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Stop the presses 'n drop yer dresses!

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Stop the presses 'n drop yer dresses!

I just got an email back from Frederator Studios. I'm good to go for a pitch for my cartoon on Friday, October 7th at 11 AM PST.

Woo hoo!

I wrote it. Christoph Siemens (Jabberwocky) drew it. And it's going to rock the WORLD!

Those of you who pray, please do. If you burn incense or sacrifice chicken's, we'll take that, too.

I'm already planning on celebrating by going to the House of Blues in West Hollywood Friday night to see the Bangles perform.

ROCK AND ROLL, BAYBEE! WOO HOO!!!
*edited for stupidity - wait, that's still there. Edited for misspelling my partner's name.*

Again, best of luck! Be sure to let us know how it goes.

Sharvonique Studios
www.sharvonique.com

Animated By Sharvonique Blog
http://sharvonique.animationblogspot.com

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im not sure about the Bangles bit but im gonna keep my fingers crossed for you mate.
good luck and lets hear the good news when your done.
Rock On.

YAY! i hope you get to make it.Are you pitching to fred?

I'm not sure. I'm going to assume that he'll be there.

(And it's Christo"ph" Siemens.) ;)

Wish I could be there!

I know it's with a 'ph.' I have no idea why I spelled it like that. It was late when I posted - that's my only excuse.

Great, Best of luck to you. I hope it turns into a long running series.

awesome. good luck.

and if its alright to ask....whats it about?

"who wouldn't want to make stuff for me? I'm awesome." -Bloo

awesome. good luck.

and if its alright to ask....whats it about?

I might have mentioned it in the forums before. I'm pretty noisy about it. Now that I've got a pitch session, I've become paranoid - not that anyone would steal it, but rather that someone from Frederator will stumble upon it and spoil the surprise.

In a nutshell, it's the story of a boy, a girl, and singing competition that goes horribly awry.

Once I'm past the pitch, I'll be VERY vocal about it. Unless the answer's "no," in which case I'll sulk off and mope somewhere.

forget the yes or no part. yours is to pitch perfect. the rest isnt under your control so dont get distracted mate.

question: you pitching a series, special short?

Frederator is just doing shorts, but I have material for a series/movie, in case Nickelodeon is there.

Best of luck!

Even though you'll be sweating like a madman, and perhaps even soiling yourself, it sure will be a great stinkin' moment!

Congrats...and knock their socks off!

Splatman:D

Best of luck mate. Not to sound stupid but what has that company done, i am unfamiliar with them and their work.

I also want to congratulate you!! Hope, everything'll go allright!

to Jab:
Super Christoph, vielleicht bist ja bald schwerer beschäftigt, als gedacht! Bei uns tut sich vielleicht auch grad was Großes auf. Falls was draus wird, geb ich bescheid.... und natürlich Empfehlungen ;)))

I also want to congratulate you!! Hope, everything'll go allright!

to Jab:
Super Christoph, vielleicht bist ja bald schwerer beschäftigt, als gedacht! Bei uns tut sich vielleicht auch grad was Großes auf. Falls was draus wird, geb ich bescheid.... und natürlich Empfehlungen ;)))

Sehr verbunden! Wird auch höchste Zeit für eine vernünftige Mail meinerseits ...

As soon as the pitch is over, I'll have the odd sketch or two to show.

Best of luck mate. Not to sound stupid but what has that company done, i am unfamiliar with them and their work.

Thanks, everybody.

Fred Seibert, head of Frederator, has worked for everyone, it seems. Most recently, he created a "shorts" program that generated the cartoons Powerpuff Girls, Johnny Bravo and Dexter's Lab for Cartoon Network.

He left to start Frederator, and they have generated Fairly OddParents, Chalk Zone and My Life As A Teenage Robot.

Now these aren't Frederator properties. Fred's shorts programs just selected the creators and produced the shorts.

It might be a good idea to see a lawyer first, if you do not already have one.
If they like your idea they might start pushing papers in front of you to sign.

It might be a good idea to see a lawyer first, if you do not already have one.
If they like your idea they might start pushing papers in front of you to sign.

