1. Stillwater Communications |64 Dame Street | Dublin 2 | +353 (0)1 677 0630 | www.stillwater.ie
Produce and Pitch to
Perfection for TV
Session 1
19th November 2010

2. Stillwater Communications |64 Dame Street | Dublin 2 | +353 (0)1 677 0630 | www.stillwater.ie
Introducing the course
• Purpose
• Length
• Schedule
• Mentoring
• SlideShare

3. Produce and Pitch to Perfection Course Dates
19-Nov 26-Nov 03-Dec 10-Dec 17-Dec 24-Dec 31-Dec 07-Jan 14-Jan 21-Jan 28-Jan 04-Feb
Session 1 Session 2 Mentoring Sessions Session 3 Session 4
Commissioning
Rounds
ntroduction -
defining needs of
participants and
examining course
content
Send
progress
report to
SC
Progress report
on researched
ideas
Structure of
programme/series
Find
contributor
s
Design
and
refine
budget
Write up
document
with the
progress so
far
Writing a
treatment
and
proposal Pitching the idea
Current TV
andscape - TG4
representative
ncluded here. a TV
scheduler will help
participants identify
where their ideas fit
nto schedules
Sign off on
researched ideas
Detailed
breakdown of each
episode
Source
archive
Putting your
idea to
paper
Answering
questions about
the programme
idea
Checklist - criteria
for good television
deas will be
presented. Format?
Storytelling for
television
Research
locations
and
resources
Prepare
presentatio
n for
pitching
ntroduce Ideas -
deas will be heard,
Explain
Commissioning

4. Stillwater Communications |64 Dame Street | Dublin 2 | +353 (0)1 677 0630 | www.stillwater.ie
Your needs
• Your objective
• What’s your story?

5. Stillwater Communications |64 Dame Street | Dublin 2 | +353 (0)1 677 0630 | www.stillwater.ie
TV Schedules
• TG4
• RTÉ
• TV3
• Setanta

6. Stillwater Communications |64 Dame Street | Dublin 2 | +353 (0)1 677 0630 | www.stillwater.ie
TV Schedules
• Lifestyle
• Fact Ent (Factual Entertainment) The Apprentice, Retail
Therapy, How Clean is your House, How Healthy are
you?
• Religious
• Current affairs
• Regional
• Entertainment
• Early evening/late evening
• Shares

7. Stillwater Communications |64 Dame Street | Dublin 2 | +353 (0)1 677 0630 | www.stillwater.ie
TV is a business
• Your programme has to:
1. Make money
2. Get an audience
3. Reinforce the brand
• Your story is a product
• Most commercially successful
programme on RTÉ?

8. Stillwater Communications |64 Dame Street | Dublin 2 | +353 (0)1 677 0630 | www.stillwater.ie
Who is your customer?
• Commissioning editors
• Understand their needs
• What are they thinking and what do they
want?

9. Commissioning Editor:
Bubble Trouble
Trouble
Trust
Latest
idea

10. Stillwater Communications |64 Dame Street | Dublin 2 | +353 (0)1 677 0630 | www.stillwater.ie
Checklist
• Budget
• Genre (religious/factual/current
affairs/regional/entertainment)
• What channel are you pitching to?
• Duration: one-off/series
• Slot? What’s in that slot now?
• If presenter-lead, do you have a presenter in mind?
• Target market/age-group
• What experience do you want the viewer to have?
• TV Formats

11. Stillwater Communications |64 Dame Street | Dublin 2 | +353 (0)1 677 0630 | www.stillwater.ie
Introduce your idea
• Is it a one-off
documentary/series/drama/other?
• Where in the schedule?
• Worthy but dull ideas
• What’s the tipping point
of a bad/good idea?

12. Stillwater Communications |64 Dame Street | Dublin 2 | +353 (0)1 677 0630 | www.stillwater.ie
Research
• Internet
• Newspapers
• Archive
• Libraries
• Local history
• Other TV channels
• People, people, people