Two Dogs Barking

How to Get Your Story on TV - It's More Than The Pitch

    In the past 20 years, I have produced everything from news, talk shows, on-line informational shows, documentaries, commercials, how-to videos, to magazine programs.  In that time, I have been pitched just about every idea imaginable.  But considering there are only so many hours in a day, so many minutes in a show or segment, can you guess how many of those pitches made it to air?  Would you believe maybe 3-5%?  The question then becomes:  Why did I choose the ones I did, and why did the others get tossed, deleted, unanswered.  The answer:  The pitch started with a compelling sell that was clearly directed at my target audience and came with a memorable story.

    Say you have a company, service, or product your selling.  If you pitch just that, I can promise you, you will NOT get a call back from an a Producer.  Here's an inside tip:  Producers work hard!  They have a tremendous responsibility to define content that is true to the nature of the program - broadcast, online, etc.  If you are calling a Producer to say, 'Please put me on your program so I can talk about my new (name of product/service/company here).'  And that's all you offer, don't wait by the phone.  A call is not coming your way.  If I have to work too hard to figure out what your angle is to elevate my show, you've lost me.  I've moved on to someone who 'gets' it.    I want you to 'get' it.  I want you to know what to say and how to say it so you can pitch any entity you choose with confidence.  Here are five action steps to take, before you send off a press release to a Producer or show.

• THINK.  Really look at the media source you want to approach.  Put on your temporary Producer hat and ask yourself:
• • What is this show about? What purpose does it serve in the marketplace?
    
  • Who is its audience?  KING-TV in Seattle is about to debut its new talk show - New Day Northwest (I've attached the show's new open below - which will give you a very good idea who they are producing for).  The show is Monday-Friday in the morning.  Who is this show's audience?  Women, ideally 30-45, but more likely 35-60.  Is what you are pitching of interest to them?  Perhaps not on the surface, but maybe it could be. Dig, rethink how what you are pitching could be a fit.
    
  • How could my product/service/company relate to the viewers?  This is what I call 'take away value.'  When I book guests, I always ask myself what will the audience take away from this segment.  Is it information? Is it a story that will resonate?  If you can figure out how to weave a compelling story into your product/service/company, you will get booked. 

• WRITE.  Take a page from Twitter.  Sit down and write a 140 character sell.  If you can tell me in 140 characters the general angle of your pitch, you'll have my attention.  Start your pitch with that.  Follow that with the 50 word synopsis of what you are offering, why I should care.  Take the advice from Nicole Donnelly in her book "Ride Like A Penguin," ask yourself if what you've written is newsworthy, interesting, or surprising?
  

• EDIT. You need to discover the hook to your pitch.  But, you also need to really think about who is going to sit in that chair with a host and talk, representing you.  Leave the ego at the door, it might not be you!  Good Producers develop a sixth sense for good talkers.  I can decide within a five minute phone conversation if I am booking a particular guest or not.  Can this person articulate succinctly answers to my questions? Does this person give me answers that naturally lead me to the next question that moves the story along?  Nothing is more painful that to have a guest on a show who give you 'yes,' 'no,' or one sentence answers.  Next harsh reality:  Who's going to look good on camera?  I'm not talking about Hollywood glamour here.  But I will tell you when I worked in New York, we always had potential guests send a photo.  We literally wanted to make sure the person had teeth!

• PLAN.  You are going to pitch a Producer who is over-worked and underpaid.  Don't shoot yourself in the foot by not planning on the possibility that you will get a call or he/she will research you before that call.  If I am pitched, and I go to a website, blog, etc.  and it isn't current or it is a completely different arena than what I was just pitched, it's over.  I won't do the extra work to find you.  I won't take the time to glean your story from your busy website.  For every pitch I get, there are a hundred other people waiting to take that spot.  Plan for a Producer to check you out.

