Behind The Deal: Most Discussed Posts

The Development Deal

jnagel — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 22:23:42 -0700

Most creators have visions of merchandising and licensing in their heads. Dollar signs dance around in their dreams, in hopes that Nick will take their property and make it a number one hit. But what do Nick, Disney and Cartoon Network want? They want the whole thing, all of it, all rights, all merchandise and all licensing.

Green Light, Red Light

jnagel — Wed, 11 May 2011 13:54:50 -0700

The network loves your show. The executives see the total package potential. It is moving forward into development, but what happens next. What do you get? What do you do?

The A.D.D. of the Deal

jnagel — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 08:29:57 -0700

Now it’s time to look at the other ways of getting brilliant content in front of audiences. Distribution is the heart’s blood of any production. If you have a Letter of Intent (LOI) or a pre-sale from a broadcaster in almost any part of the western world you have a winner in the eyes of co-producers and financiers. This means that your idea is not just looking great in the pitch bible, but someone likes it. . .

Casually Speaking about Games and E3

jnagel — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:53:30 -0700

Several years ago, at another mobile conference, several speakers talked about the casual game player emerging because of the new device, the Blackberry. Sure phones did have games on them, but the playing was cumbersome.

Trekking Around Animation Town

jnagel — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 09:43:56 -0700

Just this week I visited several studios with a software client. The industry is preparing for MIPCOM in October. . . When MIPCOM, the biggest television market, is in sight, the industry changes gears and is looking for something fresh and new to whet the appetites of the international buyers. . . . During this trek around animation town, I absorbed a lot of information from a lot of different sources.

Where is the Money without Commercials?

jnagel — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:20:24 -0800

This is one of the questions being asked. Commercials are the backbone of the money used to license shows or develop content, but what if you don’t have a broadcast deal yet? Where does the money come from?

Money, Money, Where Are You?

jnagel — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:12:02 -0700

The other night I invited Mike Young, co-CEO of Moonscoop, to speak to my class about co-production and the facts of life about where money comes from. Mike’s is one of the few studios that survived post-“Fin-Syn,” which was a ruling in Congress in 1994.

Teaching the Business Part 2: What Are Networks Buying

jnagel — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:47:20 -0700

Does your concept seem to really fit into the programming line up? But are the networks really buying shows? If so, what are they buying? What do you, the creator, get out of a network deal? The big part of my teaching is to explain about the networks and how they acquire programming and at what cost.

A Tribute to the Fallen

jnagel — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:29:20 -0700

I have been going to Comic-Con on and off since ’94 and I have seen the change. Up to a few years ago, the Con, as it is now know, was the celebration of the comic book artist and writer. It celebrated a genre that had sustained since the turn of the last century.

Co-Productions Today

jnagel — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 20:42:54 -0800

Co-productions seem to be the standard for most independent animation projects. But what does this mean? Where does this money come from? Today’s co-productions are as solid as a house of cards. A small breeze and the whole thing could collapse. It all starts with a great concept? So, one would think. But really it is sort of a convergence not a start. The first card is a great concept. Will the show idea appeal to an audience? Can it be translated into a brand? Will it be accepted beyond the US territory? Can there be a life beyond the series?