HOW TO PARTNER WITH THE RIGHT PRODUCTION COMPANY TO GET YOUR TV PROJECT MADE
FOUR YEARS AGO, I LAUNCHED A CONTEST TO FIND THE NEXT GREAT TV IDEA. THE BEST IDEA WON A $10,000 DEVELOPMENT DEAL WITH OUR COMPANY. THIS IS WHAT I LEARNED.?
What do you do when you have a great project but you don’t necessarily have the resources,?infrastructure, connections, staff?to get your idea?into production??
PARTNER UP!?
Before starting my own production company, I partnered with many different TV producers and production companies to get our sizzle reels made into TV shows. These included PYROS (2012; Omni Film Productions), JACKED (2013; Pix Com Productions) and our successful program COLD WATER COWBOYS (2014), which was a partnership with Academy Award-winning producer David Paperny who sold the show to Bell Media / Discovery Channel and which ran for four seasons. I also formed Mayhem Entertainment to co-create the international sensation RUST VALLEY RESTORERS, so it’s safe to say that partnerships have been a big part of my career and proof that the right partnerships can really ensure your project’s success.?
How did these partnerships happen? It’s a three-way kinda deal for many TV productions. There is the creator (that’s me – and maybe you), there is the production company, and there is the broadcaster or distributor. In some cases, the first two may be rolled into one. Earlier in your career, it is wisest to partner with people that have industry experience, but as you gain more experience yourself, and build a team with greater capacity, you might take on the production company role in house.
But … no matter what phase of your career you’re in, partnerships can be a tricky proposition. Not all my partnerships have been great experiences. How do you ensure that you don’t get screwed in the process? How do you make sure that your creative vision remains intact? How can you make sure that you remain an integral part of your creative idea and don’t just sell it off and find yourself discarded? There are some things you can do to set yourself up for success.?
I’ve identified five ways to ensure you have the best chance for success when bringing your TV idea to a production company.
STEP 1: DEVELOP YOUR CONCEPT TO GRAB A PRODUCTION COMPANY’S ATTENTION?
Who knows what will catch the attention of a production company (or TV audiences, for that matter)? If this were a science, rather than an art, they wouldn’t need creative people. Broadcasters could come up with all the ideas they need without bothering with the “little people” (like us)!
So the first thing you need to understand is: You have something of value. Yes, you may be coming to them cap in hand, hoping to get picked up. But you need to upend your idea of the power dynamic here. If you truly believe in your concept, then you are doing them one massive favor by offering them the chance to be involved. (If you do not truly believe in your concept … then shut the whole thing down right now.)
While there are no sure things in terms of identifying what a production company might want, I am pretty confident that (at least) one of the following three things will put you in a pretty good position when you first sit down with a prospective partner.
A)?Access?to a really amazing world, person, place or thing. We are telling stories in this business. Stories require characters, situations and settings. If you’ve got good characters, you’re off to a great start. (In my show PETS & PICKERS, we have an amazing ensemble of kooky characters who pick through donated storage bins, incredibly dedicated veterinary staff and, importantly, unbelievably cute animals!). If you’ve got gripping, dramatic or funny situations, that’s your hook. (PETS & PICKERS has mystery contents in storage bins and edge-of-your-seat medical drama in the vet clinic.) An interesting setting is also important. (PETS & PICKERS gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look at both thrift stores and a veterinary clinic!)?
B) A really well-made sizzle reel.?The days of selling a TV show on paper or through a verbal pitch are long gone. Possible partners want to see what you can do. You need to show them your best stuff, and show it fast. Your sizzle reel has to speak for itself and sell them on you. (You can see my article on this to get more of a sense of what that looks like.)
C) An extremely compelling concept. Even if you nail (A) and (B), that is not the full package. You’ve got the characters. You’ve got the situations. You’ve got the settings. You’ve got the sizzle reel. Together, these do not necessarily add up to something amazing. The sum of a bunch of parts has to add up to awesome! With PETS & PICKERS, we took two unique genres – the “pickers” idea, with a team of thrift store folks rummaging through stuff looking for treasures – and the “real life in the ER” genre with a veterinary twist – and swirled them together to create something never dreamed up before. That’s the concept: Animals need urgent surgery. Pickers dig through stuff and sell what they find to make it happen. Rocket science? No. Hilarious? Dramatic? Anything-can-happen-and-probably-will? Every single episode!
STEP 2: ENSURE YOUR POTENTIAL PARTNER IS THE RIGHT FIT FOR YOU
OK, congratulations, you found someone who is interested in your idea! Now, you need to start checking references. Much like they might be checking YOUR references or who YOU are, you need to ensure they are right for your project.?
You’ve already put a lot into your idea (presumably) and so you want to ensure that the company you are looking at getting into bed with is actually worth the commitment. A few questions you may want to ask them:?
领英推荐
STEP 3: WHAT’S THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN?
You need a creative synthesis with your potential partner. You have the dream and the idea, they have the tools, connections to make it happen. You need to make sure your creativity is not going to be snuffed out by their plans.?