To my knowledge, Frederator doesn't own any properties. They get paid by the network (Nickelodeon) for filling the timeslot with material. Now if Nickelodeon decides to buy it or work out a deal for a regular series, that's another matter, but I have to get this made, first.

This is just a pitch session, it's not a "thumbs up." It's gonna suck to have to go back to everyone and tell them it didn't happen after all, if it works out that way. More people get told no than yes, that's just the reality of the situation. They've been taking pitches for six months and only have 6-7 cartoons selected. There are others that have pitched, were told to work on it and repitch, and are doing so. They might end up being selected. They may NEVER be selected.

I have a lot of faith in my characters, I'm energetic and enthusiastic. I won't need a paper to tell about my story. My main fear is talking too fast.

so what happened... then.

It's still two weeks away. The Frederator guys and gals are all in Ottawa. They're back in the offices Oct. 3rd and my pitch is the 7th.

I'm working on the big story, even though I won't need it for the pitch. It's short though, at 89 pages. I didn't add anything, per se, but I did write out some details of the final battle. Basically, all I added was choreography. All it got me was one more page. I still need to be at 11. I haven't gone back to format it though. By the time I'm done adding page breaks, I could pick up a couple of pages.

My four main characters each have musical numbers. I'm thinking I need to work in a number for the villain, or maybe even a duet for he and his cohort.

i thought you were pitching yesterday

ok. since we know you knw your shit and we knw ull rock em hard. lets do the important stuff now.
what you gonna wear?

ok. since we know you knw your shit and we knw ull rock em hard. lets do the important stuff now.
what you gonna wear?

hey spaceghost. how did it go? mate.
did you get a chance to meet and pitch?

Hey Fly Guy you kinda look like Tom Berenger to me.

No word yet from spaceghost2k - BUT! we're in Frederator's blog and things sound - promising, at least as far as I can tell from the other side of the Atlanitic ocean.
http://newtoons.frederator.com/

(-puts on Bill Murray-voice)
So be GOOD, for goodness' sake! Whoa! Somebody's comin'!

Sounds very positive! I'm very curious, how it'll go on...
Brief angekommen?

Well, I'm back. I haven't even sent an email to Jab/Christoph yet, so it looks like everyone will get the news here.

We didn't get it.

But on the other hand, nobody's gotten it on the first try. So the question is, do we re-work it taking the advice from the pitch or do we move forward?

First, we move forward. There's just too much "concept" for a seven minute cartoon. Not plot. Not story. Concept. These are brand new characters that no one knows. I can't just drop them into a cartoon, with a complicated "origin" story, AND give them a villain battle too. Who's the hero and why, who's the villain and why, and then on top of that, let them fight? It's too much.

Second, moving forward does NOT mean "moving on." "Forward" is an important, positive, energetic word. I came out of the pitch highly encouraged about the origin story. These three people (Larry Huber, Eric Homan and Melissa Wolfe) were VERY supportive of the originality of the idea, and I think that comes across in the Frederator blog that Jab linked above. Chasing a short does not seem to be the best use of our energy.

Hey, if the most critical thing we got was that there's "too much story," I hardly think that's a bad thing. I'd certainly rather be in that boat than the "Where's the story?" boat. Hearing from three industry people who have been doing this for a long time that I had an idea they've never seen before tickles me to no end. I'm talking sh!t-eating grin, here.

Eric gave me a couple of ideas for pursuing bigger projects than seven minute shorts. Christoph's been doing art for me basically out of the kindness of his heart. I did get a folder full of "Moon Pirates" information into Eric's hands, and he asked specifically if there was contact information for Christoph in there. (There was.) He also was genuinely excited that I had a copy of the "Fly Guy" screenplay to leave with him. 103 pages of superheroey goodness.

So, not sure where to go from here, though I have some ideas. Haven't discussed the future at all with Christoph. He's done a ton of work with not much to show for it except that some Hollywood people have seen his talent firsthand, and one of his drawings is on the Frederator website. We'll discuss the future somewhere out of the forums.

Anyway, I posted a lot of this in my response on the blog. I just got into town (3 PM) and I've already been begged to go into work (5 PM-11PM) so I can't post any more artwork. Actually, I'll probably post a few here and let Christoph post a lot more in his artwork thread.

