Thursday, July 29, 2010

Work on Multiple Projects

Top producers, directors and writers always have more than one project in development. You should, too. If you're grinding away on your novel, take a break to write a short story, or a poem. Once you've sent your screenplay to a production company, don't sit around and wait for their response. Start another one.

You can go stir-crazy waiting for producers, agents, and publishers to get back to you. Remember, they have several projects they're considering besides yours. If you don't have a specific project you want to write, look for material -- stories in newspapers, magazines, and websites can spark your creative impulse. You probably have one idea you like best, but you also probably have several ideas that might work as content.

This is important for two reasons. 1. We never know, until the show is done and gets in front of an audience, whether or not a piece will work. Developing several ideas makes it more likely that you'll have one that works.

2. When you have a hit, then there will be a demand for other work. You want to have an idea developed to have an answer to the question all creators dream of: "That last show was great. What else have you got?"


Remember, if you have questions about these posts or topics you'd like discussed, e-mail me or comment on the post itself.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Why would anyone want to watch this?

I started writing this blog to encourage you and provide you with the tools to make your own content. The way you tell your story is unique; no two people will tell the same story the exact same way.

However, we must always remember the fact that we create our content to reach an audience. We hope our audience will be large and love our material enough to pay money to purchase it. Regardless of size, we should always keep the audience in mind. Remember that your audience wakes up every day with a myriad of entertainment opportunities -- television, video games, CDs, movies, books, sudoku puzzles, etc. Why should they take time to spend with your content?

You must be able to answer that question. If you're pitching a network or film company, that's the question they need answered even if they don't come right out and ask. You also need the answer to that question for your creative process. You don't need a profound answer -- it could be to thrill, to make them laugh, or to make them feel good about themselves. But you need to know. The answer to that question will inform all of your creative choices and help make your project unified. It's a lot easier to sell a project with a clear purpose.

While they're watching your piece your audience is also asking, "So What? Why Should I Care?" Give them a reason.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Commit Yourself to your Idea

I evaluated program proposals at Golf Channel for 15 years. Every year we would get one particular idea from at least 50 different people. The pitch went something like this: "I'm an 18 handicap (or 7, or 11, or 30). Give me a year of the best instruction, equipment, and time to practice golf. I have a great personality and interesting family, so I'll let you turn my quest into making the PGA (or LPGA) tour a reality show.

Everyone who send us that idea thought they were the first person to suggest it. I don't blame them for that; after all, we didn't have a show like that on the air.

There are two main reasons we passed on this idea every time. Can you guess what they were?

Okay -- time for the answers.

One: it was practically impossible to work. Certainly any golfer who took a year and did nothing but play golf, take lessons, and use the best equipment would improve their score. However, there already are hundreds of professional golfers around the world who play every day, have top equipment and great coaches -- and can't play well enough to make the PGA TOUR. Unless an amateur was already the U.S. amateur champion (and receiving top coaching, equipment, etc.)the series was almost sure to end as a disappointment.

Two: These people weren't really committed to the idea -- they just wanted Golf Channel to pay for their year of golf lessons. Most golf courses in America are already staffed with pros and assistant pros working for peanuts just so they can get additional practice time to take a shot at the professional tours. That's why they're called golf pros and don't play in the club tournaments. If the people who sent the idea to use were really committed heart and soul to a career in professional golf they would already be pursuing it, and not waiting for Golf Channel to make it easy for them.

We did create a show at Golf Channel featuring people who had the skills to play professional golf already but hadn't quite made it yet -- The Big Break. It remains the longest running original series on the network (other than news) and is still going strong. The stakes were high for all of the players, and that led to some great dramas unfolding.

If you want your idea to resonate with your audience, you must commit to it. You can't wait for someone else to give their approval -- you must be commmitted to making it happen. If your idea isn't worth sacrificing something on your part, then it's probably not going to reach a wider audience.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

It's not who you know, it's who knows you

Picture this scenario: You call Jeff Bewkes, the head of Time Warner, because you have a great movie idea you want to sell him. Does he take the call?

Now this scenario: Christoper Nolan, writer and director of The Dark Knight and the recently released Inception, calls Jeff Bewkes. Does Bewkes take this call?

Of course it's much more likely that Mr. Bewkes talks to Christopher Nolan than to you. Or me, for that matter. That's because Nolan's films have made hundreds of millions of dollars for Time Warner, and he's working on the next Batman sequel. Jeff Bewkes knows Christoper Nolan.

Every great artist was unknown once. What are you doing to increase the number of people who know you? Are you going to industry events? Are you joining groups on linkedin or facebook? Have you started a website or a blog? Have you finished your treatment and submitted it for consideration? Do you have an agent, or are you trying to get one? Of course it's great to write and direct a blockbuster movie. But there are many people who haven't done that who still have great careers in film, television and digital media.

It's much easier to get your work seen when people have heard of you. You should be doing something every day to make sure you're known in the industry you want to join. If you want more suggestions on how to do this, please read some of the previous blog posts, or ask me a question.

Remember, it's not who you know, it's who knows you.

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Networks still matter

Comcast announced in late June that they will launch a version of their VOD channel, Fearnet, as a linear, ad-supported cable network. Fearnet's VOD service is available in 28 million homes, and the linear, ad supported channel will expand its reach. Presumably, the ads and license fees will bring in more money, since the VOD service is available free to digital subscribers. This is a significant development. When Comcast launched Fearnet on Halloween 2006 they hailed the VOD-only channel as a new paradigm in cable service. The days of the linear network were numbered, since consumers wanted to consume their video on demand. Fearnet would be the first in a series of new VOD networks.

