CLOSED CAPTIONED: Stage 32 + Netflix Present: Television Pitch Workshop

Hosted by Christopher Mack

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Christopher Mack

Webinar hosted by: Christopher Mack

Director, Creative Talent Investment & Development for Netflix International Originals. at Netflix

Christopher Mack is Director, Creative Talent Investment & Development for Netflix International Originals. He was previously Senior Vice President of Scripted Content for Stage 13, overseeing all of the brand’s original scripted series and development slates across multiple genres, including Emmy nominated Netflix series’ SPECIAL and IT'S BRUNO. Before Stage 13, Chris headed the Warner Bros. Workshop, the writing and directing program for professionals looking to start and/or further their careers in television. Over a period of 10 years in this role, Chris curated a roster of close to 100 writers and 50 directors representing the breakthrough emerging voices working on high-profile television shows today. In addition to these responsibilities, Chris has covered hit shows such as TWO AND A HALF MEN and SMALLVILLE for the Current Programs department. Prior to joining Warner Bros., Chris spent seven years writing on various one-hour dramas including ER, THE PRACTICE and THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE. After graduating from Loyola Law School, Chris got his start in television at NBC Studios as an associate and he quickly rose to becoming an executive. During his time at the newly created NBC Studios, he oversaw a varied list of shows including: THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR and IN THE HOUSE, among others. Full Bio »

Webinar Summary

**This video presentation contains English closed captions. To view the webinar without captions, click here.

 

Stage 32 + Netflix join forces to bring you an exclusive television pitch workshop

Learn best practices to make your pitch work and what your pitching document should look like

You do NOT want to miss this!

 

 

For many, the holy grail of television has become Netflix. It’s a titan in the industry, and with over 200 million subscribers worldwide, no one can put out content quite like them. Just look at the recent hit show BRIDGERTON, which has already been seen by a massive 80 million households (!!) since its release. If you’re a writer or creator, getting your series onto Netflix’s platform can spell success in a big way. But first there’s the matter of getting your series in front of them and pitching it effectively.

It should be a comfort to know that you’re not the only one who wants your series on Netflix. Netflix wants that too! Netflix execs are constantly on the lookout for exciting new voices and new series to fill their slate. Yet it takes more than just a good series or a good pilot script to get on Netflix’s radar; you need to be able to communicate it well and pitch it in a way that will get their team excited. This certainly takes some work, but it’s absolutely achievable. If you’re interested in getting your show on Netflix, it’s time to learn directly from the source what it will take to make that happen.

In an effort to reach more writers and find more content, Netflix has joined forces with Stage 32 to present a FREE and invaluable workshop on what it is that they’re looking for in new shows and how you can best pitch your series to their executives. In Stage 32's continued effort to help level the playing field for content creators worldwide, we felt it's important that we help you get tools you need to be able to make sure that you can pitch effectively.

Kicking off the workshop will be Stage 32 CEO, Richard "RB" Botto (@rbwalksintoabar), and hosting this presentation will be Stage 32's Managing Director Amanda Toney with Netflix’s Director of Creative Talent Investment and Development for International Originals Christopher Mack. Christopher was previously Senior Vice President of Scripted Content for Stage 13, overseeing all of the brand’s original scripted series and development slates across multiple genres, including Emmy nominated Netflix series’ SPECIAL and IT'S BRUNO. Before Stage 13, Chris headed the Warner Bros. Workshop, the writing and directing program for professionals looking to start and/or further their careers in television. Over a period of 10 years in this role, Chris curated a roster of close to 100 writers and 50 directors representing the breakthrough emerging voices working on high-profile television shows today. In addition to these responsibilities, Chris has covered hit shows such as TWO AND A HALF MEN and SMALLVILLE for the Current Programs department.

Prior to joining Warner Bros., Chris spent seven years writing on various one-hour dramas including ER, THE PRACTICE and THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE. After graduating from Loyola Law School, Chris got his start in television at NBC Studios as an associate and he quickly rose to becoming an executive. During his time at the newly created NBC Studios, he oversaw a varied list of shows including: THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR and IN THE HOUSE, among others.

In this exclusive Stage 32 workshop, Christopher will delve into what exactly makes a television pitch work at Netflix. He’ll discuss the essentials you’ll need to catch Netflix’s eye and will zero in on how to write an effective pitch document. He’ll pose questions you be able to answer and communicate for your series and give you ideas on how best to communicate your show’s overview, world, tone, and characters. Christopher will then discuss how season summaries should be built and give you ideas on how to think about and present potential episodes. Finally, you will have the invaluable opportunity to ask Christopher your own questions. You will leave this presentation with the understanding of how to structure and present your series, not in theory, but directly from the source.

What You'll Learn

We will be referencing BREAKING BAD and UNORTHODOX, please familiarize yourself with these pilots and shows.

  • Introduction
  • Some Thoughts Before We Start
    • You will learn about:
      • What to Pitch
      • Netflix Essentials
      • How to write a pitch document
  • Brainstorming - What To Pitch
  • Netflix Essentials
    • Character Driven
    • Teasers
    • Narrative Drive
    • Cliffhangers
  • How To Write A Pitch Document
    • Story Questions
    • Overview
    • World
    • Tone
    • Character
    • Season Summaries
    • Potential Episodes
  • Story Questions
    • Who is the hero?
    • What do they want?
    • Why do they want it?
    • How do they get it?
    • What are the Central Conflicts?
    • What are the stakes?
    • What are the themes?
  • Overview
    • Synopsis
    • Why this series?
  • World
    • Where
    • When
    • Hero’s profession
  • Tone
    • What the audience will feel
    • Theme may drive the tone
    • Director’s vision
    • Movie, television and pictorial references
  • Character
    • Root-worthy Characters
      • Etsy Case Study (unorthodox)
    • Backstory
    • Traits
    • Arc
  • Season Summaries
    • Godfather Reference
    • 3 Act Story application to season
    • Story Circle Analysis - You, Need, Go, Struggle, Find, Suffer, Return, Change
      • Season analysis
      • Pilot analysis
  • Potential Episodes
    • What are the mini goals?
    • What are the barriers?
  • Summary
    • Story is about emotion
    • Make you characters suffer
  • Q&A with Christopher

About Your Instructor

Christopher Mack is Director, Creative Talent Investment & Development for Netflix International Originals.

He was previously Senior Vice President of Scripted Content for Stage 13, overseeing all of the brand’s original scripted series and development slates across multiple genres, including Emmy nominated Netflix series’ SPECIAL and IT'S BRUNO. Before Stage 13, Chris headed the Warner Bros. Workshop, the writing and directing program for professionals looking to start and/or further their careers in television. Over a period of 10 years in this role, Chris curated a roster of close to 100 writers and 50 directors representing the breakthrough emerging voices working on high-profile television shows today. In addition to these responsibilities, Chris has covered hit shows such as TWO AND A HALF MEN and SMALLVILLE for the Current Programs department.

Prior to joining Warner Bros., Chris spent seven years writing on various one-hour dramas including ER, THE PRACTICE and THE NEW TWILIGHT ZONE. After graduating from Loyola Law School, Chris got his start in television at NBC Studios as an associate and he quickly rose to becoming an executive. During his time at the newly created NBC Studios, he oversaw a varied list of shows including: THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL AIR and IN THE HOUSE, among others.

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Reviews Average Rating: 5 out of 5

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