How to Do A Reality Show

Has happened to us more than once.

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Or your idea might be a M. For instance, right now ghost hunting shows are a M. It would take some pretty amazing ghost hunters to overcome this issue. Here are some photos I pulled off Facebook. Would you like to see some tape? But he lives the middle of New York City. Should I put together some more tape? Notice how the bad soft pitches are nothing more than ideas, whereas the good versions have real people and places in mind. By doing so you instantly make yourself valuable.

How To Pitch A Reality Show To Hollywood

Plus, it allows us or other pros to give you better advice on how to proceed. Are you a third-party approved reality TV production company like us? Or are you teamed up with a production company? There can be a lot of overlap between these phases as well. The network likes the show in general, but wants to develop a more specific take for their air. This phase could involve delivering:. This is finally where the long, in-depth pitch documents come into play. Casting Phase Casting periods can exist for several kinds of shows.

For instance, say your show is a self-contained format built around a big character, like Kitchen Nightmares. Then you would need to find potential kitchens to go in and fix. About minutes in length. Also deliver everything mentioned in the paper phase. About 22 minutes for a half hour show.

About 44 minutes for an hour show. Though you should still do what you can in-house to make your pilot look and sound great. Like releases, clearances, etc. Clear it with your network first. You will still deliver everything mentioned in the paper phase. All the legal paperwork releases, clearances etc. Should the network choose to air the pilot tomorrow, there would be no technical or legal issues. If all of the above goes right, you get…. Then the network will pair you with a third party approved reality TV show company.

It took us a long time to get to the point where networks would also bring projects directly to us as opposed to us always pitching them. If you do pay to pitch at a seminar or pitch fest, you might be pitching to lower-level execs.

How To Pitch A Reality Show - Producing Unscripted

They may or may not have the power to move your show up the ladder. Also, if you pitch to a network first, you might have less choice over which production company you end up with.

Network politics can be crazy. So say you get a meeting with someone at History, but your show is also right for Discovery, NatGeo, and Spike. Networks choose projects from established production companies over pitches from new producers. Our company, Joke Productions. What finally opened the doors for us was teaming up with bigger reality television production companies we trusted to take care of us. We wanted to team up with those reality TV production companies who would let us work on the shows, learn, and grow.

We were lucky enough to do that. Are you looking to build your career, stay involved with your show as much as possible, or learn the unscripted TV business from the inside out? Nothing beats teaming up with an established production company who is willing to mentor you along. But speaking for us, a big part of the reason we team up with aspiring producers on shows is because we like the people pitching to us. As well as being there to console them during the times things inevitably go wrong.

Every time we team up with an aspiring producer, our goal is for them to learn as much as possible, and feel that their creative input is valued along the way. Of course, we get something out of doing this, too. When producers have a good experience with us, they pitch us more shows. Our goal is always to be fair, easy to work with, and an open book about the process of making a TV show.

We want you to be as involved in the production of your show as you want to be. We want you to take on as much responsibility as your experience allows. You should learn a lot, enjoy the process, and come out the other side a much better and more experienced producer, able to handle even more responsibility on your next show. We started this outreach so aspiring producers had a legitimate place to pitch their reality TV concepts without having to lie to people or pay to pitch. We remember how impossible it was to get our pitches heard.

But why did it have to be so hard? We were talented back then. The reason we started Producing Unscripted is to teach you the right way to create, pitch, sell, and make reality shows, and to encourage you to pitch to us. And not everyone who reads this will want to pitch to us. We like to help aspiring producers build their careers. Over the years we were lucky to have had great mentors. They were the rare producers secure enough in their own talent to share their knowledge. Working with them was invaluable. Those experiences allowed us to launch our own production company.

Today, those mentors are still in business, making plenty of TV shows. But not everyone wants a full-time career in reality TV. Some people want to take a credit and a small check and keep on living their lives. Do you have a TV friendly life packed with drama, comedy, action, adventure?

Or any other descriptive word that would make your life a TV show? If you want to be in front of the camera, not behind it, no one expects you to put together a pitch tape. To pitch to us, just sign up for our newsletter , and follow the instructions on how to pitch us a show. If you post these on YouTube, be sure to make it either a Public video or Unlisted video, not a Private video. Just make sure we can see and hear you.

