A lot of people want to know if they should produce their own reality TV pilot. There are pros and cons to both sides of the issue. (You should also have a look at our free ebook about pitching unscripted entertainment.)
Right now, I want to look at three reasons you might not want to produce your own TV pilot from scratch:
1. Odds of a network purchasing your pilot are near 0%.
A network’s needs change from month to month, sometimes even week to week. Chances that you’ll hit the bulls-eye with your self-funded tape are about the same as winning the lottery. Besides, when a network exec orders a pilot for a new show, they want to put their creative stamp on it—an opportunity they don’t get when you produce your own pilot.
2. Self-funding your own TV pilot is a huge personal risk.
You’re putting your time and money on the line for a project people may hate. Those resources may be better spent purchasing equipment, enrolling in a video editing class, or taking a road trip to brainstorm new show ideas.
3. No one wants to watch your TV pilot.
Agents, managers, production companies, and network execs don’t want to watch a 22 minute or…gasp…44 minute piece of tape. They are much too busy to give you, an unknown quantity, that much of their time. You’ll spend months on a TV pilot no one will watch, which quite honestly, sucks.
So, if your reason for shooting a pilot from scratch is purely to sell a show idea, DO NOT waste your time. There are better ways to get people excited about your show ideas (be sure to subscribe –in the coming weeks we’ll talk about these techniques here at Joke and Biagio.)
Why would you ever want to shoot a full TV Pilot from scratch?
Well, there are some excellent reasons! In fact, the two of us produced two 22 minute pilots on our own time and dime when we were starting out.
Find out why tomorrow in Part 2…