• PROVIDE.  This is where you can completely set yourself apart from others trying to get a Producer's attention.  Give him/her everything you can to make the job easier.  You know your story.  You can talk well and be interesting.  You look pretty good on camera.  What else does a Producer want?  Think about interviews you have seen before.  Which ones were the most interesting?  When I was producing a talk show, I really didn't want to look at the guest and the hosts for 6 minutes non-stop, and I don't think the viewers did either.  We occasionally had enough of a budget to send out a camera crew to shoot was in the biz is known as 'b-roll.'  That is the footage that the director rolls in over the 'talking heads.'  These days budgets are tight and a show may not have the capability. But, you can provide it for them.  Hire a crew - yes, like Two Dogs Barking Productions - and have footage shot of you doing what you do, of your product, etc.  THEN, have that crew shoot a testimonial or personal story that will elevate what you are doing to a personal level.  You give a Producer that footage - you are one step closer to 'Lights, Camera, Action!'

Marriage of partners: words & pictures

Strong visual storytelling depends on a marriage between two partners – words and pictures. In a society inundated with visual stimulation, it is the goal of Two Dogs Barking to refine and elevate the impact of images by going back to the basics of telling good stories. Two Dogs Barking has built its reputation on the highly creative craft of matching message to image.

Much like the partners of words and visuals, Two Dogs Barking principals are a partnership personally and professionally who strike a balance of skill and experience.    Both have enjoyed highly successful careers for many years prior to marrying their individual talents (and each other). Since then, this 17-year union has sent them around the world telling stories for regional, national and international broadcast and corporate clients.  If our principals track record – with the hardware to prove it (Emmys, Tellys, Peabody, etc.) – is the backbone of Two Dogs Barking.  Then, their mutual passion for telling great stories, and for using their talents to visually illustrate those stories is the heart of Two Dogs Barking.

Two Dogs Barking cultivates clients who want to have their story told through visual expression to all types of audiences. From commercials/PSAs, to streaming video, to webisodes, to corporate training video, to special event production, to conference openers -   Two Dogs Barking has the depth of experience, the vision for conceptualizing a message, and the demonstrated ability to deliver a high quality product for our clients.That's who we are.  And, we are doing what we love.

Two Dogs Recipe for a Successful Video Shoot: Bramble Berry Soap Making

Ingredients for a Successful Video Project

Start with a forward thinking business owner

The most difficult challenge of operating a small video production company is finding new clients who understand the power and multi-uses of video (dvd, streaming, etc.).  Fortunately, there are those occasions where just such a person crosses my path. 

Anne-Marie Faiola is the brains, the beauty, and the business-owner behind Bramble Berry Soap Making Company.  I met Anne-Marie after I booked her on a pilot for the program 'Maximum Living with Randy Alt.'  From that meeting, the idea of creating a 'Learn to Make...' dvd was born - which you can buy on the Bramble Berry website, or on Amazon.

Mix equal parts: client who knows her product  and
producer who knows her role
Anne-Marie is the Soap Queen. She is ridiculously knowledgeable about her product because she is so passionate about what she does.  The key to our working relationship was the mutual respect we had for each other's knowledge in our respective fields.

Slowly stir together a collaboration of ideas
Anne-Marie knew what she wanted the end result to feel like for her customers.  But, she also was open minded and eager to hear about how, as a producer, I was going to get us there.  In the end, the final project is a balanced mix of both our ideas and vision - as it should be in any video project.

Add a detailed, formulated shooting plan
My job as the director/producer on this project was to make sure that we had a strong plan when we went to shoot.  As a producer, my number one goal is to do all the pre-production work so the actual production will go off seemlessly.  It starts with a strong script, add a great crew, and finish with a second, third, fourth check of all the details.


Blend creative crew with room for new ideas
Hand-picking a crew to suit the particular shoot allows me to bring in the right mix of creative energy to the shoot.  Each member of the crew adds a different perspective based on their own experiences on past shoots and projects.  To allow the crew to have a voice elevates any project.  It is the role of the producer to check the ego at the door and ask for input.

Sprinkle in a dash of humor
Production is hard work.  There's never enough time.  There's rarely a big enough budget to hire enough people.  Every one there knows that every shoot is a learning experience as every shoot is different.  To be successful, both client and producer must find the humor in the moment, roll with the problems and have a positive outlook on finding the solutions.

Thank you Anne-Marie and your staff for a great experience!  Learn more, follow Anne-Marie, here:

supplies: www.brambleberry.com

blog: www.soapqueen.com

retail store: www.otionsoap.com

learn: www.soapqueen.tv