In summary: I didn't get a "no" but I decided a rework isn't practical. I came out of the meeting highly encouraged on many fronts. I have even more faith in my project than I had before. I'm waiting now for feedback from Eric on the screenplay and a chance to talk to Christoph about the future. And, I'll post more artwork later tonight (midnight PST).

Thanke, everyone, for the well wishes and we're not done yet. :)

I know we'll see more of Fly Guy in the future. Flies are always buzzing around! ;)

Sharvonique Studios
www.sharvonique.com

Animated By Sharvonique Blog
http://sharvonique.animationblogspot.com

AWN Showcase Gallery

Yes!!

Even though your pitch to them did not result in getting the gig, it sounds like your pretty satisfied with the results. Way to go!

Yep, I'm very happy.

hey. i know this might sound a bit half baked but have you tried to cost out how much this would run if you sent it to a studio overseas?

also what do you think the meeting would have been like if you had say 26 complete episodes and were going in for a sales meet?

hey. i know this might sound a bit half baked but have you tried to cost out how much this would run if you sent it to a studio overseas?

also what do you think the meeting would have been like if you had say 26 complete episodes and were going in for a sales meet?

Frederator is really only interested in shorts. They know I have a screenplay for a live-action movie. I believe they know that I'm interested in an animated series. All of those things are outside of their areas of expertise.

We discussed going directly to Nickelodeon, except that requires an entertainment attorney or an agent. They did explain why Nick has those requirements. It has nothing to do with your experience or whether you're "professional enough." It has only to do with those people being able to explain the details of the business in terms a layman could understand. They don't want people coming back three years later saying, "I didn't know that. I don't remember signing that. I didn't understand that. Nobody told me about that." If you have an agent or attorney, then their butts are covered.

We also discussed taking it to Warner Bros. or Cartoon Network. CN seemed to be a likely choice, except that they have no live-action division. Warner might be worth a shot. And forget Disney.

It's funny... I was driving down to LA and maybe it was the lack of sleep or venti latte, but I was having all these cool ideas for episodes.

Someone in another forum told me to make sure I had backup ideas on hand for the pitch. One of the things I threw out (in the thread) was "Gothzilla." I thought about that more, and thought... that might make a good episode. What if a student from Barlow High, like maybe Melanie's friend Beatrice, decided she wasn't getting enough attention, so she went goth. And then, her gothness started sucking all the joy - and color - out of the school. Black and White started oozing like a spreading puddle over the school and then the whole town. Fly Guy has to bring joy back to the town.

Then there's the episode "You've Got Another Ink Coming." Scott gets a tattoo and shows it off. Beatrice and Dimples both have one. Even the science teacher, Mr. Follett has one. _____ triggers the tattoos to come to life and attack the town. They are finally stopped with some difficulty, except for one that we find out is Melanie's that she never told anyone about. It was a small ____ on her ankle that is now seemingly unstoppable. (The blanks aren't hidden info - I just haven't given them that much thought). I don't know what starts it or stops it, but a giant squid HAS to be involved somewhere, dontcha think?

I should say that Beatrice will be the center of a few stories. She's more shy than Dimples or Melanie, and doesn't feel worthy of their friendship a lot of the time. She will be the least self-confident, and will deal with cries for help like going goth or not eating. (By the way, goth fans, I'm not implying that being goth is bad. I'm saying that it's something that some people might do to get attention because it's not like their normal selves. I have a goth friend - it's part of his personality. If he showed up in a suit, I'd faint dead. Likewise, if I showed up goth, it would be a pretty obvious "look at me look at me look at me" moment.)

Whoa - too many posts, I only just got up!
Still - Mr Webb, I'm ready for anything!

Ready for anything? lol.

Know any good German banks we can knock over, or should we go to Switzerland?

Switzerland smells funny. Well, you've got a foot in the door at Fred now ...

Tough break, good luck with finding a new direction. Canada and France seem to like giving out money for shorts if you know anyone from those parts...

Hey Jabber, You don't like the smell of Fondu and Maronni???