A funny thing happened on the way to this future. Linear cable networks continued to launch -- news channels, local sports channels, foreign language channels, HD versions of current channels. There are groups looking for funding for several more. Instead of fading away, networks with limited distribution continued to expand. Satellite services like Direct TV and DISH made more networks available to homes and cable systems competed by adding more channels and creating their own proprietary channels. The VOD interfaces that cable networks put in homes turned out to require several clicks to find specific shows. Most consumers didn't want to work that hard. It was so much easier just to see what was currently on your favorite channels than hunt for specific VOD programs.

Comcast further demonstrated the importance of networks and content last year when they bought NBC for its popular cable channels like USA, and the most old-fashioned dinosaur of them all-- a broadcast network. Although an increasing number of people time shift their viewing of shows, they still rely upon networks to schedule programs at specific times so they can record them.

What does this mean for your program idea? It means that cable networks in the U.S. and around the world will be a viable market for the foreseeable future. Selling a program to a cable channel remains a good way to make money and increase your program's visibility. That doesn't mean you have to wait for a network to buy your show before you create some video for your web site. It does mean that you should consider a network sale as a viable part of your business plan. And if you're dreaming of creating a new linear network don't give up hope. It looks like they will be around for awhile.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Working Habits

In order to create successfully, you need to work at it regularly.

You may still be working at your 'day job'. You have family obligations, errands to run, dates to go on, favorite television shows to watch. We all have many things we must do every day before we can work on our ideas.

But if you want to turn your idea or concept into content, and support yourself from that content, you have to work on your ideas regularly. Don't wait for inspiration to strike. Set aside a specific time every week -- every day if possible -- for you to work on your idea.

You may not make a great deal of progress at first, but don't worry. If you keep to your schedule, eventually the creative part of your brain will understand that's the time reserved for it to shine -- and it will.

Start reserving space in your day for creative time. The more time you spend, the sooner you will have a finished product.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Story Part 3: Writers Matter

Many years ago in New York I took and Introduction to Screenwriting Class at the New School. One day our instructor brought in a friend of hers who wrote for the one of the soap operas filming in New York. Although I can't remember his name, I'll never forget what he said. He told us, "Writers do get treated poorly by actors at times. But remember, actors are a dime a dozen. Writers are not a dime a dozen. Nothing happens until you turn in your screenplay."

There's an old joke in Hollywood about the starlet that was so dumb she slept with the screenwriter. But writers matter. Until the screenplay is written, there's nothing to shoot. If your screenplay is good, you have a chance. If it's not good, you have no chance no matter who is directing the movie and acting in it. To be clear, by 'good', I don't mean something that critics will love. I mean a screenplay that has a believable and compelling story that allows the movie to be made. If you can write a compelling screenplay, or television show, or novel, you will have a good
career in entertainment.

But, I hear you say, what about reality shows -- they aren't written. Reality shows may not have a writing staff, but they are not an exception to this rule. They're planned as meticulously as possible to make sure that the cameras are in the right spot to get the reactions they want from the participants. Much more footage is shot than is ever used, and narration is written after the fact. The drama and the comedy don't just happen; they are planned.

To make your program idea come to life, you need to learn to write a good script, or work with someone who can.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Conquering fear of pitching media companies

Some of my readers e-mailed that the thought of talking about them to executives they never met before terrifies them. That's very common. Many studies show that fear of speaking in public ranks just below the fear of death for people.

If you're in that category, I have a simple solution for you: Join Toastmasters International.

Toastmasters is a non-profit organization whose members meet regularly in local clubs to improve their public speaking skills. Toastmasters has over 250,000 members in more than 106 countries. The best way to find more information and a club near you is to go to their website: www.toastmasters.org

I'm a member I joined a club in Orlando ten years ago because my boss told me my presentations to the sales staff were boring, and I had to do something to improve them -- fast. Six months after joining I received much better response to my presentations. I have acheived the highest Toastmaster designation - Distinguished Toastmaster, and I even won a Florida District speaking contest. You could do the same, if you joined. I stayed in the program all these years because I enjoy practicing my speaking skills. It's fun, it's affordable, and very helpful no matter what business you're in.

Contact a club near you. Most clubs will allow you to visit as a guest until you decide to join. Remember it's not enough to develop an idea, you need to be able to communicate it clearly to your collaborators and your studio in order to bring it to life.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Authenticity

There's a famous quote about the importance of sincerity that's been attributed to everyone from Groucho Marx to Bill Clinton. It goes, "Sincerity is the most important thing. If you can fake that, you've got it made."

You may have read a similar quote with slightly different words. It resonates with people because we are surrounded every day by fakes pretending to authenticity: beer commercials featuring men with washboard abs and not beer bellies, infomercials that promise untold riches gained by doing no work, politicians who promise to fight for the common man while voting on the side of big business, etc. We are so starved for authenticity that we don't even notice that we are missing it -- until we see it in our lives, or on the internet.

Authenticity is the key to all successful viral videos. When people see a wedding party dancing for joy, or discover a neglected but talented singer, or see multiple versions of the same singer crooning Michael Jackson songs, they instinctively understand that they're seeing the authentic expression of someone's feelings. They e-mail the video or the link to their friends because it touched them. The people who made the videos didn't start out with the idea to make a viral video. They simply created something they believed in and made it available for people to find.

There are ways to increase the opportunities for people to find you online. But if they find you and you're not authentic viewers will dismiss your creation. How do you make your work authentic? Make sure you are working on a subject you're passionate about. If you don't care about your characters or their situation, the audience won't either. If you care --- if you infuse your work with the power of your passion -- you at least give yourself a chance.