Shot an indie pilot. What’s next?
Back in 2005, you were generous enough to offer me some thoughts about whether to go to NYU or USC’s screenwriting program. Now, a few years down the line, I am a freshly minted Tisch graduate hoping for some advice on a different topic.
I recently won a modest grant to shoot a half-hour pilot that I co-wrote with a fellow NYU alumna. We assembled a cast of young actors, brought in a skeleton crew, and shot the pilot over six long, exhilarating days this January.
Now, as we wait for the final cut of our show to return from the sound mixer, we are working out a way to get our episode into the right hands -– and we aren’t exactly sure whose hands those should be. Independent financiers? The networks and their web initiatives? Talent agencies? Given how new the idea of independently produced episodic work is, there seem to be very few resources for how to go about seeking distribution for a project such as ours.
I know you recently worked on your own privately financed web pilot, and thought you might have some particular insight into how two young writers can best proceed with an independently produced pilot.
Any guidance you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
– Isaac Aptaker
Congrats on your degree and your pilot. I’m glad you realize you’re not “done” in any meaningful way. You’re about to start a sprint that will hopefully become a marathon lasting your entire career.
You and I are in pretty much in the same boat. We’ve both just finished a scrappy little pilot that could become a series, ideally one that works a little more like independent film than standard television.
This concept of “indie TV” is almost at a point where we can stop putting it in quotes. Give it a year or two. In the meantime, we’re going to be forging some new ground. We both need to find two things: money to make the show, and a way to distribute it. The latter is easy; the former is more challenging.
Big media conglomerates dominate traditional television, both broadcast and cable. There are plenty of other outlets for people to see your show, from basic (YouTube) to more complex (specialized web, cable and satellite networks). The common theme is that none of them are going to be able to pay you the upfront money you need to make the show the way a typical TV network would.
Obviously, our situations are a little different — I have more credits and contacts. But it’s the premise and execution of the pilot that matters most, so a year from now, you may be the one with an actual series.
Let me talk you through what we’re doing, and how it might apply to your show.
1. Don’t dismiss standard TV altogether.
We made the pilot for a web series, but if a network (likely cable) loved it and presented a compelling case for doing it with them, we’d certainly consider it. For all the freedom a web series gives you (flexible running times, interactivity, simplified production), there’s no competing with the money and marketing muscle of a network. For example, South Park started as a Christmas card video, which spread virally in pre-internet Hollywood by videotape. Done today, South Park could easily be a web show. But would it be nearly the same phenomenon (and cash cow) if it didn’t have Viacom behind it? Probably not.a1a
Particularly if your pilot resembles a traditional TV show, you should get it in the hands of people who work in traditional television. Use anyone you can at Tisch to reach out to television agents, managers and executives. Yes, you’re hoping they love you and want to represent you as a writer/director/whatever for your future career. But the immediate focus is whether this pilot could be a show.
2. Think about how you’ll make money, and how others will, too.
You can do a pilot for very little money because it’s a short time commitment for everyone. For my pilot, I brought in longtime accomplices and newcomers eager to make a relationship. But all the things you can skimp on for a three-day shoot become necessities when scaled up to a series, so you can’t expect a crew to work for praise and Quizno’s.
You’re going to need money. And whoever gives you this money needs to have a reason to believe it’s worth it.
For our show, we’re going to be targeting several big advertisers, trying to find one who will sign on as the exclusive presenter. Like the BMW films, our premise lends itself to very direct product integration. The money to make our show would be a trivial portion of a brand’s ad budget.a2a
For a web series, advertising can also be handled by a distributor or accumulator, some of whom give content creators a cut. That’s been the way many web shows have been handled so far. Chaotic? Absolutely. And I have no idea what the best practices are, or whether you can realistically expect to make money from it.
If you think you’re headed towards traditional television, your best bet is to target production companies with shows on the air that resemble what you’re doing. They’re most likely to have the contacts and experience to find the money needed. They’ll take a big percentage, but they’ll earn it.
3. Make a lot of screeners. Distribute them.
You don’t know who is going to be the crucial connection in getting your pilot to series, so there’s no benefit to keeping it a secret. If someone expresses any interest in you or the show, get them a DVD as soon as possible. Make it look professional, and follow up. Encourage people to pass it along.
I’m torn whether to recommend putting it online at the start. While it’s convenient to send a link to something, it makes it feel less exclusive. Even in 2008, there’s a sense that if something is already on the internet, it’s no longer valuable. So at least in the first wave, I’d try to keep it on physical media.
We’re at roughly the same stage of production: we finished the sound yesterday, and do final color correction this week. For me, it’s been great to explore what’s possible at budgets well below The Nines, relying on desktop software rather than specialized suites, and trying to remain agnostic about brands and workflows. If we end up doing a series, the pilot process will have taught us a lot about where to spend our money and time.
- It’s worth pointing out that Family Guy’s Seth MacFarlane is betting on the web. He’s doing a new show directly for the internet, partnering with MRC and Google for advertising. aaa
- This is working under the assumption that we’re a web series, but the beauty of a deeply-embedded advertiser is that it doesn’t particularly matter what format or medium the show ultimately takes. If it shows up on the torrents, even better. aaa
5 Responses to “Shot an indie pilot. What’s next?”
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March 24th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
Hey, just wanted to throw my two cents in regarding whether or not to put a show online first. That would be a definite NO. If you don’t get enough views (at least 100,000 within a week) you’re showing the network or production company that there’s really no interest.
