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ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 5.6 - SEPTEMBER 2000
| Pitching Perfect: A Word From Development (continued from page 1)
Kim Christianson What I look for in a pitch is clarity and brevity. I love it when the verbal pitch is concise and to-the-point, i.e. a log-line that gives me an instant picture of the kind of show, followed by a brief run-down of main characters and what a typical episode might be about. In order to keep verbal pitches short, this usually means that the person pitching will come with a 7-10 page treatment (leave-behind) that describes the show and main characters. I am always thrilled when a person trusts me to read the material on my own rather than feeling the need to take me through every detail including a long, drawn-out back-story. A pitch that has confidence in its content rather than its packaging also impresses me. It is extremely obvious when the pitch spends too much time trying to wow me with inflated predictions about merchandising possibilities and "break-out hit potential" without the content to back it up. If the show idea is a comedy, the pitch should cite examples of how/why it's funny. Don't tell me it will be hilarious -- convince me! If the idea is for an animated series, it is best to have artwork attached, but be careful... Designs can make or break a pitch, so don't come in with the rough drawings you did at home hoping I'll "get the idea." John Hardman John Hardman: First and foremost, I think the most important thing for us is that we can't accept any unsolicited submissions. All of our submissions have to come through either an entertainment agent or an entertainment attorney who we have a relationship with. Heather Kenyon: Is there a case where you also have release forms artists could sign? JH: We do, but our legal affairs department really discourages us from doing that. The exceptions that we make, for example, may be a creator who has ended the relationship with their agent. We may know them, they've had a TV show on the air in the past, so we know they're professional and it's just that they no longer have an agent. Otherwise, I would have to say certainly keeping it brief, focusing on the core concepts, the main characters, their relationships, giving us a sense for the tone, the setting and the breadth of the series is what I'm really looking for. Come in with half a dozen episode ideas so you can talk about how it actually plays out, as opposed to just the conceptual stage. Ideally it would be great if you had a leave-behind of some sort. That can be anywhere from a couple of pages, a brief overview, to a mini-bible of sorts which might be 10 to 15 pages long where we get all of those key elements that we've already talked about. Artwork isn't necessarily required, so don't feel you need to do that, and don't come in with the music for the main title. While we appreciate the thought and effort that goes into considering merchandising, we're a TV network and we're most concerned with the TV series itself and not the ancillary product. That's a great bonus, but it's a big warning sign to me when somebody comes in and starts pitching me how great the toy is going to be before they pitch me the series. HK: And if people do have artwork, what sorts of artwork do you like to see? Do you like to see more situations that the characters might find themselves in, or just straight character design? JH: Both are great. Certainly, the character design is very important and if they were in situational art, you'd still need to see them clearly. A lot of times what happens when they give you a set up, the action is in the forefront and the characters are in back. So you don't really know what the focus is in the series. Is it the characters or is it the explosion? But, also, there has to be a willingness to develop. This is development and changes to the artwork might be requested. They should come in with the knowledge that anything and possibly everything could change as we move forward and they should be open to collaborating with us. HK: If they do bring in art to their pitch, do you have any preference whether it's on an 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper, or a cocktail napkin? JH: It doesn't concern me. It certainly wouldn't bother me if they Xeroxed that napkin onto an 8 1/2 x 11 leave behind just so I don't lose anything. That way I can put the whole package together in one paperclip and be done with it. I would prefer the artwork to be on 8 1/2 x 11 for those reasons. If you have a big board, what am I going to do with that board? Where am I going to store it? And if I have to return it to you, that's just a further hassle. Having it all so that I can pass it along to the next person to take a look makes it much more convenient if it's in one package. It doesn't have to be bound professionally. A staple in the corner is fine. They don't need to go to the extra effort to get a three-ring binder or spiral bound. Some people have even come in with book binding! Chances are I'm going to have to rip that up to Xerox it for everybody who needs to get a copy. A staple is just as convenient. HK: So there's a whole production process that people need to be aware of. JH: Exactly. The thing is you really appreciate it when they go through that extra effort, but it's just not necessary. For me and for us here, the idea is king. Presentation is secondary. Sure it gives you some extra bonus points if it looks nice and it's spelled correctly, but if you came in with Pokemon on one piece of paper with no artwork, we would still look at it very seriously. The most important thing is the story, characters and relationship. The other thing that is very important for hopeful creators is to pay attention and study where they're going. Try to watch what's on their air. Understand what their basic philosophy is and don't come in with something that's totally inappropriate for my target audience and demographic. By watching our air you can get a strong sense of the direction that we're headed and the types of series that might be of interest to us. But then, you can also do some additional homework and find out what the target audience is and what the demographic is. If you've got an agent, that agent can certainly do some preliminary checking as well, as to what the needs are as far as genre, and whether we are looking for live-action or only animation. Heather Kenyon is editor in chief of Animation World Network.
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