As most of you know as a producer I just sold my first TV show to a major US network. I'm finding the production process fascinating. Edit - submit to network - notes. Edit - submit to network - notes... It's been a wild ride. A huge piece of advice I can give - especially to our writers on the platform - is that you cannot be precious about the script or story. It will change. It does change. It might be audio issues, not getting the best take, lighting issues, pacing issues, etc. but the one thing is for sure - it will be different than what you went in with. But, when you are not the one writing the checks, you have to compromise and learn to let go. Curious to hear other people's experiences working with the networks.
Producing : The cycle of television producing life: Edit - Network - Notes - Edit - Network - Notes by Amanda Toney
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Hello Amanda, congrats on your pitch. I was curious what your pitch deck consisted of.
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This is a fantastic topic, thank you for sharing, Amanda! My first two years in the television industry were more on the logistical side, but as part of my PM training, I witnessed a lot of what you're talking about. The worst is when a Network pushes back and you have to do pick-ups or have to re-shoot something. Talk about not being precious with your writing! Now you're asked to write and shoot during the editing stage, which means giving the EP/Network exactly what they ask for. It's also interesting, the relationship between writer and producer in television - they can be so, so close that for something like pick-ups, it's the producer who takes the lead and the writer focuses on moving the rest of the series forward (you do NOT want to run late with deliverables!).
Massive congratulations , can I ask what was in your pitch bible ?
Amanda - true words. I've spent some time in the Writer's Room working with other Producers, Writers, Actors and a few others; yes, compromise and flexibility are critical.
No executive in any company within the corporate world or entertainment business gets involved with (purchases) anything unless they can feel a sense of authorship with it. A writer, looking at it from a perspective that he/she is not so much compromising, but rather, providing the potential buyer this necessary sense of ownership wins the day! Massive congratulations, Amanda, on your non-attachment to the script and resulting "producer" attachment instead.
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Congratulations Amanda! That's amazing! My experience working with networks (and studios, indies) is they vary by their involvement, oversight - from stacks of notes taller than the screenplay / teleplay to very hands-off. A big part of it is their confidence in the storytellers and their ability to execute - experience. Good luck, look forward to hearing more!
Huge congrats Amanda!
Congratulations, Amanda! There's so much that goes into these projects from conception to execution. Going through the process is an education in of itself. So happy for you!
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Hey, Congratulation on selling your show!
I have never sold a script. I have produced and directed myself, but I have experienced the same.
On my short film "Bathtub by the sea", I had a script, we had shot it, and it worked fairly well. But then a friend pointed out that I needed to change the midpoint. So the character had a false victory, instead of what I thought of as the midpoint (the picture is from the midpoint were he had claimed his bathtub back from the mermaid). It really changed the story quite a bit, and made it much stronger.
So, I think we are making the film/tv-show three times. The script, on set and in the edit (I think maybe Hitchcock said something like this). And the outcome can be something completely different then what you started with, and what you imagined, but maybe equally good or better.
But the foundation for a good story is a great script. It doesn't matter if you have the best director in the world if the story sucks.
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Congrats! I experienced that last year as I had several development execs read my scripts and give me notes. It's a fine line between making the changes they want for the show and remaining true to your vision. For me, it helped to remember that we all want the show to succeed. If I kept that in mind, it was actually pretty fun watching it morph before my eyes.
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Really enjoyed reading all your experiences. It's a wild ride to go through this. We just submitted what we think is the final series bible. Now we wait for next steps.
Congratulations
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That's very exciting and may there be many more writing/producing experiences for you!
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Thanks everyone! It's been interesting with even the bible. The network asked us to move up a lot more of the character relationships to the front of the bible, and plot almost became secondary to the last draft we submitted. It just keeps leaning into what we are all hearing right now in the industry - character, character, character.
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That's really interesting, thanks for the update, Amanda! For me, I feel like "relationships" is actually the key. I often promote defining a character by having them interact with the character they are not. They can start together and end differently, or start different and end on the same page, but the contrast is how you can more definitively "show character" (i.e. it's who they are, it's who they are not, and it's who they are to each other). I wonder how one does that with unscripted television, though... arched eyebrow stuck on "fascinated" mode LOL