In my attempt to skip over the long story about my days as a television executive I have provided a link to my bio, below.
Regarding content development...suffice it to say that I have artfully disguised profound ennui through decades of pitch meetings. Throughout one looooooong stint at E! as head of programming and two happy tours-of-duty at HBO, I faced the daily parade of ideas that is so common in the entertainment business.
Pitch meetings can reach the height of optimism and the depths of sameness inside the conference room. With rare exception there are few new ideas. Luckily, there are some clever takes on the old ones and sometimes a really fresh stab at the obvious.
As development executives...we live for this.
While I was at E! we heard so many pitches of the same concept over and over and over again that, in time I created a checklist. To aid those pitching we would provide this list, ask a producer to go over it, make as many adjustments to the show as possible to rack up points.
If your pitch could boast any of the ideas listed below, you would get a point. The more points a show had...the more anxious we were to see the pitch.
When I started HBOlab, we added a few more points to the list to cover web development.
As you will see, some of the points are mutually exclusive. (It is difficult to have a project be truly cost efficient and have famous talent). But the more points you can compile and defend, the more interested I became.
The goal here is simple. Create a piece of content that has a chance of attracting and building an audience over a period of time. The longer the time, the better.
A show that had more points had more chance it would likely have to become a hit. Simple.
Here they are... the original Development Ideals by Fran Shea. Test your skill.
Audience - Does this show serve a broad audience? Who is the audience? Is it for lovers of ballet (small) or sports enthusiasts (enormous)? If the answer to this question points to a niche audience you will have to make up for that by getting checks in many other areas below. If you can point to a HUGE potential audience you've racked up your first CHECK!
Story - Is this show story driven? Does it tell a story? Does the project have a discernable arc (beginning, middle and end?). Don't be fooled by nonfiction. EVERY project deserves to be put in story form. Stories sell. (Numa Numa is the story of an unattractive kid with personality who dances while sitting down in his room to a song that is as infectious as his spirit.)
Personality - Will the project be driven by a personality that has obvious talent which can be developed? Can ownership of this talent cover a period of time that is worthwhile to the development energy that will be spent? Is the talent known? Is the talent available to the project on a long term basis?
Evergreen - Will this project will be relevant now and in the future? Can the show run in 2 years, 5 years, 10 years? (Think, History of WWll)
Ownership - Can we own it? What percentage of it can we own? Who owns the rest of it?
Volume - How many can we realistically make/buy given the cost? (More is always better. If it s a simple concept then we can make a lot of them which is a good thing.)
Cost - Is it cheap to produce? Two points for this one!
Series - Can the show work as a series with characters, plot, story and/or concept connecting with audience from one show to the next? What is the hook that draws the viewer back? This point is the one that is mostly overlooked on the web. Most videos are not uploaded with a series in mind. But if people like one of something it stands to reason they will like more than one. This leads to ...
Hook - Is there a promotable hook? Other than talent what does this piece have to recommend it...great music, characters that stand-out, the producers have connected friends, it can attract press ??
Short-form to Long-form - If the concept begins as a short-form piece can it grow to a 30:00 show? Can the concept hold and audience for a half hour?
Multi-format - Is the concept thought through for tv/web/mobile platforms?
Web Depth - Does the content compel the viewer to seek more related content elsewhere(messageboards/chatrooms/websites)? Will it encourage more time spent on a website with related material?
Merchandising - Are there merchandising opportunities? T-Shirts, coffee mugs, dvd sales...?
So that is it. If having people see your work, engaging an audience, is your goal I encourage you to consider all of the points above before pitching a show or uploading a video.
In my next post I will go over some of the shows that made it and why.
Thanks for your interest and attention. Happy pitching and uploading!
Fran
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