Instead of writing a sample cartoon script with the hope of getting work on someone else’s series, many writers choose to go for the “grand slam” and create their own animated series. If this is the game you want to play, here are some pointers that may prevent you from falling into the traps that are waiting for you.
Over the years, many people have contacted me with animated series ideas which they’ve dreamed of selling. Some of these ideas were, I’m afraid to say, terrible. Others weren’t bad creatively but were nonetheless impossible to sell. This is because it takes more than just a good idea to sell a series. There are several elements that must be present before a series concept is going to be seriously considered.
When you’re setting out to create an animated series the first thing you need to ask is, “Who is my audience?” There are distinct demographics to consider when choosing your audience. With respect to the youth market they are toddlers (zero to three years), preschoolers (two to five years), kids (six to eight years), tweens (nine to 12 years), and teens (13-15 years). There is also the adult demo.
Many people make the mistake of labouring over an idea they like without carefully considering the age of their audience. What they often wind up with is a show that cannot be sold because there is no audience for it. An example of this might be a series directed at teens who, demographically speaking, aren’t watching TV.
So before you begin to create your series make sure you know what audience it is being created for, that this audience does, in fact, exist, and that all of the elements of the show work for that age group.
I certainly don’t want to tell you what kind of show to create. I also don’t want to suggest that there is a simple formula for creating good series. Many new shows are totally unique, and don’t fit any mold. South Park wasn’t like anything else on the air, but it became a huge hit. There are no hard and fast rules about how to pick a winning series concept. But there are some factors that, if considered, may give you a better chance at selling your show.
There are two basic ways to come up with series ideas. One is to look at what’s on the air (the follow-the-leader method). The other is to just ignore what’s being bought and create exactly what you want (the leader-who-gets-followed method). Being a leader is always harder than being a follower but often gets a bigger payoff. There are generally more followers than leaders. You’ll have to decide who you are.
If you’re a trendsetter, you don’t need my help. Just go for it! But if you’re a trend surfer, perhaps the most important thing you can do to increase your chances of selling a series is to find out what the buyers are looking for. It can be terribly discouraging to spend months creating a show only to discover that everyone in the industry is looking for something totally different. So, put your finger on the pulse of the industry and check out the current hit shows and, if possible, ask buyers what they want.
©Jeffrey Scott, All Rights Reserved
(Jeffrey Scott has written over 700 animated and live-action TV and film scripts for Sony, Warner Bros., Disney, Marvel, Universal, Paramount, Columbia, Big Animation, Hanna-Barbera and others. His writing has been honoured with three Emmys and the Humanitas Prize. He is author of the acclaimed book, How to Write for Animation. To work with Jeffrey visit his website at www.JeffreyScott.tv.)
Read other articles from this series:
#1 The difference between live-action and animation writing
#3 It all begins with a premise
#4 The secret to developing your story
#5 Finding the scenes that MUST be there
#7 How to easily transform your outline into script
#8 A brief introduction to script writing
#9 How long should your scenes be?
#10 How to (and NOT to) edit your writing
#13 The importance of communication
#17 Assuming the point of view of your audience
#23 The screenwriter’s bookshelf
