Don't shove theme down my throat

So I went to a short film festival a few weekends back. Okay, maybe more than a few weekends back. But you understand what I'm getting at. I go almost every year to this festival. Usually there are some good ones, okay ones, and some even close to bad ones.

This year, I went to an earlier time/hour than normal. So maybe that's why I wasn't really loving any of the films. Maybe they save the best ones for the later hours. But, what I did notice that wasn't working in pretty much all of them was that they all were forcing theme in our faces. Hitting us over the heads with it. But guess what? Theme is only supposed to be obvious to the writer! Not the people watching your film!

If you're watching a film and you come away thinking, "This movie was obviously about the family bonds", then that writer did not do their job. For instance, when you watch The Godfather, did you walk out going, wow, what a close family! Probably not. You probably just loved the drama and the fighting between the mob and all the Italians. It's not until you probably took a film class did you really think about wow, that was really about family and the loyalty between relatives and the loyalty with the mob family. Nowhere in the film did any of the characters say out loud, "I"m loyal to you." No! That would have been awful.

Some people swear that you have to have theme at the start of writing your script. Others say you don't and say it's okay if you stumble upon it and then pepper it throughout once you realize what it is. I say as long as you find the theme and put it in, who cares when you put it in. I personally put my theme in after I've started. Sure, I might have what I think is theme at the start. But sometimes, another real theme emerges and then that's what it becomes. The fact is, it doesn't matter when you find it. It just matters that you don't hit your audience over the head with it. Or I promise, your film will not resonate the way you think it will.

So get to writing that script. Add your theme. But just don't be so obvious, okay?

Happy writing!

Pitching to the Big Networks

This is my part 2 of Pitching when you're "there": The Big Networks. So, I kind of need to back track first in order to explain why I even got in to a big Network in the first place when I had no experience of writing on a TV show. See, apparently that just doesn't happen. But it did, for me and this is why.

What happened was I found out about this contest for people who had previously written on Network shows. My writing partner had, so I said, why don't we write something and submit for it? We had to create our own pilot for it plus a sample of a show on TV. But then after we submitted for the contest, we found out we BOTH needed to have worked on a sitcom, not just him. So that was the end of that. But, I thought, wait, this idea is too good to leave it there. So I start contacting some of my friends that could possibly get it to places. And my partner tells me, well, I know the head of "Said" Network. So I look up his person and lo and behold, the guy is head of the Network!

Apparently my writing partner had been a Page at one of the studios when he first started in the biz. A Page, from what I gather, is what Kenneth is on 3rd Rock. It's the low guy on the totem pole basically, or at least one of them. So his friend who was a Page way back then, went on to run one of the biggest Networks! Yep! Just goes to show, be nice to everyone in this biz! You never know where they will end up. Like Head Of The Network!

So my writing partner knows this guy. So I tell him, you're contacting him this week! For some reason my partner listened to me. I mean, what could I have done if he didn't?! haha Any way, he calls the guy's office and the guy calls him back like the next day. My partner tells him he'd like to pitch him an idea, a sitcom, and the guy says great, lets set something up with the head of comedy. ahhhhh!!!! So I'm excited and freaked out at the same time! What the heck am I doing?! Of course I want to pitch my idea, but OMG am I ready for this?! I've pitched Disney now. But the head of comedy at a big Network. Yeeks!

So luckily we each have a few friends who have pitched and sold shows. So we ask them what to expect and how to get ready. So this is what I can share with you to help you. We were told to know our pitch backwards and forwards, memorize it. Be able to talk about it as if it was a normal conversation. Our entire pitch was probably about 5 pages long, and we had the whole thing memorized. If it's a comedy like ours, add humor in the pitch. Don't go in and perform like a circus act, but do show them you have the comedy chops by adding some humor. If you can't get them to laugh in the pitch, there's no way they will think you can get them to laugh in a TV show.

We wrote down what each character would be like, and how they would add to the story weekly. We talked about possible future episodes so that the Executive could see that this wouldn't be a one season show but could easily go on for years. Be sure to mention the theme of the show. What is the one thing that you'll see each and every episode? For instance, the theme of something like Modern Family is probably "No matter how crazy families are, we all love each other." So through all the funny drama, there's still always each family member loving one another.

So we finally felt ready. We knew our pitch. And then we hear from said Network Head that we're not going to pitch to the head of comedy, he wants us to pitch to him. Ugh! As if I wasn't scared enough! But okay, that's cool. We can do this. Argh!

The day of the pitch comes. We are told to go to the Penthouse floor. (Because where else does a head of a Network work?) We enter the main lobby on that floor and they tell him they'll let him know we're there. Yikes! We're really doing this! So then we're told okay, he's ready for you. We walk down the longest hall everrrrrr! Along the way, there are huge photos on the wall of every celebrity that is on TV for this Network, almost as if to intimidate us even more! We don't need help in that department! Thank you very much! So we get to his office and his two assistants sit at their desks and say, he's ready for you, go on in. OMG!

So once you go in, be sure that you make small talk. Find something you have in common. Let them know you're comfortable to be there, even if you're not. And we weren't! Luckily my partner had the common ground of already knowing this guy. I also have a good friend who's been a producer on a couple of his shows, and had just been in Napa and saw a photo of said Network Executive at the winery with a celebrity. So I was able to bring up those names. It never hurts to let them see you run in the same circles.

So the pitch begins by him asking, what do you have for me? We go into our pitch. And we do awesome. We're comfortable and we remember the whole thing. This executive is not one for hanging out after, and basically shakes our hands, says thank you, and we leave. We walk out, looking at each other going, Uh, how'd we do? LOL But you know what, it didn't matter. For us, it was the fact we got a meeting with this huge executive and we did the best we could do. Those are all things that help you propel your writing career forward.

After a few days we hear, the guy passed on our idea. But that's okay, because like I said, I did learn that the chances of you selling a show without having had plenty of experience on a show on your own are slim to none. But that's okay. Because we did get to land another pitch at this Network, which meant we did do well on our first pitch to the head, or we'd never have been brought back. Plus, the friend of mine who produced shows for the Network Head was so impressed I'd gotten in to him, that he's had me work for him now. So, you just never know what each opportunity will bring. A closed door can really become an open door somewhere else. Next blog: our pitch to the head of comedy.