We (my Freaky Stories partner, John Delmage and I) are pitching shows this afternoon. Unlike most producers, we don't pitch often. We only pitch show concepts that we really believe in -- ideas that would make for really good television programming. There are a lot of people who pitch whatever and whenever they can, but we strive for quality.
We're using a different strategy this time - rather than coming in with a specific project, we've assembled a spectrum of properties. Some are old, some new. Some have been pitched before (but the time may be right) and some have, for one reason or another, never seen the light of day. There are 5 shows in our bag today.
Our strategy is to meet with the Broadcast Executive and see what kind of show they're looking for. Girls? We have one - with a strong reason that this might be very strong for them. Boys - action 8 to 12? Got one of those. Again, very strong - with reasons this might be good for them.
A show for fans 17+? Got one of those, too. And DAMN - it's good. Real good.
How will we do? I have no clue. All of our pitches are strong - but there's no telling what they're looking for - what they have - or what they've just committed to. There are 1000 different things going on behind the scenes, of which we have no inkling. All we can do is try our best.
Wish us luck! I'll update this later....
UPDATE:
In case anyone is wondering - we didn't pitch anything. It was an informal meet and greet. We discussed the broadcaster's needs; where they were going in terms of direction. We discussed what had and hadn't been working for them in the past couple of years and why? Frankly, I was surprised - several shows that have been widely touted as "hits' have actually been performing poorly and are to be seen no more.
We paid close attention to what they're looking for and will be fine-tuning our material to suit their needs over the next few weeks.
One of our pet projects just isn't right for this broadcaster. Following the meeting we strategized where and to whom we could pitch this project. A very interesting opportunity has presented itself and we'll see where it takes us.
All in all, it was a very interesting and informative meeting. We were on the right track with most of our material, but the information we gleaned from this conversation will make our pitches stronger.
I didn't know execs held meetings where they tell you what they want. Usually they tell you to watch their station or go to some website to find out what they're looking for.
ReplyDeleteNow what if you go back with fined tuned ideas, will they're tastes inevitably change?
Actually it does happen - and I'd expect fairly often once you know the players. I may or may not be at that level, but that's the advantage of partnering with an experienced producer. It opens a lot of doors for you.
ReplyDelete