it out and got it optioned.

The first two years I did the easy work like free writing and brainstorming. I talked to friends about it and read some books and took some time to daydream about what it would be like if I could actually turn this cool idea I had into a show.

I had some artwork done to make a cool logo but I didn’t really get into the meat of it you know? The writing that makes you want to pull your hair out – and that is because I wasn’t committed – and that’s okay. You’ve gotta walk before you can run right?

Now another thing you should know about me is I have no formal training as a writer. It is something I’ve done on and off as a hobby since I was about ten but I make my living as a 1^st Assistant Director and Unit Production Manager making TV commercials, Music Videos and documentaries in Vancouver, BC.

So I’m just a regular guy who had an idea and found his way through the quagmire into a good place in the television world.

If this sounds like you, read on. I’ll be sharing some stories of success and failures, do’s and don’ts, and share with you what I’ve learned on the path from “guy with an idea” to “guy repped by the biggest agency in the world with two optioned TV shows.”

This site is intended to help you through the maze of development. We’ll talk about what order to do things in, how to get help from people in the business, business tips regarding negotiations, the legal side of things, how to build your pitch materials, and a lot, lot more. And when we’ve finally got you there, we’ll talk about who you should take your show to.

If you have any questions you don’t see covered here email me info@iwanttomakeatvshow.com and I’ll try to answer them through blogs or podcasts. I’ll be posting new blogs every week and new podcasts and videos every other week so let’s see if we can get some cool new shows made shall we?

Oh and by the way the answer to the four questions in paragraph five are “No”, “No”, “No” and “No”.

Talk soon.