Watch out on the banks though, they just nabbed a bunch of people who were ripping the machines right out of the walls.

maybe this was a good thing. from the way you have explained it you would need like a 45 min pilot episode to set things up clearly and get the mythology going. so this would be tough to do as a short.
im sure you can find takers somewhere with others. Can you try MTV (with your full screenplay)?
sorry it didnt work out mate. but it was just the first meeting...

Hey, no worries. I'm not bummed at all. We had a great meeting. People in the business LIKED it. If anything, maybe I'm not being ambitious ENOUGH.

There was a fellow who dropped in here one time looking for a writer. He was trying to launch some animation, but his "day job" was entertainment attorney. I think the first step will be tracking him down and asking for his assistance in getting a submission kit for Nickelodeon. They're still my first choice and I don't want to move on until I've gotten a firm "no" from them. Or "yes," of course.

Once we get permission to submit the concept to their head of development for action/adventure, THEN I need to know what they want to see before I can figure out what we need to prepare. I think I'd like to have something in action to show them, like an animatic of the 45 second show intro. I'm working two jobs as it is - I just don't have the funds to get a finished animated sequence completed.

Jab is committed to the project to the point that I'm starting to feel like he's my brother on the other side of the planet.

You know, my greatest fear was that I was going to be one of those guys "with a great idea" and nothing more. No story, simple characters... you know the type. "I've got this great idea for a cartoon called 'Law and Udder' where all the characters are cow lawyers." And that's it - nothing more. And THEN expect to get an artist to design characters, name them, write the story and hand over a finished cartoon... that he can call his own.

I was afraid that I might be that guy. But now I've been told that I have a unique, imaginative and interesting story. Guys, that's like a gold medal to me. Something came out of my brain that isn't just like a zillion other things out there... and someone LIKES it. Not only that, I didn't just crap out an idea, I tweaked the characters, worked on their personalities and relationships, set it up for drama and countless possible storylines, and I actually completed a 103 page screenplay - a screenplay that I'm HAPPY with, and I PROMISE you, I'm my own worst critic.

I was inclined to think that a "no" from Frederator was going to be the end of "Fly Guy." Go to LA, and if they didn't like it, go do something else. Bye bye, Fly Guy. But that wasn't what happened. I did indeed get a "no' but I didn't get a "we don't like it." I got a "this isn't what we're looking for, but it's very good and you need to go see these people..." I feel like I might be closer to success with a "no" from Frederator than I woudl have been had they said "yes."

Sure, maybe they were just being pleasant and letting me down easy, but I don't think so. The blog post from Melissa doesn't sound like that at all. What they told me didn't sound like that. So I'm jazzed and I'm looking to move forward.

More. Hey, I had a big coffee and it's not even midnight yet.

The screenplay is divided pretty evenly into three parts. I guess you could call them "acts," they're laid out pretty much the same way.

The first act is about Tom. What's he like, why is he fixated on superheroes like he is, what kind of a relationship does he have with his best friend Scott, and so on. At the end of the first act, where the "life altering experience" of the story is supposed to occur, is where Melanie swallows the fly instead of him and he watches his destiny go *poof* in front of his very eyes.

The second act is about Melanie. We don't know nearly as much about her as we do Tom. We know she's self-absorbed, shallow and popular, even though she's rude if you don't have anything of value to offer her. Now that she's changed and trying to deal with that, we see the scared girl inside and start to feel for her, and why she does some of the things she does starts to make sense. At the end of Act Two, there's a crisis and she's forced to make a choice.

The third act is about Fly Guy, or rather, Tom and Melanie working together. They support each other and bond, then have setbacks, etc. - like a regular third act. At the end, she is the one who's gone through a character transformation, not Tom.

----------

One of my concerns was realistically having Melanie fall for Fly Guy (not Tom) in a story that takes place over a three day period. Melanie appears never to have needed anyone or anything, but in reality, she needs those friends and accolades to support her shaky self-esteem. Bearing the burden of these powers is more than her fragile ego can take and she could believably cling to Fly Guy for support. Three days is really short, though.