Does the company you want to sign with have a plan for your idea? Do their plans dovetail with your vision? They might see something valuable in your project – but their expertise might say it’s not quite sellable in its current form. Fair enough. You need to be open to adapting, deferring to their wisdom of the market. But you also need to know what your creative red lines are! How married are you to this or that aspect of the project? Is this potential partnership going to realize your dream – or crush it?
If you are new to the industry, I would recommend keeping an open mind. But you also need to keep to your creative guns sometime and walk away when the deal isn’t right. That could be the hardest thing you’ve ever done. But it could also be the best decision you ever made.
A lot of this is not quantifiable. When you are considering a partnership – in business, romantic life, friendship, whatever – a lot of your decision is probably based on gut instinct. If your potential partner shares your passion and agrees with your general approach, that’s probably a good start.
STEP 4: DOWN TO THE NITTY-GRITTY: THE BUSINESS PLAN
Once you understand the creative plan, it’s time to get down to business and sign a deal. The Business Plan is the nuts and bolts of the partnership.
This may be your first TV deal. Are you going to make millions? Probably not. You could … if it’s a super-successful TV show. But the odds are it will take a few years and multiple projects to hit the big time.?
There are agents and lawyers who can help guide the process. People assume that, as a TV producer, I may dislike agents, because producers and agents sometimes have a conflictual relationship. Agents represent the talent and, as such, they may push back on the producer. But the relationship need not be contentious. Of course, a bad agent can blow up a deal for you and make your situation worse. But a good agent who has at heart the best interests of their client (and the project at large) will help guide you through the process, especially if you don’t understand the complexities of the landscape you are entering.
Again, you need to be realistic here. My suggestion would be to write down your priorities around what you want from the relationship and be flexible – especially if it’s your first deal. Of course, working on the project should be a priority. Is it your first show ever? Don’t expect to be the showrunner your first time out. But, for example, you should ensure that you get the right credit. On my first-ever production, I was told that I couldn’t get a “created by” credit. To me, that was basic. That was a red line. I did create it. I put my foot down. The folded – not me. Would I have walked away if they hadn’t? Maybe. You need to decide what is worth walking away over.
STEP 5: KNOW YOUR POWER
If you are not prepared to walk away, you have no power. That may sound harsh – and hopefully it won’t come to that. But what is the point of realizing a dream if it’s not your dream? If you get your project made, but it’s not the project you imagined, will you be happy? Maybe. Just because a project is different doesn’t make it a failure. Maybe you and your production partner agreed on a new path and you both love it! But if they are pushing you in a direction your heart and/or your head tell you not to go, you need to be ready to walk.
A production company will (ideally) put a lot of work into developing your project. They have something you need and they are willing to invest resources into your vision. But you must not undervalue what you are bringing, either. Your creativity, ideas and vision are what generated this entire thing. Without that, there’s nothing. So start from a position of recognizing that, while you may feel like the weaker party, you have something valuable to offer – or you wouldn’t be here. Don’t fold every time they ask you to change your vision.
At the same time, be flexible. Know your red lines but don’t be unnecessarily stubborn. Any partnership involves give and take.
These are my five takeaways for considering a production partnership. If you have experiences or ideas, please share them in the comments. Let’s get a conversation going! I don’t pretend these takeaways are the final word on anything! However, with these ideas in mind, consider 'speed dating' a few companies to ensure they are right for the project. Or, better yet, come talk to me. *WINK*
This is an excellent article . So true . I’ll never forget my agent at Creative Artists’ comment when I told him I would not produce my movie Escape from Iran : The Canadian caper based on the garbage script that Lionel Chetwynd had written. He said “ if CBS greenlights it you have to produce it.” “ Just watch me”, I said. They greenlit it and I said “No”. The script was not based on my 200 pages of detailed research and was not as exciting or as dramatic as the real story. I said to CBS’s head of drama that I’d produce a documentary first and if the documentary was more dramatic and exciting than the movie’s script he should agree for me to rewrite it . He replied “I’m not paying for a documentary but if you can produce it and I like it then I’ll agree “. The rest is now history. But Chetwynd still gets the writing credit despite only one scene of his being in the final movie.
Founder and CEO, Cream Productions Inc.
1 个月Great article, Tyson. I agree with it all - we all know that partnerships are so important in our industry. I would add that it’s very important to be able to, as a creator, assess the bandwidth or priority that the potential prodco partner will be giving the project. Companies, by definition, must have dozens of things in development at any given time, some of which might get more love than others. You have to get a realistic sense of where the project will lie in their priority stack. Conversely, as a production company, we have to be honest with ourselves (and our potential partner) about what kind of energy and attention we can give a partnered project and make sure we don’t over-promise. Over-promising is the kiss of death to relationships ships - and can often lead to disappointment and resentment. Honestly and open communication is essential to overcome these challenges.
Factual, Documentary & Drama Media Producer-Consultant
1 个月Another excellent, thoughtful piece, Tyson.
Freelance Journalist | Content Creator | Copywriter | Producer | Anchor, Host, & Voice Over Artist
1 个月This was karmic. After the conversation I had today especially. You really thought this through from all aspects and it is extremely valuable. Extremely. And I can tell it took a lot of time. I will continue to think about all these and apply them to the discussions I'm having. Thank you so much.