Ok, so my friend and I are working on an animated series. But i have a question. Suppose a network (adult swim, fox, nbc) liked our cartoon and wanted to air it, would we call the shots? would we even be able to write for it? We don't want to just sell them the idea and be done with it, we want to be, for the most part, in charge, or at least have some say in it and write for it.
Can we see your stuff? Do you have any thing to show that will show off what you and your friends can do?
I'm not sure but I guess that depends on how good your writing is and how good your negotiation skills are.
Wouldn't mind knowing that myself, but not sure if there's anyone at that level willing to answer the question on this forum.
I don't have any answers either but do some research on Seth Green of "Robot Chicken". Writer, producer, voice actor amongst many other things. If nothing else, he'd be a good model for what you're trying to achieve. I've heard him talk and he addresses the need for "creator friendly" producers and networks. Good luck.
We just started writing the screenplay of the pilot episode, so we don't have anything to show yet, but i'm hoping to have something within a month or so. I will, of course have to register it with the WGA before I show it to anyone.
Well one of the writers has written a few movie screenplays, and is a very good writer, so I think as far as writing skill and formatting, we should be good. I am very good with business and have great people skills, so I guess we will just have to see.
Also, does anyone know the requirements to pitch to FOX or Adult Swim? And does anyone know of any good agents that work with animated television series?
If you think that is likely to happen then hire an experienced entertainment attorney to negotiate the deal for you.
Should I do that after I pitch the idea and they like it?
How do you picture the "pitch process" ?
Other than the various "contests" where they have an open submission policy it is tough to get your foot in the door. (you should read the fine print of the submission rules because in most cases with these contests you are signing away all your rights by entering.) If you get past the gatekeepers and you are actually pitching to a network I don't think you should walk in the door without representation (either an agent or an attorney). Don't sign anything without a reputable, experienced agent and/or attorney reading it first and advising you.
I think you may be better off by going around the gatekeepers, building a following (I mean a LARGE following) on your YouTube channel , then using that as some leverage that your stuff has audience appeal. (example: Simon's Cat . They came to him based on the millions of views he was getting on his short "Simon's Cat" films. He didn't have to pitch anything.)
If you want to go the conventional route of "pitching" a project check out David Levy's book Animation Development: From Pitch to Production
Well the only problem with getting it on youtube is that we don't actually have anyone who can "animate" the cartoons, which isn't required when pitching an idea. And I was planning on getting an agent, but I wanted to have the pilot ready to show before looking for an agent. Does anyone know of any agents that specialize in animated series?
This is interesting to me because I have never heard of Simon's Cat. I just read about "Simon's Cat" on Wikipedia it a good read.