Tuesday, September 20, 2005

We sent off our revised pitch for Exposure to the network, having done our best to answer the notes the network gave us. Pitching series here in Canada seems to be much more a thing done on paper. Network execs take pitches on paper, people work up pitch bibles, and only then do you write your pilot. In the States, often seems to be the other way around: pitch the pilot, pitch the series, then maybe write the bible, maybe don't.

Anyway, I hope we got it right.

6:46 PM

2 Comments:

I went through my files the other day and found all of these "hidden gems" - treatments, loglines, clippings - that I had long ago abandoned.

Now I HAVE to revise them and make more work for myself. I find as a grow older I realize how to tackle a certain idea and bring it to some sort of life.

By  Cunningham, at 1:05 PM  

I had a bit of a problem dealing with the differences between the Canadian and the American system of pitching a series a few years ago.

Once The Black Tower was laid out in its most basic form several years ago I started to put the word out to agents and prodco/network folks across North America. The Canadians liked the pitch and asked me to send them the complete bible and the pilot script. Well, I hadn't written any of that yet because my American counterparts (some of them multi-award winning screenwriters/producers) said you never, ever write word one of the script until you've been hired to do so, and bibles should be somewhat limited with the information it has about the show, since the network suits will probably change 70-90 percent of it on you before the first draft of the pilot script is even finished.

So, I compromised. The bible runs about 35 pages and includes a detailed synopsis of the pilot episode, plus synopses of another 40 episodes or so right up to the two-hour series finale. But I will not write a single word of any script until the show gets the green light for production and I am hired/paid to do so. Actually, I'd prefer to just hand over that task to you guys, my Canadian screenwriting brethren...and sistren. I'm not terribly fond of the screenwriting process and would rather gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon than sit down at a computer for 60 hours and write, write, write....and write some more.

By  Kelly J. Crawford, at 2:24 PM  

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