Table of Contents
|
Foreword |
xi |
Chapter 1 |
Who We Are |
1 |
|
Photocopying |
4 |
Chapter 2 |
Who You Are |
9 |
|
Idea People |
10 |
|
Selling Your Ideas as Property |
11 |
Chapter 3 |
How We Created Our Positions |
13 |
Chapter 4 |
What Is "High Concept"? |
17 |
|
Low Concept |
19 |
|
What if It's Neither-Nor? |
19 |
|
Back to High Concept |
19 |
|
Sample High Concept Pitch |
20 |
Chapter 5 |
Start With a Good Idea |
25 |
|
Freshness |
25 |
|
Commercial Viability |
28 |
|
Marketability |
28 |
|
Timeliness |
29 |
|
Demographics |
30 |
|
Other Factors to Consider |
32 |
|
Finding those Great Ideas |
33 |
|
Ideas from Articles, Radio, TV |
39 |
|
Ideas from Books |
40 |
|
Public Domain |
41 |
|
When Looking for and Generating Ideas, Keep in Mind |
41 |
Chapter 6 |
All-Time Worst Pitches |
43 |
|
Good Examples of Bad Ideas |
43 |
|
So, Did This Help? |
50 |
|
Here's a List of Elements that Will Most Likely Make Your Idea Dead on Arrival |
50 |
Chapter 7 |
How Much Is My Idea Worth? |
53 |
|
A Very Tough Question |
53 |
|
Forms of Payment |
54 |
Chapter 8 |
Protecting Your Idea |
61 |
|
Register Your Treatment |
62 |
|
Mail It to Yourself |
63 |
|
Be Mindful |
64 |
|
Be Concise and Specific |
64 |
|
Pitch It Everywhere |
65 |
Chapter 9 |
Preparing Your Pitch |
67 |
|
Titles |
68 |
|
Anatomy of a Pitch |
68 |
|
Film Treatments |
70 |
|
Reality Show Treatments |
72 |
|
Treatments for Game Shows |
74 |
|
Treatments for Hybrid Shows: Competitive Reality Shows |
75 |
|
Treatments for Documentary/Biography Shows |
75 |
|
Treatments for Soap Operas |
76 |
|
Treatments for News Magazines and Talkshows |
76 |
|
Treatments for Dramas and Sitcoms: "Bibles" |
76 |
|
Refining the Pitch |
78 |
Chapter 10 |
Getting into the Room |
81 |
|
Where to Begin? |
82 |
|
So You've Got a Good Idea, a Pitch, and the Numbers to Call: Now What? |
84 |
|
If You Don't Live in L.A. |
86 |
Chapter 11 |
Once You Are In the Room |
89 |
|
The Do's |
89 |
|
The Don'ts |
96 |
Chapter 12 |
Staying Cool In Development Hell |
101 |
|
What Is Development? |
101 |
|
Why Does It Take So Long? |
102 |
|
What's the Point? |
105 |
Chapter 13 |
Sample High Concepts, Synopses, and Treatments |
107 |
|
Game Shows |
108 |
|
Reality Shows |
115 |
|
Reality-Game Show Hybrid |
119 |
|
Movies |
126 |
|
Glossary of Terms |
137 |
|
References & Resources |
145 |
|
Additional Reading |
150 |
|
Index |
153 |
|
About the Authors |
163 |
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