Where people
seem to falter, in our humble opinion, is the ability to see beyond black and
white process in commissioning. There are clear channels by which a writer,
producer or exec can submit their proposals for shows, whether they be comedy,
drama, documentary, entertainment or children's programming. However, it is
usually a catch twenty two situation when you get there! You need to have had
broadcast experience or they don’t accept unsolicited scripts/ideas (which
basically means you need an agent or production company to put the idea forward
for you).
From the
earliest days of Disclosure Group, we made a decision to create work ourselves
to aid in the commissioning propositions we could provide. It helps that we are
a production company, of course, but our philosophy has always been to bring
our work to life otherwise who would be interested? It’s a little cynical but a
little cynicism isn’t a bad thing in the media and arts industry is it!
Here’s our
little guide to popular UK commissioning portals and some notes about what to
expect from them!
BBC
commissioning (through their eCommissioning portal)
This is a very
simple series of forms you fill in with information about your project, however
you need to apply for an account and may need broadcast credits. However if
you’re clever, we’re sure you can work around that. They tend to be fairly
prompt and give you a clear yes or no. They occasionally ask for more material
(for example full scripts and full treatments) so have it ready!
For the
writers out there, there is another option if you wish to submit unsolicited
scripts. This is the Writer’s Room. Competition is steep but you could be one
of the lucky few!
This is a page
with information and links to different areas of the ITV universe. WE suggest
you take a look at the site and have a quick read. It’s more than likely they
will require you to be a production company.
4Producers at Channel 4 (through their eCommissioning
portal)
As Channel 4 have
a public remit they are rather similar to the BBC in their process, however
again you’ll need to apply for an account. There is an option to submit
unsolicited material here.
Sky
Commissioning (Pisa idea submission portal)
Sky are more
open to submissions if you are a production company as they have a relatively
small commissioning department. We have had dealings with them and they are
relatively prompt and friendly with a clear decision one way or another.
Whichever
route you go down, don’t be disheartened if you get some rejections, it’s all
part of the process and without the no’s the yes’s wouldn’t be so brilliant
would they!?
Good luck!
No comments:
Post a Comment