March 24th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
There are festivals specifically for TV pilots. The New York one is great. http://www.nytvf.com. Due dates are in June; fest is in September. They have partnerships with agents, and many networks send people to look for the best stuff.
A few “pilot-makers” have sold shows or gotten agents through it. It’s a lot of fun.
There’s one in LA, too.
March 24th, 2008 at 9:21 pm
I am researching the business side of a series, which I am thinking of distributing online . From my research, I would say I am not as certain as the prior poster about your options.
I am still researching this so you should realize my knowlege is possibility not as extensive as others. I’m just imparting what I’m learning in the hopes that more knowledable people such as John can say whether I am way off base.
It really depends on what you are putting out there, what affinity groups maybe interested in your show, what broad appeal your show has, how you can attract them, etc. It’s not a simple answer.
In fact, my advice is write down a business plan for how you will market first (putting it online isn’t marketing it), sending it to a lot of people isn’t marketing it, what contacts can you leverage (especially the gate keepers on and offline).
I can say that my idea is a niche market with potential cross over appeal. I have contact with a couple of online gatekeepers through friend of friends. So that helps.
As for the show, it’s innovative. This could be because no one has thought it or they thought it was a crappy idea. I interviewed a famous TV director (ie, Emmy award winning) and told me not to assume which it is. I don’t know yet. I am moving along the lines that it’s because it’s not something others are doing- well at least in this country. In other countries, I’ve seen and heard of it so I know it’s not entirely a crazy idea. Just in America. To me, at least, I think you’ve got to be specific with yourself about your product/show.
The question of putting it online may demonstrate that there is a market for it, I hope, that bigger companies don’t presently see. As for making money, it’s very difficult to make money online with web series. I met with a guy from forbes magazine a few months ago, and he made the point that even YouTubes and myspace (according to him) find this a difficult question to answer- how to monetize video online. However, what shows like quarterlife and lonelygirl demonstrate is that they can never the less provide opportunities if a show becomes viral.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
I guess the biggest advice I can give for television pilots is to KNOW YOUR MARKET and do your research into what shows have been bought by which networks. Even do research on what pilots have been sold previously and also those that were not picked up by the networks, or dropped after a few episodes.
You first want to make sure that your pilot idea is solid and that there is nothing in the works that is similar, or that has already been made. Make sure your pilot is great. Either it’s great, or it’s SHIT, there is no inbetween. Those in charge of giving your series a greenlight are not interested in something o.k. or good, especially from an outsider. They want something to wow them, and hopefully wow an audience; with either laughter, tears, drama, whatever you are shooting for in your pilot.
Sure, there are countless pilots and series greenlighted every season that totally suck balls, but those are generally written/produced by people already in the system. Sure, there are cases of outsiders that have produced/created pilots that went on to be successful (Family Guy is an example) but those successes are few and far between.
Look what the creators of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” did. They made their own pilot, passed it around, and it got picked up by FX, and they have been quite successful and even just sold another pilot. Research each network and find out what they are looking for right now and what the head of programming likes and does not like.
You don’t want to pitch to a network if you know the head of programming does not like (x) genre.
Don’t dismiss any network. Sure, you would rather be on NBC than USA, but that’s the way it is sometimes. Send your pilot out to everyone you can.
As far as the internet goes…forget about it. The Internet has no value, yet.
It will be years before Internet gets any weight behind it to become viable.
Sure, you can post your pilot to youtube, but the second you do, you devalue your work. Youtube is for short videos of “Ow, my balls!” and although I have seen some funny shorts on youtube, I can’t remember any of them, nor who made them, mainly because I saw them on youtube and my mind has been conditioned that youtube=crap. To be quite honest, Atomfilms and Ifilm are in the same category as well.
Better to post a high quality DIVX video (streaming and download) on your own website and to especially press real dvds with packaging, as it’s dirt cheap now to do so.
The biggest suggestion I have to make to all persons interesting in making their own pilot as a “demo” is to make the pilot as if were actually a real show that is currently on the air. I have seen so many pilots over the years that were so half-assed it’s silly. Some of the pilots had a good premise, but presented their ideas so half-ass it killed the show before it really had a shot.
Lastly, in regards to Isaac’s pilot, I would suggest pressing a dvd, with a professional cover/case and sending it to people that are the helpers and assistants to those important people who you want to get the pilot to.
Let’s say Issac filmed a comedy pilot. He could find out who Tina Fey’s assistant is and send -her- roses with a copy of the dvd pilot with a note attached “Hope you like the flowers, please watch this pilot I made. If you like it, pass it on to Tina and your friends. Thanks..”
Or go a different route and send the dvd to the head writer of “30 rock” as an example and ask him/her for the same favor. Sending a filmed pilot is not the same thing as sending a script, to my knowledge, as it actually exists; as script is still a script. Besides, you would obviously have it on the internet in some form anyway.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
Some good info in Augusto’s post and these comments — thx for the headsup on nytvf.com! I don’t think there’s a definitive answer as to Internet/NOTernet either way yet, so here’s some Pro-net stuff:
— http://www.weneedgirlfriends.tv posted sitcom style clips on youtube monthly for a year, and has been picked up for a pilot w/ Darren Star exec producing.
— theburg.tv got the interest of Michael Eisner (thru vuguru), who has commissioned the team behind that for a web series (www.theallfornots.com)
— Youtube just announced the winners of their 2007 awards, including “the guild” (www.watchtheguild.com), which has gotten a lot of press off that.
Seems to me like the net is a good way to get known if you think your shit is hot but you is a Nobody. Appreciate any other insights ppl have.