You can still follow our tips on putting together your short paper pitch , but your short videos are what matter most. But making it this far has put you miles ahead of most who pitch to us and other industry professionals. Check out this seven step cheat sheet on how to pitch a reality show to us. You now have a great understanding of how to pitch a reality show the smart way, and how to greatly increase your odds of standing out from the crowd. This is the ultimate guide on how to pitch a reality show:. Please share this post in a meaningful way on your favorite social network.

Thank you for helping us get the word out! Ultimate Guide from Two Working Producers This page will tell you everything you need to know about how to pitch a reality show, and more. Are you looking to pitch: Format, Docu, or Hybrid?

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What Are You Actually Pitching? And viewers love them too. Millions of people regularly tune in to reality television for entertainment and excitement and though we know there's not a lot of reality in "reality TV" we're probably not aware of the lengths some producers will go to get the results they want. Here are 10 lesser-known secrets about filming reality shows, just in case you're thinking of trying out for one.

King of the 'Hill Street': Were the Flintstones Neanderthals? Jacqueline Laurita red dress makes her point to Teresa Giudice in green while the rest of the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast looks on during a reunion show. How unreal are these reality shows? The title should hit on what we're seeing, but may be a play on words. It needs to give a direct clue as to the subject we're watching.

Movies can have obscure or ambiguous titles, but television is an advertisers medium that demands quick capture of attention, so the viewer knows generally what the show may be about. Loglines are perhaps the most important aspect of pitching. A logline is the short pitch that communicates the high-concept of the show in one or two sentences.

Any Producer reading a pitch for a reality TV series needs the logline to tell the unique premise and agenda of the concept. Too often new writers will create a logline that reads more like a movie tagline, hitting on themes or general ideas. For a TV Logline, the writer needs to be more specific about communicating what we're actually watching. What is the premise, and what is the plight? Keep it simple and clear. Once you establish that your logline tells what what the show is, then you can refine it to read in a more clever style. Visit our page on Creating Loglines that Sell to learn more.

Writing a Synopsis for a reality TV show pitch is all about communicating the unique and important moments in the show, in a very efficient and original manner. This is where you establish your originality of the format and content proposed.

How to Pitch a Reality Show in 5 Steps

Communicate what we're potentially watching, detailing the progression of story or format beat for beat. In a docu-style series pitch, you're pitching that specific world, and the unique people involved. The first paragraph should be about the main character, their situation, and what they do. Then expand into the details of their daily challenges, and the most interesting events or circumstances they may encounter. Remember, what is filmed in the series hasn't happened yet, so you need to first talk about what makes the subject interesting, but quickly get into proposed scenarios and events that are likely to unfold.

You're pitching "proposed content", based on the real activities and lives of those involved. If you're writing a pitch for a reality TV format competition, elimination, or other variation , then you're writing a very clear step-by-step overview of how the series progresses. Often new writers will get bogged down with paragraphs and pages of writing that is "justifying" or "educating" the reader on why the idea works, but in fact isn't telling us specifically what we're seeing unfold in the show.

Example; Don't spend a page telling us about the chemistry or conflict that contestants will face in the relationship series you're pitching. Instead, describe the specific moments of decision and ultimatums that create that chemistry and conflict. Those are the moments that captivate us, and propel the show. Those are the moments that Producers create and control to deliver that end result of "chemistry" and "conflict". Another important technical skill to keep in mind when creating your pitch for a reality show is to be efficient in your writing.

Good writers may also get caught up in writing too many descriptive passages or expository writing simply because they're good at writing, and they feel they have to hammer a point home by describing it in more detail and length. Here's the golden rule; If it takes a page to describe, cut it down to a long paragraph.

If it takes a long paragraph to make the point, cut it down to one or two sentences. When you hit it hard and efficient, you make impact, and then you move to the next beat in the show.

How To Pitch A Reality Show

This keeps the reader engaged. Especially if a Producer reading your pitch is already sold on the concept, they don't want to be turned off by having to read a lengthy section that isn't moving the story or format forward. When a Production Company wants to buy your idea for a new reality series, know what you can ask for.

We always recommend having an experienced entertainment attorney negotiate any deal on your behalf, but its also very important to know what to expect, and what Production Companies may be willing to give. You should expect some form of Producer credit. This may be Consulting Producer, Co-Producer, or similar. A "Created by" credit is also appropriate as you are the original creator of the unique concept.