Breaking into the TV industry is like searching for the Holy Grail. We have heard the legends of those who did it before, a legion of gurus are willing to tell you where to find it (and will charge you dearly for it), but the truth is that there’s no roadmap to becoming a professional screenwriter and finally quitting your 9-to-5.
Read such and such books, write every day, network, hire a coach, read lots of scripts, participate in competitions – don’t waste your money on competitions! – learn the 3-act structure, the 5-act structure, the 7-act structure… All great advice that won’t get you through the gates of the industry. So what will, you may ask? Hell if I know! I’m still figuring it out myself.
But sometimes we find a rare opportunity to learn things differently and change the way we come to grips with our crusade. Yes, Talent Campus is one of those rare opportunities. If you want to know about all the emotions we experienced and the crazy stuff we did at Talent Campus 9, read what fellow campers like MJ Warren, Simon Elvin, or Saniya Chalk Ley wrote in their blog posts. I echo every word, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it was a life-changing experience for all of us.
Every talk, every new challenge that Chris Jones put in front of us, every chat during the coffee breaks with my newfound family made Talent Campus what it is. But if I had to choose one eye-opening moment to tell you about, that would be my favourite session of TC9: Know Thine Apples, with TV producer Eleanor Greene.
Eleanor taught me more about the industry in one day than years of events, blogs, and podcasts combined.
What type of stories are commissioners buying right now? What genres, for which audiences, at what budgets? How many series do they buy every year? And how much are they willing to pay per episode? Eleanor generously shared all this information and much more with all of us. It may not sound like a big deal, but do you know how many people from the industry I’ve met who were willing to share that type of information? Gatekeeping has many faces, and holding intel out of newcomer’s reach is a major one.
What Eleanor shared with us isn’t just anecdotal information. It’s actionable knowledge. Now I have data-backed confirmation that an expensive high-concept dramedy may be great to showcase our skills when approaching an agent, but we’ll need a miracle to ever see it produced unless we become big shots in the industry first. Or that the quirky crime drama that has been in the back of my head for the last few years and I never wrote may have a place in the current market. I even have a better sense of how to pitch my stories when they are market ready. So the next time you see Eleanor Greene’s name announced in a festival, seminar or event, don’t hesitate to sign up. You won’t regret it.
But that wasn’t it. After the lunch break, Eleanor and Chris asked us to play a game: team up with two other writers and, in 45 minutes, come up with a pitch to adapt the film Conclave into a series. I was sceptical about the assignment, but I was surprised by how much we can create in 45 minutes when the clock is ticking. And then we took turns to pitch our versions to Eleanor and the room. It was fun and it was a bit brutal. Eleanor’s honest feedback was followed by the entire room giving you virtual thumbs-up or thumbs-down using an anonymous voting app. Nobody held back, and my team got lucky enough to get the highest score and “win the game”. Our prize? Further developing our proposal in the following days with Eleanor’s support.
What a treat! Eleanor welcomed every new draft with enthusiasm and excellent notes that helped us improve the proposal until it was ready to be shared… But to be shared with whom? Well, that’s the magic of Talent Campus; you never know what the next thing will be that blows your mind. What will happen next with this pitch? (WATCH THIS SPACE FOR AN UPDATE). Maybe nothing, but let me dream for a minute or two, maybe something amazing! After all, I’ve seen much more unlikely things happen in Talent Campus.
Luis is a UK-based Spanish screenwriter and director with a 20 years international career spanning film, television, and digital media.
