In Part 1 I explained how I pitched one series with US $13,000 worth of artwork and another with two sentences on the fly, and I sold the two sentences.
Why did my two-sentence pitch sell? What was it about the concept?
Quite frankly, I don’t know. What I do know is that there was a good deal of luck involved.
The studio just happened to be looking for a high-concept, live-action, one-hour cop show and that’s just what I happened to pitch. But I’m sure they had heard dozens of cop pitches and didn’t buy any of them. What made mine better?
I don’t know the answer to that either. More luck, perhaps.
Unfortunately, luck cannot be studied, understood, practiced or applied. It is, by definition, what happens when one is not in control of what one is doing.
Hall of Fame golfer, Gary Player, often says, “The more I practice the luckier I get.” There is a lot of truth in that statement.
Writers can practice their writing skills, they can practice their research skills, and they can practice their pitching skills. All of this will increase their “luck”.
I was lucky that the studio bought my series. But if I had asked beforehand what they were looking for I might have learned a lot. But you can’t always ask the buyer what they want. Often you just have a meeting and the pitch is the first time you get a chance to speak with them. Regardless, it helps to learn whatever you can about what your buyer is looking for or not looking for. You can find out their production lineup or what their audience is watching. Find out what they’ve bought, what did well and what didn’t. The more you know the more prepared you will be to pitch, and the better chance you’ll have of being “lucky”. Maybe.
Why maybe? Because research is not the only way to develop a good concept and sell your pitch. There is also the This-is-what-I’ve-created-take-it-or-leave-it method. No research. No focus groups. Just pure imagination and confidence. And if it sells, you might call it pure luck.
So what makes a great concept? A great concept is one that sells!
Moral of the story: There is no perfect pitch and no perfect concept. So just choose a method, research or flying by the seat of your ‘squarepants’—create the best damned series (or film) concept you can, pitch it with passion and pray for a little luck.
That’s what I do.
©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.)
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