How to Pitch and Sell Your Project to a Network. A&E, #2/3. “Death is the Ultimate ‘High Stakes'”

By Erin Essenmacher
Part 2/3.

Harris emphasized that the best ideas aren’t necessarily the most controversial:

• “We’re looking for programs that aren’t just topical but sustainable
• “Series that are ‘ripped from the headlines’ don’t always work
• “I’m always asking: ‘Will it still be relevant 12-18 months from now?’ “

Filters: ‘Death’ is the Ultimate ‘High Stakes’

Harris outlined the Four Filters that A&E uses to determine if a show is a good fit:

1. Big Characters
   Do the main characters register? Do you remember them? “Any of our characters, if they walked into a room you’d remember them, even if they weren’t celebrities. Think of Dog the Bounty Hunter. Kirstie Alley. Tony Danza. They just stick with you,” Harris explained
2. High Stakes 
   “What is the ultimate in high stakes?” Harris asked. “Death!”  Think of programs that feature characters defying death (Criss Angel Mindfreak), tracking toward death (Intervention), investigating death (First 48), or risking death (Dog the Bounty Hunter). High stakes also includes stories about overcoming great personal obstacles (Kirstie Alley’s Big Life)
3. Unique Access 
   “Does the program offer something you couldn’t otherwise see or experience?” Does it feel exclusive?  Harris used several of the programs from A&E’s existing and upcoming schedule as examples: “You can see Steven Segal play a copy in the movies, but here’s a show where he is a cop, or you see Tony Danza being a real teacher. Gene Simmons was this guy who was spitting fire and gargling fake blood on stage – but you get to see this other side of him.  If we had been pitched a show about following Kiss on the road, we probably would have passed. But seeing Gene at home, telling his son to take out the trash, now that’s different!”
4. Resolution 
   “We’re looking for a close-ended story arc. It must have resolution within each episode.  Every show we green light, we want to see go to multiple seasons,” Harris explained, “But we also like to have the flexibility to air the latest episode from Season 4 but then be able to program an episode from Season 1 right after, and have it feel seamless. We don’t want competition formats like America’s Next Top Model that aren’t repeatable and have a short shelf life.”

Jackpot-ability

Harris emphasized that for him to even consider a pitch, a show idea must present all four of these qualities:

• “It’s like in Vegas where you need all cherries to hit the jackpot. Don’t come to me with a three out of the four!”

The concept must also pass a budget credibility test.

• Are the costs for the talent, music and locations aligned with A&E’s budgets and resources?

A&E’s Development Process: Getting to ‘the side of the bus’

Stephen outlined A&E’s stages in the development process from first pitch to ‘On-the-Side-of-the-Bus’

1. Title
   Create a great title, like Pawn Stars
2. Elevator Pitch
   A&E’s development exec compresses a producer’s 3+/- page treatment to 3-5 sentences. “It eloquently and sufficiently explains – versus ‘describes’ – what the show is about.”  This is a proprietary effort, and AETN doesn’t share its internal ‘value-added’ thinking with producers
3. Internal Pitch
   The development exec makes the elevator pitch to the direct report, and afterwards to the development team. A “Yes/Maybe/No” response, with detailed explanations, strengthens the feedback loop – even when a project is marginal
4. Back to the Producer
   If it’s a “Yes”, the producer is asked to develop a detailed budget, establish proof of critically important access, show talent agreements, and so on
5. Senior Executive Review
   The project is presented to the senior executive team, including Marketing and Ad Sales. Their approval is captured in an official document known at AETN as ‘The Pack’
6. Offer to Producer
   The producer receives the official green light to create the approved deliverable: a sizzle reel, pilot or series
7. Production Supervision
   The development exec who championed the project “puts one in the win column”, and goes on to supervise the completion of the project.

A guest post by Erin Essenmacher, The Film Panel Notetaker
(Adapted for the WordPress format with added notes taken by Peter Hamilton during prep sessions.)

More about the Development Process from DocumentaryTelevision.com

• AETN and Bio
• The ‘Preferred Producer’ System
• Nat Geo Explorer
• Other Channels

 Next Post

• Stephen’s Takeaways for Producers
• Greenlit projects for 2010-11
• And more

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