An episode of an anime or TV show is about 22 minutes. My screenplay is 103 minutes or between four and five episodes in length. What if I treated it like an anime? What if I split the story: Act one is episodes 1 and 2, act two is episodes 3 and 4, and act three is episodes 12 and 13. That would give me episodes 5-11, or six additional episodes, to just tell Fly Guy stories. Ernesto gets a couple, throw in a couple of other one-shot villains, and a couple of crisis episodes (like "Gothzilla" and the tattoo story). Then you've got a chance for them to spend time together, work on their relationship, and just, you know... fill them out.

Here's the kicker... Avatar, the Last Airbender is the Number 1 kids' show on television right now. Imagine Fly Guy being written with a similar dynamic, and I'm not ready to let this go yet... with Jamie-Lynn Spears as Melanie. Nick wouldn't just be launching another show going after the same audience, but they'd be setting it up for success by putting their teen star into it.

Tomorrow: research. Find the contact at Nickelodeon. Track down the attorney. Drink more coffee.

i think you are right. you should def track down A attorney or an agent. have you given this any thought in terms of what budget it might require to be produced locally abroad or whatever? mabe if you put some numbers together, pitched them around????

I think we could do it for twelve dollars.

Fifteen if I go for Shatner.

i think you are right. you should def track down A attorney or an agent. have you given this any thought in terms of what budget it might require to be produced locally abroad or whatever? mabe if you put some numbers together, pitched them around????

The cost varies depending on a lot of factors. A reasonable number that I've heard to produce professional-quality animation is roughly $10,000 per minute. That's television-quality animation, not Disney Feature quality animation.

I could sell my house and not be able to finance a half-hour cartoon. And I'd still need a place to live. I mean, I suppose I could sleep on Jab's floor, but the commute would kill me.

I even checked with someone in a position to finance a large project like this, but it's an estate and their hands are tied to donations to non-profit organizations in a small geographic location (my hometown). Since I no longer live there, I lose on two fronts - I'm not local and I'm not non-profit.

Larry Hillblom was the owner of DHL Shipping and he left an estate of something like $650 million dollars. I can't have any of it, though. They've donated millions to university hospitals, and many thousands to local needs (schools, parks, etc.)

ok.
my basic point was if you do meet people and have a thorough idea of production and costs and its brought up as well, if the cost of production is attractive to them maybe some people might show interest as well.

ok.
my basic point was if you do meet people and have a thorough idea of production and costs and its brought up as well, if the cost of production is attractive to them maybe some people might show interest as well.

Ah, I gotcha. I wasn't sure if you were "fishing" for me to use your overseas studio or something. LOL, it's late, ignore me.

I did find the information about the attorney. His name is Andy Herz, and he's with Buzzsaw Films. He PM'ed me here at these forums and I still had the PM. I sent him an email, asking for his help in requesting a submission kit from Nickelodeon. Hopefully, I'll hear back from him in a day or two.

ha.
well im swamped for now :) . i think it would help just to know because you could pitch it as an attractive cost vs ROI angle as well. there are a bunch of other scenarios i had in mind which would be playable with the cost factor i.e. i you can get a letter of intent from a broadcaster you could in theory go into production with some overseas studios (i remember reading a press release about one which looked for that to begin negotiations atleast based on a letter of intent) if you want i can look it up for ya.

not to make a blanket statement but if the concept is good and economical to produce + you can estimate some type of Revenue then it could def be a cracking presentation.
also because you have a screenplay for a film world which i think would be easier to finance thant a tv show.

my point is to peddle this as a production and not as an idea. if that makes any sense.

also im assumign this is what you want to do , in whcih case why havent you gotten yourself an agent?

Most of the feedback I've received said to forget an agent until you are established. Start with an entertainment attorney first, adn after you've sold a couple of shows, THEN get an agent. I have an email out to an attorney who contacted me once through AWN. I'm just waiting for the reply.

In addition to the attorney, I've sent an email to a friend at another forum who is trying to get us a connection with Warner, Cartoon Network and directly to Nickelodeon. More as I hear it.

Also, I've sent Jab info about redoing this for Frederator after all. We'll let you know what we decide to do about that, too.

Stay tooned.

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