Interview: Me!

Ruth from Ruth Trying Truth blog asked to interview me, so here goes: 1. What is your website, TV Mole, all about? It’s all about inspiring and informing factual TV Development – in other words, helping TV professionals and aspiring filmmakers to originate, develop and pitch their ideas. There is ‘Be Inspired’ section to help [...]

How to Write a Proposal a TV Commissioner Will Actually Read

Commissioning editors can receive up to 80 programme proposals a week; few will be read from start to finish.

Many commissioners never read past the first paragraph, or even the title. On average, they make a decision within 40 seconds. Usually that decision results in the proposal being filed in the bin.

So how can you make sure a commissioner keeps reading to the end of your proposal? Here are ten ways to make your proposal stand out and keep your commissioner reading to the end.

Six Pitching Lessons from the Dragons’ Den

Dragons’ Den: Success From Pitch to Profit, is a book that profiles the dragons and examines case studies of people who have successfully or unsuccessfully pitched in the den. If you read it with your development head on it has a number of lessons that can be applied to the development and pitching of factual TV programmes. (Photo by e-magic.)

How to Turn One Subject Area into Ten Programme Ideas

Tribes: from documentary to reality in ten steps.

Field Guide to Factual Formats that Sell

A drama series is easy to recognize and categorize, but factual programming is more difficult to define. Different producers, commissioners, channels and countries use different names to describe the same thing.

15 Steps to Writing an Impressive Non-Fiction TV Proposal

Your written proposal is possibly your first – maybe your only – shot at impressing a commissioner so it’s important to capture their attention for the right reasons. Take the time to get it right.

Seven Reasons a Commissioner Will Reject Your Idea

Your commissioning editor needs to be reassured that you have the necessary skills and experience to make the programme you are proposing or they will reject your idea, no matter how good it is.

Ten Habits That Generate Winning TV Programme Ideas

To be successful at generating commissionable new TV programme ideas you need to do two things: Understand what channels are looking for
Actively look for new ideas that fit those channel needs.