by Voyage | Jul 20, 2012 | Presentations
The 6 Most Vital Rules of Pitching TV in 2012 You’re busy as ever, you’re stressed, it’s gorgeous outside, and yes folks, it’s that time of year again: TV pitch season is in full swing. So to give you every advantage, we’re offering our TV pitch look-books at a heavily-discounted flat rate for a limited time. And keep reading, because we’re throwing in a bunch of pointers for free. If you haven’t done anything to sell your projects, don’t kid yourself–you can’t ignore the kind of opportunity that exists right now. Not even Jerry Bruckheimer can do that. We have it on good authority from agents and managers around town that looking like you didn’t try isn’t cool anymore. The stakes are high and the competition… well, we won’t remind you. So here’s a list of.. TV Pilot Season Do’s and Don’ts, 2012: DO Commit: You can’t sell something that’s only halfway there. Invest the needed time and money to let them know you take your work seriously and you’re not messing around. Go big or go home! DON’T Wait: TV Pilot season is peaking a little later this year, but that doesn’t mean you have any time to lose. It can take a few weeks to rewrite scripts and create sales materials. Start! DO Get Visual: Old-school writer wisdom says all you need is a script. Really? Increasingly in the industry, projects vision is shared via the use of imagery. It’s just the way of the future. Get used to it, old-schoolers. DON’T Have to Be There: You might not get a pitch meeting right away, but...
by Voyage | Apr 20, 2012 | Uncategorized
“THE SECRET TO PROJECTS THAT SELL” It’s scary how much time, energy, and money is expended every year on films that will never be released, or even made at all, for that matter. Just think about all the films that are submitted Sundance and don’t end up getting distribution. At last count in 2011, this was about 3,775 films. If each one costs $300,000 to make (some cost less, some far more), then those 3,775 represent an investment of over $1 billion. That’s $1 billion those filmmakers probably couldn’t afford to lose. These staggering numbers show the amount of waste in the entertainment industry. If you aspire to have a career you love in entertainment the real question you need to answer in 2012 is how to build projects professionally – so that they don’t end up in the reject pile at great expense. Here’s something you should know before you spend any more of your time and money: The Number One Reason why film and TV projects fail is that their creators haven’t done their research to find out if their project is right for the market, or to find out who their competition is and who might beat them to the punch. There’s a lot more information on this topic that could give you a serious leg up on the competition. One of the most knowledgeable and articulate producers in the business on choosing ideas that sell is Elizabeth Kushman. Elizabeth is a 10-year veteran of the entertainment industry who got her start as Creative Executive for Wes Craven, developing such films as PULSE, CURSED and THE...
by Voyage | Apr 10, 2012 | Uncategorized
“THE 3 DIMENSIONS” THAT KEEP PEOPLE TALKING It seems like everyone has an idea that would make a great film or TV show these days. Hopefully you do too! But do you ever wonder what your chances are of actually being able to quit your day job? Well, let’s take a look at what’s going on with the famous Writers Guild in LA-the WGA. To be a member you have to be a working writer at a professional level already-their total membership is about 7,900. And do you have any guesses as to how many of these competitive and connected professionals are actually being paid to write in any given year? In reality it’s only about 3,850. Yes, that is only HALF of the writers in the guild who are working and getting paid. This means that for every two writers who have proven their talent, made the cut, stood out, and been hired once by an established TV or film company, ONE OF THEM WILL NOT FIND EVEN ONE MORE PAYING GIG! No wonder it’s hard to get representation these days. What’s more, there is a lot less work going around: the already sluggish writer employment fell by another 11% as a result of the recession, with 226 professional screenwriters out of a job. These statistics are staggering. Yeah, it’s competitive out there, and it’s getting more so all the time. So where does that leave you and the other emerging talent? The ones who are either just starting out professionally or who are making a move toward their ideal creative career? The odds are stacked against you....
by Voyage | Mar 10, 2012 | Uncategorized
HOW A GOOD ‘OLE BOY FROM ALABAMA SOLD OVER 50 FILMS You already knew the entertainment industry was competitive, but did you realize that you probably have a better chance of getting into the NBA than your project does of getting in front of any kind of real audience? Take a look at the numbers: Of the 3,812 finished films submitted to Sundance last year only about 40 ended up getting any kind of distribution at all. That’s just a little more than one percent-almost as low as the chances of a college basketball player making the NBA. Before you watch the game-changing video above, I want you to pay attention to some interesting facts about the TV biz too: If you think TV is any easier, think again. In 2011, of the thousands of TV show ideas pitched to the big four networks, ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC, 429 scripts were picked up…and only about 76 were made into pilots. Far less than half of those went to screen…and of those, only 24 are still on the air at last count. With odds like those, you may find yourself wondering whether the project you’re working on will ever end up in front of real audiences, and whether you’ll be given a chance at all. A lot of good work will ALWAYS get lost in the shuffle. Well, believe it or not, there are actually people who make it their job to sell good creative product and get it in front of audiences. We’d like to introduce you to one of them. Houston King is a film producer who...
by Voyage | Mar 2, 2012 | The Expert Network
5 LASER-GUIDE BUSINESS TOOLS FOR SUCCESS Millions of people love movies and TV…hundreds of thousands want to generate work for the screen themselves. But of those, only a few ever will. And the number of them who will end up with successful careers? Well… Only about 10% of movies that make it into Sundance get distribution. Only about 50% of screenwriters in the Writers Guild will earn any kind of money as writers, and of those, only about 1% will make over half a million dollars per year. The statistics are daunting, but the real question is this: What are the 1% doing that you aren’t? The odds are just as bad for them as they are for everyone else, and yet somehow they convince others of their value, and you can bet that in 2012 they’ll be reaping bigger rewards today than ever. What’s the secret sauce? Well, here’s my opinion-and this is from our observation of hundreds of our successful TV and Film clients over the last decade: Having a clear vision; a realistic plan; and the right habits to execute that plan day after day after day Success stems from consistent professionalism in a number of different ways, exhibited on a daily basis. It’s about constantly planning, pushing forward, investing in yourself, thinking big when necessary, thinking to scale when necessary, taking action, and making ALL the right moves so that you deliver the goods and build upward momentum with every deadline, meeting, and screening. The truth of the industry is that it’s not about overnight success-because even when you get that, if you don’t handle...
